Love Me Tender (4 page)

“Is Jamal's family here in town?”

“I gather he doesn't have family. Or many friends. He's RCMP as well, and worked undercover for a lot of years. It's not exactly a stable life.”

“No, I bet it isn't. Is he still doing it?”

Dave shook his head. “Now he's head of the Williams Lake RCMP detachment. He and Karen bought a house and a little chunk of land between Caribou Crossing and Williams Lake.”

Before Jamal entered the picture, Dave and Karen used to get together for an occasional dinner or movie, just as friends, but now they only saw each other for lunch every few weeks. He missed her company but was glad she'd found a good guy; she wanted all that home and family stuff and deserved to have it.

He just wished she hadn't joined the ranks of the females in his life who pushed him to date. How many times had some well-intentioned relative or friend told him he needed to dip his toe in the dating waters, get back in the game, yada yada? He rejected their efforts at matchmaking and suffered through the curious gazes they gave to every female he even spoke to.

Didn't they get it? He couldn't imagine ever loving again. Besides, he'd been by Anita's side from the time she got the diagnosis of terminal brain cancer until the day she died. Never, ever again, would he let himself be vulnerable to the shattering pain of loss. To the bitter anger against the world, himself, even the woman he loved but couldn't save.

His heart clenched, the ache rose in his throat, and—

“Dave? You okay?” Warm fingers brushed his forearm, bare below the rolled-up sleeve of his lightweight denim shirt.

Cassidy. He breathed in, fresh air cleansing his throat, his chest.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said brusquely. Her voice, her touch had beaten back the darkness.

And now that he was back in the real world, he realized how disconcertingly good those soft fingers felt against his skin.

They'd reached the outskirts of town, which gave him an excuse to raise his arm so that her hand dropped. He pointed ahead. “That's Westward Ho!—where I keep my horse.” The well-maintained wooden stable housed a couple dozen horses. Beside it was a red-roofed barn, and two white-railed paddocks provided space for the horses to stretch and socialize.

“That's so cool, that you have your own horse.”

He shrugged. “Can't imagine my life without a horse.”

“You've been riding since you were little?”

“Yeah, though I wasn't a ranch kid, or into rodeo, like some of my friends. When I married Jessie, horses became a bigger part of life, and Robin lives and breathes them.”

“Handy that you can keep your horse in town.”

“Uh-huh,” he said as they walked into the stable. “I try to get out on Malibu at least every couple of days. When I can't, Robin or one of the staff here exercises him for me.”

Dave greeted Eddy, the teenage girl whose dad owned the business, and introduced Cassidy. Leaving the two of them to deal with Cassidy's paperwork, he and Merlin went out to the paddock to call Malibu. The palomino gelding came over, bobbing his head eagerly.

Dave went through the familiar ritual: tie his horse with cross ties, groom him and pick his hooves, then saddle and bridle him. By the time he was finished, Eddy'd got Cassidy up on the back of a pinto mare and given her refresher instructions on how to position her body, hold the reins, and give basic cues to her horse.

“You're all set,” Eddy said. “Have fun.”

“Absolutely.” Cassidy beamed at the girl, then at Dave. “Lead on.”

Her smile really did have a way of lighting the day. And warming his blood.

They headed out on a quiet dirt road that led out of town, their horses walking side by side with Merlin springing happily along beside them. Cassidy looked relaxed and comfortable in the saddle. Did she fit in this easily wherever she went?

She bent forward to stroke her horse's neck, the motion snugging her jeans even tighter against her firm butt. “This is Cherry Blossom, if you can believe it,” she said. “Eddy says she prefers to be called Cherry, and I can see why. You said your palomino is Malibu?”

“Yes. Named by the woman who owned him before me.”

“Suits him. Such a pretty boy.” Her gaze skimmed up from his horse to move across Dave's torso and end up on his face, a hint of suggestive mischief in her eyes.

“Thanks.” He added quickly, to make it clear he wasn't flirting, “On his behalf.”

Her lips squeezed together like she was holding back a smile. “How long will it take us to get to . . . what did Robin call it? Riders Boot Camp?”

