Summer Nights

by Susan Mallery

  “You got lucky,” Shane told him.

  “That I did. With Heidi, I’m always sure I’m right where I belong.”

  Something Shane had never been able to say in his first marriage. He hadn’t been sure of anything. Not if Rachel was coming home that night, or how long it would be until he saw her again. She’d lived life on the edge and because he’d wanted to be with her, he’d accepted that.

  For him, love and pain were intertwined. Now, with time and distance, he realized what he’d had before hadn’t been love at all. Which meant what? That with the right person he could have a sure thing? That passion could also be a haven? He didn’t know the answers to those questions—and he wasn’t convinced that finding out was a risk he was willing to take.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “I’M WALKING,” ANNABELLE said with a grin. She’d already had one margarita. Going for a second was definitely going to give her a buzz, but this was a party.

  “Rafe is driving back into town to get me,” Heidi said with a sigh, holding up her empty glass. “So I’m good.”

  “I’m walking,” Charlie grumbled. “Although I’m insulted you’d even ask.”

  “I didn’t,” Jo said, standing by their table, obviously amused. “I simply said the special tonight was the mini tacos you all like and that I could bring another round of margaritas. Not even a hint of a question.”

  “You’re so smug now that you’re in love,” Charlie said with a scowl.

  Jo leaned close. “The sex is amazing. You should try it some time.”

  Charlie quickly turned away, but not before Annabelle saw the flash of pain in her friend’s eyes. Jo had no way of knowing about Charlie’s difficult past—the date rape and the ridicule that had followed.

  Heidi also caught the look and smiled brightly at Jo. “We know you’re always looking out for us and we appreciate it. Another round please, and yes to those delicious mini tacos. I think two plates will be enough.”

  “Sure thing.” Jo scribbled on a pad. “Still toasting the goat?”

  Heidi winced. “I assume you mean that in a ‘raising a glass to’ kind of way.”

  “Yes. I know you don’t roast your precious animals.”

  “Did you know goat is actually the most popular source of animal protein in the world?” Annabelle asked.

  Heidi’s eyes widened in horror. “You didn’t just say that.”

  “It’s true, but heartbreakingly sad,” Annabelle said quickly. “I’m sorry. It’s one of those weird factoids I carry in my head. I think I learned it on Oprah.”

  “I miss Oprah,” Heidi said.

  “She’s already drunk.” Jo sounded disgusted. “One margarita. I’m never getting rich off you guys.”

  “I’m not drunk. I’m buzzed. There’s a difference.”

  Jo shook her head and left for the bar. When the three of them were alone, Heidi turned to Charlie.

  “She didn’t mean anything by the sex comment,” she said in a low voice.

  “I know.” Charlie picked up her glass and swallowed the last of her margarita. “I usually don’t react to people talking about stuff like that. Tonight’s different. I guess I’m in a mood or something.”

  “It’s Persephone,” Heidi told her. “The baby thing.”

  “I love your goat, but she’s not affecting my life.”

  “Montana’s baby could be,” Annabelle offered. “I know I’m hearing a faint ticking sound.”

  “Me, too,” Heidi said.

  “Yes, but you have a man,” Annabelle reminded her. “A man who loves you and wants to marry you. I’m guessing you’ve already discussed starting a family.”

  “We have.” Heidi looked blissful. “I don’t know what I did to get so lucky, but I’m really grateful. And you have Shane.”

  If Annabelle had been drinking, she would have spit. “Shane and I aren’t an item. We’re friends.”

  Charlie rolled her eyes. “Say that all you want. No one is fooled.”

  “He’s teaching me to ride.”

  “Sure he is.”

  Annabelle knew she couldn’t deny the sex part. Not after telling her friends what had happened when he’d left. From there, word had gotten spread around, creating trouble for Shane. At the time, she’d been angry and hurt, so she hadn’t minded getting a little back at him. Now she realized there were consequences.

  “That was a one-time thing,” she said primly. “We won’t be having sex again. We’ve come to an understanding. We’re friends.”

  “Keep saying it,” Charlie told her. “One day it might be true.”

