Stevie eased up out of the chair and tiptoed to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her. Mia needed privacy to sort things out with Beau. But when it was over, she would be there to help Mia explain to her folks how, even though he was perfect, Beau just wasn’t for her.

She stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. After a while, things were really quiet out in the main part of the bunkhouse, and the breakup, if it could be called that, was most likely over. She dressed in her pink sweats—a color that her mother said redheads should never wear—and put on a pair of fuzzy socks.

“Stevie, are you awake?” Mia’s whisper came through the door.

“I’m on my way out if Beau is gone,” Stevie answered.

“Yes, he is,” Mia answered.

Stevie couldn’t tell from the sound of her voice if she was relieved or sad about the decision she had made, but either way, she would probably want to talk about it. Stevie slung open the door and found Mia slouched on the sofa just like before.

“Did he take the news badly?” Stevie asked.

“Nope.” Mia’s blue eyes had gone from the worried look they had half an hour before to downright dreamy.

“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Stevie asked. “Mia, you can’t lead him on…”

“I’m not.” Mia’s face lit up in a smile. “I had left my gloves in his truck when we came home from church, and he brought them back to me. I invited him in and was honest with him, and he said he understood. I walked him to the door and tripped over Tex when he came running inside, and…”

“And what?” Stevie asked.

“He reached out and kept me from falling, then cupped my face in his hands, and…” Mia frowned just slightly. “Ricky was the same height as me, so he never had to raise my face for a kiss, but anyway, Beau kissed me, and there wasn’t a sizzle. It went beyond that to pure heat. We wound up making out for a long time, and my knees went weak, and my heart was thumping.”

“Did Ricky ever do that for you?” Stevie asked.

“Not like Beau did.” Mia picked up her beer and downed the rest of it. “With Ricky it was kind of like I was flirting with something dangerous—something that Mama wouldn’t approve of. With Beau, it was a totally different feeling, but from all the stuff I’ve read about relationships, I shouldn’t be comparing one with the other.”

“That’s right, but when you’ve only had someone like Ricky in your life, that makes it kind of tough, doesn’t it?” Stevie asked.

“Yes. I need chocolate.” Mia got up and headed for the kitchen.