The Parent Plan

As regal as any princess, Vicki allowed him to help her down from the high frame and his heart swelled at her innate grace and femininity. Just like her mama, he thought.

“Down, Rags!” Vicki ordered as she lowered the tailgate. The Australian shepherd bounded to the ground and immediately licked Vicki’s hand. “Stop wiggling so I can put on your new leash,” she ordered, tugging on his collar.

“Make sure you keep a tight hold on him,” Cassidy reminded her with a pointed look at the fifty-pound dog now straining at the end of the braided chartreuse strap. The Australian shepherd’s freshly shampooed black-and-tan coat glistened, and his ears were cocked forward, a sure sign he was eager to explore.

“Daddy!” Vicki said in a scolding voice as she scratched her adored pet’s ears. “Rags knows how to behave. Besides, he’s a hero! If it hadn’t been for him, you might never have found me stuck down there in that gross hole.”

Beside him, Cassidy heard Karen draw a quick breath and move closer to his side. Replying to her unspoken plea, he slipped a comforting arm over her slender shoulders. Maybe she did need him some, after all. His spirits edged up a couple of notches, inspiring him to tighten his hold.

“Of course Rags will be good, sweetheart,” Karen said with a smile, the soft one that begged for a kiss. “Daddy was just teasing you. He doesn’t like to think about how close we came to losing you, that’s all.”

“But you didn’t, ’cause I’m as tough as Daddy, right?”

“Right.”

Vicki tossed one of her beribboned braids over her shoulder before heading toward the brightly lit entrance. According to the child psychologist they’d taken her to for six months after the accident, she’d handled her ordeal with a surprisingly mature aplomb. In fact, she was quite pleased with herself for being such a brave little girl.

“Watch your step,” Karen called after her.

“Save your breath,” Cassidy muttered, winning him a pert grin that had him going soft inside. Until she shivered.

With a scowl, he dropped his arm in order to help her drape her lacy shawl over her shoulders. “Dammit, Kari, I told you to wear a coat,” he grumbled, wishing not for the first time that he had the money to wrap her in expensive furs.

“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to cuddle up next to my husband,” she said, slipping her arm through his. His already hard body began to throb.

“Are you flirting with me, Mrs. Sloane?” he demanded through the sudden thickness in his throat.

“Absolutely, Mr. Sloane.” This time the grin she gave him was ripe with seductive promise. His heart speeded as he imagined undressing her with slow and careful deliberation.

“I can see lots of decorations,” Vicki called from a spot just outside the door to the exhibition hall.

“Coming, sweetheart,” Karen called back, tightening her grip on his arm.

“Brace yourself for a long evening,” he muttered, eyeing the large concrete-and-steel structure with the same wariness he accorded to a suspicious pile of rocks in snake country.

Karen slowed, her gaze searching his face. “Cassidy, about the things I said earlier, I hope you know I don’t mind running errands for you or Vicki.”

Cassidy sensed her need to smooth over the rift between them, and his conscience walloped him a good one. “You’re working too many hours. You’re wearing yourself out.”

Her lips curved, and the dimple in one smooth cheek flirted with him. “I’m fine, Cassidy. Really, but it’s lovely to know you’re worried about me.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from getting them both in a tangle. “That’s my job.”

“Yes, I know. You take care of everyone around you, but when someone tries to take care of you, you buck like that beautiful white stallion you couldn’t bear to see broken.”

“I can take care of myself,” he said, embarrassed now, and wondering how this conversation got started.

Her hand touched his arm, gentling him to a stop. “I love the way you blush when someone dares to pay you a compliment.”

“The hell I do.”

“And I love you.”

“Do you?” The words were out before he realized he’d opened his mouth.

She nodded. “If you let me, when we get home I’ll show you just how much.”

Tension stretched across his shoulders and throbbed at the base of his neck. Need surged into him so fiercely he curled both hands into fists inside his pockets.

“Vicki’s waiting,” he reminded her, but she was already stepping into his arms, her face upturned, her lips parted.

“A quick lesson in patience won’t hurt her.” Palms down, she slid her hands over his lapels to his neck. Her fingers were warm against his neck as the tips threaded into his hair.

His little innocent-at-heart temptress, he thought, his mind beginning to cloud over. “Kari—”

“Shh.”

