Hosed

by Pippa Grant

  That she’s loved.

  That she’s wanted.

  And that she has a home.

  Thirty-One

  Cassie

  * * *

  I spot the sheriff crossing the square toward the bakery shortly before noon. My belly’s full of delicious carbs—Savannah’s right, this is totally the way to combat heartbreak—and my throat and lungs are less scratchy now, thanks to Gerald’s honey tea.

  “He’s not taking you anywhere, hon,” Ruthie May assures me.

  “Not without going through me first,” Gerald agrees.

  I haven’t called Savannah, and I’m not going to until I absolutely have to. Which is apparently going to be sooner rather than later.

  “Maybe he’s coming to tell me Steve gave him a full confession, and he’s sorry,” I say, but I don’t believe it.

  “Don’t say a single word,” Savannah’s lawyer, Deborah, advises. “Anything you say in this town will get taken the wrong way.”

  “That’s not true,” Ruthie May objects.

  Deborah clicks her manicured fingertips against the table and arches a thin blond brow.

  “Okay, that’s possibly true,” Ruthie May concedes. “But we assume the best misinterpretation almost as often as we assume the worst. Look at all those people who didn’t believe Steve would screw a sheep.”

  “And therefore assumed Savannah was making the entire thing up?” I remind her.

  She pulls a face. “Bad example.”

  The sheriff reaches the door, then frowns and tilts his head toward the radio clipped to his uniform shirt. His voice—but not his exact words—carries through the glass door, and there’s a muffled squawk back on his radio.

  He pushes into the bakery and points at me. “You. Stay put.”

  And then he turns and hustles back the way he came.

  “That was…unusual,” Maud says.

  “Maybe he got a call that his hemorrhoids are infected,” Ruthie May says.

  We all look at her.

  She smiles sweetly. “What? That’s not a good twist on a bad situation?”

  I shove up from the table. “I have to use the ladies’ room.”

  “If you’re sneaking out the window, let me know. I’ll meet you in the alley with the getaway car,” Ruthie May offers.

  “I’m not running away.”

  Her sweet smile widens. “I’m just assuming that if you were, you’d trust me to be your sidekick.”

  I fight a smile as I head to the bathroom. It is nice to have friends with their hearts in the right place.

  Even if they can’t erase everything that’s gone wrong between Ryan and me.

  When I get back to the table, Ruthie May and Maud are pressed to the window. “What on earth is that boy doing now?” Maud murmurs.

  Gerald peers over their heads. “Can’t be good if he’s bringing the raccoon into it.”

  My heart stutters and my belly flips like I’m careening over the first big hill on a roller coaster.

  I’m going to miss George.

  “And what’s the clothesline for?” Ruthie May says. “Why’s he flapping his arms like that?”

  “Where are all those people coming from?” Deborah the attorney asks.

  Gerald starts to grin. “Cassie, hon…I think you need to see this.”

  I shake my head. I don’t want to see.

  Because if I see, I’ll start to hope, and if I start to hope, I’ll get crushed all over again.

  “Come, come.” Ruthie May dashes to my side and grabs one arm.

  Maud takes the other.

  “What—” I start.

  “We’re assuming the best about people,” Ruthie May announces.

  They pull me out the door to look at the square, which is slowly filling with people. Most of them are coming from the direction of the factory, but they’re also coming from other directions too.

  Ryan’s in the center of the square, which he’s divided with a clothesline. Even though he’s half a city block away, the determination in the set of his jaw when our gazes lock makes the breath rush out of my lungs.

  “I have an announcement,” he calls. His voice carries, and the murmurs of the growing crowd settle down.

  “Oh! He put it on InstaChat,” Ruthie May whispers. “Everyone come to the Square. I have a big fucking announcement.”

  “Shh!” Maud hisses.

  “Cassandra Mae Sunderwell did not sabotage Sunshine Toys. I know that for a fact, and so should all of you,” Ryan announces.

