Just Once (27 page)

“I beg your pardon?”

He shrugs, wiping water off the counter. “He’s your type, that’s all. You already know my type.”

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks. Is he throwing Cassidy Reyes in my face?

“Why would you say that?” I demand. “What did I do to deserve that?”

He slams down the wet cloth. “You haven’t done a damn thing.”

“I had no idea they were coming, Shane.”

“Of course not.”

“Why would I lie about this?”

“So it didn’t look like you were killing time until your
GQ
boyfriend showed up to take over?”

“Do not insult me.” I feel my chin quiver, but am determined not to cry.

“Don’t insult you? You’re the one who thanked me for my ‘services’ on Sunday!”

“I thanked you for helping me clean. I already told you that!”

“Sure, Kate.”

“I’ve been busy with work, Shane. And when I’m not working I’m trying to be polite and hang out with the people who flew three thousand miles to surprise me. I’m not ignoring you.”

“So where have you been these past couple days? You know where my trailer is.”

“I just told you!”

“All right. Well, thanks for the fun. Have a great summer.”

“I don’t know why you’re acting like this. You’re the one who said you wanted a one-time thing, something casual.”

A cruel smile twists Shane’s face. “You’re right, Kate. I did. Thanks for the bonus rounds.”

And then he leaves.

I don’t see Shane the next day, but Hailey tells me Brandon’s given up cornering her—his new pastime since their early morning kiss—so I take it Shane’s on the warpath again.

By the time Stanley and Kevin are ready for our evening out, I’m antsy. Because we’re going “out on the town” (Stanley’s words), I’m wearing my one nice item of clothing: a pretty emerald green dress with a cinched waist that ends just above the knee, and a pair of gold heels. Lisa has styled my hair so it hangs in curls over my shoulders—declaring it “so much better than normal” and earning a snort of laughter from Hailey, who has been watching enviously.

“You’re sure I can’t come?” she says again. She’s been trying to put off Matt’s advances, but the guy is cute and charming and with Brandon’s mercurial behavior, she hasn’t been entirely successful.

“Sorry. You’re in charge while I’m away.”

“I know this is your first night off in forever, but it still feels incredibly unfair.”

I smile. “You’ll be okay.”

“Have fun with your handsome men.”

“Will do.”

I wave goodbye and head down the stairs. It’s just after five, and I want to be out of the way before guests start showing up for dinner. I hold on to the railing and step carefully, watching my ankles sway. High heels have been my normal footwear for most of my adult life, but I feel like I’ve forgotten how to walk in them. Or it may just be the splintering wood steps and gravel road that make it difficult.

I reach the bottom of the stairs and wave at Stanley and Kevin, who wait in front of the ranch vans. A chill runs up my spine, and I make the unwise decision to glance toward the Airstream—and the man leaning against it, arms folded across his chest, watching me. Our eyes lock, and Shane doesn’t look away.

I don’t know what he wants from me, but I know what I want from him: an apology. But he’s stubborn and stupid, and I know it’s not forthcoming, so instead I settle for distance. And revenge.

I turn on my brightest smile and aim it at Kevin Drew.

Chapter Sixteen

“T
ELL
U
S
E
VERYTHING
,” L
ISA
D
EMANDS
the next morning. I’m limping in my cowboy boots as I hurry around the kitchen preparing toast and coffee for guest breakfasts.

“I already did,” I insist. “We went shopping—”

She and Hailey swoon.

“…followed by dinner at Alberto’s, then dancing at Wild Rose.” Hence the aching feet. Both Stanley and Kevin can dance, and dance we did. Then, despite the fact that it was nearly two o’clock when we returned to the ranch, they drunkenly insisted that I come to their cabin to teach them how to line dance in preparation for tonight’s festivities. As the designated driver, I’d found the lesson to be slightly less hilarious, though I am curious to see how they make out this evening.

“God,” Lisa sighs. “Two handsome men fighting for your affection…How do you handle it?”

“Neither of them were fighting for anything,” I point out. “Stanley’s married—to a man—and Kevin had to beat off women with a stick all night. Women much prettier—and wearing much less clothing—than me.”

She scoffs. “Let me have my fantasy.”

“I thought you did have your fantasy. What’s wrong with Pete?”

She shrugs. “Nothing’s wrong, exactly. It’s just…He doesn’t really try.”

Hailey returns with dirty plates and listens in. “Who doesn’t try?”

Lisa looks around to make sure the coast is clear. The only other person in the kitchen is Alec, who’s used to our talk.

“Pete,” she whispers. “I think I made a mistake becoming his girlfriend so fast, you know? So now he doesn’t have to try to make me like him. He just assumes I do.”

Matt enters with a tray of glasses. “Sorry to break up the gabfest, but can we get some help out there, please?”

Lisa snatches up a tray and disappears. Hailey and I exchange a look.

“Did an eighteen-year-old girl just give us some pretty sound advice?” she asks.

I’m equally horrified. “She may have.”

