“It’s important to clear any negative energy out of a space before you make it your own.”
He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he followed her order to keep the camera on her. Better on her than him.
Madi stuck the sage in a glass, then kept talking while she yanked the stained cover off the bed, and he realized the camera was pointing at the dirty wall instead of her. He quickly refocused on her as she opened her luggage and pulled out a fuzzy blanket.
“When you travel, always take something comfy and familiar from home.” Madi held the blanket close to her chest and rubbed her cheek on it. “It will help relieve any anxiety you might have about being somewhere new.” She turned her back to the camera and moved like she was going to spread the blanket on the bed, then stopped and examined the sheets. Glancing over her shoulder she grimaced for the camera before wiping whatever she’d found off the sheets.
Once the sheets were debris-free, Madi waved open her blanket and let it fall onto the bed. “And bringing something of your own has the added benefit of prettying things up. Show them, Cash.”
Cash did as she ordered and focused the camera on the bed. It did look better. He didn’t know much about making things prettier, but he did know when things looked pretty, which is why he moved his focus back to Madi.
“I also bring along a sound machine.” She held up an alarm clock-looking thing. “And my own pillow.” She held up a small white pillow. “It’s worth the extra luggage charge to know I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep with my well-loved stuff.” With a practiced tip of her head, Madi smiled wide and froze.
“Should I turn it off now?” Cash asked a few seconds later. Madi raised her eyebrows and gave a quick nod, which he assumed meant yes.
He pressed the off button and handed the phone to Madi. “What just happened here?” He’d never been hit by a tornado, but he imagined it would be less dizzying than the last five minutes had been. “And back at the school?” Forget the last five minutes. He’d been caught in a whirlwind from the moment Madi had stepped onto the airport escalator.
“I’m Madi Sunshine,” she answered, like he should know what that was.
“I thought your last name was Keller.”
“It is.” She shrugged and scrolled through the video he’d shot, pausing to make an adjustment. “Madi Sunshine is what I go by on Insta. It’s what my followers know me as.”
“Followers?” He didn’t understand looking at pictures of people he didn’t know, but apparently it was a thing. His sister followed a bunch of people she didn’t know. “How many have you got?”
She took a deep breath and looked his way, not quite meeting his eye. “A half a million or so.” She shrugged again, but her pink cheeks gave away the fact she knew that number was a big deal.
Cash did too. “Are you one of those…”
“Influencers? Yeah.”
“Is that what they’re called?”
She nodded.
“And you make money doing it?”
She nodded again.
“Like you would at a job?”
She blinked. “Well, it is a job. Except I probably make more money than most people do at a typical job. Definitely more than I would as a teacher—which is what I was going to be.”
He blew out his breath and lifted his hat to run his hand through his hair, then readjusted the hat. People making money without doing anything that looked like work made no sense to him.
“How?”
She tipped her head and smirked.
“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to offend you, I just don’t understand what it is you…” He wasn’t making things better, but he couldn’t stop now. “Do…”
“You sound like my granddad. He always asked that same question when I was starting.” She walked to the mirror over the bathroom sink and examined her face, touching it in a few spots. Cash didn’t know what she was trying to do, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay in that room all night watching her do it without feeling like a creeper.
“I encourage people to create their own happiness through conscious, careful consumption.” She pulled some lip stuff out of her pocket and put it on. Cash had to look away. He liked the feeling too much that he got watching her rub her lips together.
“Do you make the stuff they buy?”
“No,” she laughed. “I make recommendations.” Her phone dinged and she picked it up from the bathroom counter.
“I don’t get it.” He shook his head. “But I guess I’d be on my phone all the time too if I could make money doing it.”
Madi lowered her phone, and for the first time, looked genuinely offended. “I’m not on my phone all the time. My number one rule is ‘Be Present.’”
Now it was Cash’s turn to laugh. “Is that a rule for your followers or for yourself, because I haven’t seen you go longer than five minutes without looking at that phone.”
“I have too gone longer than that. I only check it for business.” Her phone dinged again, and her wrist twisted reflexively toward her face, but she stopped herself mid-glance at her phone.
“Then the only time you’re not doing business is when you’re sleeping.” He flicked the brim of his hat away from his eyes so he could calmly meet her glare. Normally he kept his opinions to himself, but he’d been around too many of these LA girls who came to his ranch to ‘get away from things,’ only to spend the entire week or two they were visiting posting pictures and seeing how many likes they had from other people instead of liking where they were.
“Let’s get something to eat,” he said. There was no use pointing out the obvious to someone who refused to see it.
“You think I can’t go without my phone?” Madi dug her hands into her hips.
Cash glanced at the hand she had curled in a death grip around her phone. “Nope, but I think you’d see a lot more if you did.” He opened the door to let her go out first, but she didn’t move.
Her eyebrow went up like it had a mind of its own. “I blinked on the ride in, so I think I’ve already missed everything to see in this town.”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to take my word for it then.” He still held the door for her, and she still held her ground. “Shame you came all this way though, just to look at your phone.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Fine.” Another second passed before she tossed her phone onto the bed. “Show me what I haven’t been seeing.”
