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  It wasn’t. Was it?

  “Good. I’m glad you’re not looking to latch on to him. Not that he couldn’t use it. Maybe someday a woman will break his chains.” He glanced at Austin. “He’s doing a lot better than he used to. Holding on to his idea of a woman for seven years is a hard burden to bear. Plus add the strain of taking care of a kid. Hell, I’d have torn my hair out by now.”

  “Maybe Casey is the only thing that kept him sane.” She stirred her drink with the straw. “You can see he loves her. He’s grateful to have the distraction, I’m sure. Even if she does remind him of what he had with Alaina.”

  “Like pouring salt into his wounds, then lighter fluid and striking a match.” Nolan’s mouth flattened and his blue eyes hardened. “He’s got a hell of a lot of forgiveness and… I don’t know. Maybe some stupidity mixed in there. I could never do what he did.”

  Natalie leaned on the table. “Take in your own child?”

  Nolan’s mouth open and surprised flashed across his features. “Uh...well, no. I’d definitely look after my own kid.”

  “Then I don’t take your meaning.”

  “It’s nothing. Old history and Austin would be pissed if he knew we were talking about him. Enjoy it while it lasts. Especially Casey. She’s a sweetheart.”

  He’d said too much. There was some little detail about Casey or Austin’s past with Alaina that they were hiding. Okay, given that she’d only just met Austin a couple of days ago, she could understand why they didn’t want the whole story out there. But, still, it stung a little to know he was hiding something from her. They’d been intimate. She’d done nothing but try to be kind and helpful where Austin’s daughter was concerned.

  Maybe Nolan was right and whatever was happening between her and Austin could never really exist beyond this week at the Expo grounds. Or maybe he was dead wrong and someday she’d grow old with Austin. Maybe give Casey some siblings. Either way, she wasn’t about to take Nolan’s warning to heart. If Austin wanted to end things down the road, she wouldn’t carry a grudge. She’d been warned by him from the start that he only wanted a causal relationship.

  “I’m going to play Skee-Ball with Casey.” She slid out of her chair. “Whatever happens, I’m a big girl. I’ll be okay.”

  It wasn’t like her to fall fast and hard for a man. Her heart was safe enough.

  * * * *

  Sleepy Casey yawned in the backseat of the pickup. “Where are we going?”

  “To the mall.” Natalie glanced at Casey in the rear-view mirror. “Are you excited?”

  Casey’s upper lip curled. “Not really. Shopping is boring.”

  Austin covered his mouth with his hand, but the action didn’t hide his smile.

  “I promise you, it’s not going to be boring. This mall has two levels. All kinds of things to explore. We can grab some lunch between stores.”

  Casey pressed her cheek against the window and sighed.

  “She’d rather be with Tiny.”

  “That’s because she’s never been shopping with me.” She cast a sideways glance at him. “You’re not thrilled either.”

  “Not hardly. Shopping’s not really my thing.”

  “No, winning pretty belt buckles is. And you are very good at what you do.” She’d watched some YouTube videos of him and Nolan team roping. And of him riding the saddle broncs. He’d done a little roping on his own, but looked more comfortable as part of a team. She’d been impressed with his skill and dedication to his events.

  “This place has somewhere to get coffee, right? I’m dragging my heels after that celebration last night.” The corner of his mouth lifted a fraction.

  He didn’t mean the pizza parlor. After they’d left the restaurant, Nolan only rolled his eyes when Austin asked if his brother would mind watching Casey for a while. Natalie had driven Austin to her motel room and they’d spent a few hours celebrating on their own.

  “I’m sure we can find something for you.”

  She still hadn’t told him about her conversation with Alaina. It gnawed at her and there didn’t seem to be a good time to bring it up. Not when she wanted to enjoy Austin’s company and not drag his past into it.

  They found a parking space, then entered the big mall. There was nothing like this in Big Cabin, her tiny hometown, and it seemed extremely unlikely that Austin’s hometown of Swells had a mall of its own.

