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She rested her arm on the door and watched the scenery pass, having forgotten how enormous Wyoming could feel. Los Angeles had mountains and open spaces, too, but it also had tall buildings, traffic, people, and lots of noise. Out here, she could look for miles and see little more than cattle, fencing, and the occasional house or barn.

“Bringing back memories?” he asked.

“Yeah.” She turned toward him. “Aunt Edith always found things for me to do whenever I visited during the summer. When I was little, I loved everything about Antelope Rock. It was so different from home that being here felt like an adventure.”

“And when you got older?”

Amanda gave him a sheepish smile. “By the time I was a teenager, spending a few weeks in a tiny Wyoming town had lost some of its appeal. I made a few friends whenever I was here, but then I’d go home, and we’d lose touch. By the next summer, sometimes I had to start all over again.”

His expression softened. “That had to be hard.”

“A little. But I was always happy to see Aunt Edith.” She paused, then shrugged. “I just didn’t appreciate having quite so much time on my hands.”

“So you got bored.”

“Sometimes. Not that I ever told Aunt Edith that. I would’ve felt terrible if she thought I didn’t want to be here.”

“Very considerate of you.”

“I had my moments.” She smiled. “But there were definitely days when I thought I might die of boredom.”

His chuckle filled the SUV. “And yet you survived.”

“Somehow.”

After a moment, he asked, “So, when was the last time you went horseback riding?”

“Here, when I was a teen. Aunt Edith was friends with a couple whose daughters were around my age and had horses. Whenever I visited, they’d invite me to ride with them. I loved it, but once I stopped spending summers here, I never really had the opportunity again.”

“You could’ve ridden in California. I’m sure there are plenty of ranches there.”

“I could’ve done a lot of things.” She thought about how quickly her career had taken over her life. What had started as a creative outlet eventually became a full-time job, then several jobs rolled into one. Somewhere along the way, she'd stopped making time for much else. “I guess it never made the list.”

“Sounds like your career takes up all your free time.”

“Pretty much.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” he said. “You spend so much time doing the things you have to do that you forget to make time for the things you actually want to do.”

Amanda studied his profile, surprised by the observation and how close it landed to a truth she’d never really considered. “That was unexpectedly insightful.”

“I have my moments.”

“Should I write down the date?”

“Smart-ass.”

She turned her attention back to the passing scenery, but his observation stayed with her.

Somewhere along the way, most of the things she’d once done simply because she enjoyed them had become her career. Decorating, writing, traveling, even sharing pieces of her life with other people—all of it now came with deadlines, contracts, schedules, or a camera attached. She still enjoyed those things, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d picked up a new hobby or done something on a whim simply because it sounded fun. If it wasn’t related to work or important enough to make her bucket list, she rarely made time for it.

Maybe Grady had a point.

She just wasn’t sure she liked it.

Their destination appeared several minutes later, a weathered wooden sign marking the entrance to a long gravel drive.

SECOND CHANCE RANCH