Love Me Tender (5 page)

A touch on the back of her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. She knew from the tingle of awareness that it was Dave behind her. “Ready to continue our ride?” he asked.

“Sure.” She wanted to lean back against him, feel his arm come around her, but instead he dropped his hand and stepped away.

Flanked by the two lean, handsome men, she returned to where the horses were tied, Cherry and Malibu now joined by a sleek bay horse that Robin was saddling.

“Are you coming riding with us, Evan?” Cassidy asked.

He shook his head. “I've got the month-end accounts to attend to.”

“You're an accountant?”

“Investment counselor, but I do handle the accounts for Boots.”

“He's the money guy,” Robin said, swinging lightly into the saddle. “When Mom and I want to spend money, he tells us we can't. Right, Evan?”

“Someone's got to keep this place in the black,” he joked back. “Have a good ride and have fun at your grandparents' tonight. Say hi to Sheila and Ken for me.” He patted her leg, then stepped back. “Want a leg up, Cassidy?”

“I wouldn't say no.” Rarely used muscles were tightening up. It was a good feeling, though, for an active person like her.

He boosted her into the saddle, then untied the reins and handed them to her. “I'll see you again soon, I'm sure. Maybe tomorrow night at the Wild Rose, if you're working then.”

Remembering the Wild Rose's schedule, she asked, “For the line dancing?”

“If we can get a sitter for Alex, our baby.”

“Me!” Robin said. “You can bring him up to Dad's and my apartment and I'll look after him. Gramma Brooke and Jake could bring Nicki too.”

“Thanks, Robin. I'll talk to your mom and gramma, and let you know.”

Dave had untied his palomino and swung into the saddle. “Hope to see you then.”

As Cassidy rode out of the stable yard between Robin and Dave, with Merlin trailing them, she tried to sort out the family relationships. “Sheila and Ken are your parents, Dave?”

“That's right.”

Robin spoke up. “I have three sets of grandparents. It's cool!”

“I guess you do. Your dad's parents, your mom's parents, and Evan's parents.”

“Yeah, except that Evan's mom, Gramma Brooke, isn't married to his dad.”

A common-law relationship? She wasn't about to ask.

Dave said, “Evan's father's been out of the picture for a long time. Brooke remarried last year. Her husband, Jake, is in charge of the Caribou Crossing RCMP detachment. He works with Karen MacLean, who you met earlier this afternoon, Cassidy.”

“And Gramma Brooke is a beauty consultant at Beauty Is You,” Robin said.

“I've seen that salon.”

“If you need a haircut, go there,” the girl told her. “She's the best.”

As the three horses left the dirt track and headed onto a long stretch of rolling grassland, Robin went on. “Gramma Brooke and Jake have this adorable baby girl, Nicki.”

Cassidy wrinkled her brow. “Your mom and Evan have a baby, and his mom and Jake have a baby?”

“Isn't it cool?” The girl's face was bright with excitement. “Except that it's pretty weird that Nicki's my aunt. I'm her babysitter!”

“When Nicki's older,” Cassidy said, “if she ever tries to lord it over you that she's your aunt, remind her that you used to change her diapers.”

“Great idea! You're smart, Cassidy. I'm really glad you came riding. Aren't you, Dad?”

“Way to put your dad on the spot,” Cassidy teased. “It's okay, Dave, you don't have to answer that.” But she glanced at his face to read his reaction.

He met her gaze and lifted his hand to the brim of his hat in a gesture of acknowledgment. “I'm glad.” Yet his expression wasn't so much pleased as uncertain.

Apparently Robin heard—or chose to hear—only the words themselves, because she said, “Cassidy, you should come to dinner with us. Meet Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Ken and the rest of Dad's family. It'll be barbecue, and my cousins will be there, and the dogs all play together, and it's so much fun!”

“That's really nice of you, Robin, but . . .”
But you should have asked your father first
. “It's not fair to your grandparents to invite someone without them knowing.”

“No, honest, it's okay,” she said earnestly. “They cook loads, and they always tell us we can bring our friends. You're our new friend, so you should come.”

“Maybe Cassidy has other plans,” Dave said. His tone was neutral and his expression guarded. Did he want her to say she had other plans?

