Blame It on the Rodeo (13 page)

She heard Clay’s truck roll in and she was glad she had him to confide in.

“I see you got here in one piece.” Clay smiled but Lexi didn’t have it in her to return the smile.

“They’re probably telling Shane right now.”

“Even if they know who you are they have no way of knowing he’s Hunter’s father.”

“They know.” Lexi stopped brushing Autumn and closed her eyes. “Because they just pulled in the driveway.”

* * *

“T
HAT
WAS
A
blast today.” Shane sauntered into the kitchen and popped a pod in the coffee machine. “I think I’m really cut out for this whole teaching gig.”

“You certainly surprised me.” Kay held Barney out in front of her and started talking to him. “I didn’t think he’d have the patience. Did you? No, you didn’t.”

“Yup, she’s lost it.” Shane laughed.

“I know I fought you and Chase on this, but I’m proud of you two.” Cole joined Chase at the counter. “You’ve impressed me.”

“Thanks, I think.” Shane took a sip of coffee. “Has anyone heard from Lexi? She said she had an emergency and tore out of here.”

“I hope it was nothing too bad,” Tess said. “Although it wouldn’t be an emergency if it wasn’t serious.”

“I might call her in a few if I don’t hear anything,” Shane said. “I can’t tell you how many people told me today that Hunter and I look alike. The kid definitely has potential on the circuit. After I speak to his parents, I’m going to see if Brock wants to rep him. They seem like nice people but they’re completely clueless when it comes to the rodeo.”

“Have you stopped to think about why Hunter might look and act so much like you?” his mother asked.

“The kid idolizes me,” Shane bragged. “I’m sure he picked up my mannerisms along the way.”

“I think he did, too, but I don’t believe it came from watching you,” Kay said.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Cole added. “I think he comes by them naturally.”

Shane laughed. “What are you implying? That Hunter’s my kid? I was married to Sharon and I assure you, I didn’t touch anyone while we were married, including Sharon.”

“You weren’t married to her nine months before Hunter was born. You married Sharon in November,” Cole said.

“Hunter would have been conceived in October,” Kay added.

“Okay, so I was with Lexi.” Shane thought back to the month before he married Sharon. To the weekend he spent with Lexi at Devil’s Thumb...when Lexi attended Colorado State.

“What are you saying?” Tess laughed. “We—or someone—certainly would have noticed if Lexi was pregnant when she came home from school for the holidays, at least by spring break and definitely by the summer.”

“She didn’t come home,” Shane mumbled.

“What did you say, Shane?” Cole asked. “I didn’t hear you.”

“She didn’t come home until August, right before she transferred to Cornell.”

* * *

“C
AN
I
HELP
YOU
?” Clay called out from the barn door.

“Is Lexi here?” the man asked. “That is her car, isn’t it?”

“We need to talk to her,” the woman said.

Clay looked toward Lexi in the shadows. “Your call.”

Lexi exhaled sharply. “Let’s get this over with.”

Clay stepped aside so Mr. and Mrs. Rathbone were able to see her. They walked across the yard toward her and then just stopped and stared.

“I’m Clay.” At least someone broke the ice.

“I’m Dennis and this is my wife, Melissa. We’re Hunter’s parents.”

Lexi stiffened at the word but forced herself to meet their gaze. “How did you figure it out?”

“We didn’t know much concerning Hunter’s biological mother but we did know her name was Alexis,” Melissa said. “That she was from Texas and studying to be a veterinarian. All this time Hunter was telling us about a vet named Lexi and it didn’t dawn on me that you were Alexis until I saw him next to you. I immediately saw you in him and I knew.”

“I promise I won’t interfere in his life,” Lexi said. “I had no idea he was coming here. This was as much a shock to me as it was to you.”

“So this wasn’t your and Shane’s plan?” Melissa spat. “Because I’m assuming he’s the father now that I’ve seen the three of you together. How was this going to work? You get him down here for a month and try to take him from us?”

“Definitely not. I wasn’t even sure he was my son. I had to hire Clay to find out.”

