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The Parent Plan Part 2
Paula Detmer Riggs
36 Hours SerialAs a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….The Parent Plan Part 2Cassidy has been angry and hostile ever since Vicki's accident, blaming Karen for working at the hospital while Vicki needed her. It's causing a rift in their marriage that gets bigger every day. Karen can't face the loneliness anymore of being with a man too frozen inside to love.Is a separation the only way out? And if Karen and Cassidy try to solve their problems apart, how can they ever get back together?The story concludes in The Parent Plan Part 3.
36 Hours Serial
As a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….
The Parent Plan Part 2
Cassidy has been angry and hostile ever since Vicki’s accident, blaming Karen for working at the hospital while Vicki needed her. It’s causing a rift in their marriage that gets bigger every day. Karen can’t face the loneliness anymore of being with a man too frozen inside to love.
Is a separation the only way out? And if Karen and Cassidy try to solve their problems apart, how can they ever get back together?
The story concludes in The Parent Plan Part 3.
Dear Reader,
In the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, a devastating summer storm sets off a string of events that changes the lives of the residents forever….
Welcome to Mills & Boon exciting new digital serial, 36 Hours! In this thirty-six part serial share the stories of the residents of Grand Springs, Colorado, in the wake of a deadly storm.
With the power knocked out and mudslides washing over the roads, the town is plunged into darkness and the residents are forced to face their biggest fears—and find love against all odds.
Each week features a new story written by a variety of bestselling authors like Susan Mallery and Sharon Sala. The stories are published in three segments, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the first segment of every three-part book is free, so you can get caught up in the mystery and drama of Grand Springs. And you can get to know a new set of characters every week. You can read just one, but as the lives and stories of each intertwine in surprising ways, you’ll want to read them all!
Join Mills & Boon E every week as we bring you excitement, mystery, fun and romance in 36 Hours!
Happy reading!
About the Author
Paula Detmer Riggs discovers inspiration for her stories in her varying life experiences. During the first five years of her marriage to a naval officer she lived in nineteen different locales on both the East and West Coasts, including Southern and Northern California, the Puget Sound area and Newport, Rhode lsland. While acting as a docent in Old Town, California, she wrote and directed historic fashion shows, which led to a fascination with early California history.
In later years she and her husband owned and operated a historic nursery in Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. They are now happily living in the first territorial capital of Arizona, Prescott, which still possesses the flavor and fascination of the Wild West.
Paula writes romances because “I think we all need escape from the fast-paced, often stressful challenges of the twenty-first century lifestyles that confront us daily, and because I believe in true and lasting love—and, best of all, happy endings!”
The Parent Plan Part 2
Paula Detmer Riggs
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Contents
Chapter Six (#ub94115ea-bb37-523c-824f-3b2154e07dc6)
Chapter Seven (#u573094e9-9a22-51ec-97e9-052297b597f7)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Cassidy Sloane has finally made something of himself after having such a horrible childhood. He’s a successful rancher, his daughter’s hero and his wife’s knight-in-shining-armor—or at least he was. These days he can’t seems to do anything right. It all came to a head during those 36 hours of that June rainstorm, a time no one will forget. Their daughter almost died in that cave-in. Cassidy blames himself, and Karen. If she would stop choosing being a doctor and put their family first, then everything would go back to normal…or would it? Maybe it’s gone too far already? Cassidy is already losing his wife and he’s about to break his daughter’s heart if he can’t find a way to save her horse. He’s trying so hard, but how much more can a man take?
Chapter Six
Cassidy Sloane stood by the wide double doors of the foaling shed and watched the taillights of Dr. Paul Caine’s pickup disappear into a wall of rain.
The pastures would be soup, he thought, turning toward the light and the chores that still needed doing. The sudden motion sent a wave of dizziness sweeping over him, and he staggered. Reaching out a hand, he steadied himself against the barn’s rough exterior.
Pain shot up his shoulder, a reminder of the agonizing, long hours he’d spent fighting the dying mare’s spasming muscles, trying to turn the foal before its delicate bones were crushed. In the end it hadn’t mattered.
Golden Girl was gone. And so was her foal.
“Boss, you feelin’ okay?” Billy and one of the younger hands who’d been helping stepped quickly to his side.
Cassidy offered his ramrod a curt nod. “Just catchin’ my breath before I finish cleaning up.”
“Why don’t you go on in and let me’n Randall here do the cleanin’?” Billy suggested, pulling a cigar from the pocket of his filthy shirt.
It was tempting, but Cassidy made himself refuse. Instead, he stepped away from the wall and took a testing breath. The dizziness was gone. In its place was a heavy lethargy that was almost as bad.
“You go on home, the both of you. I already owe you enough overtime to damn near bust me.”