“Yes, that's the place her mom runs. It's about ten miles by highway, only eight by the back roads and trails. It usually takes Robin and me about half an hour, but we move fast. Don't know how much speed you're up for.” He cocked an eyebrow.

“I'm up for pretty much anything.” Her striking blue-gray eyes danced, and he got the sense she didn't just mean riding.

“Uh,” he said awkwardly, “we should let the horses warm up first.” The moment he said those words, he wondered if they could be taken sexually too. He was about to clarify, then figured that would only make things worse.

“Sure,” she said. “My muscles could use a little warming up too.”

Riding muscles, right?

Best to change the subject.

Cassidy gazed at Dave, who looked the total cowboy this afternoon. It was fun getting him flustered, though frustrating trying to sort out his mixed signals.

“You're settling in okay in Caribou Crossing?” he asked.

So he had retreated to safety, had he? She'd go along. For now. “I sure am.”

She stroked Cherry's neck again, enjoying the rhythm of the horse's body under her, the warmth of the sun on her shoulders, the scent of wild roses from a bush growing along a sagging wooden fence. They were out of town now, on a wide dirt track fenced on both sides and dotted with occasional piles of manure, which Merlin neatly avoided. A field of hay blew gently in the breeze on one side, and on the other cattle grazed, a few lifting their heads to watch her, Dave, and the well-behaved black poodle.

Riding, fresh air, gorgeous scenery, these were the reasons she'd come to Caribou Crossing. The handsome man on his pretty horse was an unexpected bonus.

Her old jeans and cotton shirt were comfy and the thrift shop boots fit as if she'd been wearing them for years. The cream straw cowboy hat sat lightly on her head, and its brim shaded her face from the brightest of the sun's rays. Oh yes, life was good.

Caribou Crossing had been a brilliant choice and she blessed the silver lining of her Monday exhaustion that had landed her on the floor of Dave's hotel lobby.

“Madisun said you got a room at Ms. Haldenby's. She's a, uh, interesting woman.” Dave's mouth gave a wry twist.

She chuckled, thinking of her white-haired landlady: efficient, brisk, opinionated, yet warmhearted underneath it all. “Very interesting. I hear she was your fourth-grade teacher.” Dave must have been a cute kid. The sandy hair that flopped boyishly over his forehead would have been lighter then. His greenish brown eyes and full mouth would have been carefree rather than, as now, often shadowed by some internal burden.

“Yup. You meet someone in Caribou Crossing between the ages of twenty-five and sixty, chances are she taught them.”

“She has stories,” she teased.

“I hate to think.”

“D'you recall a frog you brought to school to try to scare her? Silly boy, thinking an experienced teacher like her would be frightened by a frog.”

“Actually, it escaped. I didn't bring it for her; it was for Jessie.”

“Aha! You were trying to scare a cute little girl?” The one he'd later married; Robin's mom.

He snorted. “You haven't met Jessie.”

She was curious about his ex-wife. “She wasn't the typical little girl?”

“She loved nature. Horses and dogs especially, but basically any living thing. I found the frog in the garden at home. It had unusual markings and I figured she'd like it.”

“You were in love with her even back in fourth grade?” She had to wonder what had broken them up in the end.

He shook his head. “Jessie was a pal, a buddy. A tomboy. A lot like Robin is now.”

“So you fell for her in your teens? You must have married when you were awfully young. Robin's what? Eleven, twelve?”

“We got married a few months after high school graduation. Robin came along the next year. She's eleven now.”

She wondered how long he and his ex had been divorced. Long enough for her to have fallen for another man, married him, and had a baby. Robin had mentioned a baby brother.

“Want to try a trot, see how it goes?” Dave asked.

“You bet.” Though Cassidy wasn't into long-term planning, likely she'd stay in Caribou Crossing through the summer, so there'd be time to find out more about this intriguing man. Who knew, some of that learning might even come from pillow talk!

He eased his horse forward and hers followed along, the dog running beside them.

It took a few bone-rattling moments to get the feel of the trot, but she did better with the lope and let out a whoop of exhilaration. When Dave slowed the pace, she said, “This is exactly what I needed. A real change of pace.”

“You're not talking about going from a trot to a lope, are you?”