“Hire him?” Dennis asked. “What are you?”

“I’m a private investigator, sir, and I can assure you, Lexi did not plan this. She’s been agonizing over this for weeks and she had decided not to say a word to anyone about it.”

“Oh, sure.” Melissa rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “You don’t think we honestly believe that?”

“The reason I gave you my son, and yes, I
gave you my son,
was because I wanted a better life for him. I want him to be happy and I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize that.”

“At least now it makes sense why Shane’s taken such an interest in Hunter,” Dennis said, fuming at Lexi. “Does he even think he has any talent or was this just to get close to him?”

“I didn’t even know Hunter was mine and Shane didn’t, either. He still doesn’t know he has a son.”

Her confession brought immediate silence.

“Yes, I’m the horrible woman who gave her son up for adoption and didn’t even tell the father she was pregnant. I had my reasons and I stand by them today. He’s your son. I won’t do anything to change that.”

“It’s not that simple,” Melissa said. “All of our kids are adopted and we have a no-secret policy in our family. We told them if their parents ever surfaced, we wouldn’t keep it from them. I’m not going to break that promise to Hunter. He has a right to choose if he wants a relationship with you and Shane. We’re not going to make that choice for him.”

“I admire your decision, but please give me some time to tell Shane.”

“We’ll give you a few hours,” Melissa said.

“What?” Lexi sputtered.

“What’s the rush?” Clay asked. “Why can’t you give her a few days?”

“We get on a plane to go home tomorrow,” Dennis said. “We need to give Hunter some time to decide if he wants to get on that plane with us.”

“Do you have a number where I can reach you?” Lexi’s hands shook as she removed her business card out of her wallet and handed it to them. “My mobile number is on the bottom.”

“I think I should drive you to the ranch,” Clay said after the Rathbones left.

Lexi shook her head and calmly sat down on the hay bale near Autumn’s stall. Covering her eyes, she cried.

“I lied to both of them,” she sobbed. “And now I have to break Shane’s heart. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted my son to be happy.”

* * *

“I
WAS
JUST
about to call and check up on you,” Shane said when he saw Lexi walk up to the corral where the boys practiced roping. “They’re really good. Hunter and Tyler show the most potential. What do you think?”

Shane glanced sideways at Lexi when she didn’t respond. Sunglasses covering her eyes, she stood and watched.

“Everything all right with your emergency?” Shane had a strong suspicion what that emergency was, considering the Rathbones left shortly after she did.

Lexi nodded. “Um, I don’t know yet.”

“You know how everyone keeps saying how much Hunter looks like me?” Shane turned his back toward the corral fence, placed a booted foot on the bottom rail and hoisted himself to sit on the top. “You’re going to love this—my mom and Cole have this wild idea that you had a secret kid when you were away at Colorado State. Isn’t that a hoot?” He quickly glanced down at Lexi, but she only stared out into the corral. “I did the math, and that meant you would have been pregnant when I married Sharon and I told them there was no way in hell you’d have allowed that to happen if you were carrying my child. That’s insane, right, Lexi? You’d never do something that horrible to me, would you?”

“It’s not insane, Shane.”

Seething, he said, “Just say it!”

“Hunter is your son.” Lexi shook her head. “He’s our son.”

Shane hopped off the fence and turned her to face him.

“I have a son and you kept it from me for thirteen years?” Confirming what he already knew made the situation that much more painful. “I was wrong. There is someone worse than Sharon—you.”

Chapter Eleven

Shane gripped Lexi by the arm and led her away from the round pen and toward the parking area. The last person he wanted to overhear the conversation about his real parents was Hunter since it was obvious the kid had no idea he was his father.

“How could you do this to me?” Shane growled, still holding on to her arm. “What right did you have to take my child away from me?”

“I was eighteen.” Lexi pulled away from him. “I came home to tell you but before I opened my mouth you told me you cheated on me, got Sharon pregnant and oh, by the way, we’re getting married in a few days. Happy Thanksgiving to me!”

