Page 54 of The Hearts We've Broken
“Would you rather be on a reality dating show or a reality competition show?”
“What kind of competition show?” I asked, because that was important. There was a difference between a show likeThe Great British Baking ShowandSurvivor. It was also important to note that I would much rather be onSurvivor.
“Something where you have to do challenges. Maybe deceive people, too.”
“See, I think I could win a dating show. But a competition show would be fun, too.”
“I saw this reality show recently that combined the dating show element with a singing competition. It was actually really interesting. This country singer, maybe you know him, had to choose ten women from thirty singers to compete for his heart, but he wasn’t able to see them when they sang. Just hear their voices. I’d never listened to his music before, but he was pretty good. The winner was good, too! There was this one girl, though, who drove meinsane. I was so glad when she got eliminated.” Her eyes lit up when she explained the show, and the way she described it almost had me convinced to start watching reality TV.
“Is this the guy?” After scrolling through my music app—one hand still on the wheel—I found his name, Dusty Wilder, and clicked on the most popular song. A catchy guitar riff started playing. The rest of the guys probably wouldn’t have liked it, but I was vibing with it.
“Yeah, this is the one. I think he just released the album that he recorded with the girl who won and they’re planning to go on tour soon.”
“That’s cool. Do you think you’ll try to go?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I probably don’t have anyone to go with, though.”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t want to say I’d go with her, because we weren’t going to last that long. And making promises on a fake relationship seemed like a recipe for disaster.
“Anyway, answer the question. You didn’t pick one.”
Right.“Uh, let’s go with the competition show. How about you?”
“I think I’d be ruthless in a competition show.” Gone was the uncertainty in her expression, replaced by a wicked grin. “I’m great at deception and manipulation, and I’m not afraid to get what I want.”
“Damn, Peach. Scaring me a little there,” I joked. “Don’t go manipulating me to get what you want, now.”
Her face flushed red. “Right. Yeah.” She yawned as her eyes fluttered shut.
“Take a nap. We’re not too far away from our stop for tonight.”
After a good night’s rest and another eight-hour stretch of driving, we arrived in Arizona where the next rodeo would be. Juniper napped in the cab most of the way, but when she was awake, we talked about anything and everything under the sun.
Her favorite type of candy was saltwater taffy, she loved autumn, and her favorite type of chewing gum was Wrigley’s Big Red.
When she was six years old, she broke her arm falling out of a tree that she tried to climb, she hated horror movies but watched them in college anyway to make her friends happy, and most of the time she’d rather spend nights at home instead of going out to the bars.
That last point mostly had to do with the fact that she wanted to graduate early, so she’d taken as many credits as possible in the most challenging classes she could find.
When I caught her scrolling on her phone looking at jobs outside of Montana, I tried to untie the knots in my chest, reminding myself that she was most likely going to leave once this was over. What I still couldn’t figure out, though, was why she ended up in Silver Creek anyway.
She looked up from her phone, giving me a curious glance. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, just snooping,” I admitted, caught in the act.
“Oh.” She awkwardly put her phone away. “I was just looking at jobs. I don’t know if I’ll apply for any of them, because most of them require experience that I don’t have.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt to look.”
“Right, well…” She cleared her throat. “Are you ready for your ride?”
I nodded, taking a seat next to her and putting my hand on her knee. It’d become second nature at this point, but it was all for appearances.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
“Nervous? Excited?”
“A bit nervous, but I think that’s normal. It’s all abouthow you channel the nerves. You can either take advantage of them to fuel your ride or let them control you. The goal is always to stay on top.”