  Lights and noise and the scents of cooking food and brewing coffee mingled in the entrance. A giddy burst of energy welled up in Natalie.

  “C’mon. Let’s find your dad some of that coffee I smell.”

  She dragged them around to the anchor stores, coffee in hand, and past the pretzel stands, the cookie shops, and candy stores. Casey eyed them all with growing interest. Natalie made a mental note to let the girl stop in at least one of those places. What was the fun of shopping if you didn’t grab a delicious snack at some point?

  Casey hung close to Austin, clearly intimidated by the colorful stores and the gobs of people flowing through them. She shied away from the bright outfits Natalie showed her. After a while, her dad held an armful of jeans and t-shirts that had very little decoration on them. There were so many adorable outfits waiting to be tried on.

  She understood Casey’s reluctance to vary from clothes similar to the style she’d always worn. And being on the road all the time, it made sense for Casey to at least be comfortable.

  Nevertheless, Natalie kept nudging the girl toward a few different styles.

  Anything with a horse or a puppy fell into the acceptable pile. Pastels were touch and go. Casey seemed almost frightened of wearing too much pink. Leopard print, anything in bright colors, and lacy or frilly things got left behind.

  After a couple of hours, Natalie ushered them to a candy store where they spend fifteen minutes debating the merits of different candies. After that, with a large bag of goodies hanging off Austin’s arm, she took them to the food court and they picked a table, then made lunch choices.

  They laughed and talked about old rodeo experiences. Even though it hadn’t been long, Natalie felt as though she’d known Austin and Casey forever. Under Austin’s sometimes quiet, brooding manner, he had a great sense of humor. It just took breaking his shell a little to find it.

  He excused himself to the restroom and walked away, a handsome cowboy among a throng of teen shoppers and a few ladies who obviously shopped at the more expensive stores.

  “Casey, can I ask you something?”

  “Okay.”

  “How come you don’t like the girly things I tried to pick out?”

  Casey shifted uncomfortably. “I never did like stuff like that.”

  “Is it because of Alaina?”

  Casey swallowed. She looked up and nodded. “I don’t want to be like her. Except I do want to barrel race. She’s not nice. I’d rather be like Daddy.”

  “I don’t think you’re anything like Alaina. You’re right. She’s not nice. You’re a much better person. You could never be that mean to anyone.” She covered Casey’s hand with hers. “I like you a lot.”

  “I like you too, Natalie. I wish we could travel around together.”

  It would be so simple to fall in love with Casey and her father. Natalie’s heart ached a little bit.

  “It’s okay if you don’t like all that flashy stuff, but none of it is going to make you like Alaina. You’re your own person, no matter what.”

  “Maybe some time.” Casey shrugged. “Can I throw away our trash?”

  “Sure. Then we should get going. Your dad might want to practice roping before his event today. I could help you with your practice too while he’s doing that.”

  Casey took their tray to the trash cans and got rid of the wrappers and empty cups. She came back to the table, then hugged Natalie. “Thanks for hanging out with us. It was fun.”

  Austin caught them in the hug and a slow smile started across his face. “Hey, you two.”

  “I was telling Natalie thank you for ha
nging out with us. We’re pretty boring.”

  “Not at all. I had a great time. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” She straightened. “I just have one more purchase to make. If you two want to start heading back toward the parking lot. I won’t be ten minutes, I promise.”

  “We can wait outside the store if it’s personal,” Austin offered.

  “No, I’ll be fine. Go on ahead and I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

  She waited for them to walk away, hand in hand. Such an adorable father and daughter. It made her heart do a funny little dance. Then, Natalie headed for one of the children’s stores they’d visited earlier. A red, long-sleeved tee with silver sequins that spelled out ‘awesome’. Casey had rejected it, but only after a few minutes of debating between it and a long-sleeve plaid button down shirt.

