Just Once (28 page)

“Maybe you’re too late.”

The song ends and Brandon releases me. “Maybe.”

I turn to leave the floor and find something to drink, but crash right into Stanley, who was standing behind us, waiting his turn. He bows. “Milady.”

“Where do you think you are, exactly?”

He takes my hands and dances to the upbeat number. “I think I love it here,” he shouts over the music. “I’m considering moving!”

“You really look the part!”

“I know!”

He lifts my hand over my head and twirls me. My skirt spins, and the world whooshes past as I turn, coming to an abrupt halt as I bang into Shane’s shoulder. He turns to look at me, dark eyes too close, too knowing.

“Sorry,” I mumble to him and the cougar he’s still dancing with. Stanley tugs me back, and I glare at him. “You did that on purpose!”

“What’s with the freeze out?” he asks, watching Shane over my shoulder. “The man’s burning up and icy cold. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on,” I admit. “Not anymore.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, you look fabulous. Every man in the room is looking at you in this wonderful yellow cotton dress with just one small stain on the hem.”

“Thank you. That means a lot.”

He kisses my cheek. “Any time.”

The band switches to a popular country song, and Kevin appears behind Stanley. “May I?” he asks.

Stanley winks at me. “You absolutely may.”

I kick him in the shin as he two-steps away, and Kevin takes my hand, expertly executing the steps he learned last night. “You’re a pro,” I laugh.

“Right? The music just moves me. Even in jeans so tight they threaten the lives of my future children.”

Aw.
I’d forgotten that in addition to being smart, handsome, and super rich, Kevin Drew is funny.

“Stanley said you worked here when you were a teenager?”

“Yeah, for three summers.” We’re dancing closer now so we can hear each other over the music. “I loved it.”

He looks out the window at the mountains and the dark sky overhead, filled with a thousand twinkling stars. “I can see why. It looks good on you.”

“A little fresh air works wonders.”

He scoffs. “Kate, you’re getting more than fresh air.”

I laugh in surprise. “Kevin!”

He winks. “Nothing gets past me. Tell me about him. He’s not what I would’ve picked for you.”

“There’s no longer anything to tell.”

“Liar.”

“It’s true.”

“Come on. No matter how much I wined and dined you, you never looked at me like you look at him.”

“You didn’t want me to look at you like that.”

He shrugs and avoids my eyes. “You never know.”

Over Kevin’s shoulder I catch a flash of white. Stanley is jumping up and down, waving to get my attention. “Let’s get some fresh air,” I suggest.

Kevin spots Stanley and takes my hand, tugging me down the hall after him. We follow Stanley outside into a group of guests who had the same idea.

“Is there somewhere we can go?” Stanley asks, looking around.

I lead them to the steps outside the kitchen and close the gate behind us, then notice Stanley has a ridiculous-looking satellite phone in his hand.

“What on earth are you doing with a satellite phone?” I demand. “This is supposed to be a vacation!”

“I have to go back early,” Stanley admits. “Duty calls. Quite literally.”

I try not to whine. “What? When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“So soon? You’ve barely stayed for half your visit.”

Kevin stands and clears his throat. “If we’re leaving early, there’s something I have to do.”

Stanley snorts. “More like someone.”

I look between them. “Who?”

Kevin avoids my eyes so Stanley answers. “Lana.”

“The wrangler?”

“That’s the one.”

Kevin backs toward the gate and pushes it open. “Excuse me.” He disappears into the dark, the door swinging shut.

“Maybe Kevin can find something to love about ranch life after all,” I muse.

“I don’t think love is what he has in mind.”

I turn back to my friend. “You really have to go?”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I want to stay, really, but this place got a last-minute cancellation, and I shoved a lot of things aside to come. If I thought you needed me I’d stay in a heartbeat, but…You seem okay. Better.”

I think back to my last fight with Shane. How ironic it is that things were fine before Stanley came to save me, and now they’re a mess. But I’m not going to guilt trip him. He’s been beating himself up long enough.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I tell him.

Stanley hugs me. “I didn’t used to.”

“I’m okay. Really.”

“Call me if you need anything. Like a new wardrobe. Anything.”

I’ve got first shift the next morning and despite getting to bed at a relatively early hour, I’m still yawning when the wranglers show up for breakfast.

“Morning,” I say, pouring coffee. I take a second look at Lana—a strong, pretty wrangler who grew up on ranches—and wonder how her evening went with Kevin Drew. If her flushed cheeks and relaxed demeanor are any indication, she found quite a lot to like.

“Hey, Kate,” Brandon says, entering through the front doors, followed by Connor and Chase, the other ranch hand. Connor snatches a bagel and hurries out the door—he’s the one driving Stanley and Kevin into town to catch their early flight.

“Hey.” I take breakfast orders, trying not to watch the clock. The wranglers and ranch hands are normally gone by six thirty, and when six thirty comes and goes with no sign of Shane, a sense of dread builds in my stomach.

Lisa, Pete, and Hailey show up at seven. Something feels off—there’s tension between Lisa and Pete, and even Hailey is avoiding my eyes. I try to question her, but hungry guests pour in and she hurries away with a coffee pot and order pad. Alec’s got today off, so it’s just Mark working, and I help chop fruit and mix French toast batter, this time without spilling the vanilla.

