Cade studied her for a second, before smiling. “That’s direct.”
“I’m curious, so I asked.”
“It’s a long story.”
“We could order coffee.”
“Okay.” He reached for his water glass, then drew back. “I always had girlfriends in high school,” he began. “When I moved to Kentucky, I started dating the daughter of the owner of the ranch where I worked. Lynette was different from anyone I’d ever known. More sophisticated, I guess. She had a cute accent and knew exactly what she wanted from me.”
Bethany wondered if she’d made a mistake, asking for details about his past.
“The chemistry was instant,” he continued, “and we both fell hard. Or so I thought. She worried about what her parents would say, so we kept our relationship secret. I missed her when she traveled with her friends or her family, but then she’d be back and it was as if she’d never been away.”
Bethany drew in a breath. She already knew the story wasn’t going to end well.
“We’d been together nearly two years when Lynette came back from one of her trips with a fiancé.”
“Oh no.”
He grimaced. “I was surprised, too. And pissed. The guy was a jerk, but rich. When I confronted her, she told me that I was fun to play with, but that we were never going to get serious and I was only good for sex. She needed to marry someone from her social circle. Or as she put it, I was a workhorse and she was a Thoroughbred.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut.
“It got worse. I was mad—she got scared I was going to say something to someone, and she told her mother I’d attacked her. Her family had a lot of influence in town, so I was arrested and charged. Two days later, her father returned from a business trip. Turns out he knew all about our relationship and confronted his daughter.”
Bethany couldn’t believe it. Who would do a thing like that? If she’d ever tried to pull anything like that, Malik would have killed her. Okay, not killed, but she would have been in big trouble.
“The charges were dropped,” Cade said. “I was released, and then fired.”
“How could he do that?”
“How could he keep me around? He helped me get a great job in Texas and told me to stick to my own kind. I didn’t like the message, but I knew he was right. I packed up and left without looking back.” He offered her a humorless smile. “The kicker? Lynette got in touch with me about four months later and wanted to know if we could get together. I told her no. I’d learned my lesson. Next time I’ll fall for a good-hearted, honest woman who knows exactly who she is and exactly who I am.”
Bethany did her best to keep breathing. Her chest was tight but for once not because of her attraction to Cade. Instead she was fighting a sickening realization and doing her best not to bolt from her chair and keep running until she found her way home.
Then the sensation faded and all she could think was that life was incredibly unfair. If Cade didn’t want any more Lynettes in his life, he sure wouldn’t want anything to do with her. A princess from El Bahar was going to be way worse than some heartless, rich man’s daughter.
Worse, she’d lied about who she was and if he found out... Well, she didn’t know what, but it would be really, really bad.
“Beth? Are you okay?”
She swallowed and looked at him. “I’m sorry. My stomach just turned on me. Must be the combination of the rich food and hearing about your horrible ex-girlfriend. I’d say you’re lucky to be rid of her, but you already know that.”
His expression turned to concern. “You look pale.” He waved over the server and asked for the check. “Give me a second and we’ll head back to the ranch.”
“I’d appreciate that.” She tried to smile. “I’m sorry for messing up the evening.”
“You didn’t. It’s fine. I had a good time.”
“Me, too.” Right up until the end when she’d discovered that hoping for anything like a relationship with Cade was never going to be possible.
CHAPTER SIX
BETHANY SPENT THE night tossing and turning only to end up where she’d started—knowing that she was totally to blame for her current situation. While it would be nice to say it was someone else’s fault, it wasn’t. She could have sent someone else to get Rida settled—the royal stable was filled with excellent, caring workers who would have gladly accompanied Rida, but she’d insisted only she could do the job. Given how easily he’d settled into his new home, she knew now she’d been ridiculous.
Maybe it was more than the horse, she realized sometime before dawn. Maybe she enjoyed the drama of her situation a little too much. Maybe she’d been putting off having to make some hard decisions about what she wanted to do with her life. Regardless of which or all of the reasons, she was now stuck in a difficult situation and she had no idea how to fix things.
Telling Cade the truth made the most sense. It was the mature thing to do. The right thing to do. Only she didn’t want to. For one thing, she knew everything would change. While she was pretty sure he liked Beth Smith, he would have nothing but disdain for Princess Bethany. He would see her as Lynette-like, judge her and dismiss her, which would be devastating, because the even-bigger problem, at least to her, was she had feelings for Cade.
He was so funny and charming and capable. She liked how he respected her job and made her laugh and was easy to be around. She liked how his kisses made her feel. She liked pretty much everything about him. Which meant lying to him had been beyond dumb.
She got out of bed and went to the window. As she saw it, she could go one of two ways. Come clean or not. If she told him the truth, she would lose everything they had. If she continued to lie, she betrayed him and everything they had. It wasn’t much of a choice.
