“It wasn’t exactly like that. She came on to me.”
“Oh, so that makes it okay?”
“It didn’t mean anything.”
“You married her!” The fact that he had done at least that did little to redeem Derek in Tessa’s eyes. “That’s not the worst part. You weren’t even man enough to tell me to my face.”
Derek pressed his lips together and looked down at his feet. Did he actually feel bad about that? “I know. That wasn’t cool. But I was a kid and I couldn’t face you. I knew I’d done the wrong thing.”
Tessa wasn’t sure if he really did feel bad about it, but that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was how she felt and right now, she saw Derek for what he was. A lying, selfish coward. She’d spent all those years twisted up inside, wondering what was wrong with her that caused the man she thought she loved to treat her like that and it hadn’t been her shortcoming at all.
All the years she’d spent second-guessing the motives of every guy she’d dated and unable to trust someone else was for nothing. It never was her fault. It had always been his. She felt as if a weight had been lifted.
Derek reached for her. “Can you ever forgive me?”
She pushed his hand away. “Forgive you? You did do the wrong thing. But you know what? I’m over you. I got over you a long time ago.” She stepped closer to him. The nearness of him made her nauseated but she wanted to prove her point. Wanted to show him that he had no hold on her. “I just wanted to come and tell you face-to-face what an asshole you are.”
Tessa saw the look of defiance cross his face and it made her feel even better. It was as if she’d broken some sort of spell that had been holding her hostage. The Tessa that had been taken in by Derek was young but the Tessa that stood here now was older and wiser. This Tessa no longer had to fear that she couldn’t trust anyone. Not all men were like Derek. Cash wasn’t.
She was buoyed by the realization that she’d finally broken through. She could trust now. She could be with Cash. She could tell him her true feelings and trust that he wouldn’t stomp all over them...and hope that maybe he felt the same way.
Before she could turn to leave, she heard footsteps pounding up the porch steps behind her. A hand pushed in between her and Derek, gently pulling her away.
She spun around, surprise jolting her when she saw Cash pushing his way in between them.
“Get away from her. She’s mine and I’m not gonna let you hurt her ever again.”
Cash stood in between Tessa and Derek, his heart beating frantically in his chest as his hands curled into eager fists. When he’d left Gramps, he’d rushed to The Chuckwagon, figuring that Sam would know where Tessa was. He’d almost lost his resolve when she’d said Tessa was at Derek’s. She’d tried to explain, but Cash didn’t want to hear it. Best he come and see for himself.
He’d been afraid she’d gone to take up with Derek where they’d left off. Afraid she wouldn’t want to be with him anymore. But a little part of him knew that Tessa and he belonged together. So he’d rushed over, determined not to let her go without telling her how he felt.
And now, here she was practically nose to nose with Derek. But once he’d seen her, he knew he wasn’t going to let her go easy. Tessa was worth fighting for.
The urge to pop Derek in his smirking face almost overcame him, but he knew that wasn’t the way to solve things. He didn’t know why Tessa was here or why she was standing so close to Derek but he did know that he and Tessa had something real. Whatever she might have thought she had with this Bozo was fake, and he just had to get her to realize it.
Cash didn’t care if he made a fool out of himself. He was going to lay it all on the line right here and now and if Tessa chose Derek, then so be it. At least he wouldn’t spend the rest of his life like his grandfather, regretting that he never fought for with the woman he loved.
Derek took a step back and put his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, there. Hold on. I’m not gonna hurt her.”
Cash’s head swiveled between Tessa and Derek. Come to think of it, neither one of them looked too happy. What had he interrupted?
“Good.” He let his fists relax.
“I don’t think you have any right to come barging in here, though,” Derek said.
“I came for Tessa.” Cash stepped back so he could try to read the look on Tessa’s face. She looked confused. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand and silenced her.
“Now, before you say anything, hear me out,” Cash said. His hand dipped into his pocket, touching the velvet box for courage.
