“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.”
As Brooke leaned over to open the gate, she winced at the sarcastic emphasis on “wedding.” Okay, enough of that. Hopefully, she’d planted some seeds. Once they’d gone through, and she closed the gate behind Steph, she gave the girl a challenging look. “We’ve got a little thaw today, so the ground will be muddy. After a warm-up, let’s see how fast you can go.”
Steph brightened immediately and trotted her horse over to take the starting position.
After the lesson and Steph’s departure, Brooke was oating Sugar before letting her loose in the pasture with the other horses when Nate approached her.
He glanced out in the yard, where they could just see the taillights of Steph’s horse trailer disappear down the road into dusk.
“So . . . how’d it go?” he asked, leaning oh so casually against a stall.
She eyed him with amusement. “Steph is going to be a champion someday, if I have anything to say about it.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I thought you didn’t want me talking to her?” Brooke asked innocently. “You know, I might goof things up worse.”
“I didn’t say that. And I know you can’t keep your mouth shut. So