By the time she’d showered and dressed, she’d decided to come clean. She would accept whatever consequences there were with her head held high.
That decided, she went downstairs. Cade was already in the kitchen starting the coffee. He looked up as she came in and smiled.
She told herself it wasn’t even a special smile, but wow, there was something about the way he looked at her. With affection and kindness, with concern.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Did you sleep?”
“I’m better, thanks. I’m sorry about last night.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t have him think less of her—it would hurt too much. Which made her a coward, but she could live with that easier than seeing disdain in Cade’s eyes. However, she also couldn’t allow things to move forward between them. It would be wrong. She would keep things as they were, which was the very least he deserved.
“Thanks.” She nodded at the pot. “Coffee. My favorite.”
He chuckled and poured her a mug. “Mine, too.”
* * *
BY ELEVEN, Bethany had convinced herself everything was going to be all right. She took care of Rida, then retreated to the small office where she dealt with her email, including a note from her youngest brother complaining that he wasn’t too young to learn to drive and asking her to talk to their father. She wrote back pointing out he was only eleven and while being a prince did come with privileges, it didn’t mean their parents were idiots. No on the driving.
She was still laughing quietly when the door opened and John, the stable foreman, pushed into the office.
“He’s gone! Rida’s gone. I just went by his stall and it’s empty. I know you weren’t going to exercise him until this afternoon, so unless you gave someone else permission to take him out, he’s gone.”
Beth went cold. No one had talked to her about taking Rida. Had one of the guys in the stable tried to ride him?
That wouldn’t go well—Rida was very particular about who he accepted on his back.
She hurried out of the office. Cade came running around the corner and stopped when he saw her.
“I heard,” he told her. “You didn’t let anyone take him, did you?”
“N-no.”
Fear blended with worry that something had happened to Rida. Had he escaped or had someone taken him? He was a valuable horse and could easily be ransomed for seven figures. There was no way Cade had that kind of money, which meant she would be calling her father.
“Should we phone the police?” she asked. “Or wait for them to contact us?”
“You think he was stolen?” Cade shook his head. “I have security cameras all over this place. No one came in the gate and there’s no other way for a horse trailer to get on the property without being seen. I’m sure he got out.”
“But how? I latched the door. I always latch the door.”
“You need to breathe. We’re going to find him.”
Having Rida escape was marginally better than having him kidnapped, but no less panic inducing. What if he got lost? What if he got hit by a car?
“I can’t—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Cade put his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me. We’re going to find him. I will not stop looking until we do. I give you my word.”
She was still terrified, but some of her tension eased. Cade wouldn’t lie to her. He would make sure Rida was found.
She nodded and he led her outside. Several of the stable workers gathered around. Cade gave them instructions and they began to fan out. He grabbed Rida’s bridle, then led Bethany to his truck.
“If I had to guess,” he said as he started the engine, “I would say he’s going to head downhill. That will take him directly onto the animal preserve. Let me call Carol and have her meet us at their main offices. We’ll take off from there.”
Bethany nodded because she couldn’t speak. She was too scared. Part of her hated to commit to heading one way or another, but a decision had to be made.
Fifteen minutes later, Cade pulled into the animal sanctuary parking lot. Carol and a tall, older man stood by a pair of golf carts. As soon as Bethany stepped out of the truck, Carol waved her over.
“My dad will take Cade. You come with me.” She offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. If he’s on our property, we’ll find him.”
Bethany hoped that was true, but she had no way of guessing which way Rida had gone and she doubted anyone else would, either.
“We’re going to search in a grid,” Carol said as the electric golf cart moved forward silently. “My dad and I studied a map of the acreage and we think the most likely area to find Rida is in the northeast quadrant.”
“Are there any dangerous animals there?” Bethany asked anxiously. “I know you have giraffes, but what else is there around here?”
“Gazelles, zebras and a water buffalo. No one will bother him.”
Which was only a partial relief. There were a thousand other things that could go wrong. He could be heading in another direction and they would miss him completely. He could step into a gopher hole and break a leg. He could head up into the mountains and eventually starve or freeze to death.
She’d never considered herself overly dramatic, but having Rida gone was fueling the darkest side of her imagination.
Carol drove along a dirt path. “We’ll check in with the zebras first. They’re fairly skittish, so we’ll know right away if Rida’s with them. I can’t see them accepting any intruder, even a horse. The gazelles are more easygoing. Bronwen, especially.”
“You name your animals?” Bethany asked, more to distract herself than because she cared.
“I do. They’re not pets, but we still have a bond.”
They slowed at the top of a rise. Bethany could see several zebras grazing in the distance. Had she not been so worried, she would have appreciated the incongruity of the animals living in the middle of the California desert. As it was, she only scanned for Rida, then shook her head.
“He’s not here.”
“No problem. We’ll keep looking.”
