A Chance to Believe, page 15
‘So, what is the connection between you two?’ He stared at Cassie, whose face had flushed at Nate’s enthusiastic greeting, but now had a grey undertone. ‘Should we go sit somewhere?’
Even as he spoke, he drew her to some seating made from a long timber beam resting on a couple of round stumps beside the unused old bar structure.
She didn’t protest, sinking onto the bench with a faint sigh. It was fortunate that the area was unused, the new bar and eating facility over by the animal pavilions, where the Showground met the rodeo arena, drawing all the crowds after food and drink.
Nate sat down on the other side, his face concerned. ‘Should you be here, Cass? You look like you might pop at any moment.’
‘I’m just here for the junior barrel racing. I promised Kimberley.’
Nate nodded. ‘Fair enough. I must go collect someone, but we should catch up. Seems like there’s been plenty happening.’
Shayne looked at them, so totally at ease. ‘How do you know each other?’
‘Cassie and I were neighbours growing up. Longbourne was her family property.’
Longbourne. The extensive property Nate had bought with an inheritance from his grandmother Taite as the down payment. Shayne fixed his gaze on Cassie. ‘You grew up out west? Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘It didn’t seem important. I’ve been living in Brisbane except for school holidays from the time I went to boarding school at twelve.’
Nate chimed in. ‘We used to travel together as far as Toowoomba. Cassie went to boarding school in Brisbane.’
That made sense. Only he didn’t understand why she hadn’t mentioned she’d grown up on a grazing property. Although there was her aversion to sheep. There was more to the story, but now wasn’t the time.
‘Didn’t you say you had to go, Nate?’
Nate jumped. ‘Yes. Another time, Cass. Seriously.’ He slapped another kiss on Cassie’s cheek as he stood, and with a raised eyebrow, waved at them as he loped off with a glance at his watch.
There was a silence between the two of them after he left. The noise from the ring faded into the background as the questions churned around in his head. ‘Acacia Longifolia?’
She grimaced, a tightening of her mouth before it relaxed into a half smile. ‘School boy stuff. Once he and his brother figured out my name was Acacia Long, it was bound to happen.’
‘I remember now. You told my mother your name is Acacia.’
‘Most people assume Cassie is short for Cassandra. After the teasing I got from Nate and his friends, I prefer to keep it that way.’
‘I like Acacia. It’s pretty.’
‘The tree is pretty. I’m …’ She hesitated.
‘You are beautiful.’
She shot him a raised brow stare. ‘I am a blimp.’
‘Still beautiful.’
Her nose wrinkled. ‘A beautiful blimp. It doesn’t exactly seem likely.’
He pointed to a Dagwood Dog van with a giant lollypop on the sign. ‘More like one of those, you think?’
Cassie tossed her head. ‘It’s no use arguing with you.’
‘Not at this point. We need to move if we’re going to see Kimberley.’
She looked stricken. ‘I forgot. I’m so sorry.’
He helped her to her feet. ‘We have a few minutes. From what I can hear over the loudspeakers, they are running a little behind time.’
Her hand rested on his arm. ‘There’s something else I should tell you. I meant to tell you all this during the week, but there never seemed to be an opportunity. Then I hoped I wouldn’t need to. It was so long ago. But Nate turning up proves I’m kidding myself.’
It was a long speech and left her slightly breathless. ‘You don’t have to tell me now. We can talk at home.’
‘This matters now. My fiancé was a bull rider. It was years ago, but there could be people who remember him. People who might recognise me.’
Shayne’s chest tightened and he forced a breath. ‘Will that be a problem for you?’
‘No. Not really. But I should have told you before we came, so you weren’t surprised like you were with Nathan.’
‘I didn’t expect it. He’s family. That’s a close connection. It’s a wonder we never met. I’ve visited Nate and his family quite a few times over the years. He’s younger, but his brother Tam is my age.’
