Page 15 of The Brave and the Reckless (Bravetown #1)

THE STALLIONS– LIVE SHOW

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By our third day practicing in costume, I was no longer as easily flustered by Ace Ryder.

I had too many other things to focus on.

Mostly my feet. The first day, Noah had been faster at wrangling me down the bank building’s steps than I’d anticipated, and I’d twisted my ankle.

The second day, I’d stepped on my dress when coming off the horse and my knee had clicked sideways.

At least the layers of skirts had hidden that from all the others that had joined our rehearsals.

The last money in my bank account had paid for a couple of cheap bandages at the Wild Fields pharmacy. Beneath the dress and the underlayer of leggings, I looked a little like a mummy now. I’d have to get my hands on proper braces soon.

At least it kept me focused. I didn’t want to end up at the hospital.

Sanny would drive me back home himself if it got that bad.

And home was the last place I wanted to go.

Bravetown, and playing Annie Lou, may have come with its own rules and expectations, but I was reveling in the small things.

Last night, I sat on the kitchen floor at 1 a.m., eating cereal straight from the box, watching Netflix on my phone– and nobody had questioned it or admonished me for my unhealthy life choices.

“I’ve got it.” I swatted Noah’s hand away as he reached for my waist to pull me off the horse at the end of costume practice, day three. I lodged my foot into the stirrup and swung my other leg back over the saddle to get off.

“Been secretly practicing?” he asked.

“You just underestimate me.” That , plus fifty instructional videos on YouTube and three episodes of Free Rein . The latter being surprisingly entertaining for a children’s show, but not as educational as I would have hoped.

I still floundered for a hold when I lowered myself from the stirrup to the ground and dropped the last ten inches, my ankles shooting flames up my legs in protest. I grimaced and took a wobbly step back from Tornado.

“You good?” he asked.

“Just a very tall horse with a very high saddle.”

“How are your abs?”

“Never had any complaints. I’d show you, but I’m a little tied up.” I drummed my hands against the lacing down the front of my dress .

He rolled his eyes. “I can lower the stirrups if that makes it easier for you to get in and out of the saddle, but you’ll be less snug up there. You’ll need more core strength to stay balanced when we’re riding.”

“My abs might not be that good.”

“Look, when dismounting, try not to drop your weight all at once. Lower yourself until you’ve got ground under your tiptoes, only then take the weight off the foot in the stirrup.

” He stepped around behind me and I strangely knew exactly what was about to happen.

I read it in the shift of his shoulders and the flex of his hands.

A moment later, I was hoisted back in the air.

I automatically kicked my feet out, sending my skirt flying high, allowing me to slot into the saddle. “Try it. Slowly.”

“Are you giving me free lessons, Young?”

“Just making sure we don’t lose another Annie before summer season starts,” he huffed.

“Lovely.” I sighed and assessed the position of the stirrups. “How do I go from swinging my leg through the air to crouching in the stirrup?”

“Imagine you have one foot on a ladder, and you don’t know where the next step is. You’ll keep your weight on the foot that has a hold.”

“I don’t remember the last time I was on a ladder,” I muttered, but tried anyway, visualizing some sort of step ladder beside the horse.

“Steady,” Noah whispered, only for his hands to snap around my waist when I lost my balance a few inches off the ground. His arms absorbed my drop, saving my ankles from another hit. Before I even had my full balance back, his hands were off me. “That’s it. There you go. Good effort.”

“You had to catch me,” I protested. Nothing about this dismount deserved the word good .

“Still. You made an effort.”

I worked my jaw and rolled my ankles. Effort was all fine and dandy, but it didn’t help the fact that I’d be limping up the stairs to my room just to get to my Advil. Good effort still meant I’d failed. “I think I’ll let you do the heavy lifting for now.”

“As you wish, princess,” he said, but for once, there was a chuckle to his words. The princess wasn’t as deprecative as usual.

I still rolled my eyes at him before turning on my heels.

For my last day off before becoming the official face of the Pretty Annie Lou, Zuri insisted on taking me shopping. She’d offered to let me raid her closet, but we both quickly realized that her clothes were too big to fit me and not big enough for a cute, oversized look.

Between the two boutiques in town, I only ended up with a Wild Fields baseball cap and a blue flannel. I wasn’t a flannel kind of girl, but Noah wore either his Ace Ryder costume or a flannel pearl snap. Next time he complained about my clothes, I’d find a way to use my new flannel to get him back.