Bethany nodded. “Thank you for your help. I’m sure you had a different day planned.”
“I’m happy to help. I know he means a lot to you.”
They drove for five or six minutes, then passed through a grove of thick trees into an open grassy area. She saw four gazelles and right in the middle of the field, a tall, black horse nibbling on grass.
Relief rushed through her, leaving her slightly light-headed. She smiled at Carol. “I’m so giving him a talking-to when I get him back home.”
“I’ll radio my dad and Cade. You go get your boy.”
“Thank you.”
Bethany got out of the golf cart and walked toward her horse. She was careful to move at a normal pace and keep her body language comfortable. She didn’t want Rida to sense any tension or get spooked.
He raised his head and watched her approach. After a couple of seconds, he started toward her, his head and tail high as if he was pleased with himself.
“Annoying twit horse,” she murmured in a soft voice. “You scared me to death.”
He stopped in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lowered his head as if hugging her back.
“How did you get out? Did I forget to lock the gate or do you have mad skills?”
Rida snorted in response.
A few minutes later, Carol’s father and Cade drove up. Cade walked over with the bridle. Bethany slipped it on.
“Can you give me a hand up?” she asked, standing on the horse’s left side.
“You’re going to ride him bareback with just a bridle?”
“It’ll be faster than bringing a trailer out here. Plus the trailer would startle the other animals. I’ve done it before. He’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure.”
Cade linked his fingers together, forming a step. Bethany put her left foot on his hands, counted to three, then pushed off the ground with her right foot. She swung onto Rida’s back and settled into place.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Cade asked.
She waved her phone. “I have the ranch’s address on my GPS. I’ll use the app to guide me.”
“If you’re sure.”
“We’ll be fine.”
Carol joined them. “There’s a gate at the north end of the property.” She handed over a key. “This is for the lock. Just bring it back when you can.”
“Thank you for everything.”
“That’s what friends are for,” she said easily.
* * *
BETHANY GOT RIDA back to the ranch and into his stall. John discovered that two of the screws had come loose in the latching system, allowing Rida to jiggle the door open. The problem explained and solved meant she could relax. She groomed Rida, then left him in his stall with Harry sunning himself nearby. She retreated to the small office and sent thank-you flowers to Carol before making a sizable donation to the animal preserve. Then she went in search of Cade.
She found him with John. They were checking all the stalls for loose screws.
“How’s our guy?” he asked as Bethany approached.
“He’s fine. I’m still feeling a little shaky. Thank you so much for your help and for staying calm. I was totally freaked.”
“You were on edge, but it’s not surprising. We were lucky to have found him so quickly. John and I are going to go over all security procedures to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
She nodded, confident he would take care of things. Between not sleeping and the stress of the morning, she was ready for a quiet afternoon and an early night.
“Pallas texted me,” Cade s
aid. “She’s invited us over for dinner tomorrow, if you’re interested. I thought maybe you could help me pick out a Christmas tree before we meet them.” He flashed that sexy smile of his. “I’d like a woman’s opinion so I get the right one.”
Hope, need and just plain liking smacked her upside the head. She’d promised not to get involved with him, to take a step back and retreat to the safety of the friendship zone. Only she really, really wanted to go to dinner with him and his sister and her fiancé and she wanted to pick out a Christmas tree even more.
Was it wrong to want to create a few memories before she headed home? Was she totally horrible for not simply blurting out the truth and letting the chips fall and all that?
“Beth, it wasn’t supposed to be a difficult question.”
“Technically it was two questions,” she said lightly. “Cade, I really want to go with you.”
“But?”
“But I’m leaving and...” And I’m scared to tell you the truth because then you won’t like me anymore and I really need you to keep liking me.
“I have a feeling you’re not worrying about my delicate sensibilities,” he teased, then his humor faded. “I get it. You’re going home and I’m staying here. As it’s only a couple of weeks, a case could be made to go for it. On the other hand, it’s easy for a situation to get out of control, and then someone gets hurt.”
Or that, she thought, preferring his line of reasoning to her own.
He touched the side of her face. “I’m willing to risk it if you are. And if you’re not, come to dinner with me as my friend simply because we enjoy each other’s company.”
“You are very good company,” she admitted.
“And a great kisser.”
“There is that.”
“So yes to dinner?”
“Yes to dinner and the tree,” she said, promising herself that whatever happened she would have no regrets.
* * *
HAPPILY INC’S CHRISTMAS tree lot was amazing. Not only did it smell like heaven, but there was a snow machine in one corner, producing a pretty impressive dusting of snow. If Bethany ignored the warm temperature, she could pretend she was in a forest, maybe in Germany or Colorado. She wanted to run from end to end, inhaling as deeply as she could, and maybe make an angel in the snow. Everything was magical and transported her back to her childhood when she and her mother had waited until the trees were marked down to buy one.
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