“It wasn’t your fault,” Sara whispered against the girl’s head. “It was a terrible accident. But not your fault. Not your fault.”
“But I—”
“Have you and your dad talked about what happened?”
Claire didn’t answer.
“I’m sure he doesn’t blame you.”
“He should.”
“You need to talk to him.”
“No,” Claire whispered. “I don’t want to hear him tell me I ruined his life.”
* * *
Josh sagged onto the wall outside his daughter’s bedroom and swallowed against the bile that rose in his throat. He’d come to find her minutes ago but stopped short when he’d heard her conversation with Sara.
He didn’t blame Claire for the accident. His break in concentration was his own fault. He’d been riding bulls long enough to know his focus should be zeroed in on the thousand pounds of angry animal between his legs. But when he’d seen Claire, he’d been thrown. Literally and figuratively.
Apparently, they’d both paid a price for his lapse in focus.
In his mind, he’d hoped she hadn’t seen much or understood how bad it had been. Hoped her mother would whisk her away before she realized how serious it was. Jennifer had probably been too tipsy to understand the extent of the damage. But not Claire.
He had a hazy memory of trying to smile even as he felt his leg shatter, thinking that if his daughter could see him he didn’t want to frighten her. He hadn’t wanted her to know how scared he had been. Even now, that thought kept him rooted to his spot in the hall when his heart knew he should be the one with his arms around her, comforting and soothing her.
He’d waited until he could hide his injury before he’d come to see her, thinking that would be easier for both of them. Since he’d brought her to the ranch, sometimes he’d catch her staring at his right knee, especially toward the end of the day when exhaustion and overuse made it more difficult to hide his slight limp.
He wanted to be strong for her, not weak and half-broken. Bending forward, he rubbed at his leg, willing the pain to go away. He straightened and thumped on the wall as he walked to the end of the hall. “Claire,” he called, coming back toward her room. “Are you up here?”
He made some more noise before poking his head in her room. She sat on the edge of the bed with Sara next to her. While she smiled at him, her eyes were red and puffy from her tears. “Hey, Dad,” she said cheerfully, a sure sign that things were very wrong.
Sara watched him as if his face gave away the fact that he’d been eavesdropping. Impossible, he thought, but kept his gaze on Claire. “It’s a gorgeous day,” he said to his daughter. “I thought we could take an ATV up to Bitter Creek Pass, check on the trails and maybe have lunch.”
Her smile faded. “I don’t think so.”
He took a breath and made his tone light. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Just you and me and a ton of horsepower.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Those things are so loud and they go really fast.”
“That’s supposed to be the fun part,” he said, trying not to sound frustrated.
He let his eyes drift to Sara, who looked at him with a hint of sympathetic smile. “Can I come, too?” she asked.
As much as his body ached to be near Sara, part of him was angry his daughter had confided her pain to someone besides him. And he wanted her to know it. “There’s only room for two on the ATVs, Hollywood.”
“Einstein in a Stetson, aren’t you? Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking I’d have my own four-wheeler.”
Her attitude made him grin despite himself. “You think you can handle it?”
She matched his smile. “Oh, yeah. I can handle it.”
Claire cleared her throat, and Sara turned that million-watt grin on his daughter. “What do you say? I bet I can beat you and your old man to the top of the pass.”
“He’s knows a lot about ATVs.”
Sara tossed her hair. “I’m not scared of his ego.”
Claire gave a tiny giggle. “We’re going to kick your butt,” she said quietly.
“Oh, smack talk,” Sara said with a loud laugh. “Guess the cowboy isn’t the only one in the Travers family with a healthy ego. I love it. I’ll help April pack a lunch while you two get the equipment ready.”
Claire popped up off the bed and took two steps before Josh saw her realize her part of the deal. She slowed, dragging one bare foot across the carpet. “I guess that would be okay.”
Josh didn’t wait for her to change her mind. “Let’s go, then,” he said, hoping he sounded enthusiastic and not as scared as he was to mess up this chance with her. “We’ll make sure Sara gets the slow one,” he added in a stage whisper.
“Dad, that’s not fair.” Claire wiggled a finger at him.
“Right. Sorry.”
“I mean, we’re going to beat her bad enough as it is.” Claire’s eyes danced as she grinned at him and his heart skipped a beat. Her smile was so like his sister, Beth’s. A smile he missed like he missed riding.
“You bet we are,” he agreed, and motioned her to lead him out the door.
As she walked past, he met Sara’s gaze. She arched a brow.
“Thank you,” he mouthed.
Instead of the sassy comeback he expected, she only nodded and shooed him after Claire.
“Get her!” Claire yelled in his ear over the roar of the four-wheeler’s motor. “She’s killing us.”
Josh smiled as he hit the gas. He watched Sara’s jeans stretch tight across her perfect bottom as she leaned into a turn on the narrow trail. He couldn’t muster one bit of temper at getting his butt kicked by Hollywood Barbie. He was simply having too much fun racing up the mountain with his daughter’s laughter filling him and her small arms wrapped around his waist as though she was totally comfortable in the moment. As though she trusted him.
He pushed hard on the throttle because the one thing Claire trusted him to do right now was catch up to Sara.
This day was another revelation about Sara. He’d expected her to be hesitant and unsure on the ATV, since she said she’d never ridden one before. But after a few minutes of instruction and warm-up, she took off on the dirt road that led from the property to the forest service trail as though she’d spent her life on the mountain.
Between the pain in his leg and Claire’s extra weight behind him, it had taken Josh longer to find his groove. By that time, Sara was at least three hundred yards ahead of them.
She looked back over her shoulder, and her grin widened, hair escaping its ponytail under the helmet to whirl around her neck. He felt something unfamiliar around his stomach as he followed her, the powerful ATV vibrating under him, and realized it was happiness—an emotion he hadn’t experienced in far too long.
Most of his last two years on the PBR tour had been spent defending his title and reputation from a new crop of upstarts willing to risk life and limb for a steady paycheck and an adrenaline rush. Green kids, the same as Josh had been when he’d