“Hell, boss, I’m already into you for two months’ advance,” Billy drawled, striking a wooden match on the wall behind him. “Don’t make me no never mind if you pay me extra for tonight, anyway,” he said between puffs as he fired his smoke to life.
“Me, neither,” Whitehorse added, sweeping off his Stetson with a weary hand. “Got me no place to spend my money nohow.”
Billy snorted. “The hell you say. I thought you had plans to escort Wanda June to some big dance at the high school next month.”
“She got herself in a tangle over me wearing this fancy tuxedo.” The young cowboy flexed his shoulders as though trying to shuck off the very idea. “When I told her I’d rather be shut up in a ten-foot corral with a Brahma stud than put on sissy duds, she up and told me to get lost.”
Billy exchanged a wry look with Cassidy, who suspected his men were deliberately ragging each other in an attempt to take his mind off the mess inside. He ground his teeth. Even after years of trying, he’d never quite conquered the queasiness that invariably followed the sight of blood.
He did his best to hide it. Sometimes he succeeded. Mostly he failed. Tonight his men and the vet had had a ringside seat while he’d puked up his dinner. Though they’d pretended not to notice, he was still feeling raw.
“Dawn comes early,” he said, his voice rasped by the memory of his earlier humiliation. “You guys can stand here and jaw all night if you want, but I’m fixin’ to wind things up and try for a few hours’ sleep.”
“Sure thing, boss.” From the corner of his eye, Cassidy saw Billy jerk his head at the kid who looked puzzled for an instant, then took his cue.
“Night, Billy, Mr. Sloane.”
Cassidy nodded. “Appreciate your help tonight, Whitehorse. Thanks.”
The kid’s tired face creased into a wide grin. “Sure thing, boss. Sorry we couldn’t save her. She was a sweet animal.” Whitehorse turned and walked toward his truck. Seconds later, the engine roared to life and Randall headed home to his bed.
Ignoring a tug of envy, Cassidy squared his shoulders and started to step across the threshold, only to have Billy stop him. “Let me do it, Cass,” he said.
Cassidy had to unlock his jaw to answer gruffly, “You’ve done enough, but thanks for the offer.”
“Cass, listen to me.” His gaze bored into Cassidy’s, full of a rough intensity. “So the sight of blood makes you sick. So what? There’s no shame to it. Tonight, in there, when the doc…well, I was pretty queasy myself.”
Cassidy fought down the nightmare image of Caine’s scalpel flashing in the light. “Nice try, Billy, but I have to handle this my way.”
The ramrod nodded slowly, demons of his own surfacing for a moment in his tired green eyes. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
Cassidy watched the man he considered his best friend climb into his pickup and drive away, knowing even as he stood there with the rain sheeting past him that he was stalling. Anything to keep from going back inside, where the stench of blood still hung in the air like a curse.
By the time the sound of the truck faded, he was beginning to wish he’d shucked his pride and accepted Billy’s offer. He searched for an appropriate phrase to describe his own stupidity, then realized he was too tired to swear.
“Just get it done, Sloane,” he muttered as he made himself walk inside.
Even though he was prepared, the metallic odor that enveloped him had him gritting his teeth by the time he’d taken only a few steps. Get it done, he repeated silently, reaching for the pitchfork. He’d pile the blood-soaked straw out back, then scour the stall and the section of the cement floor he could reach with bleach and disinfectant. He’d have to wait for the animal disposal guys to move the corpses before he could finish the job. Still, he’d have the place clean enough so it was safe to let Vicki come in to say goodbye.
Willing his body to cooperate, he set to work. His muscles ached at the abuse, but the pain kept his mind from wandering. Overhead, the rain beat a steady rhythm, like the tick of the metronome Sylvia kept on the piano.
When Vicki had been four or five, it had been one of her favorite toys.
His hands tightened on the fork as he let himself think, finally, of the task that awaited him when this one was done. No matter how he circled the truth in his head tonight, he knew in his gut that telling Vicki was going to be pure hell.
Vicki and her Golden Girl had grown up together. Two frisky and willful youngsters galloping through the fields.
And now, because he’d wanted to breed Goldie’s beauty and heart to the stallion’s courage, Vicki was about to learn the pain of losing her best friend.
* * *
Karen started to turn over in bed, only to find herself teetering precariously on the edge of the mattress. Still half asleep, she pried her eyes open in order to check the time by the clock radio. It was then that she realized she had fallen asleep on Vicki’s narrow bed while waiting for Vicki to drift off.
Next to her, Vicki was cuddled into a ball, her cheeks rosy from sleep, her breathing regular and deep. The room was dark with the exception of a square of muted light from the security lamp shining through the ruffled curtains. The house was quiet. No sound from outside penetrated the old house’s thick walls.
