efforts.”
“But?” Shane sensed a catch.
“I don’t think I am the right man for the setup you have in mind. I’ll continue training the mustangs and then hand them over to the Libertyville Boys Ranch as promised. But that’s really all I can guarantee, in terms of helping you out.”
Shane had the same look on his face that Emily had on hers whenever Dylan told her no. The one that said a McCabe wasn’t giving up on what they wanted, no matter what obstacles lay in front of them.
Finally, Shane rocked back in his chair.
Dylan expected Emily’s father to say something like the offer was always going to be open. Instead, he steepled his hands in front of him and inquired, “So what’s going on with you and my daughter?”
Dylan swore silently to himself. For the life of him he did not know how to answer that. There was desire, certainly. And he really liked her cooking. But beyond that...
His concern for his only daughter apparent, Shane continued, “I’ve never seen her run after anyone the way she’s been chasing you.” He paused. “Usually, it’s the other way around. Guys are beating down her door.”
Dylan had been around long enough to know that to be true. Not that Emily had been inclined, in the past year or so anyway, to let anyone make much of a move on her. As far as he knew, she hadn’t even had a date—not counting the pretend one with him.
“So...” Shane stood and looked at Dylan, man-to-man. “If I may...a word of advice?”
Dylan took the cue and got to his feet, too. He honored the elder horseman with a look of respect.
“If you don’t think you will ever be serious about Emily...then do whatever you have to do...” Shane said, firmly, “but don’t let my daughter catch you.”
* * *
DYLAN WALKED OUT the front door of the Circle M Ranch house, still contemplating the counsel from Shane McCabe.
As much as he hated having others meddle in his business, Emily’s father was right.
Emily might think she was a free spirit, but she was also vulnerable and traditional to the core.
A wild affair would never make her happy. Nor would deceiving her loved ones.
Not in the long term.
And for some reason he couldn’t figure, Dylan wanted to see the pretty brunette happy.
Which made what came next all the more unpalatable.
Striding toward Dylan, his arms full of Cowtown Diner goodies, was Xavier Shillingsworth. The teen flashed a pretentious smile his way. “Going the wrong way there, aren’t you, fella?”
There was no denying the snide undertone in his words. Or the resentment in Xavier’s gaze. Dylan paused on the wide front steps of the rustic fieldstone and cedar ranch house. He did not bother to smile back. “Excuse me?”
“Hired help comes and goes from the back, right?” Xavier sneered. “So...you should have gone in and out the back entrance.”
Dylan had suffered the taunts of the snotty rich from boyhood on. He knew he should let it go, straighten the brim of his hat, ignore the little twerp and keep moving. Yet something about the guy, and the situation, had him returning equably, “Ranchers go in the front.”
“And here I thought you were just another cowboy,” Xavier said, as Emily and her mother drove up in their respective vehicles.
Looking gorgeous and ready for a night out on the town, Emily was first to emerge.
Xavier shifted the stack of Cowtown Diner memorabilia in his arms and turned to face Emily. “Going to be joining us for dinner this evening?”
“Uh, no,” Emily murmured, appearing not the least bit disappointed about that.
Bypassing the teen completely, Emily walked up to Dylan and looked him straight in the eye. “May I have a word with you?”
Figuring he’d find out sooner than later why the feisty heiress was so piqued, Dylan shrugged. “Sure.” He ambled down the steps alongside Emily, as Greta McCabe emerged from her Mercedes.
“Nice to see you, Dylan,” Greta said pleasantly.
He briefly removed his hat in a gesture of respect. “Nice to see you, Mrs. McCabe.”
“Perhaps you’d like to join us for dinner this evening, Dylan?” Greta continued pleasantly. “Emily? You, too?”
Emily perked up.
Xavier looked totally ticked off.
Which in Dylan’s view, made it all worth it. “Don’t mind if I do,” he told Greta. It wouldn’t be the first time he had dined with the Laramie, Texas elite, but it would definitely be the most satisfying.
“Mind telling me what’s going on around here?” Emily asked, the moment her mother and Xavier Shillingsworth had disappeared inside the house, and shut the door behind them.
Dylan was getting a little tired of being a bit player in the McCabe family drama. He lounged against the rail edging the porch steps and folded his arms in front of him. “You’re going to have to be more specific if you want me to answer that.”
Emily wrapped her hand around his biceps and led him down the steps, across the yard, into the shade. “Fine. You want to cut to the chase, we’ll cut right to the chase.” She glared at him. “I heard you had a meeting with my father.”
Man, she had a temper! Dylan couldn’t help but grin. “Spies everywhere, hmm?” he teased.
Emily regarded him with greatly exaggerated patience. “My mother mentioned it in passing.”
Dylan clapped a hand over his heart, mimicking her damsel-on-high-alert attitude. “Then it was top secret!”
“I’m serious.” Emily stomped closer, the delicate daffodil scent of her freshly washed hair and skin teasing his senses. She’d changed out of her casual work clothes and slipped into a sexy lavender dress that clung nicely to her curves.
His eyes drifted to her feet. Instead of the usual boots, she had on a pair of open-toed sandals, perfect for the warm spring weather.
“What did he say to you?”
Lifting his gaze, Dylan resisted the urge to touch the silky dark strands spilling loosely over her slender shoulders. Instead, he concentrated on the determined pout of her soft, sensual lips before returning his attention to her eyes. “And this is your business because...?”
She tilted her head in a discerning manner. “I know it was about me.”
“Or...” He sidestepped the direct inquiry by producing the check from
