Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(45)

“Thanks. Do I look recognizable?”

“The goatee helps.”

He snagged the broom from her. “I’ll finish up. We need to get on the road so I can make my check-in time.”

“How far is it?”

“Four hours.”

Once they were cruising down the blacktop, Ava cranked her window open for fresh air. “Where are we going?”

“A one-night rodeo in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Then we’ll hit smaller rodeos within driving distance during the week. Next Thursday, Friday and Saturday we’ll be in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. At some point I’m thinking we’ll head to Cody, Wyoming. Their rodeo is set up differently. During tourist season, they have a new slate every night, and hand out a new purse every night.”

“What kind of purse? Because I’d like to win a purse.”

Chase laughed. Hard.
“What’s so funny?”

“You. In rodeo, purse means the amount of money paid out to the winners.” He laughed again. “Ain’t like a purse you can buy on Ro-day-o Drive in LA.”

“You are getting a huge kick out of me being such a neophyte.”

“Check you out, using fancy words to confuse a simple cowboy. What’s a neophyte?”

“Someone who’s inexperienced in a certain area.”

“You mean a greenhorn. Or a tenderfoot.”

“Of course you’d prefer old Western terms.”

“As long as we’re on the subject, we need to get a few things straight about this road trip. Traveling partners split the expenses fifty-fifty. The goal is to get to the next event as cheaply and quickly as possible. Sometimes that means no time to check into a motel and clean up, especially if the events are geographically spread out.”

“Was it my imagination, or did you emphasize cheaply?”

Chase grinned. “Glad to hear you picked up on that. We ain’t gonna be staying anyplace as fancy as the Cooper hotel chain.”

“I sorta figured,” she said dryly.
“Is that gonna be a problem?”

“Why would it be?”

“Because, Hollywood, you’re rich.”

“So?” Ava said a little abruptly.
“So your idea of roughin’ it and mine are likely polar opposites.” Chase took his eyes off the road and peered at her over the top of his sunglasses. “I ain’t askin’ this to be a nosy dick, but have you ever tried to live on a budget?”

She’d had no reason to. “What does that have to do with anything? I can pay my half of the traveling expenses, no problem.”

“In cash? We ain’t using credit cards at all on this trip. We’re both supposed to be under the radar. Heck, we’re even using fake names.”

“Give me some credit, Chase. I actually know how not to leave a credit card trail.”

“But that still doesn’t tell me if you’ve ever made a budget and stuck to it? Do you know what it’s like to be completely out of money?”

Ava fought a shudder at the very idea of being out of money permanently. “No.”

“Didn’t think so. How much cash do you have on you right now?”

“I don’t want to discuss money with you,” she snipped.
“Tough shit. How much?”

She debated on telling the truth, or lying and stealthily lining her pockets with cash from an ATM during their next stop.
Chase eased onto the shoulder. “Dump your purse and count out the money in your wallet.”

“Why do we have to do this right now?”