Meant to Be Read online

  So, yes. She would do it, dammit.

  Just…maybe in a minute.

  Finally, she hoisted herself into the chute, like Cooper had done. She held on for dear life as the water tried to sweep her downward, then closed her eyes and lifted her chin. “Please don’t let me die,” she whispered toward the sky and anyone who might be listening.

  And then she let go.

  She wasn’t entirely sure whether the sounds she heard for the next thirty seconds were coming from her own mouth, or that of a hyena caught in a trap, but before she could fully process that her life was indeed ending right freaking now, she popped into midair and hung suspended for what seemed like eons before she dropped into a pool of water with an enormous splash.

  Good God, the water was cold! So wonderfully, refreshingly cold as she used her arms to stroke to the surface. She emerged laughing, and the first thing she saw was Cooper, lounged against the edge of the pool of water, his dark hair gorgeously mussed, his T-shirt plastered to his chest.

  She swallowed as she treaded water. She’d noticed those pecs before. She was human and female, for God’s sake. You couldn’t not notice them. But she’d yet to see them outlined quite so effectively by water and worn-out cotton.

  “You lived,” he deadpanned.

  “No thanks to you!” She swam closer and splashed him. “You left me up there to die.”

  “Or hike down. You had options.” He smiled. “Quieter ones.”

  “So that was me making all that noise?” She cringed.

  He laughed. “Yeah. That was definitely you. Want to hike up and do it again?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “You sure?”

  She looked at him, eyebrows up, challenge sparking in his eyes, and she’d be damned if she didn’t want to do exactly that. They couldn’t go back to the ranch yet if she wanted to remain invisible, the lowering sun was still hot, and sliding down rock worn as smooth as silk had been pretty epic.

  She headed for the edge of the pool, hoping she could clamber out with a modicum of grace and dignity. Her jeans weighed about ten pounds, but they’d survived the slide without ripping to pieces—or letting her skin do the same—so she’d deal with the discomfort.

  “You know what? Yes. Let’s do it again,” she said as she hoisted herself onto a dry rock, her feet still dangling in the water.

  “Seriously?”

  She looked up, and had a moment of doubt as she realized just how far they’d slid. But as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, that doubt was shoved aside by a tiny, sparkling feeling she hardly recognized.

  Freedom.

  No one was here to judge her hair, her clothes, or her companion. No one was here to take pictures and post them every-freaking-where. No one was here to list the pros and cons and risks of flying down a rock chute at a speed usually reserved for seals and penguins.

  No one but Cooper.

  “Promise you won’t take pics and send them to the tabloids once you find out who I am?”

  He put up his hands. “No camera.”

  “No descriptions of me flailing and screaming down the slide?”

  “Your extreme lack of courage and grace are secrets I’ll keep close to my heart.”

  “Thank you. A yes would have sufficed.” She kicked a spray of water toward him, and he ducked, then pushed off his ledge and swam closer to her. Before she could extricate herself, both of his hands clamped around her ankles, making her squeal involuntarily.

  “Stop splashing me,” he growled.

  “Stop insulting me.”

  He grinned as he looked up at her, and for the first time, she realized his eyes were dark, dark brown—the kind of color that promised sexy warmth…or deep secrets.

  Or both.

  “Okay.” She put up her hands, clearing her throat when she realized her voice was shaky. Dammit. “I promise not to splash you.”

  He let go, sliding his hands away, then tickling the bottoms of her feet before he laughed and ducked clear.

  As she watched his body slice through the water, then watched him lift himself onto the rocks, she swallowed hard. Then she ripped her eyes away before he could catch her, climbing onto her own rock and adjusting her stuck-on jeans for the hike back up the falls.

  When she looked back over at him, he quickly averted his own eyes, scrubbing his hands through his hair to de-plaster it from his head.

  “You ready, princess? Sure you want to go another round?”

  “Ready.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll even try not to scream like I’m being murdered this time.”

  “That’d be good, if your goal out here is invisibility.”

