Shane (Remington Ranch Book 2) Read online

  Shane shook his head. “And I’m not worried about meeting Summer.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Right. How long has it been since you saw Cassidy?”

  Shane held his gaze for a moment. “Far too long. So let’s go kill two birds with one stone, can we? We can do each other a favor here.”

  Carter scuffed the ground with his toe. “I suppose.”

  “Come on, big guy. You’re not really scared of meeting that little tiny lady are you?”

  “Scared? Hell no. I’m petrified. I just know I’m going to make a fool of myself somehow.”

  “You are not. I’ve got your back, and you know Cassidy will do everything she can to make it easy for you. Let’s go, before you chicken out.”

  “Okay.” Carter headed for his truck. “Are you going to ride with me?”

  Shane thought about it. “No, I’ll follow you up there. I don’t want to give you the excuse to run out of there again to bring me back.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you there.”

  Shane climbed into his own truck with a grin on his face. Going up with Carter made him feel better about going. He wasn’t just crumbling and crawling to Cassidy for another shot; he was going to help his brother get over his nerves. Honest!

  He pulled into Cassidy’s driveway behind Carter, wondering as he did if she’d be watching on that little monitor she had. He grinned and waved through windscreen just in case.

  ~ ~ ~

  Cassidy smiled as Summer came back into the kitchen. “So do you feel up to having everyone over tomorrow night?”

  Summer looked worried. “Two trucks coming,” she croaked.

  Cassidy stood. Who might that be? She walked over to the window and had to smile when she saw Shane and Carter pulling up out front. “Well, it looks like you’ll finally get to meet the two remaining Remington boys.

  Summer came to stand beside her and then looked up at Cassidy with a big smile on her face. “Please tell me the muscly one isn’t yours?”

  Cassidy laughed. “Neither of them are mine! But the muscly one, as you put it, is the elusive Carter. The one I’ve been wanting you to meet. I told you he’s a bit shy. My guess is that’s why he keeps disappearing.” As she watched them start up the stairs, she also guessed that this little visit was Shane’s idea. Left to his own devices, Carter would have kept running and hiding. She looked at Summer who waggled her eyebrows.

  “He looks like he worth waiting for!”

  “Come on then.” She made her way to the front door. “Let’s introduce you finally.”

  She opened the door and caught her breath at the sight of Shane. The tingly shivers went racing down her back. For a moment she had nothing to say. She just stared into his eyes. He stared back, his smile more questioning than cocky.

  “Hi. I hope you don’t mind us stopping by.” He grinned at Summer. “I confess, I twisted Carter’s arm into bringing me over.”

  Summer smiled at Shane. “I’m glad he did.” She looked back at Carter. “I’m so pleased to finally meet you.”

  The touch of pink on Carter’s neck turned a deep red as Summer held out her hand. “You’re quite the mystery man.”

  “Pleasure’s all mine,” he mumbled as he wrapped her little hand in his big paw.

  ~ ~ ~

  Shane shot Cassidy a conspiratorial smile and was thrilled when she winked back at him. He didn’t want to extend his own hand as it seemed neither Summer nor Carter were ready to let go. They just stood there smiling at one another. He looked at Cassidy again and she lifted a shoulder.

  “Come on in,” she said. “We don’t need to be standing out here.”

  “Oh,” said Carter. “I should be getting back to work.” He looked over to where his men were laying pavers for the patio.

  Summer still hadn’t let go of his hand. “Please?”

  Shane grinned at the look on Carter’s face as he nodded. “Okay.”

  He was like a big puppy dog following her inside.

  Cassidy led them all through to the big living room. “Lemonade?” she asked.

  Carter and Summer both nodded.

  “I’ll give you a hand,” said Shane. Carter shot him a panicked look as he followed Cassidy through to the kitchen. Shane gave him a reassuring smile. He was giving him time alone with his dream girl; he was hardly going to stay and supervise. Besides, he had business of his own to take care of.

