The Lucky Five - By Arow Jones Page 0,2

Maybe he noticed me looking. Then again, we were all looking at their strange behavior. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and rejoin the conversation.

“Yes!” Skye says a little too enthusiastically. When she’s not riding with me or hiding behind her camera, she’s all about parties and boys.

“I don’t know.” Skye and I both answered at the same time. She knows I am not very social and I know she wouldn’t miss it for anything. I know she’ll try to talk me into it so I let it go, for now. We talk to Grayson, or rather, Skye talks to him while I nod and pretend I’m listening. What was all that about with JT? Our families didn’t really get along in the same social circles. He never paid any attention to me before.

I’m not going to either.

Anymore.

Two

We’ve been home two days and I’m already wound up tight about seeing Lily. That girl has no idea what she does to me.

“Dude, did you see who that was? Wow, man she’s all grown up.” I want to punch that grin off his face.

I can feel the scowl on my face. I wipe a hand over my jaw like I’m trying to wipe away my expression. Lily James and her Gramps of The Lucky Five ranch. My relative lost that place to his relative in a poker game. My father used to tell me stories about the loss of the land and how the Tanner family had wanted to get it back. If it wasn’t for our family’s successful law firm in Boulder and the oil we’ve been getting from our land we’d still be living on a struggling cattle ranch that couldn’t afford to lose any part of our land. Even so, the Tanner family and the James family have stayed out of the same circles for as long as anyone can remember.

“Yeah, I did and don’t talk about her like that.”

“Why not? She’s free game.” I turn to Chase and punch him in the arm. “No, man, she’s not for you.” He has the gall to smirk at me.

“Whatever you say but I hope she comes to the bonfire.” I should have punched him in the face instead of the arm. He knows how I feel about her. “Get a grip man, she’s free game.”

“What-the-fuck-ever.” He throws his head back and laughs.

Chase has been giving me a hard time ever since we were sixteen. After Lily’s parents died I spent some time pulling away from everyone. Especially Chase. He would know what was wrong if he saw me so I just made sure I wasn’t around. It didn’t work. Eventually I confessed my feelings for Lily and the secret. I was raised to be a man of honor but I’m not ready. Neither is she.

I know he’s just giving me a hard time. He would never get in the way of a relationship between Lily and me.

I’m perfectly capable of doing that all on my own, thank you very much.

Three

“Come on Lily! It’s going to be fun!”

“Skye, you know I’m not supposed to go out tonight. Besides, I have homework and laundry to do.”

“Really?” She says dryly. “That’s the best you can do? You’re the smartest person I know. You can take a test with your eyes closed and get better grades than a snerd. You know the nerdiest class nerd!”

“Really? Is that even a word?”

“We’ll just go, say hi, ogle some eye candy and be back before anyone knows we’re gone.” She breaks out the puppy dog eyes. Truthfully, I am dying to go to the bonfire too. Everyone from school goes. It a hometown tradition and now that I’ve survived my first year of high school I’ve realized that I’m tired of always playing it safe and I really do need to break my wallflower image. I just like giving her a hard time.

Between school, working for Gramps at the ranch, and competing with my equestrian team, I haven’t really had much time for social activities. Horses are my focus. My whole life. The Interscholastic Equestrian Association gives out scholarships and I’m hoping to be one of our team’s recipients. Gramps is my only living family member left, now. I know he has some money saved up for me but I really want to make it on my own. I want to run this ranch one day and a degree in Equestrian Management and Business would be perfect.

“Okay, I will go but I we can only