Chapter Nine

"I'm nervous." Sloane eyed the horse. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."

Shaw slanted a look at Dylan. "She's never ridden. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

She shook her head before the man could respond. "No, no. I came here to ride a horse and a cowboy. I'm going to do this."

Dylan stood at the horse's head, soothing it with soft words while Sloane set her foot in the stirrup. Then she moved upward and hooked her leg over the horse the way the guys instructed her to.

The animal's huge body shifted under her, but she concentrated on staying seated. Shaw assured her this was the calmest mount they had, which eased some of her fears.

"Grab the reins, Sloane. That's it. Just like that." Shaw grinned up at her. The flash of his white teeth was an even better reward than not being tossed on her ass.

She pulled in a deep breath and waited for the horse to settle. Sure enough, it did.

Then Dylan shot her a smile, complete with that dimple that made her toes curl. "Remember, I'm going to have your horse roped to mine during the ride along the trail. It won't stray."

She nodded and got her bearings while the guys mounted their own horses. The paddock was hopping with people going in and out. Many of the Boot Knockers were there performing chores.

When a guy shot Shaw a dirty look, he only cocked his brow in answer. She might not feel as if she knew this Shaw Sheridan very well, but that exchange was something she'd seen before on the ice.

Other hockey players liked to test Shaw, even guys on his own team. He never let them get in his head.

No, the only person she'd ever seen him lose control with was her. That night they decided to call it quits despite her being pregnant, tears had run down his face.

The sight would never leave her memory. On occasion, it rose up to haunt her in her weaker moments, the ones when she questioned if she'd made the right choice to go their separate ways.

How many times had she wondered what might have been if they'd only given it one more day, a month, another year? If they'd be happily married right now and raising their daughter together.

When Dylan twisted in the saddle, throwing another dimpled grin her way, her heart gave a little flip.

If she and Shaw were okay, she never would have come to the ranch. She never would have met this amazing man who was so giving and caring, despite the fact that she and Shaw had tossed a massive wrench into the situation by sharing a complicated past.

"Ready, love?" Dylan called to her, and she nodded.

When he urged his horse forward, hers followed its lead, just as they said the animal would. Sloane held on the way they told her to. With each stride the animal took, she grew less nervous. Soon, she was able to hang on and not worry she'd drop to her death while enjoying the scenery.

The Alaskan landscape had a beauty and charm unlike any other place she'd ever been. She'd been to exotic locales to make movies and even spent time in Europe in her early twenties, but this world switched on a light inside her.

The leaves were greener than anywhere else. The mountains higher, sharper; the air fresher. She drew in deep breaths of it, filling her lungs over and over, letting it blow away her cares.

Though she still felt the strain of being in Shaw's presence, she wasn't letting it bother her. They all seemed to be living in the moment. Actually, when she woke up, there seemed to be a difference in the guys.

Even after their wild threesome, she'd picked up on a constraint between them. Now that seemed to have vanished, blown out to sea on the warm air currents.

Feeling more confident on horseback, she removed one hand from the reins she held loosely and brushed a tendril of hair behind her ear.

The trail they took carved through thick underbrush and eventually straightened out. When they started up a hill, she slid backward in the saddle. She let out a gasp, and Shaw moved to her side.

"You all right?" His sharp gaze locked on her face. Suddenly aware of how well he really knew her, she schooled her features to not reveal fear.

"I'm fine. Where are we going, anyway?" The horse continued up the incline that rose in increments toward a peak as sharp as one of the big mountains.

"The trail takes us through some beautiful country. Just over the ridge you'll see some prime grazing lands where our cattle spend the warmer months of the year."

Now this Shaw was new.

She arched a brow. "Since when do you know about cattle?"

He cocked his head to the side. "I have spent a lot of months living like a cowboy."

Today he looked the part too, sporting a long-sleeved chambray shirt open at the collar, a pair of jeans almost worn to the same hue as the shirt, and a brown cowboy hat that she never, in a million years of seeing him in a hockey helmet, would have been able to picture him in.

"It suits you."

He stared at her for a long moment while their horses continued up the incline. Shaw glanced at Dylan in the lead, and she wondered if he could hear their conversation over the rustle of horse and leather.

She plowed on with the topic. "Did you change your mind about coaching hockey in Alaska?"

The flex of his jaw only added to his cowboy allure. "I'd still like to do that."

Since he didn't say anything more, they rode in silence to the top of the incline. As she crested the rise and saw the beautiful land below, she wished she could put the brakes on her horse and stop to just stare at the striking scene.