“I’ve loved you ever since we were kids. Maybe at first it started out just as friendship but somehow it turned into something so much more.”
“Aww...isn’t that nice.” Derek’s voice dripped with sarcasm but Cash ignored him. His eyes were only on Tessa, and her eyes were dark with emotion, setting off a spark of hope inside Cash.
“Shut up and let him speak,” Tessa said, raising Cash’s hopes even further. She wanted to hear what he had to say. He had a chance!
“Now, I know you have a past with Derek,” he continued. “But he’s no good for you. He’s a jerk that will just hurt you again.”
“Hey, I am not. I’m nicer now,” Derek whined.
“Well, I wasn’t going to—“ Tessa started.
“Wait.” Cash held up his hand, cutting off her words. “Let me finish.”
Tessa quirked a brow. “Okay...”
His heart thudded against his rib cage as he took Tessa’s hand. “You know that we’re good together. I was hoping that we could continue being good together. But, I won’t stand in your way if what we had was just a temporary thing and you want to move on.”
Tessa’s eyes grew misty, and Cash didn’t know if it was because she was happy at what he was saying or sad that she was going to have to break his heart.
“Wait, you guys have a thing going on?” Derek interrupted.
“Shut up,” they both said.
Tessa turned to Cash. “I don’t want to move on.”
He knew she meant it. He felt it in every nerve, every muscle, and especially in his heart.
He sank down onto one knee. Pulling the velvet box from his pocket, he flipped it open and said, “Tessa Riley, will you marry me?”
18
Two weeks later...
Tessa’s heart expanded as she watched the sunlight spark off the center diamond in the antique engagement ring while she showed it off to Sam and Rena, angling her hand this way and that to catch the sun’s rays. It wasn’t the biggest or most expensive engagement ring, but it had been in Cash’s family, having belonged to his grandmother and great grandmother before her, and it meant something. Of course, Cash could have given her a pull tab from a soda can and she would’ve been just as deliriously happy.
“We’ve seen it like fifty times before,” Sam teased as she hugged Tessa. “But I’m glad you’re so happy.
“Me, too.” Rena hugged her as well then whispered in her ear. “It gives me hope that someday I can be happy, too.”
Tessa’s heart pinched for Rena. They’d had similar issues with trust. Tessa hated to think of how bleak her life would have been had she not overcome her issues. Hopefully, Rena could get to the same place.
“You will,” Tessa assured her.
“Hey, you guys, the food’s all out.” Melina waved from one of the long tables that Autumn Campbell and Edna Riley had set up in the yard of the Campbell ranch for the engagement party that Tessa’s and Cash’s parents were throwing for them.
It was a small affair, just close friends and family, but it was all that Tessa needed, she thought as she headed over to the red and white checkered tablecloth covered tables. The tables were loaded with large pottery bowls full of potato salad, green leaf salad, and platters stuffed with hamburgers and hotdogs. There were two plates of deviled eggs and several small dishes with pickled cucumbers and carrot relish. At the end of the tables, two oversized red coolers held be
er bottles and soda cans, their tops sticking up out of the sea of ice cubes that filled the coolers.
It was a perfect mid-September Montana day. T-shirt weather in the afternoon but sweater weather at night. The grass and leaves were still green with just a hint that they might turn color in a few weeks.
“Hamburger or hotdog?” Melina held a plate toward Tessa, a questioning look on her face.
“Hot dog.”
Melina picked a hot dog up with tongs, stuffed it into a bun and put it on the plate, handing the plate over the table to Tessa who went down the line loading relish, ketchup and mustard onto the dog before putting a large dab of potato salad on the other side of the plate.
The clink of horseshoes drew her attention to the other side of the yard. Kade and Jackson were in a heated competition with Cash’s brother, Evan, who’d come home for the party and Nick.
“I lost a lot of money on this bet,” Kade’s voice drifted over to her.
