Page 35 of Up in Smoke

“I was just testing your reflexes,” I mutter, trying to sound breezy. “Congratulations. You passed.”

He grins, all crooked and proud, andgod help me, I smile back.

“Good to know.” His eyes flick to mine. “I’m always up for extra credit if you need to test any of my other skills.”

I purse my lips and gently push off his chest. That damn grin widens when he finally sets me down. With my feet under me again, I brush invisible dirt from my thighs. The jeans I dug out from the back of my closet for our impromptu ride today are perfectly clean since he caught me before I crashed to the ground, but I pretend to swipe dust anyway.

“I can’t think of any at the moment,” I lie nonchalantly.

“I can.”

His lips roll into his mouth, and we stare at each other for several drawn-out moments. I don’t dare ask him to clarify what he’s talking about. I already know.

I never should have said anything to Blythe and Savannah about not being about to . . . I shake my head to avoid overthinking it more than I already have since he overheard me.

“Are you ever going to let me live that down?”

“Maybe,” he answers with a shrug. “But what kind of man would I be if I let my friend suffer with their problems alone instead of trying to help fix them?”

There’s that word again. Take a shot.

I cock a hip, gather my hands in front of me, and awkwardly cross one foot over the other. “A hard-up one?”

“Jesus, Mace,” he chuckles. “Maybe I am. I guess we both have a problem that needs fixing.”

My eyes widen and my lips part. Tripp gave me the grace of ignoring this topic since we got home from the baseball game. But apparently, it’s still been on his mind. It most definitely hasn’t been on mine. Especially not when I can’t sleep.

He tilts his head, waiting for my reaction. I don’t want to blurt out something ridiculous, so I stay quiet. Finally, he gives up waiting and casually walks to my horse and fixes the reins.

“I’m just kidding, okay? Forget I mentioned it. Come here.”

Bob cranes his neck and turns his head to pin me with an unbothered look that saysare you coming or not?I follow Tripp’s request and walk to him. He grips my shoulders and positions me next to the horse, then moves to stand behind me. The air between his front and my back feels charged, but I work to ignore it.

Tripp takes both of my hands and lifts them to grab onto either end of the saddle. Even though I’m still new to this, basic instinct guides me to lift my left leg and slip my foot in the stirrup. He slides his hands down to grip my waist, lifting me to my seat before I have a chance to bounce my right foot off the ground and pull myself up.

“Is Bob going to buck me off again?” I ask.

Tripp looks up at me and rests an arm on the back of my saddle. “Animals are unpredictable. Falling happens and you just have to get used to it.”

I hook a finger under his cap and flick it off so that it lands on the ground with a quiet thud. When he rolls his eyes and bends to pick it up, I place a foot on his shoulder and lightly push.

Damn his strong legs that barely stumble.

“Like that?” I chirp with a grin.

He fixes me with narrowed eyes but pulls his hat on and walks toward Regal. “Exactly like that.”

I laugh, though I’m not sure we’re still talking about riding horses.

12

MESA

“It’s literally dark out,”Tripp states flatly.

“Barely.” I glare down at him with one hand on my hip and one arm wrapped around the tree trunk. “I can still see your ugly face.”

The sky is a deep periwinkle as the sun sits just below the horizon, on the verge of vanishing entirely. I climbed this old tree to hang more twinkle lights over my backyard and garden. Sure, I probably should have tackled this in the morning, but work kept me busy while the sun was up.

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