Taking a Chance Read online

  “Cassidy Milner, is that you, child?” a woman’s voice asked. Turning, she looked out to the truck that had just pulled up. A tall, older woman was standing next to a tall, dark-haired man. She patted his arm in a distracted manner before coming toward Cassidy. “It is, isn’t it? Oh, child, how you have grown. You likely don’t remember me. That’s all right. I’m Theresa Carver and these two handsome lugs are two of my sons, Joshua and Travis. You may have had the pleasure of meeting Joshua’s bride, Alison, Rhys’s sister. I’m sure she’s in this mess somewhere.”

  Shit, she had been caught. Her second thought was for the dark-haired man just to the left of Theresa Carver. That thought was anything but one of regret. It was a heated and naughty thought that she shouldn’t have at meeting any man right now, not after the way she had been burned by her ex.

  Stepping around the plant, Cassidy smiled for the woman. “Hello, Mrs. Carver. I do remember you. You patched up my knee and gave me some of your homemade bread with jam on it when my great-grandparents came to visit you.” It had been right after the death of her parents, people who had died far too young. “It’s good to see you, ma’am.” Young deaths seemed to run in her family, except for her great-grandparents.

  “Theresa, dear, just Theresa is fine. None of that ma’am stuff, you’ll make me feel old before my time,” she said with a smile. Theresa peeked around the door and winced. “Well, I don’t need to ask why you’ve taken to hiding out here. I’d better get in there and rein them in before poor Victor blows a gasket. That man is marvelous, but he, like any man, can only take so much of this. Excuse me, dear.” Squaring her shoulders, Theresa headed into the house. A moment later, there was a piercing whistle. “All right, what the ever-loving hell are you lot doing?” the woman demanded loudly into the sudden silence.

  One of the men Theresa had come with chuckled. “That’s our mama,” he said. With a nod to Cassidy, he headed into the house as well. The other man looked less enthused about entering the apparent fray.

  Cassidy looked at him and smiled. “I would hide if I were you,” she said with a smirk. “Seriously, that’s why I hid behind the plant. It’s enough to keep you within hearing range just in case you are needed, but also provides you with cover so that if anyone looks out the door, they will ignore you.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Cassidy Milner. I know you are one of the Carver boys because you were with Mrs. Carver, but I don’t recall any of you. I’m sorry.” In other words, she really would like to know the name of the man that she was lusting after.

  He joined her on the porch, taking her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. He also didn’t let it go right away as he moved closer to her behind the plant. “Travis,” he told her softly. “Joshua’s big brother, not the oldest, but close enough. I remember you,” he said with a smile. “Pigtails mainly, and the biggest, happiest smile I’ve ever seen.”

  Cassidy blushed and nodded. “That was me.” She shifted slightly to give him more cover behind the large potted tree. Leaning against the wall again after regretfully letting go of his hand, she closed her eyes. “I don’t even know why I allowed myself to get roped into this. I mean, it’s chaos in there, frightening really.” And she had been going to do that. She was seriously stupid and needed to have her brain checked. Note to self—no marriage for her, not with that kind of chaos that made her OCD kick in.

  “This is a little over the top,” he agreed. “Mama will get them back in line. She ran a house with seven kids and her husband for many years. She’ll get them moving, under orders, and to her tune real quick. I’m actually amazed that Mrs. Hollister isn’t here,” he muttered. “Figured that Ali or Rhys would have roped her in if not one of the others.”

  “She was here earlier, but she had to take off to do something in town. Something with the cake.” Cassidy shrugged and smiled up at Travis. “Your mom is likely a force of nature, isn’t she? I remember her being one. Vaguely. Before I was sent out of the state.” She leaned her head back against the wall once more. She was sure that they all knew the superstition, that the Milner clan was cursed to all die young if they were on the Milner ranch. It was stupid, but it was what it was, and she had been sent off to live with distant cousins in Florida after her parents died.

