Shane (Remington Ranch Book 2) (12 page)

When they finally lay still, Shane lifted his head. “Was that fun?”

She held his gaze. That had been so much more than fun! How could she tell him what it was though? She nodded. “Great fun!”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Maybe he felt it, too? But even if he did, what did it matter?

~ ~ ~

Shane rolled off her and pulled her into his arms. She was the most fun he’d ever had, but she was doing something strange to him. She was making him want more than just fun. Lying here under the big starry sky with her, he didn’t want to let go. He wanted her to be his girl. Normally after sex he was in a hurry to get his boots on and be gone. Right now all he want to do was hold her, talk some more. What the hell was she doing to him? Why was he disappointed that all she wanted was to have some fun with him? He should be thrilled! He was used to dodging women who wanted anything more than that.

She looked up into his eyes. He couldn’t help dropping a kiss on her lips. She looked so small and sweet. She had this hang-up about also being smart and strong, but he didn’t know why. Lots of women were small and sweet—and it got old really fast. It usually translated into needy and clingy too. Both of which made Shane’s skin crawl. Cassidy was the perfect package, she embodied the softness that a guy sought in a girl, while at the same time possessing a mind and a spirit that he respected and admired.

“You look way too serious for a guy who just got laid.”

He laughed. “Not serious. Just thinking.”

“Thinking what?”

He held her gaze for a moment. There was no point. She’d made it clear where she stood. He knew how it felt when someone pushed for more than you wanted to give. He shrugged. “About what we’re going to do tomorrow.”

She smiled. He wanted to think she looked disappointed. But that was just his imagination.

“What are we going to do?”

“Teach you what to look out for when you’re hiking.” He didn’t want her hiking by herself, but more than that, he didn’t want her hiking with anyone but him. “For now though, we should probably get some sleep.”

“Oh, we’re not going to sit up a while and drink that moonshine?”

He laughed. “Nope. We’ll be up early and you’re going to need a clear head.” He was pleased to see how disappointed she looked. “Maybe, if you’re nice to me, I’ll come over to your place one night and bring a bottle.”

She snuggled closer. “That sounds like fun.”

“It does, doesn’t it? So come on. Let’s get inside the tent and you can practice being nice to me, if you want.”

She laughed. “I’ve already been nicer to you than I have to any guy in a long time.”

He hated the thought of her being nice to any other guy…in any sense. He stood and held out a hand. “We’d better get you some practice then, hadn’t we?”

Chapter Twelve

When she opened her eyes, it took Cassidy a few moments to figure out where she was—it was early, it was very chilly, and she was in a sleeping bag…in a tent…in the middle of nowhere. And no Shane in sight! She pulled her clothes on and stuck her head through the tent flap. He wasn’t by the fire. He wasn’t with the horses. For a moment her heart pounded. Was this some kind of revenge for her trick on him at the gallery? What the hell would she do if he’d abandoned her out here in the wilderness? She took a deep breath. She’d figure it out, that’s what she’d do. She’d take Cookie and no doubt he’d help her find her way back to the ranch. He was a smart horse! Looking over at him she chuckled and made herself get a grip. Shane would hardly have left Lady and Teddy here if he’d taken off. At that moment she saw him emerge from a stand of cottonwoods. He cocked his head to one side.

“What’s so funny?”

She didn’t want to tell him what she’d thought. “I just gave myself a scare, then realized I was being an idiot. Where did you go?”

“To do what comes naturally.”

“Oh!” She frowned. She’d peed behind a bush a couple of times yesterday, she was hoping they’d make it back to civilization before she needed to anything else. She was curious though. “When you take ranch guests out do you have a camp place that you take them to?”

He laughed. “You mean some place with bathrooms and hot and cold running water? No ma’am. They come out here to experience what it’s really like.”

She nodded. “I guess they do.”

Shane reached in his back pocket for his phone. His face looked troubled as he read a text. “Sorry, Princess, but we’re going to have to head back.”

“Oh no. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Nothing serious, but something I have to take care of back at the ranch.”

She couldn’t believe how disappointed she felt.

“I’m sorry.”

“No problem.”

Shane went to get the horses ready. Cassidy felt a little useless; she didn’t know what to do to help. She went into the tent and got her things together then rolled up the sleeping bags as best she could. She kind of had them fastened like they had been…kind of. Shane popped his head in through the flap. The way he smiled made her feel proud of herself. “Hey, thanks. That’s great.”

“Did I do it right?” She held one out to show him.

“Perfect. Now if you’ll bring them out you can help me take the tent down, and I’ll show you how we pack Teddy. So you’ll know for next time.”

“Next time?” She scrambled out of the tent to join him, unable to repress a smile.