“Vancouver to Caribou Crossing. Sports bars and clubbing to horses and sweet-smelling wild roses.” A scuzzy boss to a good man like Dave. A bunch of metrosexual guys she didn't find sexy to an effortlessly masculine one like the rider atop the gorgeous palomino.

“Welcome to my world.” He gestured expansively.

“It's lovely.” Gazing ahead to where rolling hills rose to rocky outcroppings, she sucked in a deep breath of air that smelled of grass, sunshine, horse, dust.

“I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. But you, I gather you've got a gypsy spirit?”

“Totally. There's so much to see and do. I grew up in Victoria, spent some time in Toronto. After high school—when you were getting married—I was in Europe. My mom was there with her latest guy.” She wrinkled her nose, remembering his high-handed ways. “I didn't get along with him, so I left and traveled around on my own.”

“On your own in Europe? At what, seventeen, eighteen?”

“Just turned eighteen when I left Mom's house.”

“If Robin tried to do that, it'd kill me.” He snorted. “Or she'd kill me, because I'd make her call me three times a day.”

“Control freak?”

“Only when it comes to her safety.”

“Gramps was a bit like that.” He'd worried about her, made her report in. It had felt like he didn't trust her to look after herself. But when he said he did it because he loved her, it was hard to get too resentful. In fact, after he died when she was fifteen, she'd missed his fussing. Missed him. A lot. “But my parents liked me and my brother to be independent.” They loved her and JJ in their own way, but their personal dramas always came first.

“Traveling Europe on your own is pretty independent.”

“Man, was it amazing. All these new experiences! Places, people, languages, food. I loved it. Eventually I came back to North America, but I kept up with the traveling. I've been across Canada and I've visited lots of the States.”

He shook his head bemusedly. “You figure on ever settling down?”

“Nah.” Anytime she'd thought she'd had a home, it had proved to be an illusion—and learning that had hurt. No, she wasn't destined to set down roots, so she found joy in variety. She tilted her head to glance sideways at him. “Do you ever get itchy feet? Imagine living somewhere else, or even just visiting?”

He shrugged. “Not really. Oh, it's nice to go to Vancouver occasionally, eat in a different restaurant, go to the theatre or a game. But”—another of those wry grins—“even though it makes me sound like a total stick in the mud, everything I want is here.”

“Everything?”

One of those mysterious shadows crossed his face. “Robin's here,” he said slowly. “My family, friends. The inn.”

No mention of a woman. Surely he'd dated since his divorce. Cassidy wasn't pushy, but she didn't like to pussyfoot around either, so she said, “No special woman?”

He didn't look at her, nor respond. After a long moment of silence, he said, “No.” Then, “You okay if we lope again?”

She couldn't force him to expand on that if he didn't want to. “You bet.”

His horse speeded up, taking the lead. Merlin was at the palomino's heels and Cherry followed. Cassidy found her balance. She studied Dave's denim-clad back, so strong and athletic, imagining how it would feel to wrap her arms around him, to run her hands up under his shirt and feel those muscles flex.

He was clearly attracted to her, but he was holding back. Why, if he wasn't dating anyone else? Had Jessie broken his heart?

Cassidy didn't believe that human beings were designed for monogamy. Take her parents and her brother as prime examples. People should be sensible enough to recognize it, and not invest their hearts in all that soppy romantic stuff. On the other hand, few people were designed to be totally solitary beings. It was good to have friends and great to have sex. The smart thing to do was hook up, have fun, then move on, hopefully with no hard feelings. Sure, you missed out on the romance of being in love—something she'd never come close to experiencing herself—but you also got to skip the angst of a broken heart.

Dave was too sweet a guy to carry a torch for a woman who'd long ago moved on. Someone should make it her mission to shake that sweet guy out of his blues. To coax that dimple out of hiding.

And who better than Cassidy?

Was he worried about the fact that she worked for him? Maybe that was why he held back. She'd learned, during training by Madisun, that there was no rule against staff dating as long as they behaved professionally on the job. In fact, the chef, Mitch, and the bartender, Roy, had been a couple for the past year. But they were colleagues, not boss and employee.

