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So, we’re not past the anger stage yet. I nod, snapping my lips shut.Noted.
After parking, I hang back so Nova can lead the way as we meander around downtown, taking in the scene, and stopping in a retro candy shop, then the general store. There’s a lot of history here, too, but I don’t mind. This place is pretty cool. Super touristy and right up our spontaneous alley. Nova did good.
As my gaze wanders the carved rock features and grass of the Badlands, I offer an olive branch. “I saw a brochure for Roosevelt’s Presidential Library. We could check that out if you want to throw a little more history into our trip.”
Nova keeps walking, not even glancing in my direction. “Oh, are we friends now?”
Okay. I deserved that. “Are you going to give me the cold shoulder all day?”
She shrugs. “For as long as it feels right.”
We’re roaming past a shootout game set up with play shotguns and a saloon backdrop. My stride slows. “How about a wager? If I can hit half of the targets, you have to forgive me for being a jackass.”
Nova pauses, turning on the sidewalk and studying the setup. Squinting, she faces me with one hand on her hip. “You can miss one.”
“One?” I blow out a breath, shaking my head. “That’s a tall order, but I accept the challenge if that’s what it takes. How many chances do I get?”
“One.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Spitfire.” I pat the pockets of my shorts, but I know what I won’t find there. “Do you have a quarter?”
Reaching into her shoulder bag with an exasperated sigh, she shuffles around until she produces a single quarter. I really do only have one shot.
While things start out well enough, playing video games does not make one a marksman. My head hangs in shame as I replace the shotgun after missing four shots. “That’s nothing like playing Valo.”
Nova smothers a laugh. “Sorry, Stormtrooper. Guess you better find another way to make amends.”
Knocking my skills is a low blow, but I let her jibe roll off my back as we continue exploring the town. Gift shop, after tourist trap, after clothing outlet, Nova picks through racks of western-themed shirts and scours shelf after shelf of coffee mugs, knick-knacks, and cowboy hats, as I shadow her, singing Old MacDonald in my head and feigning interest. Man, how many cheesy souvenirs can one person look at?
“Problem, Hotshot?”
My head pops up at her question, and I force a smile. “No, this is great.” I grab the first thing my hand touches on a nearby shelf and shake it at her. “I might buy this for my dorm.”
“A snow globe?” she asks dryly.
“Why not? Who doesn’t love snow globes?” My eyes drop to see precisely what I’m holding. “And look at that…bison? He’s cool.”
Nova hums her half-hearted agreement and continues shopping. If only I’d won that shooting game. Stupid rigged targets. When we exit one store—bison snow globe in tow—and enter the next, a candle shop, I curse. Nova fails to smother her laughter. She’s enjoying making me suffer far too much.
“Nova?” I corner her in the shop after ten minutes of sniffing every scent in the store. “I know this is payback for last night, but I’ll buy you whatever you want if we can find something else to do. Please.”
She picks up a giant four-wick candle and holds it between us. “But I like shopping.”
“Bull.” I lean into her until our chests are inches apart. “You like making me pay for saying something I didn’t mean.” My chin drops to my chest as my neck warms. “Because I didn’t, Nova. It was rude, and I acted like a child running out like that.”
“All right. Pick your head up.” Her palm brushes my side, and I look up as she nudges me back. “I’ll let it slide because tonight you’re going to another musical with me.”
The tension in my jaw releases as her dimples appear for the first time since last night. “Is that the last of my punishment?”
“I don’t know if I’d say punishment. It’s a two-hour-long patriotic show in an amphitheater. I’d call that a good time, Cowboy.”
I groan.Can I suffer her cold shoulder and skip this show? How long can she possibly hold a grudge?As though she knows what I’m thinking, her dimples dig deeper into her rosy cheeks, giving me my answer.I’d sit through hours and hours of musicals to keep those in sight.
“On the plus side, I’ll buy you a steak dinner beforehand. The place skewers the meat with pitchforks and fondues them.”
“My interest was piqued at steak, but you had me at pitchforks.”
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