  There’s a murmur in the crowd.

  “I’m standing here, on this side of the line, because I’m on Team Cassie. I believe in her. The sheriff doesn’t, but he’s wrong. And any of you who don’t believe her are wrong too.”

  My hand flies to my throat, tugging at the neck of the tee shirt dress I threw on after I was released from the hospital. What the hell is he doing?

  “I don’t care what you think of Sunshine Toys,” he continues, “if you’re not willing to stand up for one of our own when she’s being framed, then you’re not my friend or neighbor. So you can join me on Team Cassie, or you can be on the wrong side of history. Which is it going to be?”

  “Is this really happening?” I whisper.

  “I’ll be damned,” Gerald says while the people of Happy Cat all look at each other uncertainly.

  Ruthie May’s about to tremble herself out of her shoes from the excitement. “He’s taking a stand,” she whispers.

  “For you,” Maud adds. “You know what people love about Ryan? He never takes sides. He’s the guy who lives and let lives, who tries to make everyone happy.”

  I blink.

  “Who’s with me?” Ryan demands. “Who’s on Team Cassie?”

  “I am,” Blake announces, stepping up beside him.

  “Me too.” Jace joins Ryan as well.

  “Me! Me!” Ruthie May dashes across the square, followed by Maud.

  Gerald squeezes my shoulder, says, “I’ll never be Team Sex Toy Factory, but I’m Team Cassie,” and trails after his wife.

  The teenagers who invented dildo ball trip over each other racing to Ryan’s side, and are soon joined by Olivia. Then Emma June and Tucker.

  Then Savannah’s neighbors across the street.

  Neil from the lab at the factory.

  The farmer I accidentally christened with my chunk of sno-cone.

  The couple who own the Kennedy Family Day School where I get my very favoritest coffee in the whole wide world.

  “I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” Ryan announces. His voice is steady, carrying across the square. “I’ll probably make a lot more. But I will never doubt Cassie again. She’s smart. She’s kind. She has the purest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, and even if she had burned that factory down—WHICH SHE DID NOT—she would’ve had a damn good reason for it. And any of you who don’t believe in her are no longer welcome at the annual O’Dell Halloween party.”

  There’s a collective gasp, and at least fifty people rush toward the half of the square declared to be Team Cassie.

  I swallow the lump forming in my throat, but I can’t stop the hot prick of tears stinging my eyes.

  He’s staking his entire reputation on me.

  Gordon the taxidermist strides across the square and ducks under the clothesline to join Ryan’s side. So does Carl, the crankiest old man in town twelve years running.

  Some of the Sunshine Toys employees who haven’t been coming to work because they didn’t want to be photographed by the building march up to his side.

  “You don’t have to like the factory to like Cassie,” Ryan says. “I don’t like Tucker’s loud-ass motorcycle, but I still like him. I don’t like Carl’s snappy beagle or the catfish at the place my parents made me go to every Sunday as a kid or how everyone in this town lives to be in everyone else’s business.” He pauses, his voice gentling. “But we’re neighbors. We’re friends, family. Or at least I thought we were. But if we, as a community, can’t embrac
e a woman as good as Cassie, then I don’t think I can be a part of it anymore.”

  The Team Cassie half of the square is so full people are stretching the clothesline to fit onto that side.

  I swipe my eyes, feeling both silly and overwhelmed.

  Fool me once, I keep reminding myself as Ryan weaves through the crowd toward me. Fool me once…

  Except I understand.

  Ryan’s a protector, he always has been. He looks out for the people he loves, and the drama and danger at the factory have been a threat to the things he holds most dear.

  And this is his home.

  It’s been his home his entire life.

  But he’s still willing to give it all up—home, family, his standing in the community. For me. For a second chance.

  And you believe in second chances, girl, my inner voice whispers as he stops on the sidewalk before me. She may have gotten a little smarter since I first came to town.

