Summer Nights

by Susan Mallery

  Shane, on Mason, moved up next to her. “My place is that way,” he said, pointing.

  She glanced to her right and saw construction equipment, what looked like part of a foundation and the beginnings of a stable. Before she could figure out how to turn Khatar, the horse was already moving in that direction.

  “You’re so good,” she said, leaning over to pat him.

  He picked his way down a slight rise and came to a stop by what would be the house. It was Saturday and the crew wasn’t working, so the equipment was quiet. She couldn’t imagine how loud it would be midweek, with all the engines doing their thing.

  Shane dismounted and came around to help her. While she could have gotten down by herself, she liked the idea of sliding into his arms. If she were a better actress, she might feign an injured ankle or something, so he had to hold her. As it was, she had to content herself with his hands briefly settling on her waist, then a quick moment of body contact as she turned toward him. Then he stepped back and motioned to the house.

  “Want a tour?”

  “Sure.”

  They left the horses in the shade of a couple of trees. She followed him across a graded area of cleared land toward the foundation.

  “Front door,” he said, pointing. “Entryway, living room beyond that. We’ll go around back.”

  “Just like the hired help.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll be coming in from the stable. The back door makes more sense.”

  He led the way into a surprisingly large room. She could see where the door would be.

  “The mudroom?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Sink over there, with a counter. Lots of storage for boots, jackets, slickers.”

  They went into what would be the kitchen. She pressed her hands together. “You listened and moved the wall.”

  “I did. You made a good point.”

  “What you’re thinking is, I’m pretty smart for a girl.”

  “I would never think that.”

  They went into the formal dining room and the oversize family room.

  “Guest rooms that way,” he said pointing to the left. “Study in front of us and master down the other way.” He lightly put his hand on the small of her back. “There are more changes out here.”

  They went back toward the stable.

  “I’m clearing more land and expanding the barn. For the riding horses.”

  She glanced up at him. “Really?”

  “What the hell. I can’t get out of it now.”

  She wasn’t fooled by his faux growly voice. “You like the kids and you like giving lessons.”

  “Maybe.” He looked at her and grinned. “Okay, yeah. I do. Did Charlie tell you about Kalinda?”

  “She mentioned the girl had been by. I know who she is. When she has to stay in the hospital for her surgeries, I take her books. She’s come a long way.”

  “I heard.”

  “The recovery has been difficult. She nearly died a couple of times. Her parents have been through so much. Charlie said she really liked riding.”

  “Reno was great with her,” he said. “Patient. It was as if he understood her physical limitations. I’ve been doing some research online. About how riding helps kids with physical challenges. I’ve been thinking about getting a couple more horses, training them to work with kids who are handicapped. I don’t have a business plan yet, but it makes sense to offer something like that here.”

  Well, crap. The last thing she needed was Shane acting like some hero, she thought, turning away so he wouldn’t see her going all gooey at the thought. He was hard enough to resist when he was a regular guy. If he did this, how could she stand a chance?

  “Would you have time?” she asked.

  “I’ll make time. There’s a guy in town, Raoul Moreno. He has a camp for disadvantaged children.”

  She smiled. “I know Raoul. He’s a very handsome former football player.”

  “He’s married. With kids.”

  Her smile turned into a grin. “Jealous?”

  “No.”

  “You look jealous.”

  His dark eyes brightened with amusement. “You’re reading too much into the information.”

  “I don’t think so. Anyway, you’ve talked to Raoul?”

  “I had a quick phone call with him after Kalinda left. Charlie gave me his number. I’m going to go see him in the next week or so. We might see if we can work together. Maybe some of his camp kids could work on the ranch.”

  “Horses as therapy,” she murmured.

  Was it her imagination or had he just moved a little closer? Or maybe it was her. She could be the one moving. Because honestly, out here, in the quiet and beauty of nature, with Shane being all manly and irresistible, she was having trouble concentrating on what he was saying.

  “We could do a lot of good.”

  “Yes, you could.”

  He cupped her cheek with his hand. “You’re trouble, you know that, right?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You are to me.”

  They were friends, she reminded herself. Just friends. Nothing more. Anything else would be dangerous, not to mention foolish.

  “I do like that there’s not a lot of drama,” he admitted. “Despite the fact that you dance on bars.”

  “It was one dance and you’re right about the drama. I avoid it. I like my life calm. Predictable even.”

  “Then you probably already know I’m going to do this.”

  He dropped his head and pressed his mouth to hers.

  The kiss was soft. Tender. With just enough hint of passion to add a little tingle to the moment. She leaned into him, angling her head and wrapping her arms around his neck. His mouth moved back and forth, as if he wanted to remember exactly how it had been when they’d kissed before.

  He drew her close. He was as strong and warm as she remembered. She let her eyes drift closed as she parted her lips and got lost in the easy flow of passion washing through her.

  His tongue moved against hers, exciting her. She touched him back, enjoying the dance. Wanting grew as did the heat. Need followed. There wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t long to be near him.

