“Why, Cassidy?” He searched her face. To his surprise and concern, he noted fear in her eyes. “What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing.”
He wanted to contradict her, but this wasn’t the time or place. Not with her acting like a skittish colt and not with her father standing close by, watching the two of them like, well, like a father watches a man who’s just kissed his daughter on the cheek.
What would Mercer think if he knew of Shane’s attraction to Cassidy? He might approve. Then again, he might oppose it.
Maybe Shane should take a moment and step back from the situation. This job was too important for him to mess up right out of the gate.
The thrill of his encounter with Cassidy faded. Unfortunately, his attraction to her didn’t. Try as he might, Shane couldn’t stop staring as she walked away.
Then again, he wasn’t trying very hard.
Chapter Three
“I sure appreciate the use of ole Skittles.” Shane tugged on the brim of Benjie’s too-big cowboy hat. “I know it’s rough sometimes, letting someone else ride your horse.” He lifted his daughter and planted her on Skittles’s broad back, then faced Benjie again. “Bria will treat him right, I promise.”
“It’s okay.” The boy kicked at the ground with the toe of his boot, leaving behind a large gouge in the dirt. “I can ride Rusty.”
Cassidy bit her lower lip to keep herself from speaking. She knew how much her son disliked riding the potbellied, swaybacked mule. Not because Rusty was mean or difficult or stubborn, as were many of his breed. But because he wasn’t a horse. That, in Benjie’s opinion, made him the object of ridicule from his peers. Like a kid forced to wear no-name sneakers while everyone else in school owned expensive, celebrity-endorsed athletic shoes.
Cassidy had been getting plenty of flak from Benjie this past school semester. He complained nonstop about his discount store footwear. The thing was, she didn’t have money to spare for nonessentials.
Her mother’s words came back to haunt her. If she told Hoyt about Benjie, she’d be able to collect child support from him. Possibly for the years since Benjie’s birth.
No, no, no. She wasn’t about to share, much less risk losing, custody of her son. And Hoyt would no doubt insist on some form of custody.
“You need a leg up, too?” Shane asked Benjie.
“I got it.” Nimble as a monkey, Benjie grabbed the side of the saddle and scrambled up onto Rusty’s back.
“Good job.”
Though Benjie would argue differently, Skittles was barely better than the mule. One of the arena’s oldest mounts, the horse’s slow, steady gait and docile personality made him perfect for a novice like Bria. Truthfully, Benjie was ready for a more advanced horse. But he loved Skittles and was loath to part with his pal.
“I want to go, Daddy,” Bria exclaimed gleefully and jiggled her turquoise cowboy boots.
A tad on the chubby side, she sported a generous mop of curly brown hair and an impish grin that reminded Cassidy a lot of Shane.
“Okay, okay. Give me a second.” Shane patted Benjie’s leg. “You want to ride in the arena or come with us to the round pen?”
“With you.” Benjie gazed longingly at Skittles, not at Bria, who was combing her fingers through the old horse’s stringy mane.
“If it’s okay with your mother.” Shane glanced at Cassidy, his green eyes twinkling.
She knew at once he’d been aware of her scrutiny the entire time and said nothing. Guess she wasn’t nearly as clever as she thought.
Rather than avoiding him, as was her plan when he’d first arrived, she’d gone about the arena with a business-as-usual approach these past few days. She refused to let him think their kiss had been anything other than mild and meaningless.
Truth be told, it had rocked her to her core. She couldn’t remember a time when a simple peck on the cheek had turned her limbs to liquid.
Maybe her mother was right when she said Cassidy had gone too long without dating. What other reason could there be for her racing heart every time he neared?
Cassidy’s view of Shane, Bria and Benjie was obstructed when a woman astride a leggy thoroughbred rode up beside her.
“Cassidy, dearie, can you help me adjust my stirrups? They’re a little long.”
“Sure,” she answered automatically and did as requested.
“Mom,” Benjie hollered as if she’d been swallowed whole and not momentarily out of sight. “Can I go with Mr. Shane?”
The name was a compromise. Cassidy insisted her son address adults formally, one of the few holdovers from her father’s strict teachings. Shane, however, wanted Benjie to call him by his first name.
She stepped around the horse and into view. What if Shane asked Benjie about his father? Better she was there to intercede. Then again, what if her going sent Shane the wrong message about them? Cassidy couldn’t decide on the lesser evil.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Shane said affably. “If you’re worried about him.”
“I’m not worried.” Not about Benjie.
“Then come on. The more the merrier.”
“Um, I need to, ah...”
The woman on the thoroughbred leaned over her horse’s neck. “For Pete’s sake, go with him,” she said in a loud whisper. “Don’t ever turn down an invitation from a handsome man.”
Seventy, if she was a day, the woman was a regular at the Easy Money and one of their few English hunter-jumper riders. Rumor had it she’d been married—and divorced—four times.
“Mom,” Benjie pleaded.
Feeling pressured from all sides, Cassidy relented. “Okay, fine.”
“Good decision,” the woman said. “You won’t regret it.” Pulling on the reins, she turned her horse away and nudged him into a trot.
