Falling for You (10 page)

Everyone except Cassidy.

For being a city girl, Cassidy didn’t appear out of place at all in a setting like this. All she needed was a cowboy hat and she’d blend right in. To someone who didn’t know any better, you might think she’d lived here her whole life. Dressed like that, Evan could almost picture Cassidy on the front porch swing beside him and Aspen.

Whoa, easy now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Looking is one thing but porch swings are a little much right now.

“Welcome back to
The One
.” Spencer Daley addressed the girls. “Today you will again be competing and spending time with our bachelor Brad while enjoying some exciting horseback riding here at beautiful Mountainside Ranch.

“Brad’s waiting inside the barn. He’ll help each of you select a horse. Then you’ll saddle it and lead it out to the field behind the barn where you’ll leave for an amazing scenic trail ride.”

Evan followed as the girls walked into the barn. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he spotted Brad perched on a pile of hay bales in the middle of the room, grinning like the Cheshire Cat as the women approached.

The barn had a center walkway with what had to be at least fifteen stalls on each side. A string of lanterns ran down the center of the aisle, casting a warm glow into the stalls. Off to the side of the entrance, a room bigger than Evan’s living room was devoted entirely to tack and feed.

“Hello again, ladies.” Brad laid on the charm so thick Evan could barely keep down his lunch. “You look gorgeous today.”

The girls swooned as though no one had ever paid them a compliment before.

Brad sure did know how to work his angles with the girls. He played the perfect boyfriend — caring, sweet and complimentary. It wasn’t until he was hanging around with only the guys that Brad became just another dick in the crowd. If the girls got to see the truth, this would be a completely different show.

“First thing we need to do is find each of you a horse.” Brad raised his eyebrows and smirked. “Who’s ready to find something to ride?”

“I’m ready for a ride.” Zoe stepped out of line. She put her hand on Brad’s knee. “But I’m not sure I need a horse for that.”

Wow. There’s no misinterpreting that.

“You know,” Zoe started, batting her eyes at Brad — and the camera, “I used to be an equestrian jumper.”

“Did you ever place?”

Zoe tossed her hair over her shoulder with a perfected head-flip. “Of course. I won them all.”

“So you still ride now?”

“Oh, no. I got rid of that horse right after my championship ride. I took up gymnastics instead. It made me very flexible.”

Brad grinned. He hopped off the pile of hay and wrapped his arm around Zoe’s waist, leading her down the pathway. “Let’s walk and talk.”

“She’s disgusting,” Paige whispered in Cassidy’s ear. “I can’t believe she said that to him with all these cameras watching.”

“That’s probably the main reason she did say it. I think she’s hoping for a little more screen time. She certainly knows what sells on TV — sex.”

“She’s such a tramp.”

“Agreed. But he’s not much better for falling for it.”

“I heard she had a breakdown when she lost that other show,” said Savanna.

“I guess if you’re used to winning everything, losing would be a shock,” Lauren said.

Rich, good at everything, and a poor loser? Lethal combination.

At the other end of the barn, Brad had Zoe leaning back against a wall as he hovered over her intimately. They separated long enough to select a horse then as Zoe stood at the stall door, Brad kissed her.

“Oh my God, he’s kissing her,” Cassidy whispered to Paige.

What, is Cassidy hoping she’ll be next? Not wanting to share him?

Brad sauntered back up the aisle, a smug expression on his face like he was exceptionally proud of himself. “So, who’s next?”

None of the girls stepped forward.

“Everyone’s shy all of a sudden?” Brad smiled and wiped the corner of his mouth with his hand. His eyes drifted across the women, sizing up his next target. “How about you, Cassidy?”

“Um, sure. I’ll pick a horse next.” She smiled at Brad, took his hand, and walked beside him while peering into the stalls.

Evan tried to concentrate on not tripping over his feet as he walked backward in front of Cassidy and Brad. But it was hard for him to concentrate on anything when he watched Brad’s hand wrapped around Cassidy’s. He wondered what it would feel like if it were him instead of Brad.

