Home on the Ranch - Redemption: The Cowboy SEAL ; Her Rodeo Man by Laura Marie Altom

Author:Laura Marie Altom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-06-07T17:39:33+00:00

Chapter 2

It took a full five minutes for Tatum’s cheeks to cool. How could Cassidy embarrass her like that? They were best friends. Lifelong best friends.

Worse than embarrassing her, Cassidy had intentionally used that long ago chaste kiss—Tatum had been just twelve and Ryder nearly fourteen—to deliver a dig to her brother. Tatum neither wanted to nor deserved to be dragged into any feud between the siblings.

And, seriously, wasn’t it past time they let bygones be bygones? Mercer was sober. He and Sunny were working together running the arena and getting along. For the most part. Business was booming. Liberty had forgiven her mother’s duplicity and was making up for lost years with Mercer by spending time with him. Ryder had come home. Cassidy alone refused to let go of the past.

Tatum’s anger continued to simmer all during the lunch. Cassidy should be glad her brother had returned. For her mother’s sake, if nothing else. Sunny had hated losing Ryder and longed for a reconciliation with him since the day he left to live with Mercer. As a mother herself, Tatum sympathized. She’d been separated only briefly from her children this past spring, yet it had been the worst four months of her life.

Cassidy was also a mother, though Benjie’s father had never been in the picture. Ever. She didn’t have to share her child with an ex or contend with a former, impossible to please, mother-in-law. Tatum sighed. Lucky Cassidy.

“Dad, maybe after lunch you can take a look at Tatum’s pony.”

Her head shot up at hearing Ryder speak her name.

“What’s wrong with Cupcake?” Mercer asked, shoveling a large bite of chili into his mouth.

Tatum swallowed before answering. “I, um, thought she might have foundered. Ryder says her limp’s due to a poorly fitted shoe.”

“One way to find out is remove the shoe.”

“He...already did that.” What was wrong with her? She couldn’t string a simple sentence together without tripping over her words.

Her glance strayed to Ryder, the cause of her unease, though, why, she had no idea. He meant nothing to her, outside of being the recipient of her one-sided childhood crush. The kiss—peck, she corrected herself—while important to her, had meant little to him. She’d presented him with a homemade Valentine’s Day card that she’d labored over for days. He read it, then dipped his head and brushed her cheek with his lips. The next week, he’d left to live with Mercer in Kingman, dashing her fragile hopes and dreams.

Over the years, the memory of her first crush changed, from painful to one she viewed with mild amusement and even fondness. Too bad Cassidy had to go and tarnish that for her.

“Is the foot warm?” Mercer asked, still talking about Cupcake.

“No,” Ryder replied before Tatum could.

Not that she’d have known if the foot was warm or not. She hadn’t checked. Running into Ryder had distracted her.

“Then she probably isn’t foundered.” Mercer scraped the last of the chili from his bowl. “Ryder has a good eye when it comes to horses.

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