‘It’s not like we were over the fence. It’s a fair drive between the properties, though I suppose Nathan could have put in a more direct road between the homesteads. Besides, we didn’t do a lot of socialising as children. The boys were older than we were and had different interests.’
The ‘we’ was a tempting clue to follow, but they were at the entrance to the ring and he showed his pass for them to enter, finding a way through the crowd to where Ben was waiting, holding a couple of seats. Further revelations would have to wait, because the announcer was whipping up the crowd for the barrel racing.
Cassie watched intently and he watched her watching, keeping half his attention on the scores. With the added knowledge of this afternoon’s revelations, it put into context her statement, ‘I don’t ride,’ because she would have learned to ride as a child if she’d grown up out west. He’d thought it odd. He’d expected her to say she couldn’t ride. Most city people didn’t get an opportunity to learn. It was an expensive hobby, even for those on the land. He dragged his attention away when Kim’s number was announced, and he focused on the arena.
She did well. Maybe not the best time, but damn close.
Cassie turned to him with sparkling eyes. ‘Do you think she placed?’
‘It will depend on the last two competitors. They could dislodge her from the board.’
He could sense Cassie holding her breath as they announced the final times. Second. Kimberley had come second. His daughter might be disappointed. He wasn’t sure from her expression, but he wasn’t. The field was exceptional, with a couple of national champions. Not all the top range competitors came to such a minor event, but it was enough to keep the locals on their metal.
‘Did you see? Did you see?’
Kimberley bounced as she joined them in the stands after giving her horse a rubdown and settling him near the horse float with food and water. ‘I beat Hayley Pierce. She’s amazing. I am soooo stoked.’
She tucked herself into the bench seat between him and Cassie to watch the senior riders.
‘What did you think, Cassie?’
‘Your run was flawless. You should be pleased. It was fantastic.’
Kim pursed her lips. ‘I checked a bit going round the second barrel. That probably lost me a fraction of a second.’
‘But you might have clipped the barrel and lost points if you hadn’t.’ Cassie said it with all the seriousness of an expert, and he wondered if perhaps she knew more than they assumed. If she’d been attending events with her fiancé years ago, she wasn’t a stranger to the rodeo arena.
Kimberley didn’t seem to notice. She was still on a high.
In the end, he swapped keys with Ben so his brother could bring Kimberley and Samson home. Kim was determined to stay, and it was clear Cassie had no desire to watch the bronc and bull riding events. After seeming happy to watch the entire barrel riding program, she’d become restless, shifting on her seat. She stared down at the program clutched in her hands, her knuckles gleaming pale against the crumpled paper. She was oblivious to his arrangements with Ben and Kimberley. How much was because of the heat and how much due to some internal memories he wouldn’t hazard a guess. Going home would solve at least one of those possibilities.
Normally, he might have stayed. It was a big social event for the town. But Cassie was his priority. Kimberley would be fine, hanging with her friends with Ben as backup.
They waited for a gap in the program while the volunteers reset the arena for the evening’s entertainment.
‘Ready to go?’
She nodded, the tautness about her jaw seeming to ease as she let him pull her to her feet. ‘You’re sure you don’t mind missing some events while you’re gone?’
Her assumption that he would drop her home and then come back in would receive a jolt. He intended to spend the evening with her if she didn’t object. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too tired to talk because he wanted the opportunity for more clarity on her past.
It would be nice to have the place to themselves for a change, with no interruptions. Almost everyone was at the rodeo apart from a couple of his team, who preferred a bonus for staying home and keeping an eye on the place. They wouldn’t come near the house unless there was a problem with the stock they couldn’t handle, which was unlikely. Even Jim and Parker were at the event. Jim was keen to watch the bronc riding, even though he hadn’t competed in decades.
Chapter 11
Cassie breathed a sigh of relief as they turned up the driveway, heading for home in the Subaru wagon Ben usually drove. It was feeling like home after all these weeks. Surprising, considering she’d never expected to stay. Not in the house as part of the family. Everyone had been so accepting, even Kimberley, after her initial suspicions.
