“Or sticks?” she asked and quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Hey, you’re the one who was scared of the stick.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t run.”
“Fright or flight.” He hazarded a glance at her. “Flight is my defense mechanism.”
“It’s fight, isn’t it? Fight or flight? Or are you saying I could scare something away? Is that a comment on my looks?” Madison smoothed her braids over her shoulders. “I did just spend the night in the airport. I’m not always this frightening.”
“No! That’s not what I meant!” Cash thought Madison might be teasing him, but he didn’t know her well enough to be sure. “I don’t think you’re ‘frightening’ at all. You look great for sleeping in a terminal all night.”
Now he’d said too much. Heat crept up the back of his neck into his cheeks, and he changed lanes just for something to do.
“Well, thank you. It really wasn’t all night, it just felt like it. You know how it is when you get stuck at an airport, and you don’t know when you’ll be able to catch another flight, so you just have to stay there.” She pulled down the visor, and Cash watched out of the corner of his eye as she fixed her make-up. “I would have explored Salt Lake City if I’d known I was going to be there as long as I was, you know?”
“Sure.” Cash didn’t know, actually. He hadn’t gone that many places and only flown a couple of times. He’d never had much reason to leave Montana, and the one time he’d found a reason hadn’t turned out so great.
Madison put up the visor and settled into her seat. She checked her phone, then closed her eyes, and Cash relaxed into his seat. Long drives usually meant time alone with his thoughts, and Spring Creek was a long drive from everywhere. Keeping up a conversation with someone besides the voice in his head was a lot of work.
But almost as soon as Cash had settled into his comfort zone, Madi’s eyes popped open and she started talking again.
“I’ve never been on a ranch before. Have you always been a cowboy? I mean, I guess you can’t really be born a cowboy, can you? Or did you decide one day that’s what you wanted to be?”
Madison wedged herself into the corner of the door and the seat and waited for him to answer the string of questions she’d flung at him. Like they were questions with simple answers that didn’t require him to explain that yes, he was born a cowboy, but also thought of himself as a rancher even though he didn’t have any land. At least not anymore.
“Born this way.” Cash cleared his throat, then swallowed. “How’d you end up stuck in the airport anyway?”
She opened her eyes and leaned her head against the window. “The flight was oversold, so I gave up my seat. I didn’t realize it would take so long to get another one…”
“Did you get a free flight or something out of it?” he asked. “You’ve lost a whole day at the ranch.” He’d lost a whole day at the ranch.
Madison yawned and closed her eyes again. “Yeah, but that’s not why I did it.”
Cash thought about not asking his next question, but his curiosity got the best of him. “You gonna tell me why, or let me guess?”
She laughed but kept her eyes closed. “A Marine was trying to get home in time for the birth of his first baby. He’d missed his first connection.”
Cash ran his hand through his hair. That was nice. Hard to believe she was from LA.
She shrugged and took a deep breath. “Do you mind if I take a catnap before we get there?”
“Sure, no problem.” He switched off the radio even though he could barely hear it.
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t mind. The music will help me sleep.” She yawned again. “I fall asleep to Willie Nelson a lot of nights.”
And that was the final nail in the coffin. He liked her. This woman loaned her pants to a poop-covered mom, flew a couple thousand miles with a suitcase full of books for a school in need, gave up her seat to a Marine and liked Willie Nelson.
He reached for the radio and turned it back on, hitting the button for his pre-programmed Willie Nelson satellite radio station. Plenty of girls who came to the Rocking M knew the latest country stars, but hardly any knew the real stars. The one’s who’d made country music what it was. LA girls especially had no idea who anyone older than Blake Shelton was, let alone Willie Nelson.
“Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” filled the cab, and Madison joined in.
“I love this one,” she said after she’d sung the first line.
“Me too,” he said and sang, “cause they’ll never stay home and they’re always alone.”
“Is it true they’re always alone?” she asked in a voice minutes from sleep.
“Most of the time.” Not at the moment.
“That’s kind of sad… in a romantic way.” She nestled her cheek against her hand.
Yep. He liked her.
Within five minutes, Madison breathed deeply and let out a snore so tiny that if Cash were the kind of man to use the word “cute,” that’s how he would have described it. It also gave him license to take a good look at her without getting caught. She was even prettier than when she’d stumbled down the escalator.
His mama had always teased him about falling in love faster than a Montana rainstorm, and he’d learned through hard experience to keep his feelings in check, but something about this girl made him feel like the nine-year-old boy who’d spent hours making a homemade valentine for his first crush. He couldn’t remember the girl’s name now, but he’d never forgotten that rush of excitement mixed with terror that came with falling in love for the first time. The only feeling that came close was riding a bronc.
Cash spent the rest of the drive to Hamilton stealing glances at Madison, hoping she’d wake up. He even cranked up the radio when “Always on My Mind” came on, but she snored on, even snorting once or twice. It was adorable. Downright adorable.
The sun dropped below the mountains as he pulled off the exit. He’d been to Hamilton a few times and knew where the high school was but had no idea where they were taking Madison’s books. He doubted there’d be anyone to deliver the books to at the school at this time of day.