  “Close the door,” said Cassidy in a low voice.

  He closed it behind him and turned to her with a grin. “Don’t you think it’s a bit risky?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, but he could see the laughter lurking. “I mean to give them some privacy, not us!”

  “Aw. And here I was thinking you were desperate to make up for lost time! You can’t tell me you haven’t missed me?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever known a guy who was as full of himself as you are.”

  He shrugged. “Not so long ago someone told me that false modesty is a bad thing. And I’d never want to lie to you. I’ve missed you. I figured you missed me, too.” She was so damned beautiful! Her eyes shone as she smiled back at him. He could tell she was chewing the inside of her lip again, and, by now, he knew that that meant she was doing battle with herself. He decided to see if he could sway her in his direction. “I’m hoping that you’re as bowled over by whatever’s going on between us as I am.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “You are?”

  He nodded. “You can take the win on this one. I openly admit it. You’ve gotten to me, okay? I don’t know what to do about it. I hate not knowing whether you feel same.” That knocked her sideways, he could tell.

  She nodded slowly. “You’ve gotten to me, too. I have missed you, you aggravating, cocky…” she laughed. “I don’t know what to do about it either.” She held his gaze. “I think we should do something though. If we end up hating each other, so be it.”

  “I keep telling you, we won’t.” Shane was determined to cease the moment. “So, when can we have dinner?”

  Cassidy shook her head. “Not tonight. Summer is cooking for me at her place.”

  “Tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

  She shook her head. “I was going to invite everyone over here tomorrow.”

  “And does everyone include me?”

  She nodded. “I could hardly leave you out, could I?”

  He smiled through pursed lips. “So if I’d just waited a little longer, you would have come crawling to me?”

  She laughed. “I don’t crawl, Shane.”

  He shrugged. “I never have before either. I seem to be making an exception for you.”

  She gave him a sassy smile. “I’m worth it.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  She quickly fixed a tray with glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. “Do you think we should make sure they’re okay?”

  Shane shrugged. “They’ll figure it out.” She looked so concerned, he went and peeked his head around the door. He couldn’t see them, so he went out into the living room. No sign of them. Cassidy brought the tray out. He gave her a puzzled look.

  “Where the hell did they get to?” she asked.

  She went to the big windows overlooking the deck and smiled back over her shoulder at him. “Come see this.”

  Shane went to join her and smiled at the sight of them down in one of the new flower beds. Carter was squatting before Summer, pointing at a pretty blue flower and explaining something. Summer had her hands clasped in front of her, and big smile on her face as she listened intently.

  “Seems like Carter found his tongue,” he said with a smile.

  “I’m glad. One of them needs to do the talking and Summer can’t.”

  “I think she might,” said Shane as he watched the petite beauty squat down in the dirt beside Carter and ask him something. The smile on his big brother’s face as he replied made Shane happy and wary at the same time. He’d never seen Carter smile like that since his wife had cheated on him and left
town over ten years ago. Shane had hoped that he would find another woman to make him happy someday, but it scared him that Summer could break his heart all over again without even trying.

  Cassidy looked up at him. “What do you reckon?”

  He shrugged. “I like it, but it worries me.”

  “Me, too.”

  He slung an arm around her shoulders. “But they’re both grown-ups, and we’ve got some making up of our own to do.

  She shrugged his arm off and gave him that teasing smile of hers. “You certainly have!”

  “I have? You’re the one who’s been neglecting her duties!”

  He loved the way her eyes flashed at that. “Duties? What duties do I have?”

  “You were supposed to protect me from all other women remember? And for almost a week you’ve left me alone—prey to all the wicked women out there.”

  This time he was pretty sure there was a fleck of green in the way her eyes flashed. She was jealous? Wow! He wouldn’t have expected that.

  “I’m good, Shane, but I’m not Wonder Woman. It’d take superhuman effort to keep you away from all the women out there—wicked or not.”