  “Yeah.” She sobered, her real life poking in with sharp fingernails.

  Yeah. That was the goal.

  Chapter 10

  Early the next morning, Cooper whistled as he walked through the stable tossing hay into the stalls. He’d gotten up at the crack of dawn, and knowing Shelby wasn’t likely to be up or needing him for hours, he’d headed down here to spend some long-overdue time with the horses. It’d been a good week since he’d done anything but the one ride yesterday, and he missed it.

  Just as he finished with Bandit, Decker came around the corner, looping a rope around his elbow and shoulder.

  “Hey, Coop. How’s it going with Miss Hollywood?”

  “Going all right, actually.”

  “You’re whistling. That mean it’s actually going better than all right?”

  Cooper buttoned his lip. “It’s fine.”

  “You were out with her for a long time yesterday. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s just fine.” Cooper paused. Decker wasn’t usually one to ask a lot of questions. “Hey, Decker? Kyla send you down here, by any chance?”

  Decker stilled his hands. “Why?”

  “Because you’re asking questions like a damn girl.”

  “Am not.” He rolled his eyes. “Just interested, that’s all.”

  “Okay. Well, to satisfy your interest, I’ll say all is well in the Miss Hollywood department. To satisfy Kyla’s interest, I’ll tell you that we rode out to the falls, had a picnic, slid down the rock slide four times, took a nap in the meadow, and rode back at dusk so we could stay undercover from the rest of the guests. And in case you—but certainly not Kyla—are interested, Shelby had a damn good time doing all of it.”

  Decker smiled. “Excellent.”

  “Also, if Kyla asks, I’m pretty sure the woman wouldn’t mind a cooking lesson or two. She barely knows how to make coffee without her staff—whoever that is—doing it for her. I’m not sure she’s eaten anything this week that I haven’t cooked for her.”

  “You’re cooking for her?” Decker raised his eyebrows. “You don’t say.”

  “I had extra. And I got sick of watching her eat carrot sticks, okay?”

  “Sure.” He nodded. “Maybe you oughtta teach her to cook.”

  Cooper shook his head. “Not really my forte, bud.”

  “Well, you know what they say.”

  “No. What do they say?”

  Decker smiled. “Never mind. But I’m sure Kyla and Ma would be happy to let you borrow stuff from the big kitchen if you want to start doing cooking lessons.”

  “Forget I said anything.” Cooper rolled his eyes. “I came out here to ride, not to cook.”

  “Well, you also came out here lonely, and now you’ve got a ready-made partner for the next few weeks. Not sure if you’ve noticed, but she’s not so bad to look at, either.”

  “Not looking.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Cooper waved him off. “Good talk, Deck. Stop by again soon.”

  Decker laughed as he slapped the stall door and headed down the barn. Cooper shook his head as he checked water buckets and palmed a couple of carrots to each of the horses, trying the entire time not to picture he and Shelby in her cabin’s little kitchen, getting way too close…and hot.

  It didn’t work.

&n
bsp; When he got back to his cabin a little while later, his cell rang, and he toyed with not looking to see who it was, preferring to hang out for a little bit longer in his head—with Shelby. After a week of watching her hide out in the shadows of her cabin, it had been refreshing to find the woman underneath the invisible veil that seemed to surround her.

  She was devastated by something in her recent past—that much was painfully clear as he watched her face, watched the arms that so quickly crossed her middle in protection. But yesterday? She’d laughed. She’d smiled. She’d eaten. She’d even closed her eyes and slept for an hour under the oak tree beside him.

  And she’d stopped looking behind her for a whole afternoon, which he had a pretty strong feeling was a huge step.

  He picked up the phone. Phoebe. “Hey, bratty-pants. What’s happening?”

  “Seriously, Coop?” His sister rolled his eyes—he could feel it over the airwaves. “Fourteen here. Might be time for a new nickname.”

  “Want me to think of one?”

  “Never mind. No.”

  “Stop rolling your eyes at me, missy.”