  “She is at that,” he said with a smile. “Pretty sure she was a drill sergeant in a past life. Either that or maybe Marie Antoinette. She gets this look on her face at times that the next words you expect to hear are, ‘off with his head.’” He chuckled and shook his head. “I love the woman, but there were days I feared for my life.”

  Cassidy snickered at that. “Yeah, I could totally imagine both of those being true. She’s loving, though. She’s one of those women that make you happy to call her Mom, isn’t she?” She had never had that. Her mother had been a hateful, vengeful woman and could barely stand Cassidy. She could recall her parents fighting because her father would pick Cassidy up and hug her. She was as jealous as they came. Sadly.

  “Absolutely,” he said, his smile growing. “She’s an amazing mother. She was at every school function, every event, every sporting thing, anything and absolutely everything we did. Which, with seven kids, truly boggles the mind. We’re spaced out a bit in age, too, so that had to make it even harder for her. She did it, though. Hell, she has a box for each of us kids of everything we ever made, every award we won, every ribbon we got, stuffed full up in the attic. I honestly can’t believe she kept the ugly ass mug I made her in third grade. She even used the thing for a year before putting it in the box. That woman deserved a medal just for surviving us all with her sanity intact.”

  Cassidy grinned and she found herself reaching out for Travis’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “She loved you. The pure and unvarnished love that only a mother could have for her kids. Be happy and proud that you had that. Treasure it and her for as long as you have her.”

  He shot her an odd look and nodded, squeezing her hand back. “Damn straight I will. She’d kick my ass if I didn’t,” he muttered. Sighing, he moved to lean against the house next to her. “I really have no urge, at all, to go in there and be put to work on a wedding I really know next to nothing about. I mean, I know Genny, a little anyway. I don’t know Victor, but I’ve heard good things about him. I’m really starting to think I should have stayed on the ranch and just chilled.” He looked to her then and smiled. “Then again, if I’d done that, I wouldn’t have gotten to reconnect with you, Cassidy Milner.”

  Cassidy smiled and nodded. “Likewise. I was bamboozled into this whole shebang by Maggie at the B&B that I’m staying at. She said that Genny simply had to have another bridesmaid so that the groomsmen would be even or something like that.” She rolled her eyes. “Personally, I think that the woman loves torture and this is her dish of it to me. But you’re right. If I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have met you, Travis Carver. However.” She looked around the planted tree. “What do you say we take off and go get some ice cream or something?” Yeah, she was totally asking him to run off with her, at least for a time.

  “I’m assuming you have your own vehicle here?” At her nod, he chuckled and moved away from the wall. “I’m game if you are. I’ll catch hell for it later, but it will be so worth it. Let’s go.” Tugging on her hand, he pulled her toward the steps slowly, his head turned toward the screen door, likely watching for anyone that might spot them. Another tug and he took off in a jog off the porch, a huge grin on his face.

  Cassidy led him to a brand new Dodge Ram 4x4 and smirked. “Yes, I drive a truck.” She worked in a field where she would go into dangerous weather at times and needed something big and dependable. “So, since you likely know the area better than me, how about you drive?” She tossed him the keys. “Otherwise, I would likely take us to San Antonio or something before I realized where I was.”

  “Aw, sugar, you say that like it’s a bad thing,” he said with a laugh. He opened the passenger door for her and even gave her a hand up into the truck. She watched as he jogged around
the front end before he slid in, sort of, behind the wheel. He was more crammed in until he found the seat lever and got the seat to slide back to accommodate his longer legs. Shooting her a crooked grin, he started up the truck and got them moving, hopefully before anyone realized someone was leaving the ranch.

  Cassidy leaned her head back against the headrest and smiled. “You should likely text your brother and let him know that I’ve kidnapped you, but I promise to bring you back later,” she teased. “And thank you, by the way, for being willing to run away with me before I lost my ever-loving mind.”

  “I’ll text him once we get to town. You are welcome, though I was more than willing to be kidnapped. I was not looking forward to going inside that house. I think I’d have gone running out of there in five minutes like my hair was on fire.” He slowed as they reached the main road before turning them onto it. She had no clue which way they were pointed, but figured since he did, she’d trust him. “Now, we have a couple of choices for ice cream. We can go to the Factory for old fashioned style, or to that new place for all the latest and greatest.”

