But then...

She hardly recognized the girl she’d been. The one who had stormed up to Gabe on the first day of the job and given him hell. The one who had fought with Wyatt at every turn, all prickles and insisting that she was tough enough to handle anything.

It wasn’t that she was less tough. It was just that...she felt like she had uncovered some things that had been hidden for a long time.

Jamie bumped her boot against his. “I guess I’ll see you tonight, then, too.”

“I was kind of hoping I would either way,” he said, bumping her boot back. “But it’ll be interesting to go out with your family.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Yes, it will.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JAMIE KNEW THAT she was taking kind of a risk exposing herself this way. That her brothers were going to have commentary, and that...that the whole town would.

But she was thinking about Sierra Thompson more and more. And even about Kate. And how though they definitely had different senses of style, both women didn’t seem afraid of femininity. Kate had a child, and a husband, and still did barrel racing.

Sierra did, too. Plus, the woman was cowgirl Barbie.

And Jamie was sick to death of feeling like there was one more thing she’d missed.

Gabe loved her body the way that it was. He could barely seem to keep his hands off her. And he never seemed to care when she showed up in a sports bra and plain cotton panties.

On the contrary, he seemed perfectly happy.

But this wasn’t about changing for a man. Not even for Gabe specifically. This was about her.

And maybe she would hate it. She might hate it.

But she wanted to know.

And that was how she ended up at McKenna’s place, with Beatrix in tow.

“What are we doing?” Beatrix asked.

“You’ll see,” she said.

And then when McKenna let them in, and confirmed that Grant was not home, Jamie told them her mission. “I want you to make me look like a girl.”

McKenna looked her up and down. “You definitely look like a girl,” McKenna said, “so was there something more specific to that or...?”

“You know. Like a girl like you two look like girls. Like a girlie girl.”

McKenna laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of being a girlie girl before.”

“You are compared to me.”

“I have been,” Bea said. “I am one.”

“Yes, you are,” McKenna agreed. “But with rodents as your accessories.”

“I’m complicated.” Bea sniffed.

“Complicated, girlie or not, you both dress better than I do, and your hair does—” she waved her hand “—things.”

“What do you mean does things?” McKenna asked.

“It...it moves. It stands up away from your head.”

“That’s called volume,” McKenna said.

“And that’s just because I have curly hair,” Bea said.

“Well...couldn’t mine do more than—” Jamie grabbed the limp end of her ponytail and lifted it, then dropped it heavily “—this?”