The explosion of new vineyards in the area was about the biggest change to the place he’d seen.

He’d traveled a lot of places with the rodeo over the years, and he’d watched main streets shift and change, and sometimes die. He’d watched some towns undergo overwhelming expansion. Places like Bend that had transformed from a small community into one of the trendiest, most sought after places in the state.

But Gold Valley remained much what it had been when he was a boy. Oh, the businesses on the main street had changed over the years, but the shape of things had stayed pretty much the same.

“Ready for lunch?” Jamie asked.

It occurred to him then that she hadn’t answered his question. About who didn’t need her. He didn’t know if she’d forgotten or if she was avoiding it.

She still had that soft look in her eyes. That one that hinted at vulnerabilities she’d rather chew nails than admit to.

He’d let her have her avoidance.

“Sure,” he said.

He moved off his horse, then went over to where Jamie was, extending a hand.

She looked down at him, her dark brows knit together, the corners of her mouth turned down into a frown. Then she launched herself to the ground, dust kicking up around her boots. “Mighty fine of you, cowboy. But I’m more than able.”

He shook his head, laughing. Jamie was truly something else.

“Will you allow me to unwrap your sandwich for you?”

She huffed a laugh. “If it’s the only way I’m going to get it. Otherwise, I can unwrap my own sandwich.”

“Because chivalry is not dead,” he said, reaching into his backpack. “I will unwrap the sandwich for you.”

She shook her head. He did exactly what he’d said, and handed the roast beef sandwich to her, along with a can of Diet Coke.

Jamie looked around and found a large rock, plopping down on the top of it and taking a big bite of the sandwich.

“You did a good job quieting the horse,” he said, unwrapping his own sandwich and taking a bite. “It was impressive.”

“I thought she might get testy and try to throw me,” Jamie said. “But I could tell that if I squeezed too hard with my legs she was only going to panic more. Fight against me. That’s the hardest part. Doing what’s counterintuitive as a person. When you want to just cling to them for dear life and really... Really, you just have to listen to them. Well, I guess the thing is you have to know when to listen to them, right? Because sometimes you have to be the boss.”

“No, I know what you mean,” he said.

For a brief second he felt a strange flash of something. An ache as he thought about what might have been if this had been his life. It was Jamie’s life, and she was running from it. Quiet, on the trails. Working with horses.