Chapter Four - Julianna

“I can’t believe you were just talking with Scott Dallenforth,” Penny said, not even bothering to lower her voice as they walked toward the lodge. “No wonder you got sidetracked. Bet you wish we were sleeping in the barn now. That’s where all the boys stay.” She must have seen Julianna’s shocked expression because she hurriedly added, “Not in the same space as the girls, of course.”

Julianna glanced over her shoulder, hoping that Scott hadn’t heard anything. He had a big enough ego as it was, he didn’t need to think girls were fawning over him already. And trying to figure out how they could sleep as close to him as possible.

“The more distance, the better,” Julianna said, hooking her arm through Penny’s.

“I don’t suppose he’s working as an activity guide, is he?” Penny asked it as if she hadn’t even heard Julianna. “Maybe he can catch me when I fall off the rock wall.”

Of course Penny would be interested in the rock star. Hadn’t her own heart beaten faster than it should have? Hadn’t her thoughts jumped to all the places that Penny’s were?

Which was why Julianna had to stay away.

People like Scott Dallenforth were better as a poster on her wall, never knowing how long she stared at them, wishing for things that could never be.

Okay, that thought came out really creepy, and she was glad it had stayed in her head. But guys like him had too much attention for their own good. And the more girls threw themselves at them, the worse it got.

Julianna wasn’t going to be a part of the problem. And she wasn’t going to be Scott’s personal ranch tutor.

“You know why he was acting like that, don’t you?” Julianna asked as they walked toward the lodge. “Pretending he needs me to teach him a thing or two. Because I wasn’t falling at his feet like everyone else does. Once he gets a reaction, he’ll be on to the next girl. Because that’s what guys like him do. He didn’t stop to think what it does to girls like me—girls who haven’t had a date in two years. The boy probably has a date every night of the week, including school nights—”

“What are you talking about?” Penny interrupted. They were standing at the top of a stairway that led down under the lodge, and she was staring at Julianna like she’d lost her mind.

“Um…”

“Wait, did you and Scott have a moment?”

Julianna snorted, like that was the most ridiculous thing in the world. Because it was. It had to be. She lifted her suitcase and walked down the stairs, leaving Penny no choice but to follow her. “Of course not. The boy wouldn’t know a ‘moment’ if it smacked him upside the head. Do you realize that he actually brought a lasso? Thought he’d be roping steer or something ridiculous like that.”

“I brought a lasso.”

Julianna stopped at the bottom of the stairs. They were standing in what looked like a long window well, a narrow passageway stretching in front of them. To their left were three doors. She glanced over her shoulder, taking in Penny’s hat and plaid shirt. And how her smile had dipped. Like Julianna’s words had hurt her.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Julianna said, stumbling over her words, but Penny held up a hand, stopping her from saying more.

“Yes. You did.” Penny released a sigh. “Look, when you’re traveling across the country to work at a dude ranch, it’s only natural to have some fun with it. Maybe you’re just looking for something to be wrong with Scott.” Penny brushed past Julianna and entered the second door.

Maybe Penny was right. But then Julianna thought of the limo and the chauffeur and how Scott was already acting like he owned the place.

There was no way that Scott Dallenforth was the down-to-earth guy that Penny wanted him to be.

When Julianna entered the apartment, she paused. Like the outside corridor, it was long and narrow, bunk beds lining two walls. Past them was an open bathroom, and beyond that the laundry machines.

“This is…” Julianna paused when Penny threw her a curious glance, maybe wondering if Julianna was going to find something wrong with their living arrangement as well. So much for making a friend. “This is awesome. Seriously, it’s going to be like a party every night. Except with no parents telling us to go to bed.” At least Julianna assumed that was what parties were like. She wouldn’t know.

She must have got it right, though, because Penny brightened, and a grin split across her face. “Absolutely. I wonder what the other girls will be like. Cool, I bet. How could you choose to work at a place like this and not be cool? What do you want to do on your first day off? I was thinking that shooting at clay pigeons could be fun, but maybe we should go hiking instead. You know, something that isn’t going to get us killed.”

Penny kept talking as she threw her duffel bag onto one of the top bunks, but then abruptly stopped, and her gaze landed on Julianna. “Do you snore?”

“I…don’t think so.”

“You should sleep on this top bunk by me, then. I don’t think I could handle sleeping right next to a snorer.”

Julianna hesitated. She hadn’t slept on a top bunk since she was six—when she’d fallen off during the night and broken her arm.

Unfortunately, Penny misinterpreted her silence, and her smile faded. “Or not. That’s cool.” And then she turned away.

Julianna squeezed her eyes shut. She could do this. “I’m afraid of bunk beds.” The words exploded out, leaving her feeling vulnerable.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Penny watching her. “You mean, you’re afraid of heights?”

“No, not heights. At least I don’t think so. I’m not completely sure.” She gave a quick shake of her head. “Just bunk beds. I don’t like that I’m asleep on a platform and have no control whether I toss and turn and could fall and…” Her words trailed off, and she wished she could backtrack and make herself seem less pathetic than she already felt.

Penny shrugged, not seeming the least bit fazed. “That’s cool. Why don’t you take the bottom, then? We’ll interrogate other potential roomies to weed out those who could be a problem.”

