upper hand.” That was even more critical in her family what with the oldest of her younger brothers being the Crown Prince, a title he loved to flaunt.
“How long have you lived in El Bahar?” Pallas asked.
“We moved there when I was nine, but I was born in Riverside, so I’m right at home here.”
“Good. Want to come to Thanksgiving with Cade and me?”
The invitation was unexpected. While the holiday wasn’t a big deal in El Bahar and could occasionally be forgotten, it was still part of her life. Spending it by herself would be lonely. Rida wasn’t much for celebrating with turkey and dressing.
“Before you answer,” Pallas said, “I should warn you. We have a huge family. My grandfather had seven daughters and they all come home for the holiday. Cade and I have over a dozen cousins. There’s no telling who will show up or what will happen. It’s loud and crazy with plenty of drama, but the food’s good and you could sit by me. I’d protect you from the worst of it.”
Her words made Bethany miss her own family. “I’d love to if you’re sure it’s all right.”
Pallas waved her hand. “Trust me, no one’ll even notice and if they do, you’ll be a much-needed distraction. Although my second warning is my mother can be relentless with the questions.”
“I’m pretty good with answers.” Even if, in this case, they would have to be lies.
“Then it’s settled. Do you have a cell phone here? Let me give you my number.”
Pallas fished her phone out of her handbag. Bethany pulled hers from her jeans pocket. They exchanged numbers.
“Dinner’s usually around three, which is a stupid time to eat. I mean seriously, lunch or dinner, pick one. But noooo. It has to be three.” She sighed. “I’ll let Cade know to give you a ride. He shows up about one, which is really smart. I’ll be stuck with kitchen duty starting at eight.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Thank you for inviting me.”
“It’s going to be fun.” Pallas laughed. “Or at the very least, you’ll have a heck of a story to tell when you get home. See you on Thursday.”
“See you then.”
Bethany finished grooming Rida, then led him back to his stall. The barn cat was waiting on the pole by the gate. Rida walked over and raised his head. The cat rubbed his face against the horse’s nose.
“All right, little guy, you’re going to need a name.” She smiled. “How about Harry, after England’s ginger-haired prince? Like you, he’s friendly and very sweet. It will be our little joke.”
She petted Harry, who purred loudly.
After making sure Rida was secure in his stall, she went to the house. As she’d told Pallas, she really hadn’t paid attention beyond running upstairs to shower. Now she took her time to explore the main level before heading upstairs.
The house was older, but well cared for. Like much of the barn, it had been lived in. She liked the old-fashioned kitchen. The microwave looked incongruous next to the stove from the 1940s or 1950s. The windows were clean, the pantry well-stocked. She went upstairs and paused on the landing. There were two guest rooms at this end of the hall, which meant the master was in the other direction.
For a second she thought about checking out Cade’s room, then told herself there was no way she could be that rude and intrusive. Still, she was curious about him. From what she’d discovered in the past couple of days, he was good with horses and ran his ranch efficiently. The animals were healthy and his employees seemed happy. Which made him a really nice guy. And handsome. And funny.
But not for her, she told herself firmly. She was a disaster in the romance department. Even if she wasn’t, she was only going to be here for a few weeks, and she was hardly the fling type. Besides, the fact that there wasn’t another woman living at the house didn’t mean anything. For all she knew, Cade had a girlfriend in town.
The thought was too depressing to consider for long, so she pushed it out of her head and retreated to her room. She paused to notice all the things she hadn’t bothered to see until now. The bedding was new and pretty. There were lots of pillows and blankets. A TV sat on the dresser; there was a desk with a card that gave her the house’s Wi-Fi password. In the bathroom there was