Hold 'Em: A Gambling Hearts Romance Read online

  Sophia’s words bothered her. It might not be her place to say anything, but she’d grown to like the younger woman. She didn’t want to see her do something she’d later regret.

  “Sophia…” Cass hesitated, unsure what to say.

  She whirled around, a human dynamo. “Did you see the way he held me when we rode into the yard? He cares. I just know he does, the dratted man.”

  She stomped across to the coffee pot and splashed the steaming brew into a tin cup. “Want some?” She continued talking and pouring without waiting for an answer. “I’ve done everything short of baring my soul and he still doesn’t get it.”

  She brought the cup over and handed it to Cassandra. “He thinks I’m too young to know my own mind, but that’s not true. I love him and I’m almost sure he loves me back. Age has nothing to do with it, why can’t he see that?”

  She looked so heartbroken. Cass wanted to go out there and knock some sense into Tony, instead she set the cup down and wrapped the girl in a hug. “Have faith, honey. He’ll come around.”

  Sophia chuckled and stepped back as the men came through the doorway. “Yeah, but will it be while I can still have his babies?”

  Cass stood rooted to the spot as Matt entered, gazing at her quizzically, and Tony followed behind, hat in hand.

  Babies.

  Golden-haired, brown-eyed little replicas of the man she’d fallen in love with. The man looking at her as though she’d just lost her mind. The man she had lost her heart to—Matthew Shaughnessy.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, moving closer to take the cup from her limp fingers. He tipped her chin to see her expression better and frowned. “What’s going on?”

  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them smiling. “Nothing’s wrong. We were just deciding whether to make you guys walk home, or if we were going to double up and let you catch a ride.”

  She stepped back and his hand fell away. “I voted on letting you take a hike,” she teased, anxious to deflect his attention. She wanted to decide what she was going to do, but that wasn’t happening any time soon. First, they needed to figure out a way home with only one horse. Then, she might find this was nothing more than a fantasy and they could all get on with their lives.

  “Oh, you did, did you?” Matt feinted and grabbed her around the waist, dragging her to him amid screams of laughter. “I should kiss you for that,” he mock-growled, his eyes glowing his amusement.

  “Hey, you two. Break it up,” Sophia called. “Save it for the bedroom.”

  Matt’s gaze heated and Cass waited breathlessly, her pulse throwing a riot in her chest.

  “You tempt me, Princess. You really do.” He skimmed her mouth in a feather-light kiss that promised even as it failed to deliver, and then let her go so he could turn away and tease his sister.

  Cass stared at his broad back, her equilibrium gone. She touched a finger to her lips, still throbbing from their brush with fire. If he ever focused all his attention on winning her over, she’d surely go up in flames. The man was lethal.

  “You look like I feel.” Tony smiled sympathetically. He nodded toward brother and sister arguing over the last of the coffee near the stove. “Those Shaughnessys pack a punch.”

  Yes, they most certainly did. It was like the time her father had taken them to the fair and they’d ridden the Ferris wheel. It had exhilarated, thrilled, and scared her to death. And she’d bugged him repeatedly to take her back. She was addicted.

  Like now.

  She considered Tony watching Sophia with a hopeless look. “You love her, don’t you?”

  He turned startled blue eyes on her. “How did you…?” He sighed. “That obvious, huh?” Matt glanced their way and Tony nodded, his mouth grim. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. She’s too young to know what she wants. Besides,” he laughed, but it was hollow, “she’s going off to see the world, Matt’s orders.”

  Cass’s heart broke for the tall cowboy who’d fallen for the boss’s sister. It wasn’t easy wanting someone you couldn’t have. They should start a club; Shaughnessy Suitors Anonymous.

  “You guys ready?” Matt asked, his face mysterious in the half-light.

  Cassandra nodded. Time to get back to the real world.

  She followed Sophia out the door, careful to avoid touching Matt who was holding the door open. “Are we all going to walk then?”

