“It was like eating a campfire,” I said in a monotone voice, frowning at him.
Humor twinkled in his eye as he tried to hold back a smile. “I happen to like campfires.”
“You like sitting around a campfire. You don’t like eating them.”
His lips twitched in another smile. “Maybe. But I’d eat it if you made it. You know that.”
I did know that. Hunter really was the best.
“Listen, we’re getting together tonight at Harry’s after the 4H events are done.” He settled back on the heels of his boots, his eyes shining with excitement.
“The bar?” I went to rub my eyes, then stopped when I remembered all the makeup Lexi had put on me. “They let kids in?”
“They’re opening it up for all ages tonight. No alcohol. Just a bunch of fair kids and good food. They’ve even got a mechanical bull. I can show you how to ride.”
I laughed and pushed him playfully. “Whatever. I’m sure I’m a natural. I’ll probably beat your ride. You’ll be taking lessons from me.”
“That’s a bet I’m willing to take.” He smiled and then his hazel eyes searched my face. “So, you’re in?”
“Yeah, I suppose I could use the distraction.” I rubbed my palms on the top of my thighs. “And I’m sure Lexi and Beth won’t want to miss a chance to hook me up with a cowboy. It’s their mission in life to make me die of embarrassment.”
The excitement faded from his face. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. With a shrug, he stood back up and took a step backwards.
“Right. Okay. See you there.”
“Sure.”
“Good.”
His stiff and sudden retreat wasn’t like the Hunter I was used to. There was no warm smile. No teasing shove, like we would’ve done as kids. My gut twisted with uncertainty. What was happening between us? Why couldn’t he just tell me what was wrong?
With every step he took further away, it seemed to suck the warmth out the room. A shiver ran through me. I kept my eyes glued to his retreating figure until my Mom, Lexi, and Beth surrounded me, demanding to know what had happened to my pie. By the time I could look for him again, he was gone.
And that pit had returned to my stomach.
Chapter Eleven
I thought things couldn’t get any more country than the 4H fair.
I was wrong.
Harry’s Bar and Grill was like the holy land of everything cowboy, farm hand, and country rolled together. Wooden shiplap covered the walls and dozens of framed posters of old Western movies hung from mounted deer antlers. Twangy country music boomed through the speakers, while the smell of fried greasy food was thick in the air.
Some people had already started up a line dance on the wooden dance floor. Several families ate with their young 4Hers over in the dining section, but a majority of the customers were high schoolers hanging near the bar sipping Cokes and munching on baskets of peanuts. That included Sarah, who was already surrounded by a flock of boys as she sat on a barstool and crossed her bare, shapely legs with just the right amount of flirtation.
I was so not ready to face that tonight.
“Did we just teleport to Texas?” Beth wondered aloud beside me.
With her black Call of Duty t-shirt and track pants with the white stripe up the side, she looked totally out of place. Lexi wasn’t doing much better. She might have wrestled up a pair of red cowgirl boots to wear to tonight’s event, but the perfect upsweep of her hair into a high ponytail and sparkly highlighter on her cheekbones made her look much too high-maintenance to be hanging out in a scene like this.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Texas,” Lexi said, rubbing her hands excitedly. “Come on, let’s go order a Shirley Temple.”
“I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” I said, waving at them. They could head toward the piranha in heels if they wanted. I had other places to be. “I want to find Hunter first.”
We’d left off in such a weird place at the fair today, I’d been itching to see him face-to-face again to make sure we were okay. I wasn’t sure what was up with him lately. Or, why we couldn’t just settle back into our friendship roles as easily as I’d hoped.
Maybe I hadn’t given him enough time to adjust to being back home. I was sure it was hard, moving around all the time. I’d lived in one place all my life, so I couldn’t relate. But I knew that after a few more days, all these growing pains would be gone, and everything would go back to the way it was.
It wasn’t hard to find Hunter, even in the crowded bar. It was kind of like I had a sixth sense when it came to him. As I’d suspected, I found him leaning against the barrier to the mechanical bull, one of his round-toed boots resting on the bottom rung, and laughing as a guy was thrown from the bull to the thick mat-covered floor.
My feet came to a stop several feet away from him, my heart beginning to race. He’d worn a black pearl-snap shirt that was tucked into the top of his jeans. The material stretched across his muscular back, reminding me once again of the bulk Hunter had put on this last year. It looked good on him.
But more distracting than that was the way he laughed. I’d heard that laugh a million times before, but it had never made my gut twist with need the way it did now. He really did have a great laugh. And the soft way his lips curled as he smiled could make a girl swoon. I wondered if I touched his cheek, if the beginnings of his scruffy beard would feel rough like sandpaper or soft, like feather
