The woman was a great mom, but as Sly had pointed out the other day, she was also a big gossip. Lana was glad her two assistants had gone home for the day and that only she, Amy, and another mom named Sheila were at the daycare. “Actually, we’re not dating,” she said.
Amy lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “He sure didn’t stop by to pick up a child. He doesn’t have kids of his own, or any nieces or nephews that I’m aware of. He said he was here to see you.”
In the act of helping her four-year-old son with his jacket, Sheila widened her eyes. “You must be talking about Sly Pettit. He was here?”
Amy grinned. “In the flesh.”
Wait. Sly Pettit—the rancher who was suing Cousin Tim? Lana tried not to show her shock.
“What’s wrong, Lana?” Sheila asked.
“I’m surprised that you both know him.”
“We certainly do,” Amy said with a smirk. “We both used to date him, though not at the same time. I haven’t seen him in a good four years, and he’s still as gorgeous as ever,” she told Sheila. “I’m guessing he’s still a heartbreaker, too.”
Sheila zipped her son’s jacket and directed him to get his lunch box. “We dated about six years ago. By our second or third date I was head over heels for him. I was sure I’d be the one to snag him.” She gave her head a sad shake. “Unfortunately, he didn’t feel the same way about me. I couldn’t even get him to show me his ranch. After a few months, we broke up.”
Amy nodded. “My story is similar. Sly showed me the ranch, but only because I asked. I’d heard his bedroom was off-limits to the women he dated, but I hoped I’d be the one he fell for, the one he’d invite to his bed. He never did—we always ended up at my place. I tried everything to make him love me, but no luck.” She let out a sigh, followed by a shrug. “I guess I ended up lucky after all. I met and married Jon, and we’re so happy.”
“Sly has dated a lot of women and broken a lot of hearts,” Sheila said. “Be careful, Lana.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Lana said, but she wasn’t worried. She and Sly weren’t dating, and now they never would.
Not with him suing her cousin.
Chapter
Five
Sly and his sister,Dani, were close, and as busy as they both were with their jobs, they made sure to get together a couple of times a month. On Wednesday night they met at Clancy’s, a bar and pool hall south of town. The bar was always crowded and boasted a dozen pool tables—enough so that he and Dani were usually able to snag one.
“I met a woman,” Sly told his sister over the loud country-and-western music adding to the noise. He hadn’t planned on saying anything and wasn’t sure why he’d made the confession. Especially when lately, he hadn’t dated much and she’d been bugging him about it. Now she’d really bug him.
But Lana... Sly was still thinking about her, even though she’d shut him down. There was something about her, and he needed to tell somebody.
In the middle of placing the balls, Dani swiveled her head his way. “Oh?” Her eyes, the same silver blue as Sly’s and Seth’s, sparked with curiosity.
Not wanting to make a big deal out of what he’d said, he tugged on her ponytail like he had when she was four. Before life had knocked them both upside the head.
“Stop that.” Hiding a smile, she batted his hand away. “I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m twenty-eight years old.”
Dani was seven years younger than him, and one of the few people he trusted. He flashed a grin. “You’ll always be my baby sister, even when you’re fifty.”
“By then you’ll be an old man, and probably too frail to pull my hair.”
Sly scowled, but Dani thought it was real funny. “I’ll take solid, you take the stripes,” she said.
While she eyeballed the table, aimed her cue and broke the balls, Sly thought about how far they’d come since he was eleven and their mother had died. Two years later their father had followed her, leaving them orphans. Sly had wanted to take care of his siblings, but he’d been too young.
Their only family had been an uncle Sly and his siblings had never met, a man who lived in Iowa. Uncle George had grudgingly taken in Sly and his younger brother, Seth, who was ten at the time, but he hadn’t wanted Dani.
She’d entered the foster-care system in Prosperity. Sly had worried about her constantly and vowed to someday reunite their little family. It turned out that he and Seth had gotten the raw end of that stick. Their uncle had disliked kids and mostly ignored him and Seth, which was better than the alternative. His idea of attention had been to yell and raise his hand. Sly and his brother had quickly learned to steer clear of him.
By default, Sly became his brother’s caretaker and parent of sorts, raising Seth as best he could. His best hadn’t been so great, though. A kid with an independent streak, Seth had fought him on everything. By the time Uncle George had died just before Sly’s eighteenth birthday, his relationship with his brother had deteriorated badly.
Hoping that returning home and reuniting with Dani would help mend the damages, Sly had brought his brother back toProsperity. Unfortunately, nothing had changed. After several minor scrapes with the law, Seth had dropped out of high school and left town. A few months later, Sly and Dani received a postcard letting them know he’d settled in California. He’d failed to provide the name of the city, and the postal stamp had been impossible to decipher. Seth hadn’t spoken to or contacted them since.
Dani had ended up with a much better deal. Big Mama, her foster mom, had loved her from the start and eventually had adopted her.