“Madison,” he said softly, not wanting to scare her.
She answered with a loud snort but didn’t open her eyes.
“Madison,” he said a little louder and got the same response.
He turned on to the main road. It looked a little worse for wear since the last time he’d seen it. The street was lined with buildings that had been restored to look like they had during the gold rush of the late 1800’s, but many of them were empty. Hamilton had tried to draw tourists by marketing itself as an “Old West” town, but it was too far from Yellowstone and not close enough to Glacier to bring in travelers headed to those parks. It made him sad to think of Hamilton slowly dying like the ranches that surrounded his. Those that hadn’t sold out to developers or been turned into dude ranches were always on the verge of going broke. No doubt Hamilton’s school could use all the help it could get.
The light turned red, and Cash used the opportunity to shake Madison awake. She jumped and looked around as the light changed and Cash pulled forward.
“Are we here?” She shook her head and swiped her hand across her mouth. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Little over an hour.”
“Oh wow. I didn’t mean to sleep so long.” She pulled down the visor and smoothed her hair. Her cheek was red with crease marks where she’d been leaning against the window, and she tried to smooth those away too. “I look terrible.”
Cash didn’t agree, but he couldn’t exactly tell her how he thought she looked. He’d only known her a few hours, and he’d be spending the next two weeks “entertaining” her on excursions. Things would get awkward fast if he told her what he was thinking. Plus, cowboys didn’t say the word “adorable” out loud.
So, instead of complimenting her, he questioned her. “Where are we delivering these books?”
“Oh, yeah.” She rubbed her freshly glossed lips together, then stuck the lip stuff in her purse. “You probably need to know that. Becky said to meet her at the school.” She flipped the visor shut and looked around. “This town is so cute. Look at all the shops! It’s like something right out of those old Clint Eastwood westerns.”
“You like Clint Eastwood movies?” He slammed on the brakes as a tractor pulled in front of them.
“Why is that so shocking?” She stared him down, her blue eyes shining, her mouth pursed just enough that he had to look away before he got lost in his thoughts about what he’d like to do with those lips.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. You’re more full of surprises than a box of Lucky Charms. Nothing you say should surprise me anymore.”
“Is that right?”
If she looked at him with those eyes and that mouth again, he might lose his mind.
“I used to watch them all the time with my grandpa when I was a little girl,” she went on while Cash pressed the gas and swerved around the tractor. “Whoa there, Cowboy.” She tugged on her seat belt but didn’t miss a beat. “He was pretty old when I was born, so that’s about all he could do. Any other facts I can surprise you with?”
“All right, Madison—”
“—You can call me Madi.”
Cash let the smile he’d been trying to hold back make its way to his mouth. “Okay, Madi.” He liked the way those letters felt on his tongue. “What books have you got in that suitcase?”
“Oh, I’ve got a lot of books in that suitcase. What books do you think I should have?”
She was definitely teasing now.
Or flirting.
Was she flirting?
“Louis L’Amour. Every middle school or high school kid ought to read some Louis L’Amour.” Actually, he could think of a lot of books kids should read before Louis, but that seemed like who he should say.
“I don’t have any Louis... what did you say his last name was?”
So, she wasn’t perfect.
“L’Amour.”
“Will kids be disappointed I didn’t bring any of his books? I’ve never even heard of him. I thought they’d just want classics. And Stephen King. High school kids always like Stephen King.”
Suddenly he felt bad. He hadn’t meant to make her worry about whether she’d brought the right books or not. The fact of the matter was, the kids probably wouldn’t read most of what she’d brought even if she had thrown in some L’Amour. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. It wasn’t her fault kids didn’t read anymore.
“I’ve never read any King.”
Her face fell, like he was some kind of expert on what kids liked these days.
“But I’ve heard he’s good,” he blurted trying to cover his misstep. “What classics have you got in there?” Those he could talk about. At the very least he could fake it if it meant seeing the dimples in her cheeks instead of the worry lines in her forehead.
“Oh, you know, the usual. Tale of Two Cities, Scarlet Letter, Lord of the Flies...”
He nodded as she went down a list of books but kept his mouth shut about how he’d hated most of them in high school. Then she found one he didn’t hate.
“Jane Eyre...”
Nope. He didn’t hate that one at all.
“That one’s my all-time favorite,” she continued. “I brought a few copies of it.”
Damn. Madison Keller was proving to be full of surprises.
Chapter Four
Madi was dying to check her messages. She’d been gone more than twenty-four hours, which seemed like plenty of time for Vance to realize he’d been wrong about her not being able to be on her own. But she’d held off checking her phone for a text from him. After all, Number One on her list of Rules of Positivity was Be Present.
But Madi couldn’t wait any longer. She’d been present for almost two hours—if you counted her nap. Plus, she needed it for work.
“You mind if I check my phone?” she asked Cash, already digging for it in VBP.
“Go right ahead. It was dinging like crazy while you were sleeping.” Cash turned off the main road. “We’re just about there.”
Still nothing from Vance. Madi tried not to be disappointed.
