Always & Forever: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (ABCs of Love Collection, Books 1 - 4)

by Brenna Jacobs

  “I’m sorry.” He squeezed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “My mom loved it too. She wanted me to read it with her, but I didn’t. Wish I would have.”

  Their chests rose and fell in rhythm with each other, and Madi fell asleep.

  She woke to Cash gently shaking her.

  “Time to get dinner on. Everyone else is headed back.”

  Madi sat up at the sound of voices, and the hammock swung to the side, rolling her out of it. She landed on her hands and knees in a bed of pine needles under the hammock.

  “You okay?” Cash asked, peeking over the side of the hammock at her.

  Madi sat back on her heels and wiped the dirt and needles on her hands onto her jeans. “Everything but my pride.”

  Cash laughed and rolled out of the hammock to take her by the hands and help her up.

  “I’m glad you’ve found my many falls so amusing,” she said once she was back on her feet and they were face to face.

  “I fell a little in love with you the moment you fell on top of me.” Cash leaned in to kiss her, then stopped as recognition of what he’d said swept across his face like a shadow on a summer sidewalk.

  Madi froze. Had he just said he loved her? Did she even need to hear the actual words to know that he did? Hadn’t everything he’d been doing shown her that he did? Could she believe him when they barely knew each other?

  Madi blinked and came to herself, a smile spreading across her face. How many times had she thought she was in love with a guy after a few days? A lot. But this time felt for real, so why not embrace it? And him?

  “Same,” she whispered before throwing her arms around Cash and kissing him, not caring who saw.

  There would be time to work out who moved where if this thing between them went that far, but why not enjoy the moment they were in now? She had a really great guy she was crazy about telling her he loved her. She had to see where it went. Because two or three kids on a little piece of land in Montana, or California, or anywhere, sounded pretty heavenly. Madi had to take a chance that it might actually happen.

  The rest of the pack trip went quickly with Cash “protecting” Madi from bears each night and showing her some of his favorite spots in the mountains and rivers they explored. The place his dad had taken him fishing for the first time, the spot where he’d killed his first deer (yuck, but she didn’t say it aloud), the area filled with Native American history, everything that had been part of his life. Every story Cash told, whether his own or someone else’s, not only helped Madi understand his connection to the land, but also strengthened her connection to him.

  Madi returned to the ranch happy but exhausted and wanting only two things: a hot shower and a real bed. She’d loved the trip, but mostly because of Cash. It’s not something she ever wanted to do again, unless it was with him. But then, she’d be willing to do a lot of things she didn’t like if it meant spending time with him. Like all the things she’d never done—or had had a desire to do—that he’d promised to take her to do.

  What did people wear to ride four-wheelers and go to rodeos? She’d have to ask Lyla. Maybe she’d even have something Madi could borrow.

  When Madi got to her room there was a package waiting for her on her bed. She knew what it was. She also knew she should be more excited about opening it, but after more than five days without a phone, she didn’t feel so empty-handed without it. She’d filled up the space it used to occupy with Cash.

  Madi decided to see if she could go a little longer without it. Cash had asked her to meet him in the dining room for dinner, and she wanted the time alone with him, even though they’d be surrounded by people. So, she left the box on her bed while she took a shower and put on clean clothes. It stayed there while she put on a touch of make-up for the first time in days. She left it alone and untouched while she and Cash ate dinner, but she had to open it when she got back to the room. She didn’t, however, have to get sucked back into it. Mostly because it wasn’t charged.

  She plugged it in, dropped into bed, and slept for twelve hours straight.

  The next morning, she woke ready to do whatever Cash had planned for them, as soon as she got her phone set up and checked messages.

  An hour later as she scrolled through over a hundred text messages, she stopped at one she hadn’t been expecting. She tapped Vance’s name to see the whole message he’d sent.

  I’ve made a huge mistake. I miss you. I love you.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cash would have liked to spend the entire day with Madi. He could have filled it with things for her to fall in love with, but work never stopped at the ranch, even when he was technically working by taking the guests on the pack trip. He knew the first place they’d go though, as soon as he had worked with a couple of the horses which would take most of the day. Four days away from the colts meant they’d need some retraining. It also meant that he’d be worn out by the end of the day but being with Madi would re-energize him.

  Around noon, Cash took a break after working with the first colt and noticed Lyla and Madi sitting on the top rail of the corral. He led the colt back to the pasture and patted its flank to send him back to the herd. The young horse didn’t need much encouragement. As Cash watched him gallop away, an image flashed in Cash’s mind of Madi running back to everything she knew in California. He quickly pushed it away.

  She waited on the rail for him, her dimples pulling him to her.

  “I thought I’d show Madi what you do,” Lyla said to him, but he only had eyes for Madi.

  “You’re amazing.” Madi’s eyes danced, which made Cash’s blood rush even more than working with the colt all morning had.

  He took off his gloves and tossed them to the ground without taking his eyes off her.

  “Come ‘ere.” He put his hands on her waist and helped her jump down. He was kissing her almost as soon as her feet hit the ground.

