Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(37)

Chase looked at her oddly. “You’re a barber too?”

“Axel went through a punk stage and I got pretty good at trimming up the sides of his Mohawk.”

“You close to your brother?”

“He avoids being seen with me in public these days because of the bad press.” Maybe that’s why Chase was dragging his heels. Ava slowly let her hands drop and glanced away.
But Chase grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, and that little show of force thrilled her. “I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you, Ava. Far from it. But it will reflect badly on you in the press if I get caught impersonating another bull rider and you’re with me.”

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take. What will happen to you if you get caught?”

“I don’t know. Which is why I have to be damn careful that no one recognizes me.” His eyes turned a hard. “This is more than an adventure for me, Ava. This is my life, my livelihood. My entire future is at stake. You understand?”

“Yes. I promise not to do anything to jeopardize this chance for you, Chase. But please, I’m asking for the same chance. Let me be someone else for a while too.”

Just when she thought he’d remind her of his “no sex” decree, Chase retreated. “Fine. You’re in. Before we take off tomorrow, I need to stop in and see my folks. And my brother and his family.”

“Great. That’ll give me time to burn a CD of road tunes.”

He groaned. “I’m already regretting this and we haven’t left yet.”

“But this will be the soundtrack to our buddy trip. Like Thelma and Louise. Or those old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movies.”

“Or Mel Gibson in The Road Warrior.”

Ava bumped her knee to his. “That doesn’t count. He had no buddies. He just drove around killing people.”

“Maybe we’ll wanna kill each other after a few weeks on the road together.”

“Highly unlikely because we are gonna be the best friends in the history of the world.” She tacked on a fake smile. “How far is the bull riding boot camp?”

“About two and a half hours.”

Something occurred to her. “Will the people putting you up have a place for me to stay?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

“But—”

Chase grabbed her hand again. “You wanted an adventure, Ava. Part of that is learning to go with the flow. Things ain’t always gonna be planned out to the letter. Can you do that?”

“I can try.”

Chapter Seven

Chase suspected Ava would chatter the entire way to the Bar 9. But she was absorbed with the scenery and writing in her notebook. Occasionally she’d ask a question, or make an observation. Since Chase spent the majority of his time on the road alone, he appreciated her company, but also long stretches of silence.
They’d gotten a later start than he’d planned. His folks had been pleased to see him. Especially after he gave them more information on his professional life and how he intended to get it back on track. Neither pointed out the errors of his previous ways, as they’d been prone to do in the past. Which was the first outward first indication they’d changed.
Chase about fell off his chair when his dad rose from the table to help his mom serve butterscotch cake. And he got a bit choked up when his father followed him out to his truck and talked about not allowing past mistakes to affect his future. How the true measure of a man was learning from those mistakes, not dwelling on them.