Chapters (43)
- Cover
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Epilogue
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- Readers Guide
- QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
“Well, you know what’s simple?” she snapped, her voice growing stronger with every word. “I want my life back. I don’t want to just make it through one day at a time, counting myself as lucky if I don’t have a panic attack. I want to build a life I’m proud of, and I’m the best judge of how to do that, not you.”
He clenched his jaw. “Okay. I am proud of you, sweetheart, whether you want to believe it or not. But don’t bite off more than you can chew just to spite your dad.”
She stiffened. Slowly, from her stomach to her lungs, her shoulders to her neck, until her whole body felt brittle. He’d said it with so much love in his voice that she couldn’t even argue with him. What if he was right, and she would never be normal again?
“Okay,” she mumbled. “I better get going.” She kept her head down as she strode away, not even sure where she was headed.
Was that what her dad really thought of her? Was that what LJ thought of her?
Eight
When all the other staff started drawing straws for who would go to the bar and who would take the horses home, Andra volunteered to drive the first trailer. Stacia barely argued with her, and no one looked surprised that she’d rather go home alone instead of celebrating that she had helped break the record time for team roping.
In contrast, when LJ volunteered to drive the second trailer, everyone was surprised but her, and Curt ribbed him until LJ’s silence shut him down. She thought it meant he wanted a chance to talk to her privately, but apparently not. He didn’t say a word to her as they packed up, or even after they got back to the ranch and they were alone.
One of the horses stamped a hoof, breaking the quiet of the barn. A stall door creaked. Andra snuck another glance down the aisle at LJ as she scooped up the pile of leg wraps to put them away. When she came back out, he was dusting hay off his hands and walking toward the mare waiting in the crossties. She kept her eyes on the ground as she passed, heading out front to move the trucks.
She backed the first trailer into its storage spot, and then the second. She was unhooking the last safety chain when LJ’s footsteps rustled in the dirt behind her.