  Annabelle glanced around to make sure no one was sitting too close, then leaned toward her friends and lowered her voice. “I have to admit, I do like him a lot. Maybe more than a lot. We want different things though and he doesn’t trust me.”

  “Why doesn’t he trust you?” Charlie asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “It’s his ex,” Heidi explained. “I never met her, but I heard stories from Rafe. Apparently she’s a real byotch.”

  Charlie snorted. “You did not just say that. Seriously?”

  “I’m hip,” Heidi said with a sniff. “Is that the right word?”

  Annabelle grinned. “If you have to ask, then the answer is probably no.”

  They were still laughing when Jo returned with another round of margaritas and more chips.

  “Change in topic,” Annabelle said when she’d left. “How are things going with the wedding planning? Shouldn’t we have another meeting soon?”

  “Maybe next week.” Heidi grabbed a chip. “I’m still pulling together my guest list. Our friends from the carnival are coming. Did I tell you that? We got confirmation a couple of days ago.”

  Heidi had grown up on the carnival circuit. Her parents had been killed when she’d been little and she’d gone to live with her grandfather. Heidi had always been surrounded by people who adored her. Now they would come to see her happily married, making an already special day even more so.

  “That’s great,” Annabelle said. “With the wedding being held at the ranch, the size isn’t much of an issue.”

  “That’s true,” Charlie said with a grin. “A couple hundred extra hamburgers won’t matter much.”

  Heidi rolled her eyes. “We’re not having hamburgers.”

  “Too bad. Nearly everyone likes them and they’re fun food. Weddings are too serious, if you ask me.”

  “Then serve burgers at your wedding.”

  “Maybe I will. Not that I have any great plans to get married.”

  “You could start dating,” Heidi told her. “Go slow. Pick someone you don’t really care about.”

  Annabelle raised her eyebrows. “Yes, because you want a relationship with a man who doesn’t matter.”

  Charlie picked up her refilled margarita. “She’s saying that way when it goes badly, I won’t be hurt.”

  Heidi winced. “I didn’t say that. I just meant then you could practice without worrying about your heart.”

  Charlie smiled. “I know you meant it with love. It’s okay. Maybe I should find some guy to take me through the steps I missed before. Get a skill set to use on someone I do care about.”

  “I love it when a plan comes together,” Heidi said with a sigh. She turned to Annabelle. “What about you? I say you give Shane a chance to see you’re nothing like his ex.”

  Annabelle reached for a chip. “No, thanks,” she admitted.

  “Why not?” Charlie asked. “According to you, he’s all things good. Handsome. Sexy. A god in bed.”

  “I didn’t say that, and no. We’re just friends.”

  “Uh-oh. It’s trouble when you start lying to yourself,” Charlie told her.

  “No. I’m keeping my heart firmly out of play this time.” Maybe it was the margarita kicking in, or the fact that she trusted her friends. Either way, she drew in a breath and spoke a painful truth. “My parents were never in love. My mom got pregnant while they were dating, so they got
married. They were never happy and they made it clear I was a complication for them. I tried to be the perfect child, but neither of them was interested in having a kid.”

  She glanced at Heidi. “I envy you growing up the way you did.”

  Heidi looked surprised. “Moving around all the time? Never having a home without wheels?”

  “No, being in the middle of a group that really loved you and looked out for you. I wanted that so much. But I couldn’t find it. I had friends, of course, but not a place to feel safe. My boyfriends were a series of disasters. When I finally met Lewis, I thought he was the one.”

  “The ex-husband?” Charlie asked.

  Annabelle nodded. “He’s a writer, so I thought wow, creative. He’s a little older, which I took to mean stable. But it turned out he was never actually interested in me as a person. It was more about what I represented. He liked to control me. Emotionally, I mean. He didn’t hit me or anything.”

  “Sometimes fists are easier to understand,” Charlie said quietly. “Mind games can be damaging, too.”

  “I see that now. Lewis saw me as a possession, not a person. It took me a long time to figure out I wasn’t wrong to be unhappy and even longer for me to leave. But I got out and found Fool’s Gold and now I have a home.” She sniffed. “I swear, I’m not going to cry.”

