Free Once Upon a Cowboy by Maggie McGinnis

saw them. She certainly had no inkling of the things Jess had survivedbefore her seventeenth birthday.
    Until just a few days ago, Jess had been able to believe Star Smith was dead and buried, locked in court paperwork that no one would ever have reason to search out. But now Roxie and Luanne—and maybe Billy—were on her trail, and it was only a matter of time before Jess was exposed for the fraud she was.
    Only a matter of time before her best friends found outshe’d been lying to them since they’d met, and only a matter of time before she’d have to face her aunt and mother and her ugly, sordid past.
    She took a deep breath, blowing it out carefully. Maybe staying at Whisper Creek for the summer wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
    —
    Later that afternoon, Jess was in the stable brushing Sky Dancer when she heard Cole and Decker come into the barn.
    “Soyou’re off again today?” There was a tightness in Cole’s words that she hadn’t heard before.
    “I’ve gotta meet with Mike to go over our plans for the city council meeting tomorrow.”
    “And there’s no way you could have done that yesterday while you were up at Boulder Creek?”
    “Um, no.” Decker sounded confused, like he wasn’t quite sure what he’d done to tick off his brother so early in the morning.“We had a bunch of other stuff to cover yesterday. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, though. I’ll take the evening trail ride out.”
    “Fine.”
    Jess could picture Cole’s jaw, all tight.
    “What bug has crawled up your ass, Cole?”
    “Nothing. Never mind.”
    “Are you pissed that I’m leaving?”
    “No. Just pissed that you said you’d be here, so instead of giving Jimmy the hours he was hoping for, I putyou on the schedule. And now you’re headed out and I’m down one trail guide. Again.”
    “I’m sorry this keeps happening. If I didn’t have to go, I wouldn’t.”
    “I know.” Cole’s voice came closer, and Jess ducked down in the stall, feeling awkward about eavesdropping on their conversation, but feeling even more awkward about popping up in the middle of it.
    Decker sighed. “We’ve got a lot going onup there right now, and I need to be available when they need me. I’m sorry that screws with things here.”
    “I get it, Decker—but I don’t always have to like it. We’ve got a full roster of guests with a boatload of kids this week, and if I can’t depend on you to fill in where you say you will, it just causes a scramble, that’s all.”
    “Look. I’ll try to finish up with Mike as soon as I can. I’mnot trying to dump everything here on you.”
    “I know.”
    “Do you?”
    “Yeah, I do. Still pisses me off, but I get it, okay? Go do what you need to do. I’ll hold down the fort here.”
    Decker paused, and Jess imagined him taking off his Stetson and running it around his fingers. “Maybe it’s time we had a talk about dividing up who does what.”
    “Maybe it is. But not right now. You have to go, and Ihave to find a trail guide. Your ass had better be back here by seven, saddled and ready.”
    “Or?”
    “Or I’m gonna put you on private lesson duty all next week.”
    “No problem. I can do that.” Jess heard Decker’s feet move toward the door, then stop short. “Wait. Don’t we have that group of seventy-year-old women next week?”
    “Yup.”
    His feet stomped out. “I’ll be back by five.”
    An hour later, Jessfound Cole sorting through riding helmets in the tack room, muttering to himself as he lined them up on a workbench. When she knocked on the open door, he looked up, his smile cheerful.
    “Hey, cowgirl. How’s things?”
    If she hadn’t heard the earlier conversation, she’d have no idea he was in anything but his normal, happy mood right now. She leaned carefully on the doorframe. She knew he was shorton help now for the afternoon, but he didn’t know
she
knew that, so she had to pretend she’d just happened by in hopes of catching some extra trail