“That Adam guy?” Steph said. “I’d heard about him being here, but didn’t know how hot he was.”
Brooke grinned at her. “Is he? I guess so.”
Steph, her blond ponytail bobbing behind her, rolled her big blue eyes. “You guess? Come on, Brooke, he’s a Marine!”
“Well, we went to school together, so I still think of him as that boy who used to annoy me.”
“I’m not twelve,” Steph said. “Most boys don’t annoy me anymore.”
“Most? Is there one in particular you find least annoying?”
Steph shrugged and looked off into the distance, but Brooke thought she might have detected a blush. She went back to her own memories of the days when boys were a mystery she just couldn’t figure out. She’d always been a tomboy in high school, and had only blossomed as an adult, when she realized how much better she could feel about herself when she wore pretty clothes and paid attention to her hair. Although heck, with Adam, she hadn’t done any of that, and somehow she was—irresistible.
“I have a lot of different friends,” Steph said. “There’s the Chess Club that meets at the community center. It’s pretty fun.”
“You play chess?” Brooke asked in surprise.
Steph laughed. “No way. It’s not really a chess club—it just started as a chess club. Then they threw some parties, and kids realized they could hang out and do other things together. But we kept the name. It’s kinda funny.”
“What do you do there?”
“Some volunteer stuff around town—shoveling, raking, painting, stuff like that. We hold a dance a couple times a month, go hiking, and sometimes we go to Aspen or Glenwood Springs.”
“It does sound like fun.”
“We’re supposed to let anyone in,” Steph continued, “but there are these idiots in school, led by Tyler Brissette.”
Brooke felt that the name seemed somehow familiar. “How are they idiots?”
“They get in trouble a lot, causing problems in class. They even got kicked out of the Rose Garden in town for hanging around too late.”
“Maybe they don’t have enough to do, and the Chess Club would be good for them.”
Steph pulled a face. “I don’t know about that.”
“They sound bored if they’re hanging out in the Rose Garden with the tourists.”
That got a giggle out of her.
“I don’t know,” Steph said at last. “Maybe Tyler’s only going to get worse. His brother just got out of jail this week.”
That’s why the name had been familiar, Brooke thought. Cody Brissette had gone to jail for arson last year, and now he was out? She looked at the ruins of the old barn near the corral they’d be practicing in. The firemen had said it was an accident, and Cody hadn’t been out of jail, yet . . . It made Brooke unsettled.
“So you think Cody will influence Tyler to be worse?” Brooke asked.
Steph shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw Cody a day or two ago, and he seemed . . . really different. Kinda quiet, you know?”
“I’m sure jail can change a person. Bet Tyler’s feeling bad about his brother.”
Steph stayed silent for a moment. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. It’s gotta be hard having your brother come home from jail, where he doesn’t have a job and everyone knows what he’s done.” She stared at the ruins of the barn with her own troubled expression.
Time to lighten things up.
“Guess we’re lucky with our brothers, huh?” Brooke asked.
Steph relaxed and grinned back. “They’re okay.”
“You’re lucky to have a sister. I’d give anything to have one.”
Steph’s smile faded, and Brooke thought, Uh-oh. But she had to find a way to bring Em up. She wanted to be a bridge between the two sisters.
Brooke held up a hand. “I know, I know, we haven’t known her that long. But she’s become like a sister to me.”
“Well, she’s marrying your brother,” Steph reminded Brooke with faint sarcasm.
“You’re right. And you and I are going to be bridesmaids together. Has she told you the color for the gowns?”
Steph shook her head.
“Me neither. I asked her if it was a secret, and she said she just couldn’t decide. Guess we’ll have to help her. Speaking of Em and your Chess Club—”
Steph gave her a look that said How are you gonna connect that?
“—maybe you could go to the bakery and get some snacks for your meetings. I’m pretty sure your sister would give you a discount. Heck, she might offer a box for free.”
Steph looked away. They’d arrived at the empty corral, so she mumbled, “I’m not gonna bother her. She’s got enough to think about with the wedding.”