The Bull Rider's Twin Trouble

Her voice drifted away, as if she was picturing the ranch, not as it was, but as she must have imagined it when she was little. She seemed so sincere, so hopeful, that he knew he’d do whatever he could to help make that dream a reality.

Then she started walking again and he followed. In what felt like too short a time, they had finished most of the fence and then just had the paddock left. He wished there were more fence to saunter along, some other reason to dawdle outside. There was something calming, right, about strolling out there with Cassie and her boys.

“Have you lived here your whole life?” she asked, pulling him out of his reverie.

That simple question was always a difficult one to answer, and even though he felt like Cassie was a person he could confide in, he wasn’t ready to explain the whole situation to her. He stuck with his honest-but-short response, hoping she wouldn’t ask for more details. “No. I lived in San Diego for a while when I was little.”

“Surfer-turned-cowboy, huh?” she said with a smile.

Her fun tone made him want to joke with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to do more than give her a small smile. The image of his father teaching him to surf always brought with it an unpleasant ache in his chest. Despite all the extreme sports he’d tried as an adult, he’d never been able to get back on a surfboard. “Something like that” was all he said.

She seemed to sense his unwillingness to discuss his life in San Diego, because she didn’t ask him anything more about his childhood.

* * *

CASSIE WASN’T SURE if she was happy or not that the walk was over as they finished the loop around the paddock. It was hot, and she was looking forward to the cool and shade of the house, and to an icy drink, but she couldn’t help but wish she and Brock were still ambling on beside each other. He somehow managed to set her on fire and soothe her soul at the same time, and she worried the feeling would disappear once they were back in the house, away from the great expanse of land that surrounded them.

They stopped walking, and Cassie lingered an extra moment. Brock made no move toward the house, either, and they stood there quietly as the boys ran inside.

“So, what’s the verdict? How much do I need to replace?” she asked, not yet ready to go inside.

Brock smiled at her, and she felt her heart thump. “Not much, actually. It’s better than I would have expected, and the paddock shouldn’t take more than a bit of lumber and a few hours’ work before it’s ready to hold your horses.”

Cassie felt relief course through her. Maybe she would be able to make this work, prove to herself that she could do it.

She looked into his eyes, and the heat around them grew even thicker with unsaid thoughts. Cassie was wondering what it would be like to kiss him when the slam of the screen door came as a welcome diversion. She turned toward the house, creating distance between her and the smoldering man beside her.

Both of her boys were running across the golden grass toward her, leaving a woman standing on the back porch. Cassie squinted in the bright sunlight to see who it was.

Carter skidded in front of her, already talking. “Momma, Miss Emma is here. She brought a pie. She said it was for dessert, but can we have some now? Please?”

“Is that Emmaline Reynolds?” Brock asked from behind her.

Something like jealousy popped up in Cassie, but she quickly tamped it down. She had no call to feel possessive about Brock, she reminded herself. He could date Emma all he wanted.

She couldn’t stop herself from saying a quick prayer that he wouldn’t, though.

“I haven’t seen her since grade school. Didn’t even know she still lived here. You sure make friends fast,” Brock commented.

Her mood suddenly lifted, she flashed him a smile. “When you have a sweet tooth and two young kids and you move to a town with one bakery, you get to know the owner of said bakery very quickly. Especially when the boxes of kitchen supplies go missing for a week. We’ve also made friends with the owners of the pizza place and the café.”

Brock chuckled, the sound reverberating through her body, and his grin caught her off-guard, turning her legs to jelly. She started to regret saying something amusing, looking at him and having a sex drive at all, because this man was certain to be her downfall if a laugh and a smile could do all that to her. Apparently not noticing her discomfiture, he said, “I’m going to go do another check of the paddock real quick, just to be sure we didn’t miss anything, and then it’s probably best we take a break anyway. You’d be surprised how fast the heat can get to you.”

It wasn’t the heat that was getting to her, but she wasn’t about to say that.

“I’ll go see what Emma wants. Come on in whenever you’re done,” she said to him as she turned away.

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