Page 5 of The Hearts We've Broken
He and Isabelle finally got together last year after Colter and Ellison’s wedding. Everyone knew they had the hots for each other—from the moment they met, really—but they kept beating around the bush and denying their feelings. She still lived in Houston, so they were in a long-distance relationship, but she came up to visit pretty often.
“Yeah, she’s good. Excited to see us all in a couple weeks.”
Colter interjected then, nudging Ellison with his elbow. “Speaking of girlfriends, you’ll never believe the bet that Jake and Mikey just made.”
She eyed me curiously. “Oh? What was it this time? Please don’t tell me you bet him to try to ride a bison again.”
“Hell no! I wouldn’t have taken that bet anyway!”I probably would have.
“I bet him fifty bucks he wouldn’t be able to keep a girl for more than two weeks,” Jake answered. “And then I said if he could make it longer than a month he could have a hundred.”
Ellison raised an eyebrow, like she was waiting for him to continue.
“And I might have said that if he could keep a girlfriend longer than the Houston Rodeo I’d give him fifty more and an acre of land.” Colter dragged out themight.
Her mouth gaped open, and she lightly smacked him on the arm. “You did not!”
“If it makes you feel better, I only bet fifty if he could make it past Houston and Hayden didn’t bet at all,” Reid added.
“It doesn’t, but then again, I’m not sure Mikey’s ready for that kind of commitment.” Her eyes glimmered with mischief, and a cheeky smile spread across her face.
I shook my head, crossing my arms and grumbling. “I’ll show you guys. You’ll be eating your words soon enough.”
CHAPTER THREE
juniper
Afew days had passed since Rudy offered me the bartending job. Bartending was pretty universal, so it was easy enough to learn the ropes and pick everything up. On my first day, I shadowed another one of the bartenders, Nico, but by my third shift, I was basically on my own.
Rudy’s was a small bar, so it never got too busy. Not much exciting happened in town in general, but I was told when May rolled around, Miles City would get crazy for something called The Bucking Horse Sale.
I was wiping down the bar when my coworkers, Nico and Liv, walked up next to me. Both of them were students here at the local community college, but they weren’t that much younger than me.
“Sup, Junie.” Nico threw his arm around my shoulders, and I resisted the urge to brush him off.
I gave him a side-eyed glance. “Don’t call me that.”
“Sorry, sorry.” He put his hands up in mock surrender, but his eyes shone with a playfulness that screamed trouble.
Liv cleared her throat. “How have your first few days on the job been? Enjoying it so far?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I like it. The people here in town are nice. Pretty easygoing.”
“This is your first time here in Miles City, yeah?” she asked.
“Yep. Just moved here a few weeks ago.”
“Have you done much exploring?” Nico leaned against the bar casually, like he was trying to seem nonchalant and not like he was prying for information.
“Not really. I’m living with one of my old friends from college, and I’ve gone to the grocery store with her a couple times, but I’ve mostly stayed home.” I gave him a noncommittal shrug. “I was mainly focused on finding a job, to be honest.”
“Well,” he drew out the word, “a bunch of us are having a bonfire this weekend, if you want to come by? Bring your friend, too.”
“Oh, I don’t?—”
“It’ll be super fun!” Liv chimed in, a pleading look in her eyes. “We’ll introduce you to everyone and you’ll make loads of new friends. It’ll be great.”
That was what I was worried about. I wasn’t planning on staying here long-term. While I was grateful for Natalie and Rudy, Miles City wasn’t going to be my final destination. I’d give myself a few months tops to get my footing, then I’d be out of Montana for good. Maybe I’d go back home to Michigan, or maybe I’d travel. At some point in the last few weeks, I’d decided that small town life ultimately wasn’t for me. I wanted to be able to date and not have to see them at the grocery store if we happened to break up.