He recognized the lazy droop to her thick lashes, even as she pressed closer. With a defeated groan, he dragged his hands free and reached for her. His emotions tangled as he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his for what he told himself was a quick husbandly kiss. Her lips parted—not in protest, but urgency—and shock jolted through him, as strong as the first time he’d tasted her incredible mouth.

The beguiling scent of her perfume swirled around him, and he drew it in, along with the pungent aroma of rain and earth and wet pavement. He let his tongue tease hers, absorbing the feminine taste of her mouth. The flavor of her was as arousing as it was sweet, and he felt the hunger in his gut grow stronger. His already throbbing body stretched to the edge of pain. In spite of his good intentions, he settled one hand on her bottom and pulled her closer in an effort to ease his pulsating discomfort.

This time the groan was hers, and he felt his control slipping. For one wild, illogical moment, he considered scooping her into his arms and returning to the truck. It was then that he heard the familiar sound of impatient barking.

Drawing on what little strength of character remained to him, he eased backward, supporting her only with his hands on her arms. Slowly, her eyes still dazed and her breathing far too rapid, she lowered her spiked heels to the pavement and rested her head on his chest.

“Aren’t you two done yet?” Vicki called with audible impatience.

Cassidy raked one hand through his hair and straightened his spine. Though he tried, he couldn’t seem to get enough air in his lungs, and his body was still rock hard.

“Talk about rotten timing,” he said in a rasping voice.

“I’ll say.” Lifting her head, Karen smiled up at him, her eyes still passion-glazed and her lips rosy.

Feeling as though he had his boots on solid ground for the first time in months, he slipped his arm around her waist and guided her toward the entrance. Later, he promised himself as they reached the open door. As soon as Vicki was tucked safely into bed, he would close their bedroom door, lose the suit and make slow love to his wife.

They crossed the threshold into the cavernous hall and walked into a wall of noise and a blur of colors. From the look of things, Cassidy figured it had taken an army of eager volunteers to string thousands of tiny twinkle lights from the rafters, giving the place the effect of a star-studded summer night. According to the signs displayed prominently on sandwich boards near the entrance, local florists had donated enough flowers to turn the drab and drafty building into a perfumed garden, a perfect setting for a good old-fashioned Western fandango.

“Wow!” Vicki exclaimed, her face upturned to the fairy-tale sky overhead. Her mouth hung open and her brown eyes shone with a wonder he hoped would never desert her.

As he shepherded his ladies and Rags through the outer edges of the crowd, Cassidy checked the bars on his cell. Later, when things calmed down, he’d give Billy Russell a quick call.

It wasn’t that he was worried, he told himself. Vicki’s mare, Golden Girl, wasn’t due to deliver for another few days. Still, this was the dainty palomino’s first foal and he’d felt uneasy enough to stop by the Russells’ trailer in order to ask Billy to check on her a time or two during the evening.

“I’m gonna go find Elizabeth, okay?” Vicki murmured as they elbowed their way through the exuberant celebrants.

Cassidy surveyed the mingling throng before nodding. “Just be sure to check in with your mom or me once in a while.”

“Okay.”

“Wait, sweetie, let me fix your sash.” Karen bent to give the wide purple ribbon a quick tug. “There. Now you’re perfect,” she whispered. “And you look gorgeous.”

Vicki’s cheeks turned as delicately pink as a ripe peach. “Really and truly?”

“Really and truly,” Karen said, straightening. “If you don’t believe me, ask Daddy.”

Obediently, Vicki swung her gaze upward to Cassidy’s face. “Really, Daddy?”

His heart hammered at the absolute trust he saw shimmering in her big brown eyes. Karen’s eyes had had that same beautiful sheen when she’d repeated her wedding vows.

“Trust me, sweetheart, you’re a knockout,” he said when he had control of his voice again.

“Even without lipstick and stuff?”

“Especially without stuff.” He had to work hard to keep a straight face. “You and your mom are the two prettiest ladies in the place.”

Still beaming, Vicki wrapped another length of leash around her wrist and turned away. “Let’s go, Rags. Find Elizabeth for me.”

With an exuberant “woof” that drew a variety of stares their way, Rags charged into the crowd, pulling Vicki along behind.

“It’s a disgrace, bringing a filthy, slobbering animal into a public gathering,” a woman’s shrill voice declared loudly.

