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The smile she gave me… It made my heart flip over and my lungs seize.

“I appreciate that,” she said. “But do I look enough like a boy?”

To me? Never. To humans who weren't lookingclosely? Maybe. We'd see. Our guests may not even know that a bride had run away the night before. Even if they did, they wouldn't be looking for her in every person they interacted with.

“I think so,” I said.

“Good.” Her smile lifted. “This is going to be fun.”

It could be.

Or it could be torture.

I shifted against the counter, watching as she tucked stray strands of blonde hair beneath the cowboy hat. It was a simple thing. A disguise. But even in simple clothing, dressed to pass as one of us, she still looked untouched by this life. Much too breakable. The kind of woman who belonged in a polished house with gleaming windows and servants bringing her fresh bread in the morning. Not going on a trail ride where she'd have to help prepare the meals.

I needed to reevaluate that right now. I could pamper her during the ride, show her that it wasn'tthatrough. Maybe then she'd be alright for the week we'd be away. Maybe she might…

Before it could drag me over a cliff, I stopped that train of thought. I couldn’t allow myself to dream of anything but her doing alright during the ride.

The floor creaked when I shifted my feet. “We should get going. I want to get to town early to get everything ready. Do you, um, need anything else?”

Like me?

No, never me. I wasn’t anywhere near good enough for this lovely female.

She glanced down at her outfit. “I can’t think of anything else I need.” Her smile warmed me through even if it was for the clothing, not me. “You picked out the perfect things. Thank you again.”

I grunted.

Her smile faded. “Alright then.” She attempted a deeper voice, exaggerating the way she spoke. “Let’s git goin’, partner.”

I frowned. “What are you doing?”

She huffed. “It's how cowboys talk in movies.”

“Oh, yes, streaming images.”

A frown bloomed on her face. “Yes.Streaming images.I take it you've watched a few?”

“Not as many as I'm supposed to.”

“Supposed to?”

“You know what I mean.”

It was clear she didn't, but I couldn't tell her that Dungar recommended we all watch them to learn not only how cowboys behaved in the surface's Wild West but how cowboys wooed the females they adored.

Because it wasn't going to matter if I’d watched them or not. She was here with me for a week and after that…

I suspected she'd keep running, and I'd never see her again.

Chapter 10

Beth

When I stepped outside, the sudden brightness made me squint. I tilted my hat to shade my eyes, grateful to have it even if it did slip around a bit on my head. I'd used an upside-down braid on my hair and pinned it tightly to the top after I’d retrieved some of the pins my “bridesmaids” had used on my hair for the wedding from the trash bucket.

I liked the outfits Ruugar had purchased for me. When I'd looked at myself in the mirror after I'd finished dressing, I could almost believe I was a boy. The loose shirt hid my breasts that weren't huge, anyway. My face had a feminine slant, but so did a lot of young guys. I'd pretend I wasn't even growing much stubble yet if anyone looked closely or thought to ask. Deepen my voice and tell them that one day, I'd have a full beard.