  It was too cute and would be perfect for her. A small gift was the least Natalie could do to thank the Lockes for including her today. Her parents were older and hadn’t been interested in giving her a sibling. Her family was small, so to be included in any outings made her feel special. No reason not to share her joy with her new friends.

  After checking out, she found Austin and Casey waiting near the mall entrance off the parking lot where they’d come in. She joined them, and held out the sack for Casey. “Just a little thank-you gift. I hope you like it.”

  “You shouldn’t have.” Austin smiled as he said it. “She’ll get spoiled.”

  “Girls are supposed to be spoiled. At least, my folks always said so.”

  Casey pulled the shirt out. Her smile formed immediately. “Thanks, Natalie. This shirt is cool. You didn’t have to get it for me.”

  “I wanted to. That’s the point.”

  Casey reached out for a hug and Natalie returned it.

  She met Austin’s gaze and the softness in his eyes combined with his smile made her knees weak.

  Without a doubt, she was going to be miserable when Austin and Casey left for another rodeo. Until then, all she had was now and she was damn well going to enjoy it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Soft, but rapid knocking on the motorhome’s door pulled Austin awake. He pushed back his blankets, then picked up his cell phone before he stumbled to the door.

  The face of the phone told him it was two a.m. Way too late for anyone to come visiting unless it was an emergency. But no one had tried calling. His heart drummed in his chest as he pushed the door open.

  Alaina stood in the gravel, hand on one hip, beer bottle in the opposite hand. “About time,” she hissed.

  “The hell are you doing here?” He wiped sleep from his eyes. “It’s after midnight.”

  “So? Is your girlfriend here?” She tried to look past him, but the motorhome interior was dark.

  “If you mean Natalie, then no. She’s at her motel. If you’re talking about someone else, you have the wrong person.”

  “You’re so funny, Austin.” She braced one arm on the motorhome side. “Look, I don’t like that woman hanging around my daughter. So you’d better get rid of her.”

  “You don’t get a say.” They’d been down this road before. It was one of the reasons he didn’t date. Alaina had a jealous streak as wide as the Arkansas River. He’d fought with her about women on more than one occasion. “You’re drunk.”

  “So?” Defensive, she took a long pull from the bottle. “That’s neither here nor there. Get. Rid. Of. That. Woman.”

  “Why? She’s been nothing but nice to Casey.” Unlike you.

  “I don’t like her.”

  “Why?”

  Alaina pulled her lips back in a snarl. “Because I think you know which one of us holds the leverage here. You have my daughter, but that can change really quick with one phone call to my lawyer.”

  “Your mother’s lawyer.” He pressed his lips together. “You don’t do anything without her help. I know that well enough.”

  “It doesn’t matter whose lawyer he is, that’s my kid.”

  “By blood alone. Who raised her? She doesn’t even know you. What little she does know is that you’re not a nice person.”

  Alaina drew back like she’d been slapped. “That’s not true!”

  “If you were, you wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “Austin…” Her whiney voice cut like a knife. “Stop talking about me like that. I’m a good person or I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

  “You conned a bunch of people into thinking you’re a nice person. That’s it. Once your reign as Miss Rodeo USA is over, then what?” She certainly wasn’t going to come crawling back to him.

  “Don’t say things like that.” She hugged herself. “People love me. I’m going to keep promoting our state and rodeo and making appearances. I’m not a nobody like that woman you’re sleeping with.”

  “She’s well-known in the WPRA. She’s not a nobody. Natalie is doing as much good promoting rodeo as you. I’d say she’s a great example of a woman for Casey to hang out with.”

  Alaina scoffed. “You only think so because you don’t know her as well as you know me. Who’s to say she didn’t give up a baby to do what she’s doing?”

  “You didn’t exactly just give Casey up. You completely walked away. Without even telling me. One day you were there and the next your mom was on my doorstep with Casey in her arms. You abandoned her.” He gritted his teeth. “Like I was supposed to know what to do with her? After every lie you told.”

  Alaina’s gaze flickered away for a moment. “Trust me, better you than someone else.”