  Madi kissed him back, but not like she had before. It felt like she was holding back. He didn’t want to think that was true, but he’d had to spur on enough horses to get them to go full speed that he had a pretty good sense of when something—or someone—wasn’t going full throttle.

  “Sorry,” he said as he pulled away. “I’m just happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you too.” The sincerity in her voice didn’t reach her eyes, which weren’t dancing anymore. There was something sad in them.

  “We brought you some lunch.” Lyla jumped down and picked up a cooler.

  Cash let Madi go. Because food.

  “Thanks, I’m starving.” He set the cooler on a barrel and pulled out a sub, tearing off the plastic as fast as he could. Nothing worked up his appetite quite like working with the horses. “Are you eating with me?” he asked through a mouthful.

  “No,” Lyla answered for both of them. “You’re gross when you’re this hungry.”

  “Sorry,” he said through another bite.

  “I don’t think you’re gross.” Madi put a hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you tonight?”

  Cash nodded. “I’ve got something special planned.” He should have been reassured that Madi was still planning to go out that night, but something was still wrong. Her kiss was missing some of its warmth, and so was her voice.

  He watched Madi leave with Lyla, taking a bit of his confidence with her. He could see the outline of a phone in her back pocket and wondered if she was distracted by work or if there was something more. As if she could feel him looking at it, Madi put her hand on the pocket, making sure the phone was still there but not taking it out. Maybe she’d had a message but was waiting to look at it.

  What was he thinking? Of course she had a message. Probably a million of them, and a million more notifications. He tugged on his lip, watching Madi until she was out of sight. If he wanted to hold onto her, he’d have to find a way to be part of her business. Not in her videos, but in some way. What she did was as much a part of her as what he did was a part o
f him. Maybe she’d be willing to leave California if he could show her how her job could move with her.

  “Show her,” he scoffed and kicked a dry horse patty out of the way. Cash didn’t need to show Madi how to do anything that had to do with her business. She obviously knew what she was doing, and she did it well. He’d spent a lot of time the night before going through her Instagram feed. He knew she was amazing before he looked at it but seeing everything she was doing to “spread positivity” made him love her even more. She’d set out to make a difference in the world, and she was doing it.

  He picked up his gloves and headed for the pasture to get another colt. For the first time ever, he wished he didn’t have to work with the horses. At least not on that day. He had a lot of thinking about Madi to do, and he didn’t want anything distracting him.

  Turned out that even working with the difficult colt wasn’t enough to keep his mind off Madi. By the time he’d cleaned up and knocked on her bedroom door, he had some ideas and was feeling hopeful again.

  She came out of her room in jeans and a t-shirt. Cash couldn’t even say what color her shirt was, he only knew she looked beautiful with her braids hanging over her shoulders and her obnoxious pink hat.

  “You look great.” He kissed her cheek and got a whiff of strawberry. “Better grab a jacket.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked, a jacket slung over her arm and her hands tucked into her pockets.

  “Home.” He wanted to hold her hand, but she still felt distant. “Or, at least what I hope will be home.”

  They went down the stairs, but instead of going out the front door to where his truck was parked, he took her to the back door.

  “Are we taking the horses?” she asked.

  “Four-wheelers.” He glanced at the sky. The sun was on its way down. They’d only have a couple hours until dark, but those hours would be beautiful.

  “I’ve always wanted to ride those! Do I get my own?”

  He wanted to say no. The picture he’d painted himself of their adventure had her on the back of his quad, her arms wrapped around his waist and her cheek pressed to his back. But he wasn’t going to quash her willingness to try something new. It was one of his favorite things about her.

  “Of course you do, if you promise to take it easy.” Cash trusted Madi to figure out how to operate her ride pretty quickly, but he didn’t trust her not to go too fast. That girl jumped into anything without hesitation. One more thing to love about her.

  Side-by-side, Cash and Madi walked to the shop behind the main house, their shoulders occasionally brushing and their hands touching. He didn’t care about hiding how he felt from anyone, especially Madi. What they had wasn’t a fling, so why hide it?

  When they walked into the shop, Madi gasped. “There’s a lot of… things to ride.”

  “Yep.” Cash scanned the familiar space that he’d helped build and the dirt bikes, quads, kayaks, fishing boat, and camper that his dad had sold along with the property.

  “Do you use all of them?” She walked to the row of dirt bikes and touched the handles of the first one.

  “When there’s time. But there’s never time.” He waved her to the quad he’d already packed with their dinner and a blanket. “Let me show you how to use this thing.”

  After a quick lesson on clutches, hand brakes, and steering, they were ready to go. Cash found a helmet to fit her and replaced her pink hat with it, buckling it under her chin.

  “I think I like my other hat better,” she said, tugging on the helmet strap.

  He took her hands from the strap. “Leave it be. It’s gotta be snug. Your pink hat might keep people from thinking you’re a real cowgirl, but it won’t keep you from getting a head injury if you crash.”

  “You think I don’t look like a real cowgirl?” She pretended to be offended.

  “Not in that hat, but get yourself a good pair of Wranglers, and I think you’d pass now.” He sat in front of her on the quad to start it for her.