“But she's only been here a few days,” his daughter protested. “How can she have other plans already?” She turned her big brown eyes on Cassidy. “You don't, do you?”

Feeling like she was at a tennis match, gazing between Dave on her right and Robin on her left, she turned back to Dave with a “tell me what to do” look.

The tension around his eyes and mouth softened. “It would be nice if you came.”

Saturday evening, Dave stood beside his father at the giant barbecue on the back patio of the home he'd grown up in, inhaling the tangy scent of grilling sweet-and-spicy ribs.

He was glad his parents hadn't moved when their kids flew the nest. This sprawling rancher-style house on two acres of benchland north of town held so many happy memories of growing up with his sister and two brothers. It was still the family's heart, with regular Saturday night dinners, out-of-town relatives coming for visits, and monthly sleepovers for the next generation. Robin and her cousins—the Cousins cousins, as they called themselves—loved those sleepovers, which featured home-baked treats from Dave's mother and gold rush ghost stories spun by Pops. No one could tell a ghost story as well as his old man.

Nor, he thought as he watched his father deftly turn the thick country-style ribs, did anyone's hand match his when it came to the barbecue.

Pops gestured toward three women sitting in lawn chairs. “Seems like a nice girl.”

Cassidy, tonight dressed in beige capris and a smoky blue tee, with a lightweight purple hoodie tied around her shoulders, sat with his mom and younger sister, Lizzie.

“Yeah.” Some strange momentum was under way and he was doing nothing to stop it. When Robin had issued the dinner invitation, Cassidy had consulted him in a wordless glance. If he'd given a tiny head shake, then explained later that it was family time, he was sure her feelings wouldn't have been hurt. But he hadn't. He enjoyed her company.

And what was the big deal? He had women friends: Karen MacLean, Sally Ryland, Brooke Brannon. Cassidy could be another friend.

The afternoon ride had been fun, with Robin deciding that Cassidy needed to see the view from atop Whisky Mountain, but he felt bad for not realizing the expedition would be too long for someone who hadn't ridden much. When they'd dismounted at Westward Ho! Cassidy's leg had given her trouble. She'd been a good sport, saying ruefully that riding used new muscles.

Hobbling back to the Wild Rose, she had leaned on him for support. She'd fit neatly against him, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist. He'd been aware of her. The unfamiliarity of her slender, curvy body and the light flowery scent that overpowered the smell of horse that clung to both of them.

Sunday nights at the Wild Rose, he danced with lots of women, holding them in his arms, feeling the sway of their hips as they followed his lead, smelling each one's distinctive feminine scent. It was pleasant, but kind of impersonal. Supporting Cassidy's slight weight had felt personal. Arousing. In a way that was more than just a hormonal physical response. She wasn't just a pretty woman with a killer body seen passing on the street. He liked Cassidy; she provided valuable assistance at the Wild Rose; she was terrific with his daughter. But then he could say the same about Madisun. There was just something . . . personal about his feelings for Cassidy.

Did he want to be friends with a woman who aroused him, or was it better to impose some distance?

“Son?”

“Hmm? What did you say, Pops?”

“Cassidy fits in like she belongs.”

“Yeah.” She had that knack. Maybe it came from traveling so much.

Since they'd arrived an hour ago, she had tossed balls with kids and dogs, fetched a lemonade for white-haired Great-aunt Joan, and exchanged teasing comments with some of the guys and gals before his mom and Lizzie cornered her.

“Son, your mom's so distracted by your lady friend—”

“She's not my lady friend.”

Pops cocked an eyebrow. “Okay, the female you and Robin spent the afternoon with. Anyhow, what I was going to say is that the ribs are almost done and your mom hasn't brought out the salads. Want to get them out of the fridge, then let everyone know dinner's ready?”

“Sure.”

Dave brought out potato salad, three bean salad, tossed green salad, and several loaves of French bread. When he'd set everything on a picnic table, he rounded people up. His sister and mom bustled away to help serve the food, and then Cassidy rose. She tested her left leg before putting weight on it. When he and Robin had picked her up earlier, she'd said that a cool shower and a nap had fixed her up, but muscles did tighten when you sat.

