Shane’s new job had an altogether different perk. One which quite appealed to him.
* * *
THE INITIAL ALARM Cassidy experienced upon seeing Shane tripled when he swept her up in an enthusiastic embrace. It was bad enough her father had hired him. Worse that her mother insisted she stock the trailer with fresh linens. Disastrous that he’d caught her here. With him blocking the narrow passageway to the door, escape was impossible. She had no choice but to surrender to his powerful hold on her.
“Good to see you, too,” she managed to reply.
He didn’t immediately release her. Cassidy worried he’d sense the tension coursing through her and attempted to extract herself. He let her go long enough to take in the length of her from head to toe before hauling her against him a second time.
“You look great.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled, refusing to return the compliment by admitting how incredible he looked. And smelled.
Good heavens, the man had been out with the bulls for at least an hour by her estimation. He should reek to high heaven. Instead, with her face firmly planted in the crook of his shoulder, she inhaled the spicy and appealing scent of whatever aftershave he’d used this morning.
With their broad shoulders, lean, muscular builds and ruggedly chiseled profiles, both Westcott brothers were head-turning handsome. Back when the three of them were competing on the rodeo circuit, Cassidy had considered Hoyt to be the more attractive of the pair. No longer. Shane not only held his own in the looks department, he’d surpassed his older brother.
Finally, thank goodness, his grip slackened and he freed her. “How have you been, girl?”
“Umm...okay.”
Girl? To her horror and chagrin, her heart gave a small flutter at the endearment he’d used during their short-lived romance. She dismissed it. Being attracted to Shane was impossible. For too many reasons to list.
“Sorry I interrupted you.” She attempted to pass him. “Let me get out of your way. I’m sure you want to unpack.”
“Stay a while.” He didn’t budge. “We can catch up.”
“I promised Liberty I’d help with her riding class this afternoon.” Surely her sister would forgive this one small fib, considering the circumstances.
It was then Cassidy remembered her sister didn’t know the circumstances. No one did for certain except their mother, and Cassidy had sworn her to secrecy.
“That’s not for another hour.” Shane smiled sheepishly and—dang it all—appealingly. “Your dad mentioned the schedule earlier.”
Her father. Of course, Cassidy thought with a groan. He alone was responsible for hiring Shane and throwing her life into utter turmoil.
“We have a new student signing up.”
“Come on.” Shane gestured to the dining table. “It’s been years since we had a real talk.”
It was true. Cassidy had avoided him and Hoyt like the plague, determined not to let either of them near her son, Benjie. It hadn’t been easy. Shane had competed regularly until recently and often visited the Easy Money.
“Five minutes.” Shane removed his cowboy hat and tossed it onto the table.
She hesitated. The one thing more dangerous than being alone with Shane was being alone with his brother. To refuse, however, might raise Shane’s suspicions. She couldn’t chance it.
“Okay.” She slid slowly onto the bench seat, the faded upholstery on the cushions pulling at her jeans, and repeated “Five minutes” for good measure.
He plunked down across from her, a pleased grin on his face.
Cassidy swallowed. The small dining table didn’t provide nearly enough distance. Shane’s appeal was infinitely more potent up close. His sandy brown hair, worn longer now than when he was competing, didn’t quite cover the jagged scar starting beneath his ear and disappearing inside his shirt collar—a souvenir courtesy of his last ride on Wasabi. And those green eyes, intense one second and twinkling with mirth the next, were hard to resist.
Currently, they searched her face. Cassidy tried not to show any signs of the distress weakening her knees and quickening her breath.
“What’s Hoyt up to these days?” She strove to sound mildly interested, which wasn’t the case.
“Same as always. Heading to a rodeo in Austin this weekend.”
“Still married?”
At the spark of curiosity in Shane’s eyes, she wished she’d posed the question differently. Now he’d think she cared about Hoyt’s marital state. Well, she did. But not for that reason.
“He and Cheryl are doing fine. Bought a house in Jackson Hole last year.”
Jackson Hole. In Wyoming. Good, Cassidy thought. Plenty far from Reckless, Arizona.
“Any kids yet?” She cursed herself for needing to know.
“Nope.” Shane shrugged. “Still trying. Hoyt wants a big family. Or so he says.”
A jolt shot through her. She attempted to hide it with a show of nonchalance. “Tell me about your daughter.”
Shane instantly brightened. “Bria’s four. Not sure yet if she wants to be a princess or a soccer player when she grows up.”
“What? No cowgirl?”
“I’m hoping to change her mind.”
Cassidy’s son, Benjie, wanted to be a champion bull rider. Like his grandfather before him and, unbeknownst to all but Cassidy and her mother, like his father and Uncle Shane.
She quickly shoved her hands beneath the table before Shane spotted them shaking. How was she ever going to keep him from finding out about Benjie and telling Hoyt? She vowed to find a way.
There were those who’d disagree, claiming she should have told Hoyt from the beginning about Benjie. That he had a right to know. Others, admittedly not many, who would side with her. It wasn’t just Hoyt’s nomadic lifestyle and partying ways, which had been one of the reasons for their breakup. Cassidy couldn’t take the chance of him fighting for, and probably winning, joint custody of Benjie.
She’d seen firsthand how parents living in separate towns divided a family. When her brother, Ryder, had turned fourteen, he’d left to live with their father. Up until last fall, Ryder had rarely seen or spoken to Cassidy, Liberty and their mother. Their father’s return had reunited the Becketts, but they were far from being a family. Not in the truest sense. Too much hurt and betrayal, and too many lies littered their past.
No way, no how, was she putting her son through the same broken childhood she’d endured. She would not suffer the same heartbreak that had devastated her mother when they’d lost Ryder. And it would happen. Of that, Cassidy was certain.
“Mom mentioned Bria will be visiting soon.” Cassidy forced a smile.