  “The Factory. I love the old fashioned style. Hand dipped all the way without all those extra decorations that they put on ice cream, or God forbid, frozen yogurt.” She shuddered. “Nope, I want the real deal. If I am going to catch hell later, I want it to be for something worth catching hell for, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. Laughing softly, he shot her a look. “So, I have to ask, and you can tell me to butt out if it’s too personal or painful. Is it weird for you being back on the ranch and knowing it’s not in your family anymore?”

  “Yeah, it really is,” Cassidy admitted. “I’m glad that the grams sold, though. They were too old to hold onto the ranch and they didn’t have any kids or grandkids to pass it to. At least now it will be taken care of and not parceled out to a bunch of developers. I think that Genny and Victor will be good for the ranch and they will make it theirs. I can’t think of a better couple of people to do it, can you?”

  “Not really,” he admitted with a grin. “Though I’m not so sure what the city slicker is planning. At least Gennifer knows ranch life and will keep him going the right way. From what Josh was telling me, Victor’s been doing a lot of research and talking to some of the other ranchers to get an idea of where he wants to go. Apparently, he’s torn between turning it into a functioning ranch—cows, horses and whatever—or doing something smaller scale like a few orchards with a couple head of cattle just for his section. He was thinking about partitioning it to let others live on the land and do their thing as long as they abided by whatever rules he came up with. Personally, I think he’s terrified to fuck it up and is hedging his bets.”

  “I can only imagine.” Cassidy shrugged. “The grams had talked about putting in orchards, but they never could afford to put the right kinds of trees in. With our climate here, it would have to be just the right type or they would not fare well.” She knew weather well. “As for portioning it up, I could see that, and I don’t think that the town would be too pissed as long as he didn’t allow some corporation in and divvying it up, you know?”

  “No, he’s talking about the guys that are living with him currently. At least that was my understanding. According to Josh, the thinking is, it’s a huge chunk of land, but if they wanted their own space and a place to call their own, he’d let them take a chunk to do with as they wanted. All with the understanding that it would be by his rules to keep it natural and fitting to Texas standards.”

  “Turn one massive ranch into five smaller ones. I like it. I think that it has appeal and merit. I’m sure that with Genny there with him, they would turn it into something that they would all be proud of.”

  “That’s the theory,” he said with a chuckle. “Not sure if it will actually happen or if he’ll figure something else out. At least I’ll be around to watch the chaos now. Be a nice change instead of just hearing about it long distance all the time.”

  “You missed it, didn’t you?” She didn’t know this man from Adam, but she could hear it in his voice, the longing. “You might not have been here, but the ranch life never left you, did it? Why did you stay away so long, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I grew up here, it’s home,” he said. Sighing, he shifted a bit in the seat as they drove along. “I was a pilot for a huge commercial airline until recently. They’ve been doing some major budget cuts, staff cuts, and fucking with our schedules. When they cancelled my two weeks of vacation, time I was to come back home and see my family, I had enough. I put in my resignation. Only trouble with that was I had to listen to a lot of empty promises, bald-faced lies, and even a couple of threats for two months. Two days ago, I turned in my ID, my uniforms, threw them the finger, and walked out with my last check.”

  “Well, I’m glad that you were able to get out of a bad situation.” She thought about her troubles and shrugged. “Sometimes, we need to get a fresh start out of a bad place to realize where home should be. I’m sure that your family is happy to have you back, aren’t they?” That was a “duh” kind of comment for sure. Of course they were happy to have him back if the way Theresa Carver had been holding onto his hand when they arrived was any indication. “Your mom is certainly glad to have you back.”

  “She tried to kill me,” he muttered. He shot her a look as she stared wide-eyed at him. “Not kidding. I walk into the house and she latches on so tight I couldn’t get air. I was about to go down for the count, angel’s singing, the light at the end of the tunnel, the whole bit, but Josh saved me. I’m actually amazed she didn’t crush my entire rib cage. Trust me, a boa constrictor has got nothing on that woman’s grip.”