  “Stop calling me names, mister.” She sighed. “And could we maybe stop acting like we’re three here? I have a reason for calling.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. I will behave. What’s going on?”

  “Have you checked the Globe today?”

  Cooper’s gut sank as he glanced over at the kitchen table where his laptop sat. “No. Why?”

  “Because Asshole finally had his sentencing hearing.”

  “Language, hon.”

  She rolled her eyes again. He could feel it.

  “Sorry. Cousin Raymond has been formally sentenced. Finally.”

  Cooper felt for a chair, his heart cranking up ten notches as he turned on his computer. “What’d he get?” Phoebe was silent for just long enough that Cooper shook his head miserably. “Probation?”

  “No. Even a paid-off judge wouldn’t have been able to defend that lame of a sentence. He got some time. Just…not enough.”

  “Nothing would be enough.” He scrubbed at his hair while the laptop booted. He had to see for himself. “Does Dad know?”

  She was silent again.

  Yeah, Dad knew. And clearly, Dad still fell more firmly into the camp of his nephew than his own son.

  “I’m sorry, Phoebs. Must be miserable at the house.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m camped out at Sierra’s.”

  “Because of this?”

  “No. Previous plan.”

  “Phoebe?”

  She gave an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Yes. I saw the paper this morning before Dad got up, and I packed my stuff and got out of there before he could see it. Do you really blame me?”

  Cooper closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s theirs. You’re the innocent one.”

  “Yeah.” His voice was quiet. It sure didn’t feel like it anymore.

  “Hey, Coop? I just wanted you to know. Didn’t want to make this the call of doom or anything.”

  “I appreciate it, hon. And I’m glad he got at least part of what he deserved. I am.”

  “You just wish he’d gotten it sooner? Before he sent you down for it?”

  Cooper half-smiled. “Listen to you, talking all CSI.”

  “I know. I scare myself sometimes. But I gotta go. Jace and Micah are here.”

  “Boys?”

  “Yes, Cooper. Boys. We still have those back here.”

  “Are Sierra’s parents home?”

  “Um—”

  Cooper clenched a fist, thinking about his little sister hanging out with a couple of hormonal teenaged boys in an empty, parent-free house.

  But what the hell could he do about it from two thousand miles away?

  Not a damn thing.

  “Phoebs?”

  “I know. Be careful. Keep my phone on. Don’t leave my drink unattended. Use condoms.”

  “Phoebe!”

  “Just kidding, Coop. I don’t drink yet.”

  “I’m getting on the next plane.”

  She giggled. “I love you, big bro. And just so you don’t give yourself a hernia worrying about me, Micah and Jace are a couple. They want nothing to do with my innocent body.”

  Cooper sighed. “You could have led with that part, you know.”

  “Yup. But it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.”

  “One favor, Phoebs?” Cooper rubbed his chest with his fist, feeling every mile between them like a frigging sledgehammer.

  “Anything.”

  “Stop growing up till I get back there, okay?”

  —

  Later that morning, a quick knock on Shelby’s door made her jump up from her spot on the back porch, where she had not been waiting for a glimpse of Cooper.

  She hadn’t.

  When she opened the door, a startlingly gorgeous redhead stood there with a huge smile on her face and a wiggly blanket in her arms.

  “Hi! I’m Hayley! I’d shake your hand, but it’s a little bit full of piglet right now.”

  “Um, hi.” Shelby felt her eyes widen as she stared. Who was this, and why was she standing on Shelby’s porch with a…piglet?

  “I’m the vet, and we’ve got a runt. Mama Pig is not interested, thank you very much, so we need somebody to take care of Little Bit here. Kyla mentioned that you’re here for a few weeks, not doing a lot of leaving, and she thought maybe you’d be willing?”

  Shelby tipped her head. “Willing—to take care of a…piglet? Seriously?”

  “Sure.” Hayley nodded like it was no big deal.

  “I’d have no idea how to care for it.”

