The Bull Rider's Son

Cassidy tugged her short denim jacket snugger around her waist, the gesture the result of nerves and not the cool January breeze blowing in from the west.

“Daddy, I want to ride by myself,” Bria said, her eyes on Benjie. “I can do it.”

“In a minute. First, we need to get Skittles used to the pen.”

The old horse couldn’t be more used to the bull pen if he’d been born in it. Shane, Cassidy realized, was being protective, but not so protective he smothered Bria. He also engaged Benjie in friendly conversation. Her son responded as he always did to attention from cowboys at the arena. He lit up.

Did Benjie miss having a father in his life? Was she wrong to deny him?

“Race you.” He passed Bria at a slow, bumpy trot.

“No, Benjie,” Cassidy warned. She’d climbed the fence to a built-in bench seat, installed so parents and instructors could sit comfortably while monitoring the goings-on in the pen. “Bria isn’t ready to race yet.”

“But I want to,” the little girl protested and kicked Skittles in the sides. The saddle’s wide, thick cinch prevented her boots from making any real contact.

Like father, like daughter, Cassidy decided. The little girl was fearless. Shane had always been like that. The quality had earned him a world championship bull-riding title on three separate occasions. It had also darn near cost him his life.

Shane brought Skittles to a stop. “If you promise not to race,” he told Bria, “you can fly solo.”

The little girl stopped giggling in order to stare at him, an expression of bewilderment on her cherub face. “I’m not flying, Daddy. I’m riding.”

“Yes, you are. And doing well, I might add.”

He adjusted the reins, placing them firmly between her plump fingers. “Don’t let go and don’t move your hands all over the place. You’ll pull on Skittles’s mouth, and he won’t like it.”

Shane continued instructing his daughter for several minutes until she was fidgeting with excitement.

“Daddy,” she whined. “I’m ready.”

“All right.” He stepped back and let her go.

Cassidy could see the struggle on his face. As a parent, she understood what he was going through. It wasn’t easy, giving up control. Even, evidently, for Shane, who’d been a father only these last four months.

Bria completed her first circuit on her own with no mishaps. A second and third progressed just as smoothly, considering Benjie followed closely, daring her to go faster. Cassidy hadn’t been aware that she’d let her thoughts drift until the bench shifted beneath her. With a loud creak, Shane plopped down.

Right beside her. She hadn’t realized how small the seat was. Her pulse quickly soared. Really?

Cassidy pretended Shane’s proximity made no difference to her. “She’s a chip off the old block.”

Indeed, Bria took to horse riding as one might expect from the offspring of a rodeo champion.

“Not bad for a first time out.”

“Her mother doesn’t ride?” It seemed a reasonable question to Cassidy and not her being nosy, though she was.

“Never been on a horse.”

“Huh. I take it you didn’t meet her on the circuit.”

He leaned back, pushing his cowboy hat off his face and giving her a less obstructed view of his profile. His strong, rugged features were pronounced in the bright afternoon sun, as was his scar. Both stole her breath.

“Actually, I did. Right here. She and a friend came to the Wild West Days Rodeo.”

“Wow.” Cassidy hadn’t noticed his interest in anyone. Then again, she’d steered clear of Shane during the rodeos he’d attended. Less chance of people talking about her son and him hearing. “Were you angry with Judy for not telling you about Bria?”

Of all the disagreements Cassidy’s parents had had since her father’s return, not one had been about her mother lying to him about being Liberty’s father. Why was that? Surely, he was angry. She could easily imagine how furious Hoyt would be with her if he discovered her deception.

“Yeah,” Shane admitted, “at first, I was angry.” His tone gentled. “I got over it once I met Bria.”

Cassidy doubted Hoyt would be as forgiving. Her glance returned to Bria. “She’s adorable.”

“She’s something else, all right. I was scared to death she’d hate me. Be mad at me for abandoning her all these years.”

“How could she? You didn’t know about her.”

“I wasn’t sure she’d understand. But turns out I didn’t need to worry. We hit it off from the start. Like she’d always been a part of my life.”

“Was she upset with her mother?” That possibility concerned Cassidy almost as much.

“No. Judy and I concocted a story to tell her. She accepted it. I suppose because she’s four.”

Like Cassidy’s sister. Liberty had accepted the story their mother had made up. Also like Benjie, when Cassidy put off his occasional queries.

“And Judy’s willing to share custody with you?”

Shane gave Cassidy a curious look. “She is.”

When he didn’t ask why Cassidy wanted to know, she pushed on. “What changed her mind?”

He raised his eyebrows, his curiosity noticeably increased. Still, he didn’t ask. “The accident and me walking away from rodeoing. When I decided to settle down, she thought maybe I’d grown up enough to be a father.”

“Have you?”

He laughed good-naturedly. “Depends on who you ask.”

“I think you have,” Cassidy said, quite seriously. “You’re not the same man I once knew.”

“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I meant it as one.”

A spark of attraction flashed in his eyes, causing her breath to hitch. They were close. So close she could discern each and every laugh line bracketing his eyes. Feel the raw energy emanating from him. Sense the weighty pull of their mutual attraction. It wasn’t easy to resist.

“What about Benjie’s father?” he asked. “Is he in the picture?”

“He isn’t.”

And, like that, the attraction fizzled. Shane had ventured into forbidden territory.