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“I like the challenge.” He tried to scrub the defensiveness out of his tone. “The rush. And I have to put up a good showing.” She didn’t need to know about his rivalry with his brother. “So will you help me?”
“I don’t know, Thatch.” Lyric pressed her key fob to unlock her door. “I used to have a lot of connections in that world, and I don’t want anything to do with it these days.”
The temptation to ask what her connections had been burned in his chest. She’d never said anything before. But Lyric got into her car, and he couldn’t let her go without an answer. “You don’t have to be part of the rodeo world to help me. You don’t even have to show up at Kirby’s placefor training or watch me compete or anything. I just need to work on my finesse. That can be done in your studio.” He stepped back so he didn’t crowd her. He didn’t want to bully her into this, but he wasn’t above begging. “We could make a trade. I could do work around your house or help you with a project or something. I just really needyourhelp.” Welp, there went all his pride again.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” She latched in her seat belt and started up the engine. “I mean, I’m really busy with my classes and appointments at the clinic.”
“I know.” And he didn’t want to add any complications to her life. “We could meet a few times a week. Whenever you have openings. I’ll totally work around your schedule.” Having said all he needed to, he moved aside so she could back out. “Think about it and let me know.”
He wouldn’t hold his breath for that phone call.
CHAPTER TWO
Lyric pulled the mats down from their stack on the shelf at the front of her studio and spaced them out evenly on the bamboo floor. This was her space—her happy place. From the leaded stained-glass windows along the west wall to the barely turquoise Calm Breeze color she’d painted on the walls, this room always brought her a centered calm.
She sat on one of the mats in lotus pose, connecting with her breath. Deep inhale. Slow methodic exhale. The pattern didn’t settle her mind the way it usually did. She had Thatch to thank for that. She was still too wired from their conversation. Why had she agreed to think about doing one-on-one yoga sessions with the man?
Ever since her divorce six years ago, Lyric had managed to avoid dating. It wasn’t too hard given the low population in Star Valley. Some of her clients had asked her out when she’d taught at the resorts in Jackson, but they were easy to reject because she didn’t care about them. Most of the time, she never saw them again after class.
Saying no had been harder with Thatch when he’d asked her out. For a few seconds, she’d been tempted to say yes. But she’d dated a cowboy once. Then she’d married said cowboy, and that had been the biggest mistake of her life. Since then, she’d built a successful business. She’d built a life that madeherhappy all on her own.
Yet she couldn’t deny her attraction to Thatch. He was laid-back and down-to-earth. Easy to be with. She’d felt some intense flutterings anytime she looked into his perceptive hazel eyes, but those flutterings were how all her troubles had started years ago too. No. She couldn’t date Thatch. She liked the simplicity of her life, the ease. She had no desire to create room for anything—or anyone—else.
The door to the studio opened, and her newest clients traipsed in—a group of girls from the local high school. She’d agreed to take them on because they’d all failed gym class last term. Apparently, they preferred sitting on the bleachers to chat over doing anything physical. Since the gym teacher was a friend of hers, Lyric had said she’d help out and hopefully convince them to love a different kind of physical exercise in the process.
“Hi, everyone.” She hopped up to greet them. After studying the pictures her friend had sent with info about each student, she recognized them. Elina was the one with long black hair. Actually, she was easy to remember because she reminded Lyric of herself at that age. Tallie had lighter hair and the most amazing spiked pixie cut with the tips dyed hot pink. Cheyenne was taller than the rest of them and had auburn ringlet curls, and Skye wore her blond hair in a long braid down her back.
Most of them mumbled “hey” back, but they weren’tsmiling like she was. No matter. Give her a few weeks with these girls, and they’d all be smiling by the end.
Lyric turned on some music to get the class started on the right foot. As far as she was concerned, things were already going well. She’d actually remembered their names and faces! Usually, that wasn’t her forte.
“Glad you all made it.” They were all dressed in athletic wear too, which was a plus. In the pictures she’d received, there’d been a lot of skintight denim. “We’re going to have so much fun together over the next several weeks,” she assured them. Her friend had informed her that these four girls were full of potential… they just needed some direction and maybe a little mentoring along the way. And Lyric always loved a project.
“Right.” Tallie shot Skye a glare. “Giving up our whole night for a school yoga class issuperfun.”
“How long is this gonna take, anyway?” Elina asked, glancing at her smartwatch. “I have to be out of here by seven.”
Lyric kept her smile intact. There’d been a time back in the days of her own teenage strife when she’d had a bit of a ’tude too. “As long as we get through everything, you should be out of here in an hour.” She pointed to the low floating shelves by the door. “You can take off your shoes and put them over there, and then each of you choose your mat.”
The girls took their sweet time trudging to the shelves, chatting in hushed tones while they took off their shoes.
“It smells weird in here,” Cheyenne said to Skye.
“That’s just my essential oils diffuser,” Lyric informed them brightly. “The scent is called Cheer. It inspires an energizing and positive environment.” Judging fromtheir obvious distaste for yoga, they would need all the positivity they could get. “The first thing we’re going to work on today is breath,” she said when they’d all found a place on their mats. “Breath is a foundational part of movement.”
“We know how to breathe.” Skye had certainly mastered the art of eye rolling.
“Good. Then this shouldn’t be too hard.” Lyric hit the volume button on the remote for her speaker, bumping it up a few notches. Maybe the instrumentals would help bring in the positivity. “Let’s all stand at the center of our mats with our feet hip distance apart.”
They glowered at her but assumed the stance. Keeping her smile steady, she walked them through the five golden rules for yoga breathing and then led them through forward folds.
“This is so boring,” Tallie complained, standing up abruptly instead of moving her spine one vertebra at a time as Lyric had instructed.
“I kind of like it.” Cheyenne took her time rolling back up to her full height and then shook out her shoulders. “At least it’s not hard like that soccer unit in gym class.”
“Who cares about breathing?” Skye grumbled, messing with her own smartwatch.
Okay, Lyric would have to ban the watches. She inhaled deeply, grasping at patience.
