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“Sorry, man.” I shrug, gathering Chance’s lead. “I really don’t know much about her. You’re on your own.”

“Wait.” Jake crosses his arms over his chest. “Why are you holding out on me?” He leans back with a smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re into her, ’cause that would be awkward.”

I can’t resist taking the bait. “Why would it be awkward, Jake?”

“Well, there’s two of us and one of her, and it’s obvious who stands a better chance at sealing the deal, unless…” Jake narrows his eyes at me. “Did something happen between you two?”

A few intense moments.

An almost-kiss.

A handful of fractured possibilities.

“Nope,” I reply, shoving my hand into my front pocket so I don’t deck Jake. I’m not one for violence, but he has me seeing red.

“Phew,” he says, mock wiping his brow. “For a moment there, I thought this was going to be a Kylie situation all over again.”

He’s referring to Kylie Taylor and the time we both asked her to the Harvest Dance. She said yes to me first, but ended up going with him. Not gonna lie, my pride took a massive hit that day.

“Or Livie St. Joseph.”

Ninth-grade homecoming date who blew me off to dance with Jake.

“Or Anna Dresden.”

Rebound date for the winter formal who also dumped me for Jake. He’s really not pulling any punches. And if he hadn’t done the same thing to almost all the other guys in school, I would have thought he had it out for me and my dating life. But honestly, Jake did me a favor. I’d rather be single than be with someone always looking out for the next best thing.

I think back to Jake’s arm draped across Riley’s back. Him eating from her plate. His hand resting on hers. She wasn’t throwing herself at Jake, but she wasn’t batting him away like a pesky fly, either. And the way her cheeks grew rosy at his attention? How she spent the better part of the night in his tent? She doesn’t seem to be hating his company. Aside from Carrie Mae, I haven’t known a single female in a fifty-mile radius who’s been able to resist Jake’s “charm” for more than a few minutes.

Still, I underestimated Riley before. I don’t plan on making the same mistake again.

I think back to breakfast again, but through a different lens this time. Riley didn’t flirt with him. She didn’t offer him food. She wasn’t initiating contact. Could she have been blushing from embarrassment? If I’m being objective, she seemed way more interested in talking to me than him.

Crap. I hope my sour mood didn’t screw everything up with her.

“One thing’s for sure, Jake,” I say. “This situation is completely different.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Back in Darby, you’re in your element. But out here on the trail, you’re in mine.”

As we make our way toward Clark’s Sod House, our nooning point, Chance shifts uneasily under my weight. I force myself to take a deep breath and loosen up. He doesn’t need to be skittish because I’m only now realizing how stupid it was for me to tip my hand when it comes to Riley.

But Jake isn’t exactly creative when it comes to pursuing his targets. His MO is to use the same old lines. Pull the same smooth moves. He had a standing weekly order for the same damn bouquet of flowers at Nan’s Floral Shop. I bet he has a similar arrangement with a florist in Lincoln. Jake’s a one-trick pony. He’s perfected his method and it works for him, but after spending time with Riley, I have a sneaking suspicion she’s going to be a lot harder to impress.

“We really going toe to toe, man?” Jake asks, slowing his horse to a walk beside me.

I’d thought that our conversation this morning would have been enough. Seems that instead of getting Jake to back down, knowing I’m interested in Riley is spurring him on. Jake loves the thrill of the chase too damn much to let an opportunity like this pass. Even better for him if he thinks he can rub my nose in it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, keeping my eyes fixed on the prairie before us.

Usually, I ride at the back of the caravan to keep an eye on the mules, but with all the rain we had last night, I’m traveling ahead of the wagons to make sure the trail is clear and passable. Since I’m riding up here, he’s supposed to be back with the supply wagon, helping Ty with the mules, but as always, Jake does what Jake wants, everyone else be damned.

“You can play dumb all you want, Walker, but we both know I’m talking about Riley.”

He must be feeling competitive, if he’s calling me by my last name. I hazard a glance in his direction. The top button of his Pony Express uniform is unbuttoned, his posture is slouchy, and the expression on his face is beyond arrogant.

His mouth curls up into a sneer. “You don’t stand a chance with her,” he says.