“The grand opening is next spring. I’m not much of a gambler, so I’m not that interested in the casino, but I can tell you the hotel is beautiful. The spa is going to be gorgeous. I might have to try it out for something.” Nevada ran her hands through her short hair. “Maybe extensions.”
Annabelle grinned. “That’ll be the day.”
“It would shock Tucker, that’s for sure. He likes my low-maintenance style.”
Annabelle had seen Tucker look at his new wife and knew the word like didn’t come close. He was a man who was well and truly in love. When Nevada was around, the rest of the world didn’t exist. Which was as it should be, she thought with only a tiny bit of envy.
“Speaking of husbands,” Heidi said and raised her eyebrows. “Guess who stopped by the ranch yesterday?”
They both looked at her.
Heidi turned to Annabelle. “Lewis.”
Annabelle groaned. “My ex,” she explained to Nevada. “He’s been in town for a few days. There was a legal complication with the divorce.” She drew in a breath. “I heard he stopped by the ranch on the way out of town.”
“I know that he talked with Shane for a couple of minutes. Then Lewis left.”
Annabelle didn’t like the sound of that. Not Lewis with Shane or her having to find out what he’d been discussing.
A couple of older women entered. Nevada waved at them, then leaned back in her chair. “Does anyone else think it’s strange that in a town like Fool’s Gold we don’t have one of those cute local coffee places? Not that I don’t love Starbucks, but don’t you think we need one?”
“We do,” Heidi agreed. “Maybe a coffeehouse art gallery.”
Annabelle grinned. “Or a place that has poetry readings.”
“Really bad poetry,” Nevada added.
“Of course. It’s the best kind. Or performance art. A woman brushing her hair for an hour or someone setting up a plant we could all watch grow.”
They laughed together.
“Don’t say anything to Mayor Marsha,” Nevada advised. “Trust me. The second she gets the idea that you’re the right person for the job, she’ll be on you and you won’t stand a chance.”
“I’m a believer,” Annabelle said. “Shane had no plans to teach those girls to ride horses and now he has horses for them and is scheduling regular lessons. It’s pretty funny.”
“She has more power than any of us can imagine,” Nevada said. “You have to respect that.”
Heidi and Nevada continued to talk about the mayor, but Annabelle found herself caught up in thoughts of Shane. He had resisted the horseback riding lessons, but in the end, he’d surrendered to the inevitable. The irony was, he was good with the girls. Patient and gentle with their delicate sensibilities. For all his macho attitude and developed muscles, he was kind of a pushover and she found she liked that in a guy.
With her divorce final and Lewis gone, maybe she and Shane could look forward to a little quiet time together. A chance to get to know each other better. Maybe in a room with a big bed and a lock on the door, she thought with a smile.
He was special, the kind of man worth hanging on to. She knew he was attracted to her. More important, he liked her. Now all she had to do was make sure there weren’t any more surprises.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“RELAX,” SHANE SAID patiently.
Annabelle tried to loosen her grip on the saddle. The good news was these days she was able to hang on with only one hand instead of both. That was progress.
She enjoyed the dance Shane had choreographed for Khatar. The steps were mostly easy, with swoops to the side and a couple of spins. It was the big finish, with the stallion coming up on his back legs, that still made her sweat. If only he weren’t so tall. She didn’t think having Reno make the same move would be so frightening.
“Okay,” she said, and drew in a deep breath. “Let’s go through it.”
Shane gave a three-tone whistle. As soon as she heard the sound, Annabelle nudged Khatar into place. The stallion knew what came next and easily worked through the steps. She guided him into a quick turn to the left, one more to the right and gripped him hard with her thighs as he rose into the air.
She leaned forward, going with the movement rather than fighting it, and tightened her stomach muscles to keep her from falling back. Her right hand held the reins and her left hovered over the saddle. At the last second, she raised her left arm so her fingers were nearly shoulder level. Khatar returned all four hooves to the ground and she shouted a cheer.
“Did you see?” she asked Shane as she patted the stallion. “I didn’t hold on.”
“I saw. That was great. You’ll do even better next time.”
She glanced at him. “Now you’re treating me like one of your students.”
“You are one of my students.”
“You know what I mean. You get that teacher voice.”
“You don’t like my teacher voice?”
“I’ve had your tongue in my mouth, so no.”
He crossed to her and helped her down. She slid to the ground and turned to face him, only to find him standing very close.
“No teacher crushes in high school?” he asked, his dark eyes crinkling with amusement.
“My teachers were all women, Shane. What about you?”
“Oh, my eleventh grade algebra teacher was hot,” he admitted. “Married, but hot.” He lightly touched her cheek. “About my tongue in your mouth…”
She grinned. “Yes?”
He glanced past her. “Maybe later. You know how he gets.”
She turned and patted the horse. “Are you jealous, Khatar? Not to worry. I love you best.”
“Figures,” Shane said. “Beaten by a horse.”
“He’s prettier than you. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you that, but it’s the truth. He’s one handsome guy.”
Later, when Khatar was back in his corral, Shane walked her to her car.
“What’s your schedule like at the library?” he asked. “Could you get a couple of days off?”
She leaned against her door. “That could be arranged. Why?”
“Deadline’s Dream is in a race in Del Mar on Saturday. I was going to go down and watch him run. I’d like you to come with me.”
“The Del Mar racetrack?”
“That’s the one. Have you been? It’s one of my favorite places to go.”
Excitement started at her toes and worked its way up. Tingles joined in and she did her best not to break into the happy dance.
“I haven’t been. It’s by San Diego, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’ll take us most of the day to get there. I thought we’d drive down on Friday, spend Saturday watching the races, then head back Sunday.”