Instantly on alert, Cassidy whipped his head around to discover a prune-faced matron eyeing his daughter with obvious disapproval.

“Don’t you dare,” Karen muttered in a low voice while at the same time tightening her grip on his arm.

“Whose idea was it to bring the dog, anyway?” he asked, watching the crowd swallow the woman whole.

Karen bit the corner of her mouth in the cute way she had whenever she wanted to laugh but didn’t dare. “His name was on the invitation,” she said. “The woman I called to RSVP said that Rags is getting a certificate of appreciation along with the rest of us. For leading you to the cave.”

“Guess that makes sense,” he conceded, shoving down the memories that tore at him whenever he was reminded of those interminable hours in June.

Karen slipped her shawl from her shoulders and folded it over her arm. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were the color of shiny pewter, reminding him of the first time they’d made love.

“Come with me, Kari. Let me finish what we started outside.” The words were out before he could call them back.

Karen slanted him a startled look before glancing around at the hustle and bustle of the people bent on enjoying themselves. “Come with you where?” she asked when her gaze returned to his face.

Cassidy shot a fast look at the oversized man in an undersized suit bearing down on them through the crowd, a purposeful glint in his heavy-lidded eyes. Though he didn’t recall the man’s name, he recognized him as a member of the city council. Part of the official welcoming committee, he guessed, his jaw tightening.

“Let’s get out of here,” he urged, slipping a hand under her elbow to turn her away from the councilman.

“But the ceremony—”

“Forget the ceremony. We’ll have our own celebration, just you and me, naked on clean sheets.”

A tiny shiver ran through her, and he felt his expectations soar. Moving closer, he let her feel the hard evidence of his almost violent need jutting against her thigh.

“Oh, Cassidy,” she exclaimed softly. “You’re shameless.”

“No, I’m horny for my wife.”

The quick nervous swipe of her tongue over her bottom lip had his body throbbing. For good measure he moved to shield her and at the same time rubbed against her.

“Find your mom and tell her to take Vicki home for the night. We’ll drive over to that little inn in Toponas and get a room with a fireplace and one of those canopied beds you like so much.”

The sudden delight in her eyes made his heart leap. He had a notion to kiss her again, right then and there, before she could think of a reason to turn him down. Just as he’d resolved to do just that, however, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye and straightened.

“There you are, Dr. Sloane.” The councilman had reached them, his hand extended and his florid face wreathed in smiles. “Name’s Friendly, Bill Friendly. ‘Friendly’s my name, friendly’s my aim.’”

Karen blinked up at him, an uncertain smile on her face. “I…see.”

Friendly chuckled, the braying sound all but lost in the noise from the other people around them. “I represent the part of town where Vanderbilt Memorial is located, which makes you one of my constituents—part-time, anyway.”

“Hell,” Cassidy muttered under his breath as he dropped Karen’s arm an instant before her hand was clasped between the councilman’s sausage fingers.

Karen shot him an apologetic look before acknowledging the man’s greeting. “Mr. Friendly, I wonder if—”

“Call me Bill,” he boomed over the drone of surrounding conversations.

“Bill, we, my husband and I, were—”

“No need to introduce your husband, Doctor,” Friendly barreled on, his politician’s grin at the ready. “I recognized both of you from the picture in the Herald after those gallant boys from the fire department hauled your daughter outta that pit. Nearly tore this old man’s heart out, thinkin’ about what you two nice people went through.”

Cassidy bit down hard as he reluctantly shook the man’s sweaty hand.

“Glad to meet you, Mr. Sloane,” Friendly declared with all the gusto of a practiced politician. “Friendly.” Cassidy usually kept a tight rein on his temper, but now and then those reins slipped a little. The result was generally explosive.

“I guess I don’t have to tell you how proud we all are of your wife,” Friendly went on, apparently oblivious to the chill that had settled over their little corner of the huge structure.

Cassidy cocked a thick black brow. “You don’t? Why not?”

Friendly’s mouth opened and closed, reminding Cassidy of a particularly unattractive bass. He glanced at Karen. The laughter in her eyes and the way she was biting her lip told him she was trying mighty hard to keep from giggling.