  Cassidy laughed. “That’s awesome. I’m sure that she was just making up for lost time. How long had it been between seeing her?” They made another turn. She was watching where they were going, but not closely. “And if you say more than a month, I think I might have to hit you.” She was teasing, the snicker that she automatically let loose spoiling her fun.

  He was quiet for a time, his face somber. “The last time I saw her was when I had to go back to work after my father’s funeral. Since then, when I took three weeks emergency leave, the airline has fucked up every single day off and planned vacation in some small way. We talk every week on the phone, but yeah, it’s been a couple years.”

  “I’m so sorry, Travis.” Cassidy truly felt bad for him, but she got it. “I understand how hard that must have been. Not because of my parents, but because of the grams. I missed a lot growing up, but it wasn’t because of a job. It was because of them not wanting me anywhere near Massey. After my parents died, they were sure that the curse was true and sent me to live with relatives out of state. So I get it. Being away from those you love when you don’t want to be.”

  He nodded and was silent for a time. As they crested a hill, she spotted the suburbs of Massey. “I still can’t believe anyone believes in that so-called curse of yours. It’s a bunch of BS, if you ask me. Shit happens, doesn’t mean we’re cursed. It means we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Oh, I agree, believe me, but the grams had four children, all of whom died just before they were thirty. Only one of their kids had kids, my grandfather. He had four kids as well. My dad and mom died just after they turned twenty-four. I was six. They had two more sons that died in service to our country. And finally, my aunt who raised me. She lost twins in childbirth and refused to try again. Granted, she lived for quite a long while since she raised me, but aside from that…” She shrugged. “Who knows? A bunch of hokum, I think.”

  He shot her another look and shrugged. “People will believe anything as long as there is enough proof to support it. Look at religion,” he said. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “No, let’s not get on the topic of religion. Otherwise, we could be going at that argument for days. Not really how I want to spend my time when I have the sole company of a sexy woman.”

  “Oh God, no, let
’s not get into that topic.” She shot him a look and found herself blushing slightly. “Really? You think that I’m sexy?” Okay, so she had just met him, but damn, when someone as good-looking as Travis Carver told you that you were sexy, you asked to have that clarified to ensure that you weren’t hearing incorrectly.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a nod. “Just look at you. Amazing dark hair that makes a man’s finger twitch to stroke it. Stunning hazel eyes that a man could likely fall into and not give two shits. You are a tiny little thing, though, but that’s definitely a plus in my book. Makes you ideal for all sorts of sexual fantasies.” A grin tugged on his lips.

  “Damn,” Cassidy whispered, and licked her lips. “And see, here I was just thinking about you and how damn fine you were. You are built, but not like bulky ugly muscle on top of muscle, more like a swimmer, which I love,” she blurted. “Your hair is not black, but like this light brown color that is so nice and wavy that it makes me want to touch it, and your eyes.” She sighed happily. “I could get lost in them and we have just met. I’ve never felt such an instant attraction to someone before you, so that’s another thing that just makes me all weird feeling inside.”

  “Weird good or weird bad?” he asked with a frown. “Because I have to tell you that the attraction is very definitely mutual. So if you’re weirded out in a bad way, that really sucks.” He stuck his lip out and shot her a wounded puppy dog look. A really good one at that. Obviously, he had some practice.

  “Oh no, it’s a very good weird. It’s one that I’m actually enjoying.” She burst into laughter at his expression. “Oh goodness, that’s utterly priceless, Travis. I can’t believe that you were able to pull that look off and not wreck us or not giggle. That’s the best look.” She tried to mimic it, and failed, giggling too much to do it.

  He laughed and reached over to pat her shoulder. “Practice a bit more before you try that again,” he advised. “It has potential, but needs a bit of work, I’m afraid. I have had a lot of practice, though. In a household of nine people, you need to pick your weapons for the field of battle with care. That was one of my top five. I practiced it in a mirror for three months to get it absolutely perfect.”