“That doesn’t excuse what you did.” He couldn’t believe she was trying to talk her way out of this.

“You made it very clear to me that day that you and I were no longer together. That you had a responsibility to your child and you were going to see it through. Think back to that afternoon, Shane. What did I say to you? Nothing! You wouldn’t even let me speak. Once again, it was the
Shane Show
and it was all about you and the damn rodeo. News flash—I made it about our son and did what was right for him.”

“By keeping him from me?” Shane removed his hat and waved it in the air. “How was that the right thing to do?”

“I couldn’t raise him on my own. I was in school and I was staying in school.”

“You were selfish,” Shane spat. “You thought only about yourself. Don’t you dare say you did this for Hunter.”

“I was selfish?” Lexi laughed. “Who couldn’t keep it in his pants? Hmm, I think that was pretty selfish on your part. And who couldn’t use birth control? Ding, ding, ding, right again. So don’t give me the ‘I’m selfish’ crap.”

Shane didn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. He made a mistake, but it didn’t justify giving their son up for adoption. Not when he was willing to be a parent.

“I would have raised him if you were so dead set on going to school.”

“Now that’s funny. Sometimes I have to laugh at all these recollections you seem to have of Dylan because you were never around. You were constantly on the road plus you had your hands full with a buckle-bunny tramp of a wife. You barely handled that. There was no way you’d be able to deal with another child.”

“I was there for Dylan.” How dare she say he wasn’t. He’d loved that child more than he loved anyone. It was a different love than what he’d felt for Lexi, which was nonexistent now.

“I was even thinking about this at the Fourth of July picnic,” Lexi went on, “and how once again you weren’t around. You’ve never been around longer than a few weeks in a row and even that’s a stretch. So don’t you dare accuse me of being selfish and for wanting to stay in school. You were born rich and you’ll die rich, but in the end you’re a rodeo cowboy in his thirties who doesn’t give a crap about anyone else except himself.”

“Now I’ve lost two kids.”

“Blame yourself for that.” Lexi walked toward her car. “Tell me, what would you have changed about your life, if you had known about Hunter?”

Shane slapped his hat against his thigh as he tried to come up with an answer. He knew many rodeo cowboys with families at home and he also knew many that retired early to be with their families.

“I would have made it work.” Shane sat on the tree stump in front of Lexi’s car. The cut was fresh, but he didn’t remember when the tree was taken down.
It must have happened when I was...away.
“I’m not gone
all
the time, but yes, I’m on the road a lot. How else am I going to win the championship?”

“I, I, I!” Lexi stomped her foot for emphasis. “Listen to yourself. It’s all about you and the rodeo—what you want, what you need, what makes Shane happy. You say you’ve changed, but you haven’t. No one wants this stupid rodeo reality show and yet you’re shoving it down everyone’s throats. Why? Because Shane Langtry has to be in the spotlight all the time.”

“That’s not true.” Shane jumped to his feet.

“Really?” Lexi stepped toward him, inches from his face. “Where’s Chase in all the talk about the TV show? You never mention him.”

Shane felt his blood pressure skyrocket. He’d been furious with Sharon, but it was nothing compared to the anger he felt toward Lexi. The one woman he loved, the one person he trusted, and she’d betrayed him.
You betrayed her first.

He needed to get away from her before he did something they’d both regret.

“Get out of here,” Shane snarled. “I don’t want to see you here again. You’re fired.”

“Oh, please. Is that your reality-show training kicking in? You can’t fire me because I don’t work for you. I own my own practice and if your family chooses not to use me again, then so be it. But just so you know, the Rathbones are on their way to tell Hunter.”

“They’re coming now?” Shane looked toward their son, who was laughing and swinging his rope high in the air.

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable.” Shane thought she’d done the worst to him. This just confirmed it. “You’re only telling me because you got caught.”

Lexi nodded. “You’re right. If they hadn’t found out, I wouldn’t have told you. I was not going to disrupt his life, and he has a great life, with a wonderful family, which is more than we would have been able to give him.”