Her instincts, which were usually reliable, told her Dave would never harass or pressure a staff member. Maybe he figured that coming on to one was inappropriate. Hmm. What if she seduced him and promised it wouldn't affect their work relationship? Would he say no? She mulled that notion over as Dave maintained the lead, trotting now, on a narrower trail.

Best not to get ahead of herself. He had included her in a family outing. Yeah, Robin had instigated it, but he could have said no. It seemed he was open to at least being friends. It wasn't a bad start. She'd enjoy the eye candy and his company, and see where things went from there.

Trees arched overhead, letting dappled sunlight sift through their branches. Birds chirped and a distinctive song trilled. She searched for the red-winged blackbird and found him perched on a fence post. She breathed in the pure, grassy country air and, exhilarated, let out her own corny rendition of the bird's call.

Dave glanced over his shoulder, laughing, and she grinned back.

A couple of minutes later, he slowed Malibu to a walk, and shortly afterward they turned into a neat stable yard. Robin had mentioned that Riders Boot Camp was less than two years old, and the buildings did look much newer than those at Westward Ho!

The girl's head poked out of the barn door, and Merlin ran over to greet her. She called, “Evan, they're here,” and, with the dog at her side, came to meet them. A moment later, a man in jeans and a tee followed her.

He studied Cassidy with obvious interest, and she reciprocated. Evan actually looked a little like Dave: a lean, rangy build and easy on the eyes. Evan was a couple of inches shorter, at maybe six feet, his brown hair had sun streaks, and his eyes were a striking greenish blue. Oh yeah, Jessie did know how to pick them.

From Cherry's back, she held out her hand to him. “Hi. Cassidy Esperanza.”

“Evan Kincaid. Welcome to Riders Boot Camp. Want to hop down and take the tour?”

“Love to.” She dismounted, holding her breath that her stupid left leg wouldn't choose this moment to go numb. But no, it behaved just the way it was supposed to. She smiled with relief. Caribou Crossing was good for her health.

While Robin tied Cherry's and Malibu's reins to a hitching rail, Evan and Dave greeted each other. Cassidy expected awkwardness between the two men, but instead they acted like friends. Maybe they'd buried the hatchet, in Robin's best interests.

“Where's your mom?” she asked Robin, hoping to meet the intriguing woman.

“Out on a trail ride.” She caught Cassidy's hand and tugged. “Come on. Most of the horses are out, but I'll show you the few that are left. And the barn, the tack room, the ring, the guest cabins. We're not fancy like the Crazy Horse, with a restaurant and a spa. We're no frills, intensive, all about horses and riding, and that's what folks come for.”

Evan, Dave, and Merlin joined them and they strolled around Riders Boot Camp. The layout had obviously been well thought out, and the place was attractive in an appropriately rustic way. As each of her companions chipped in bits of information, she realized how closely they'd all been involved in setting up this operation. She also realized how mature Robin was for her age, which was obviously something her family encouraged.

“This is really impressive,” Cassidy told them as they passed a couple of bunkhouses and several cute log cabins with wooden lounge chairs and flower boxes on the porches.

“We haven't even told you the best part,” Robin said. “We've got a scholarship program. You guys fill her in. I'm going to get Concha.” To Cassidy, she said, “That's my mare.”

After she ran off, the dog at her heels, Evan said, “We set Boots up as a charitable foundation. Jess wanted to offer our riding experience to disadvantaged people who would benefit.”

“That's a terrific idea. So you what, run on donations?”

“We do have donors. A few are on our board and some get the option of staying at Boots for a week or two themselves. We also have paying guests on a sliding scale based on what they can afford. Word's getting out and, sadly, we now have to turn people away.”

“Your wife had a brilliant idea.”

Evan glanced at Dave and they exchanged what looked like fond grins. Weird. Although she, personally, thought jealousy was a stupid emotion, it surprised her that there was so little tension between these two men.

“She did,” Dave said, “but it took a village to make it happen.”

“Luckily, Jess had that village,” Evan agreed.

Cassidy prided herself on making her own way in the world. And yet she almost envied the woman who had a village behind her to make her dream come true. The woman who had such fantastic qualities that two amazing men had fallen in love with her. The woman who'd given birth to and raised a terrific daughter and now had a baby boy as well.