Wrangling the Redhead - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,46
himself to relax. “And that’s all?”
“Why does this make you so uncomfortable?”
Wade didn’t have a ready answer for that. Was it because the more her friends knew, the more likely they were to have expectations for his relationship with Lauren? Was he afraid of the pressure? Or was it just his natural inclination for privacy after years of enduring the gossip about being the bastard son of a Montana power broker?
“I don’t like the world knowing my business,” he said finally.
She returned his gaze with an unblinking look. “Believe me, neither do I, and I probably have more experience with it than you do.”
“I doubt that,” he retorted. “Half of Montana thought my mother and I were fair game.”
Lauren’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Instead, she merely snapped it shut and walked away, leaving Wade staring after her. Because he was in no mood to continue the conversation either, he grabbed a beer and wandered over toward the corral to take a look at the horses. The next thing he knew, he was joined by a boy who looked to be about ten. Except for his thick-lensed glasses, he was the spitting image of Cole Davis.
“Hi, I’m Jake,” the boy said. “Grady says you work with the horses at his place.”
Wade nodded. “You like horses?”
“Sure. My grandpa taught me to ride when my mom and me moved here a year ago. That was before she and my dad got married.”
“Your dad?”
“Cole Davis,” Jake confirmed. “He’s probably the smartest guy in the whole world when it comes to computers and stuff. I didn’t know him when I was little, but then we came back and he and my mom got married, and it turned out he was my real dad all along.”
Wade heard Jake’s matter-of-fact recitation with increasing amazement and mounting indignation. It was all too reminiscent of his own situation, even though this one had obviously had a far happier ending. Still, it added fuel to his belief that the rich had their own way of doing things, with little sense of decency figured into the equation.
He would have whirled away, gone after Lauren and insisted on leaving, except Jake was staring up at him with a wide-eyed look, clearly waiting for some sort of response. Wade struggled to come up with something neutral that wouldn’t reveal the turmoil his thoughts were in.
“I imagine you were glad to get to know your dad,” he said finally.
“You bet,” Jake said eagerly. “I already knew all about him, because I read all this computer stuff. When it turned out we were related, it was, like, the best thing ever.”
Wade knew he couldn’t ask a kid why he hadn’t resented the man who’d deserted him years earlier. The situations might not have been as similar as they sounded. Whatever the case, he wasn’t sure he could spend five minutes in Cole’s company without wanting to slug the guy on the boy’s behalf.
And what was wrong with Cassie that she’d turned around and married a man who’d ignored her and their kid for all those years?
Wade forced a smile for Jake’s benefit. “Good talking to you. Maybe one of these days you can come by the Blackhawk ranch and show me how well you ride. I can give you some pointers.”
Jake’s eyes brightened. “Really? That would be so awesome.”
“We’ll definitely set it up, then.” He looked around for Lauren. “I’d better go see what happened to my date.”
“Lauren’s out back by the pool,” Jake said. He looked up at Wade shyly. “She’s really, really pretty, isn’t she?”
Wade grinned at his awestruck tone. He understood it all too well. “She is, indeed.”
“I was hoping maybe she’d marry me when I grow up, but I guess since she’s with you, I’d better forget about it,” Jake said, then added with a hopeful note, “unless things, maybe, aren’t working out for you guys.”
“They’re working out well enough for now,” he told Jake solemnly. “But I’m sure Lauren will be glad to know you’re waiting in the wings in case I blow things.”
“Oh, gosh, you can’t tell her that,” Jake pleaded. “It would make me look like such a dumb geek.”
Wade ruffled his hair. “Hey, there’s nothing dumb about falling for a beautiful woman. No woman can have too many admirers.” He winked at him. “And you’re never too young to start looking out for the best.”
He managed to hide his grin until after he’d walked away. So, he thought, Lauren was making conquests among the