I shrugged. “This girl I liked talked about how she always wanted to ride. I guess I imagined I’d get the chance to sweep her off her feet and ride into the sunset someday.”
She gave me a funny look. “Did you?”
“Not yet,” I said.
Her eyebrows twitched together, but I didn’t think she understood exactly what I meant, which was probably for the best. Holding in the way I felt about her, even just for a few days, was making it feel like it all wanted to come exploding out of me now. If she knew how fast my heart was pounding just from going on an innocent little ride together, I thought she’d probably run for the hills and never come back.
“You ready?” I asked.
Half an hour later, Miranda had the basics down. We thanked the trainer and set off at a slow trot down the horse trail. We could see most of the Julian Ridge grounds once we led our horses up a hill, and it was quite the view. Streetlamps dotted the hills, and a few cabins with their warm yellow lights were visible as well. If I squinted, I could see the occasional movement of pairs or groups of people, some with dogs on leashes, as they moved from place to place.
“This is incredible,” Miranda said. “I feel like we’re in our own little world up here.”
“Yeah. I always enjoyed riding like this. It’s pure.”
As if on cue, Miranda’s horse lifted its tail and took a giant, thudding shit into the mud.
Miranda looked back, horrified. “Did it just . . .”
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “Mostly pure, I guess.”
She laughed. “When we genetically modify miniature horses for our business of the future, we’ll have to figure out how to potty train them too. Maybe there’s a gene for that.”
“Hey, wait,” I whispered. I motioned for her to stop her horse and pointed through a patch of trees, where we could see a road. “Is that who I think it is?”
There was a bright-orange sports car parked on the shoulder with smoke hissing out from under the hood. And I’d be damned if Max Frost himself wasn’t on his cell phone, leaning against the car.
“Oh my God,” Miranda said. “That is him.”
“Is it just me, or would this be the perfect opportunity to get some childish payback?”
“Like what?”
“Follow me.” Miranda and I jumped off our horses and then started carefully picking our way down the sloping path toward the road. As we got closer, we could hear bits of Max’s conversation, but the trees were thankfully thick enough that there wasn’t much risk of him seeing us.
“Okay,” I whispered once we were close enough. “You have his phone number, right?”
Miranda nodded. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the contacts list, then pointed to his name. “Why?”
“Call him and say you still think he’s an ass, but you wanted to warn him that there have been reports all over the news about a pack of rabid bears roaming the forest. Say you knew he was probably headed that way and wanted to give him a warning or something.”
Miranda grinned. “Seriously?”
I shrugged. “The guy tried to get you drunk and drag you back to his room. The least we can do is make him piss himself a little.”
With a sigh and a half smile, she tapped his number.
“Hold on,” Max said into his phone. “That’s her calling right now. I told you she would.”
“Hey,” Miranda whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” Max asked.
“Because . . . I’m out in the woods with some guys looking for you. The front desk said you left by yourself. I figured you hadn’t seen the news about the rabid bears.”
There was a short pause. “Rabid bears? Miranda, what is this about? Do you want me to come back to our cabin?”
“I just wanted to make sure you knew to be careful. Don’t get out of your car until you’re clear of the woods. Not for any reason. Seventeen people have already been killed.”
“Seventeen?” I mouthed to her.
She bulged her eyes and shrugged.
“What the hell,” Max said quietly.
I didn’t have a great view of him, but I could tell he was pacing around now.
“Where are you?” Miranda asked.
“I see what this is,” he said, and all the fear had left his voice. “You want to screw with me because Nick has had all day to tell you lies about what happened last night. You realize he just wants you for himself, right? And he’d do anything to sleep with you, including telling you whatever lies about me suit him.”
“I remember enough,” she said. “And, sure, this was just a dumb joke. Actually, you should go as deep as you can into the trees and enjoy nature a little bit. Have a great life.” She hung up the phone and gave me a look that said, Now what?
I picked up a big rock and heaved it as far as I could. It thumped and rustled into a bush, rolling downhill a little until it got caught against the base of a tree.
Max turned suddenly. He had his phone in his hand as he rapidly tapped through to call someone. “Hey,” he said quickly. “Can you go online and search rabid bears near Julian Ridge Resort for me?”
There was a short pause.
“Robbie,” he growled. “Just fucking do it.”
Miranda and I both shared a curious look. Robbie? Obviously, it could’ve been a coincidence. After all, there had to be at least two sets of parents in the world who were cruel enough to make a grown man have to introduce himself as “Robbie.” Except everything about Max had already seemed just a little too off and a little too inconveniently convenient. Something made me sure it was Miranda’s ex, Robbie Goldman, on the other line.
“You’re sure?” he asked.
I’d been planning on doing my best bear impression, but right now I just wanted to eavesdrop instead.
“Thought so,” Max said with an irritated sigh. “But, yeah, I got everything I’ll need. We’re good, man.”
I frowned at that. What had he needed? Miranda and I both knelt down, listening intently for another few minutes until Max eventually hung up and got back in his car, presumably to wait for the tow truck.
We headed back up to the path together and stopped once we’d reached our horses.
“You heard that, too, right?” Miranda asked.
“Yeah. Robbie. For some reason, I don’t think it was a coincidence.”
“Me either. I just don’t get what it means.”
“Maybe . . . what if Robbie was the one who put Max up to getting you drunk. He might’ve been planning to take compromising pictures and blackmail you or something. He said he got what he needed, though. He couldn’t have already—”
“No. The door between our rooms was locked. And nothing ever happened. The only time he was in my room was when you barged in during breakfast.”
I grinned at that. “I didn’t barge in.”
“You totally barged. You were so jealous I could practically see steam coming out of your ass.”
I laughed. “I don’t think ass steam is a symptom of jealousy, but okay. I was jealous. Max wasn’t good enough for you either. If you were going to be with some other guy, I at least wanted it to be somebody who deserved you.”