“Well, I, that is, of course we’re proud of her,” Friendly protested “Why, it gives the strongest man pause to think of her working so diligently in the emergency room, not even knowing her own little girl was trapped underground.” Friendly chuckled. “I reckon you know how lucky you are to have her.”

Cassidy’s control thinned. “Is there a point to this, Friendly?”

Before the councilman could blunder on, Karen leaned closer to Cassidy’s side to whisper urgently, “We’ll leave early, I promise.”

“Now, Kari,” he demanded, pinning her with a look that dared her to resist.

“But, Cassidy, we can’t just walk out.”

“Sure we can.”

“Cassidy, listen to me, please,” she pleaded, her gaze searching his. “More than anything, I want to be with you. But it wouldn’t be fair to the committee and everyone who’s worked so hard—”

“Forget it, Karen. I got the message.” His face closed up.

Karen wanted to scream in frustration. Just like that, he was once again the cold, angry man standing in the glare of rescue lights, his eyes rejecting her. But this time there was another emotion buried within those intimidating onyx depths, something that suggested an emotion far more complex than anger. It was a look she’d seen before, in patients suffering intractable pain.

Her heart contracted, and she felt the sudden, inexplicable press of tears against the backs of her eyes. Somehow she had to reach him, to make him understand.

“Cassidy, please don’t do this,” she whispered.

“Do what?” he challenged, making no effort to lower his voice. “Deny that I resent the demands other people make on my wife? Or the fact that you let them?”

Her body humming in ways she hadn’t felt for months, she leaned closer, deliberately brushing his arm with her breast. “Cassidy, it won’t be all that long before I’ve fulfilled my obligations and then we can leave.”

“Don’t kid yourself. We’ll be lucky if we get out of here before eleven.”

Conscious of the councilman’s curious gaze shifting from one to the other, she turned slightly to hide her face and whispered, “I want to make love to you, Cassidy, but—”

Brow arched, he deliberately took a step away from her. “I’ve heard that before, Kari, and ended up sleeping alone while you’re off on some emergency or other.”

Karen heard the resentment buried in his caustic words and felt her stomach constrict. Take a chance, Kari, she thought. Grab that thick, strong wrist of his and make a beeline for the truck. Maybe they couldn’t spend the entire night at the Fireside Inn, but—“Great party, isn’t it?” Friendly declared as he caught her eye again. Like all true politicians, it seemed, he couldn’t stand a lull in the conversation.

“Excuse me, I’m goin’ to find the bar,” Cassidy drawled. With that, he nodded to the councilman, then turned away to be swallowed up by the shifting currents of humanity.

“Did I say something wrong?” Friendly asked, his brow furrowed over troubled eyes that suddenly seemed more perceptive than she’d thought at first glance.

Reminding herself that Bill Friendly was her host, Karen summoned a social smile. “It’s not your fault. My husband hates to talk about Vicki’s accident, that’s all.”

“Understandably.” He cleared his throat. “Why don’t I get you something cold to drink, and then I can fill you in on the presentation ceremony.”

Karen bit off a groan. “Ceremony?” she asked warily.

Friendly held up a hand. “Nothing fancy, I promise. The VFW will present the colors, of course, and the American Legion marching band will play the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ then Hal Stuart will say a few words.” He sighed, then glanced around quickly before adding in a low voice, “Don’t get me wrong, Dr. Sloane, but I sure do miss Hal’s mama coming into City Hall every morning with that sunny smile of hers.”

Karen welcomed the distraction. Her cheeks were still hot as the result of the longing Cassidy had aroused in her. “Have the detectives handling the case uncovered any more leads?”

Friendly shook his head. “Not that I know of, but that young detective, Richardson, plays his cards pretty close to his vest.”

“I suppose that’s best.” Karen glanced around. At six-three in his boots, Cassidy had the advantage of height on most of the males in the room. Her spirits drooped even lower when she realized he wasn’t in sight.

“Shall we?” Friendly asked, offering his arm.

As Karen slipped her hand into the crook of the councilman’s elbow and allowed him to lead her through the throng, she couldn’t help thinking about the early days of her marriage when nothing short of a cataclysm would have pried Cassidy from her side.

Chapter Four

By eight-thirty, the formalities had been concluded, which for most of the attendees meant that the real party could start. Slim-Boy Brown and the Old Time Fiddlers tuned their instruments and a couple of slicked-up, freshly barbered and cologned cowboys eager to dance with the pretty ladies cleared a space near the bandstand.