He smiled back. “Of course. I owe you a weekend, since we’re losing out on this one.”

“Oh. We’re missing out on the whole weekend?”

He nodded. “We have to get back as fast as we can.”

“And you’ll be busy for the rest of the weekend?”

“No, but we won’t have time to come back out.”

“So how about you bring that moonshine over to my place later?” She was surprised she was being so pushy. She should just leave it. She didn’t want to get involved with him, so why was she after more time with him? Because she’d thought she was getting the whole weekend, she reasoned. Why miss out on it just because of a slight change of plan?

He grinned. “I’d be more than happy to. Come on, let’s pack up. The sooner we get back, the sooner I’ll be done.”

By lunchtime, Cassidy was back at her place. Their ride back had been much faster and via a much shorter route than they’d taken yesterday. She was grateful that Cookie took such good care of her. She’d spent most of the time holding onto the saddle as he made his own way. Once they were back at the ranch, Shane had bid her the briefest of farewells and disappeared into the lodge as soon as one of the hands had taken the horses. She’d felt a little lost standing there staring after him, but he’d reappeared moments later. He came to her and handed her the keys to his truck. “I’m sorry about this. I’ll call you when I get done here. See if you still want to get together tonight.”

She could have told him right then and there that she did.

Now she was home with an afternoon stretching ahead of her and unsure what to do with it. She wandered into her office and turned on her laptop. She had an email from Summer.

Why aren’t you answering texts??? I love the pictures! I want the place! How soon can I come? Call me!!!!

She dug out her phone. She had three new texts, but no notification that they’d come in. They were all from Summer in response to the pictures of Beau’s rental house. She loved it. Cassidy dialed her number.

“Cassidy Lane! Get me that house!” Summer’s voice was quiet, but still full of laughter.

“Hey, chica. I’ll get right on it. Sorry I only just got your messages. Isn’t it awesome? And it’s just a short and beautiful walk along the river from where I am. I can’t wait to have you here.”

“I can’t wait to be there! I want to come now. Do you have the guy’s number? I want to find out how soon I can move in. I’m going nuts here.”

“Well then get your ass on a plane and come! If there’s any problem you can stay with me until it’s available.”

“I can?” Summer’s voice sounded scratchy now.

“You can. And I bet you’re not supposed to be talking are you?”

“What was I supposed to do when you wouldn’t answer my messages?” Summer laughed, but she sounded really hoarse.

It worried Cassidy to hear her like that. “Listen. Just hang up, and we can text each other. You get a flight booked and I’ll try to get hold of Beau.”

“Perfect. Bye.” Her voice was barely a whisper now. She was worse off than Cassidy had realized.

She dialed Beau’s number and got no reply. She paced her office, looking out the window. It was going to be so cool to have Summer here. She wanted to get it all organized right now. She picked her phone back up. Carter might know what was going on with the house. And she had a feeling he’d be pleased to hear that Summer was on her way. She dialed him.

“This is Carter.”

“Hi Carter. It’s Cassidy.”

“Oh, hi. Is everything okay?”

She smiled to herself. He was always making sure that everyone was okay. “Yes, great, thanks. I just talked to Summer, and she wants Beau’s house. I can’t get hold of him though. Do you know when it’s available or how much he wants or anything?” The line was so quiet she thought she might have lost him. “Carter?”

“Yeah, sorry. She’s really coming?”

Cassidy laughed. “She’s really coming. And soon. I’ve told her she can come stay with me until the house is available.”

“Oh. I. Um.”

The poor guy! She had to hope he’d relax when he actually met Summer, or it could be really awkward—for all of them.

“Sorry. I did talk to him about it yesterday. He said it’s ready as soon as he finds a renter. I told him you might have someone. I didn’t tell him who it was though.”

“Thanks, Carter. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“Not for another few days. He decided to stay on. But I’ll get hold of him and put him in touch with you.”

“Great. I told Summer to go ahead and book a flight. She sounds eager to get here, so I’m sure it will be in the next couple of days.”

“Do you want me to hold off on the landscaping while she’s with you?”

“No! I want you to meet her. She won’t be very talkative because she has to rest her voice, but she’s a lot of fun. You’ll love her.”

“I’m sure. I just don’t want to intrude.”

“Will you quit with that? You’re both my friends. It’s not an intrusion, okay?”

“Okay. I’m going to try to get hold of Beau. I’ll let you know what he says.”

“Thanks, Carter. Bye.”

