Chapter 3 #2
The parking lot is mostly empty. The motel is old, run-down, the kind of place that peaked decades ago and has been slowly dying ever since.
Beyond it are just trees and rolling mountains.
The road into town stretches out in the far distance, leading to the main part of town.
It’s quaint streets, wooden storefronts, the kind of main drag that looks like a postcard.
A shiny red pickup truck rounds the corner and pulls into the lot.
Carter is behind the wheel, grinning like Christmas came early.
He’s got those backcountry good looks the women in town lose their damn minds over—deep blond hair hanging to his shoulders, with a short beard and ’stache kept trimmed so tight it’s more threat than fluff.
Those green eyes hit the light when he turns his head, sharp and smug.
He’s in one of his usual checked button-ups, sleeves shoved up.
I climb into the passenger seat. “Not a fucking word,” I warn him.
He holds up both hands in mock surrender, still grinning. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I mean it.”
“I heard you. Not a word. Absolutely silent over here.” He pulls out of the lot, tires crunching on gravel. “Totally speechless. Can’t think of a single thing to say about finding you at a motel that looks like it was decorated by someone’s senile grandma.”
“Carter.”
“I mean, when I saw your text, I thought maybe you’d ended up at the Riverside Inn or somewhere half decent. But this?” He gestures at the fading motel sign in the rearview mirror. “This is commitment to whatever bad decisions you made last night. I’m impressed.”
“Are you done?”
He glances at me, eyes bright. “I feel like I could go on. Really explore the depths of whatever the fuck happened to you last night.”
“I will throw you out of this truck.”
“It’s my truck.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
He laughs, the kind of chuckle that makes it impossible to stay pissed at him, and he reaches over to crank up the radio. Some old country song fills the cab, and for a minute, we just drive, windows down, morning air cutting through the lingering fog in my head.
Carter has been my best friend going on eight years now. He joined the circuit when he was twenty-two, fresh off his brother’s funeral and looking for somewhere to put all that grief. My dad took him in when no one else would. Gave him a spot, a purpose, a reason to keep getting up in the morning.
We hated each other at first. Or I hated him, anyway. This golden-haired charmer with his easy smile and his sad eyes, showing up in my space and making everyone like him without even trying. I thought he was soft. Thought he was just playing cowboy while the rest of us did the real work.
I was wrong. About all of it.
Carter rides like he’s got nothing to lose, because in his head, he already lost everything that mattered.
His brother died in the ring, a freak accident, bad luck, the kind of thing that isn’t anyone’s fault but feels like everyone’s, and Carter stayed because leaving felt like letting him die twice.
That’s not soft. That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do.
“So,” Carter says, turning down the radio. “You want to fill me in, or should I just keep picturing the worst?”
“Fuck if I know what happened.”
“Come on. You gotta give me something.”
“I mean it. I don’t remember most of it.” I lean my head back against the seat. “I recall the bar. Being smart about it, soda all night. And then it’s just… pieces.”
“Shit.” He whistles low. “That’s fucked up. You weren’t even that wasted when we left.”
“Oh, I saw you two ditching me.” I cut him a grin.
“Yeah.” He doesn’t even have the decency to look guilty. In fact, his grin widens. “We ended up with those two girls. Fucking stunning, both of them. Spent half the night at their hotel. Kai was—” He laughs, shaking his head. “Man, Kai was on fire.”
“I don’t need the details.”
“You absolutely need the details. These are important details.”
“Pass.”
He shrugs, still grinning like a cat that got the cream. He loves this shit—loves bragging about his conquests, loves knowing he scored while I apparently ended up in a haunted motel with no memory of how I got there.
“Last I saw you,” he continues, “you were getting real friendly with that dark-haired chick. The one with the creepy eyes.”
“Creepy?”
“Just… intense. Ice blue, almost white around the edges? She was all over you. Practically trying to climb into your lap.”
“Yeah, I recall her but not much after that.”
“Maybe she roofied you.”
The thought has occurred to me. “Maybe.”
“Or maybe you just finally learned how to let loose.”
“That’s not what happened.”
Carter shrugs, turning onto the main road that leads out of town. “Whatever you say.”
We drive in silence for a minute. The storefronts give way to open fields, fences running along the road, horses grazing in the distance. It’s beautiful out here. Quiet. Real.
“Apparently I got into it with a deputy last night,” I state.
Carter’s eyebrows shoot up. “Fuck yeah, you did. Fighting cops now? That’s a new level, even for you.”
“Sheriff showed up at Dad’s door this morning. Told him I was arrested, spent time in a holding cell, might be facing charges.”
“Holy shit.” He slaps the steering wheel, laughing. “Seth, you crazy bastard. Was he at least a big guy? Please tell me you didn’t beat up some five-foot-nothing rookie.”