Cassidy stopped in front of a stall with the name Corona written on the door. A golden face with deep brown eyes peered out of the stall.

“Corona, huh?” Cassidy reached out and stroked her hand up and down the horse’s forehead. “You seem like a nice girl.”

“You’ve chosen your horse already? We haven’t even had a chance to talk yet.”

Cassidy shrugged and smiled. “Sorry. She seems like a nice horse. It’s not that I don’t want to talk.”

“Good, then let’s sit for a few minutes and talk.” Brad led Cassidy to a wooden bench across the aisle from Corona’s stall and pulled her gently down beside him, never letting go of her hand. “How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been fine. The usual, just working, hanging out with Keira. How about you? Happy to be back in California?”

“Oh man, being back with the old crew, surfing the waves … it’s awesome.”

“I’m happy for you. That’s great.”

“I have a question.” Brad paused like he was thinking very hard to phrase the question in just the right way. “How do you feel about me?”

A rose hue suddenly colored the apples of her cheeks and she shifted on the bench.

“That’s a very direct question I didn’t expect to have to answer yet.”

Brad dropped Cassidy’s hand and tucked a hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ear.

Evan’s grip on the camera tightened involuntarily.
Focus.

“Well, we get such a short time together here I thought we should get things out in the open quickly rather than letting them simmer on low.” Brad put a hand on her knee and ran his fingers up and down her thigh. “You were never shy with your feelings before.”

What’s this joker doing? He can’t touch Cassy like that. Great, now I’m thinking of her in nicknames. Shit. What part of not getting involved don’t I understand, exactly?

“I’m not sure what to tell you. Honestly, I’ve only recently adjusted to the fact that you’re actually here and I’m supposed to date you again. You have to admit this whole situation is a little weird.”

“Sure it is, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this second chance. I think it’s okay to explore our feeling for each other again, don’t you? You don’t have to worry about hiding your feelings from the other girls. They know we have history together.”

“I’m not hiding my feelings. I’d have to know what they are to hide them.”

“Maybe you need a little sugar from me to refresh your memory.” Brad leaned in, shortening the gap between them. “Come on, Cassidy. It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted your lips.”

I will make sure you eat horse shit if you put your lips on her.

“It’s a little too soon, Brad.”

“That didn’t stop Zoe from showing me how she felt.”

Cassidy shifted back further along the bench. “What Zoe does is her business. I’m not about to follow in her footsteps and I’m certainly not going to make out with you in some random barn.”

That’s my feisty girl.

“I can wait a bit for you. But don’t make me wait too long, or I might fall in love with one of these other beautiful women.” Brad jumped up, striding toward the remaining girls.

“I’ll take my chances,” Cassidy mumbled, her eyes flickering toward Evan.

He grinned and let out a long slow breath.
Dude, get a grip. She’s not your girlfriend so stop getting all, “I’m going to beat the shit out of you,” every time the pansy-ass surfer boy is around.

He lingered near the door as Cassidy went into the stall to meet Corona. He wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, so why was he so bent out of shape about Cassidy? He didn’t want to get involved with anyone — he wouldn’t
let
himself get involved.

A man brushed past him with a large saddle in his arms. “My name is Roberto and I’ll be helping you.” He set down the saddle in a clean patch of hay. “Have you ridden before?” Roberto asked, as if he could read the questions in Evan’s mind.

“No.” Cassidy shook her head. “There aren’t too many opportunities to ride in the city. But I’ve always wanted to. It looks like so much fun.”

Cassidy appeared surprisingly comfortable and at ease in the small space, given the large size of the horse and the fact that she had no experience being around them.

“Well then, let’s get you on this horse.” Roberto handed her a rectangular wool blanket. “This goes on first. Up there by the shoulders.”

Cassidy flung the blanket onto the back of the horse and smoothed it out.

“Hmph,” snorted Corona, sneezing at Cassidy, then sniffing her face.

“Hey.” Cassidy wiped her face with her hand. “That wasn’t nice.”

Evan suppressed a laugh and tried to hold the camera still. Only Cassidy would get sneezed on, in the face, by a horse.