Karen had no idea what time it might be, though she suspected it was a few hours before dawn. Her head ached from too much wine and too little sleep, and her back was stiff from her awkward position.
The last thing she remembered she’d been staring at the glow from the small lamp she’d left burning on the dresser, thinking about the first time Cassidy had made love to her.
It had been in the hayloft of the main barn, a huge old dinosaur of a structure, with a granite foundation and huge oak beams.
Cassidy had been bucking hay bales that day and the scent of fresh-mown alfalfa had filled the air with a delightful sweetness.
It had been close to a hundred degrees that Saturday afternoon, and he’d been working without a shirt. Incredibly strong, utterly beautiful, he’d handled the monstrously heavy bales with an economy of motion that had amazed her. Under a shimmering sheen of sweat, his body had been deeply tanned, a magnificent creation of fluid muscle and resilient sinew, furred across the chest with a soft pelt of black curls.
He’d said very little, but his deep-set dark brown eyes had been liquid with a longing so fierce she’d taken a step backward. But when he’d held out his hand and beckoned her to step from the ladder onto the dusty, hay-strewn floor, she’d obeyed without a second thought.
Even as he’d kissed her out of her shorts and top, she’d been aware of the incredible power of his body, the massively muscled chest, the steely strength in long legs capable of controlling a half-ton horse with ease.
He hadn’t asked for her love, but it had been his from the first gentle, almost shy touch of his callused hand, the first slow smile that reached his eyes as well as his hard mouth.
In her heart they had been wed from the moment he’d slowly eased his body into hers, inexorably stretching her to accommodate his hard length, his muscled frame shuddering from the effort to be gentle. Though he’d said little, she’d felt the hunger in him. The wild, desperate need that seemed to burn through his skin. In return, he’d made her soar.
Vicki had been conceived that hot, dusty day; she was sure of it.
Cassidy had doted on his daughter from the first magical moment of her birth, so much so that he’d wanted more children as soon as Karen’s doctor had given her the go-ahead.
She’d wanted more children, too. A houseful.But later, after she’d finished her education and established herself in a practice. At the time, Cassidy had appeared to understand.
With a sigh, she smoothed the covers closer to her daughter’s stubborn little chin. As Karen started to ease from the bed, she realized that a blanket had been thrown over her as she’d slept. The light had been extinguished as well, she realized belatedly.
Cassidy must have come in to check on Vicki and found her there, too. Had he kissed her when he’d covered her? she wondered, then rejected the notion. Even in her sleep, she would have responded to him.
Bracing herself against the cold, she got to her feet and tiptoed barefoot out of the room. The light was on in the master bedroom. Cassidy was awake, lying naked on his back, his powerful arms folded under his head. One thick forearm bore a long, angry-looking scrape, and on his right shoulder was a large bruise already purpling and puffy, both giving testimony to the battle he must have waged to bring a new foal into the world.
He’d obviously showered. His black hair was still damp and only haphazardly combed away from his lined forehead and he smelled faintly of soap. The covers lay in disarray, as though jerked free in anger, and only the sheet covered him.
At her entrance he turned his head and looked at her. Though his gaze was direct, his expression was shuttered. Oh, no, no! she thought, already preparing herself for the worst.
“Golden Girl?” she asked quietly as she closed the door behind her.
“Gone. The foal, too. Prettiest little filly you ever saw.” His gaze flickered, then held steady again. She wondered again what had happened to him in the past to prompt him to guard his feelings so brutally.
“I’m sorry.”
He acknowledged that with a curt nod. “Doc tried, I’ll give him that. But it was a breech.”
Karen saw in his eyes the things he’d omitted, and she wanted to weep.
Feeling as though she’d aged a hundred years in the span of one day, she removed her robe and tossed it toward the foot of the bed. Outside, the wind strained against the branches of the towering aspens, and the old house creaked in a familiar nightly ritual that had never failed to soothe her—until tonight.
“I told Vicki I would give her the news as soon as you told me, but I don’t have the heart to wake her,” she said as she slipped beneath the already tumbled covers.
“I’ll tell her. It’s my responsibility.”
“But not your fault.”
His control slipped long enough to reveal a muscle ticking along his jaw. His voice, too, held a harsh note of self-censure. “It was my call, my decision to breed the mare.”
“Of course you bred her,” she hastened to assure him. “Goldie was a beautiful animal with excellent bloodlines. There isn’t a rancher in the state who wouldn’t have bred her.”
“Tell that to my daughter.” He plowed a hand through his already rumpled hair.
“I will, even though I have a feeling she’ll figure that out for herself. Vicki has your instincts, your love of animals. She’ll make a marvelous rancher.”
His eyes flashed. “The hell she will.”
