Page 17 of Broken Boundaries

“You’ll be happy to know that I scheduled my first riding lesson with Beck.” I told her the other day that I’ve never ridden a horse, and she proceeded to tease me, telling me I needed to learn since I work on a ranch now.

“Ugh, he’s so hot. I wish he could give me riding lessons, if you know what I mean.”

I’m embarrassed by the loud cackle that explodes out of me, but I swear I never know what she’s going to say. “Yeah, I think I know what you mean. And I’m starting to think that you think everyone is hot.”

“That’s not true. Have you met Danny?”

The name doesn’t sound familiar, but I may have just forgotten. “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not hot, trust me on that.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“So when are you doing it?” she asks.

“Doing it?” I ask, confused. My mind has officially crossed over to dirty territory, and I can’t remember what we were discussing.

She cocks an eyebrow at me. “The riding lessons?”

“Oh, right. Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Cool.” She leans back and looks down at the ground behind the desk. “Please tell me you have boots.”

I look down at my sneakers and realize that’s what she’s looking at. “Oh. Um, no, I don’t. Do I need them?”

“You don’t need them, but you kinda need them,” she explains.

“That makes no sense.”

She sighs. “What are you doing after work?”

Well, I guess I’m not doing anything since Zach won’t be home. “Nothing.”

“Cool. We’ll go to town, get you some boots, and then we’ll have dinner. Girls’ night!”

I smile. “I’d love that.”

She hops off the desk. “Cool. I’ll come up here after I finish my last cabin.”

“Alright.” She starts to walk off, but I stop her. “Hey Jazz?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for this.”

She smiles. “Anytime, sunshine.”

The rest of my shift passes quickly, probably because I’m so excited to do something with a girlfriend. I had a few friends in Florida, but when I moved to Atlanta, I had a hard time meeting people. I wasn’t in school, and the people I worked with weren’t there to build friendships. Then, when I started dating Zach, all my spare time went to him. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything for just myself.

True to her word, Jazz walks toward the desk right as the night shift person comes to relieve me.

“Perfect timing!” Jazz says as I grab my stuff and follow her out to the parking lot.

“I can drive if you want,” I offer, heading to my car.

“Cool.”

We’re just about to get in when I see Brooks and Harper walking in the direction of his truck. Harper is laughing, and Brooks is smiling at whatever they were just talking about. My curiosity gets the better of me. “Hey, Jazz. Are those two a thing?” I nod in their direction.