known among people in the rodeo world that Mercer and Sunny Beckett, divorced for twenty-five years, were in business together. An unusual arrangement, for sure, but a successful one. Sunny oversaw the business side of the arena and Mercer the livestock.
Their three grown children worked alongside them. Ryder, a former ad agency executive, handled the arena’s marketing and promotion. Their youngest daughter, Liberty, taught riding and supervised trail rides. Cassidy, their oldest daughter and the Beckett family member Shane knew better than the others, was in charge of the bucking jackpots, team penning competitions and roping clinics.
He half hoped to see her in the office. The stab of disappointment he felt when he didn’t took him by surprise. He’d always liked Cassidy. In fact, they’d dated briefly in their late teens for about a month.
In those days, both of them were focused on their rodeo careers and the relationship quickly fizzled. Some years later, she and Shane’s brother Hoyt began dating. Their relationship had lasted longer and was more serious, though it, too, had ended. Shane remembered being a little jealous and thinking his brother a fool to let her go.
But that had been a long time ago. After Cassidy and Hoyt’s breakup, she’d quit barrel racing altogether. Shane crossed paths with her periodically, mostly when he came to the Easy Money for a rodeo. Their chats never lasted long, he assumed because of whatever resentment she still harbored toward his brother.
“Sunny, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” He flashed the arena’s other co-owner his best smile, which she returned along with offering him a firm handshake.
“Welcome, Shane. Come into my office. I have your employment package ready.”
Mercer waited in the reception area while Shane accompanied Sunny. He thought about asking after Cassidy, then decided against it.
Once Shane was seated in the visitor’s chair, Sunny handed him a slim stack of papers. “There’s a lot of reading, I’m afraid. Employee policies and procedures. Withholding tax forms to complete. A noncompete agreement. Take everything home tonight and bring it back in the morning. All I need for now is the I-9 form completed and to see two forms of ID.”
Shane fished his driver’s license and Social Security card from his wallet.
When they were done, he asked her a few general questions about the arena. Sunny was friendlier than Shane had anticipated. He’d been warned by both Joe Blackwood and Mercer that the matriarch of the Beckett family wasn’t in favor of the new bull operation. Shane had more to prove than his ability to manage. He needed to ensure the operation was run safely and profitably.
“About my daughter,” he began.
“Mercer mentioned you’d be having her for visits.”
“Yeah, alternating weekends.”
He didn’t add, temporarily. Eventually, Shane was hoping to have Bria for considerably longer visits. He’d need larger, more permanent living quarters than the fifth-wheel trailer that came with this job. Bria’s mother had insisted, and he didn’t blame her. Rodeo was no lifestyle for a four-year-old girl.
The fall from Wasabi had prompted Shane to leave the only career he’d ever known. Discovering he was a father—something Bria’s mother had revealed after Shane quit—required him to settle down and find a new occupation. The Easy Money Rodeo Arena, the heart and soul of Reckless, Arizona, and the small town’s most popular Wild West attraction, could be the place where Shane carved out his future.
“Is it against policy for me to take my daughter riding on arena horses?” he asked.
“Of course not.” Sunny’s expression warmed. “We have plenty of kid-friendly mounts. But you’ll be required to sign a waiver. And provide proof of health insurance.”
“No problem.” He’d remind Judy to bring the card with her when she dropped off Bria next weekend.
Judy was usually very accommodating, and he couldn’t be more grateful. It might be guilt motivating her since she had kept Bria a secret from him all those years. Or it could be she was about to get married to a guy with children of his own. Shane didn’t care. All that mattered was they were working together for Bria’s best interests.
“Speaking of your daughter...” Sunny rose from her chair. “I’ll let Mercer show you the trailer now.”
Shane shook her hand. “Thank you again for the opportunity.”
“All set?” Mercer waited by the door leading to the barn, a look of expectation on his weathered and whiskered face.
Expectation, Shane noted, directed at Sunny. Not him. It was obvious Mercer cared deeply for his ex-wife. She, on the other hand, was not as easy to read.
Mercer led Shane behind the main barn to where an older-model trailer was parked in the shade. A green garden hose ran from a spigot to the hookup beside the trailer’s door. A heavy-duty orange cord connected the trailer to an electrical outlet. The door stood slightly ajar and the folding metal steps were lowered.
Shane didn’t need to go inside to know he’d hung his hat in far worse places than this. In fact, it was a step up from many.
Mercer handed him a key on a ring. “Make yourself at home.”
“Mind if I park my truck here?” Once Shane had a look around the trailer, he’d unload his belongings and unpack.
Before Mercer could answer, his cell phone jangled. Listening in silence to the caller for several seconds, he barked, “Be right there,” and disconnected. “Sorry, I have an emergency. One of the calves got tangled in some wire.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Naw.” He dismissed Shane with a wave of his hand. “Get yourself settled.”
Shane watched a moment as Mercer jogged in the direction of the livestock pens located on the other side of the arena. When his new boss was out of sight, Shane climbed the trailer’s two steps, opened the door wide and entered his new home. His first sight was of the small but comfortable living room–dining room combo. His second sight was of the tiny kitchen.
His third sight, and the one cementing his boots to the carpeted floor, was of Cassidy Beckett, pushing aside the accordion divider separating the sleeping area from the rest of the trailer.
She swallowed a small, startled gasp, and her hand fluttered to her throat where it rested. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you yet. Mom asked me to put fresh towels in the bathroom and change the sheets on the bed.”
“You don’t have to go to any trouble.” The words caught in his throat before he choked them out.
Shane had always thought of Cassidy as pretty. Sometime during the intervening years she’d grown into a striking beauty with large dark eyes and shoulder-length hair the same chocolate brown shade as a wild mink.
He stopped thinking about why his brother let her go and began wondering why he shouldn’t ask Cassidy out himself. No reason not to. She was exactly the kind of woman he fancied. More importantly, she had no lingering attachments to his brother—who’d married someone else shortly after he and Cassidy split. She also had a son close in age to Bria and would probably be understanding of his single-dad responsibilities.
