Second Chance Ranch: a Hope Springs novel (Entangled Bliss) by Cindi Madsen

was in the middle of the action, teaching one of the guys to lasso. She could tell he was explaining the movement and the feel, like he had with her all those years ago, when she’d asked him to teach her.
    It was amazing watching him from this perspective. He was so patient, laughing it off when the guy missed and giving him a pat on the back as he handed the kid the rope to try again. He moved to the girl standing next in line and started taking her through the steps. There was a tall, dark-haired kid in back with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
    Now that just wouldn’t do. She’d seen the change this place made in kids’ lives before, but sometimes they needed an extra push, and cheering up grumpy people was one of the things besides singing that she did well. Sadie slowly moved over to him. “What? You’re too cool for this stuff?”
    He turned toward her, and she was sure he was about to let her have it, but then his mouth just sort of hung open. “I…uh…yeah.”
    She flashed him the grin she’d used in waitressing to win over people when she accidentally messed up their orders—she’d had to use it a lot . “When I first moved here, I thought it was lame, too.” But then she’d seen Royce doing it, and it was different in competition, when the entire crowd leaned forward, waiting to see if the throw would land. “Where are you from?”
    “Fort Collins, Colorado.” He crossed his arms and the attitude crept back in, his lips pursed together.
    “And your name?”
    “Eli. You gonna ask me why I’m here, too?”
    “Only if you ask me first. Trust me, this is the last place I expected to be.”
    That earned her half a smile.
    “I’m Sadie.” She eyed the discarded rope at his feet. “You want me to show you how to rope? I learned way back when, and I kind of suck, so don’t show me up after I teach you, ’kay?”
    Eli rolled his eyes and sighed, but she picked up the rope anyway and bumped her shoulder into his. “Come on. What else are you gonna do?”
    “Fine. But it’s still lame.”
    “Not if you think about the most annoying people you know and imagine you’re roping them and jerking them off their feet.” She gripped the knot—the honda, she remembered—fed the rope through, and flipped the loop back, repeating the move until it was about armpit height, the way she’d been taught by Royce. “I don’t want to give names, because chances are you might run into her, but there was this snotty girl in high school—you know the type?”
    “Sure. Know lots of them.”
    “So you just picture them…” Sadie gripped the loop and lifted it above her head. “You swivel your wrist and—” The rope smacked her on the side of the head, but she was already trying to throw.
    It landed on the ground in front of her, not even coming close to the bale with the plastic cow head stuck into it. “Shit.”
    Eli laughed. “You do suck.”
    “Hey.” She gave him a playful shove. “I said kind of .”
    “Oh, and there’s a swear jar, and you need to put a dollar in it.”
    “Seriously? A swear jar?”
    “It’s bullshit, right?”
    “I’m so telling on you,” she said with a laugh, and he laughed again.
    …
    What the hell?
    Royce stared across the yard at Sadie and Eli. First of all, what was she even doing here, and second, how did she get that kid to laugh?
    She glanced up and her eyes met his. Her smile faded and she swallowed. Was he really that scary? Realizing he was frowning at them, he worked to soften his expression and walked over.
    “Sadie.”
    “Royce.”
    Eli glanced between them. “I’ll just…” He pointed toward the other kids. “I think I need a new teacher anyway.”
    “Oh, sure, I let one little bale of hay get away, and you think I don’t know what I’m doing?” She threw her hand over her heart. “That hurts.”
    Damn if the kid didn’t smile at her again before heading away.
    “How’d you do that?” Royce asked.
    “I’m just a little