Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
mikey
Juniper never answered my text about the rodeo, and I was starting to get anxious.
We’d be heading out on the road soon, and a key component to getting the most out of the bet was being able to prove I had a girl until the end of Houston.
I didn’t think it’d be too believable for the guys if my girlfriend didn’t come support me at one of the biggest rodeos of the year.
The guys had been bothering me about it all week, too.
The Silver Creek Cowboys (And Ellison)
Ellison’s Husband
Your girl coming to Houston with us?
Dunno yet
Flynn
She break up with you already? Damn. That was quick
Lawsy
We probably scared her off at the dinner
Ellison’s Husband
Oops.
Ellison
I thought my questions were valid
Haydie
You guys are kinda scary when you get into interrogation mode
Thanks Haydie. Glad you’ve got my back
Haydie
I was more talking about Juniper, but sure
I sent back the emoji that had lines for the eyes and mouth then opened my text thread with Juniper.
I needed to convince her to come on the road with us. It was a big ask, but since it was crucial to the believability portion of our agreement, I was certain it fell under the rules.
Peach I really need this favor
Peach
I don’t know if I can. I have a job.
Let me handle that
Please. We can end things after Houston. Promise
Peach
But you’ll still do my thing this summer, right?
Of course. I’m not gonna bail on you Peachy
Can I take you to work? We can go talk to Rudy together
Peach
Sure
I rehearsed a speech in my head the entire drive to Juniper’s house, brainstorming ideas of how I was going to convince old man Rudy to let her take a month or two off work to come be a roadie.
Yeah, the more I thought about it, the less I was convinced he’d let her take that much time off. But it didn’t hurt to ask.
Juniper was waiting for me on the front steps when I made it up the driveway and quickly hopped in the truck.
“Hi,” she huffed.
“What’s on your mind, Peachy?”
She buckled her seatbelt and slumped in the seat. “This Houston thing. Natalie thinks it’s a bad idea, and honestly, I have to agree with her.”
“Why’s that?” Her hesitation both intrigued and frightened me.
“For one, it’s not like I can just leave my job for a month. Not only because it’d make me a shitty employee, but I need to make money.”
“I’ve got you covered. You’re my girlfriend—” I started.
“Fake girlfriend,” she cut in.
“Yes, like you love to keep reminding me. You’re my fake girlfriend, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to not pay for your food in Houston, and you’d be staying with me, so that’s also free. Getting a hotel room would be suspicious, don’t you think? I’ll handle Rudy.”
Juniper wrinkled her nose but didn’t say anything.
“What?”
“Staying with you is a bit much, don’t you think?”
I sighed. Sure, we agreed not to do sleepovers here at home, but Houston would be different. “Not if we want to make this thing believable.”
“See, that’s what I mean. This all sounds like more hassle than what it’s worth,” she protested.
Fuck. I needed her to come with me if I was going to get that patch of land.
“What else do you want? What’s going to convince you to do this?” I asked, hoping my question didn’t come off as desperate as it sounded.
She gave me a puzzled look then tapped her lips in thought. “I mean, I have something, but I don’t think you’d be down for it.”
After she explained her idea, my stomach dropped. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Juniper. We’d have to stay together for much longer if we did that.”
“I mean, we wouldn’t have to. Think about how many celebrities are only in a month-long relationship for PR. We do one appearance together and that’s it.”
Yeah, but they don’t have the media hounding them for being “distracted.”
“I can’t.”
“Then I guess I can’t go to Houston with you.” She faked a yawn and kicked her feet up on the dash.
I ticked my jaw. “Surely there’s a way we can compromise here?”
She shrugged. “Possibly.”
Brat.
“Why do you want media attention so badly?”
Her face blanched, and she planted her feet back on the floorboards. “Just forget it.”
We pulled up to Rudy’s, but as she reached for the door handle, I locked the pickup.
“What are you doing? I need to get to work.”
“Answer my question.” Sure, most girls wanted their fifteen minutes of fame by getting a picture with me to post on their social media or whatever, but Juniper didn’t seem like that type of girl.
“I just need to prove a point, okay?” she grumbled.
“Listen, Peach. I can give you as many pictures as you want, hell, I’ll even give you a video, but media attention is where I have to draw the line.”
She scoffed, unlocking her door and hopping out of the truck, setting off the alarm.
I followed as she stalked off to the bar. “Dammit, Juniper, wait.” I reached out to grab her arm.
Her eyes darted to mine, icy blues piercing my soul, chilling my bones.
“You do realize that if I agree to this, it’s going to extend our agreement, right?”
She nodded. “I don’t see the issue. Even if we ‘break up’ now, we’re just going to have to ‘get back together’ this summer.”
She had a point. Conflicting feelings settled in my stomach as I thought about it. Maybe if the fans and reporters saw me with a girl, they’d stop hounding me about being distracted. I could attempt to repair my playboy image and win the bet.
I closed my eyes, letting my lungs fill with air before slowly exhaling through pursed lips. “Fine. The likelihood of the media finding us anyway is pretty high. I guess avoiding each other at the event while our friends believe we’re dating would have been off the table anyway.”
“Exactly. Now you just have to convince the boss man to let me go.” She strutted away, her hips swaying with each step.
I followed her into the bar. It was pretty slow with it being mid-afternoon. There wouldn’t be a rush for another couple hours. Rudy stood behind the bar, wiping down the counter.
“Hey, Rudy, can I talk to you for a minute?” Juniper’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Sure thing, what can I do for you, Miss Juniper?”
“I was wondering if I could take a few weeks off work.” She pulled her lip between her teeth, obviously not having high expectations for the request.
“You wanna do what now?” Rudy’s booming voice filled the bar. But his tone wasn’t mean or accusing, just curious.
“I want her to come with me to the Houston Rodeo. To support me as my girlfriend,” I explained, thinking it might come better from me. Not that Juniper couldn’t fight her own battles or advocate for herself, but Rudy knew who I was and how big of a deal this would be.
Juniper shifted on her feet. “I know it’s a big ask, and I absolutely don’t expect you to say—”
“Well, now, yes, that’s fine! You should have led with that! It’s about time this mustang here got roped in. I thought I’d be dead before he ever settled down.” Rudy let out a deep belly laugh.
“You…what?” Her face contorted in confusion.
“Go on, have fun. I’m sure Olivia and Nicolas can handle things here. We won’t be terribly busy until May anyway, and I assume you lot will be back for the Bucking Horse Sale, yeah?”
I nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it, you know that, Rudy. We’ll be back in mid-April since we’re driving and hitting some rodeos on the way back.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is. Your job will be ready for you when you come back, Juniper.
Make sure you keep this one in line. It’s nice to see him behaving for once,” Rudy teased, slapping me on the shoulder as he headed to the back office, his soft chuckles audible even after he turned the corner.
“Well, there you have it. Guess you’re coming with me on the road. You ever been to Texas before? They say everything’s bigger there. Definitely true when I roll into town.” I winked at the innuendo, and she rolled her eyes.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now, let me get to work, Casanova.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Leaning in to kiss her cheek, I whispered, “Thank you for this. You’re doing me a huge favor.”