  She thought about what had happened before. How great the lovemaking had been and how difficult after. There was also the issue of protection. She sure didn’t have any condoms with her and hoped he didn’t, either. Because she didn’t want him to be the kind of guy who was always prepared.

  He drew back slightly, then rested his forehead against hers.

  “You’re a complication, Annabelle.”

  “Me?”

  He straightened and put both hands on her shoulders. “If you knew how much I wanted you,” he began.

  She shivered in anticipation.

  “But,” he began.

  “I know. We’re friends.”

  “Oh. Right. I was thinking more practically. You know, about protection. But yeah. We’re friends.”

  Still humming with desire, she managed to smile. “The friendship thing was a mutual decision.”

  “Going to rub my nose in it, are you?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I respect that.”

  He put his arm around her and led her back to the horses. When they were standing by Khatar, he stroked her cheek with his index finger.

  “Maybe we could renegotiate our terms,” he offered. “Interested?”

  More than he could begin to guess, she thought. Sex only, she told herself. No emotional engagement. “I might be.”

  He grinned. “You’re not easy, are you?”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  They rode back to the ranch. Once they were there, she wondered if it would be foolish to invite him back to her place right then, or if she should hold out until that night.

  But before she could decide, she spotted an unfamiliar car by the house.

  “Company?” she asked, pointing.

  “Not that I know of.”

 
The car was a Mercedes, but a different model than Rafe’s. Just as big, just as powerful. Just as expensive.

  She followed Shane toward the car only to come to a stop when the driver stepped out. He was of average height, slim build. Light blue eyes and graying blond hair. Well-dressed, in expensive clothes.

  She stared. No, she told herself. She was wrong. It couldn’t possibly be…

  “Lewis,” she breathed.

  Shane turned back to face her. “Who?”

  “Lewis,” she managed to say. “My ex-husband.”

  Lewis started toward them and held out his hand. “Hello. I’m Lewis Cabot. Annabelle’s husband.”

  “Ex,” she corrected. “Ex-husband.”

  Lewis looked at her and smiled. “No, Annabelle. That’s what I came to talk to you about. We’re still married.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ANNABELLE FELT THE EARTH shift off its axis. Married? Still married?

  “That’s not possible,” she said. “We’re divorced. We worked out a settlement.”

  He hadn’t wanted to. For a long time he’d refused. But in the end, she threatened to take him to court. He’d realized that any judge would give her a percentage of his earnings for the time they’d been married. While he’d always found fault with her, the truth was, their marriage had been good for his career. He’d written two of his bestselling books while they’d been together.

  Rather than give her a piece of that, he’d agreed to the divorce. Her lawyer had tried to talk her out of the deal, but she’d explained she would rather be free than rich. After all, they didn’t have kids and she was perfectly capable of supporting herself. Let Lewis keep it all. Being away from him had been worth any price to her.

  “Apparently there was a bit of trouble with the law firm,” Lewis said cheerfully. “We’re still married.” He turned to Shane. “I’m a writer. You might have heard of me. Lewis—”

  “No. Sorry.”

  Annabelle risked glancing at Shane, but there was no way to tell what he was thinking. Still, she doubted it would be good. After all, this moment would qualify as drama by anyone’s standards.

  His dark gaze moved from Lewis to her and back. “You two probably want to talk about this,” he said, edging back toward the barn.

  “No!” Annabelle said quickly. “It’s fine. I’m leaving. I have to go…” She stopped, realizing she didn’t know what to do next. Panic had seized her brain, making it impossible to think.

  Lewis, here. In Fool’s Gold. The one place she’d always felt safe.

  The back door of the house opened and Heidi stepped out.

  “There you are,” she said. “Annabelle, I really need to talk to you. Can you give me a second?”

  Annabelle nodded and started toward her.

  “We have to talk, as well,” Lewis said urgently.

  No, they didn’t. They’d given up the need to talk the day they’d agreed to the divorce.

  “I have to help Heidi,” she said, already moving toward the house.

  Lewis sighed heavily. “I can see you’re as difficult as ever. That’s fine, Annabelle. I know how to win you over. I’m staying in town at Ronan’s Lodge. I’ll be in touch.”

  She hoped he was lying, but didn’t think her luck was that good. She looked at her friend and let Heidi’s supportive gaze guide her to safety. When she reached the back porch, Heidi took her arm and led her inside.

  “How long has he been here?” Annabelle asked.

  “Nearly an hour. Were you really married to him?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “Don’t get mad, but he’s kind of a pompous jerk.”

  “It took me a while to figure that out.”

  “At least you did.” Her friend hugged her. “Poor you. He thinks you’re still married.”

  “I got that part. He has to be wrong. We signed papers. We had lawyers. That’s the only thing I took from him, the legal fees to get out of the marriage. I liked the irony of it.”

  Her head spun and she couldn’t seem to catch any of the thoughts zipping by. She figured she would go her whole life and never see Lewis again. How could he be in Fool’s Gold? And why now?

  Married? He had to be playing some kind of game, but why?

