“Twenty-something! With an ability to dissemble like that, you’ll do just fine keeping your thoughts about Aurox to yourself,” Lenobia said. Then I swear she giggled, which actually did make her look super young. “Twenty-something! I haven’t been that for more than two hundred years!”

“What’s your secret? Botox and lip injections?” I asked, giggling with her.

“B negative and sunscreen,” she replied.

“Hey you two, sorry to interrupt.” Stevie Rae’s curly blond head popped into view as she peeked into the stall.

“You aren’t interrupting, Stevie Rae,” Lenobia said, still smiling. “Come, join us. We were just talking about aging gracefully.”

“My mama always said eight hours of sleep, drinking lots of water, and not havin’ any kids was a better anti-aging recipe than anything a doctor or L’Oréal could ever cook up.” She grinned at Lenobia and then gave Persephone a worried glance. “And thanks for askin’ me to come in, but I’ll stay out here. I don’t like horses much. No offense; they’re real big.”

“No offense taken,” Lenobia said. “Do the Warriors need something?”

“Uh-uh. The arena is great for classes. They’re havin’ a bunch of guy fun, which means they’re hittin’ each other with wooden swords and shootin’ arrows at things while they yell a lot.” The three of us rolled our eyes. “But your cowboy is here, so I came to get ya.”

“My cowboy?” Lenobia looked totally confused. “I don’t have a cowboy.”

“Well, he has to be yours ’cause he just showed up outside the corral entrance with a giant horse trailer sayin’ he’s reportin’ for work and askin’ where he can unload his stuff,” Stevie Rae said.

Lenobia blew out a long sigh. Obviously annoyed she said, “Neferet. This is her doing. He’s the first of the local humans she’s hired.”

“I do not get what Neferet’s up to,” Stevie Rae said. “I know dang well she hates humans and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about whether the local folks like us bein’ here or not.”

“Neferet’s up to causing problems,” I said.

“And she started with me because she knows I’ve sided with you,” Lenobia said.

“Chaos.” As I said the word I felt the truth of it. “Neferet wants to cause chaos in our lives.”

“Then let’s give this cowboy a warm welcome, make him feel at home, and show him how unchaotic and downright boring working at my stables can be. If we do that, maybe, just maybe, he’ll decide to move on to more exciting pastures and Neferet will turn her attention elsewhere.”

Like she was on a mission, Lenobia marched out of Persephone’s stall. Stevie Rae and I shared a look.

“No way am I gonna miss this.” I gave Persephone’s warm flank a parting pat and tossed the curry brush into the tack bin.

Stevie Rae linked her arm through mine as we followed Lenobia. “What I didn’t tell Lenobia is how dang cute her cowboy is,” she whispered to me.

“Seriously?”

“Just you wait and see.”

Now I was super curious, and I picked up the pace, hurrying through the arena sand and barely waving at Stark, who was handing a bow to Rephaim. Stevie Rae tried to blow him a kiss, but I kept her moving so basically all she did was giggle and wave. I tried to ignore Stark’s scowl and focused on not leaking any of the curious, excited, and downright confused feelings I was having.

I didn’t exactly know why, but I absolutely did not want Stark asking me questions about Aurox.

“There, that’s him. The tall, non-vampyre in a cowboy hat over there by the door.” Stevie Rae pointed to the wide side doors to the arena. They’d been rolled open. Just outside was a big horse trailer and one of those massive trucks Oklahoma guys liked to buy and drive and practically live in so much. Standing in front of the trailer was a super tall man. And Stevie Rae had definitely been right. He was seriously cute, even for an older guy.

“He looks like someone who should be on the Western Channel,” I said. “Playing one of those olden-day cowboy heroes.”

“Sam Elliott, that’s who he looks like.”

“Huh?” I gave her a question mark look.

She sighed. “He was in a bunch of cowboy movies. You know, like Tombstone.”

“You watch cowboy movies?”

“I used to, with my momma and daddy, especially on Saturday night before bedtime. So?”

“So nothing.”

“Do not tell Aphrodite,” she said.

“Do not tell Aphrodite what?” Aphrodite asked.

Stevie Rae and I jumped as she seemed to materialize out of the air behind us.

“Don’t be creepy and lurky,” I said.

“I’m not. I’m just naturally graceful. It’s because I’m delicate boned,” she said. Then she turned her icy blue gaze on Stevie Rae. “Again—do not tell Aphrodite what?”

“That Lenobia’s cowboy is super hot,” Stevie Rae said.

Aphrodite gave her a look that said she was a crappy liar, which she was, but her gaze was already snagged by the man’s broad-shouldered silhouette.

“Ooooh! That’s Lenobia’s…”

“Employee.” I provided the word, even though Aphrodite was paying no attention to me. “He’s supposed to be working for Lenobia.”

“He’s hot,” Aphrodite said. “Not like Darius hot, but still. H.O.T.”

“I told y’all. And he’s so tall he makes Lenobia look even teenier than she is.”

As Stevie Rae, Aphrodite, and I wandered into hearing distance and tried (unsuccessfully) not to be too obvious in our group gawk, the cowboy tipped his hat to Lenobia and in a perfect Oklahoma twang said, “Howdy, ma’am. I’m the new stable manager. I’d ’preciate it if you could point me to the man in charge.”

I couldn’t see Lenobia’s face but I watched her back straighten.

“Uh-oh,” Stevie Rae whispered.

“So much for the whole warm welcome thing,” I said low enough that only Aphrodite and Stevie Rae could hear me.

“John Wayne just totally fucked up,” Aphrodite said.

“I am Lenobia.” Her voice carried easily to us. I didn’t think she sounded pissed. I thought she sounded like an ice storm. “I am the woman in charge of these stables and your new boss.” There was a kind of uncomfortable silence when Lenobia didn’t offer a hand for him to shake.

“Brrr,” Aphrodite whispered. “She just reminded me of my mom, and for John Wayne that’s not a good thing.”

“Sam Elliott,” Stevie Rae whispered.

Aphrodite furrowed her brow at my BFF. I suppressed a sigh of hopelessness.

“He doesn’t look anything like John Wayne.” She continued her stage whisper. “But he looks just like Sam Elliott.”

“You watched too much regular TV when you were a kid, probably after you had dinner as a family on Saturday nights. Pathetic.” Aphrodite gave Stevie Rae a dismissive shake of her head. I was thinking about how bizarre it was that Aphrodite knew about Stevie Rae’s family stuff when the three of us turned our attention back to The Cowboy Show.

The man tipped his hat to Lenobia again, this time he smiled and even standing as far away as we were I could see that his eyes were sparkling. “Well, ma’am, seems I got me some misinformation. Glad that was cleared up quick. My name is Travis Foster, and I’m pleased to meet ya, boss lady.”

“And you don’t mind finding out your boss is a lady?”

“No, ma’am. My momma was a lady and I never worked harder or happier than when I worked for her.”

“Mr. Foster, do I remind you of your mother?”

I thought Lenobia’s voice could have frozen water, but Travis didn’t seem to notice. Actually, he looked like he was enjoying himself. He cocked his hat back on his head and looked down at Lenobia, like the question had been serious instead of sarcastic. “No, ma’am, not yet you don’t.” Lenobia didn’t say anything else and I was just getting that squirmy, embarrassed feeling that awkward conversations with adults can bring about when Travis kinda shrugged, hooked a finger in the belt tab of his Wranglers, and said, “So, Lenobia, could you show me where my mare and I are gonna bunk?”