Page 333 of Rogue Riders Duet

“Oh my God, it’s really you!”

A high-pitched voice screeches behind me in the gondola line, too loud and way too close. I spin around on instinct, one hand halfway to my pocket like I’m about to throw hands or maybe grab my race pass. Instinct doesn’t care which.

Shit. Did someone recognize me?

But when I turn, it’s not a reporter or a fan with a camera.

It’s a kid—teen, maybe. Braces. Big brown eyes. Vibrating with excitement like she’s just spotted a celebrity. Which, I guess, technically I am.

“Hey,” I say warily in my deep voice.

“Oh my God, hey!” she squeaks again, like she’s buffering on repeat.

I glance at Mason, Luc, and Otis, and they’re just watching with varying degrees of amusement.

I’m standing beside Luc-fucking-Delacroix, and she’s freaking out over me?

What the hell?

A second kid jogs up beside her, taller, with the same dark hair and eyes. Like they’re a matching set. “Rach…” he hisses, “… you’re embarrassing yourself.”

The girl glares at him. “But it’s⁠—”

“Hey,” he cuts in quickly. “I’m Kevin. This is Rachel.”

“Nice to meet you,” I answer automatically, eyes flicking between them, then back to Mason and Luc. They both shrug like this is somehow my situation now.

“We’re big fans,” Rachel blurts, clutching the straps of her hydration pack.

“Thanks?” I say, awkwardly, making Mason snort.

Then Finn jogs over out of nowhere, sounding breathless. “What did I say?” he pants, pulling up next to them.

Rachel shrugs. “You were taking too long!”

“I tried to hold her back,” Kevin mutters.

Finn exhales. “If you want Al to take you with on the track walk, you’ve got to behave.”

“We are behaving,” Kevin protests. “We just said hello.”

“They just said hello,” I echo, glancing at Finn. “So, they’re yours?”

Finn runs a hand through his hair and sighs again. “Yeah. That’s Rachel. Kevin. They’re⁠—”

“We already introduced ourselves,” Kevin interrupts.

“Wow. Manners for zero point two seconds. We’re making progress.” Finn shoots him a look, then his eyes find mine again. “They’re about to be juniors. I’m training them.”

My brows lift, heart kicking a little harder. These are the juniors? They’re cute, and I know Finn picked good kids if he put so much heart into this. I would love to tell him about the phone call yesterday. Tell him that Dad said he’d make it happen, but I want to wait until it’s sure-sure before I say anything. Still, it’s hard not to smile.

“You guys wanna come with me on the track walk?” I ask, flicking my eyes between them.

“Yes!” Rachel’s face lights up again. “I mean, yes, please, that would be amazing.”

“I promised them I’d take them, but…” Finn trails off with a shrug and a lopsided smile. “I’m not a rider anymore, and I hoped maybe you would…”

“Of course, I’ll take you guys,” I agree easily.