Page 51 of A Chance to Believe

In fact, she seemed to enjoy the higher vantage point, taking in the extended views unsullied by fences and gates as they drove into town. He was beginning to believe she really did love his part of the country.

By the time they parked in the back paddocks, there was already a haze over everything. The committee had been hoping for some light rain to settle the dust during the week, but the clouds hovered on the western horizon.

The camp drafting events always stirred up the soft dirt of the arena. The horses and cattle with their skirmishing chopped up the ground even more. Those events would be almost finished and then the late afternoon and evening would be all about the barrel racing and the bull riders and broncs. The crowd-pleasers. The volunteers would smooth out the surface, ready for the later events. Larger places often held separate events, but this worked for such a small town.

She waited for him to help her down and smiled a little tremulously as he let her body slide against his on the way to her feet touching the ground. Damn, he missed the physicality of their time together in Brisbane, but even more disturbing, he missed the other times when they’d been eating together or taking long walks along the river. He should have called. He would have had so many more weeks to persuade her to his point of view.

There was a strange expression on her face as she looked around the crowded concourse leading from the parking area to the arena. It seemed out of character, but her body language was screaming run. She even took a step back, halting when it brought her up against his body.

He turned her around with his hands on her shoulders. ‘Is everything all right? The babies?’

‘I left my hat.’ It was on the back seat and he grabbed it for her. Her demeanour was still unsettling.

The commentator was rabbiting on over the speakers, the old system crackling now and then. He’d donated to the fundraiser to replace them, so this might be the last time that distinctive sound would stab the air over the rodeo grounds.

The dusty narrow road up to the ring stretched over a hundred metres and he wondered if he should have dropped her off before finding a park. Cassie didn’t seem daunted by that, exactly. It was something else giving her that taut jaw and crease between her brows. Then she pulled the hat down over her forehead, casting her face into shadow.

‘I’m ready.’

She didn’t sound ready, but he tucked her arm into his after a querying eyebrow raise and they started up the track. It was slow going, even without taking it easy for the sake of Cassie’s stamina. Competitors he knew, coming and going from the arena area down to where their trailers and caravans were setup, would stop to exchange a few words, curious eyes taking in Cassie’s belly, demanding an introduction.

Shayne kept it non-committal, introducing Cassie but not expanding. Hell, he didn’t even know what their relationship was and he sure wasn’t going to tell everyone he’d got another woman pregnant accidentally. Even seventeen years apart, he’d get stirred for making a habit of it. The long-time camp drafting and rodeo crew had all known Courtney, so he’d had no hope of keeping Kimberley’s history a secret.

Cassie seemed to relax after a few of these encounters and they were almost at the arena when he saw Nate approaching. His cousin’s startled glance rested on Cassie and Shayne resigned himself to having to explain her presence in more detail.

Nate’s smile broadened, but it was Cassie he focused it on. ‘Cassie! Acacia Longifolia.’

Beside him, Cassie stiffened. ‘Nathan Taylor? What are you doing here?’

They knew each other?

Nate winked at Shayne. ‘How did you manage to snag my best girl?’

‘You and Cassie are …’ he hesitated, reluctant to put his suspicions into words.

‘Friends. Nathan and I are old friends.’ Cassie’s words came out breathless. It reminded Shayne of those anxious moments at the car when she’d seemed to almost pull back from attending the rodeo.

Nate wrapped his long arms around her, stooping a little. Shayne had never envied his cousin’s film star looks, but an acidic resentment at the familiarity rose in his stomach, forcing him to swallow it down. He’d tried damn hard to be open with her and she was keeping secrets. He forced the pain down, past the tightness in his throat.

‘You never mentioned it.’ Shayne almost bit back the accusing words. Had she seen his reaction? He hoped not. He’d rather not reveal how much she mattered to him when it was clear she was still keeping herself aloof.

Cassie looked at him, her brows raised over wide eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was a connection.’

She couldn’t have guessed. The Taylors were connections through his mother’s side of the family. Nathan’s mother was Dawn’s baby sister who’d married a grazier from out west. Nate had bought his own place about ten years ago, neighbouring his parents’ property.

‘So, what is the connection between you two?’ He stared at Cassie, whose face had flushed at Nate’s enthusiastic greeting, but now had a grey undertone. ‘Should we go sit somewhere?’

Even as he spoke, he drew her to some seating made from a long timber beam resting on a couple of round stumps beside the unused old bar structure.

She didn’t protest, sinking onto the bench with a faint sigh. It was fortunate that the area was unused, the new bar and eating facility over by the animal pavilions, where the Showground met the rodeo arena, drawing all the crowds after food and drink.

Nate sat down on the other side, his face concerned. ‘Should you be here, Cass? You look like you might pop at any moment.’

‘I’m just here for the junior barrel racing. I promised Kimberley.’

Nate nodded. ‘Fair enough. I must go collect someone, but we should catch up. Seems like there’s been plenty happening.’

Shayne looked at them, so totally at ease. ‘How do you know each other?’

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