After she hung up, she wandered around the house. She was pleased at the ways her life was changing. Her first few months here in Montana had been very quiet. She’d set up the gallery, done a lot of painting, and mostly hibernated through the winter. Things had started to change the day she met Shane. He’d come into the gallery asking whether she worked with local artists. He’d flirted with her shamelessly and it had really pissed her off. Yes, he was a good-looking guy—really good-looking, but it had made her mad that he would flirt with her while trying to find work for his girlfriend. Of course, it had turned out that it wasn’t a girlfriend, but Gina that he’d be trying to help. Gina had gotten in touch of her own accord and the two of them were now working together, creating a new line of art, mixing her paintings with Gina’s photography. And since she’d been working with Gina her social life had expanded, too, or better said, she had one now. Again, Shane was an integral part of that, seeing as he was Gina’s best friend, and Carter’s brother. Now Summer was going to be here, too. It just kept getting better and better! Whenever she’d talked to her dad over the winter, he’d told her he was worried that she was hiding and hibernating. Last time they’d talked he’d said it sounded as though she was coming back to life with the spring. He was right, too.

He phone buzzed in her hand. A text from Shane.

Sorry. Not going to make it tonight. Rain check?

She made a face. Why should she feel disappointed? She should hardly expect anything else from him. He’d probably had a more convenient offer from one of his ranch guests. She could buy some of that apple moonshine stuff for herself anyway.

Sure.

Was all she typed in reply. She sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him when. If he wanted another round, he’d have to work for it.

~ ~ ~

It was late by the time Shane made it back to his cabin. He was tired and hungry, and he needed a shower. More than any of that he was pissed that he’d had to miss out on going to see Cassidy tonight. He knew from her one word reply that he might not get another chance. Maybe he should have called her and explained. He shrugged. He hadn’t had the time. He’d been running like crazy ever since they got back to the ranch at lunchtime.

Brandon had texted him to say that the minibus full of guests had broken down in the park. While at the same time they’d had a complete mix-up with bookings and a group of twelve guests had arrived to check in—one week early! After he’d dealt with those issues, one of the hands had found a mare down in the bottom pasture with her hoof caught in a gopher hole. That had taken the rest of the afternoon to take care of. She was lucky; he’d once seen a horse break a leg so badly in a gopher hole that he’d had to be euthanized. The vet had assured Shane that this girl would make a full recovery, but she’d be lame and off the roster for a while. That had left him reworking guest to horse assignments for a good hour, too.

He pushed open the door to the cabin ready to take a hot shower, find some food, and maybe watch a movie. If Cassidy’s reply had been anything more than a curt,
Sure,
he would have called her, hoping to still go see her. But he was too beat to handle one of her put downs or rejections tonight.

He sat on the bench in the hallway and pulled his boots off.

“How’s it going?”

“Chance! I didn’t see your truck. Man am I glad to see you back.”

Chance smiled and ran a hand through his unruly black hair. “I left the truck at the shop. It needs an oil change and a good look over after that trip.”

“How was it? How did April do?”

Chance nodded. “She’s settling in just fine. I think she’s going to do great. I swear she relaxed more with every mile farther away we got from this place. Even the kid. He was a little wimp about being in the truck at first, but by the time we made it to the lake he’d come out of himself. I even let him sit in my lap and have a drive down the backroads before I left.”

Shane smiled. Chance might come across as tough and unyielding, but he had a heart of gold underneath it all. “You’re not such a badass really, are you? Saving damsels in distress, helping little kids come out of their shell. Hell, next thing we know you’ll be falling in love and living happily ever after.”

Chance’s smile was gone in an instant; his eyes narrowed and lips pressed into a thin line. “Not much chance of that.”

Shit!
Shane could have kicked himself. What had he been thinking? “Sorry, dude. I wasn’t thinking.”

Chance shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. I guess I’m even more testy than usual on that subject. Just being back at the lake, you know?”

Shane nodded. He knew what had happened in Summer Lake before Chance had come to Montana. “Does it still hurt as bad?” he asked.

Chance heaved a big sigh. “I think I made some kind of peace with it this time. Chloe’s sister is back there. I always thought she blamed me. Turns out she always thought I blamed her. We were able to talk things through. It did us both some good.” He stared out the window for a long moment, then looked back at Shane. “I dunno. I think talking to Renee helped me realize a lot of things. I gave her shit for not getting on with her life—for clinging to Chloe’s memory.”

Shane raised an eyebrow, not wanting to voice his thoughts.

Chance gave him a rueful smile. “I know. I give her shit for doing the very thing I’ve been doing. It’s so much easier to see it when it’s someone else doing it.”

Shane nodded and grasped his shoulder. “I’m not going to claim to understand how you feel. All I know is I’d love to see you living life to the fullest. You deserve it. And I don’t think you have to let go of Chloe’s memory to do that.”