This girl was full of surprises. He had no idea what to show her but figuring it out would be a lot less uncomfortable than sitting around in a dirty motel room all night trying not to stare at her. He tipped his hat to her as she sauntered out the door.
“My pleasure.”
Chapter Six
She almost made it out the door without her phone, but then she heard it ding. Two competing thoughts wrestled in her brain: walk away without knowing who was messaging her versus get her phone back without Cash knowing.
“It’s a little chilly out here,” she said, shivering for effect as Cash stuck the key in the lock. “I think I’d better change into something warmer. Do you mind?”
Cash wasn’t buying it. She could tell by the accusatory crease in his brow even before he spoke. “You sure you don’t just wanna check your phone?”
“No, I swear!” She crossed her heart and tucked her crossed fingers behind her back. Cash didn’t look convinced, but she’d endure his once-over in order to see whether or not the message waiting for her was from Vance.
Cash opened the door for her, and she squeezed through, saying “thank you” before shutting it and dashing to the bed. She picked up the phone and was so upset the message wasn’t from Vance, she almost didn’t respond to her publicist, Carla.
Almost.
But the text was too good. Your Insta live is blowing up!!
Looking now!!<3 She still wished the message had been from Vance, but at least it was good news.
Madi opened Insta and did a little dance when she
saw how many likes she had. She’d never broken ten thousand in the first ten minutes after of her videos posted. It usually took an hour or two. If her followers liked that post, she needed to keep putting up stuff about this little town. It was probably full of opportunities to make it more beautiful.
She scrolled through some of the comments and was about to reply to one of them when a knock at the door startled her into dropping her phone. It hit the bedside table with a loud thwack, then fell to the floor.
“Everything okay in there?” Cash asked through the door.
“Yeah. Everything’s good.” She picked up her phone and checked it for cracks. “Almost ready!”
No cracks but she still had to find something to wear. Something Insta worthy. And she knew the perfect outfit.
She tossed the phone back on the bed then unzipped her suitcase and grabbed her white sundress and a turquoise cardi to go over it. Without taking off her boots, she slipped off her shorts and flannel and threw on the dress. It glowed against her tan skin, and Madi tried to forget Vance had picked it out for her. He may have been an idiot when it came to “breaking things off for a while,” but he did have great taste in clothes.
Her phone buzzed again. Madi gave it a side-eye. She’d already spent too much time “changing.” Cash had no right accusing her of being on her phone too much when he’d just met her. She knew how to Be Present. She’d written the book on it. Literally. Positively Present. Two ninety-nine on Kindle.
Tonight would be the perfect opportunity for a post on being present. “Being Present, Even When You Want to Escape.”
Cash knocked at the same time Madi picked up her phone to make a note of her idea. She wondered if he had some kind of cell phone sixth sense.
“Coming now!” She grabbed a smaller purse from her accessories suitcase, before silencing her phone and stuffing it into a hard-to-find pocket inside it. As long as Cash didn’t search it, she would be fine. She’d only check it when she needed to use the bathroom.
Her phone was her business. She couldn’t leave it behind.
When she opened the door, Cash was leaning against the building, his thumbs tucked into his jeans pockets and his right knee bent with his heel pressed against the peeling wood. He glanced at her from under the brim of his hat, and it took everything in her power not to take a picture of him.
Vintage hotel, modern-day cowboy. Feeling very Montana tonight. That’s how she’d caption it.
“Everything okay? Need more time to check your messages?” His glance had turned into a full stare, but not the kind that made her want to pull her sweater closer.
“Everything’s perfect.” Madi tossed her hair back and let her fingers run over her shoulder before resting them on the collar of her cardi, hinting at what lay beneath. Not that he didn’t already have an idea thanks to the Great Button Mishap of earlier that day.
Cash blinked and pushed himself away from the wall, stumbling a little when he stepped off the curb.
They walked to his truck where he not only opened her door for her but also helped her inside. It was kind of nice. Vance never did stuff like that. None of the guys she’d dated had. She almost felt bad for flirting with him.
“You’re not vegetarian, are you?” He asked once he’d climbed into the cab and started the engine. “I know that’s kind of a thing in California.”
“No. I could actually go for a burger right now.” As if to back her up, Madi’s stomach let out a long, low rumble.
“You’re speaking my language.” He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, heading toward the downtown.
“You know a place?” she asked, staring out the window at the stars. There were at least a million of them. More than she’d ever seen in her entire life.
The stars are big and bright, deep in the middle-of-nowhere Montana. That’s how she’d caption the picture she’d take.
“I do.” He nodded, and just as Madi wondered if they would be sitting in silence all night, Cash said, “You’re doing a good job being ‘present.’ It’s nice not hearing your phone buzz every few seconds.”
“It’s not every few seconds.” She pressed her hand against her purse, praying she hadn’t accidentally put her phone on vibrate.
“Pretty close.”
Silence again.
Days ticked by. Or maybe just minutes. Time slowed down when she couldn’t connect with people. And not in a good way.
They were halfway to Main Street before Cash spoke again. “Have you got any other rules for yourself?”