  Heidi’s eyes were already bright. “You can. It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not,” Charlie grumbled. “Stop it. She’s here, she’s fine, she’s having sex with Shane. Where’s the bad?”

  Annabelle grinned and her tears faded. “I’ve told you. The sex was a one-time thing. I’m not going to fall for a guy who doesn’t get me—and who doesn’t want all the complications of love.”

  “I believe that. What I don’t believe is the sex not happening again. That’s what they all say. No one believes you, kid. You might as well accept that.”

  Heidi shrugged. “She’s kind of right. I know I’m assuming you’ll do it again. The Stryker brothers are pretty irresistible.”

  “You’ll see,” Annabelle told them, raising her chin. “I have amazing powers of resistance. I’ll stand firm.”

  Charlie looked at Heidi. “Twenty bucks says she doesn’t last a week.”

  Heidi picked up her margarita. “Sorry. No way I’m taking that bet!”

  * * *

  “IF YOU TELL ANYONE, there’s going to be trouble,” Shane muttered, leading Reno toward the barn.

  “I assume you’re talking to him,” Charlie said. “Because if you’re talking to me, you’re absolutely right. There is going to be trouble.”

  Shane wondered if hitting himself with a two-by-four a few times would make the day go better. Now he was being threatened by a woman. This had to be the low point of his life, because he couldn’t imagine it getting much worse.

  Charlie was tall, only a couple of inches shorter than him, and strong. She had plenty of muscles. Still, he knew he outweighed her and was significantly stronger. However, she was female, which meant she would have an inherent advantage in any fight. Namely that he couldn’t fight back. It was how he’d been raised.

  The pony trotted along beside him, calm and curious, ears forward. So far the animal had been friendly and a faithful companion to Priscilla.

  He tied Reno to a post and grabbed a brush. “You sure about this?” he asked Charlie, deciding that ignoring her threat was the safest course of action. “Depending on her age and size, one of the horses would be better.”

  “You’re a pony hater, which makes you unlikeable,” Charlie told him, collecting a second brush and starting on Reno’s other side. “Trust me. He’s the better choice. A horse would be too hard for Kalinda to get on. More important, if something goes wrong, we can just pull her off.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “Yes. She needs to get out into the world. To experience things in a safe way.” Charlie glared at him, something she did a lot. “I’ve told you about the burns.”

  “Yes. ‘Don’t be shocked, don’t stare. Just act normal.’ I’m not an idiot.”

  “That’s yet to be seen.”

  What he didn’t tell her, mostly because he wanted to keep his head firmly on his shoulders, was that he liked this side of Charlie. The sweet side that worried about a kid.

  When she’d called that morning and asked if she could borrow Reno, he’d agreed. She’d shown up and explained the pony was for a ten-year-old burn victim. The previous summer, a gas barbecue had exploded, causing burns over forty percent of Kalinda’s body. All this time later, she was still having surgeries and healing.

  Priscilla called from a nearby corral. She hadn’t wanted Reno to leave, so they’d compromised by bringing her closer to where Kalinda would ride. At least Wilbur and the cat family had been content to stay in Priscilla’s enclosure.

  “My life used to be normal,” he muttered, dropping the blanket on Reno’s small back, then reaching for the saddle.

  Charlie grinned at him. “If you wanted normal, you never should have moved back here. Didn’t your brother warn you?”

  “I think he tried, but I didn’t believe him.”

  They finished saddling Reno. Charlie grabbed the bridle and slipped in the bit. The pony didn’t protest and almost seemed happy with the process.

  They’d barely finished when a car drove into the yard. Charlie waved and walked toward the vehicle. Shane stayed by Reno.

  He reminded himself not to stare. The girl had been through enough. But Charlie’s warning hadn’t prepared him for the sight of Kalinda slowly, obviously painfully, getting out of the car.

  Her face had scars that twisted red. Only her startlingly blue eyes were undamaged. They stared at him solemnly, as if expecting judgment. She wore a long-sleeved shirt over jeans and had a surgical glove on one hand.