  She didn’t mind a stroll, but a five-mile trek wasn’t her idea of a good time. At least the rain was gone, that was a blessing. It had left the earth greener, with dormant flowers springing to life across the floor of the valley even as she watched. It truly was breathtaking here. She would miss it when she returned to Canada. And she wasn’t going to think about that right now either. Jeff wanted her to remain in the U.S., but her dad needed her home. He wasn’t getting any younger. It had been the two of them for so long, she couldn’t imagine leaving him all alone.

  “Now that the storm has passed I was able to get through to the rest of the search party. They’re waiting for us on the other side of the crevice.” Matt smiled at her. “What do you say, Princess? Time to go back to the real world?”

  Cass started, his words almost exactly what she’d been thinking. Guess it had been a dream for both of them.

  Heart heavy, she nodded and with a last glance at the old cabin, followed Sophia onto the trail.

  * * *

  By the time they arrived back to the ranch it was late afternoon. Cassandra’s thighs were killing her, but at least she’d overcome her fear of horses on this trip. Something to be happy about. The group had grown more moody and quiet the closer they came to civilization. Cass remembered going to a distant aunt’s funeral one time and experiencing the same sort of pall. As though everyone was waiting for the other shoe to fall.

  It was discovered the master had been found and the courtyard came alive. Children ran alongside the horses, laughing and chattering in a blend of English and Spanish. Men stopped what they were doing to wave them home, and the women smiled shyly from the doorways of their cottages, some with gurgling babies perched on their hips.

  Consuela hurried from the hacienda, long skirts swaying and hands clutched in a prayer of thanks. “You’re back,” she cried, her eyes suspiciously bright. “Your grandmother, she worried about you, but I knew better. You’re too stubborn to let a little bad weather hurt you. I told her you’d be all right.”

  Matt swung down from the saddle and swept her into a hug. “Only the good die young, Tía, I’ll be around forever.” He laughed.

  She giggled and slapped his arm. “Put me down before you hurt yourself. Your grandmother is anxious to see you.” She sent a warning look to Cassandra. “And she has company.”

  Puzzled, Cassandra turned toward the hacienda. Her heart catapulted into her throat. Her tall, less-than-amused fiancé was wheeling Matt’s grandmother across the flagstones.

  Jeff.

  28

  Matt’s hackles rose the instant he laid eyes on the stranger. Antagonism rolled off the man like the waves of heat shimmering on top of the now cloudless hills. His grandmother’s expression warned him, not that it was needed, of her dismay. Between that and Cassandra’s gasp of recognition it was obvious the devil had come calling.

  Cass’s fiancé was here.

  So much for telling his abuela the truth in his own words.

  “Cassandra,” the man said, the words snapping like gingerbread. “What is going on here?”

  She glanced at the many interested onlookers and groaned, careful not to make eye contact with Matt though he stood right beside her.

  Satisfaction thrummed through Matt’s chest. That’s not the reaction he would expect from two lovebirds.

  “It’s not what you think.” She took a couple of shuffling steps forward, hand out, placating the beast. “How did you find me, Jeff?”

  His expression grew even colder, fists white on the handles of the wheelchair. “When I couldn’t reach you, and my family had no idea wh
ere you had gone, I called your father. He told me everything.”

  He suddenly deflated, as if all that hot air couldn’t handle being contained and escaped in one long, sad sigh. “Why didn’t you come to me, Cass? I might have been able to help.”

  Matt couldn’t believe the supercilious prick. Where did he get off thinking he was so much better than Cassandra? She’d handled the situation in the only way she knew how; protecting her father’s reputation and at the same time, easing an old lady’s mind. He should be treating her like… like a princess, dammit.

  Consuela spoke up, moving forward to fuss with her mistress’s blanket-covered legs. “Let’s talk inside. There is fresh cornbread and honey preserves. I’m sure the children are hungry.” She took charge of the wheelchair and turned the attention to food.