Evan laughed. “You bet against them? Geez, I could’ve told you not to do that. Anyone could see they’d eventually end up together. Been obvious since they were little kids.”
“And here I always thought of Tessa as just one of the guys,” Nick said.
“Well, apparently Cash didn’t,” Jackson chimed in. “I lost a lot of money, too, but it’s all good. With you and Cash out of the running, there’s a lot more girls for me and Kade now.”
The group laughed as Kade and Jackson tapped knuckles. Tessa turned away, a smile tugging at her lips as she polished off the hot dog and tossed the plate in a big trash can.
She loved this. All of this. Their friends and families together. The gorgeous Sweetrock landscape. The way that both her mom and Cash’s bustled in and out from the kitchen to bring food to the table. Her dad and Cash’s dad cooking at the grill laughing and joking.
Both sets of parents had been overjoyed to hear of their engagement. Though, oddly enough, they didn’t seem that surprised. The Rileys and the Campbells had been friends for generations and they were glad to see a union between the two families. So glad, in fact, that they’d combined resources and each had carved out several acres of land where their properties abutted, making a separate lot for Tessa and Cash. She was finally going to get her own place and her own business working with horses, just as she’d always dreamed. Even better, she’d be running that business along with Cash.
Sam came up and linked her arm through Tessa’s, strolling her toward the front of the house, dodging several chickens who free-ranged around the edges of the grass pecking for insects. “So, how’s it going? I haven’t seen much of you the past few weeks.”
Sam wiggled her eyebrows and Tessa’s cheeks heated. In the two weeks after Cash had proposed, they’d practically been living together at Tessa’s place. Neither one of them wanted to give up their morning breakfasts, evening rides, or what happened in between. They’d just barely managed to keep up their social obligations at The Bull Sheep Bar, though Tessa had to admit neither one of them wanted to stay there for long, preferring to hurry home and be together, just the two of them.
“I seem to recall the same sort of thing happening with you and Nick,” Tessa teased.
Sam laughed and squeezed her arm. “Fair enough. I’m glad you’re happy and I know that you and Cash will be good together.”
“So did you win money on the bet, then?”
“You betcha.”
Tessa remembered all those times at the bar when Sam scooted her chair over to make sure Tessa and Cash would be sitting next to each other. Tessa had done the same thing with Sam and Nick. “You were trying to push us together, weren’t you?”
Sam shrugged. “No more than you tried to push Nick and me together.”
Tessa’s lips curled up in a smile. “It all worked out good though, huh?”
“It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
“What you gals all smiles about?” Beulah passed them on the way from the house to the table with a chocolate cake on a platter. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. Those are the kind of smiles only a man can put on your face.”
“Speaking of men, where is Hargrove?” Sam asked. Beulah had been dating the local food critic Nathan Hargrove but she had shown up at the party solo.
“You know me. I can’t be tied down to one guy. I like to play the field.” Beulah glanced back at the porch where Cash was sitting with his grandfather. “And at my age, a girl has to keep herself available for all kinds of prospects.” Beulah winked at the girls and headed off toward the food table.
“Man, she’s something, isn’t she?” Sam said as they watched her go.
“Sure is.”
Sam glanced up at the porch. “I think someone up there is looking at you.”
Tessa looked up and locked eyes with Cash, a trill of excitement running through her. The desire to run over to be beside him overwhelmed her, but she managed not to give in.
Sam let go of her arm. “I’m going to go grab something to eat. See you later.” She pushed her toward the porch.
“Bye,” Tessa said to Sam but she hadn’t taken her eyes from the porch. On that porch was her entire future and her heart soared as she headed toward it.
Cash’s heart nearly burst at the sight of Tessa walking toward him with a wide smile on her face and his ring glinting on her finger. He was the luckiest guy in the world.
“Makes a guy feel lucky, doesn’t it?” his grandfather said as if reading his mind.
“Sure does.”
