Free Ex, Why, and Me by Susanna Carr

we’re going to win this thing.”
    “You keep saying that.” Ryan looked over his shoulder. “Is there something you know that I don’t?”
    Now, there’s a leading question… “You really want that treasure chest, huh?”
    “I really want to be able to walk around town with my head held high,” he muttered.
    Must not have had to handle many disastrous one-night stands. Michelle scrunched up her face when she realized how snarky she was being. God, she was making up for lost time. She hadn’t given it too much thought all these years, and then, bam! It was constantly on her mind.
    She really had to stop holding it against him. Most of the women she knew didn’t have a good first time, and if they had the chance, they would have done things differently. Like made the guy work harder for it, or gone for a different guy completely.
    She didn’t want anything like that. It wasn’t as if Ryan had cheated her out of anything. Although, now that she thought about it, he could have been nicer on the way home. He didn’t have to make her feel as though she did something horribly wrong. The way he went on about it, she had started to wonder if she caused him permanent damage. And he definitely didn’t need to make her think that there was something wrong with her.
    Nope, Michelle thought as she glared at Ryan’s back. She changed her mind. She had every right to be snarky. In fact, she should be snarkier.
    An older man dressed in faded overalls and a baseball cap so worn she couldn’t make out the advertisement greeted them at the playground door. “You guys the final team?”
    “I guess so,” Michelle answered reluctantly. She couldn’t believe they had lost their lead. She hoped they could make up for it on this task.
    “Good. Here is your next assignment.” He handed the envelope to Michelle. Ryan dropped his hold so she could rip it open. She frowned as she read the card.
    “Tell me it’s not another riddle,” Ryan said.
    “Homer and Ida had several friends living in Carbon Hill,” Michelle read out loud. “While it was never proven that they assisted the Wirts, people around here called them the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker.” She looked up from the paper. “Well, they don’t get extra bonus points for originality. Why were they called these names?”
    The old man hooked his thumbs behind his overall straps. “Dunno. All you need to do is find out who these people were. Then visit what had been their homes and you’ll get a piece of a map.”
    Michelle closed her eyes and tried not to whimper. Did they have to make everything so freaking difficult? Couldn’t they just give her the address and be satisfied?
    “Once you put the map together,” the old man continued, “you’ll find your final destination for the night.”
    “Great.” The word dragged from her throat.
    “At least it’s not a riddle,” Ryan pointed out.
    Michelle turned and looked at him. Could he spare her? She didn’t want to see the brighter side right now. “We have to walk all over town. This could take us until tomorrow.”
    “You don’t have to walk,” the man told her. “The organizers offered transportation on this leg of the hunt.”
    “Oh, thank goodness.” Michelle thwacked her palm against her forehead and sighed with relief.
    “Meet Lucifer.” The old man gestured to the side of the school. When she spotted the horse—the big, black, snorting horse—she went rigid.
    Ryan seemed to pick up on her attitude change immediately. “What’s wrong?” he asked, for her ears only.
    Michelle started to back away. “I can’t ride that thing.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of the animal. There was no telling what the creature would do if she turned her back.
    Ryan placed his arm around her shoulders and held her firmly. As if he knew she was going to bolt. “It’ll be fine,” he assured her.
    She shook her head side to side. “No, I don’t think you understand. I would rather eat