  Matt’s stomach growled. Cass glanced at him wide-eyed, before hurrying to grasp her boyfriend’s arm as they traipsed into the cool confines of the house behind Sophia, Consuela and his grandmother. Matt felt like he had as a schoolboy, caught out in a white lie when he’d played hooky from school. But this wasn’t a harmless prank, and he wasn’t a child anymore.

  “Grandmother,” he called, “can I have a word?”

  Sophia frowned, no doubt wondering what was going on, but he ignored her for now.

  “Please?” he pleaded when it seemed they were going to continue into the kitchen with the others.

  She held up a blue-veined, skeletal hand. “Go ahead, Consuela. We’ll be along shortly.”

  Chewy click-clicked into view, bark-snorting his excitement. Sophia scooped him into her arms, chuckling at the look of horror on fiancé-guy’s smug face. “He doesn’t bite.”

  “Much.” Matt couldn’t resist the dig. He shared an amused look with Cassandra, recalling her similar reaction to the little gimp. Then the humor died, replaced by memories of their time together. Of wants and desires. Lost chances. Pain.

  She took a step toward him and Matt caught his breath. But then Consuela tut-tutted and the moment was lost. Cass turned away to join the exodus to the kitchen, shutting him out.

  “That young man told me an interesting story,” Madeline murmured, her gaze searching his face.

  He crouched next to the woman who had raised him as her own, shame a heavy weight bearing him down. “Grandma, I’m sorry.”

  She patted his head, her eyes kind. Forgiving. “I know you are, child. Whatever reason you have for bringing that girl here and lying to your family, it must have been important to you.”

  He swallowed the hard ball of guilt clogging his throat. “I didn’t want to disappoint you. I know how much you wanted to see me happy, so I made up a fiancée.” He grasped her hand, distressed by the bruising on the papery thinness of her skin.

  Her beautiful brown eyes glistened with a mixture of love and sadness, enough to break his heart. “Oh, Matthew. Always the fixer, eh?” She coughed, her fingers fluttering against her lips. “There’s some things that are meant to be, my boy.”

  Matt stood and hurried over to the side table, grateful Consuela kept fresh lemon water and glasses throughout the hacienda. He poured half a tumbler and brought it back to his grandmother, helping her to take a drink.

  “Better?”

  “Sí,” she sighed. “Gracias.”

  Matt returned the cup to the table, noticing the painting he’d missed earlier. It was one that used to sit tucked away in the family den, over the massive stone fireplace that dominated the room.

  “Why did you move your wedding picture?” he asked, turning to see her diminutive form slouched in the wheelchair. She needed to rest. If only she would return to the hospital, but she refused.

  “Your grandfather was such a handsome man,” she said, a faraway look in her eyes. “He could have had any woman he wanted, but he chose me.”

  Matt smiled, glancing again at the painting. “I can see why. You weren’t too bad yourself.” He meant it, too. Dressed in the Spanish lace gown with a diaphanous veil covering her lustrous dark hair, it was no wonder the man standing opposite in the picture couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Oh, you Shaughnessys, you have such a way with words,” she giggled, a young girl once again.

  Matt bowed low, more than willing to play along if he could keep that youthful glow on her face. “How about we go out on a da…” A thunk and muffled groan froze the words on his tongue.

  He straightened and stared in shocked horror before rushing to his grandmother as she lay crumpled on the floor.

  “Grandma, are you okay?” He rolled her gently onto her side, careful to keep her breathing passages open. “Grandma,” he cried.

  “Help. Someone help.”

  29

  Cass trailed Sophia and the stout Consuela down the hall toward the kitchen and prided herself on only glancing back once, just before they rounded the corner. Matt kneeled beside his grandmother, his hand holding hers as they exchanged words. There was so much love and respect in the gesture that her throat tightened painfully.

  Jeff grasped her arm and jerked her to a stop.

  “We need to talk.” His mouth turned downward, and clouds of banked anger swirled in hazel eyes squinting under thick dark brows. “Why are you pretending to be that… cowboy’s fiancée?”