There’d been no pressure either way from his family, something that also surprised her. Perhaps they’d learned from the Courtney incident. Perhaps they accepted Shayne was a grown man, able to make his own life choices. He was the parent of a daughter nearly grown and he seemed to have a done a good job. It couldn’t all be because of his family support, though that wasn’t to be dismissed.
If she accepted Shayne’s proposal, the annex would have to be abandoned. A wife would live in the main part of the house with her husband, upstairs with Shayne in the redecorated master suite with the nursery next door.
It had last been done up years ago, but Cassie liked the colours, the drapes and bedding in a rich dark green ornamented by gold tassels and the kitchenette and sitting room echoing the colours. The colours complemented the richness of the Victorian era timber furniture. Dawn was keen to freshen it up and Shayne trusted her to do it well.
‘Are you too tired to join me in the lounge? Parker left us a salad for dinner.’
Cassie jerked her attention back to Shayne. She noticed they’d pulled up near the pool, leaving only a short walk to the annex corridor.
‘You aren’t heading straight back into town?’
‘I was up at dawn, and I’ve been at the Showgrounds all day with Kimberley and Samson and meeting up with the committee. I’m looking forward to some downtime.’
He’d had a strenuous week, too. Not only on the farm, but with all the rodeo competitors using the facilities, in between supervising Kimberley going through her paces. ‘I’ll need to freshen up. When will I meet you?’
A quick glance at his watch and he shot her a smile. ‘An hour be all right? We could have a picnic meal in the lounge, seeing it’s only the two of us.’
It sounded nice. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d been alone, simply being together. ‘I’ll be there.’
They parted, him to the entrance near his office and her to the annex. It only took a few minutes to douse herself in the shower to get rid of the dust and sweat from the arena. She hesitated over clothes but decided a relaxing evening at home required comfort rather than style.
Black leggings and an oversized pale pink t-shirt were her favourites, even before her pregnancy made her skin sensitive. The knit fabric was cool and soft, the wide waistband on the leggings gentle on her expanding belly. Her damp hair she braided into a single fat plait, not worrying about straightening it. Shayne had said he liked her curls. Make-up was too much like hard work, and she rarely used it anyway unless she was working in that kind of environment. If she was going to live here, Shayne would see her at her worst.
He’d had a preview when they’d spent those two weeks together at her hotel, so it wouldn’t be a surprise. She’d never worn make-up in the morning when she headed out for a run, and he’d joined her most days.
Cassie stalled as she went to leave the room. Was she seriously considering taking up his offer? She was hoping for too much. The twins were thriving. If they survived, what did that mean about her curse? It was too hard to believe she could have it all, but maybe if she shared her history with Shayne, he would understand where she was coming from. It was long past time to be honest about everything.
It had really struck home when Shayne had looked so hurt at finding out his cousin knew more about her past than he did. He’d covered it quickly, but she’d seen the flash of pain darken the brilliance of his eyes. She’d been so busy protecting herself, she hadn’t been fair to him. Letting him into her pregnancy was one thing. Hiding her past when he’d exposed his own tragedies was selfish.
She huffed out a breath. It was fixable and she could do it over the meal. If he was hanging out at home, they would have time without the constant interruptions from Kimberley and the responsibilities of Maidens Hill.
The lounge was empty apart from Barney snoozing on the doggy mat in front of the fireplace. It had the advantage of being warm in winter and cool in summer. The tiles underneath would be cooler than the carpet. It was no wonder the smart old dog had made it his own. He opened one eye and the tip of his tail flicked once in acknowledgement of her presence before he fell back into whatever dog dreams he was enjoying. Even Barney was accepting her, and there was a warm place in her chest for that small blessing. She could be sure of his acceptance, a hint that he saw no threat in her or sensed any animosity from the people in his world.
