little steam with him.
The only other way to let off steam was kissing, but that just caused heat of another kind, making it hard to remember that everything was fake. She had to separate reality from fiction and not get sucked into believing things could be different.
They were not different.
She should have asked for twenty grand, not ten. He hadn’t batted an eyelash at her demand.
Adam came toward her leading two horses. The brown one with the white mark on its forehead was Jupiter. The other one was lighter in color and taller.
Riley gulped. “That’s Ladybug? I was envisioning something... dainty.”
“She’s gentle.” Adam dropped both sets of reins and cupped his hands at Ladybug’s stirrup. “Come on. I’ll give you a boost.”
She was going to need it. Or a stepladder. She patted the horse’s nose. “Hi, Ladybug.”
“You’re stalling.”
Yeah, she was. She planted her boot in Adam’s hands and vaulted into the saddle with his help.
He adjusted the stirrups — he’d guessed closely — and handed her the reins. “How’s that?”
There was only one correct answer. “Good.”
Adam grinned at her, and it was as though the stern words had never been spoken. “Atta girl.” Then he mounted Jupiter in one fluid motion and pointed up the dirt road past the cabins. “Let’s go.”
The sun touched the hills, casting shadows against the golden light. At least they wouldn’t be long.
Adam turned in his saddle to see Ladybug plodding behind Jupiter, Riley perched on top. He probably should have given her a different horse, but she was doing pretty well, considering her nervousness. What, exactly, did she mean by not a lot and not recently?
The trail widened out, so he edged Jupiter to one side and waited for Riley to come up beside him. “How are you doing?”
“Fine.”
Her smile looked completely brittle in the waning light. She was not fine.
His fault. He’d pushed her. But what choice was there? She’d told Declan she could ride, so she’d have to make good on it.
Hmm. He’d told everyone he was marrying her... so he needed to make good on it? Was that any different? A man’s word was his bond. Declan had drilled that into his head, building upon what Dad had taught him in his younger years.
He didn’t want to think about the time after Dad’s cancer diagnosis. All the hospital stays, the chemo, the way Dad became frailer and frailer. The way Dad’s brother, Jason, had hovered around the ranch, trying to help out.
Mom had pushed her brother-in-law away, time and again.
Adam had always wondered why. With Uncle Jason’s help, Mom wouldn’t have needed to marry Declan Cavanagh. Adam and his brothers could have grown up at Running Creek, and he’d never have had to fight Travis for everything he had. Noah and Nathaniel’d had the same problem with Blake, but to a lesser degree, maybe because there’d been two of them and only one of Blake.
Ryder, Declan’s youngest, had been just a little kid back then. Only six years old, no threat to anyone. Everyone doted on him, Cavanaghs and Andersons alike.
It was hard to remember he’d been Adam Anderson. He should have fought harder to keep Dad’s last name, but Mom insisted the adoption was for the best. Then he should have legally changed it back when he left home, but he hadn’t wanted to hurt his mother. Now it seemed too late, and who cared that much? It was just a name. He could prove not all Cavanaghs were bullies.
“It’s pretty up here,” Riley said softly.
Adam glanced over. “Yeah, it is.” So was she, not that she wanted to hear it. To her, everything was about the ten grand and the pretense that would earn it for her. She was quite convincing, especially with the kissing. At times he forgot it was all a sham.
And then her back went up like it had by the stable, and he was fully reminded once more.
Every woman he’d ever known kept a part of herself aloof from their relationships. Chantelle sure had. Turned out he’d only been her eye candy, and she’d thought that would be enough for him. It had been flattering at first. She’d sought him out after he’d won the trophy in Vegas, fully appreciative of all his masculine charm, just as he was awed by her feminine wiles and her amazing voice. She was famous! And she wanted him, Adam Cavanagh. For a while, until he opted not to jump when she snapped her fingers, and that had been