“Well, I was driving down our road, and it was black as pitch last night. I didn’t expect anyone to step foot on the road without looking, and I slammed on my brakes just short of hitting Harper. God, talk about a deer-in-the-headlights look. On both our faces.”
“Poor Harper. Is she okay?”
“I think so. She wouldn’t let me drive her or walk her home.”
“That’s your doing, Cade.” Lily rubbed salt into the wound.
Cade stared down at his coffee cup. “The thing is...I might still...” He sighed then and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Cade glanced at his mother. Sympathy filled her eyes. “I think it’s best if you sort out your feelings. Before either of you gets hurt again.”
“Harper’s only obeying the rules you set down,” Lily said. “Well, speak of the devil.” His sister’s eyes went to the kitchen doorway, and in walked Harper.
“Good morning,” she said. “I hope it’s okay—Irene let me in.”
“Of course it’s okay,” his mother said, getting up. “Come have a seat. We have more than enough breakfast to go around.”
“Oh no, thanks. I’ve already—”
Cade turned around in his seat to face her, and their eyes met. She stopped midsentence, searching for words.
“I’ve already had...m-my breakfast.” She stared into his eyes, and he couldn’t quite break the connection. She was so pretty in the morning, her face a ray of sunshine, her blond hair curling down her shoulders. She wore a red-plaid shirt and jeans and looked like she fit in around here. Too much.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I’ll come back a...a little later. It’s nothing important.” She turned, and before Lily or his mom could stop her, she was out the door.
“Crap.” Cade pushed away from the table and went after her. He hated seeing the indecision on her face. He didn’t want her to feel unwelcome in their home. His mom and Lily adored her, and that should be enough. But obviously it wasn’t.
“Harper, wait,” he called out.
She kept walking, out the front door and down the path. When she finally got far enough away from the house, her shoulders slumped and she turned around. “Why are you following me?”
“Why did you run off just then? We were all having coffee. You could’ve joined us.”
“I don’t want to break the terms of our agreement.” Her chin went up.
“I think you’re taking that a little bit too literally. We’re bound to see each other around the house, the grounds. In the morning at breakfast, in the evening at dinner.”
“You mean you’ll actually have dinner with me, and not make other dates.”
“I had that date on the books before you got here.”
“Who was she?”
“She is a friend and her father is a business associate. She’s nothing like you.”
Harper squeezed her eyes closed and turned to walk away.
He stood his ground. “I meant that as a compliment to you.”
She turned. “Your compliments are sorely lacking, Cade.”
He grinned. He hadn’t done that in a long while. “You’re just as sassy as ever.”
She lifted a shoulder and smiled back. “Can’t help it.”
“I know.” He’d always liked that about her. “Want to go for a ride later? After work and before dinner?”
“Ride?”
“On Sage?”
Her face lit up at the mention of his mare. “I’m going to be busy all day.”
“Can’t you plan to be unbusy for an hour?”
“I, uh...”
“Come on. I want you to feel comfortable around here. There’s no reason you have to leave a room every time I come into it.”
“So, how does riding help?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I have a lot of ordering for the party to do today. And I might have to go into town to do some shopping of my own.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’m going to be at the stables at five o’clock. If you can make it, fine. If not, just text me.”
“Okay. That sounds fair.”
“I’m going up to get ready for work,” he said. “It’s safe for you to go have breakfast with Mom and Lily now.”
She rolled her eyes. “Cade, sometimes you make me crazy.”
“Yeah, well. Welcome to my world.”
* * *
Harper sat in the car, Lily in the driver seat, as they headed home from their trip into town. “I feel like we really accomplished a lot this afternoon,” her friend said.
“We did. Thanks for your help. I feel we’re making good headway. And the chairs and table settings you picked out are beautiful. I can picture how it will all look in the backyard, Lil. It’s going to be a grand party.”
“I hope so. Gage is in charge of the music. His band promised to play some sentimental tunes as well as their usual country rock. I can’t wait for you to meet him in person.”
“Just think, I get to meet a superstar.”
“To me, he’s just one of my brothers.”
“Last time I checked, most brothers don’t have a bunch of Grammys and pack stadiums with swooning fans from all around the world.”
“Would you believe when Gage started out, all he really wanted was to play music in local clubs. He loves what he does, and he once said, as long as the good Lord lets him continue to make music, that’s all he would ask for.”
“I get that. I’m pretty much the same. I just want to earn a decent living doing what I love to do. He sounds like a pretty levelheaded guy.”
“Gage?” She laughed. “Hardly. He’s cocky as all get-out, and won’t hold back at busting anyone’s chops. But fame didn’t do that to him—he was born that way.”
“Still, I can’t wait to meet him.”
Lily pulled up in front of the guesthouse, and Harper grabbed the bag of spices she’d picked up at a specialty store. Some were exotic flavors, others were staples, but all were necessary for the dishes she was going to prepare. “Thanks for the ride. And the company.”
“Yeah, we done good. Only five days to go before the big party.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“So, what are you going to do the rest of the afternoon?”