She’d barely arranged herself on the fat couch facing the television when Shayne nudged past the half-open door with a fully laden tray. He placed it on the coffee table in front of her with a flourish. Two covered plates, cutlery, and a jug of orange juice and tall glasses with a handful of ice in each one. Her mouth watered at the thought of the icy, freshly squeezed juice. Parker always watered it down, so the acidity didn’t upset her sensitive stomach and added a touch of home-grown lemon juice, which gave it a refreshing bite.
As if he knew, Shayne filled the glasses and handed her one before planting himself beside her on the couch. ‘Have you been waiting long? I couldn’t find the juice. Parker put it in the cold room.’
‘Just arrived. Thanks for this.’
He wasn’t touching her, but he was close enough for her to notice the freshly showered scent of him, all leather and citrus. He’d trimmed his beard at some point, too, if the smoothness of his neck was any indication. He’d taken a leaf out of the comfort book and wore a body-hugging tee and soft, jersey-knit exercise shorts. His muscular legs were solid, with light hair, the skin slightly paler than his forearms, proof that he wore his jeans or moleskins working out in the paddocks. That hadn’t changed in the months since they’d met. The all over colour of his body and legs would come from his swimming, but the solid muscle would be from working. She’d seen how hard he worked and the long hours. Handling the sheep and other animals was a very physical job.
She took a hasty gulp of the drink and nearly choked, saving herself with a cough, holding the glass away from her body in case she spilled it.
Shayne took it from her, inserting his large hand behind her back and rubbing it in a circular motion that was remarkably soothing. ‘All good?’
Nodding, Cassie retrieved her drink. ‘Teach me to be greedy.’
‘Greedy isn’t always a bad thing.’
There was a gleam in his eye she recognised from their time together before he’d vanished back into his own world, leaving her behind. A pity she wasn’t allowed to act on the sizzle of attraction that was burning through her body. He was everything. His scent, his physical presence, his mind, even his sense of humour.
‘You had my number. Did you ever think about calling me?’
A flush of colour skimmed his cheekbones. ‘More times than I like to remember. I should have done it. It would have saved a lot of time.’
‘What would you have done?’
‘Come to see you. I thought you weren’t local. Had probably flown in from Sydney or Melbourne. It didn’t occur to me you were from Brisbane.’
‘Because I was staying in the hotel. Do you ever travel down south?’
‘To Sydney for the Royal Easter Show.’
‘Would you have contacted me if you were going?’
He leaned back, twisting his glass in his hand. ‘Probably not. I was convinced you were a city slicker, and I wasn’t going there again. Not after the last time. Especially in Sydney.’
‘That was where you met the other one who wanted you to live in the city?’
‘Pretty much. I wasn’t going to get burned again. No matter how much I … How much I was attracted.’
She wondered what he had stopped himself from saying. ‘It’s still the same. I might have been born in the country, but I haven’t lived there for a long time.’
‘Tell me.’
Cassie took a deep breath, and then another, placing the half empty glass on the table. ‘Longbourne was in my family for almost as long as Maidens Hill has been in yours. Sheep, with the occasional excursion into cattle and a very brief trial of alpacas.’
‘Nathan said there were alpacas when he bought it.’
‘My father had just bought a few to see how they went before the accident.’
‘That was ten years ago?’
‘Closer to twelve. It took a couple of years for probate to go through and allow the sale.’
He was counting on his fingers, his brows drawn together. ‘You were eighteen. Why weren’t you with them?’
‘I was at the Bialga rodeo with Brian Casey, my fiancé.’ Even now, after all these years, the pain still stabbed a little. ‘The bull he was riding hit him after he dismounted. He’d made the eight seconds, but he stumbled when he hit the ground. The bull was still bucking, and it twisted and landed on him.’
She’d been watching and jumping up and down cheering and that moment of exhilaration, followed immediately by the horror of seeing a tonne of bull trample on the man she loved still caught her breath. It took a moment to recover. Shayne reached out and wrapped his hand around hers, warmth sending the oxygen back into her lungs. ‘He was wearing the vest and helmet, but it wasn’t enough.’