Wrong, Cassidy thought as she caught up with Shane and saw his satisfied grin. She regretted it already.
He walked beside his daughter, holding on to the side of Skittles’s bridle. He didn’t look over at Cassidy, which somehow irritated her all the more. What? Invite her and then ignore her? The next instant she reminded herself she couldn’t care less. She had no interest in him.
Luckily, or unluckily, depending on one’s opinion, no one was using the round pen. Benjie, familiar with the drill, entered the pen first and rode Rusty in a clockwise circle.
Cassidy tugged her short denim jacket snugger around her waist, the gesture the result of nerves and not the cool January breeze blowing in from the west.
“Daddy, I want to ride by myself,” Bria said, her eyes on Benjie. “I can do it.”
“In a minute. First, we need to get Skittles used to the pen.”
The old horse couldn’t be more used to the bull pen if he’d been born in it. Shane, Cassidy realized, was being protective, but not so protective he smothered Bria. He also engaged Benjie in friendly conversation. Her son responded as he always did to attention from cowboys at the arena. He lit up.
Did Benjie miss having a father in his life? Was she wrong to deny him?
“Race you.” He passed Bria at a slow, bumpy trot.
“No, Benjie,” Cassidy warned. She’d climbed the fence to a built-in bench seat, installed so parents and instructors could sit comfortably while monitoring the goings-on in the pen. “Bria isn’t ready to race yet.”
“But I want to,” the little girl protested and kicked Skittles in the sides. The saddle’s wide, thick cinch prevented her boots from making any real contact.
Like father, like daughter, Cassidy decided. The little girl was fearless. Shane had always been like that. The quality had earned him a world championship bull-riding title on three separate occasions. It had also darn near cost him his life.
Shane brought Skittles to a stop. “If you promise not to race
,” he told Bria, “you can fly solo.”
The little girl stopped giggling in order to stare at him, an expression of bewilderment on her cherub face. “I’m not flying, Daddy. I’m riding.”
“Yes, you are. And doing well, I might add.”
He adjusted the reins, placing them firmly between her plump fingers. “Don’t let go and don’t move your hands all over the place. You’ll pull on Skittles’s mouth, and he won’t like it.”
Shane continued instructing his daughter for several minutes until she was fidgeting with excitement.
“Daddy,” she whined. “I’m ready.”
“All right.” He stepped back and let her go.
Cassidy could see the struggle on his face. As a parent, she understood what he was going through. It wasn’t easy, giving up control. Even, evidently, for Shane, who’d been a father only these last four months.
Bria completed her first circuit on her own with no mishaps. A second and third progressed just as smoothly, considering Benjie followed closely, daring her to go faster. Cassidy hadn’t been aware that she’d let her thoughts drift until the bench shifted beneath her. With a loud creak, Shane plopped down.
Right beside her. She hadn’t realized how small the seat was. Her pulse quickly soared. Really?
Cassidy pretended Shane’s proximity made no difference to her. “She’s a chip off the old block.”
Indeed, Bria took to horse riding as one might expect from the offspring of a rodeo champion.
“Not bad for a first time out.”
“Her mother doesn’t ride?” It seemed a reasonable question to Cassidy and not her being nosy, though she was.
“Never been on a horse.”
“Huh. I take it you didn’t meet her on the circuit.”
He leaned back, pushing his cowboy hat off his face and giving her a less obstructed view of his profile. His strong, rugged features were pronounced in the bright afternoon sun, as was his scar. Both stole her breath.
“Actually, I did. Right here. She and a friend came to the Wild West Days Rodeo.”
“Wow.” Cassidy hadn’t noticed his interest in anyone. Then again, she’d steered clear of Shane during the rodeos he’d attended. Less chance of people talking about her son and him hearing. “Were you angry with Judy for not telling you about Bria?”
Of all the disagreements Cassidy’s parents had had since her father’s return, not one had been about her mother lying to him about being Liberty’s father. Why was that? Surely, he was angry. She could easily imagine how furious Hoyt would be with her if he discovered her deception.
“Yeah,” Shane admitted, “at first, I was angry.” His tone gentled. “I got over it once I met Bria.”
Cassidy doubted Hoyt would be as forgiving. Her glance returned to Bria. “She’s adorable.”
“She’s something else, all right. I was scared to death she’d hate me. Be mad at me for abandoning her all these years.”
“How could she? You didn’t know about her.”
“I wasn’t sure she’d understand. But turns out I didn’t need to worry. We hit it off from the start. Like she’d always been a part of my life.”
“Was she upset with her mother?” That possibility concerned Cassidy almost as much.
“No. Judy and I concocted a story to tell her. She accepted it. I suppose because she’s four.”
Like Cassidy’s sister. Liberty had accepted the story their mother had made up. Also like Benjie, when Cassidy put off his occasional queries.
“And Judy’s willing to share custody with you?”
Shane gave Cassidy a curious look. “She is.”
When he didn’t ask why Cassidy wanted to know, she pushed on. “What changed her mind?”