It was three o’clock. “Me, uh, maybe I’ll go over my recipes. Maybe take a rest.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you go on that ride with Cade?”
“You know about that?” she squeaked.
“Not because you told me. I overhead Cade telling Nathan to have the horses ready later.”
“I haven’t agreed to go. I probably shouldn’t. I won’t.”
“Who are you trying to convince of that, me or you?”
“You. Me.” Her shoulders slumped. “I can’t put myself through that, Lil.”
“You claim you love my brother. Is that still true?”
She nibbled on her lip. She hated admitting it, even to her dear friend, because saying it aloud only made the hurt go deeper.
“Harper?”
“What?”
“Do you love Cade?”
She thought about how he’d been at the cabin, the sweet guy who couldn’t cook a thing when she first met him. The guy who chopped wood bare-chested like nobody’s business, who also fought and won his battle with grief there, too. The guy who’d shown her what real love was truly like. “Yes, oh God. Yes. I can’t deny it.”
“So why not fight for him? Why not forget about staying away from him? Give yourself a chance with him. If he didn’t want it, he wouldn’t have asked you to go riding with him.”
“I think I bruise his ego when I run off whenever he shows up. He doesn’t want me to feel unwelcome here at your home. That’s all it is.”
“That’s a load of ho
rse poop, Harp. Cade still cares about you. He may not be over what happened yet, but won’t you be sorry if you leave here never knowing? If you let him go without a fight?”
“Lily, why do you have to make so much sense all the time?”
“Go, Harper. If nothing else, enjoy a peaceful ride with a handsome hunk.”
“Hunk? He’s your brother.”
“Ew, that did sound weird, but you know what I mean.”
“I do. Cade is a hunk. I’ll give it some thought, Lil. See you at dinner.”
* * *
As soon as Cade sauntered over to her by the corral, Harper’s mouth opened, and she hoped to high heaven there was no drool dripping out the sides. He was holding the reins of Sage and Cinnamon, wearing boots, jeans, a black snap-down shirt and a Stetson. He was her cowboy fantasy come to life, and it wasn’t fair that Cade could have such an effect on her. She wasn’t made of stone. How could the man completely unravel her with just one look?
“Hello,” she said, a bit tongue-tied.
“Hi. I’m glad you came.”
She nodded. “I had a productive day. So, I’m here, but I have to warn you, I haven’t ridden a horse since I was ten years old. And then it was one of those rides where you go round and round in a big circle.”
“Sage is a real sweetheart. She won’t give you any trouble. And I’ll be right beside you.”
She snapped her eyes to his, and his mouth twitched in that beautiful way she remembered. A stream of warmth coursed through her belly, making her giddy. “G-good to know.”
“When you’re ready, put your left boot into the stirrup, grab the saddle horn and then swing your leg around.”
She attempted that easy feat three times before turning to Cade. “Epic fail.”
“Nope. You just need a little boost. Try it again.”
This time, when she tried to grab the saddle horn, Cade was behind her, giving her butt a steady boost up, so that she could swing her leg around and mount the horse.
“There you go,” he said.
“Thanks.” Her rear end tingled from his touch, and her mind went to places it shouldn’t go.
He adjusted her stirrups and handed her the reins. He mounted Cinnamon, all the while giving Harper instructions on how to hold the reins and make the horse turn left or right or halt. “Got it,” she said, though she didn’t feel as confident as she sounded.
Cade made a clicking sound, and both horses took off at a slow gait.
The sun was warm on her shoulders, the sky a splash of colorful blues. “There’s nothing like seeing the ranch on horseback,” Cade said, seeming to think aloud.
Sage kept up with Cinnamon, so they rode side by side. “It’s pretty this time of day.”
Cade nodded. “It is.”
She’d promised herself she wouldn’t ask Cade why he’d asked her on this ride, so she held her tongue and let him steer the conversation. Only, he didn’t say much. Instead, he simply rode quietly until they were in a silent rhythm with each other. The house was no longer in view, and they came upon a little stream running over a rocky creek bed. Trees shaded the entire area. It was a lovely spot.
“We’ll stop here and water the horses.”
He dismounted, then came over to her, his arms up, waiting to catch her if she fell. She managed to climb down off the horse without incident, and Cade put his arms down. “Good job,” he said. They walked to the creek bed, and the horses followed, finding their way to water.
“This is my favorite spot on the entire ranch.”
“I can see why. It’s lovely here.”
“You really think so?”
“I do,” she said quietly.
“I once thought I’d build a house here. Something smaller than the main house. Just big enough for a family.”
“You were gonna build a house here for you and Bree.” She sighed and turned away from him, so he wouldn’t see what was in her eyes. He wouldn’t see the hurt in her expression. They say, fake it until you make it. But she couldn’t fake her feelings anymore. She couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt being out here with Cade. She couldn’t compete with angelic Bree.
He grabbed her hand, and she whipped her head around to meet his eyes. They were dark, brooding, filled with regret. “No. Actually, I wasn’t. The idea came to me later, while at the cabin.”