  She stared at Heidi. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “You have a legal problem, then you get legal advice.” She pulled a business card out of her jeans back pocket. “I hope it’s okay, but I called ahead. Trisha is expecting you in her office right now.”

  “Trisha Wynn? The lawyer who helped you with the ranch?”

  “Yup. She’s great. You’ll like her.” Heidi hugged her again. “This is all fixable. You were divorced before, you can be again.”

  “Shane is not going to understand this,” Annabelle murmured, accepting the comfort.

  “What do you mean?”

  Annabelle straightened. “He was just saying he likes the lack of drama in my life. Finding out I might still be married doesn’t exactly qualify me for calm person of the week. If Lewis is right and we’re not divorced, Shane is going to think the worst. That I’m a liar or an attention-seeker.”

  Heidi’s eyebrows rose. “I see. And this concerns you?”

  “Of course. I don’t want Shane to hate me.”

  “Or think badly of you. Because you’re friends.”

  “Yes, we’re friends.”

  Heidi bit her lower lip. “Be careful. It sounds like you’ve crossed the friendship line.”

  “No. I’m fine. I like Shane, nothing more. I’m not in love with him.”

  Heidi didn’t look convinced, but she smiled and said, “I’m sure you’re right. Besides, you have enough to deal with right now. Let’s get rid of Lewis before we take on any other problems.”

  * * *

  ANNABELLE HAD SEEN TRISHA Wynn in court when the other woman had been helping Heidi, so she was prepared for the tight-fitting, low-cut, sexy clothes. Despite the fact that Trisha was probably in her sixties, she barely looked forty-five. Why she dressed like a woman in her twenties, Annabelle didn’t know, but she wasn’t in a position to be picky. Not when her marital freedom was on the line.

  Trisha nodded as she listened to the phone call she’d been having. “Yes, of course,” she murmured. “Understandable. Disappointing, but understandable. Uh-huh. You’re sure.” She paused. “Thank you. I’ll check my email right now.”

  She hung up the phone and smiled at Annabelle.

  “Good news. The final documents are being emailed to me right now. I’ll get back to them with your current address and my current address. On behalf of lawyers everywhere, I’m embarrassed to tell you, it’s true. The final paperwork was never filed with the court.”

  Annabelle clutched the arms of her chair and told herself however bad she felt, she had to keep breathing. Passing out wouldn’t solve any problems.

  “No,” she said with a moan. “That can’t be true. I can’t still be married to him. I didn’t like it the first time. What if he won’t let me go?”

  Trisha smiled at her. “It’s not his decision. The paperwork is being hand-delivered to the court right now. Once it’s filed, it’s only a matter of a few days, maybe a week or so, until the divorce is final.” Her smile faded. “You haven’t married anyone since the divorce, have you?”

  “No!”

  “Then there’s no problem.”

  There were several problems, she thought as Trisha clicked on something and then started the printer. The biggest of which was still being married to a man she never wanted to see again. Her second biggest problem involved Shane and what he must be thinking. So much for her not having drama in her life. Right now there was plenty.

  “I wonder how he found out,” she said, more to herself than Trisha. “And why he came to see me instead of getting in touch with his lawyer?”

  “You’re the one who wanted the divorce.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Years of experience. You’re the one coming
to see me, not him. If he’d been upset, he would have done as you said. Gone to his lawyer and gotten it taken care of. You would have heard through legal counsel. Did he fight you for the divorce?”

  “A little,” Annabelle admitted. “He didn’t understand why I was leaving.”

  “When the wife walks out, the man is always surprised. Plus they find it so inconvenient to have to suddenly take care of themselves. They’re shocked to discover that clean clothes don’t magically appear in drawers and dinner doesn’t cook itself.” Trish shrugged. “Not that I’m bitter.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Let’s just say I have a lot of experience being married. These days, I want a lover, not a husband. Legally, it’s a lot less messy.”

  She put on reading glasses, got up and walked to the printer. “Here are copies of the final papers.” She flipped through the sheets. “I see. You really did want out, didn’t you? There’s no alimony, no divisions of assets.” Trisha looked at her over her glasses. “Did you have legal representation?”

  “Yes, and I’m fine with the settlement. I wasn’t interested in Lewis’s money. He earned it, not me.”

  “You facilitated him earning it. You could have gotten at least a small percentage of it.”

  “No, thanks,” Annabelle told her. “I would rather not be married. We didn’t have kids and I can take care of myself.”

  “I see. A person with principles. How annoying.” She passed over the paperwork. “Make sure I have a number where you can be reached. I’ll be in touch as soon as the courts process the paperwork and the divorce is final.”

  * * *

  THE FOOL’S GOLD MOUNTAINEERS were a short season A-league baseball team with a reasonably good win-loss record. Or so Shane overheard as he waited with Rafe. The stadium was on the small side, but recently refurbished, with an enthusiastic midweek crowd.

  “I told you,” Rafe said, pushing Shane toward the ticket collector. “It’ll be good for you.”

  “I don’t have time for a game. I have work to do.”

  “You’re moping. You need to get out.”