Suddenly a delicious, sugary aroma reaches my nose and I sniff, looking around. “What is that?” I ask.

Mark looks at me. “What’s what?”

“That heaven-sent smell.”

He laughs and holds up a donut, so freshly made I can see the heat wafting off of it. “You mean this?”

My mouth waters, and I forget my earlier anxiety. “Since when do we make donuts?”

“Alec said I could try something new, so last night I whipped up some dough and this morning we’re making them to order.”

“Oh God. Am I allowed to place an order?”

“I ordered for you. This one’s yours.”

I bite into the cinnamon sugar-covered ring of paradise and close my eyes. “I’m dying. This is so good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“They’re going to forget all about Alec. This place will be your kingdom.”

Mark laughs. “That was my plan. Donut domination.”

I finish the donut and lick my fingers. “Thank you. I needed that.”

“Any time.”

I spot a flash of movement over his shoulder and see Shane just inside the back door. He sets down a stack of plates from last night’s dinner and freezes when our eyes lock. I expect his usual anger, but instead find something else: He looks tortured. Guilty. But before I can ask what’s wrong, he’s gone.

“The donuts are a big hit, Mark,” Lisa says, coming in with tray of dirty glasses.

“Thanks, Lisa.”

Hailey enters with a new order, and I drag her to the side. “What’s going on?” I demand. “You’re acting weird, and I just saw Shane and he looks awful. Did something happen? Is everyone all right?”

“Kate…”

“Spit it out.”

“Later, all right?”

“Hailey!”

“Everyone is okay. It’s not that…It’s just…Later, okay?”

“Lover’s spat?” Matt asks, leaning against the counter and looking on with interest. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

Hailey uses the opportunity to escape.

Matt frowns. “What am I missing?”

I shake my head, frustrated. “Beats the hell out of me.”

Hailey avoids me all morning. It’s not until we’re climbing the bunkhouse stairs after lunch that she gives me a look and follows me down the hall to my room.

“Ready to talk?” I ask, closing the door behind us.

She sits on my bed, holding something in her hand. “Please know,” she begins, “that in no way do I want to be the one to show you this.”

My earlier anxiety returns in full force. “What is it?”

“And,” she continues, when I sit next to her, “the only reason I’m doing this at all is because if I don’t, you’ll hear from someone else.”

“This is torture. You know that, right?”

She sighs. “I know.” Then she hands me a cell phone.

“What’s this?”

I don’t recognize the phone, but Hailey says it isn’t hers as she fiddles with the buttons on the screen, eventually finding the video she’s looking for and pressing play. The screen is relatively large but it’s dim, and even with the audio it takes me a moment to realize it’s footage from O’Malley’s.

“Am I on here?” I ask. “When was this taken?”

“Last night. You’re not on it.”

I’ve been the featured star of the past videos I’ve seen, so I’m not sure what the problem might be. The footage is bouncy and largely unfocused, but at the fifty-second mark I see what Hailey didn’t want me to see. Shane.

And Cassidy.

Together.

He sits with his back to a table, empty glasses and beer bottles littering the scene. Connor and Chase look on, laughing, as Cassidy straddles Shane in his seat, her horrifyingly short skirt riding up high enough to show the underside of her ass. She begins to grind against him, hips gyrating in time with the slow music, and his eyes are locked on her face. I recognize that look. Desire. Determination. Control.

I inhale painfully as I watch his hands trail up the outsides of her thighs, catching under the hem of that short skirt and offering us a peek of her red thong before moving up higher, over her tiny waist, fingers stroking the sides of her massive breasts.

He cups her face, she lowers her head, and the video is just clear enough to show her tongue slipping into his willing mouth as the crowd cheers.

Fingers numb, I hand the phone back to Hailey.

“Kate,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

It’s stupid, but my eyes fill with tears. “I’m such an idiot,” I moan.

“You’re not an idiot.”

“I shouldn’t even care. After the stuff he said to me…Even from the beginning, he—he didn’t want anyone to know, and I just…Who else knows?”

A pause. “Pretty much everyone,” Hailey says. “But no one knows about the two of you, so they just seem entertained by the news that Shane—the one who forbids his workers from having any fun at all—went out and did…that…last night.”

“But he was at the dance.”

“He left halfway through. I saw him go.”

“To her.” Tears spill down my cheeks, and I swipe them away angrily.

“He’s an asshole.”

“I know.”

“He doesn’t deserve you.”

“I know.”

“You can do so much better.”

“Don’t tell anyone about this, okay? About me?”

“Of course not.” Then Hailey sets down the phone, wraps her arms around my shoulders, and lets me cry.

Chapter Seventeen

F
RIDAY
N
IGHT
I
S
T
HE
G
UESTS’
L
AST
E
VENING
, and the dining room is full of rambunctious tourists unwilling to admit it’s the end of their vacation. We’re run off our feet, which is a blessing, because it prevents me from dwelling on the footage that’s been running on a loop through my mind all day.