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“You might need this,” I heard Blayze say from behind me. He handed me a jacket and gloves.
“I need a hat.”
“No hat,” Winnie said, appearing magically at my side. “Jack wants you to look the part.”
When she handed me a cowboy hat, I stared at it. “I’m not wearing that. It’s freezing outside. I want a winter hat.”
Blayze coughed and turned to the side in a sad attempt to hide his smile.
I turned back to Winnie. “He can’t be serious?”
“You wore one yesterday,” Blayze said to no one in particular.
She shrugged, then said, “You have thirty seconds to put it on or take it up with Jack.”
I grabbed the hat and put it on my head. Sarah walked up with a wide smile on her face. She was in jeans, boots, and she held a coat, gloves, and a scarf.
“Oh my gosh,” she softly said as she stood next to me. “Winnie gave me the cutest matching scarf and hat. I’m going to look adorable on this ride.”
Exasperated at so many things wrong in this chaos, all I could do was smile and nod.
Kipton was back on the air and standing next to two horses that were already magically saddled for our “random” date. Clay was holding the reins, staring at Kipton like he was starstruck.
“Clay?” I asked to no one in particular. He was a hand here on the ranch. How in the hell had they gotten him to agree to be on the show?
“He had the day off and volunteered,” Blayze said from where he stood just to the side of me, but far enough away that when the camera came back on, he wouldn’t be in frame. “There was no way I was letting anyone from this group of Hollywood types saddle up our horses. I doubt they would even know how to do it.”
The cameras were now on me and Sarah as I ushered her over to the horses. I stopped and took the reins for Lou Lou. I sure as hell hoped Kipton was wrong about Sarah’s riding skills because Lou Lou would need an experienced rider. Clay also held Iceman, who was my roping horse. Both were quarter horses, and both loved rides in the winter.
It would feel good to be up on Iceman. I couldn’t help but wonder if Dustin, the other half of my roping team, had spent time on Scooter since we’d been home from school. Both horses had won us a lot of events and needed fun rides just as much as they needed to be ridden professionally.
“Need help getting up?” I asked Sarah.
“Is there not like a stool or anything for me to get onto this mammoth of a horse?”
Clay and I stared at her, and for a hot second, I forgot millions of other people were as well.
“I can get you one,” Clay finally said, with a glance at me.
I shook my head and helped Sarah up onto the horse. “No need, Clay. Do you mostly ride English?”
She stared at me. “I don’t know any other languages.”
This time, my gaze instantly went to Kipton, who wore an expression that screamed I told you so.
Looking back at Sarah, I let out a soft laugh. “No, I mean, this is western riding. Do you normally ride English, with a different saddle?”
“Oh!” Sarah said with an embarrassed laugh. Her cheeks flushed, and I had to admit she did look cute in the hat and scarf with her now-red cheeks. “Yes, I mostly ride English.”
I nodded, totally unconvinced, then walked over to Iceman and lifted myself up. I zipped my jacket and put my gloves on. That’s when I saw the camera on the horse. How in the hell had they managed to get a camera on my horse? One quick glance over to Lou Lou, and I saw she wore a camera as well.
“Ready?” Clay asked as he cleared the path for us to walk the horses through.
“And it looks like Hunter and Sarah are off on their first date. I’ll be signing out so you can all tag along with them on their frosty horseback ride. See you soon!” I heard Kipton say.
“Oh my,” Sarah fretted, clutching the reins in a death grip as we walked out of the barn and down one of the trails. “Is this a boy or a girl horse?”
My head snapped over to look at her, then to Paul on my left, somehow managing to ride a horse and operate a camera. I could see him smile behind the rig, and it was in that moment that I knew the date wasn’t going to be a good one. At least, not while Sarah was up on a horse.