Julianna stared, then laughed. Who was this girl? Every time she spoke, she managed to catch Julianna off guard. “You want to interrogate the other girls?”

“Absolutely. I mean, I know I said everyone here is probably going to be cool, but even cool people have sinus issues.”

The door to their basement apartment opened, and two girls entered.

Julianna’s breath caught in her chest. No, no, no, no. This wasn’t happening. She had come all the way from Minnesota with the sole purpose of getting away from girls like these.

No, not girls like these. These girls, specifically.

“Let’s skip the interrogation and just assume that they snore,” Julianna whispered, turning away and tossing her bag onto the bunk under Penny’s.

“Both of them?” Penny asked, an eyebrow raised. Her gaze swept over the girls, like she was trying to see what Julianna obviously did.

“Yup. Definitely snorers.”

The girls placed their bags down and looked around the room. “What do you think?” one of them asked. “Better than the barn?”

Amanda. Crazy rich and popular. Not someone Julianna really wanted to bunk with.

“Definitely. There were like fifty beds up there, and no bathroom.”

And Sandra. Someone Julianna wanted to bunk with even less. She was still sporting her spiked bracelets and skull T-shirt, even on a dude ranch.

Amanda laughed. “Let’s claim our bunks and then go take a million pictures that we can send to Gracie and Alexis. They’re going to be so bummed they chose to stay behind.”

“We can try, but I doubt they’ll care much when they have things like boyfriends and medical school.” A pause. “Hey, I think I recognize that girl.”

Oh, no. The last thing that Julianna needed was for Sandra to try to make conversation. Julianna sat on her bed and busied herself with her suitcase.

“Yeah,” Amanda said. “She goes to our school, right?”

“Crazy how we ended up working the same summer job.”

Julianna glanced over her shoulder. Yes, it was amazing that they had all ended up at the same dude ranch thousands of miles from home.

Which could only mean one thing.

Her mother’s book club.

Her mom had probably been venting about Julianna leaving home for the summer. She had been worried about Julianna being so far from home, considering she’d never been away from her parents for longer than a weekend.

And apparently, instead of being dissuaded from signing their daughters up, the other mothers had thought it was a pretty great idea.

“You know those girls?” Penny asked, though she was kind enough to keep her voice low. Her gaze flitted between Julianna and the girls still standing by the front door.

“You could say that. We went to the same school.” Of course, no one could ever infiltrate Amanda and Sandra’s little clique, so Julianna wouldn’t go so far as to say that she knew them. And what little Julianna did know, she wished she didn’t. “Hopefully, there aren’t any other surprises.”

The door opened again.

“Hey, this place is way nicer than ours.” A low voice. And a familiar one.

Julianna couldn’t help herself. She spun toward the door. Blair. Sandra’s boyfriend. And the boy Julianna had been in love with for three years. A swimmer. Well built. Funny. And when they’d been assigned as partners on a school project, she’d actually thought she’d had a chance.

Instead, he’d gone for the goth chick.

Blair’s best friend, Cameron, stuck his head around the corner. He was dating Amanda.

This just kept getting worse.

“Hey, you can’t be in here,” Sandra said, though she was laughing while she attempted to push the boys back out. She wasn’t trying very hard.

“Better than being around that Scott guy. What’s he playing at, coming here and pretending like he’s normal? No one is buying it.”

Sandra stopped pushing. “What Scott guy?”

“You know, that singer? Can’t remember the name of the band, but half the girls at school had a picture of them hanging in their lockers.”

Not only had Sandra stopped trying to get rid of the boys, but Amanda had actually pulled them into the apartment. “You are not saying that Scott Dallenforth is a guest at this ranch,” she said, though she looked like she wouldn’t accept any other answer.

“No, he’s not a guest here,” Blair said. But before anyone had the chance to be disappointed, he continued. “He’s working here, same as us.”

And then, despite the fact that both girls had boyfriends, they abandoned their bags and rushed outside, leaving the two boys exchanging confused looks.

Blair glanced in Penny and Julianna’s direction and started, like he was just now noticing there was anyone else there. That was no surprise, considering Blair had rarely noticed Julianna through the nine years they had gone to school together.

Why should now be any different?

“Oh, hey,” he said, like he knew who she was but was trying to recall her name. “I hadn’t realized you’d be working here too.”

Cameron spun around, like he was trying to figure out who his friend was talking to.

Bitter feelings of rejection washed over Julianna, the old painful memories resurfacing. She shoved them back down and forced a smile. “Yeah. Crazy, right?”

Blair threw a beautiful smile her way. “The craziest.”

Penny was glancing between the two like she was trying to figure out what was going on. After a moment she gave up and instead crossed her arms over her chest and gave the boys a pointed look. “I hate to break it to you, but this is a girls’ apartment. And I know it sucks that your girlfriends, or whoever they are, just abandoned you for a hot rock star. But this is kind of—”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Not allowed in your sacred place,” Cameron interrupted. “We’ll go back to our barn now.” His lips dipped, like he wasn’t thrilled about the prospect.

“Say hi to Scott for us,” Penny called after their retreating backs. And then she turned to Julianna. “Okay, that whole…thing…was weird.” She jumped onto her bed and crossed her legs, her expression eager. “Spill.”