“Good thing you came to visit me that day and got the gumption to go talk to her, boy. I would have hated to see you lose out on that little lady.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Cash turned his attention to Gramps, his smile faltering. Cash had gotten his girl but Gramps hadn’t had the same luck.
“Oh, don’t feel sorry for me,” Gramps said as if he were reading Cash’s mind again. “I may have not been able to keep the Campbell family ring on your grandmother’s finger, but we had a lot of good years together. Now, now.” He held up his hand at Cash’s sudden look of alarm. “The same thing is not going to happen to you. Tessa is not your grandma. Your grandma always had a wandering eye and Tessa is happy right here in Sweetrock.”
“I know that.” In his heart, he did.
“And don’t you spend time thinking I wasted my youth, either. I didn’t spend all my time pining for your grandma. No sir-ee. I had a good time playing the field. And I still do.” Gramps’ eyes drifted off towards the tables where Beulah was bent over, setting a cake plate down.
Cash started in the seat. Surely Gramps didn’t mean... Over in the distance he could see Kade and Jackson looking between Gramps and Beulah. Kade reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.
Were they betting on Gramps and Beulah?
But then Tessa stole his attention as she walked up the porch steps, coming right up beside him and slipping her hand into his. She twined their fingers together, the warmth of them spreading up into his heart. She sat down beside him and he rested their clasped hands on her thigh.
Cash sighed and tipped the bottle of beer he held in his free hand to his lips. The savory taste of hops combined with ice-cold liquid was perfect for the warm September day. His chair creaked as he leaned back in contentment, looking at the horses grazing in the distance. This was perfection—Tessa on one side and Gramps on the other, the air spiced with the savory aroma of grilled meat, fresh air and horses.
He’d never wanted to live anywhere else and now he’d be spending the rest of his life right here with Tessa by his side. Didn’t get much better than that.
The screen door to the house squeaked open and Autumn Campbell appeared, dressed in faded jeans and a long shirt splashed with vivid colors. Her vibrant smile and tanned face highlighted the sparkle in her light blue eyes as she looked approvingly at their clasped hands.
Cash flashed back on a day three weeks ago when his mom had come out on the porch to tell him he’d have to move into the Riley
ranch temporarily. That day, he’d been sitting here alone. He marveled at how much things could change in just a few weeks.
“I hope you two are having fun,” Autumn said. “I’m glad the rain held off.”
“Told you it would,” Cash said.
Autumn hitched her hip up on the railing and nodded. “So you did. I’ve learned by now to listen to you instead of the weather man.”
“The weather is perfect. Thanks so much for hosting the party,” Tessa said.
“Well, your mom and I just figured we could throw it together out here. You kids always did like hanging out in the yard and the barn here.”
Cash glanced at the barn, his lips quirking up, his body tightening at thoughts of just a few weeks ago when he and Tessa had hung out in the barn during the thunderstorm. Tessa squeezed his hand and he knew she was thinking the same thoughts.
Autumn and Gramps were looking at him funny so he just said. “It’s the perfect place.”
“Right, and soon you guys will have your own place close by. Won’t have to be too far from us or the Rileys,” Autumn said.
“We can’t wait,” Tessa said, and then nudged her chin in the direction of the screen door. “I forgot to mention, your floors came out nice.”
“Huh?” Autumn scrunched up her face then glanced at the door. “Oh, right. Good thing we got that deal from Judd, right Edna?” She yelled through the screen door to Tessa’s mom who Cash assumed was toiling away at something in the kitchen.
“Deal? Oh, on the floors. Right. Good thing.” Edna appeared in the doorway with a tray full of brownies. “That deal really helped us a lot, didn’t it?”
Edna and Autumn exchanged a ‘look’ that made Cash’s brows furrow together, as if they were really talking about something else and not the hardwood floors. He glanced at Tessa. Had they been set up?
Too Close For Comfort (Sweetrock Cowboy Romance Book 2) Page 12