Chapter Three
Shauna
T he drive to Aunt Freda’s was silent and thankfully short.
Shauna was quiet because she couldn’t get Nixon McCray out of her head. No man who blushed the way he did over a bit of teenaged boy humor was likely to be harboring inappropriate thoughts about underaged girls. She’d give him credit for that.
As for why Taryn was quiet… She had her phone out and was texting. Shauna chose not to interrupt.
Ian and Freda McKillop lived in a finely aging residential area just off Yellowstone Drive, filled with historic homes and an ingrained belonging that dated back to Grand’s sutler days.
Their house, a simple, two-story brick foursquare, with massive pillars, a wraparound porch, arched windows, and a low-hipped roof, overlooked the Yellowstone River’s floodplain from a prudent distance.
The same stately elms, green ash, and elderly cottonwoods that proliferated the streets like weeds provided a privacy barrier from the neighbors as well as summer shade from the sun.
This was the house where Shauna and Taryn’s mother had grown up. Ian, her brother, acquired it when their father, Angus, opted for something smaller and more suited to a man in his nineties after their mother passed away.
Shauna parked in the driveway next to a black SUV with Sheriff emblazoned on it. Dan and his girlfriend were also invited to dinner. Taryn trailed her up the wide porch steps to the front door, her phone in her hand.
Freda answered the door. She wore a loose midi dress in vibrant yellow that brushed the tops of her bare feet.
She’d painted her toenails a sparkly purple.
A waist-length braid of silvery-gray hair and makeup-free face completed the earth mother image.
She gave Shauna a quick kiss on the cheek and then aimed her charisma at Taryn.
She swooped the girl into her arms. “We’re so happy you’re here. Shauna’s so lucky. You girls are going to have the best year together.”
No, no. Not a year. Shauna had only committed until Christmas.
But she didn’t say it.
Taryn hugged Freda back. “It’s off to a great start. We just came from the school, and everyone there is so friendly.”
She was overselling it, considering so far, she’d spoken to the principal and only one boy.
But that she liked male attention went without saying, and she’d gotten plenty.
Shauna, for her part, didn’t plan to spend the next three months—let alone a whole year—worrying about the type of boys Taryn liked to spend time with.
She’d have to find fun things to do with her little sister, so she could keep a close eye on her without being obvious about it.
Positive reinforcement, not rules… That had been George’s advice.
Positive reinforcement was shaping up to be a lot of work.
They followed Freda past the front parlor and den to the kitchen, dining, and family rooms at the rear of the house.
Freda and Ian had renovated their home when they took ownership, and what had once been three rooms were now combined into one large living space.
Glass doors overlooked a patio garden filled with low shrubs and tall, ornamental grasses.
The day was warm, and the doors were open to let fresh air flow through.
It carried the mouthwatering aroma of barbecued steaks.
Dan and Jazz were cuddled together on a fat sofa covered in equally obese tapestry roses.
Jazz O’Reilly, a former firefighter, now ran a smoke-jumping base on Endeavour land.
They made a striking couple—both tall, blond, beautiful, and athletic.
Dan had his arm on the back of the sofa behind her, leaning in with his mouth close to her ear while she listened intently and nodded her head.
They scrambled to their feet when Shauna and Taryn walked in.
Taryn knew Dan from family gatherings already, but she’d never met Jazz, and Shauna prayed they would click.
They certainly had more in common personality-wise than the two sisters did.
They each possessed a fearlessness that Shauna secretly admired, but while Taryn was headed down the wrong path with hers, Jazz—who’d had none of Taryn’s advantages in life—had used hers to forge a path to success.
She was a role model for Taryn for sure.
Ian McKillop, gray-haired and myopic, came through the open doors, carrying a platter of steaks. Twenty years older than Shauna’s mother, he was as steadfast as his youngest sister was flighty. He wore a chef’s apron over khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, and a wide smile of welcome for his nieces.
“Time to eat,” he said, cheerfully hefting the platter. “Hope everyone likes medium rare. It’s all I know how to cook.”
“Put your phone away until after dinner,” Shauna said to Taryn, who had it clutched in her hand.
Taryn appeared surprised by the order. Then, the first hint of rebellion flared in her eyes. Her fingers tightened protectively around her phone.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said.