  He couldn’t have looked more big city success story if he’d tried, dressed in a navy pin-striped suit and executive tie. Cassandra almost smiled, though there was nothing funny about the situation.

  “It’s… complicated,” she whispered, waving to reassure a worried-looking Sophia. “Look, can we straighten this out later? In private?”

  He stared into her eyes and Cass was frightened by the distance she could sense between them. He had a right to be angry and confused, she should have gone to him in the first place.

  Why hadn’t she?

  “We’re getting married weekend after next, aren’t we?” he demanded. “My parents have gone to a lot of work to make this wedding perfect for you, Cassandra. They were counting on your help. Imagine my surprise when I come home to find you gone, and that’s without getting into the ridiculous story your father told us.”

  Cass stiffened. It was one thing for her to be irritated by what he’d done, but he was still her dad. “It’s no big deal, okay? As you can see, it’s not like we’re having an affair. Matt’s whole family is here. I just agreed in order to help him out of a bad situation, that’s all.”

  She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping her dad hadn’t said anything about the gambling debt. Jeff’s family were staunch Mormons; no drinking, no smoking, and most certainly, no gambling.

  Jeff sighed. He raised a hand and cupped her cheek. “I won’t pretend I’m not disappointed, but…” he leaned in and breathed against her lips, “I understand you wanted to help.” He kissed her and smiled. “You can’t fix everyone’s problems, Cassandra. Sometimes, things happen for a reason. We just have to go with the flow.”

  She didn’t do that, did she?

  It wasn’t wrong to want to make a difference in people’s lives. She regularly volunteered at the hospital, reading to lonely seniors and bored children. And there were never enough hands at the food bank. It made her feel good to put a smile on the face of a person who was down on their luck.

  She remembered her mom telling her, “Kindness is one of God’s greatest gifts, but it’s meant to be shared.”

  Cass liked that.

  “You guys coming?” Sophia called, a scowl on her pretty face.

  Cassandra stepped away from Jeff and endured his frown as his hand fell to his side. What a mess, and she was right in the middle. It was time for her and Matt to come clean—and hope everyone didn’t hate them afterward.

  “Help. Someone help.”

  The urgent cry came from down the hall.

  Matt.

  Cassandra glanced at the stunned looks around her and took off at a run, her heart pounding in fear. The relief she felt when she saw him alive and well was short-lived. He was b
ent protectively over his grandmother’s prone body, his arm holding her head off the floor and his face grimmer than she’d ever seen it.

  “Call 9-1-1. She collapsed,” he cried, his voice frantic.

  She hurried to do as he asked, her own voice shaking as she gave what information she could to the operator. By then the others had arrived, crowding around Matt offering advice and encouragement in equal measure.

  “Hold her head up,” Jeff advised.

  “Oh, Matt,” Sophia cried.

  Consuela was the only one who seemed to be holding it together, though she was wringing the skin off her fingers. “Is she…?”

  Matt nodded. “She’s unconscious. Might have bumped her head when she fell, I’m not sure.” He searched until he found Cassandra standing on the fringe of the crowd. His eyes softened, acknowledging how hard this was for her. “She’s going to be all right,” he told everyone, but directed the reassurance to her. “How long a wait do we have?”

  “They said half an hour. They have to get the helicopter up and running,” she mumbled, her attention on the limp hand laying palm up on the flagstones. He’d used her blanket to cover her frail body in an effort to retain her heat, but that hand… so small, so vulnerable. The fear and anxiety rose, threatening to choke her until she too, lay passed out on that unforgiving tile.

  She held her throat, desperate to draw a clean breath of air, but it wasn’t going to happen. Not until she was rescued.

  No. She shook her head. This isn’t about you.

  Easier to say it than to believe it. She wanted to break free of this paralyzing fear, kneel next to Matt and give support at what must be a terrifying time for him and his family. If only she wasn’t locked in her eight-year-old body, trapped in a broken car as her world shattered.

  Jeff stepped forward, discarding his fancy suit jacket and rolling up his sleeves, gold watch flashing, as he went.