“Hell if I remember. I’ve got flashes—someone on a sidewalk, a fight—but that’s it.” I rub my jaw, feeling the bruise. “Someone got me good, though.”
“Seems like you got him better.” He grins. “Fuck, I wish I’d been there. Kai’s gonna lose his mind when he hears this.”
“Don’t tell Kai.”
“I’m absolutely telling Kai.”
“Carter.”
“He’s gonna find out anyway. Might as well hear it from me so I can embellish the details.”
I shake my head, but I can’t quite suppress the smirk. “Think I found my scent match last night too.”
Carter’s head whips toward me. “The fuck did you just say?”
“Eyes on the road.”
He corrects the wheel but keeps glancing over at me. “Your scent match? You serious?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I can’t fucking remember.” The frustration boils up. “I’ve got this image of hazel eyes, curly brown hair, this scent, but I don’t know who she is or where she came from or if she’s even real.”
“What kind of scent?”
“Lemon. Honey. Wildflowers.” Saying it out loud makes it feel more real. “I can still smell it. Even now. Like it’s stuck in my head.”
“Fuck yeah.” Carter grins, punching my shoulder. “That’s what I’m talking about. Pack’s finally gonna be complete. Who is she? She local? She hot?”
“That’s the problem, asshole. I don’t remember.”
“Jesus Christ.” He laughs, shaking his head. “Only you, man. Only fucking you.”
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s fucking hilarious.”
I flip him off, and he just laughs harder.
The road curves, and the ranch comes into view up ahead—Cooper Canyon Guest Ranch, where the three of us have been staying.
It’s a two-story wooden structure with a wide wraparound porch, painted white with dark green trim.
A big red barn sits off to one side, and beyond that, rolling hills dotted with cattle and horses stretch toward the mountains in the distance.
There’s a stable complex to the right, and enough land between them that you could forget the rest of the world exists.
It’s a good setup. Private. Away from my dad, his new wife, and the rest of the circuit crew. A place to decompress when everything else gets too loud.
Vehicles are parked everywhere today, trucks and SUVs crowding the gravel drive. People milling around near the horse pen, where the photography setup is waiting. Two photographers, lighting equipment, and what looks like half the circuit crew standing around.
My dad is by the fence, arms crossed, talking to someone I don’t recognize. Even from this distance, I can feel his disapproval radiating off him like heat.
“How’s Kai doing this morning?” I ask, changing the subject because I can’t think about mystery women and scent matches anymore without losing my mind.
Carter chuckles. “For once, he’s doing better than you. Which is saying a damn lot.”
“Fuck off.”
He grins. “Don’t forget, there’s the town fair tonight. Give him time, and he’ll outdo both of us. Plus, they have a live band, some dancing.”
“I’m not going.”
“Come on—”
“Not after last night. Not with whatever the fuck is going on with the deputy situation.”
Carter glances at me but doesn’t push. “Fair enough,” he says. “But if you change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
“—I’ll save you a dance.”
“I’d rather eat glass. You know me. I don’t dance, don’t sing.”
He pulls up near the house, and I’m already reaching for the door handle. “I need to change,” I say. “Tell them I’ll be out soon.”
“You got it.”
I climb out of the truck, and Carter’s voice stops me. “Hey. About the scent-match thing.”
I turn back.
“Go make yourself pretty. You look like shit.”
I flip him off again and head for the house.
The front porch wraps around the entire first floor, white railings and hanging flower baskets filled.
A faint laugh that sounds familiar comes from the group.
Instead of going inside, I move along the porch, boots quiet on the wooden boards. The wraparound design takes me past windows and rocking chairs until I reach the corner where I can view the backyard.
There’s a small group gathered near the horse pen, photographers setting up equipment, some of the circuit crew, and a few people I don’t recognize. Local press, maybe, or sponsors. My dad is there too, talking to a woman in a blue dress who’s taking notes on a clipboard.
The laugh comes again, and my eyes track the sound.
She’s standing near the fence, one boot propped up on the lower rail, talking to a photographer. Her back is partially to me, but I can see enough.
Tight jeans that hug every curve. Cowboy boots. A Western shirt in rust-red, fitted close through the waist. Her sleeves are rolled to her elbows. Brown hair is up, piled on top of her head in some kind of messy twist, but I can see the curls trying to escape.
She laughs again at something the photographer says, her head tipping back, and even from this distance, something about it calls to me.
I can’t even see her face, but she’s really fucking cute. I don’t know her. At least, I don’t think I do. But that laugh…
She turns slightly, gesturing at something in the distance, and I catch a glimpse of her profile. Absolutely stunning beauty, big eyes, and a bright smile.
Who is she?