by Susan Crosby
Vaughn angled toward her a little. “Actually, his name is Gatsby, the Great Gatsby, in fact, and he’s the least intimidating horse I know.”
“He’s monstrously large.”
“I guess he might seem so, if you have nothing to compare him with. If you’re interested in riding, there are several well-trained mounts at the homestead you could choose from.”
“I understand that horses can sense someone’s fear.”
“True.”
“Then I’ll pass, thanks.”
A beat passed. “Suit yourself.”
She thought he looked disappointed.
He stepped down from the rail and looked as if he was going to walk away. She put a hand on his arm, stopping him.
“Is it important to you that I ride?”
“It’s a great way to see the ranch, especially since you’re scouting places to paint.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Lawman.”
Vaughn rested a shoulder against the rail. He couldn’t tell her the truth, that Ginger had never ridden and that he’d resented her for it, as if what he did, where he lived, didn’t matter. He tried not to compare Karyn to Ginger, but comparisons kept popping up.
However, at the moment Karyn was just looking for an honest answer. “I would enjoy showing you why I love it here so much that I changed my entire life to come back.”
“Then I’ll give it a shot. You must be a sight to behold, wearing all black and riding a black stallion.”
“Gelding. And I have an image to maintain.” He grinned lazily.
“You like to be in charge. You like power.”
He shrugged. “If people perceive that about me, I rarely have to exert power to get what I want.”
“I find it a turn-on, myself,” she said. “Not that I want you to overpower me but that you don’t let anyone overpower you. That kind of self-confidence is sexy.”
He found her take fascinating. “Hollywood, you are self-confidently sexy yourself.”
“It’s the shoes.”
He laughed. Although if he were being honest, he would admit that her shoes probably were a small part of his attraction to her, mostly for what they accentuated—her legs and rear. And her very sexy walk, which often made him stop in his tracks to watch.
“Am I done yet?” Cassidy said as she approached.
“Let’s see how sweaty she is.” He went into the paddock and ran a hand down her flanks. “Okay. Let’s go rub her down.”
“I’m going to get my camera,” Karyn said. “Cass, I sure would like to have you sit for a little while today. Are you up to it?”
Vaughn made eye contact with his daughter, signaling what her answer should be.
“After I play with Belle, please. She missed me.”
“Of course.” Karyn headed toward the house. She was wearing what she called her work boots, with the three-inch heels, and he was mesmerized by her. Her rear end was the finest he’d ever seen, firm and round and high. He wanted to get her naked and nibble on—
“Daddy!”
He dragged his gaze away. “What?”
“I said I really like Karyn.”
Which worried him a little, but he said, “Me, too.” They walked side by side to the barn.
“I want sparkly shoes like hers.”
Karyn had already warned him about that. “As long as they’re flats.”
She cheered. “And I wanna get my ears pierced.”
He supposed next she would ask for a tattoo....Which made him wonder if Karyn had any. “When you’re ten.”
“Ten? That’s so old! All my friends have their ears pierced.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll take you to school one day, and if all the other girls in your class have pierced ears, you can, too.”
She looked away. “I didn’t say that. I said all my friends.”
He fought a smile. She was way too smart. “You make a list of your friends, and I’ll think about it. All your friends, Cass. Not just the ones with pierced ears.”
He could tell by her expression that she’d fudged her facts a little. He was looking forward to seeing how she handled it.
“Can we go shopping tomorrow? To the mall?”
“In Medford? Sure.” He hadn’t planned on working anyway.
“Can I choose a new outfit to wear for my portrait?”
“You got a lot of new outfits for Christmas.”
“I want something like Karyn wears. You know, something frilly.”
And so it begins, Vaughn thought. She seemed to have forgotten she would be wearing ranch clothes. His little tomboy was growing up.
Way too fast.
Chapter Ten
The next day, they dropped off Belle with Dori and Jim and drove to Medford to the big mall. Vaughn had never been more bored in his life.
“It’s too grown up for you, Cass,” Karyn said when Cassidy held up a dark blue blouse with a ruffle along a low scoop neck.
“But this is the girls’ section, and I’m a girl.”
“It’s not right. Plus the color’s wrong for you.” She pulled another top from the rack. “This pink would be perfect.”
“Ooh. That’s pretty.” She reached for it. “I do kinda like that, especially the lacy stuff.”
“Let’s try it on.” Karyn gave Vaughn a be-patient-a-little-longer smile.
He couldn’t remember seeing Cass in pink, not since she’d started choosing her own clothes. He wandered away, although he kept the dressing room door in view because he knew his opinion would be sought.
His cell phone rang. His mother. “Is everything okay?” He had visions of Belle chewing on his parents’ sofa.
“Fine. I wanted to ask a favor of Karyn, but I don’t have her number.”
“Hold on a sec. She and Cass are in the dressing room.” He walked in that direction.
“While I’ve got you, son, I was wondering if you all would like to come to dinner?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Also, my vacation clothes arrived, and I’d like Karyn to take a look.”