“While at the cabin?” Her voice squeaked. “You mean when you were a boy?”
“Not when I was a boy, Harper.”
“Oh.”
“I shouldn’t have told you that,” he rushed out, looking away. Looking like he wished he’d never spoken those words.
“There was no reason to,” she whispered back. It only proved what she already knew: she’d blown it with him.
“No,” he said, pulling her closer, giving the hand he held a gentle squeeze. “No reason at all,” he said quietly.
Their chests collided, and Cade focused on her lips. He ran his other hand along her jawline, and the simple caress turned her insides upside down.
“Cade?”
“Shh.”
Then he brought his mouth down on hers, and the touch of his lips to hers was like a bright spark on a dark, gloomy night. It connected them, made them whole again. It was scary good, delicious and amazing all at once.
Cade cupped her face in both hands and positioned her mouth to his. He devoured her, parting her lips, his tongue sweeping through her mouth until all she could do was whimper and moan.
Cade kissed her while walking her backward until she came up against a tree. He pressed his hard body to hers, and the friction was heaven on earth. He caressed her breasts through the material of her blouse until she wanted to scream. Then he moved his hand lower, teasing her below the waist, and she arched into his touch, trying to absorb the full impact of the pleasure he created through the soft denim. She heard her jeans zipper slowly being unfastened, the teeth spreading open, inviting Cade in. His hand flat against her, he pushed aside her panties and caressed her folds, the skin sensitive, pulsing. She was on the brink, unable to hold back. “Cade.”
She gritted her teeth, and her body splintered in a release that shook her to the core. It was earth-shattering, and a few moments ticked by as she came down from this high.
Cade seemed pleased. He kissed her again and again and whispered, “Dawn.”
Dawn? In the heat of passion, he called her Dawn. She backed away to gauge his eyes, but he was distracted by his phone. It rang and rang.
He stared at her for a long moment, blinking.
“You better get that,” she said, suddenly confused and sinking fast.
He finally answered the call. “Lily, what the hell?”
She overheard Lily’s panicked voice. “It’s Mom, Cade. She took a fall down the stairs.”
“Damn it. How is she?”
“She’s pretty banged up and refusing to go to the hospital. She won’t let me call an ambulance.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone and shook his head. “We’ve gotta go. My mama’s hurt,” he said, walking away to retrieve the horses.
“Oh no,” she gasped. She ran over to Sage and tried to mount her, but Cade was there, hoisting her up none too gently.
Cade grabbed both of their reins. “Hold on to the saddle horn tight.”
Then they took off at quick gait. Cade kept checking to make sure she was holding on, not losing her balance. He probably didn’t want to have another fall on his hands. When the Tremaine home came into view from a distance, she called to him. “Cade, I’m slowing you down. I can get back from here. Hand me the reins.”
“You sure?”
She nodded. “I’ll walk Sage back. You go.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
She took hold of the reins and watched as Cade put his head down low to the mare’s m
ane and flew like the wind. There was nothing that man couldn’t do perfectly—except maybe get her name right. That bothered her more than it should. It was as if he wanted Dawn, not Harper, and couldn’t seem to see them both as the same person.
Her feelings were all jumbled up. She didn’t know where she stood with Cade, but that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that Rose Tremaine would be okay.
Nine
Cade had taken his life in his hands when he threatened to cancel his mother’s big birthday bash if she wouldn’t let their family doctor take a look at her. Nobody threatened his mother and lived to tell about it. She was a force to be reckoned with. As it was, three days later, his mom was still barely talking to him. Luckily, she’d only fallen down three steps, not the entire flight of stairs. She’d bruised her legs pretty badly, and her knee had swelled up. Her cheek had been scraped where she’d hit the banister, and an eggplant-colored bruise popped up there. Nothing a bit of makeup wouldn’t cover, or so she claimed. Nothing was going to stop her birthday party from happening. She was looking forward to having her entire family home. And that was that.
Lily, the sneak, had laid their mother’s recovery all on Cade, claiming she had too much to do for the party. According to Dr. Adams, a few days of rest was all Rose needed and then she could dance at her own party. The doctor was an invited guest, so he’d be in attendance if anything else happened.
Irene made his mother’s meals, and Cade brought them up to her in the morning before work and in the evening after he got home. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Rose wouldn’t trust anyone but Cade with her recovery. He got her out of bed every morning and helped her walk around her room. Her knee still bothered her, but the meds the doctor had given her helped with the swelling.
Cade glanced out the window of his mother’s room. The stables were in view, and he spotted a pretty blonde walking alongside the road...with Gage? When did his brother arrive home? Cade hadn’t seen him yet, but he was sure talking up a storm with Harper. The two had their heads together, looking too close for comfort. Damn. Cade hadn’t spoken to Harper since the night of the accident. He’d only texted her about his mother’s condition. She’d said all the right things in her reply about how glad she was it wasn’t more serious, and how she hoped Rose would be better in time for her party. But that’s where it had ended.
Craving a Real Texan--A Western romance Page 14