Page 22 of A Chance to Believe

He removed his hat and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. ‘I’m sorry. I had plans, but weather and staffing defeated them.’

‘I’m good. I know you had no choice. I was stirring.’

His expression lightened. ‘Seriously, I didn’t expect things to get so hectic.’

‘Are they better now?’

‘Noel’s going to be out of action for a few more weeks, but I’ve someone who can give me a hand. He’s in cattle, so his calendar is different. Luckily, with all the rain, he’s not having to hand-feed at the moment.’

‘That must be a relief.’

She veered over to head for the door into the passageway to the annex, expecting him to keep going to the side door nearest his office. ‘I’m okay. You don’t need to escort me back to my room.’

‘I’m heading that way to get some things out of the storerooms. Mum asked me to find them so I can take them when we go in tonight.’

She’d forgotten the regular family meal was at his parents’ place this weekend. Was trying to forget having agreed to join them this week. ‘I thought you said they moved out. Do they keep a lot of their things here?’

‘These are historical records she wants for a display at the museum. Old ledgers. We keep them in the old cool room, which we can regulate for humidity and temperature.’

‘You have a lot on your plate. That rodeo ring is something else. Did you build it for Kimberley?’

He paused at the door, holding it open for her. ‘No. It was originally built for Courtney. That’s why it has the chute for the barrel racing.’

She eyed her door, wondering if it would be ruder to walk away or ruder to ask the question. ‘You wouldn’t marry her, but you were willing to spend a fortune on her? How does that work?’

Shutting the door, he leaned one shoulder on the glass. ‘Let’s say I hoped that by encouraging her in one ambition, I was distracting her from the other one I wasn’t prepared to fulfill.’

‘I don’t understand how you avoided marrying her if that’s what she wanted. There must have been a lot of pressure.’

‘My mother was the hardest to resist. Dad told me I had to make up my own mind.’

‘While she was here, did you have a relationship?’

His eyes narrowed. ‘You mean a sexual relationship?’

‘I guess. I mean, you’d already slept with her, and she was around all the time.’

‘It would have been an easy trap to fall into, you mean? No. I wasn’t going to blur the lines. She was a stranger when she first came here and with so much at stake, it was easy to keep my fly zipped. We became friends, but nothing more.’ He chuckled. ‘Nana told me to pay her some money and send her off but keep the baby.’

Cassie glanced over at the stables. ‘Which is what happened, effectively. Although she didn’t get much use out of the training ring.’

‘That was an excellent investment for the property. The old training yard is falling down, anyway. It’s close to a hundred years old. We loan the ring out to neighbours, and it gets more use in the runup to the rodeo, which generates some income. Ben and Brittany were into dressage and show jumping in their teens, so it gave them somewhere to practice.’

Except Brittany was dead, and Ben no longer rode. ‘Kimberley must have been young when you lost your sister.’

‘Around four. She doesn’t remember much. To her, Ben has always been a grump with a limp and Brittany is never mentioned.’

‘Your parents don’t talk about her?’

‘Mum won’t and Dad can’t. You noticed there aren’t any family photos downstairs. Mum’s choice. I have some in my office and in my bedroom.’

‘That can’t be a good thing.’ Cassie tried to swallow the hypocritical words, but they were out there now.

Shayne frowned, his eyes studying her face. ‘You don’t talk about your family either. Or is it only with me you don’t share your past?’

‘You’re right. I don’t talk about myself. I’ve always been private.’

‘Are all your close family dead?’

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