Page 156 of Backlash

“Neither have I,” she admitted, combing her hair back from her face with unsteady fingers. “But I’ve decided not to dwell on it.”

“That’s good.”

“And I’m not going to act like Denver and Tessa and Colton are a bunch of pariahs.”

“I’ve got nothing against Tessa Kramer,” Ivan said quickly. “She’s just a fool who lost her heart to a McLean. But Denver and Colton, I’ve got no use for them. Neither one of ’em would be here if they had their choice. They both made it clear to God and everybody around just what they thought of ranching. Too good for it, you know.”

“Denver’s back for good.”

“Well, who needs him? As for Colton, he’s just biding his time until he can leave, and I say the sooner the better.” He thrust his jaw out angrily before he looked up, his weathered face softening. “Colton hurt you once, Cassie. But you’re a smart girl. You wouldn’t let it happen again, would you?”

“Of course not!” she snapped quickly.

r /> “Good.” He slapped the newspaper down. “Now, have you had dessert? How about a dish of ice cream?”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Well, I am, so you may as well join me.” He straightened, rested a big hand on her shoulder a second, then made his way to the kitchen.

Cassie flung herself back against the cushions of the couch. Her father was right, of course. Colton McLean had only caused her heartache and grief, while her father had been strong enough to help her pick up the pieces of her life and put them back together. Ivan had done everything he could to help her—borrowed money to help send her to college, encouraged her to go on to veterinary school and had even suggested that it was time she moved out—found an apartment in town. He’d been absolutely wonderful—and he’d been burned twice at the hands of the McLeans. She wouldn’t let it happen again.

Cassie thought about her mother—beautiful, raven-haired Vanessa. Without a backward glance Vanessa Shilcoat Aldridge had left after her disastrous affair with John McLean had become common gossip. She’d returned to South Carolina where she’d found herself a wealthy doctor, remarried within a year and subsequently borne three children—Cassie’s half brothers and sister, whom she’d never met.

Cassie never saw her mother, nor had she heard from her. Not a card at Christmas, never a call on her birthday. No, Vanessa would never look back. Cassie knew that she and her father had ceased to exist in her mother’s mind.

Blinking against tears she’d sworn never to shed, Cassie tried not to think about her mother. Who needed Vanessa anyway? She and Ivan had done all right without her. But the weight in her heart felt like a stone.

“Rocky road or butter brickle?” her father called from the kitchen.

“Really, Dad, I’m not—”

“Oh, hogwash!” He chuckled and returned to the living room, carrying two huge bowls filled with both kinds of ice cream and oozing chocolate syrup.

“I’ll get fat,” she warned him.

“You?” He glanced down at her lithe body and handed her a dish. “No way! You’re built like me. Now, come on, eat up and help me with this damned puzzle.” He dropped back to the couch, studied the paper again and asked, “What’s an eight-letter word that starts with b, ends in a-l and means trick? The third letter’s a t.”

“B, blank, t, blank, blank, blank, a, l?”

“Right,” her father grunted.

Cassie thought for a minute, deliberately scooping up a spoonful of her father’s gooey concoction. But she paused midair as the word hit her. “What about betrayal?”

“Betrayal . . . it fits.” His lips flattened over his teeth as he scribbled the letters. The only sound was the scratching of his pencil and the barely perceptible chatter of the TV program in progress.

Prevaricator. Liar. Trick. Betrayal. The words rushed through her mind, though her father didn’t say anything.

Cassie turned her attention to the television set. She’d thought enough about lying and betrayal and loneliness for one night.

* * *

“You know, you’re the ugliest beast I’ve ever slept with,” Colton grumbled to Black Magic. He petted Magic’s velvet-soft muzzle only to have the horse toss back his head and snort indignantly. “Yeah, well, I don’t like it any more than you do.”

Colton hung his damp Stetson on a nail pounded into one of the rough-hewn posts supporting the hayloft. Sighing, he sat on the edge of the cot and pushed off one boot with the toe of the other.

He listened to the sounds of the wind whistling in the rafters and the rustle of hay as the horses settled in for the night. There were snorts, chewing noises and a quiet dry cough. Outside, the wind shoved a branch against the building, but Colton didn’t hear or see anything out of the ordinary.

Guarding the stallion might well be a waste of time, he thought, as he lay back on the sleeping bag, staring up at the floor of the loft and shifting so that his weight wasn’t on his bad shoulder. If that were the case and Magic was safe, there was no reason Colton couldn’t sleep in the house in a warm, clean bed instead of camping out here.

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