AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Thirteen
KIPTON
Once I was off-line, I started to laugh. Jack walked up to me, a shit-eating grin on his face. I looked at him and slowly shook my head.
“You knew,” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. “You knew she lied and you still set up that whole thing.”
He shrugged. “You don’t really think the dates are random, do you, Kipton? It would be too hard to pull off without planning. All the tokens in the date bowl say the same thing.”
My mouth fell open. “Does Hunter know?”
He shrugged. “Probably not until he saw the horses saddled up and ready to go.”
“I mean,” I let out another laugh, “it does makes sense you’d need to know what the dates are ahead of time. What about the girls?”
“Totally random. But, if I had to guess, nearly all of them lied about loving horseback riding because they wanted to be on the show.”
Nodding, I bit down on my lower lip to keep from laughing again. “All because Hunter rides.”
He turned and pointed to me. “Bingo. Research shows that most women will exaggerate about the things they like to do or eat based on the man they’re interested in.”
I raised a brow. “So you’re saying you think all of these women lied?”
Jack smiled. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. But there is a reason we only gave half the girls Hunter’s questionnaire, and Sarah was one of those who got it. Did you think it was a coincidence she stated she liked to do nearly everything Hunter put down?”
“No, I didn’t. And from simply watching them on the cameras at their house, I’d already determined a lot of them might have fibbed on their forms.”
Winking, Jack said, “See? You’re the perfect host. Come on, let’s head into the truck and watch the horseback riding portion of the date. We’re also going to let the entire date play out, no commercial breaks.”
“What?” I asked in a surprised voice.
“Subscriptions for the channel have been through the roof. Travis and I decided we could afford to go commercial-free through the dates from this point on. Once you go back on at the end of the date, you can let people know. I think that will have them even more invested, since they can watch the whole thing without interruption.”
“It makes it feel like a real date,” I replied.
“Exactly. We knew season one would be a learning process, but I have to say, things have been going rather well.”
“I agree.”
Jack and I headed out of the barn and to the truck where the monitors were all set up. I was surprised by how fast the crew got everything out of the main barn. Of course, I was positive it was because Blayze threatened to break legs if they took up too much of his time or the barn’s use. Even though the ranch was quiet with it being the middle of winter, it was still a huge inconvenience for Blayze.
Once we stepped into the truck, Jessie, the production assistant assigned to me, handed me a warm cup of tea. “Oh gosh, thank you so much, Jessie. You read my mind.”
She winked. “I get paid the big bucks to know what you want before even you do.”
Jack took the coffee Marie, his assistant, held out to him, then took a seat in front of the plethora of cameras. I joined him in the chair next to his.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head at what I saw before me. “Is she…” My words trailed off.
“This is gold. Pure reality television gold,” Jack mused.
“Oh dear,” Jessie whispered. “She can’t ride to save her life!”
I watched as poor Sarah bounced around on top of Lou Lou. Every now and then, Hunter would reach over and help straighten her so she didn’t fall out of the saddle.
“I can’t feel my hands to hold the ropes!” Sarah cried out.
Hunter rolled his eyes. “They’re called reins, Sarah. I thought you said you were an accomplished rider.”