With a whoop of excitement, one of Cassidy’s hired hands led a shy, freckled teenager onto the floor, and Slim-Boy shouted for the dancing to commence. Like a restless herd surging toward an open gate, couples spilled into the cleared area, some in jeans and boots, others in suits and sleek cocktail dresses, while friends and strangers alike cheered them on.

Across the cavernous hall, barbecued ribs and chicken sizzled on the grill of a huge old-fashioned chuck wagon while the caterer and her staff of gingham-clad cowgirls ladled up coleslaw and potato salad by the gallon. Nearby, bartenders in flannel shirts and derby hats served beer and wine to thirsty customers. As the bottles and kegs emptied, the noise level rose.

In the midst of the gaiety, Cassidy stood alone near the open doors of the main entrance, the silk tie he’d carefully knotted two hours earlier now wrenched free of the stiff collar, his patience thinned to tissue paper.

“Somethin’ tells me you’d rather be out chasing strays than proppin’ up the wall,” Travis Stockwell commented as he ambled Cassidy’s way.

Cassidy straightened, and for good measure, gave the knot of his tie another jerk. “You got that right,” he said as he saluted the younger man with the can of soda he’d been nursing for the past hour.

“‘Pears to me you’d do better to grab you one of these,” Travis advised, indicating the long-necked beer bottle in his big hand.

Cassidy gave it some thought. He hadn’t been drunk since the night of his father’s funeral. Now, on the rare occasions that he indulged, he limited himself to two beers. Eight years of watching his old man dive deeper and deeper into a bottle had made him cautious.

“Guess I’ll stick with the soft stuff,” he said, taking a swig. “Got me a mare ready to foal any minute now.” He’d been right to call Russell. Golden Girl had gone into labor an hour after they’d headed for town.

Travis nodded, one cowboy to another. “The bay?” he asked after taking a long pull on the bottle.

“No, the palomino, Golden Girl out of Goldenrod.”

“I’m guessin’ she’s a maiden, for all the worryin’ you’re doin’.”

“You guess right.”

Travis acknowledged that with an understanding nod. “Is that the mare you bred to that wild stallion I been hearing about?”

“Yeah. Took me two years to finally get a rope on that big white hellion. Bred him three times, last time to the Girl. Damn near lost two men trying to control him.”

Travis’s brown eyes gleamed. “Heard you set him free after he covered your mares.”

Cassidy nodded. He’d seen the stallion a time or two since, racing the wind across the wildest part of the Lazy S. As free as God made him.

“Word is you had a couple of sweet offers to take him off your hands, provided, of course, he was green broke.”

“One or two.”

“You figure he couldn’t be broke?”

Cassidy shrugged. “Didn’t seem right to try.”

Travis digested that in silence, then nodded. “You thinkin’ to sell the palomino’s foal?”

“Not unless I care to spend the rest of my life explainin’ my reasons to my daughter.”

Travis snorted over the sound of nearby laughter. “Yeah, I know what you mean. My sweet Virginia’s only a little past nine months and already she’s got me bustin’ my butt to make her happy. Peggy says I’m spoiling both my kids.”

Cassidy heard the note of self-conscious contentment in Travis’s voice and felt a sharp pang of envy. From rodeo gypsy to family man in the wink of an eye. A hell of a transition, he decided, but it seemed to suit Travis damned well. At least he had had a choice about becoming a father, Cassidy thought, then felt like an ass. Karen hadn’t gotten herself pregnant all by her lonesome.

“You still intending to take your family with you when the tour starts up again?” he asked during a lull in the music.

“Yep. Got me a honey of an RV and Peggy loves it. She’s got it all decorated real pretty, even has a corner fixed up like a nursery for the babies. Says it’s like taking her nest with her wherever she goes.”

Cassidy took a long breath. He and Karen had worked for days on the baby’s room, racing to get it done before Karen’s due date. Damn, if they hadn’t had fun, too. His heart ached at the memory of his new bride’s laughing eyes when he’d swung her off the ladder and kissed her senseless. They’d ended up making love on the floor amid paint cans and roller pans. He shifted, frowned. The hardness that had subsided started to throb again and he cursed the idiots who’d come up with the idea for this bash in the first place.