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you.”
    “We were both mad,” he said. “It’s over. Let it be over. You
read too much into things. This isn’t the kind of stuff I stew over.”
    “Wow,” she breathed and shook her head in wonder while Brent
filled his mouth with cobbler.
    “What?” he asked.
    “I just feel so…”
    “So what?”
    She looked at him and said with a laugh. “Stupid.”
    He chuckled and set his bowl down. “Tell you what, let’s
make a deal. No more name-calling.”
    “Deal,” she agreed heartily.
    “So, are you ready for tomorrow?”
    “Oh, yes,” she said excitedly. “That’s when the real fun
starts.”
    He cringed and she shoved his shoulder playfully with hers.
    “It’s not as bad as you think,” she said. “Some of my best
memories are on this mountain.”
    “Mine, too,” he agreed and then stared into the fire as a
shadow fell over his features. “Some of my worst, too.”
    Mackenna’s heart lurched at the sadness she saw in his features.
    “How so?” she asked softly.
    Her voice brought him back to the moment and he smiled away
the shadow.
    “It’s not a nice story,” he said in a tone both friendly and
firm, letting her know that he’d say no more. So, she discarded her curiosity.
It was none of her business anyway.
    “Well, I’m sorry to hear it,” she said genuinely and
returned to her cobbler.
    He believed her. More than that, he was grateful that she
didn’t pry. That restraint fed an already growing respect and fondness for her.
She was good people and far more mature than any seventeen-year-old had a right
to be. With Ty more than wrapped up in his infatuation with Leslie, Brent had
expected to spend the summer on his own, socially, but more and more the idea
of pal-ing up with Mackenna appealed. She was a straight-shooter with a good
heart and a solid work-ethic. They had much in common that way, and while
Kelly’s constant attention toward him was a major stroke to his ego, such
fawning grated him by the end of the day.
    He didn’t feel like he could be himself around Kelly for
fear that she would misinterpret any of his actions as encouraging her pursuit.
He didn’t like having to measure his every word or look and that’s what he felt
like he had to do with her. Around Mackenna he was comfortable and relaxed,
except when he was infuriated. The thought amused him and he smiled to himself.
He was either completely at ease or completely wrapped up in a rage with her.
She was just like a sister.

 

Chapter 6
    Brent picked out tiny pebbles from the frog of the horse’s
hoof while the sounds of cheers and clapping echoed behind him. He peered over
his shoulder and saw Ty standing on the back of a horse twirling a lasso above
his head. Ranch guests shrieked with excitement as he sent it dancing around
his knees. Brent rolled his eyes with a shake of his head before turning back
to the task.
    “I’m working for the damn circus,” he muttered under his
breath.
    “Hey Brent,” Ty called. “Why don’t you come show us some of
your tricks?”
    Brent dropped the horse’s hoof and faked a smile for the
crowd. “Don’t think so,” he called back. “I’ve got work to do.”
    “Ah, come on!” Kelly yelled. “You’re always working. Take a
break and have a little fun.”
    “Fun wasn’t in the job description. Sorry folks. Besides, we
don’t need more than one performing monkey on the ranch.”
    Ty laughed. He knew that to any real rancher his antics
would look silly, but they were always a hit with the crowd, and he was
dedicated to seeing that his parents’ paying customers enjoyed their stay.
Mackenna stepped forward, gathering up a rope of her own.
    “Sure we do,” she said. “Everyone loves performing monkeys.”
The crowd laughed and she feigned a straight face as she turned back to Brent.
“Well, everyone except Brent, that is.”
    “Suit yourself ,” he said with a
shrug.
    She turned her back on him and began twirling her own lasso.
Once she demonstrated that she