They came through the doorway. Cass had a big smile on her face. The pink fabric put color in her cheeks. Vaughn could tell she was pleased with how she looked.
“Mom wants to talk to you,” Vaughn said to Karyn, passing her the phone. “You look very pretty, sweetheart.”
Cassidy twirled. “Thank you.”
A few seconds later, Karyn handed the phone back to him. “Girl stuff,” she said with a wink.
Vaughn didn’t want to know.
“I wonder if there’s an art supply store here. Maybe I should pick up supplies, in case... Well, it would look good anyway. I’d need an easel and palette and a ton of paints. Brushes. Everything.”
“We’ll check it out.”
“And maybe after Cass changes,” Karyn said, “you and she could get an ice cream or something while I take care of something for your mom.”
“I don’t think I’ll have a hard time convincing Cass of that.”
After Karyn walked away, Vaughn decided he was curious about the call after all. He also realized his mother never would’ve asked Ginger for a favor. For years his mother had tried to connect with her daughter-in-law, but Ginger had never warmed up to her, although his mother had never said a word against her. Not once.
A while later Vaughn spotted Karyn from a couple hundred feet away strolling down the middle of the mall walkway, her head up, a slight smile on her face, her zebra-striped bag swinging. She didn’t teeter, not the tiniest bit, yet she was wearing heels of at least five inches.
Other men paid attention, some directly, some more covertly. She was a presence.
Until he’d met her, he woul
dn’t have ranked curly hair as something sexy. Cass’s hair was curly. It was cute. But on Karyn—
“Do you think Karyn is sexy, Daddy?”
He almost spit out his water. In an effort to keep communication open, however, he said, “What do you think that means?”
“It’s when men look at a girl kinda funny. Like you were doing. Your eyes got squinty.”
Out of the mouths of babes. “Well, that’s not what it means, not exactly, and it’s a word I don’t think you’re ready to use.”
“What does it mean?”
Karyn came up beside them. “Do I have time to get myself an ice cream?”
He stood, relieved not to answer Cass’s question. Yet. She would come back to it sometime. “I’ll get it. What would you like?”
“I can do it, but thank you. Oh, no art supply store here, by the way. Maybe I’ll order them online.” She gave him a great view from behind as she walked away again.
Because Cass was again studying him, he didn’t stare.
“I wonder what she bought,” Cassidy said. “She doesn’t have a shopping bag.”
She brought back a single-dip ice cream cone, which meant he would have to sit there and watch her lick and swirl it, imagining her—
“What did you get?” Cass asked her.
“Mocha almond fudge.”
Cass giggled. “I mean, what did you buy?”
“Something for your grammie.” Karyn patted her purse. “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. Don’t frown. I’ve got something for you, too. For when we get home.”
“Can you hurry, please?”
“Cass.”
Vaughn’s no-nonsense tone had Cassidy sitting back in her chair and swinging her feet. She pretended to zip her lips with her fingers. Karyn saw that even Vaughn had trouble not laughing. She was definitely a little character.
A tired one, too. She fell asleep before they got on the freeway to head back to the ranch, about an hour’s drive. Karyn yawned, crossed her arms and settled into her seat.
“Sleep if you want,” Vaughn said. “It’s been a busy day, with more to come.”
“Maybe.” They weren’t really free to talk because Cass was in the backseat and kids were good at pretending to sleep. “What’d you like best about growing up here?”
“The freedom. We all had a lot of responsibilities, but we weren’t supervised once we’d mastered something, so it felt like we were independent in a way. Even so, I couldn’t wait to leave home and go to college and law school.”
“You were a good student.”
“I loved school. Loved learning. All six of us have college degrees. Mom and Dad were insistent on that, not just for the education but for learning how to live on our own, figuring out how to get through life. They paid for half, and we had to figure out the rest. How about you?”
“I’m more of a commonsense person. I tried college for a while, but I didn’t have a plan, therefore no major, therefore it made no sense to me to keep going. My parents are both professors at a small college in Vermont, and they were disappointed. In a way I regret not sticking with it for the very reasons you were made to go. Every once in a while I think about going back to school.”
“What would you major in this time around?”
“Guess.”
“Art.”
She nodded. “I’d be a good student now. I can’t believe how much my drawing skills have improved in just the few days I’ve been here. I hadn’t taken the time to practice in a long time.” She yawned again.
“Rest your eyes, Hollywood.” He patted her thigh but didn’t let his hand linger.
The next thing she knew, they were parking in front of the homestead.
“Can I have my surprise now?” Cass asked sleepily, not even fully awake yet.
Karyn and Vaughn looked at each other and laughed. “When we get in the house,” Karyn said, enjoying the little girl more every minute.
All of the Ryder clan were there for dinner. Even Haley drove out from town. Hugs were exchanged. Karyn felt out of place in her “city clothes.”
“Your blouse is gorgeous,” Jenny said, fingering the lace on the collar. “I could never pull this off. I’m way too country.”
“So do you plan to come back here when you’re done with college?”
“Here, but not here. Shh. I haven’t told my parents my plans yet.”