A river cut a path through the valley below. The pale blue water glittered in the sunlight, and tall reeds grew on the banks.

"Are we crossing that?"

"Yup. Don't worry—it's not deep at this time of year. Just hang on, and grip your horse with your thighs…" Shaw broke off at the innuendo in his words.

Oh, she'd be gripping someone with her thighs. Two someones, if she had any say in the matter. Just watching both men roll in their saddles, their hard thighs tensing and their spines straight, lit her body up. The sway of the horse underneath her didn't help her arousal either.

When she made it to the bottom and crossed the creek without any issue, she punched a fist into the air.

Shaw laughed at her. "Good job, love."

Her heart snagged on that endearment. Love.

Dylan used it too, though she never gave it a thought from him. But Shaw had once loved her.

She brushed the thought away. She was just being touchy about his feelings. Two years was plenty of time to fall out of love with her.

She, on the other hand, wished she'd been so lucky. It would be so much easier to just appreciate Shaw for his body and amazing skills in bed and ignore the feelings he roused in her.

Second chances didn't happen often, and they definitely didn't happen on sex ranches. She'd just get through this week and try to relax and enjoy the experience so she could return to her daughter rejuvenated, just in time for the terrible twos everyone warned her about.

Though she couldn't imagine her sweet little girl being anything but the same loveable child who climbed in her lap several times a day with a teddy bear and her thumb plugged into her mouth.

On the other side of the river, Dylan drew his horse to a halt. He twisted to look at them. "You two want to take a break?"

Before she could answer, Shaw swung his leg off his horse. "I think a short break will benefit all of us."

He walked over to her, hands up to help her out of the saddle. She stared down into Shaw's eyes, her heart tripling its beat. How did she get so deep so fast?

She was in over her head.

* * * * *

Dylan crouched on the riverbank and plucked a long blade of grass. Sticking it in his mouth, he gave it a thoughtful crush with his teeth.

The fresh tang of the grass hit his taste buds, making his mouth water.

Watching Shaw and Sloane interact with each other left his head clouded with confusion. Their history showed itself in the way they moved together. The way they looked into each other's eyes.

Strangely, it didn't leave Dylan feeling like the odd man out so much as curious as to what happened to break them apart.

He stared at the water rippling over the rounded rocks in the riverbed for a moment before he pushed to his feet. Twisting, he looked at the others. They stood near the horses, talking. Shaw said something, and Sloane laughed. The soft sound was music that touched a chord deep inside Dylan.

When he sat staring at her sleeping face that morning, he knew he was in trouble. He was falling for his client.

And the stolen moment with Shaw in the shower had been the final push his heart needed to open up to him too.

After this was all over, he'd be in a world of hurt.

As he approached, the pair broke apart, making space for him to join the small circle. Sloane's sudden gasp made him search her face for signs of pain.

"Did you get stung by a bee?"

She shook her head and withdrew the cell phone from her back pocket.

He and Shaw exchanged looks. Apparently nobody informed Sloane about the no cellphones rule on the ranch. It was a liability thing for their clients as much as a benefit to the ladies who came here seeking no distractions from the outside world.

Dylan wasn't about to tell her about the rule, and Shaw remained silent too.

She swiped a thumb over the screen and gasped.

They stared at her harder. "Is everything okay?" Dylan asked when she didn't speak.

She pressed the back of her fingers against her lips, nodding. "My mom sent a photo of Marigold."

Shaw rocked as if punched.

With a soft smile, Sloane held up the phone for them to see.

It took Dylan a moment to realize that Marigold was the name of their daughter. When he saw the child, he felt as if someone had socked him in the gut too.

In awe, he could only gape at the image of the dainty little girl with her father's warm brown hair and her mother's eyes.

"She looks like you," Shaw grated out.

Sloane twitched her head to look at him. "You think so? I've always thought she looks nothing like me."

Dylan nodded in agreement. "She has your eyes, Sloane. But I can see Shaw too."

Shaw's chest squeezed. He turned away and sank to the bank, one knee hitched up and the other long leg extended down the curve of the land.

Sloane's eyes widened as she met Dylan's gaze. Together, they moved to sit with Shaw.

"Shaw?" Her voice wobbled.

"I do care, you know. I am interested in our daughter's life. It was just too damn hard not being with you."

The croak in his voice had Dylan's gut in knots. Sloane's eyes brimmed with tears.