“I never had the chance.”

“Neither did I,” Lexi thundered. “You took my chance away the night you cheated on me, only I didn’t know it then. Instead, you let me live a lie and then shattered my world when you told me you created a family with someone else. What I did was never about another man. It was about an innocent child that didn’t deserve to be brought up in the middle of a battlefield.”

“You can’t even say you’re sorry, can you?”

Lexi shook her head. “I stand by what I did and I make no apologies for it.”

A tan SUV parked in front of the rodeo school. The Rathbones remained in the car, watching their son practice.
Their son
. Shane’s parental rights had been stripped from him without his knowledge and he had to accept it. Even he knew no judge worth his salt would give Shane back his son, and even if that happened, Hunter would resent Shane. There was literally nothing he could do about any of it.

“I’m sure you want to talk to the Rathbones.” Lexi slid behind the wheel of her convertible. “They’re good people, Shane. I had them background-checked and their first priority is—”

Shane raised his hand to stop her from speaking. “You had them background-checked? When? Then or recently?”

He watched Lexi swallow hard, knowing she’d said more than she had intended to. “That SOB.” Shane tightened his hands into a first. “My best friend knew Hunter was my son and didn’t tell me?”

Lexi slowly nodded. “I had to be certain.”

“And like you said, if you hadn’t been caught, you wouldn’t have told me, right?”

“Right.” Lexi didn’t blink. She just stared at him, devoid of all emotion. He had to hand it to her, she’d mastered the doctor’s “I have bad news” expression perfectly.

“You asked Clay to lie to me?”

“I asked Clay to do a job for me, and yes, I wondered how you’d react if you found out. Clay said you’d understand it was his job. That’s how much faith he put in the strength of your relationship.”

“Stop trying to sugarcoat it.” Shane stepped away from her car. “You both betrayed me. I’m such a fool—here I thought maybe you were sleeping together, not keeping my child from me.”

* * *

L
EXI
WAS
RIGHT
.
Shane hated her for giving up their son and she’d broken his heart. She didn’t mean for it to happen that way, but it was the right decision at the time.

Upon seeing the Rathbones drive onto the ranch, Lexi decided it was best to leave them alone to talk, without her. She called Ashleigh and told her to check on Bridle Dance’s horses and to call her if there were any problems. Come tomorrow the Langtrys would probably have another equine vet and she’d have to live with it.

She needed to get past today, and if telling Shane was hard, telling her family might be worse. Parking behind the Bed & Biscuit, she started to climb the Victorian’s back stairs.

“Lexi?” A woman’s voice called her name. “Over here, at the vet’s office.”

Lexi squinted across Mazie’s backyard and saw Kay standing next to her Mercedes with Barney in her arms. Bracing herself for another onslaught, Lexi negotiated her sister’s agility obstacle course for dogs, unlatched the gate and stepped into Dr. Cerf’s parking lot.

“Hello, Kay.” Lexi reached out and scratched Barney under the chin. “Hello, Barney.”

“We had a great vet visit today.” Kay kissed the poodle pup on the top of the head. “He got another shot and he’s up to twelve pounds.”

“That’s great.” Lexi was surprised at Kay’s nonchalance, considering Shane told her his mother and Cole had figured out the truth. “How did you know?”

“He told you, huh?” Kay shifted Barney in her arms. “Can I put him down?”

“I wouldn’t.” Lexi shook her head. “Sick animals come to a vet’s and you don’t want a puppy that’s not fully immunized to touch the grounds or the floor inside.”

“So it’s true, then?” Kay’s tone was surprisingly unaccusatory while she transferred the puppy from one arm to the other.

“It is and I’m sure you have plenty of questions.” Lexi steeled herself once more, ready to hear how ungrateful she was when Joe gave her the gift of a lifetime by bringing her home and setting up her lab. Or how her husband died without knowing his grandson. But Kay didn’t say anything.

The woman reached up and gave Lexi a hug, Barney between them, licking at her.