  “No problem. I can tell you exactly what to do.”

  “But it’s—a pig.”

  “Yep. And you’re a human. But it won’t mind.”

  Shelby laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, that was my concern.”

  “I know.” Hayley grinned, reaching around to her back pocket for a tiny baby bottle. “I’ve got formula mixed for her next feed, and Ma will come up with more later. The poor thing will get trampled in the barn, or she’ll starve. So you can see the problem.”

  “Of course, but—”

  “It’s not hard.” Hayley pulled the blanket back so Shelby could see the tiny piglet’s face. “And not forever. We just need to get her over the hump till she’s strong enough to fend for herself.”

  Shelby looked around, desperate for any other human to make an appearance and save her from pig-sitting duties. Nicola would fall over laughing if she could see this scene.

  “Hayley, I don’t know. I’ve never really taken care of…anything.”

  “Then it’s high time you do.” Hayley nodded like this was a no-brainer.

  “What about Cooper? He’s kind of not busy, really.” Shelby cringed, knowing her voice was tinged with desperation Hayley could definitely hear.

  Hayley rolled her eyes. “It would kill any cowboy cred he’s finally developed. Sorry. No can do.”

  “Oh, lordy.” Shelby closed her eyes and tipped her chin upward like she was seeking guidance, when really, she was trying to figure out how a woman went from singing to thousands in a Vegas stadium…to pig-sitting on a Montana ranch, in the span of just weeks.

  “So you’ll do it?” Hayley kissed the piglet and handed it to Shelby. “Great!”

  “I’m not sure you’re really giving me a choice here.” Shelby gingerly took the blanket, jumping when the piglet poked her nose out of the folds and sniffed at her shirt.

  “Nope. Totally am not.” Hayley handed her the bottle. “Give this to her in an hour, and make sure you let her out to do her business every once in a while. But don’t leave her out there, whatever you do.”

  “Um, okay? What do I do with her?”

  “She’ll probably sleep most of the time, but you can bring her outside to sniff around. We need those wobbly legs to get stronger.”

  Shelby heard a nervous gi
ggle, then bit her lip when she realized it had come from her. “You sure there’s no one at this ranch more qualified to take care of this piglet?”

  Hayley headed for the steps. “Oh, sure, there are. Plenty of them. But you’re uniquely qualified.”

  What? “Because?”

  “Because you’re here, you’re bored, and you could use some company. And a pet.”

  “Says?”

  “Says Kyla. And Ma. And Lexi and Jess.” She shrugged. “You’ll meet the ones you haven’t already. We’re a team here. We take care of each other. And piglets are excellent company.”

  “Wha—?”

  “I’ll check in later!” She waved as she jumped off the porch, skipping the three steps. “And thanks!”

  Shelby watched her go, her eyes widening with every step Hayley took toward the barn. Then she looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms, and felt her face soften as she pulled the blanket away from the piglet’s head. She was so flipping tiny! Nobody should be entrusting this piglet’s life to a pop star, let alone one who’d never even gotten to own a pet.

  “Oh, boy.” She let one finger rub the tiny space between the piglet’s ears. “Can we make a deal here? If I promise to follow all of the directions, could you please not die? Please? Because omigod, I really, really, really can’t be responsible for that, okay?”

  As if in response, the tiny piglet raised her little snout and made a noise that was halfway between a mouse squeak and a pig snort, and Shelby laughed.

  She looked back down the hill, where Hayley had disappeared back into the barn. Then she looked at the main lodge with its huge windows, and she had a sneaking suspicion that at least one set of eyes was watching her, wondering if she was up to this challenge.

  It was funny. For the first time ever, she didn’t resent those watchful eyes, because somewhere down deep, she knew they were watching because they gave a damn. She didn’t know how she knew—okay, Hayley had just told her, but still—it warmed her inside to know there were people here who maybe cared about her, even though they really didn’t have a clue who she actually was.

  But—a piglet? There wasn’t a stray puppy or barn kitten they could have used here?