"What are you planning?" Mandy asked, her tone casual but curious as she glanced at Ace. She had vaguely overheard his quiet advice to David earlier.
"Nothing," Ace replied with a shrug, his gaze fixed out the window. "What about you? Since when did you start hanging out with cowboys? Does Auntie Pam know about this?" He smirked, clearly teasing. Ace had noticed the way Mandy's backup—cowboys and girls from nearby ranches—had been waiting in the woods for her signal.
Mandy shot him a side-eye while steering with one hand, her other arm resting on the wheel. "Ace, I don't hang out with them. They owed me a favor, and now they don't."
Just as they approached the main road, Ace's attention was drawn to a chick on a dirt bike waiting by the cross. Mandy slowed the car and pulled over beside her, the engine rumbling softly.