Page 90 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

Cash must have noticed it, too. “And when Alma and Davin come to visit, we’ll show them around, too. Alma always used to threaten that she’d come up here to see us one day, but it never worked out.”

“Yeah. It won’t be too long before I see them again.”

Ty squeezed her hand. “It won’t. And you know Booker’s excited to come visit. We’ll get him riding.”

“I feel so bad that he doesn’t know how to ride. It should have dawned on me – when would he ever have had the chance to learn? He’s so good with the horses, I just …”

“It’s not as though you would have had the time to teach him, is it? We’ll get him up here – he’ll have the time of his life.”

“Yeah.” She looked so sad that he was starting to wonder if bringing her here was the best idea.

Cash caught his eye and nodded encouragingly. Ty appreciated everything he’d done for them, but Cash wasn’t his favorite person right now. When he’d tried to book himself a room at the resort, there hadn’t been any available. It wasn’t a big deal because there were two apartments above the garage at Davin and Alexis’s place, so they’d offered him the other one.

The problem was that they’d discovered just how thin the walls were when Cash made a couple of phone calls after they got back there on Friday night. Ty and Shayna had been able to hear every word he said. And that had set Shayna – and Ty if he was honest – on edge.

He’d been looking forward to finally being able to make love to her, but neither of them had felt comfortable with it. If they’d been able to hear every word Cash said on the phone – and Ty had paid attention after that and been able to make out when Cash went to bed – and the way the bed creaked when he got in it – there was no doubt that Cash would be able to hear what they were doing, too. Neither of them wanted to feel like they had to be quiet their first time together. So, here he was, bringing his girl home with him – and he still hadn’t had sex with her. Not that he was worried. He just knew that they’d be good together.

It’d probably worked out better for Shayna anyway. It’d been an emotional weekend for her. She’d informed them all at breakfast on Saturday that, although she didn’t want to leave her family, she knew it was for the best if she came back to Montana with him and Cash.

Ty felt bad for Booker. He was a good kid – Ty had some time with him while they mucked out stalls at the barn. He was pretty broken up about Shayna leaving, but he did his best to hide it and be supportive. Ty was a little worried that he seemeddetermined to do whatever he could to find the asshole who’d driven Shay away.

They’d gone over to Violets, and Shayna had worked her shift there on Saturday lunchtime. In the afternoon, she’d hung out with Booker and worked on her assignment, while Ty, Cash, and Davin had gone to check out the address they had for Carey Duncan. He wasn’t living there – the place was boarded up. They’d gone inside to investigate and there was no sign that anyone other than mice and spiders had been there in years.

Davin had called the realtor, Austin, who’d met them at the house. He told them that it had gone into probate after the parents died and that nothing had moved on it since. He also told them that no one going by the name of Carey Duncan had rented any of his properties. That didn’t mean that he didn’t have an informal rental agreement somewhere – or that he wasn’t using another name.

Basically, all they had was a dead end, and it made Ty even more grateful that Shayna had decided by herself that she wanted to come home with him.

He watched her again as she stared out the window. She was feeling it, he knew that. She was going to miss her people, her work – her life. He silently vowed to her that he was going to do everything he could to make sure she didn’t regret it. He frowned – he was also going to do everything he could to make sure that by the time Davin and Alexis had found this Carey Duncan asshole and made sure that he’d no longer be a threat to Shayna, she wouldn’t want to leave him and go home to the lake. Or worst-case scenario, if she wanted to go home so badly, that she’d take him with her.

Cash reached across the aisle and tugged his sleeve.

He raised his eyebrows in response. Cash handed him a small paper bag. He looked inside with a puzzled frown but smiled when he saw a keychain. From the look of the bag, Cash must have picked it up in the gift store at the lake.

He grinned at his brother and nodded his thanks. He loved that Cash had thought to get Shayna a little something to remind her of home – and that he’d come up with the same thing that Ty himself had – a keychain that she’d see all the time. He stuffed the bag into his pocket – he’d give it to her later, when they were alone. Although he had a feeling that it would be a while before he got her to himself. Cash had warned him that everyone was going to be waiting at the ranch to welcome her when they got there. They’d delayed their usual Sunday lunch so that they could all get together this evening when Shayna arrived.

When the wheels touched down, she finally turned away from the window. It was obvious that she was nervous.

“It’s going to be okay, Shay. Promise.”

“I know.”

“Get your phone out, honey.”

Ty turned to look at Cash. “What for?”

Cash chuckled. “Nothing to do with you.”

Shayna took her phone out and gave him a puzzled look. “What do you need?”

“I need to make sure that you have my number. Travis and I are going to leave first thing in the morning, and things will probably get crazy when we get to the ranch – crazy in a good way,” he reassured her quickly. “Everyone’s excited to meet youand make you feel at home. I want you to take my number now – and I want you to make me a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“I need you to promise me that you’ll call me if you need anything. If …”

Ty scowled at him. “I’ll be right there. I …”

“I know, and hopefully Shay will never want or need to call me. But we all know that things can get rocky in a relationship sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I have high hopes for you two – strikes me that you’re made for each other. But every couple, no matter how good they are together, has a fight or two. Shay doesn’t know anyone here yet. The girls will rally around, no question about it, but …”

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