  Ouch! “That’s not fair. You haven’t even tried.” She was mad. He knew he shouldn’t, but it made him smile.

  “So what are you saying, that you couldn’t resist and fell prey while I wasn’t around to protect you?”

  There was an edge to her voice that said she really didn’t like that idea. “Hell no! I’m saying I had to fend ’em off all by myself.” He slid his arm around her shoulders again. “And I like it much better when you do it for me.”

  She relaxed as she smiled up at him, and this time didn’t shrug him off. “Okay then. If you really managed not to succumb, then I suppose I can keep my word and protect you for a couple of weeks.”

  “Only a couple of weeks?” he raised an eyebrow.

  “That was the deal, don’t push it.”

  He grinned. “Okay, but I’m going to ask for an extension when the time’s up.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “You’re exhausting, do you know this?”

  He pulled her to him and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I’d like to think I will be—tomorrow night.”

  She pressed herself to him as he closed his arms around her. It seemed as though she really had missed him too as she rubbed her hips against his, making him hard. “We’ll have to see about that, won’t we?” She gave him an evil grin as she pulled away from him and headed for the door. “For now, I think we’d better go join those two.”

  He groaned. “You’re going to drag me out there before I’ve had chance to calm down?” He looked down at the bulge in his pants. He got no sympathy from Cassidy though.

  “You started it; you’ll have to deal with the consequences.” She picked up the tray and pushed through the door to the deck. “Lemonade’s ready guys,” she called.

  Shane shoved his hands in his pockets as he followed her out. He needed to remember that she was as good at this as he was—if not better!

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cassidy looked around. The others should be arriving soon. She was looking forward to this evening. This would be the first time that she’d entertained in this house, and it was perfect for it. She’d thought about cooking. She used to have a lot of dinner parties when she lived in San Francisco, and she loved to cook, but it hadn’t felt right tonight. Instead she’d had the little catering company up in town prepare everything, and all she had to do was warm it. She knew that with everyone’s unpredictable work schedules she’d do much better to wait until they all arrived before she threw it all in the oven.

  She went back up to the bedroom and smiled. She was looking forward to bringing Shane back here later. If she was honest, that was what she was most excited about. If he hadn’t come over with Carter yesterday, she would have called him to invite him this evening. She hadn’t been able to get him out of her head, and Summer’s assessment that maybe she was holding back—because she was scared he might be someone important—had rung true. If there was even a possibility it was true, she needed to find out either way. And the only way to do that was to jump in with both feet. She couldn’t help thinking that maybe she was just in lust with him and she was twisting things around so she could sleep with him again. She shook her head as she straightened the pillows. Who was she kidding? She liked him too much; that was the problem. If it was just lust she wouldn’t have a problem at all!

  The sound of the buzzer had her scurrying back to the hallway to check the monitor. She was hoping that he’d be the first to arrive. She was a little disappointed to see Mason’s truck making its way up the drive. She needed to get a grip. She shouldn’t be disappointed to see them! She really liked Gina and Mason. She went out onto the front porch to greet them.

  “Are we early?” asked Mason looking around.

  “Not at all, but you are the first, come on in.”

  Gina grinned and held out two bottles of wine.

  Cassidy took them with a grin as they took their coats off. “Are we planning on drinking a lot?”

  Gina laughed. “No, this is that Malbec I was telling you about. One bottle is for tonight, the other is for your cellar so that you’ve got it on hand for our girls’ night. I’m still waiting, you know, and getting less patient all the time.

  “Ah. Yeah. We need to make that happen.”

  Mason nodded. “You do. Only can you include me in the scheduling?” He put an arm around Gina. “I don’t want this one driving home after a night of wine and girl talk. I’ll be chauffeur.”

  Gina huffed. “I can easily stay here if I have too many.”

  “And I can come get you. Just as easy.”

  Cassidy laughed. Those two were still trying to figure out the balance of being a couple. Mason was definitely a Montana man in the way he wanted to look after his woman, and Gina was a little on the stubborn side to say the least. Cassidy looked at Mason. “Maybe you should organize a guys’ night out, then everyone can fend for themselves.”

