He saw something flash in her eyes, something that made his heart stop for a moment, but then it was gone. “I’m just worried about tomorrow’s doctor’s appointment.”
He relaxed for a moment, even though a part of him wondered if that was really it. But he was always anxious before a doctor’s appointment, too, now more than ever. If everything looked good this week, she would be cleared to go home. Her home. His soon-to-be new home.
“I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
He pulled her to him and she instantly relaxed in his arms. This was as it should be, how he always hoped it would be, despite what his dad said about losing his own identity and becoming her lackey. His dad didn’t know what he was talking about.
They received the good news they’d both been expecting. The twins’ growth rate was exactly where it should be and Kait’s blood work all looked good. More important, since she’d tolerated a moderate increase in activity, they saw no reason why she couldn’t resume a more normal life.
“We could fly home with my parents after this weekend’s race.”
Though there was still a hint of a shadow in her eyes, her smile was contagious, the bounce to her step unmistakable. He hadn’t realized until that moment just how much she’d missed her home state. Still, her lingering fear had him on edge. Did she worry about their future together? Was that it?
“I’ll have to tell my dad, but it should be okay.”
Though he winced inwardly at how that conversation would pan out. In the weeks since their initial conversation about Shane moving to North Carolina, his dad’s mood hadn’t improved. If anything, he’d become more standoffish. Maybe a trip to North Carolina was just what he needed. Maybe it was what they both needed. It wasn’t like he’d be stuck there all the time. He could come back home if he wanted. Help his dad transition to a life without him.
Smooth things over.
But if anything, his dad became even more surly as the day for their departure to the Fontana, California, racetrack approached.
* * *
THE MORNING THEY LEFT, his dad hardly spoke two words to him as Shane helped feed horses and organize the work chart. Carson would be filling in for him for now, at least until they could hire someone to replace him.
“I can’t believe you’re really going to do this,” said his dad, coming up behind him as he finished writing. “Son, I have to ask. Are you sure this is the right move?”
No. He wasn’t sure. If he admitted to his dad just how terrified he really was, he’d never hear the end of it. “I’m sure, Dad.”
“So I can’t talk you out of it.”
Shane set the dry-erase marker down, the pungent smell of it filling the air. He braced himself as he turned to face his father.
“I’ll be flying home with her family as soon as the race is over.”
“So this is it then.”
“Dad, I’ll be back...”
His dad cocked his cowboy hat. “Will you?”
“Of course.”
Silence came over the barn, something that didn’t happen very often where animals were concerned, but it was as if all the horses in their stalls listened for what would come next. But the truth was, Shane was terrified. He had no idea what to expect in North Carolina. He’d never left home, though, not even for college. He’d traveled back and forth from the local university, all the while working on the ranch. Crazy that this would be the first time that he was gone, truly gone.
“I guess I’m barking up the wrong tree, then.”
“It’ll be okay, Dad. Trust me.”
He wished he felt as convinced as he sounded.
* * *
“YOU’LL SEE,” KAIT SAID, pulling her baseball hat down low on her forehead. “Nobody will recognize me.”
Shane almost laughed. With her blond hair and unique features, he doubted that would be true. She had no idea how beautiful she was...even with thick sunglasses and her hair pulled through the hole of her hat.
“I doubt that,” he said.
“Unlike you.” She seemed about ready to laugh, and he was relieved that she didn’t seem as tense as she had been in recent days. “Nobody will have a problem recognizing you.” She flipped the brim of his black cowboy hat.
Shane clutched at it. “Hey.”
“Let’s go.”
They’d been allowed to park in the infield, not far from the garage area where he could hear race cars revving. Out on the massive track, fast-moving blobs of color jockeyed for position, and the top part of the roof was visible because the angle of the track was so steep. It had dawned a typical Southern California day. Bright sunshine reflected off the grandstands across from them. A breeze brought to them the scent of exhaust mixed, oddly enough, with the scent of barbecue. It was practice day, a time when drivers and their crews worked on the cars to get them going as fast as possible.
Kait waved to the guard who stood at an opening in a chain-link fence.
“Kait,” the older man said, seeming to be genuinely surprised to see her, and thus proving Shane’s theory that Kait Cooper would have been recognizable in a paper sack. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
She smiled. “Rumors of my retirement have been grossly exaggerated.” She patted her belly. “I’ll be back next season.”
“Good to hear,” said the man in blue, his gaze catching on Shane. He held up a hand, and it occurred to Shane that he didn’t know he was with Kait.
“Can I see your pass?” he asked sternly.
“What’d you do with it, Shane?”
The guard straightened. “Is he with you?”
Kait nodded. “This is my husband.”
The man’s whole demeanor changed. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Go on in, son.”
But they’d only walked about ten steps when they heard, “Oh. My. GOSH. It’s KAIT COOPER.”