“Giving you trouble again?” His gaze focused on her ankles, bare below her capris, and her slim feet in sandals. Her toenails were painted a rosy pink. Sexy feet. Sexy ankles.

“It's fine now. I'm sure this helped.” She hoisted a brown bottle. “Caribou Crossing does great beer.”

Forcing his thoughts away from her sexiness, he said, “Yeah, the local brewery's only been in business two years, but it's a real asset to the community.” He and Cassidy strolled up the lawn in the wake of adults and half a dozen kids, ranging from toddlers to adolescents.

“Four different beers, and they're all popular,” she said. “I've seen that the couple of times I've worked in the Wild Rose's bar. Speaking of which, I'm working there tomorrow night. Roy says the joint really hops on line-dancing night.”

“It sure does.” He cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward talking about work here in his parents' yard with this woman who was an employee, maybe a new friend, and a hormone inducer. “You're doing a good job at the Wild Rose. I'm glad we hired you.”

“Me too.”

They lined up for spare ribs and all the trimmings. The patio was crowded, with adults occupying a motley collection of chairs, and kids parked up and down the steps to the garden. Lizzie beckoned Cassidy to a chair she'd saved. Dave got himself a Pale Ale and, with all the chairs now taken, put the bottle on the porch railing and leaned against it. As usual, he was content to listen more than talk.

That was typical of the men in his family. The womenfolk always seemed to have more than enough to say. They covered the subject of his sister-in-law's pregnancy, moved on to Karen and Jamal's wedding next month, then turned to the town's planned celebrations for Canada Day on Monday.

Cassidy mostly listened attentively, eating with obvious enjoyment and occasionally chipping in a comment or asking a question. Dave's mom asked her where she'd been last year for Canada Day, and she said she'd celebrated the Fourth of July instead, eating pancakes in the plaza in Santa Fe. The women asked about her travels, and she told a few stories.

Darkness fell and some people drifted away to get dessert and coffee; parents checked on children; Pops went off with Robin and a couple of her cousins. His mom stayed talking to Cassidy. And Dave, even though there were now empty chairs, continued to lean against the patio railing and listen.

A baby's cry broke into one of Cassidy's stories and Dave's cousin Andrea approached, rocking the little one in her arms. “Time for us to head home and tuck the brood into bed.”

His mom rose to hug her and kiss the baby. “I didn't realize it was so late.”

Once Andrea and her family started the migration, others followed. Robin came over. “Dad, we can stay a while, can't we?”

Dave glanced at Cassidy. “Okay with you, or are you tired out?”

“I'm fine and I'd love to stay.”

“Of course you'll stay,” his mom said. “We've been so busy talking, we haven't even had dessert. Let's get some cherry cobbler and coffee.”

Cassidy, Dave, and his mom all served themselves. The two women headed back to their chairs and Dave hovered, wondering if he should make himself scarce. He had enjoyed Cassidy's stories, the animation on her face, the glimpse of a different kind of life even if it wasn't one he'd ever choose. Enjoyed, too, the mellow buzz of not exactly arousal—his mom's presence ruled that out—but male awareness. On the other hand, if Mom and Cassidy were going to talk girl talk, he didn't want to hang around.

“Sit down, son,” his mom said, and he obeyed.

After tasting the cobbler, Cassidy said, “Mmm, this is delicious.”

His mother gave a self-deprecating smile. “All this traveling you've done, I bet you've tasted far fancier desserts.”

“Fancier maybe, but not better.”

“Well, thanks very much.” She cocked her head. “With those itchy feet of yours, I'm guessing you grew up in a military family?”

“Actually, my dad was a Realtor. In Victoria.”

“Did he grow up there?”

“No, my mother did. Luis—my dad—is from Mexico.” She finished the last bite of cobbler and put the bowl down.

“You call him Luis?”

She nodded. “And my mom's Justine.”

Often when Cassidy talked, she fell into the rhythm of a natural storyteller, giving interesting details, injecting humor, throwing out teasers so the listener was drawn in and asked a question. Now, though, her words were brief and almost without inflection. Seemed like her folks weren't her favorite subject.