  He grinned. “Now that’s a good idea. How soon are we talking? I need to catch up with Chance and my brothers.”

  Gina huffed. “See, he’s all over-protective toward me, until he’s got something better to do.”

  He shrugged. “I have to respect your independence, right?”

  She laughed. “You do, but I’d rather it wasn’t only when it suits you.”

  Cassidy listened to them as she hung their coats. They were finding their way. They were both strong, smart, and stubborn. Mason wasn’t exactly a pushover, yet they were happy together. His ego wasn’t threatened by Gina’s stubborn independence. Maybe it was a Remington thing? Maybe Shane was just as comfortable in his own skin as he seemed to be? She closed the closet and smiled at them. And maybe she was just getting carried away, wondering if she and Shane could be like Gina and Mason—that was just plain ridiculous!

  “Looks like they’re all arriving at once.” Mason jerked his head toward the driveway where three sets of headlights were approaching. He caught Cassidy’s eye. “Do you have any idea what Carter was like about picking Summer up?”

  “Do you have any idea what she was like about it?”

  Gina laughed. “They are just so cute together. It’s obvious they really like each other, but they’re both doing this ‘we’re just friends’ thing.”

  Cassidy nodded. “They are cute, but I’m starting to get a bit worried. Summer is totally smitten, but she doesn’t think they should do anything about it.” She looked at Mason. “I told her about Carter’s ex-wife. I thought she should know how badly he’s been hurt.” She didn’t add that Summer was such a sweetie that she’d cried for Carter, she was so sad for him. “She says he’s just such a nice guy that she wants to spend time with him as a friend. I’m guessing she’d like a lot more than that, but she doesn’t want to risk him getting hurt when she has to leave.”

  Mason nodded. “I went up to see him this morning. He’s like
a dog with two…”

  “Tails!” Gina finished for him.

  Mason grinned, “Yeah. Two tails. Right. Let’s just say he’s got his head in the clouds. But he says he’s just going to make the most of her friendship for the short time she’s here.”

  Cassidy hoped that neither of them would end up getting hurt. But at the end of the day, they were both their own people and would handle it however they saw fit. She wasn’t one to say what anyone should do. And certainly not in this situation. Especially not when she herself had been swinging like a crazy pendulum over what she should do about Shane. As she watched him climb out of his truck she was very glad that she’d finally decided to go for it. He was gorgeous, and he was giving her that cocky smile of his that infuriated her, and at the same time made her want to send the others home and drag him into her bedroom. She was surprised to see Chance get out the passenger side of Shane’s truck. She had invited him, but hadn’t thought he would show. She was so bad—her mind immediately went to how he would get home! She hadn’t thought Shane would be driving back.

  The next truck pulled up and Beau got out. He’d asked if he could bring a date. Cassidy had been uncomfortable with it. She’d checked with Summer before she’d said yes, and of course Summer had said it would be fine. She wouldn’t put anyone else out for her own sake—no matter what. She watched as Beau walked around to open the passenger door and a pretty girl with short dark hair got out.

  Mason groaned. “What the hell did he bring her for?”

  Cassidy shot him an inquiring look. He shook his head.

  “Mase thinks Angie is trouble,” said Gina. “I think she’s okay.”

  Mason shook his head. “That’s because you like to see the best in people. She’s trouble I tell you.” He looked at Cassidy. “You might want to warn your friend to watch what she says around that one. I don’t trust her.”

  “Oh, Mase,” said Gina. “Don’t be mean.”

  “Just trying to be practical.”

  Cassidy nodded. “Thank you.” She trusted his judgment.

  Soon they were all inside and had a drink in their hand. Cassidy noticed that Angie kept trying to corner Summer. She had to smile at the way Carter never left her side. He was like a bodyguard. He could be one, too, with his build and protective instincts.