And that was how Shane found himself surrounded by a group of race fans, although where they’d come from he had no idea, and they all wanted autographs. She became surrounded by dozens of people. It happened so fast all Shane could do was step back and watch it unfold. Kait smiled at them all. No. Not just smiled, she glowed.
She’d missed it.
He didn’t realize until that moment just how much. She smiled and laughed and seemed so totally in her element that it gave him pause. Had life on his family’s ranch been so stifling?
“Okay, folks, gotta go.” She lifted her hands as if in surrender. “My mom and dad don’t even know I’m here yet.”
There were groans, but he noticed she signed every single piece of paper thrust in her direction. She didn’t just take off as if her fans were unimportant to her, something he’d seen many a famous cowboy do over the years.
He rushed to step up alongside of her because she took off so fast it was almost as if she’d forgotten he was with her. “So much for a disguise.”
She shot him a wry grin. “No kidding, right? I thought since I’d been gone for so many weeks, people wouldn’t think to look for me. Guess I was wrong.”
In so many ways, Shane thought. As he followed her through the garage he saw many an eye trained her direction. Male. Female. They all seemed to know who she was. Those gazes frequently settled on him next, and Shane tried to ignore the feeling of being a bug under a microscope.
“Hey, Teddy,” said Kait, stopping at the back of a big truck and trailer.
A man looked up, a handsome younger man, one with a smile that lit up his whole face. “Kait!”
And that was his first glimpse of Teddy Wright, Kait’s crew chief, who was tan and buff in his red-and-white polo shirt and definitely not what he expected.
“Did you miss me?” she asked, sliding into his arms.
The two hugged, and Shane tried not to count off the seconds.
He’s a coworker, he told himself. Th
ey’re probably longtime friends. Don’t be jealous.
Her mom came over next and then her dad, the whole family having been inside the big-rig trailer. Shane had never felt more like a third wheel than at that moment, watching as she was greeted by her teammates and her family and her friends.
“And this is Shane—”
He almost missed the introduction he’d been so deep in thought about why he felt so, so...put out.
“—my husband.”
They didn’t make him feel unwelcome. Far from it. Everyone smiled as he stepped forward and shook hands. They dragged Kait off shortly after, something about test data and needing her help, and he found himself standing at the back of a glorified car trailer trying to blend in while Kait disappeared inside the big rig.
“It’ll get easier.”
He half turned. Kait’s mom stood over an ice chest near the back bumper of the big rig. She cracked the cap of an ice water.
“Want one?”
“No, thanks.”
She closed the lid before taking a seat next to him.
“Trust me,” she said, taking a sip. “I know what it’s like to feel like a fish out of water.”
She didn’t look like one in her red shirt with a white star on her front. She looked like part of the team. Her red hair had been pulled off her head, her gray streaks more pronounced, and it was funny because he’d seen her at his ranch home, but for some reason she seemed different at the racetrack. More businesslike. Less like the mom he remembered.
“I have a feeling it’ll take some getting used to.”
“And don’t worry about him.” She pointed to her husband, who stood across a strip of asphalt talking to someone. Jarrod Cooper, he realized, his face as recognizable as his sister’s. “He’ll warm up to you.”
Shane wasn’t so certain. It would probably be a long time before Kait’s dad forgave him for knocking up his little girl.
“I’m not sure that I blame him after everything that’s happened.”
Her mom tipped her head sideways, and it always amazed him how much she looked like Kait—but with red hair. “Yes, but now you’re doing the right thing. You’re here. You’ll be going to North Carolina with her. Things will work out.”
He was about to tell Kait’s mom he felt the same way when he heard a man say, “You Shane Gillian?”
When he turned around he had a camera in his face. A television commentator stood next to the cameraman, some kind of earphone/antenna on his head, a microphone in one hand, what looked like a cell phone in the other.
“I’m Rex Tillman from RNTV. Racing Network,” he clarified. “And I understand you’re Kait’s new husband? Care to share a few words?”
He honestly didn’t know what to say. “About what?”
The man flicked a button on his mic, swiped something on his cell phone and then held it up. “Kait tells us you’re going to work for Cooper Racing. That must be a big transition after riding bulls.”
Whaaaa?
Kait’s mom hopped out of her chair. “Now, Rex. None of that’s decided yet.” She sounded so sweet as she stepped in front of the camera. “Kait’s husband just got here. Give him a second to assimilate the news.”
News? What news?
“I’ll do that if you talk to me about Jarrod’s chances in the race,” Rex said.
“Done,” Sarah said with a smile at Shane. “Be right back.”
Go to work for Cooper Racing? Give up bull riding? What?
Kait came out of the trailer then, her smile still in place. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“We need to talk.”
Chapter Nineteen
“I just thought it might be easier than having to find a job all on your own in North Carolina,” Kait said, trying not to wince at the anger on Shane’s face. She’d never seen him mad before, although if she were honest with herself, she didn’t really blame him. She hadn’t meant to overstep her bounds, she’d just been trying to make his life easier. That was what you did when you cared for someone.