That didn't stop his mom. “How did they meet?”

After a sip of coffee, Cassidy said, almost reluctantly, “Justine was a university student. She and a couple of girlfriends went to Acapulco at Christmas break. Luis was this charming, gorgeous, sexy Mexican who worked at the excursion desk at the hotel. They both fell hard.”

His mother nodded. “Every girl's holiday dream.”

“I guess. Anyhow, he came back to Canada with her.”

“I imagine your grandparents weren't entirely thrilled,” Dave's mom said dryly.

Cassidy's lips twitched. “No, though there was only Gramps. Justine's mother had died when she was young. Gramps had a fair bit of money—he was a successful Realtor—and he spoiled her to bits. She had all the lessons, toys, clothes. She was his princess. Gramps figured Luis was after her money, or was using her to get Canadian citizenship.”

Dave leaned forward, curious. “And?”

“Actually, he wasn't. He really did love her.” She paused, then added, with a cynicism that surprised him, “Or, you know, they were young people in lust and they thought they were in love. Anyhow, Luis was smart and ambitious, and he'd probably have done well in Mexico, but he had no reason to stay there. His parents were dead and he wasn't close to the rest of his family. Once he was in Victoria, he studied real estate and actually impressed Gramps. He went to work for him, he and Justine got married, and she promptly got pregnant with me. She dropped out of university—art and drama—and stayed at home to raise me.”

“It sounds like things worked out well for all of you,” Dave's mom said.

“Yeah, for a while.” There was a rare wistful note in Cassidy's voice. “A couple years later my brother came along. JJ—James Junior, named after Gramps. Yes, we were happy. Justine and Luis both had a flair for drama. They made everyday stuff into something special.” Her smile faded and her lips twisted. “They loved, they fought, they made up. And then they didn't make up, and got divorced.”

His mom reached over to touch her arm. “I'm sorry to hear that. How old were you?”

Cassidy puffed out air. “The first time or the second?”

“What?” The word popped out of Dave's mouth.

She turned to him. “Oh yeah. They've done it twice. So far.”

So far? Before he could ask, she went on. “They divorced when I was seven. Luis went to the south of France with a sexy former client. JJ and I stayed with Justine. She dated a lot, finally got together with this guy and we moved to Toronto; then that broke up. Luis split with the south-of-France woman. And—can't you just hear the swell of violin strings?—he and Justine realized that it had all been a big mistake and they loved each other madly.”

“They remarried,” his mom said.

“Yeah, when I was ten. It lasted about six years. This time it was Justine who took off to Europe—with a jet-setter guy who flattered and fascinated her—leaving my brother and me with Luis. Gramps was dead by then . . .” A grimace suggested she'd been close to him. “Luis was working and dating, JJ hung out with a couple of buddies, and I bided my time waiting to finish high school and get out of there.”

As Dave listened to her, heard an undertone of pain in her voice, his eyes widened. Her parents sounded self-centered, like their love lives were more important than their children. He glanced at his mom, grateful for her and Pops. She gave him an understanding smile, then said softly, “Cassidy, I'm sorry you and your brother had to go through that.”

Cassidy shrugged. “When I graduated, I went to Greece, where Justine and her guy were living. I stayed with them a couple of months but I didn't get along with him. Besides, there was a whole world out there to explore.”

She glanced at Dave with a smile. “That's when I learned to toss all my worldly belongings in a backpack and go wherever the mood took me.”

And her parents were too self-absorbed to worry about her. No wonder she was so independent.

“We're glad you ended up in Caribou Crossing,” Dave's mom said.

“Thanks, but this isn't the end of the road for me.”

“Do you see an end to your road?” Dave asked, trying to get his home-centered head around her lifestyle.

“I don't think in those terms. Every day's a new beginning. That's as far ahead as I want to see.”

“Huh.” In a weird way, that almost made sense. If he thought ahead—to Robin growing up and getting her own place, marrying and starting a family; to his life being even more empty than it was now . . . No, that end to his road wasn't one bit appealing.

Forcing that thought away, he remembered something Cassidy had said earlier. “You said your parents have been divorced twice so far. D'you mean they got back together again?”