Cassidy tugged on Karyn’s hand. “Now, please.”
They hurried hand in hand down the hall to Vaughn’s old bedroom. Karyn pulled out a small bag and passed it to Cass. Inside it were three headbands, including one that was just a row of rhinestones.
“Oooh. A crown.”
Karyn didn’t know how Vaughn felt about the whole princess phenomenon. She probably should have asked him before giving her the rhinestone one.
“They’re all headbands,” she said. “This is your dress-up one, and the others are for casual wear. It’ll keep your hair out of your eyes. Do you want to wear one?”
“Yes, please. The crown.”
She waited for Cass to make eye contact. “It’s not a crown. It’s a headband. Okay?”
Cassidy nodded, but Karyn wasn’t sure she’d made her point. She might end up in an uncomfortable conversation with Vaughn later.
She showed Cass how to put it on and fix her hair around it.
“Can I wear my pink blouse?”
“I think this works fine.”
“I have to go show my daddy.” Off she went, Karyn trailing a little more slowly behind her.
It only took one look at Vaughn to know she’d made a mistake. And now they had to get through an entire evening with his family before she could deal with it.
But first Dori pulled Karyn away, much like Cass had.
“Did you find it?” Dori asked, excitement in her voice and expression.
Karyn dug into her purse for another bag. “He can never know I shopped for this. I could never look him in the eye.”
Dori held up a pair of red silk boxers. “Perfect. I can’t wait to see his face when I ask him to wear them.” She almost folded in half from laughing. “We’ll make quite a pair in our matching reds.”
“Indeed you will. Now tell me, did everything you ordered arrive today?”
“Everything. If you could come by in the morning, I’ll try it all on and see what we think.”
“I’d be happy to. Were the turquoise sandals as cute as they looked online?”
“They’re perfect. I also made an appointment for a pedicure, my first ever. Usually my toes don’t show.”
“Coral would work with all your outfits.”
“Okay.” She grabbed Karyn’s arm and leaned close. “Jim has no idea what he started by giving me that trip. I feel like I’m about to go on my honeymoon again. Except this time I’ll know what I’m doing! Thank you so much.”
They didn’t stay too late. Dinner was casual—grilled steaks, fries and a baby greens salad from Annie’s garden—with plenty of conversation, although not between Vaughn and Karyn. Cass kept running into the bathroom to admire her “crown,” which didn’t help.
Back at Vaughn’s house, Karyn told Cassidy good-night at the bottom of the stairs, then waited in the living room for him to come back down. This was one of those times when she should’ve asked for permission first instead of apologizing later.
She sat cross-legged on the floor, letting Belle crawl all over her. Vaughn was probably reading Cass a story—or letting her read one to him, which took longer. It seemed to be a regular bedtime ritual.
Belle had settled down in Karyn’s lap when Vaughn came down the stairs slowly, each step pounding a death knell. She didn’t shirk, nor did she show false courage.
“You’ve been here for five days,�
� he said. “In that time my daughter has changed from being comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt to one who wants lacy blouses and crowns.”
“I told her it was a headband, not a crown. Truly. I meant no harm. I was trying to figure out things she could do with her hair herself. I should’ve asked you first.”
“She’s not yours, Karyn.”
He didn’t say it unkindly but with a certain amount of sympathy. That didn’t mean he would forgive her.
“I know.”
He crouched down. “Do you? Ever since you got here you’ve been cozy with her. What if, Karyn? What if? It’s one thing for me to get hurt. I can deal with it the way I have in the past. But not Cass. She deserves her childhood.”
He thinks I could hurt him? “I won’t buy her anything else. I’ll try to limit my time with her, if that’s what you want. Or maybe I should go to the motel, after all, and wait there.” Tears pushed at her eyes. She tried to keep them from falling. “I’m not staking a claim on Cassidy. People can’t just be nice? Especially to a child?”
Vaughn pushed himself up and went to the fireplace. He’d readied it before they’d gone to Medford, so he only needed to light it, but he hesitated. Damn her. How could he criticize her after that speech? And he had more to say, but he knew it had more to do with trying to keep his distance from her himself. He could feel himself getting too involved, but he was determined not to repeat his mistakes.
“What happens if this Jason Humphreys turns out to be her father?” Vaughn said. “Her world is going to turn upside down. For her to lose you when she’s gotten so close, so fast, might be too much. And don’t tell me kids are resilient. Every child is different, and her mother already abandoned her. She deals with that every day.”
Karyn stood, bringing Belle with her and placing her in Vaughn’s hands. She crossed her arms. “You’re protecting your daughter. I get that. You’re a great dad. So I’ll leave in the morning. I’ll tell her I got an emergency call and had to go home.”
He didn’t watch her walk away, but he knew the route she traveled—across the living room, then the foyer, then up the staircase. She hadn’t accused him of anything—oh, say, for example, being too possessive of his daughter and too worried about getting hurt himself. About how he should be starting to live again, not spending most of his days on the ranch, where he was safe from emotional crises.