When you loved them.
She just hadn’t told him yet.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
They were in the lounge of her brother’s hauler, a flat-screen TV showing a pack of race cars out on the track, the sound a few seconds behind the actual noise out on the racetrack. With any luck, they’d be left alone, at least for a little bit. You never knew what team member might need to get into the tiny room that doubled as a storage area for team uniforms and other racing paraphernalia.
“I can find my own job working with cattle, just like before. You don’t need to make one up for me. And, by the way, I’m riding this Saturday night. I’ll be riding the following weekend somewhere in the South, too. I don’t know where exactly, but I’ll be entering somewhere. That’s my job.”
“Yeah. About Saturday night.” She forced a smile. “I don’t think I can go. My dad set up a publicity appearance for the whole family. He asked me to attend. It’s at some swanky hotel in Los Angeles. Long commute there. Another long drive back to the track afterward. I was thinking I could head out with my family while you go to your rodeo.”
Another expression landed on his face—disappointment. Maybe even dismay.
“That’s too bad,” was all he said, and in some ways that made it worse, because she knew he’d been looking forward to her watching him ride again. They’d talked about it on the way to the racetrack.
“I’m sorry, Shane.” She took a deep breath, and because she couldn’t deny her feelings for him anymore, reached out and touched his hand. “I would have felt bad telling my dad no, especially after I’ve been gone for so long.”
“No. That’s all right.” He still wore his cowboy hat and he used it to shield his eyes. “I understand.”
She should get him a polo shirt and team baseball cap. Maybe that would make him feel better.
Don’t be ridiculous, Kait. You’ve let him down. A shirt and ball cap won’t help.
“Will it be televised?” she asked.
“No. It’s just a local rodeo, Kait. Not a big race.”
And something about his tone set her back up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.” And then the fight seemed to drain out of him. His shoulders slumped and he stared down at the ground for a moment as if gathering his thoughts. “Look. I get it. You’re famous. I’m just some cowboy from nowheresville, California. You have way bigger obligations than I have.”
“That’s not true. People know who you are.”
“Not like they know who you are, Kait.” He met her gaze again and his eyes were intense. “We couldn’t even get ten feet inside the track before people were clamoring for your autograph.”
“People ask for your autograph, too.”
“Not unless we’re at a rodeo. I can’t take you anywhere without someone recognizing you. The store. The hospital. My own rodeos.” He lifted a hand. “But that’s not the point. My point is you have bigger obligations than I do. But when it comes to a job, Kait, one outside of rodeo, I can handle that on my own just as well as you can handle yours.”
She stared down at the linoleum floor for a moment. Okay. So she might have overstepped her bounds by asking her dad to find Shane a job. She should have cleared it with Shane first.
“I’m sorry,” she said again.
He came forward and his hands gently clasped her forearm. “It’s okay.” He bent down and she knew he was going to kiss her—
“Kait, your dad’s looking for you.”
They both jumped apart.
“He said he needs you to talk to Nate. Give him some pointers before he heads back out again.”
Kait smiled up at him apologetically. She’d wanted him to kiss her. Everything seemed all right with the world when he touched
her like he did.
“Duty calls,” she said.
“It sure does.”
When she slipped from his grasp, he let her go. She hated leaving him, though. Hated the look of regret and disappointment in his eyes, but this was her life. Always pulled in ten different directions. Running here and there. Some days she was lucky to have five minutes to herself.
He would have to get used to it. He had no other choice. She might love him, and he might love her, too...one day, but they would have to get used to what life would be like together. Otherwise...
She didn’t want to think about otherwise.
* * *
HE HARDLY SAW HER. The only time they had to themselves was at night, and that first evening, she was so exhausted she practically fell asleep in his arms. He worried that she might be doing too much, but she reassured him the next morning that everyone kept an eye on her. When they arrived at the track, off she went again. He was left at the car trailer, which she called a “hauler,” while she did another televised interview or a media appearance or attended a team meeting.
By Friday he felt so completely useless that when Carson called and asked if he’d be his roping partner, Shane jumped at the chance. Anything was better than just sitting around. Besides, it was at the same rodeo he was scheduled to compete at, so this way he’d get there early. No worries about travel time tomorrow.
“But...you’ll miss qualifying in the afternoon,” Kait said. He’d had to text her to find out where she was at, and he considered it a minor miracle that she’d managed to escape. He’d seen her for maybe ten minutes all day. Sarah Cooper said he’d get used to being on his own at the racetrack, and if he wasn’t careful, they’d put him to work.
“I’m sure I can watch it on TV.”
It was an echo of her own words to him the other day. He could tell she knew it, too.
“I wanted you to see it live.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But this works better for me. I won’t have to drive to the rodeo tomorrow. I can just stay with my brother tonight.”
He could tell she didn’t like the idea, though. He’d never seen Kait pout before, but he was pretty sure that’s what she was doing now.
Rodeo Legends--Shane Page 14