I let Zuri pay for my shopping. Only because she wasn’t even hiding her attempts to ask about my plans for returning to school (not happening) or moving back home ( so not happening) or at least calling my parents (big nope). If Sanny could send his fiancée to pry, I could let her buy me clothes .

She also paid for my cocktail when we ended the day at the Rattlesnake Saloon.

The place was packed. Queue-out-the-door kinda packed.

We had to push past a few people and flash our staff badges just to get upstairs to a designated premier-access balcony, and the staff section behind it.

The chatter and music mounted at peak volume under the vaulted ceiling, people shouting louder and louder just to hear themselves over the other groups shouting at each other.

Even the staff section was tight by the time we plopped down at a table with our drinks. Vivi and another girl, who I didn’t recognize, were already seated.

I shot a quick look around, but I didn’t recognize anyone else besides Adriana behind the bar. Considering how busy it was, there should have been a few more familiar faces.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, joining the communal shouting match.

“What do you mean?” Zuri asked.

“Sanny, Lucas, Austin or…” I squinted. My eyes skipped from our table to the next.

A group of middle-aged women. The next table was surrounded by more women, all styled to the nines, one of whom I recognized as Heather, the leather-corset thirst-trap queen.

One demographic was noticeably in the minority though.

I leaned over the balcony to check the crowd in front of the stage, too. “Men. I mean men.”

Zuri giggled. “Not here tonight. Or on any first Wednesday of the month.”

“There’ll be men, don’t worry,” Vivi said, and leaned over to pat my hand. “They’ll just be on stage. ”

Ah.

Okay.

I was halfway through my cocktail when the lights dimmed.

All that chatter had nothing on the screams that suddenly tore through the saloon.

My options were to cover my ears or roll with it– and the second seemed like more fun, so I whooped and hollered alongside everyone else when the Stallions took the stage.

In all his stories about Bravetown, my brother had forgotten to mention that the entertainment included a Magic Mike cowboy show. Okay, it wasn’t quite Magic Mike, but it was a dozen shirtless men in cowboy hats and boots, dancing and doing strangely wholesome comedy bits.

Vivi explained that the show was officially classed as burlesque.

It still involved just as much body glitter as a strip show.

“Hold my seat,” I yelled over the squeals of hundreds of women. On stage, two guys dance-battled to a Kacey Musgraves song around a girl with a bachelorette sash and crown. I needed a refill for the second-hand embarrassment of audience participation.

Zuri was already slightly wobbly on her feet when she followed me to the bar. That girl could not hold her liquor. Adriana took our orders, as well as Zuri’s car keys for safekeeping.

I didn’t notice the man approaching until a tall glass was plonked down right in front of me. Condensation pearled down the sides, but the drink was clear. “Here,” Noah barked.

“Noah!” Zuri squeaked and threw her arms around him in a happy hug. I almost got jealous. Zuri Hugs were the best and Noah barely returned it, patting her shoulders. So undeserving. “Whatcha doin’ere?”

“Just checking up on you all,” he replied.

“Sanny?” Zuri asked, eyes going big. She leaned around him to check for my brother’s presence.

“Nope, just me.”

“Aw man.” She deflated. God, that was cute. Watching cowboy strippers with eight-packs do body rolls, and still missing her fiancé. “I’m ’onna call him,” she announced before she grabbed her freshly made drink and sulked back to the table, phone in hand.

“And what’s this exactly?” I picked up the glass he’d served me and sniffed. Nothing. He was either serving me water or pure vodka. Most likely water.

“Final costume rehearsal tomorrow. You shouldn’t be hungover for that.” Rationally, I knew he was shouting because of the volume of the crowd, but his stupid authoritarian demeanor needled me even more this way.

“I figured it out,” I replied and grabbed my caipirinha instead of the water.

“What?”

“Your zodiac sign. It explains so much.”

Noah heaved a deep sigh, leaning on the counter and tilting his head. “Astrology is a scam. You know that, right?”

“You’re a buzzkill sun, party-pooper ascending and killjoy moon. Deadly combination.” I grinned. “My condolences.”

“Do you always become more annoying when you drink?”

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” I lifted my glass but before it could touch my lips, his hand folded over mine. Warm fingers plucked the drink from my hands. Before I knew what was happening, he downed it himself. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, and in four gulps my drink was gone.