Chapter 11 #2
Flynn’s heart climbed up into his throat.
And it didn’t leave the entire time she was riding.
He kept telling himself the routine was designed to look as if she needed help.
And at the climax of the music, West rode up beside her and helped her onto his horse, which was also running.
Then she stood up behind her brother, held onto his shoulders, and the two of them rode off.
“Perfect!” He heard West’s shout across the arena, and Jessie cheered.
What happened when they messed up? They seemed awfully excited about getting it right.
It hadn’t really occurred to him how dangerous Jessie’s work could be. Hell, he had seen the show a year ago and it hadn’t occurred to him. He had just assumed the act would all work out fine because they rehearsed it.
But he hadn’t known her then. Not really. He had thought she was beautiful, sure, but it wasn’t like this.
No. It wasn’t like this.
They were setting up card tables in the middle of the arena, and Jessie walked behind the stables. He got up from his seat and went to where she was standing. “That’s a new routine?”
“Yeah. It’s … it’s hard work. My muscles are kind of sore.” She said that last part in a low voice. Right. Her muscles were sore because of him.
Normally, he might feel a little bit proud of that, but he was still recovering from the surge of adrenaline he’d gotten watching her routine.
“You guys do this all the time?”
“Yes. Well. This is a new act, like I said, but this and things like it.”
“It’s like acrobatics.”
“Yes. It is. A little bit gymnastics, a little bit trapeze.”
“A lot of flipping upside down on the back of a running horse.”
“You sound tense.”
“I feel a little tense.”
“Well, don’t. My trick riding is not a facade. I’m actually very good at it.”
“Is that where the other act comes from?”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Well, look at my dad.” William was back on the podium, making gestures and introducing the next event.
“Is anyone in town all that close to him? No. But if you were going to ask around, you would get the sense that he’s well liked.
The thing he does … Everyone responds to it. ”
He had to admit, her dad was pretty charming.
“I decided to copy him.”
“What does your mom do?”
“She makes costumes. She helps a little with the choreography of the routines. She doesn’t like to be in front of people much, so when I got old enough to ride, she decided not to do it anymore.”
“She used to do that stuff?”
“Yes. But I don’t think it was ever fun for her. Oh, the tricks were. She still does all that. And sometimes she still drops in to perform. She just doesn’t want to do it all the time. She kind of likes keeping to herself and being left alone with her different collections.”
“Collections?”
“She has a lot of them—crystals, houseplants, spurs. She actually has a whole trailer in our little circle dedicated to them.”
“I see.”
“We’re all weird,” she said. “She’s not a hoarder. Everything is very organized.”
“Somehow I imagined that.”
“My mom will probably be at the show tonight.”
The you could meet her was silent, but he felt it hanging in the air.
And then he could see Jessie grow a little insecure.
A little nervous. But hell, he supposed they were becoming enmeshed in a way they hadn’t intended to be.
She had come to his house. She knew that side of his family.
Hell, she was running for mayor against the other side. It made sense for him to meet hers.
“Well, I’ll look forward to that.”
Jessie jumped, then reached into her pocket and took her phone out. “It’s Millie.”
She put the phone on speaker. “Hi.”
“I just wanted to let you know that Danielle has reserved town hall next week for a debate. I imagine you’re going to find out, but I don’t know when she’s going to tell you.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. But I keep an eye on the schedule.”
“Well, thanks. I don’t think Danielle has my number, so I wonder how I was supposed to find out.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were supposed to find out when it got posted around town. Or went up on the community board online. Somehow, I don’t think she wants this to be fair, exactly.”
“Well, thank you, Millie,” Jessie said. And then her face took on a determined look. “I’ll be ready.”
She ended the call and looked directly at Flynn. “I’m going to need your help preparing for this. You know the kind of person your sister is.”
“So do you. I have a feeling you’ve got this.
” He was irritated, though. That Danielle was taking every opportunity to be as underhanded as possible.
Maybe William was wrong. Maybe the town of Rustler Mountain wasn’t the problem.
Maybe the problem was people like Danielle, people like Sheriff Lee Talbot, who had conspired with Butch Hancock all those years ago to betray Austin Wilder so that he would look like a good person.
A hero. Even though he was taking bribes and doing all manner of unsavory things.
Maybe the whole town just needed the opportunity to see who they all really were. All of them. From Danielle to Jessie Jane.
“You’re going to be amazing,” he said. “I know it. And I’m going to help you with whatever you need.”
Because for a while there, he had been Team Revenge.
But at this point, he was unapologetically Team Jessie Jane.