“Easy, girl.” Roberto patted Corona on the side. “Now the saddle. Put it right up on the blanket.”

Cassidy squat down in front of the saddle and lifted it. She peeked over her shoulder at Evan.

No bending over on camera today, huh, Cassidy?

She hauled the bulky saddle to the horse’s side and lifted it onto Corona’s back. As she adjusted it, Corona shifted her weight, bumping into Cassidy. She lost her balance and fell against the wall.

Roberto reached out to steady Cassidy on her feet. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She stood tall and straightened her clothes. “Just a bruised ego.”

“You need to pay more attention around the horses. They move when they want to, not when we want them to.”

“I’m beginning to see that.”

Evan smiled in spite of his best efforts not to. He couldn’t believe how accident-prone she was. If anything could happen in a situation, it
would
happen to Cassidy. She was the living definition of Murphy’s Law.

He pictured what it would be like to take her to his brother’s ranch. He could teach her to ride slowly, without all these cameras around to spook the horses. Carter had gentle horses that were easy for new riders. Even his niece Annie could ride them — and she was only five. Cassidy would be safe on a horse like that and less likely to find herself in a compromising position — unless of course it was Evan who put her in that position.

No, he couldn’t take her there. Too much emotion still lingered to bring a girl over. Melissa had only been gone a year, Carter and Annie were still hurting … that was exactly what he needed to remember when he started thinking about Cassidy as anything more than an assignment — the reason he couldn’t be with her.

He knew Cassidy had come here for the adventure, but surely putting a city girl on the back of a huge horse and going out on rough Colorado trails was more than she expected. The trails could be dangerous for a new, inexperienced rider and he didn’t want to see Cassidy get hurt. Why did they have to go out on the trails? It would be so much safer if the girls stayed in the riding ring.

Roberto finished adjusting the saddle on the horse. “Okay, now you need to grab the cinch strap from that side and feed it through the loops on this side.”

Cassidy bent down and peered under the horse’s belly. “I have to grab that strap over there, from here?” She scooted forward in a crouched position and leaned under Corona. The strap was a fraction of an inch beyond her reach.

Evan zoomed in as she stepped a little closer and stretched, extending herself under the horse. Her hand circled the strap and she stood quickly, getting out from under the horse. “I got it!” She cheered and smiled directly at Evan. Not the camera — Evan.

He couldn’t resist smiling back. Sweat from the heat and humidity in the barn made her skin glisten, but in that moment, she’d never looked more radiant to him. He gave her a nod before she turned back to the horse.

“All right, now loop it through here and we’re done.”

Cassidy fed the strap through the set of loops as Roberto directed her, yanked down hard on the cinch. “Done. That’s good, right — oh my God!”

Cassidy froze and peered down at her foot. Evan followed her gaze to find a large hoof covering the end of her boot.

“Ouch. Help. Now. Please.”

Evan moved quickly, his camera still perched on his shoulder. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pressed her body to his, then shoved his shoulder into the side of the horse until she shifted her weight and picked up her hoof. Evan twisted his body away from the horse taking Cassidy with him and freeing her foot.

He gazed down at Cassidy and found her staring back up at him, realizing then how tightly he held her. Her body molded against the length of his and he could feel her body heat radiating through his clothes, warming every inch of him.

“Are you hurt?” He managed to choke out the words through the familiar fog that seemed to constantly clog his brain whenever she was around.

Cassidy blinked and shook her head. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but instead closed it again, remaining silent.

“You need to stop hurting yourself, or I’ll have to carry you to the challenges.”

Cassidy mumbled a reply he couldn’t make out.

Evan held her close for another few seconds, reluctant to let her go. It felt so good to hold her against him. It felt right, almost as if her body had been made to fit with his and his arms were made to hold her — to protect her. He could protect her, couldn’t he?

Like Carter thought he could protect Melissa?

Her breath tickled his face, gentle and warm as her lips parted to speak. He wanted to cover those lips with his. Would they fit as well with him as the rest of her seemed to?

Stop. Not here. Not now. It’s not worth the pain later.