Сьюзен Мэллери - Summer Nights

Charlie leaned forward and grabbed her shoulders. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Give Shane a chance to screw up before you assume the worst. He might surprise you.”

“Good advice,” Annabelle whispered. Too bad she knew Shane well enough to believe he wasn’t going to surprise her this time. At least not in a good way.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“SHOULDN’T YOUR BUSINESS partner be doing this with you?” Shane asked as he followed his brother into yet another building in the center of Fool’s Gold. So far they’d looked at three potential office locations. To Shane they were all the same—open spaces with windows and doors. Weren’t all offices the same?

“Dante’s hiding out in San Francisco,” Rafe told him, using a laser tape measure to take quick calculations. “Resisting the inevitable.”

The inevitable being the company’s move. “Dante’s not a small-town kind of guy,” Shane pointed out. “I’m not sure how he’ll fit in here.”

“He’ll do fine.” Rafe nodded appreciatively. “I like this one. I wonder what’s upstairs?”

Temporary space was needed for Rafe’s company. He and Dante had bought a building on the edge of town, but it needed major remodeling and wouldn’t be ready for at least eight months. Which meant either commuting to San Francisco, something Rafe didn’t want to do, or getting a temporary location.

Shane wasn’t sure why he’d bothered tagging along. Getting away from the ranch had seemed like a good idea, but now that he was standing alone in the big open office space, he realized he could still hear himself thinking. He needed more of a distraction.

“Would you take it as is?” Shane asked, checking out a small alcove that was obviously a break room. There was a refrigerator, microwave, table and chairs, cupboards and plenty of counter space. Nothing fancy, but workable.

“Yes. I don’t want to put any money into remodeling. It’s only for a few months. We can make do.”

Shane walked back into the main room. “There aren’t any private offices.”

Rafe grinned. “Dante is going to love this place.”

“Why do you want to torture your business partner?”

“For sport,” Rafe admitted. “Yup, this is it. We can get all the desks in here. Half the staff will be staying in San Francisco until the new building is ready, so there’s plenty of room.”

He made a few notes on a tablet, then clipped the laser tape measure onto his belt. “Let’s go talk to the owner about a short-term lease. I want everything signed before Heidi and I leave for Paris in a few weeks.”

Shane followed him out. When they reached the sidewalk, Rafe paused.

“You don’t have to go with me,” he said. “If you have somewhere else you’d rather be.”

“Like where?”

“The library. Don’t you want to see Annabelle?”

They were standing by the stairs that led to the second-floor businesses. A couple of young girls—maybe ten or eleven—walked by and started up the stairs. Shane shifted to the left to give them room.

“You’re still pissed,” Rafe said when the girls were out of earshot.

“No.”

“You are. I can tell. You’re being an idiot.”

“You didn’t see what happened,” Shane told him, feeling his temper rise.

“I heard about it. Clay agreed to be Annabelle’s sacrifice for her dance and they hugged.”

Shane kept telling himself that was all there was to it. But he couldn’t shake the feeling of being played for a fool. Something he’d felt too often with his ex.

“If it was more—” he began.

Rafe cut him off with a shake of his head. “Isn’t the bookmobile important to Annabelle?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that why she came to see you in the first place? To learn to ride and do the horse dance?”

Shane shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.

“Didn’t she tell you about the program and ask you to be the sacrifice? Didn’t you refuse?”

“Stop being logical. This isn’t about that.”

“No. It’s about you being stupid. You’re making this more than it is. The worst part is deep inside, you know that, too. You’re so busy worrying about Annabelle being like your ex-wife, that you’re pushing her away when she’s done nothing wrong. But you’ll never be free from your past until you learn to let go.”

Rafe stared at him. Shane turned away. “Don’t you think I know that?”

“Apparently not, based on how you’re acting. Clay offered to help your girl. Your girl. You think he doesn’t respect your relationship with Annabelle? You think he’d want to get in the way of that?” Rafe paused as two more girls hurried toward the stairs and ran up to the second floor.

Rafe lowered his voice. “You’re crazy about her and you’re blowing it. Do you think you can do better?”

“I don’t want to do better. I want to be sure.”

“Sometimes caring about someone requires taking a leap of faith. This is that time. Go talk to her. Let her know you’re going to need a little help getting through this. But you can, if you have a little faith in her. And maybe yourself.”

Shane thought about punching his brother, but knew Rafe wouldn’t take it as well as Clay had. Plus, there was a chance Rafe might be right. About all of it.

“Marriage suits you.”

Rafe grinned. “Heidi suits me. You’ve been given a second chance, bro. Don’t blow it.”

* * *

ANNABELLE LET KHATAR pick his way over the open ground. She’d come to the ranch earlier, planning on sitting down with Shane and telling him about her pregnancy. But when she arrived, May told her that Shane had gone into Fool’s Gold with Rafe to look at temporary locations for Rafe’s business. Rather than spend her time pacing and getting more upset, she’d decided to go for a ride.

Over the past couple of weeks, she and Shane had been taking long rides together. They worked on the dance steps with Khatar then headed out past the fence lines and toward Shane’s property.

Now she urged Khatar in that direction. He went easily, remembering the route.

They walked by a grove of trees, then circled around to the edge of Shane’s property. From there it was a ten-minute canter to the construction site.

She stayed back far enough not to spook the horse. The stables were nearly finished and the house had been framed. Shane had taken most of her suggestions and his contractor had called to thank her for keeping him on track, as far as picking out fixtures, surfaces and appliances.

She could already see the finished house in her mind. She knew what the front door would look like, could imagine stepping into the entryway. There would be a light overhead, a switch to the left. From there it was a short walk to the great room. The kitchen was bigger now, with more counter space and more storage. They’d chosen everything together. There was even a jetted tub for two in the master.

“I’m playing a dangerous game,” she whispered. “Falling for a man who might never trust me again.”

Once he found out about the baby.

She had hopes, of course. The fantasy that he would hear the news, gather her in his arms and tell her he would love her forever. That the baby was the best surprise ever. Unlikely, she thought sadly. While she was at it, she could add movie music that swelled as the credits rolled. Because the odds of that happening seemed so small.

One of the construction guys spotted her and waved. She waved back. She leaned over and patted Khatar. “We should probably head back,” she told the horse and began to turn him. He took a couple of steps, then stopped, his ears forward as if listening to something unfamiliar.

Annabelle was quiet, listening. Then she heard it, too. A warning rattle. Her whole body went stiff with fear as she stared down at the ground, searching for the owner of that scary sound.