Free Pep Talks (Pepper Jones #4) by Ali Dean

on the last sprint, if it can even be called that. Gran could probably walk faster as I struggle to reach the cones marking the end of the incline. None of us speak or look at each other as we jog back through the woods for our warm-down.  Coach wasn’t particularly encouraging either. He wasn’t impressed with our performance.
    I wish I could have been the one to pull the team through this excruciating workout. Something inside of me is burning to prove that I am a valuable member of this team. I’ve never had to do that before. Everyone around me is fast, tough, and capable of an amazing running career. I have high school accolades, but they don’t matter here, in these woods, with these girls. I suffered just as much as the rest of my team through that workout, and I feel defeated.
    When I show up at my apartment for dinner that night, Gran is surprised but overjoyed to see me. I need a break from my teammates, my concern for Jace, my uncertainty of what I mean to my new team.
    I’m greeted by the familiar smell of a casserole cooking in the oven, and the feel of a wet nose at my knee when my dog, Dave, greets me. Gran’s best friend Lulu is sitting at Jace’s seat at the dinner table. Well, I think of it as Jace’s seat, because he’s sat there more than anyone else.
    “You look exhausted, Salty,” Lulu exclaims. It’s her special nickname for me. A little weird, but hey, my actual name is pretty out there too.
    “Bunny, get this girl a plate of that macaroni casserole. They aren’t feeding her at the college.”
    Lulu is Gran’s age – well into her seventies – and her hair is a different color every time I see her. Today, it’s blue. With matching eyeshadow.
    Gran plops an enormous heap of food in front of me before bombarding me with questions about classes, friends, running, and of course, Jace. I evade her questions about Jace, and I’m relieved when Lulu begins asking about the attractiveness of college boys in general.
    “I sure do miss the variety. We start to outlive ‘em around now, and the selection pool gets smaller, you see.”
    Gran nods in agreement. “But Lulu and me, we don’t let that stop our fun.  Boy, you can find some real hunks at the senior center these days.”
    “It’s that new retirement home they built, Bunny, I’ve told you this. It’s attracting all the ranchers from the plains. And those ranchers, they’ve really kept their bodies in shape. Did you meet Wallace at the bowling alley the other night?”
    “You mean the one in the cowboy hat and sweater vest?  Why, he was buying me drinks all night! He’s taking me to the steak house on Saturday,” Gran announces proudly. “I think he’s got some money, that one. He might be too refined for me, even for a cowboy.”
    It’s a typical conversation between Lulu and Gran, meaning it doesn’t make much sense. For one, I didn’t know wealthy cowboys existed. For another, it seems unlikely a rancher would be named Wallace and also wear a cowboy hat with a sweater vest. But hey, what do I know?
    Dinner with Gran and Lulu leaves me feeling warm and satisfied, and not just because her cooking is far superior to the food at Chapman Hall. Gran and Lulu are rolling a joint when I kiss them goodbye, and while I’m sure the rest of the night would be entertaining, I can’t hide from reality forever. 
    Jace hasn’t replaced his phone yet and I haven’t had a chance to get a sense for where his head is at. So I decide to stop by his apartment. I’m not a huge fan of riding my bike at night after being the victim of a hit and run last year, but a car isn’t in the budget and the town’s simply too big to walk or run everywhere.
    I find Jace sitting on the couch hunched over the coffee table, which is covered with papers. This would have been a rare sight in high school, but he’s made a point of staying on top of his homework since becoming a college student. He glances up when he hears me open the door, and the