Shane (Remington Ranch Book 2) (2 page)

“Ugh! I’ve told you before. It would take a whole evening and a really good bottle of wine or three to explain it all.”

“So name your evening. I want to know what your problem is with men, in general, and Shane, in particular. I’m not going to give up. I can be stubborn, you know. If you don’t believe me, just ask Mason.”

Cassidy was saved by the sound of the doorbell buzzing as someone entered the gallery out front. “Saved by the bell,” she said with a grin. “How about I go take care of that and you do the lunch run? You might actually make it back here with some food.”

“Okay, but don’t think you’re getting off the hook that easily. I want an explanation, and I want wine—good wine. Name your day, but it is happening.”

Cassidy waved a hand over her shoulder as she went out into the gallery. Did she really want to talk to Gina about what a failure she was with men? She was too strong, too independent. Hard. She resented that word, but more than one guy had called her that. Men just had such brittle egos—that was the real problem. Once she figured that out, she’d determined that she wasn’t going to allow herself to be set up as the wicked bitch of the west ever again. No matter how strong a guy might seem in the beginning, it was guaranteed that she’d bruise his ego at some point—just by being strong, being herself. She had no intention of giving up who she was; it was easier to give up on men.

Chapter Two

Shane checked himself in the mirror and grinned. He was looking good—as usual. He went back out into the living room of the cabin and plonked himself down on the couch. It wasn’t the same around here anymore. Mason had moved into the little cottage across the creek with Gina. He couldn’t be happier for them, but on a selfish note he was a little sad that his bachelor days with his big brother were over. He, Mason, and Chance had shared the cabin for years, and they’d had some great times. Now Mason had moved on to the next chapter in his life. Chance should be back any day now. He’d gone down to California to see his sister. He’d taken April Preston with him, helping her escape from her asshole of a husband, Guy. Shane hoped she would settle in down there and be able to build a new life for herself and her kid. He was looking forward to Chance coming back, but it still wouldn’t be the same. He loved Chance, thought of him as a brother, but he was different. He was deeper and darker than the rest of them, even though on the surface he was as much fun, if not more.

He picked up the remote and turned on the TV; maybe he’d find a movie. After a few minutes channel surfing, he turned it off again. Who was he kidding? He got up and went to sit out on one of the rockers on the front porch. It was a beautiful evening, and he didn’t want to spend it sitting around here by himself. He didn’t know what he
did
want to do though. Mason would be home with Gina, and he didn’t want to intrude on their time together. Chance was gone. He wondered about his other two brothers. Beau was out of town at some realtors meeting in Billings he’d said. Maybe he should call Carter. Carter hardly ever went out. Shane grinned to himself. He should get his brother down here and show him a good time. The current batch of dude ranch guests included a whole gaggle of chicks from Phoenix. They’d been flocking around him since they arrived, so maybe it was time to have a bit of fun with them. Women always loved Carter, so why would these women be any different? Maybe he’d indulge himself, too. Shane had to do something to salve his ego after yet another dressing down from Cassidy. He reached for his phone.

“Hey, Shane. Is everything okay?”

Shane laughed. “Why do you always answer the phone that way? Anyone would think I only call you when I have a problem.”

“I dunno. I just worry, that’s all…sorry.”

“Hell, I wasn’t complaining. It’s sweet!” Shane felt bad. Carter was the one who cared, the one who took care of family.

Carter laughed. “Thanks, little brother. I always aspired to be sweet!”

“Well, that’s your problem, isn’t it? You’re too sweet, too caring. You need to let loose a little and have yourself a good time. That’s what I was calling for.”

“You want to show me a good time?”

“I do. Get your ass on down here. There’s a whole group of hot little fillies amongst this week’s guests. You should come pick yourself one.”

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks.”

“Aww come on. I didn’t want to admit it, but I need you. The one I have my eye on hangs with her best friend all the time. I need you to distract the friend so I can move in for the kill.” He waited. It wasn’t true, but he knew if anything would motivate Carter to come out it would be a plea for help.

“Okay. Just for you. But you owe me, okay?”

“Okay! Thanks. Come straight out to the lodge. I’ll be getting them warmed up. See you soon.”

“Sure. I’ll head out now.”

Shane hung up and pulled his boots on. He had a crazy urge to call Carter back and tell him not to bother. He didn’t really want to go flirting with ranch guests at all. What he wanted to do was head up the valley to Mill Lane. He wanted to go calling on Cassidy. He shook his head. That really was crazy. She’d probably have him arrested for trespassing. He’d do better to put her out of his head and go find himself a woman who would appreciate him for the night.