“Being a mother is the toughest job in the world.” Kay drew back and held Lexi’s chin. “I know you did what you thought was best for Hunter. Shane made a mess of things and his father and I only added to it when we told him he needed to do right by Sharon and marry her. We never should have forced that issue.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this.” Tears welled in Lexi’s eyes.

“Don’t get me wrong, Lexi,” Kay warned. “I’m not excusing you for not coming to Shane and discussing this, but I do understand why you didn’t. You made a good choice for Hunter. I can’t tell you it was the best choice because no one knows that, but you put his needs before your own and he seems very well-adjusted.”

“Giving him up was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and please understand I didn’t just keep this from your family. My family doesn’t know either and I need to tell them today. The sooner the better, considering the Rathbones are with Shane now and they plan on telling Hunter everything.”

“I should be getting home then.” Kay opened her car door, fanning the inside. “Oh, it’s hot in there. Call me if you need my help and remember, Lexi, we love you.”

“Even after all this?” Lexi asked.

Kay smiled. “Remind me one day to tell you some of the crap Joe pulled for love. Give Shane some time, he’ll come around...I promise.”

That definitely wasn’t the conversation she expected to have with Kay. Two down, many more to go, but Lexi didn’t think her heart could handle another one-on-one confession. She needed to round up her entire family, tell them all together and pull the Band-Aid off in one fell swoop.

Letting herself in Mazie’s back door, she found her sister in the kitchen, baking as usual. Forever taking care of everyone else. Lexi wondered what her sister would have done if it had been her instead of Lexi. Knowing Mazie, she would have strapped the kid on her back and gone about her daily routine. Domestication suited her perfectly, just like it did Vicki Slater and now Miranda. And maybe if it had happened to Lexi at this age, things might have turned out differently, but at eighteen she wasn’t ready for anything more serious than a textbook.

“Are you all right?” her sister asked while rolling out a pie crust, not bothering to look up. “Your conversation with Kay seemed pretty intense out there.”

“Can you come to the farm tonight around nine? I need to call a family meeting.”

Mazie stopped rolling and met her gaze. “Lexi, what’s wrong?” Mazie wiped her hands on a nearby dish towel. “You look terrible.”

“Trust me when I say I feel even worse.”

“Are you sick?” Mazie ushered Lexi toward a chair and forced her to sit down, quickly testing her cheek with the back of her hand to see if she had a temperature. “Whatever it is, we’ll find you the best doctors.”

“Mazie.” Lexi grabbed her sister’s hands. “My overly dramatic little sister, I’m not sick. I do need to tell everyone something tonight and I need your help. Do you think you can do that without asking too many questions?”

“I—I guess.” Mazie sat down at the table. “Why are you being so cryptic?”

Lexi laughed. “And the questions already begin. Maybe I should have gone to Nash.”

“No, don’t—I’m sorry,” Mazie said. “What am I saying, I’m not sorry. You’re my sister, something’s obviously wrong and I’ve been worried about you lately. Ever since that rodeo school opened, you’ve been distant and kind of bitchy.” Mazie’s hand flew to her mouth. “It’s that kid, isn’t it? The one that looks so much like Shane. Don’t tell me—he had another affair while you two were together, didn’t he? There’s been talk around town that Hunter was his long lost son. Who is she? Is it someone we know?”

“Yes...very well.”

* * *

“I’
M
SURE
YOU
understand we have questions,” Dennis Rathbone said to Shane outside the rodeo school entrance. “After we tell Hunter, Melissa and I are going to want to sit down with both you and Lexi to sort this mess out. I can’t begin to tell you how distrustful we are of this situation.”

“So you already have a judgment about who I am?” Shane thought he’d at least have a chance to tell them his side of the story before they took Hunter back to the hotel. He guessed he should be thankful they hadn’t packed Hunter’s belongings yet. Shane wanted to consider the fact that they left their two younger kids at the ranch with Hunter while they tracked down Lexi as a sign they had some trust in him. “This doesn’t paint me in a good light considering I was the one Lexi kept this from all these years. I’m not some horrible monster of a parent.”