“I have a million rules for myself.” Madi smiled but stopped herself from admitting she broke most of them. “But I only have five for my followers.”
She tore her eyes from the stars and faced him, which wasn’t such a bad view either. His profile reminded her of the statues she’d seen years ago on the temples in Rome. If the ancient Romans had worn Stetsons instead of laurels.
“Do you break those ones too?” Cash turned on Main Street where far fewer lights shone as had when they pulled into town.
“Not all of the time.” Madi watched a strolling couple holding hands stop to share licks of each other’s ice cream. She’d always dreamed about that kind of romance.
“So, you want to tell me what they are? Or do I have to be a follower to find out?” He pointed to a drive-thru with a neon Hammy’s sign. “That’s where we’re headed.”
“I’ll tell you what they are, but it’ll cost you a milkshake.”
The one stoplight in town turned red, and Cash turned to give her a run down as they waited for the light to turn green. “An entire shake? Are these five rules of yours worth it?”
She returned his stare. “I’ll have chocolate. With Oreo if they’ve got it.”
The light turned green and Madi bit back a smile. Cash drove the last half a mile without answering her challenge until they pulled into the drive-thru. “Give me a chocolate Oreo shake,” he said into the speaker. “What else do you want? If I’m buying you a shake, I may as well buy your whole meal.”
“Cheeseburger, but only if you use real cheddar and not those plastic American cheese slices,” she yelled into the speaker, leaning close enough to him that her cheek nearly touched his shoulder. “Otherwise I’ll have the chicken strip basket but hold the toast.”
Madi and the attendant went back and forth until, five minutes later, she had settled on a taco salad without the taco shell. “Gotta cut carbs somewhere if I’m going to drink a whole milkshake,” she explained to Cash.
“I guess,” Cash mumbled.
“Okay, Rule Number One you already know,” Madi chirped, then paused, blinking until Cash figured out what she was waiting for.
“Be Present.”
“Right.” She nodded at him. “Rule Two is smile.”
“Smile?”
Madi nodded and smiled.
“That’s it?”
Her smile widened. “It’s enough.”
“Rule Three?” Cash rolled down his window to take Madi’s shake from the attendant, but he didn’t give it to her.
“Practice Gratitude.” She put her hand around the cup to take it from him, her pinkie finger resting on his pointer. “Thank you for buying me a delicious chocolate Oreo shake.”
He shook his head and didn’t let the cup go. “All of them first.” Their fingers still touched.
Her smile fell and her brow shot up at the same time her stomach let out a long, low rumble. “Rule Number Four: Make the Best of It, and rule number—”
“The best of what?”
Madi let go of the cup. Cash took the paper cover off her straw. She glared as his lips came perilously close to the exposed straw.
“It… everything. Whatever comes your way. Like getting stuck in a pimple of a town with only one room available at the Hellhole Hotel and keeping a smile on your face.” Madi wasn’t smiling anymore. She was hangry. She wanted her shake.
“Okay, okay.” Cash moved the shake away from his mouth. “I can s
ee the benefits of following that one.”
Madi let out her breath. “Rule Number Five: Trust Your Instincts.”
“All right.” Cash wagged his head up and down but didn’t have anything beyond that to say about Madi’s rules. He did hand over her shake, and she decided to take that and his bobble-headed nod as approval.
Madi took a long sip of her shake just as the drive-thru window scraped open. The attendant handed Cash a bag full of food, and Cash immediately pulled his burger and fries out of it. As soon as the smell of peanut oil and hot-seared beef hit the air, Madi knew she’d made a mistake ordering a taco salad. She took the taco shell-less salad out of the bag and stabbed at the iceberg lettuce with her plastic fork.
Cash stuffed a handful of fries in his mouth as he pulled onto Main Street. Madi’s mouth watered.
“I’ll trade you some shake for some fries.” She held her cup out to him, but where a few minutes before he’d almost stolen a sip, now he eyed it, and her, with suspicion.
He moved the fries out of her reach, but after she’d stabbed at her salad a few more times, he relented.
“All right, take some.” He passed the fries to her but shook his head to her offered shake.
“Where are we going now?” she asked through a mouthful of deliciously greasy fries. He wasn’t going in the direction of the hotel, which she didn’t mind at all. The less time they spent at the Sleepy Inn, the better. She could only make the best of something for so long.
“Sometimes the cowboy poets head to Trail’s End for a drink after they’re done at the festival for the day. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch a performance or two.” He reached for more fries, discovered there were only two left and gave Madi a death stare before taking her shake out of the cup holder. “I would’ve asked if that was okay, but since you’ve eaten all my fries, I think I’ll make the executive decision to try and catch some poetry.” He took a long sip of her shake then handed it back to her.
“Sounds good to me.” She sucked the last bit of shake through her straw with no regrets about eating Cash’s fries. Vance’s name skittered hummingbird-like through her brain, landing only long enough to remind her she hadn’t thought about him, or her phone, for nearly half an hour. She brushed salt from her dress, wondering if the satisfied feeling in her gut came from the fries or the knowledge she could go without Vance and her phone.
Always & Forever: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (ABCs of Love Collection, Books 1 - 4) Page 37