~ ~ ~

Cassidy stood in front of the big window by the fireplace to watch the sky turn from blue to pink to gold as the sun sank behind the mountain. It was so beautiful here. She loved this place. She especially loved this house. It was big—way too big—but it was perfect for her. It was a huge log built home—far too grand to call a cabin—with walls of windows looking out over the valley. The Yellowstone River wound its way through the property. Eagles and deer were daily visitors. She’d been warned that she’d have fishermen and rafters floating through daily in the height of the summer season, too, but that would be a small price to pay.

This was a long way from her native South Carolina. It couldn’t be more different, but she loved it just as much. The beaches and the salt marsh had a quiet beauty that slowly crept in and became a part of you; once they had a hold on your heart they never let go. The mountains were different. Theirs was an in-your-face stark, harsh beauty. She could see how it was love or hate at first sight for most people. She felt lucky that for her it had been love.

She started at the sound of a buzzer. She still could not get used to that thing. Whenever a car entered the driveway it sounded. It was a good idea really, but it still freaked her out a little. If she wanted she could go to the control panel and watch her visitors approach on camera. She rarely did though. She usually knew who was coming. It wasn’t as though she got that many visitors. She frowned. It wasn’t as though she knew that many people here, and she couldn’t for the life of her think who might be visiting this evening. She went out into the hallway and checked the screen.

She smiled when she saw a green pickup truck sending up a dust trail on its way down the long driveway. Carter Remington! Now that guy really was a sweetheart. She pulled on a sweatshirt and headed out front to greet him.

She had to smile at the way he tipped his hat when he climbed down from the truck. Bashful. That was the word for him. He was a good-looking guy. She’d heard—and could see—that he spent most of his time either working or at the gym. Work was his landscaping business. Ah, that must be why he was here.

He confirmed it as he came around to shake her hand. “Evening, Miss Cassidy. Pardon me stopping by unannounced, I just wanted to drop these with you.” He held out a couple of large files.

“Hi, Carter. It’s wonderful to see you. Thank you. Is this the work you’d already done for this place before I bought it?”

“Sure is.”

“Great. Do you want to come in? Have you got time for a drink? I haven’t eaten yet, if you’d like to join me?”

He shook his head and smiled. “It’s kind of you, but I’m afraid I can’t be stopping. I’m on my way down the valley to see Shane. Just wanted to give you these while I was passing.”

“Oh, okay.” Why did he have to mention his brother? Just when she thought she’d got him out of her head for the day.

“Are you all right? I can stay a while if you need anything.”

Cassidy smiled. If Shane had said that, it would have been a loaded question, full of innuendo. Coming from Carter it was full of genuine concern. Strange how two brothers could be so different. “I’m fine thanks, Carter, you get on. Thanks for these. I can pick your brain about them another time.”

He smiled. “You sure can. Just give me a call whenever you’re ready to go over them.” He tipped his hat again and climbed back into his truck.

Cassidy watched the trail of dust follow him back up the driveway. She waved when he honked his horn before disappearing around the corner and out of sight.

~ ~ ~

Shane rested his arm around the girl’s shoulders and smiled down at her. She’d done everything but straight out beg for it since she’d arrived on Saturday. He tried to steer clear of ranch guests; there were enough women passing through the resort up at Chico to keep him busy. He tried—but it wasn’t exactly a rule or anything. Maybe he could make another exception for this one. She had short brown hair and bright blue eyes. A great figure, with a perky little set and the kind of rounded ass he loved. She smiled up at him.

“Is tonight the night you’re going to show me what happens out in the barn?” She kept her voice low so her friends wouldn’t hear.

Maybe it was. Shane looked up to watch Carter’s truck approach. He smiled, maybe it was Carter’s night to get lucky, too. Most of the guests in this group tended to head in early. He was pretty sure he could convince this one and her friend to hang out by the fire a while longer. “You’ll have to wait and see sweetheart, won’t you. For now, you get to meet my brother.” He didn’t miss the way her eyes lit up when she saw Carter get out of the truck. He had to hand it to him. Carter was quite a specimen. Shorter than Shane himself, though only by a couple of inches, and he was like a solid wall of muscle. He spent so much time in the gym that he had the physique of a bodybuilder. Shane just didn’t understand why he didn’t put it to better use with the ladies. “Over here, bro.”