  Charlie walked toward her unhesitatingly. “Hey, kid. You made it. Wait until you meet Reno. He’s a cool pony. I think you’re going to like him.”

  A pretty woman in her early thirties got out. She was blonde like her daughter, on the small side, with a worried frown pulling her eyebrows together.

  “Hi, Charlie,” the woman said. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  Charlie put her arm around the mother. “Let’s see how it goes, Fay.”

  “If you say so.”

  The group approached. Shane smiled at Kalinda. “Hi. Welcome to the Castle Ranch. This is Reno and I’m Shane.”

  “Hi, Shane,” the girl said in a soft voice. “I’m Kalinda.”

  “Fay,” the mother said, stepping toward him and holding out her hand. “Thanks for doing this. We’re—” Fay’s eyes widened and she screamed. “Oh God! What is that?”

  Shane groaned, wondering if Khatar had somehow gotten out again. He turned to see Priscilla walking toward them.

  “My mother’s elephant,” he said. “Priscilla.”

  “I’ll get her.” Charlie walked toward the large animal.

  “Your mother has an e-elephant?” Fay stepped closer to her daughter, her mouth hanging open.

  “It’s a long story.” He glanced at the girl, expecting to see the same amount of fear, but Kalinda was smiling.

  “That’s so cool,” she whispered. “An elephant.”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Shane admitted. “My mom bought her without knowing much about elephants. Now that we’ve done research, we’ve learned female elephants are social. Which means Priscilla needs friends. We’ve been trying different animals to keep her company.” He patted Reno. “So far, this little guy is her favorite.”

  Kalinda giggled. “They’d look pretty funny together.”

  He found he liked that happy sound and wanted to hear it again. “There’s more. Back in her enclosure is a pig named Wilbur and a cat family. Priscilla watches over them.”

  Kalinda grinned. “For real?”

  “Yup. I’ll show you when we’re done here.” He patted the saddle. “Ok
ay, let’s get you on this pony.”

  They discussed the best way to get her on Reno. Her burns went down her front far enough to make bending difficult. So Shane simply picked her up and put her on the pony.

  He was shocked by how little she weighed and how small she felt in his arms. Once she was settled in place, he showed her how to hold the reins in her good hand, then led her into the corral. He released Reno to close the gate, then turned back and found the pony was slowly walking around the ring. He would swear the animal was being extra careful not to jar his delicate rider.

  Charlie and Priscilla moved closer to watch. Fay joined them, eventually moving close enough to cautiously stroke the elephant’s shoulder. Shane walked along with Reno, although he quickly realized the pony was very much in tune with his rider.

  By the house, Persephone and her baby enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Khatar dozed in the shade of a tree. The llamas and sheep grazed. In this crowd, his racehorses weren’t even close to the most unusual animal around.

  As Reno carried Kalinda carefully around and around the corral, Shane moved back to the fence and watched. Fay smiled at him, tears in her eyes.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as her daughter laughed. “She needs more things like this.”

  He watched the girl move. “She’s doing well. After a few more sessions on Reno, she could move to one of the smaller horses. I have one in mind. He’s a good guy. Very gentle.”

  “That would be great,” Fay told him. “I want to sign her up for lessons.”

  Charlie leaned around Fay and punched him in the arm.

  “What?” he asked, staring at her.

  “You did good, cowboy. With all of this.”

  “Thanks,” he said, consciously not reaching up to rub the spot that now burned like a sonofabitch.

  Priscilla turned her massive head and if he didn’t know better, he would swear the elephant smiled at him.

  * * *

  “WE NEED MUSIC,” ANNABELLE called over her shoulder as Khatar cantered across the open land. With the wind in her hair and the sun bright overhead, it was a wonderful day. She was free, on the open range and loving life.

  The powerful stallion moved smoothly, his muscles moving in an easy rhythm. When Shane had suggested they do more than ride around the corral, she’d been nervous, but now she got the appeal. She felt like she was in a movie. All that was missing was the soundtrack.