Page 49 of The Cowboy's Downfall
Taryn shrugged. “No deal. He’s a ten but it’s giving Facebook. Remi’s a seven, but he’s got main character energy.” She dug her keys out of her jacket pocket. “If I’m not riding, I’m going home.”
“Remi’s riding.” He stood near the chute, moodiness hanging around him like a black cloud. Zane, however, was nowhere to be seen. “He came here with you. You aren’t going to wait?”
“Remi can go home with the Endeavour guys and the gear. I don’t plan to listen to him rant on about Zane for two hours. He doesn’t own me. Let him cool off.”
Taryn zipped up her jacket and climbed over the bleachers, leaving Shauna with plenty to think about, as per usual, whenever they exchanged words.
Was Taryn right? Did she like to run people’s lives?
No. She did not like to run people’s lives. She’d gotten used to it though, because someone in their family had to be an adult, and taking charge was a habit. She didn’t want to run Nix’s life either.
As for Taryn’s assessment of him…
He leaned over the chute, talking to a boy getting ready to climb onto a bull. The boy straddled the gate, doubt written into every line of his body, but Nix was patient with him. A minute or so later the boy shot into the arena, clinging to the bull rope with one gloved hand and his other hand in the air. He got his eight seconds in, jumped to the ground, then shot to his feet with a wide grin on his face. Nix high-fived him over the arena fence.
Shauna’s heart filled. She had no desire to change anything about him. He was good at his job. He was good with kids, he was good with animals, and he loved what he did. She didn’t care that he’d never be more than a cowboy, because he’d never be less than one either. Money was no true measure of a person’s success. He was happy, he made her happy, and she loved him just as he was. She hadn’t expected to feel this way about him, but there was no turning back now.
She wondered how he felt about her. How deep his feelings might run. Inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner with her family might have been a mistake—too much too soon—except he was the one who’d wanted to make their relationship public. That had to mean something.
He must have felt her eyes on him, the way she often felt his eyes on her. He looked to where she was sitting and smiled, his whole face engaged in the expression, and her heart danced with joy because that smile was for her.
She’d leave well enough alone. He’d been married a long time to someone who hadn’t made him happy, and part of his happiness right now came from having his freedom. She wouldn’t take that from him. She didn’t need a commitment he wasn’t ready to make.
And as for Thanksgiving dinner—it was just dinner. No need to attach too much meaning to it. If he wanted to back out, it would be easy enough for him to find an excuse.
Chapter Fourteen
Nix
Nix hadn’t beensure what to expect from Thanksgiving dinner with Shauna’s family, but whatever he’d had in his head, this wasn’t it.
He knocked on the McKillop front door while a hint of fear swam in his gut. Elizabeth O’Connell had told him what wine to buy and suggested he bring flowers as well. He passed the wine and flowers to Dan’s mother and followed Dan’s father into the formal living room. Clean jeans and a nice shirt were all that Montanans required for formal family occasions, so he felt confident in that department.
The fear came from knowing he was punching up and everyone in the living room knew it too. Shauna had a great career going, whereas he was a former bull rider who’d lost any money he’d earned and now worked as a ranch hand.
“Hi, Nix,” Shauna said when he walked in. Light from a nearby window caught hints of gold in her dark hair and hazel eyes. She held a glass of red wine in her hand, and she set it on an end table as she hurried across the room to greet him. The kiss she gave him felt forced, but that could well be paranoia on his part because her parents were staring at them. “Mom, Gunther, this is Nix McCray, a friend of mine and Taryn’s riding instructor.”
Nix shook hands. It was a tough room to read.
At first glance, Natalie and Gunther Morris seemed normal enough. Second glance, too. Natalie was a lot younger than he’d expected, but only because he forgot Shauna had said she’d been an unwed teenaged mother. She was prettier than expected as well. His own mother had looked like his idea of how most mothers appeared—a little round from cooking heavy ranch meals, and a little weathered from working outdoors.
Natalie looked like a mix of her daughters, blond and blue-eyed like Taryn, and tall and slender like Shauna. They shared a blend of the same facial features, one that worked well for all three.
Gunther was closer to Nix’s age than his wife’s. He was shorter and stockier than his wife, too. From what Nix observed, he didn’t contribute much to any conversation and waited patiently for someone to tell him to move. Taryn hadn’t arrived yet.
The McKillops had withdrawn to the kitchen, leaving the four of them alone to get better acquainted, and for about fifteen minutes, things went just fine. Natalie had grown up in Grand, so she knew a lot about bull riding and rodeos. She had plenty of questions about how Taryn was doing.
“She’s a natural, ma’am,” Nix said.
Natalie sighed as if tragedy had struck and took a long sip of her wine. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
Nix didn’t know what the correct response to that was, and he looked at Shauna, silently begging for help. She proved to be no help whatsoever because at that moment, Taryn walked in. She had Remi with her, and Jesus had to be smiling on Nix, because that young idiot was about to make him look good. He was dressed all in black and wore a spike-studded collar, obviously intent on making some sort of statement, because this was a new look for him.
Taryn, too, was dressed to impress. Nix hadn’t known fishnet stockings were back in vogue. Black army boots either. She’d dyed her hair black and wore what looked like black lipstick.
She beamed as if presenting the Pope to her parents. “Mom and Dad, this is Remington Forrest.”
“Remi,” the idiot said.