He raised his eyebrows, his curiosity noticeably increased. Still, he didn’t ask. “The accident and me walking away from rodeoing. When I decided to settle down, she thought maybe I’d grown up enough to be a father.”
“Have you?”
He laughed good-naturedly. “Depends on who you ask.”
“I think you have,” Cassidy said, quite seriously. “You’re not the same man I once knew.”
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I meant it as one.”
A spark of attraction flashed in his eyes, causing her breath to hitch. They were close. So close she could discern each and every laugh line bracketing his eyes. Feel the raw energy emanating from him. Sense the weighty pull of their mutual attraction. It wasn’t easy to resist.
“What about Benjie’s father?” he asked. “Is he in the picture?”
“He isn’t.”
And, like that, the attraction fizzled. Shane had ventured into forbidden territory.
“Sorry,” she said, “I have to go. We have to go. Benjie,” she called to her son. “Grandma’s fixing dinner.”
“Aw, Mom. Not yet.”
Cassidy stood—and realized too late she was caught between Shane’s knees and the fence railing. She couldn’t pass unless he allowed it. Would he? Her gaze was drawn to his handsome face.
“Stay,” he said in a voice like warm honey. “Please.”
“We can’t.”
“You haven’t given me a chance to apologize.”
Before she could ask what for, two high-pitched squeals split the air. The first from Skittles, the second from Bria. In a flash, Shane vaulted from the bench. Cassidy grabbed the wooden seat before losing her balance. She twisted sideways just in time to see him reach Skittles and his daughter’s side.
* * *
“I’M SORRY.” BENJIE hung his head.
“It’s all right, buddy.” Shane held Bria tight in his arms. “No harm done.”
Indeed, his daughter had quickly calmed down once she realized Skittles had merely taken a brisk hop-step when Benjie tugged on his tail.
“It’s not okay.” Cassidy came up beside him, her mouth tight. “He was teasing her horse. That’s against arena rules and my rules.”
“She’s fine,” Shane insisted. “And, besides, he apologized.”
“Just because she’s not hurt is no excuse for what he did.”
Something was off in Cassidy’s tone. Shane couldn’t quite put his finger on it. As if she was talking about something other than her son and the teasing incident.
“All right. Then how ’bout we punish him? One hour of mucking bull manure after school tomorrow.”
Cassidy nodded in agreement. “Seems fitting.”
“Do I have to?” Benjie pouted.
“Yes, you do, young man.”
Bria giggled. “Ha, ha. You have to clean up cow poo.”
Shane set her back atop Skittles. When he patted the horse’s rump, the pair moseyed off.
Benjie followed on Rusty, his attitude adjusted.
“He’s just being a boy,” Shane told Cassidy.
“A misbehaving boy.”
Rather than returning to the bench, he and Cassidy exited through the gate and continued watching from outside the round pen. He was glad to see she’d forgotten about leaving. For the moment, at least. Experience had taught him she’d flee at the tiniest provocation.
Shane struggled to repress a smile. The women he typically met on the circuit were transparent, making their wants and wishes crystal clear. Cassidy, on the other hand, was a mystery. He liked that about her. Then again, he’d always appreciated a challenge.
Since she hadn’t brought up his apology, he did. “I’m sorry about the kiss the other day. I got carried away.”
“I’ve forgotten all about it.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“No big deal, Shane.”
Wasn’t it? He’d felt something when his lips brushed her cheek
. A rather enjoyable, no, exciting, sensation unlike any before. He’d been certain she’d felt it, too.
“In any case, I was out of line.”
“Okay. Apology accepted. Now can we talk about something else? How’s the massage therapy with Wasabi coming along? Dad says he’s improving daily.” She kept her voice light, though the underlying tension in it was unmistakable.
Which made Shane reluctant to abide by her request. He wasn’t ready to drop the subject.
“Remember that time in Albuquerque when I got thrown? You came running to my rescue then, too.”
She gaped at him, proving she also remembered.
“Why did we stop dating, Cassidy?”
“I don’t know. We were young and ambitious and both wanted championship titles.”
She focused her attention on the children. The two reliable lesson mounts were placidly circling with their young passengers.
“We had a few good times,” he said. “You and me.”
“We did.”
“I was jealous when you started dating Hoyt.”
“Really?” Surprise flared in her eyes. “You never said anything.”
“Maybe I should have.”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t think you cared.”
Shane nodded. Hoyt had been the better choice, or so he’d told himself.
“Do you miss competing?” he asked.
“Not at all. My life now is the arena and my son.”
Had Hoyt’s engagement so soon after he broke up with Cassidy hardened her heart? Shane didn’t think so. Cassidy had been the one to end things. And she’d obviously dated other men. Pretty quickly after Hoyt, given she had a five-year-old son.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what happened with you and Hoyt? One minute you were in love, the next you walked out on him.”
“I do mind you asking.”
“It’s been a long time.” What was the harm? Unless she still cared about Hoyt. The thought didn’t sit well with Shane for reasons he’d rather not examine.
“Exactly. It’s been a long time and doesn’t matter anymore.” Grabbing the top fence railing, she placed her foot on the bottom one and hauled herself up. “Come on, Benjie. We really need to go.”
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