“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.”
Shane waited until she lowered herself to the ground before stating the obvious. “Every time I say something you don’t like or that makes you uncomfortable, you run off.”
He half expected her to deny it, but she didn’t.
“Then stop saying things I don’t like and that make me uncomfortable.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re something else, Cassidy Beckett.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It was intended as one.” More so than she probably realized.
She entered the pen and fetched her reluctant son. It seemed Benjie wasn’t done playing with Bria. Shane was glad the two were getting along. He wanted his daughter to fit in at the Easy Money and to make friends.
“I supposed we should call it a day, too.” He took hold of Skittles’s bridle and led the horse through the gate. “I promised your mother I’d have you home by seven thirty.”
Bria’s features fell. “Can I stay over again?”
How he wished he could accommodate her. Nothing would make him happier. But he didn’t dare push the boundaries of his agreement with Bria’s mother, who’d been adamant that their daughter attend preschool on weekday mornings. Once he’d proved himself, then, yes, he’d insist on more time. Shane was smart enough to take things slowly.
“Sorry, kiddo. But maybe your mom will let you come back this weekend.” Judy had mentioned attending a real estate class on Saturday. She might appreciate Shane babysitting.
While he and Cassidy unsaddled and brushed down the mounts, the kids played a game of tag in the barn aisle. Benjie could have easily won, but he let Bria catch him more than once.
“He’s good with her,” Shane told Cassidy. “Considering he’s a year older and a boy.”
“Benjie’s used to socializing with kids of all ages. They’re a staple at the arena.” Untying Rusty’s lead rope, she walked ahead. “Come on, Benjie. Help me put Rusty in his stall.”
Bria stared after them, her expression bereft. Shane cheered her by lifting her up and setting her on Skittles’s bare back.
“Hold on to his mane,” he instructed and returned the old horse to his stall, three down from Rusty’s. Shane used the opportunity to continue conversing with Cassidy.
“Maybe next Saturday we can take them on a trail ride together?” He’d heard a lot about the rolling mountains beyond the Easy Money’s back pastures, but had not yet found the time to ride them.
“I’m working. The Jamboree’s in two weeks.”
She was referring to the arena’s next big rodeo. Shane would be busy, too. Yet, he couldn’t take no for an answer.
“How much would it hurt if we quit an hour early?” He removed Skittles’s halter and lifted Bria from the horse’s back. She scampered over to Benjie.
“I’m not going on a date with you,” Cassidy said.
“It’s not a date. We’re talking a trail ride with Benjie and Bria. Invite your friend Tatum and her kids if you want.”
“Bad idea.” She shut the door on Rusty’s stall. “Besides, I have other plans. A...family function.”
“We were friends once. We can be again.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Only if you make it complicated.”
“No.”
“Why? Because of Hoyt?”
“Of course not.”
“You still care for him.”
“I don’t. He means nothing to me.”
Shane recalled their brief kiss the other day and the sparks that had ignited between them. “What about me, Cassidy? Do I mean anything to you?”
Her sharp intake of breath and flustered denial should have been enough of an answer for him.
It wasn’t, and Shane was more than prepared to see exactly how deep—or not—her feelings for him ran.
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