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“What about Beth?” I leaned forward to look at her slouching on the other side of Lexi. “Sure you don’t want to trade in your headphones for a cowgirl hat?”
The guilty smile she gave me and the way she squirmed in her seat was definitely curious. She could be so odd at times. But I had the feeling Beth spent more time on a computer playing her games than face-to-face with other humans, so I had to cut her some slack.
“I think I’ll stick to Fortnite,” she grumbled, turning her head to stare at the girls already starting a line on the arena as Ms. Gentry called off their names.
Sarah Claiborne was announced next and she marched out onto the arena in her little yellow dress smiling like she’d already won. I could feel the cowboys around us shift, as their attention latched onto her. Nobody could blame them. She was showing off the right combination of long, slender legs and bare, sun-kissed shoulders. Even I felt a little blip of jealousy that someone could look so gorgeous standing in the middle of a dirt arena.
For some reason, I couldn’t help but worry about Hunter. Was he as taken in by Sarah as the rest of the boys? I really hoped he could see through that act of hers.
When I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, I found him looking at me. Our gazes met and he quirked a little grin, as if he knew I’d been checking up on him. My cheeks heated and I immediately redirected my attention back to the arena and the half dozen girls posing next to Ms. Gentry.
“And our last competitor for this season...” Ms. Gentry licked the pad of her finger and turned the page on her clipboard.
I bounced my knee, ready to get this whole ceremony over with. We had movies to watch. Candy to binge. Lost time to make up for. I didn’t want to be here, watching Sarah Claiborne bask in the limelight. I wanted my best friend to myself tonight and to lose myself in a perfect romantic comedy. Was that too much to ask?
Ms. Gentry squinted at the paper before clearing her throat into the microphone. “We had a last-minute entry into the Junior Rodeo Queen competition, but I’m sure she is just as qualified as the rest. The last competitor is Charlotte Hale.”
And with that announcement—all of my fabulous plans for the evening seemed to go up in smoke.
Chapter Four
So this was what a stroke felt like.
Every drop of blood rushed from my face to pool in my feet. Numbness spread throughout my body. I stared wide-eyed at Ms. Gentry standing in front of a microphone in the middle of the arena. She hadn’t just said my name. That was impossible. I was definitely having a medical crisis.
“Charlotte Hale?” she repeated again, raising one thin black eyebrow as she scanned the crowd.
“You signed up for the competition?” Hunter turned to me, his hazel eyes scanning me over with excitement. “You’re going to be the Dragon Queen of the Junior Rodeo. This is so great. You totally had me convinced that you hated the idea.”
I laughed nervously and ran a shaking hand up and down my arm, attempting to get some feeling back in my skin. Hunter might have thought it was great, but this had to be a mistake. Or a prank. Either way, I was getting out of it—just as soon as I could get my legs to work.
“I think I’ll just stay here,” I said with a breathless laugh. “I’m not good with crowds.”
Hunter bared his teeth nervously and nodded toward the arena. “No way. You’d better get down there. I have the feeling Ms. Gentry will hunt you down and have you publicly whipped if you don’t follow her every order.”
“I think he’s right.” Lexi elbowed me on my other side. “Do what the man says. That lady is seriously scary.”
Ms. Gentry’s thin lips formed a scowl that grew more intimidating the longer she stood there waiting for me. It seemed there was no avoiding it. I rose to my shaking legs and trudged toward the five metal steps that descended to the arena. The weight of a few hundred pairs of eyes on my back was nothing compared to the scorching gaze of the woman in front of me. Her dark eyes looked me over as I approached, and she lifted her chin and sniffed.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Ms. Hale. I hope you won’t form a habit of making people wait for you.”
“No, ma’am,” I said, picking up the pace to take my spot at the end of the line, stare at the ground, and wait for my chance to tell everyone this was one giant mistake.
Normally, I wasn’t the violent type, but in that moment I would’ve kicked the shins of whoever signed me up for this competition. This had to be a practical joke. Someone had wanted to see me sweat. There was only one person I could think of with that big of a chip on their shoulder who preferred public humiliation as her weapon of choice.
That innocent yellow dress couldn’t fool me.
Lifting my chin slightly, I hazarded a glance over at Sarah. She stood next to me, looking exactly like a beauty queen should with her perfectly contoured cheeks, bright pink lipstick, and long slender neck. I’d only meant to study her briefly for any sign of amusement or maybe even guilt, but our gazes met and the anger rag
ing in her eyes nearly seared me to the bone.
In total, she looked at me for only a second, but it was enough. She redirected her attention to the audience with a dazzling, winning smile and I was left with the skin on my face melted off.
Okay...so no amusement or guilt there. Judging from Sarah’s reaction, she wasn’t the one who’d signed me up for the competition. That left only a few suspects remaining.
But there was no time to investigate. Ms. Gentry was thanking the audience and shooing us off the arena floor as they clapped and whistled. I was pretty sure I heard my name being shouted somewhere in the noise, but I couldn’t look for the source. They had us marching like a herd of sheep through a side gate and into a picnic shelter nearby, where Ms. Gentry ordered us to take seats. A sweaty, nervous man handed us each a thick, padded envelope.
“Welcome, ladies,” Ms. Gentry said, standing straight as a board in the middle of the shelter. It was as if her spine didn’t bend. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was wearing a corset under her black gown. “My son, Henry, has just handed you your itinerary for the next week. Please study it and be prompt to each appointment. Lateness is akin to rudeness. I will not disrespect the fine people of Rock Valley with your tardiness.”
