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speeding ticket. No shoot-out this week.”
    “Comforting.”
    Gunnar punched the gas pedal, making Lexi grab for the bar above her head.
    “How
much
of a speeding ticket are you after, anyway?” Lexi spoke through gritted teeth as the speedometer inched toward eighty.
Fantastic.
She’d survived the bounciest flight in recorded aviation history, and now she was about to go splat on a Montana highway.
    The part that irked her most about that was picturing Mom at her funeral, shaking her head, saying, “I told her this trip was a bad idea.”
    “Watch on the right. Coming up in three…two…one…”
    Gunnar let out a whoop as they went flying by an old Chevy parked in a pull-off. Lexi watched her rearview mirror, and two seconds later, the Chevy fishtailed onto the road in hot pursuit, blue light flashing on the dashboard.
    “How long do you let them chase you?” Lexi felt her eyes widen as the speedometer ticked higher. “And who taught Jenny how to drive like that?”
    Gunnar looked over, smiling. “Her father, and don’t worry—I haven’t crashed a car in weeks.”
    “Not worried at all,” she ground out. “But if we can go back about three miles and get my stomach after this is over, that’d be great.”
    He laughed, then slowed as Lexi saw another pull-off up ahead. He hit the brakes harder and turned the wheel, landing them neatly on the side of the road as the cruiser roared up behind them. Lexi puffed out a few panicked breaths before she realized her hand still had a death grip on the bar, so she loosened her fingers and tried to subtly let her hand sink to her side.
    As she felt her heartbeat try to come down from its hummingbird pace, she frowned. It had been a whole two minutes of what others might consider mindless, fast fun, but instead of enjoying it, she’d sat there picturing her funeral.
    Katie would have whooped right along with Gunnar, sticking her arm out the window and laughing that contagious laugh you couldn’t ignore. Lexi, on the other hand, had checked to be sure her seatbelt was fastened low and tight against her hips.
    She sighed, and Gunnar looked over, concern in his eyes. “You okay?”
    “Yup! Sure. Fine. Good.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Speed isn’t really your thing, huh?”
    “You didn’t—scare me.” Lexi looked out her window, desperate to hide the pulse hammering in her throat. Was this what it was going to be like, trying to pretend to be a different person all summer?
    “You’re white as a sheet.” Gunnar grimaced as he punched a button on his phone again. This time, Jenny answered with a laugh.
    “That was awesome, Gunnar! Wanna back up and do it again?”
    Of course his girlfriend had loved it. She’d even done the driving, while Lexi’d been holding on for dear life.
    “Can’t, Jen. I just scared the new Whisper Creek nurse half to death. I’ve gotta get her out to the ranch, but I’ll stop in later if I can.”
    “I made your favorite cookies. Just saying.” Jenny’s voice was flirtatious, and it made Lexi feel even worse.
    “Then I’ll definitely stop in later.” Gunnar smiled as he hung up, then he looked Lexi’s way. “I was going to offer you a quick tour of town before we head out to the ranch, but I’m thinking the only thing you want to do right now is get out of this truck, so let’s just head straight out to Whisper Creek.”
    “Okay,” she murmured, wishing for the thousandth time that she could just let go and embrace her wild side…wishing
she
could be the one to come screaming out of a pull-off on two wheels and chase her boyfriend down a deserted highway…wishing
she
could bake cookies and offer them up as a transparent, flirtatious dessert for whatever else she had planned for Gunnar tonight.
    Wishing that she even believed Lexi 2.0
had
a wild side, dammit.

Chapter 4
    “So this is your cabin.” Two hours later, Kyla Driscoll pointed at a darling little log cabin that