That Last Night In Texas. Ann Evans
No need to let old memories stir and ridiculous hungers awaken. She was no longer a lovesick eighteen-year-old girl. Lovesick. Even now, the word made her cringe when she remembered how foolish she’d been thirteen years ago.
“Ziggy!” she admonished the dog, who immediately began running silently in happy circles.
The couple reached them. The blonde held out her hand. “Hello there! Your housekeeper said everyone was out back. I hope you don’t mind if we join you.” She handed Josh her business card, offering him a big smile. “Do you remember me from the last town meeting? I’m Meredith Summerlin, from Summerlin Realty.”
“Yes,” Josh said. “Nice to see you again.”
Meredith indicated her companion. “This is my client, Ethan Rafferty. He says he used to work on the Flying M years ago.”
Josh nodded. “Of course we remember him.”
Something in her ex-husband’s tone told her that he was just as surprised as she was, but Cassie couldn’t have glanced at him if her life depended on it. She had not been able to stop looking at Ethan, no matter how determined she was to remain composed. The truth was, her heart was racing, and she couldn’t make it slow down.
“It’s nice to see you both again,” Ethan said politely, and held out his hand.
She took it. What else could she do, really? She was dimly aware that his calluses and nicked knuckles had disappeared. He carried himself well, and his muscular body seemed honed to new hardness. Every inch of him looked sophisticated, tamed, important.
“Hello, Ethan,” she said simply, keeping her tone neutral even though her nerves were a jumbled mess.
He gave her a quick smile as if he appreciated and even admired her attempt at indifference. Then his features were unreadable once more.
Thank God Meredith Summerlin was in full business mode. “Mr. Rafferty’s interested in the acreage you have for sale off Jackalope Road. I was wondering if we could sit down sometime soon and discuss the particulars.”
Cassie frowned at Ethan. “You want to ranch that land?”
“No, that’s not—”
“Mom! Dad!” a distant voice shouted. “Check it out!”
Everyone turned to see a palomino come flying around the corner of the house, ridden along the grassy trail by a boy who waved wildly at them.
It was Donny, on his new gelding, Cochise. He’d had the animal less than two weeks—a surprise present from Josh because he’d outgrown his older mount. Cassie didn’t think the two were used to one another yet, and she wished Donny would take things more slowly. Right now, he had the reins clenched in his teeth as he spread his arms wide and guided Cochise only with his legs, like a rider in a Wild West show.
A wave of tenderness for so lively and charming a child ran through her, but she couldn’t help that her heart jumped a little. Be careful, she wanted to shout. Don’t you know what can happen?
Then, just like that, a different kind of panic zoomed up her spine. A fluttering sensation spread out from her abdomen. If Donny came any closer, Ethan was sure to notice the resemblance. He would see his own features in his son’s face.
He would know the truth.
“Way to go, Donny!” Josh yelled, clapping his hands. Ziggy began barking his support, too.
Cassie kept silent, trying to think what to do.
Donny and Josh often accused her of being too protective. Having put up with her father’s smothering concern for so long, she had never wanted to be that way, but she knew how quickly things could go wrong.
And yet you couldn’t grow up on a working ranch without spending hours in the saddle. Donny had been on horses since he was a toddler. Josh had seen to that, and he was right. Her incident with Bandera mustn’t be allowed to poison the boy.
Could she play the “worried mother” card? Not difficult to do since her son often frightened her with his antics these days.
Yes, definitely. Now.
“Donny!” she called. “Enough. Put Cochise away and—”
“That was nothing,” the boy said. “Watch this!”
He urged the palomino into a tight, circling canter, kicked his feet out of the stirrups, then swung himself around in the saddle until he was mounted backward.
Really frightened for him now, Cassie made a move in his direction. “Stop that right now.”
“But, Mom—”
Josh caught her arm. “Cassandra—”
“I said stop!”
Donny pulled the horse to a halt, slipped front-ward again easily, then began walking Cochise toward them.
Cassie’s facial muscles froze as he approached. She spun around, understanding that radical change could come to her life in a heartbeat. She searched Ethan’s face for any glimpse of recognition. His eyes were on Donny, but she couldn’t spot the slightest shift of interest in him.
“It looks like you’ve got a daredevil on your hands,” she heard Meredith say mildly.
Obviously feeling thwarted, Donny slumped in the saddle like a beaten warrior. “I can’t do anything around here!”
Cassie turned back to him. “Put Cochise away and go inside,” she snapped. The last thing she wanted was for the boy to come any closer. “Feed Ziggy and take your bath. We’ll talk later.”
As though sensing Cassie’s tension, Meredith spoke up, offering a light laugh. “Kids! They can really make you want to pull your hair out, can’t they?”
“I’m sorry,” Cassie said, her heart starting to settle at last as her son headed off toward the horse barn. She pulled in a deep breath. “We were discussing the property…” The words rose clear and steady from a throat she would have sworn was paralyzed.
“Yes, we were,” Ethan said. Nothing showed on his face. Nothing had to. The too quiet, too silky timbre of his voice said it all. “I thought we might agree on a price for the property fairly quickly. But now—” his eyes followed Donny’s departing figure “—it appears there may be something else we have to negotiate.”
CHAPTER FOUR
BY THE TIME ETHAN PULLED into the parking lot of his hotel, he was ninety-nine percent certain he had a handle on the situation.
He had a son. A son he’d never known existed.
But that didn’t mean his world had to be turned upside down.
This sort of thing happened sometimes. People made mistakes, lost control. You couldn’t always erase what you’d done. Sometimes, no matter what you planned, you had to live with the consequences of your actions. Hadn’t he learned that years ago, the hard way?
So here was a new challenge. A big one. But he knew he’d find a way to manage it. So what if this was Cassie’s turf, and she had the home field advantage? They could still work this out. Calmly. Reasonably. He’d call his attorney, see what his options and responsibilities were. Cassie didn’t need to worry. He had no desire to play daddy. This didn’t have to impact his game plan for the future. Not one damned bit.
Yanking off his tie, Ethan threw it onto the passenger seat. He caught his eyes in the rearview mirror. Who do you think you’re kidding, Rafferty?
Just that quickly, his life was on a different track, like a train careening off its course. He had a kid, a twelve-year-old handful by the looks of it. A child who was so much a younger version of Ethan that he could have been looking in a time-traveler’s mirror.
Unwanted emotions churned through him, feelings he couldn’t even put a name to.
My