"How did you two meet?" Dylan's question brought both of his lovers out of their heads enough to focus on something besides their past, something he knew they needed right now.

Shaw's lips quirked at one corner. "It was at a party. She was there with some famous people."

"Celebrities," she explained to Dylan. "Shaw liked my butt."

Dylan chuckled, but Shaw's expression grew serious.

"Nope. I fell for those eyes. It was always about your eyes."

A long heartbeat stretched between them.

Dylan's quip cut through the moment. "It's the boobs for me."

They both laughed, and he joined in too…but he would always be on the outside.

* * * * *

Shaw spotted the cabin first. Dylan stopped riding and brought a hand up to shade his eyes against the glare of the sun.

"Damn, they really did fix up that old cabin," Dylan said.

"Yeah, it looks like they doubled the size at least."

"What is it?" Sloane stared over the pasture at the log cabin perched at the edge.

"Some former Boot Knockers live here. The ranch bigwigs put them in charge of the herd."

"So they left behind their other duties on the ranch?" Curiosity burned in her tone.

"Yup." Shaw's idea to ride to this pasture had been for the scenery alone, born from the desire to give Sloane a good memory to take home with her. Now that they were here, it seemed rude not to stop in and pay a visit to their friends.

"C'mon." He spurred his horse, sending it into a light trot.

Dylan and Sloane trailed behind him at a slower pace. When he reached the edge of the pasture, the taller grasses transitioned to a small patch of mown lawn.

A familiar man walked around the back of the house and stopped in his tracks. A huge smile spread over Piers's face when he spied Shaw.

"I didn't expect company today!"

Shaw dismounted and walked straight over to his buddy. They clasped hands and Shaw brought him in for a bro-hug.

Piers thumped him on the back. "Damn, it's good to see you. Everything's okay on the ranch, right? They told me Avril had her baby boy—not that you'd know anything about that."

Shaw scrubbed a finger over the bridge of his nose. "I might."

Piers had been in the conference room when Shaw burst in to tell everyone that Avril's water broke.

Piers chuckled, then looked past him as Dylan and Sloane entered the yard. "I see you brought Sylvee some company. She'll be thrilled."

He threw a wave to Dylan and Sloane before walking to the front of the cabin. He opened the door and called inside. Seconds later, a woman and man exited, beaming at their unexpected guests.

Shaw turned, arm out to invite Sloane closer to meet the others.

Dylan was already there, embracing Piers and Ash, the two Boot Knockers who'd recently made their break from the official ranch business.

When they drew their third lover forward, Shaw felt Sloane jerk against his side.

So she understood that the three of them were in a relationship—Piers, Ash and Sylvee lived together here in the cabin they'd expanded to fit their new family unit.

Shaw slid his arm around Sloane's waist. "This is Sloane."

"Hello." Sylvee's voice was warm. "So nice to see another female! It's been a while since I've been around anything but smelly men."

"Hey now. You know it's only Ash's boots that stink." Piers grinned.

Ash chuckled, not even trying to deny the accusation. "Howdy, Sloane. It's great to see all of you. What brings you this direction?"

"Just taking in the scenery." Dylan moved to flank Sloane on the other side.

When the trio exchanged a look, their expressions weren't lost on Shaw.

They definitely sensed something more was going on. He wished somebody would fill him in, because he was confused as hell. Was he with Sloane again? Or only fucking her until she went home? And where did Dylan fit into the equation?

"Come around back to the deck. I've got some sweet tea made. I bet you're thirsty after that ride." Sylvee waved a hand for them to follow her, and they all fell into step, strolling around the cabin to a deck with big pots of flowers blossoming in the sun.

Dylan caught Sloane's hand and led her to a seating group. They all sat, but Piers went back inside with Sylvee to help her get the refreshments.

Shaw looked around at the beautiful view of the field and mountains in the distance. "The peace and quiet on the ranch always impressed me, but this place is even quieter."

Ash nodded. "We're very happy here. Now, tell us about why you put Avril in labor."

Dylan's jaw dropped open.

Sloane let out a gasp. "Shaw! What did you do?"

He waited until the others came outside, Piers bearing a big tray with a pitcher of tea and a bunch of glasses. Sylvee came close behind, a platter of fresh chocolate chip cookies in hand. Then he told the very uneventful tale to his friends and lovers while they teased him.

For the first time in forever, Shaw felt at ease. Being here with people he cared about made all the difference. Was it possible to stop feeling like the outsider? Now he was starting to see how life could be, with good people who cared on his side.