She did, however, have a long list of notifications that Becky, her English teacher friend, had tagged her in some Insta posts. That was Madi’s first inkling that maybe she should have warned Cash there might be a crowd at the high school. She hadn’t planned on checking Insta until she got to the Rocking M—she was technically on vacation—but a churning in her gut told her it would be a good idea. So, she followed her Rule Number Five: Trust Your Instincts.
As soon as she opened Insta she saw the pictures of the crowd Becky had posted (@madisunshine5 #mypositivityposse) at the same time Cash pulled into the school parking lot and muttered, “What in the hell?” in the low, rumbling drawl that had already etched itself in her brain like a good Dwight Yoakum song.
She’d thought she could keep her visit a secret. It was Middle-of-Nowhere, Montana, after all. What were the odds she’d have any followers outside of LA? Granted, she didn’t know where all her 850,000 followers were from; she just assumed most were California girls like her. Except for Becky. Becky definitely lived in Montana.
But one fan didn’t make a crowd. Fifty fans, however, did.
Madi knew what she’d see when she lifted her eyes from her phone. The picture of Becky with a gaggle of teenage girls had only been posted a few minutes ago. Their Beautiful Spaces = Happy Places signs were even cuter in real life, although she could have done without the life-sized cardboard cutout of herself. She wished she had time to freshen up her mascara—she should have thought of that when she’d touched up her lip gloss. Instead, she put on her best smile and waved, because Rule Number Two: Smile.
“Are they here for you?” Cash asked while trying to maneuver around the screaming girls into a parking spot.
“Apparently so.”
Cash seemed to be the only person within a hundred-yard radius who didn’t know who she was. Somehow that made her smile wider. “This may take longer than I planned. I’m so sorry.”
She stepped out of the truck before he turned it off. Even though she hadn’t been prepared for this crowd and was mortified by what she was wearing, she already felt recharged by the excitement of so many kids. Plenty of grown-ups liked her message about creating beautiful spaces by finding products that spread positivity, but it was her younger followers who really made her feel like she could make a difference in the world.
Before the girls could surround her, Becky let out a sharp whistle. “Listen up, y’all!” she yelled, sounding more like the Texas A&M cheerleader she’d once been than the small-town high school English teacher she now was. “Give Madi some space, and let her show us the books she brought, then maybe she’ll be up for some selfies with y’all.”
They’d never met in person before, but Madi didn’t mind one bit when Becky threw her arms around her. Becky had been one of her first followers and was still probably Madi’s biggest fan. “I can’t believe you’re here!” she gushed. “I hope all this is okay. Some of the girls saw your post about delivering books to a school in Montana and put two and two together because they know we’re friends. Then word spread like wildfire.”
“We made her tell us, Madi,” a short girl with thick glasses added.
“We were kind of joking when we asked if you were the one bringing Miss Park’s books,” another girl piped in. “When she acted all cagey, we figured it out and begged her to let us meet you. Don’t be mad at her.”
Madi threw her arm around the girl’s shoulder. She loved kids who didn’t let severe acne affect their smiles or confidence, and this girl was clearly one of those kids. “Why in the world would I be mad when I get to meet all of you?”
Madi put her other arm around the girl with the glasses. “Who’s taking our picture?” She looked over her shoulder and saw Cash walking around the back
of his truck. “Cash, would you mind grabbing my phone and taking some pics for me?”
He looked like he’d stumbled through some portal into an alternate world—which, Madi reminded herself, he kind of had. She guessed he’d never been swarmed by a herd of girls before. Cows, yes. Girls, no—even if he was about the cutest cowboy she’d ever seen. Not that she’d seen a lot of them. So maybe they’d both stumbled into alternate worlds.
Cash got her cell from the truck while Becky used her own phone to take pictures of Madi with the two girls who bounced with excitement. Cash tried to hand Madi’s phone to her, but she had her arms wrapped around a couple other girls.
“Hold it up to my face, then swipe up. That’ll unlock it,” she instructed Cash between poses. It was the perfect time of day for pictures with the sun getting ready to drop but still bright enough to give a soft light without too many shadows. She thought about asking one of the girls to take over for him—no doubt they’d be better with the phone and its camera—but she liked the idea of him helping her out. Besides, she could edit the pics later if they were really terrible.
She spent the next twenty minutes making sure every girl who wanted a picture with her got one. Madi loved that they were all different shapes and sizes. There were girls in their cheer outfits, soccer uniforms, boots and Wranglers, and everything else. Seeing so many different girls together in one place meant her message was working, which made her publicist into a dollar-eyes emoji, but for Madi, it was all about the smiles she got.
Once everyone had their pictures, Madi held up her hands and motioned for them to be quiet. “Okay, ladies… and gentlemen.” She nodded to the ten or so boys on the periphery of the half-circle around her. She caught Cash’s eye and smiled wider. “Let’s talk books. How many of you here like to read?”
More hands went up than she expected. In the LA schools she visited, she’d never gotten close to a third of the kids to raise their hands. Maybe because there were more distractions in LA than in Montana. Too many distractions.
Always & Forever: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (ABCs of Love Collection, Books 1 - 4) Page 35