A weekend away. With Shane. In a hotel. Her day was getting better by the second. She’d been thinking she should ask Shane what Lewis had said when he stopped by earlier in the week, but suddenly that wasn’t important. Shane wanted to spend the weekend with her. Alone.
“I know a great hotel,” he said. “On the water.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I’m not assuming anything. We’ll get two rooms.”
“Will we?” she asked, doing her best not to smile.“If that’s what you want.”
“Nice to know.” She gazed into his eyes. “And if it’s not what I want?”
He cleared his throat. “That would be good, too.”
“Just good? Not better than good?”
He cupped her face in his hands and bent down to kiss her. His mouth was hot and demanding, pressing against hers in a way that left her breathless.
“Better than good,” he murmured as he straightened.
Her heart pounded hard in her chest. Need made her insides clench. The man had a way about him, she thought hazily.
“Then one room should be plenty,” she told him.
“I’ll pick you up at eight Friday morning,” he told her.
“I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
“I’VE NEVER PLANNED a bridal shower,” Charlie whispered as she leaned across the table. “Or been to one. Should I have gotten a book or something?”
“You’ll do fine,” Annabelle told her. “Think of it as a regular party.”
“Because I host so many of those?”
Annabelle handed her a pad of paper. “Okay, then think of it as we’re having a bunch of Heidi’s friends over for dinner. The good news is, we’re not even cooking.” One of the advantages of taking over the newly opened banquet room at Jo’s Bar was the cooking would be done by someone else.
“That I can handle,” Charlie said. “But what about the rest of it? Mayor Marsha stopped by and asked about games. I don’t know any games.”
Annabelle did her best to hide her smile. “Don’t forget the Jordan almonds. Heidi said she wanted those for sure.”
“What the hell is a Jordan almond?”
Annabelle laughed. “How about this? We’ll order the food and the cake and the champagne today. We’ll go get the decorations and party favors next week. I’ll handle the games and you can order the flowers. Nothing fancy, just a nice arrangement for each table.”
“I’m free Saturday. Want to go then?”
“I’m, ah, going out of town this weekend.”
Charlie stared at her. “Since when?”
“Since yesterday. I’m doing to Del Mar.”
“Aren’t we fancy?” Charlie reached for her lemonade, then stopped. “Isn’t there a racetrack in Del Mar?”
“I’ve heard there is.”
“Doesn’t Shane own racehorses?”
Annabelle batted her lashes. “He might.”
“You’re going away with him for the weekend.”
She wasn’t sure if Charlie sounded outraged or impressed. Either would work.
“Yes,” she said in a low, conspiratorial voice. “I’m spending the weekend with a gentleman friend.”
“Interesting. So things are going well with the gentleman friend.”
“They are. I like Shane. He’s a good guy, which is rare.”
“Tell me about it,” Charlie said with a growl.
Annabelle drew in a breath. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. Does talking about this bother you?”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “No. I’m jealous, not upset or hurt. Okay, not jealous because, no offense, Shane doesn’t do it for me. It’s just you’re going away with a guy. It’s no big deal.” She smiled. “I don’t mean that in a slutty way.”
“No offense taken.”
“Good.” Charlie drew in a breath. “You’re normal. Sometimes I would like to be normal, too.”
Annabelle knew that Charlie’s first time had been so traumatizing, she’d yet to make a second attempt. “Have you talked to anyone about what happened?”
“I’m talking to you.”
“I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” Charlie said quickly. “A therapist. Yes. A few years ago. It didn’t help.”
“Did you give her a chance or did you get pissed off during the first session and never go back?”
Charlie sniffed. “I went to two sessions before she pissed me off.”
“As long as you didn’t give up.”
Her friend picked up her lemonade, then put it back down. “Fine. Maybe I should talk to someone. But not right now. When I get home, I have to go online and figure out what a Jordan almond is.”
* * *
THE DEL MAR OCEANIA Resort was one of those gated places with plenty of lush foliage and a guard. Shane pulled up behind a Lexus.
“You think if we’d brought my truck they would have turned us away?” he asked with a grin.
“Very possibly,” Annabelle said, trying not to look too impressed by the luxury villas she spotted just inside the fence line.
Instead of driving his truck, Shane had “borrowed” his brother’s car. Not Rafe’s, which would have involved simply asking. Nope, he’d taken Clay’s brand-new Cadillac CTS-V coupe, a fancy two-door model with enough power to leave mere mortal cars in the dust. Or so it had seemed when Shane had demonstrated the car’s speed on a relatively quiet part of the interstate.
“You sure Clay is going to be okay with this?” she asked, running her hands along the smooth leather seats.
Shane grinned. “My baby brother asked me to take good care of his car and I am.”
“I think he meant for you to park it in the garage, not drive it to San Diego.”
“Details.”
Shane drove forward and gave his name to the guard, who checked a list, then waved him through. They followed the main drive around the villas and pulled up in front of the hotel.
The car was instantly swarmed by uniformed employees. One opened Annabelle’s car door and welcomed her to the Del Mar Oceania Resort. Another collected luggage, while a third took the keys from Shane and handed him a small card in return.
Palm trees and tropical flowers provided lush landscape. Annabelle inhaled the scent of jasmine and honeysuckle. She could hear running water, but couldn’t see the pond or stream. The air was just warm enough to be pleasant, but not too hot and smelled sweet, with a hint of the ocean.
They walked into the hotel. The lobby was large, with lots of big windows and plenty of open space. The tropical theme continued, in an understated elegant kind of way. A bellman trailed after them with their luggage.