  “I have a pair! I found them in a vintage shop on Melrose. I pull them out for special occasions.” She talked loud enough for him to hear her over the engine and scooted forward as he got off.

  He rolled his eyes. Lord, what was he going to do with this girl? “Not exactly what I was thinking, but it’s a start,” he said, then started his own machine and pulled out of the shop, looking over his shoulder frequently to make sure Madi was okay. Driving quads wasn’t hard, but she picked it up even faster than he’d expected.

  She followed him down the dirt road that led from the main house to the original homestead with the broken-down log cabin that his great-great grandfather had built when he’d settled the land in the 1800s. It was the one part of the ranch Mr. Early didn’t have plans for and that Cash was hoping he could buy back from him. He hated the idea of having to buy back what would have been his if he hadn’t chased Lindsey to LA, but with the possibility of Madi in his life he had some motivation to find a place of his own sooner than later. In thinking it over, what he really wanted was the land that was in his blood.

  The air smelled sharp and musky. Memories hung heavy around him. He’d played with Scout’s progenitors when Cash’s mom had brought him and Lyla on picnics to the old homestead and told them stories of when her grandparents still lived in the house. The juniper trees strewn across the hills used to scare him at night with their branches sticking out at crazy angles like some monster trying to grab him.

  “What’s this place?” Madi asked as Cash helped her take off her helmet. She had dirt streaked across her face, and he thought it was about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.

  “It’s my past and my future. Used to be my great-grandparents, but I’m hoping to buy it for myself.” Cash wanted to show her the spot behind the house that offered the best view of the valley below and the mountains surrounding them. Spring Creek—a tributary of the river next to the ranch—ran a hundred feet from the house, a sliver of water in dry years, but a real bubbling brook at the moment. He actually preferred the more subdued beauty of this spot than the overabundance of scenery at the ranch.

  Madi, however, seemed more interested in the cabin. She left his side and walked to the cabin to peek in the windows. “It needs some work, but there’s so much great wood inside.”

  “My plan is to tear down the cabin and use the wood in whatever I build.” He followed her to each window, the porch creaking with each step they took. “I’d like to save as much of the cabin as possible, but it’s been too neglected to save the whole thing.”

  “I love that. You can do so many cool things here.” She turned to face him and leaned against the logs, her hands tucked behind her.

  “I’m hoping it won’t just be me. I’ll need whoever I’m waiting for by my side.” He tried not to look directly at her. He was already too exposed. If her eyes weren’t dancing the way they had that afternoon, he wouldn’t be able to take it.

  Madi pushed herself away from the wall. “It’d take the right kind of woman to make it what you want. What else have you got planned?”

  Cash let out his breath. “Let me show you.” He took Madi by the hand and laid out his plans for the place as they walked around.

  He wanted a smaller operation than the ranch, something easier to make sustainable. He’d have a small herd of cattle and focus on organic farming. He’d always been interested in how to work with nature, rather than just using it. His family had always been conservation- minded, but he wanted to go even further than that.

  “I might get laughed out of town. But people know I’m a Murdock. That name gets a lot of respect around here.” He licked his lips and turned toward her. Not quite sure how to say the next part, he let the words out with a prayer. “You could document the whole thing. I think it would work with the platform you’ve already established but give it a new direction. City girl moves to Montana to create a new happy place in a beautiful space. Something like that. I even researched it. One of the biggest stars around is tha
t pioneer lady who did the same thing, pretty much.”

  Now he did hazard a look at her. He wouldn’t let himself hide from her reaction. His whole future hinged on it.

  She looked past him at the landscape surrounding them: the yellow wildflowers, the green-brown sage, the setting sun spreading its shimmering orange light across the sky… the emptiness filled with everything but people. To him it was beautiful, but was it to her?

  It took Madi a lifetime to answer.

  She put her hand in his, weaving their fingers together. “I love it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Madi hadn’t returned Vance’s text. She’d thought about it a lot, but how would she answer it, and why? She may have fallen hard for Cash over the last week, but she’d also learned that she could make it on her own.

  And she might have to keep making it on her own. Cash’s idea for how she could make her social media platform work in Montana was good. Compelling, even. But it still meant leaving California, and she didn’t know that she was ready to do that. Cash recognized she had a successful business that was important to her, but he didn’t recognize she had a life in California that was important to her also. She had friends and family there.

  Okay, maybe not so much family. But she did have friends.

  “I get it,” Cash had said as they talked through future plans without actually talking about the “m” word. There was no denying the connection between them, but they’d only been exploring that connection for a week. She couldn’t just pack up her life and start over somewhere new because she’d fallen in love. That would not be making it on her own.

  “I’m not going to stop trying to win you over to Montana’s many charms,” he told her as they packed up to go back to the ranch.

  “That’s going to be a tougher job than winning me over to you.” She swatted a mosquito off his chest. His very firm chest. And one of the many reasons it was going to be hard for her to leave in six days. “California’s got some amazing views too. And sunsets over the ocean can rival your sunsets here.”