“I’m glad to hear that. Now, what are you going to do about Kelly?”
He drew a deep breath. “I don’t know yet.”
What he wanted to do was to forbid her to go on that date. But something told him that would be a mistake—even if he could get away with it. What he had to do, instead, was let her come back to him. But first, perhaps he should tell her exactly how he felt.
Jared rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll figure it out, son. I have faith in you.”
“How long have you known I’m in love with Kelly?” Shane asked, studying his father’s face.
“How long has it been since you met her?”
“Just over a year and a half.”
Jared nodded. “That’s how long I’ve known.”
Frowning, Shane shook his head. “You couldn’t have. I didn’t know it myself, until just before Thanksgiving, just a few weeks ago. Before that, Kelly and I thought we were just friends.”
“That’s what you’ve been telling yourselves.” Jared sounded
vaguely amused.
Grimacing, Shane asked warily, “Does anyone else know?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Cassie?”
“Not as far as I’m aware. She and I haven’t talked about it.”
“Then how did you...?”
“I’m your father.”
Jared seemed to think that was explanation enough. And maybe, for them, it was.
“We’d better get back inside to our guests,” Jared said, stepping toward the door. “You coming?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“You know where to find me if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Alone again with the horses, Shane leaned his elbow on a wooden gate and looked into a stall. “Well, Runaway? Any suggestions?”
The horse snorted into his feed trough.
“Yeah,” Shane said with little humor. “That’s pretty much what I thought.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kelly was sitting at her dressing room table, staring blindly into her mirror, when the telephone rang, jarring her into motion. She jumped up to grab the phone, hoping it would be Steve Carter, telling her he’d had a medical emergency and would be forced to cancel their date.
She’d been an idiot to agree to this in the first place. But he’d called when she’d still been reeling from her meeting with her father and Brynn had been so insistent. Kelly hadn’t been able to come up with a good reason to refuse, short of the truth. And now she was committed to a date she didn’t want to go on, involved in a deception that was weighing so heavily on her, she could hardly breathe. “Hello?”
“I just wanted to tell you I hope you have a good time on your date.”
Her mouth suddenly went dry, her knees weak. She sank to the edge of the bed. “Shane.”