Chapter 8

Shea had gotten her dad to call Mrs. Montgomery and arrange for her to board their horses, at least until they returned from their vacation. Her dad said letting them take care of the horses in the long run might be better. He wanted Shea to try it out and see if they did a good job.

Simone stayed over to help Shea clean up after the party.

“I was surprised that Austin wasn’t a big guy like Noah after what Mia shared,” Simone said.

Noah was six-two and 200 pounds, according to their lacrosse roster, and everyone assumed he was big all over—that’s what he bragged about, anyway. He claimed to be a grower and not a show-er. Austin was apparently gifted in at least one department. And if you asked Mia, it was in the right department because she claimed Noah was a little boy in comparison.

“He’s easy to talk to,” Shea said, changing the subject.

“I’ve never seen you touch a boy before,” Simone teased.

Shea felt her cheeks warm.

“I think that’s because of Mia’s pot. All my nervousness around boys just disappeared.”

“If I smoked often, I would weigh 300 pounds. I ate an entire bag of chips last night,” Simone complained. “But I get what you said. It was like everything that normally held me back had disappeared. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”

Shea mentally agreed and wished she had some right at that moment so she wouldn’t freeze up when Austin arrived.

“Come with me when Austin takes our horses to his place. Dad wants me to check out their facilities, and I think I need moral support. What if I said something embarrassing last night?”

“Okay, I’ll go. I’d like to see the Montgomery gardens; Mom says they’re spectacular. I’ll do that while you and Austin sort out the horses,” Simone said.

“But what if I need you?”

“If you touch my arm, I’ll hang around. Otherwise, it’ll give you some alone time.”

Shea did have one worry.

“What about Mia?”

“She claims she’s locked him down, but until you hear it from him, I would say he’s fair game. And if Mia gets all pissy about it, I’ll back you up. You deserve to find a guy,” Simone assured her.

“You do, too. What did you think of Liam and Oliver?”

“If they were going to the academy, I’d be interested. They might be okay for a summer fling. That is, if it weren’t for my plan of losing my virginity on my wedding night.”

“I want to get some experience before I go to college. I’m tired of not knowing what the other girls are talking about,” Shea said.

“And Austin is the perfect guy because you don’t really know him.”

It was like Simone read her mind.

“That, and he is a Montgomery,” Shea said.

“Carson, actually. Emma said his dad’s a ranch manager in Texas. She also said Austin thinks of himself as a cowboy. It sounds like something a little boy would say.”

Shea hadn’t heard that. But the idea of getting dirty with a cowboy appealed to her.

Simone snickered and pointed at Shea’s chest. “You’re thinking about riding a certain cowboy.”

Shea looked down, and her nips had stiffened, making little pointy bumps in her t-shirt, which warmed her cheeks even more.

“Stop teasing me,” Shea complained.

“You know I love you. I’m just pointing out that you like this boy and should take your shot. When you do, you have to tell me everything!”

They heard a horn honk.

“He’s here,” Shea said, suddenly nervous.

Austin backed the trailer up to the stable to load the horses. He saw Shea and Simone come out through the house’s back door.

Mia had said Simone was a cheerleader, too, and she was called a spotter. Simone helped steady Mia when doing a stunt and also would catch her if she fell, and the other spotters failed to break Mia’s fall to prevent injury. Simone was an attractive Black girl with big doe eyes like dark chocolate, so rich and warm they seemed to see straight through to his very soul.

Austin wondered why the best-looking girls all seemed to congregate together.

“Show me what gear you want me to take, and I’ll put it in the truck’s bed before loading the horses,” Austin said.

Shea took him to the tack room, picked out a couple of saddles, and showed Austin everything else she would need to ride. She said if they ended up boarding the horses at his grandmother’s place, her dad would bring the rest.

Austin also wanted some feed and anything else they might need, so he knew what they were used to. The move would be stressful enough.

It took two trips since the trailer only held two horses.

Austin turned them out to the pasture to get to know Red. He chuckled when he saw the dominance games start. Red held the advantage because it was his pasture, besides being larger than the Kellys’ horses. It didn’t take long before they settled down after realizing who was in charge.

Simone begged off unloading the pickup so she could enjoy the gardens. Max was happy to show them to her—though the real reason was Austin handed her some puppy treats.

His reading told him Rhodesian Ridgebacks were strong-minded, independent, and sometimes domineering. The article suggested they be guided from puppyhood with a firm but fair hand. It was also important to socialize them. Hence, his wanting Max to spend time with Simone.

Once Austin was satisfied that the horses would get along, he began unloading the back of the truck with Shea’s help.

“So. Are you and Mia an item?” Shea asked.

“I like her, but I’m surprised she got into Horace Green,” Austin said.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that some of the stuff she told me made me think she might not have passed the entrance requirements.”

Austin almost didn’t get in because of his homeschooling. Luckily, Mr. Winehouse, Groesbeck High School’s counselor, had shared Austin’s test results from when he enrolled there. It helped that he’d gotten all A’s his first semester.

Shea seemed torn about how to answer that. Finally, she shared, “Mia’s parents are generous donors.”

“Still, she can’t be getting good grades with the level of competition she has to be up against,” Austin pressed.

“That’s because there’s an unwritten rule that you can’t get a lower grade than a C. Horace Green sends students to the best colleges in the world, and they can’t be seen flunking any of them. It would send the message that they weren’t doing their job. Mia takes full advantage of that policy.”

Austin realized how bad he’d made it sound.

“I didn’t mean to say Mia isn’t smart...”

“She is, in her own way,” Shea said to defend her friend.

“Please don’t tell her I said that. I was just curious, and it makes no difference to me,” Austin said, trying to recover.

“No, most guys don’t care; they just like how she looks. They’re never interested in the smart girls,” Shea said.

“If all the smart girls at Horace Green look like you, then guys are idiots for not asking them out.”

Her pale cheeks got rosy upon hearing his compliment.