Carter came to join them with that shy smile of his. Watching his companion’s reaction, Shane wondered whether he couldn’t learn a thing or two from his quietest brother.

“Hi, I’m Lena.” The girl ducked out from under Shane’s arm, hand extended to greet Carter.

“Pleasure to meet you.” Shane chuckled to himself. Carter looked about ready to run.

“Lena, why don’t you go get Kylie to join us?” he asked.

Carter met his eye as she walked away. “Sorry it took me a while to get down here.”

Shane shrugged. “You’re here now. I was starting to think you weren’t coming. What took you so long?’

“I stopped…”

“Kylie, this is Carter. Carter, Kylie.” Lena announced as she pushed her friend toward him.

Shane resisted the urge to laugh at the way Carter backed up three steps before holding his hand out to shake with the pretty brunette. She was half his height, but Shane would put money on her wrestling Carter to the ground, if the look on her face was anything to go by. Why the hell were women like that these days? When they wanted a man, they went after him and made no bones about it. He shook his head. And why did
he
suddenly have a problem with it? It saved him from having to do any hard work, after all.

Kylie confirmed his initial impression as she took Carter’s hand and pulled him in to turn the shake into a hug—the kind of hug where she pressed her breasts into his chest, or at least as far up his abs as they would reach.

He did laugh when he saw the panic in Carter’s eyes. “Tell you what ladies, let us go get you a drink. We’ll be right back.”

Carter extricated himself from Kylie’s clutches and trotted behind Shane like a grateful puppy. “Yeah, I think I’m going to beat it.”

“Aw, don’t go.”

“You can handle those two by yourself. They scare me shitless, Shane. I don’t want any of that.”

“Okay, maybe those two are a bit over the top, but you need to start having some fun, Big C.”

“I’m fine the way I am, thanks. Between work and the gym, I have all the fun I can handle.”

Shane shook his head. “How can trees and shrubs and flower gardens be any fun? I just don’t get it.”

“You never did get it, and that’s okay. I love what I do, I love planting things, seeing things grow. I love designing a beautiful space that people can enjoy.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Shane grasped his brother’s shoulder. “You love it, and that’s great. But you need to interact with other humans occasionally, you know. Especially the female of the species.”

Carter grinned. “It was human interaction with a female that made me late getting here if you must know. A female I’m going to be doing some work for, and one who not only understands, but truly appreciates my love for my work. If it weren’t for you I’d still be interacting with her now.”

Shane cocked his head to one side. “Who’s that then? One of the little old ladies up in town?”

Carter shook his head vehemently. “None other than the beautiful Cassidy Lane.”

Shane’s heart dropped into his stomach. Carter and Cassidy? No! That couldn’t be right. It wouldn’t happen. It
couldn’t
happen. For once he had no words. He just stared at his brother. If Carter liked her though…Damn, Carter hadn’t shown any interest in a woman in over ten years! Why the hell did he have to start with Cassidy? With the one woman that Shane himself…what? That he what? He shook his head to clear it.

Carter gave him an odd smile. “I’m only saying that Cassidy is a woman worth spending time with.” He jerked his head back to the two girls. “That may be your idea of fun, but it sure as hell isn’t mine. I appreciate the looks, but someone like Cassidy has a mind, a heart and a spirit to back the looks up.”

Jesus! Hearing Carter talk like that shook Shane to the core. He was spelling out what Shane already knew, but hadn’t yet faced. Worse than that though, it sounded as though Carter had not only figured it out sooner, but was deciding to act on it. What the fuck?

“Are you all right?”

Shane nodded. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I was only messing around with you. I thought it was time for you to have some fun. It sounds as though you’ve got more serious stuff on your mind.” He shrugged. “You know I can’t help you there. I don’t do serious. Maybe you should talk to Mason.”

Carter laughed. “I don’t need to talk to anyone. Maybe
you
should talk to Mason.”

“I don’t think he can help me.” Shane didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. What he wanted was to go saddle up Cookie and ride out into the moonlight. Spend some time in the foothills and try to get his head straight. All he’d ever done with Cassidy was flirt—and fail spectacularly! There was nothing between them, and she’d made it very clear that, as far as she was concerned, there never would be. Yet he felt as though he’d been kicked in the gut. His brother was moving in on his girl. Except she wasn’t his girl, never had been.