  “Oh, believe me, I’m glad she ended up with me. I can just imagine where she’d be if you’d dropped her off--” He bit his tongue. “Look, you’re twenty-three, Alaina. Grow up sometime. You don’t have to be Casey’s mother, but would it kill you to treat her with some kindness once in a while?”

  “I don’t know how to take care of a kid. If I tried, I’d mess it up.” She laughed, but it came out more of a pathetic sob, followed by another pull off the bottle. “Out of all the things I’m good at, taking care of children is not one of them.”

  “Doesn’t mean that you have to be cruel. She’s terrified of you. To be honest, she doesn’t even like your parents that much. It’s better when you stay away.” He didn’t say it out of meanness, but he didn’t care if the truth hurt her either.

  “Gosh, why don’t you just rub some salt into my wounds.” She hugged herself again. “Look, I know, I’m no good for the kid. But I don’t like the way that woman looks or acts. She’s such a goody-goody. She’ll break your heart. Take my advice, get rid of her as quick as you can.”

  He crossed his arms. The truth was, he didn’t even care about her opinion anymore. “I don’t need your advice. I haven’t needed it in a long time.”

  “You’re just mean. You know that?” She frowned. “Nobody is making you say these things.”

  “They’ve needed saying for a long time. You broke my heart, over and over. And the stupid thing is, I let you do it. Worse, I let you do it to Casey. The only reason you don’t want me to spend time with Natalie is because you’re jealous.”

  “Am not!” She sounded like an unreasonable child. “That’s not it at all.”

  “Then what? You don’t want me to have an adult relationship? You can’t stand knowing that I might not pine after you for the rest of my life.”

  “Stick it up your butt. I don’t have to take this.” She stomped her boot against the gravel. “Go to hell, Austin.”

  “I’ve already been. It was months and months of trying to make something work with you.” And many more months of being alone and wondering why it wouldn’t work.

  “Yeah, well, did you tell her the truth about Casey? Maybe she won’t be so friendly toward you if she knows.” Years of anger poured from Alaina’s voice. “I mean, what woman wants to raise some kid that doesn’t even--”

  “Shut up.” He clenched his fists. “Not another word.”

  She arched a brow. “It’s the truth.”

  “Th
at’s your fault, not mine. I’m just the idiot you pawned a child off on. But you know what? The only regret I have about letting you do it is that I let you lead me on for so long. I wish I had had the strength--and the cash--to put you behind me forever the day you walked away from Casey.”

  A nasty smile curled Alaina’s lips. “There’s no help for that now.” She waggled her fingers at him. “We’ll always have Swells. And every rodeo town across the country. And we’ll always have Casey as a reminder of the good times.”

  “You might have given birth to her, but you never had her.”

  “You’ve never really had her either, honey. Just can’t quite swing those lawyer fees, can you?”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Better be nice to me or I’ll tell my mom.”

  A swell of fear rose in his chest. “She doesn’t want Casey any more than you do or she’d have taken her from the start.”

  She shrugged. “We could find out.”

  “Stop being a child. I swear your daughter is more mature than you are.” He backed up. “We’ve been down this road before. Plenty of times. Let it go. Go back to your trailer and sober up.”

  “One little pull of the thread and I could yank your whole world out from under you.” Her grin turned to a sneer. She jabbed her finger at him. “Just you remember that.”

  His heart thundered. “You wouldn’t dare because it would disrupt your world too.”

  She chucked the beer bottle at him.

  Austin ducked, then flinched as it shattered against the side of his motorhome. “Get out of here!”

  She spun and stumbled away.

  Breathing hard, he gripped the doorframe for support.

  “Daddy?” Casey’s whisper came through the dark. “What was that?”

  “Nothing, Princess. Go back to bed. We’re okay.” His voice shook. Hopefully she didn’t hear it.

  “Okay. ‘Night. I love you.”

  He closed his eyes as the ache in his heart grew. “Love you more.”

  * * * *