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“Look at it this way, though, you’ll finally get to ride a horse.”
    “That’s right,” James chortled. “Now, instead of constantly telling Mandy to ask for a pony when she’s mad at me, you can actually ride a horse and get it out of your system.”
    “I’m kind of excited about it,” Ally admitted. “The only horse I’ve ever ridden has been on a carousel.”
    “I’ll take you for a special ride and we’ll have a picnic,” Jake offered. “I think you’re going to have a great time … once you get used to the change in lifestyle.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It means that life moves differently in the country,” Jake replied. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and the cabins we’re going to be staying in aren’t like the house. There’s not a television there for you to watch Little House on the Prairie . You have to go outside and actually live the life.”
    “I can do that,” Ally sniffed.
    “We’ll see,” Jake said. “I think you’re going to have a good time if you relax and let yourself enjoy it. I also think you’re going to go into culture shock for the first twenty-four hours. Don’t worry. I’ll be there to ease the transition.”
    “Speaking of easing the transition,” Ally said, leaning forward and glancing around. “With so few people up here, I’m thinking now is the time to do something I’ve always wanted to do.”
    “What?”
    Ally pointed at the bathroom. “Have you ever wanted to join the Mile High Club?”
    “Don’t even think about it,” James hissed. “I will kill you both if you try something like that.”
    “Oh, ease up,” Mandy muttered. “You were excited to join the club when we flew on our honeymoon.”
    “Seriously, that’s what you’re conscious enough to bring up?” James asked, scowling at his wife.
    “Shh.”
    Jake knew smiling wasn’t a good idea, but he couldn’t help himself when James’ murderous glare landed on him. “It does make you a little bit of a hypocrite, man.”
    “If you go in that bathroom with my sister I’m going to kill you,” James warned.
    “Yeah, but what a way to go.”

Four
    “Why is it so … flat?”
    Mandy didn’t fully wake up until they landed, although James did manage to pour breakfast down her before she tugged the blanket over her head again. Now that they were on the ground and driving toward their intended location, though, her blue eyes were keen as they surveyed the scenery rushing by.
    “Were you expecting mountains?” Jake asked from the driver’s seat, James settled next to him for the quick jaunt between the airport and the farm.
    “No,” Mandy said, scowling. “It’s just … everything is really flat.”
    “Kind of like your chest in middle school,” Ally chimed in, her gaze fixed outside the window.
    Mandy elbowed her best friend, irritated. “I wasn’t that flat.”
    “You used to wear sweatshirts that were way too big for you because you didn’t want James to know how flat you were,” Ally countered.
    “Is that true?” Jake asked, glancing at Mandy in the rearview mirror.
    “Yes,” Mandy admitted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I tried stuffing, but it always looked lumpy.”
    “I told you to use pudding in a balloon if you were going to do that,” Ally reminded her. “You said you couldn’t do that because your mom would ask where all the pudding went.”
    James made a face. “Is that where all of our pudding went when you were in middle school?”
    “I used Jell-O. I like a little jiggle when I walk.”
    Jake guffawed while James rubbed the back of his neck. “You still like a little jiggle in your walk, Angel. I like it, too.”
    “Don’t push your luck,” James warned. “After that bathroom incident on the plane, you’re lucky you’re still alive.”
    “I really did have something in my eye,” Ally protested.
    “I think you had something of Jake’s somewhere else,” Mandy countered.
    Ally slapped her arm. “Shh.”
    “As glad