“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 a basket of lotions and hair care items, along with fluffy towels.
When she saw Pallas at Thanksgiving, she would be sure to thank her for all her thoughtful touches. Cade’s sister was nice and Bethany wanted to get to know her better. Making friends was on her life’s to-do list. She’d become too isolated at the palace. If she wanted to find where she belonged in the world, she needed to get out in it and experience things. Starting with a big American Thanksgiving.
*
CADE HAD SEEN videos of Rida in action but watching him in person was a whole different experience. The horse was that perfect combination of strength and agility. The same could be said of his rider. Beth and Rida were a well-matched team—anticipating, respecting each other. Seeing them together was a hell of a show.
One of the barn cats leaped up on the railing post and meowed at him. Cade scratched the side of its face. Beth slowed Rida and urged him closer.
“I named that one Harry,” she said with a grin. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Did you make sure he was a boy first?”
“I didn’t. It seemed rude. If he turns out to be a she, we’ll say it’s short for Harriet.”
“I like that you’re a problem solver,” he teased.
She laughed. “Thanks. I try.”
She swung her right leg off the saddle and jumped to the ground, then reached for the gate. Cade opened it first and they walked to the barn, Rida trailing behind.
“I met your sister yesterday,” Beth told him as they stopped in front of the tack room.
“Pallas couldn’t believe the El Baharian royal stables were sending a woman, so she had to come check you out for herself.”
“El Bahar is a great advocate of women’s rights both at home and abroad,” Beth told him. “Girls have been educated alongside boys for over fifty years. University is free to all. While we still value our traditions and culture, women aren’t second-class citizens.”
Before Cade could react, Beth groaned. “Sorry. That came out way more like a lecture than I’d intended.”
“Still, good information,” he teased. “I can probably use it on Jeopardy.”
“Is that game show still on?”
“It is. Are you a fan?”
“The theme gets in my head for days at a time,” she admitted. “Anyway, back to your sister. She seems really nice.”
“She is.”
Beth hesitated for a second. “She invited me to Thanksgiving dinner. Is that okay?”
“That depends. I have a big, loud family and my mother is weird. If you can handle it, you’re more than welcome.”
“Will I be in the way?”
“Do you plan to eat over six pounds of turkey, because unless it’s that, you’ll be fine.”
She unfastened Rida’s saddle and lifted it off him as if it weighed nothing. “I am unlikely to eat more than five pounds of turkey. I was thinking more about your personal life. Will your girlfriend mind me tagging along?”
He reached for the saddle, but she shook her head. “I’m good. I do this all the time.” She carried it into the tack room, leaving him to ponder the girlfriend question.
For a second he allowed himself to pretend she was fishing for information rather than being polite. Then he reminded himself his luck wasn’t that good. He’d had his share of women, but very few of them had been as beautiful as the curvy horsewoman walking Rida’s saddle blanket into the tack room.
“No girlfriend,” he said when she returned. “No wife, either.”
“I kind of assumed that last one,” she admitted, setting several brushes on the table by the door. “Seeing as I haven’t seen one lurking around the house.”
“Why would I marry someone who lurks? What are you saying?”
She grinned. “I take that back. You would never marry a lurker.”
As they spoke, she patted Rida’s front shoulder, then gently nudged him. The huge stallion politely shifted his weight to his other three legs, then raised his front hoof for her to inspect. Beth used a small brush to clean the outside of his hoof, then pulled a hoof pick out of her back pocket.
It was the kind of grunt work they all did every day, but he had to admit on Beth it look sexy as hell. Which made him an idiot. Or possibly something worse.