“Michelle said Katie’s really looking forward to her party,” Brynn commented. “It’s easy to feel overlooked, I suppose, when one’s birthday is so very close to Christmas.”
“Katie’s never been the type to be overlooked for long,” Jared drawled, making everyone laugh as they thought of the little girl whose song Shane had once declared should be, “I’m Gonna to Make You Love Me.”
“Is Kelly going to be there tomorrow?” Shane asked Brynn, keeping his tone as nonchalant as possible. He thought he felt his father glance his way, and he wondered again if Jared had guessed the identity of Shane’s secret lover.
Although lover wasn’t exactly an accurate term, he thought glumly. He hadn’t even seen Kelly since last weekend. They’d talked on the phone, but she’d always seemed to be in a hurry, claiming other obligations. They’d barely talked about her meeting with her father yesterday. All he knew was that she hadn’t found the meeting particularly satisfying and didn’t expect to see her father again any time soon.
He had wanted Kelly to join them for dinner this evening, but she’d made plans to do something with Amber. Amber needed her friends now, she had added somberly. A broken heart was difficult to handle alone. He had been left to wonder in frustration if Kelly had started to compare their relationship to Cameron and Amber’s again. Every time she did that she pulled back again. He didn’t know what it was going to take for him to convince her to give them a fair chance.
“Kelly can’t come to the birthday party. She has other plans.”
There was such smug satisfaction in Brynn’s announcement that Shane’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Oh?” he asked, ultracasually. “What other plans?”
Practically patting herself on the back, Brynn replied, “The hospital administrator is hosting an annual holiday reception tomorrow evening for all the staff members who’ve joined the team during the past year. I found out that Steve Carter didn’t have a date, so I suggested he call Kelly. Then I called her and ordered her to accept. She was a little shy about it, but I reminded her that he’s a very nice guy who’s a little shy himself. I think the two of them will get along very well.”
Shane realized that his hands had clenched into fists. He loosened them deliberately. He hoped his voice sounded more normal to the others than it did to him when he asked, “When was this arranged?”
“She told him yesterday that she would go with him. It was after her awkward meeting with her father. I was spending the evening with her, letting her talk out her feelings about the reunion with her father, when Steve called. She started to make excuses, but I convinced her to accept. Okay, I nagged her,” Brynn added sheepishly. “But I thought it would be good for her.”
Shane pushed himself abruptly to his feet. “I hope she has a great time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to feed the horses.”
“That can wait, can’t it?” Cassie asked, looking surprised by his behavior.
“I really need to check on Runaway. He seemed to be wheezing earlier. I don’t want him coming down with a respiratory infection.”
“So that’s why you’ve been so distracted this evening.” Cassie nodded as if in sudden enlightenment. “You and that horse of yours. Sometimes I think you have a psychic connection with him.”
“Who says I don’t?” Shane retorted, forcing a smile.
Aware that everyone was watching him—especially his father—Shane kept that smile on his face until he left the room. And then he allowed it to be replaced by the tremendous scowl that had been building inside him.
It was all he could do not to start throwing things in the barn. He had a childish i
mpulse to kick something, preferably a doctor named Steve Carter. Even as that ignoble urge crossed his mind, he knew it was unfair. He could blame Carter or he could blame Brynn, but Kelly was the one he was really mad at.
How could she go on a date with another man now, no matter how determinedly Brynn had pushed her about it? Why couldn’t she just have told the truth, damn it, and said she wasn’t free to date anyone else?
He slammed the lid of the grain bin, making the horses in their stalls start in alarm.
“Take it easy, Shane. I just replaced those hinges.”
He turned slowly to face his father. “I’ve taken care of everything out here. You can go back to your guests.”
“Molly and Joe are still involved in their interview and Cassie and Brynn are having a gossip session in the den. I thought maybe you’d want to talk.”
Shane reached for a broom and began to sweep up some grain he’d spilled through angry carelessness. “About what?”
“About Kelly going on a date with another man tomorrow night.”
Shane’s hands white-knuckled around the broom. “Why Should I care about that?”
Jared’s tone was patient. “If you don’t want to talk about it, say so, but don’t treat me like I’m stupid.”
He sighed. “I know you’re not stupid, Dad. Sorry.”
“So, do you want to talk?”
He hesitated only a moment. He hadn’t really broken his promise, he rationalized. Jared had guessed the truth. Besides, Kelly was the one who’d accepted a date with another guy.