And Shauna decided that this was the hill she would die on. Taryn could do as she pleased when out in her teenaged world, where there wasn’t much Shauna could do about it, but when it came to family and manners, Taryn would listen.
Freda, however, who had granddaughters Taryn’s age and read the room right, interceded before a fight could erupt.
“If you put your phone on the sideboard for now,” she said to Taryn, indicating a squat mahogany cabinet that matched the Chippendale table and chairs, “after dinner, you can take your dessert out on the patio and check your messages then. That way you won’t have us interrupting you. ”
Taryn considered her options for all of two seconds, then took the high road, which made her the winner. She set the phone on the cabinet. Shauna would have to remember how Freda pulled it off—start with the requirement, then finish with at least one positive benefit.
They all took their seats at the table.
“What did you think of the school?” Jazz said to Taryn.
“It was okay.” Taryn dropped a dollop of potato salad on her plate. Her initial enthusiasm for the school appeared to have waned. She looked over the bowl of salad at Dan, across the table from her. “Did you know the Endeavour Ranch is sponsoring a bull riding clinic?”
“Yep,” Dan said. “Signups were today. I think Remi Forrest and Nix McCray oversaw them. Why? You interested?”
She glanced at Shauna, sitting beside her. “I’ll need to get Mom’s permission.”
Heavy emphasis on mom . As in, That’s so not you.
Just as George had predicted.
“I doubt if she’ll give it,” Shauna said. Natalie might not be a hands-on type of mom, and common sense might not be her strength, but she knew all about rodeos and bull riding, and she wasn’t a fan.
“Nix says lots of women ride.”
A challenge clung to Taryn’s response in a way that had the other adults at the table fixating on their food. How best to handle this without escalating matters?
Shauna stuck an over-large piece of steak in her mouth and took her time chewing. A case could be made that she was Taryn’s temporary guardian, since they were living together, and her address had been used to register Taryn for school. Why shouldn’t she give permission? Why not call her bluff?
This had win-win written all over it. All Taryn really wanted was to hang out with boys and brag to her California friends about her brush with an extreme sport. When it came time for her to get on a bull, she’d bail for sure. Even Taryn the Terror couldn’t make a decision this bad.
“I’ll sign the forms for you,” Shauna said.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Except for Freda. Freda looked anxious. “Maybe you should both think about this for a bit.”
“Is it true Nix McCray is the most famous bull riding trainer in Montana?” Taryn asked Dan, ignoring her aunt’s sage advice.
“Uh… It depends on who you’re talking to,” he replied cautiously, shooting dark looks at Shauna, as if she should be helping him out, when the opposite was true.
He knew more about teenagers than she did.
He’d probably arrested plenty of them. Plus, his ranch ran a group home.
And he had nieces this age. If he owned the secret to stopping them once their minds were made up, then he was the one who should share.
She downed two large mouthfuls of wine and emptied her glass.
“What’s the old saying?” she said brightly, plunking her empty glass on the table and accepting a refill from Ian. Taryn could drive. “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach?”
Dan looked at her as if she’d let him down. Or lost her mind. “I don’t think that applies in this case. He’s good friends with Miles Decker, a former world bull riding champion. Miles oversees our annual Pbr rodeo. He’s the only reason Nix works at the Endeavour. We’re lucky to have them.”
Shauna didn’t need to hear how wonderful Mr. Wonderful really was. He was a cowboy, not a god, no matter how fascinating she secretly found him.
Besides, he didn’t like her. Why didn’t he like her? She frowned at her plate. She was nice. Everyone liked her. Maybe he didn’t like lawyers. Maybe he didn’t like brunettes. She took another long sip from her glass and perked up. Maybe he didn’t like women.
“Why don’t you ladies come out to the Endeavour tomorrow afternoon and check out the program before you commit?” Dan suggested.
And risk running into the fascinatingly hot cowboy who didn’t like her? Shauna didn’t think so.
“That’s a great idea,” Taryn said. Her earlier enthusiasm had returned with perkiness to spare. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” she added to Shauna.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be there.”
Freda refilled Shauna’s glass. “Here, dear. Have some more wine. Taryn can drive.”
*
Nix
“Have you gone crazy?” Nix couldn’t believe what his ears had just told him. “That little bitty piece of California ain’t no Katie Moore.”