Page 2 of Up in Smoke

Miss Jackie spins her head in my direction with a sneer. “What was that?”

I run my boot over the carpet and lean forward to inspect it. “I said the cleaner missed a spot.”

The lady with glasses covers a laugh with her hand over her mouth. The corners of my lips tip up. I like that she thinks I’mfunny. She uncrosses her legs and hands a stack of papers to Miss Jackie.

“Call me if there are more issues. Otherwise, I’ll check in after six months.”

We’re finally on our way out of the room when she leans down to whisper in my ear.

“You’ll like it at the new place. They have horses there.”

1

TRIPP

PRESENT DAY

“Tripp, right?”

I smirk before the end of my pool stick strikes the solid red three, sinking it into the top right pocket. This isn’t the first time a girl has asked my name while I’m bent over a table. She’s under me, usually, but this still counts.

Near the back of the room, someone kicks the side of the jukebox to fill the bunkhouse with music again—an hourly necessity around here with that old thing. Next to me, Heston cracks open a cold can of beer, and I finally stand to turn and match the sultry voice to a face.

“Depends on who’s asking,” I say.

A pair of sparkling blue eyes peer up at me. Her hair is dark and shiny, almost matching the deep purplish color of her lipstick. I don’t pay much attention to her outfit, but the tight skirt is a nice touch if I’m honest.

Since I know almost everyone in our small town, it surprises me that I’ve never seen this girl before. Meeting someone new is not common within the property lines of this ranch, either. Onlypeople we know are allowed to come to our weekend parties. If they invite someone to bring along with them, they have to clear it through Gage first.

If he doesn’t know you’re coming, you are not getting in. Period.

“You here with somebody?” I ask curiously.

“Depends on who’s asking.”

I laugh, clasping my hands together over the top of the pool stick and resting my chin on my knuckles. Thirty seconds go by while she remains silent and sizes me up. I watch as she adjusts the charm on her necklace, which was already centered.

I could wait for her to spit out some sort of creative proposition that will land her in my room for the night, but I’m already bored with this predictable outcome, so I drop the act to speed things along instead.

“I’m just messing with you. Yeah, I’m Tripp.”

That lights her face up with a smile. “I’m Violet.”

“Goodbye, Violet,” Heston says after a missed shot.

I didn’t hand-pick a dickhead for a best friend on purpose. It just happened that way. To keep him from bitching, I circle the pool table and line up an easy play.

“Ignore him. He’s just impatient when it’s my turn,” I say, mid-shot. When it goes in, I shift to the right a few feet, closing one eye and pulling back to hit another. I raise my voice so that she can hear me from across the table and above the noise in the room. “The bathroom’s the first door on the right down the hall if that’s what you’re looking for.”

My gaze flicks up to hers for a moment, and she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I had something else in mind,” she admits.

Bingo.

With a quirked eyebrow, I hold her stare. She’s bold. I can appreciate that, but the thrill of it doesn’t hit like it used to.

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment my normal antics became less enthusing. My game stopped mattering, and autopilot took over. It’s been a couple of months like that for me, I suppose.

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