There’s a knock on the in door, and we look up to see Stanley waving from the dining room. “Check out my new duds,” he tells Hailey when she ushers him in. “I’m a cowboy!” He’s modeling last night’s purchases: tight jeans, plaid shirt, boots, and white hat.

Hailey whistles. “You look phenomenal.”

Stanley tips his hat. “Thank you, milady.”

I swat at him. “Get out of here, you idiot. No one says milady. It’s not sixteen ten.”

“Duly noted.”

Stanley shuffles out, and Hailey looks at me. “Don’t tell me that man’s not trying,” she says.

I don’t see Shane until after dinner. We’re finishing up in the kitchen, and he’s been recruited to help move tables to prepare for the dance. I exit via the laundry room so I don’t have to pass him to get outside.

Upstairs Hailey and I bemoan that we have to go to the dance in the first place, then grumble that we have nothing to wear. “Wear the dress from last night,” she urges. “You washed it, right? It’s good as new.”

“I don’t want to wear it,” I complain. “If I wear it I’ll have to wear the shoes, and my feet hurt. Why don’t you wear it?”

Hailey hesitates, and I realize she wants to.

“Go for it,” I urge. “As you say, it’s clean, and it will look amazing with your hair. Put it on. Shoes too.” We’re the same size, and after a little rustling behind my closet door, the dress looks awesome on her fit figure. “Matt and Brandon are going to duel over you, milady.”

She snorts and twirls in front of the mirror. “Stanley and Kevin said you gave them dance lessons,” she says, pinning up her hair.

I laugh. “Yeah. They were drunk, though. We’ll see how much they remember.”

“Shane’s coming.”

I’d been sorting through a pile of clothes for something to wear, and I freeze at the words. I’d assumed Shane would be at the dance, so that’s not what has me suddenly immobile—it’s something in her voice. I turn to meet Hailey’s gaze in the mirror.

“What’s going on with you two?” she asks.

I look at my hands, wrapped around a wrinkled yellow sundress, and make a show of smoothing it out.

“Kate.”

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

“What’s been going on? Brandon’s been mentioning Shane’s mood swings, and I’ve started to realize that they correspond with yours: When he’s happy, you’re happy. When he’s not, you’re not.”

“I’m not nearly as bad as him!”

“No, you’re not mean, but there’s something there, isn’t there?”

I nod, guilty. “Please don’t say anything,” I plead. “We promised to keep it casual…to keep it a secret.”

“Why would he want to keep you a secret? You’re a million miles out of his league.”

“That’s not true.” I think of his words the other night in the kitchen. Shane feels that way too—he thinks
I
feel that way. Though after his insulting behavior, he might be right.

“Are you two fighting?”

“He’s mad that Kevin’s here,” I admit. “He heard we used to have a thing and now…He thinks I knew they were coming, even though I had no idea. He wouldn’t listen to anything I said, either. He just decided: judge, jury, executioner. It was awful.”

“I asked Brandon what was up with his hot-and-cold behavior, and he said that at the beginning of the summer Shane told them to stay away from the staff, that he was tired of his workers getting in trouble for following their dicks.”

“That sounds like Shane.”

“But he’s not taking his own advice.”

“And he’s taking it out on everybody else.”

“So ironically, he may have had a point.”

I can’t help but laugh.

The dance is in full swing when we get downstairs. The dining room is packed, but it takes less than half a second to spot Stanley’s white hat bobbing in the middle of the dance floor. I smile as I watch him twirl an elderly female guest around the room, though my smile quickly fades when I see the familiar shape of Shane’s broad back—and the fingers stroking up and down it. They turn, and I recognize the profile of the cougar from cabin four.

“Alert, alert,” Hailey intones. “Incoming.”

I turn to see Brandon weaving his way through the throng to reach us. “Cover me,” she hisses. “I’m going in.” Then she disappears into the dancing crowd, ducked low so Brandon can’t follow her red hair. The green dress, on the other hand, stands out like a beacon in the sea of denim.

“Well,” Brandon says, stopping at my side. “That could’ve gone better.”

I shrug. “Sorry.”

The band kicks off a slow number, and he takes my hand. “Let’s dance.”

I try to protest, but his grip is unyielding, and soon I’m wrapped in his arms, shuffling awkwardly from side to side. Brandon knows how to dance, but given Shane’s proximity and general temperament, I can’t help but feel like he’s putting himself in harm’s way. He’s a complete gentleman, however, keeping one hand firmly above my waist, the other holding mine.

After a moment he says something, but I can’t hear it over the music.

“What?”

“Where’d she get that dress?” he repeats, mouth near my ear. I follow his gaze over my shoulder, where Hailey dances with a guest.

“What’s going on, Brandon? You kiss her, you ignore her…Which is it?”

“The first one, definitely.” A pause. “Unless it’s the second one.”

“She’s not going to wait for you to make up your mind, you know.”

“She’s not exactly waiting, is she?” He scowls as we watch Matt cut in, pulling Hailey close as they dance. She smiles and hides her face in his shirt. She looks happy, not like my conflicted, tormented friend of recent weeks.