  “Cassie,” he says, my name a prayer on his lips. “I can say I’m sorry until the cows come home, and it still wouldn’t be enough to tell you how much I regret the way I acted this morning.”

  I tuck my arms around myself and blink against fresh tears, looking over his head at the people in the square. Someone’s pulled up “We Are Family” on their phone, and other people are holding up lighter apps and swaying to the music.

  This town is so…perfect.

  Funny and complicated and, yes, awful sometimes, but also…perfect.

  “Team Cassie!” Tucker hollers.

  “Shush up so we can hear him, doofus,” Emma June hisses.

  Ryan ducks his head and runs a hand over his mussed hair. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days. Apparently being estranged from each other for the morning has been as hard on him as it’s been on me.

  “It’s okay if you hate me forever,” he says, “but I wanted to make sure you know you’re not alone. You fit here, Cassie. I know how much the factory means to you. How much you want to do with it. You should stay. Shine. Embrace all of Happy Cat, the good and the bad, but know that these people—” He hooks a thumb behind him at the crowd, which is starting to sing along. “They have your back. And if you don’t want anything to do with me, I’ll leave. If that’s what you need to be happy, I’ll go.”

  “No!” I couldn’t stop the strangled cry if I tried. It wells up from the depths of my heart and bursts out of me. I wipe at the stupid tears again. “No,” I say again, softer. “You don’t have to go. This is your home.”

  “And yours?” he asks.

  The pain, uncertainty, and regret in his beautiful eyes are killing me. I want to wrap my arms around him and promise him everything’s going to be okay, but I’m so scared.

  Falling in love was the easy part. Fighting for love is harder than I ever imagined it could be. Because this fight isn’t about putting up my fists, it’s about letting down my walls and being vulnerable with this man who means so much to me. A man I now know without a doubt holds my heart in his hands.

  He could break me. So easily.

  Be he also makes me whole.

  “George would miss you,” he adds.

  My laugh comes out half-sob. “That was low.”

  His lips hitch halfway up. “I’m a desperate man. I fucked it up with you. I know that. And I’m so sorry.”

  I sniff. “Yeah. You did fuck up. Why did you do that?”

  He sighs, but he doesn’t flinch in the face of my searching look. “I got a peek at what it might be like to lose you, and it scared the hell out of me. Shook me so hard I didn’t realize I was running scared until my brothers knocked some sense into me.” He swallows hard. “When I’m with you, everything feels so right, Cass. Like, for the first time in my life, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to do. And that’s loving you, with everything in me.”

  I press a fist to my chest, where my heart is threatening to pound a hole through my ribs.

  “I’m not perfect,” he continues, his eyes shining, “and I can’t promise I won’t fuck up again, but if there’s any chance you could give me a second chance, I swear to you, I will bust my ass to be the man you deserve. If you want me to print my apology on the front page of the paper, I will.”

  My lips quirk. “I think the whole town’s already heard it.”

  He huffs, blinking as he nods. “Yeah. You’re probably right. But…anything else. Anything at all. You name it, baby, and I’ll do it. I just—I want to take back everything that happened this morning. I want to have never left our bed. I want to have been there for you when you needed me. Because you’re what matters most. And I’m just so damned sorry.”

  I launch myself at him, because this isn’t a man who wants to hurt me.

  This is my man.

  Who’s as imperfect as I am, but who tries his best to be everything and more for the people he loves.

  “Stop,” I say, wrapping him up tight in my arms. “Stop apologizing. I forgive you. And I love you. Just the way you are.”

  He exhales a shaky breath and squeezes, his nose buried in my hair. “I love you, Cassie. I love you so much it hurts.”

  “It’s not supposed to hurt,” I tell him.

  “Hurting you hurts me.”

  “I forgive you,” I whisper again. “And I’m sorry for not forgiving you sooner. But even when I was mad at you, I still loved you. I’ve always loved you, Romeo.”

  “Ditto, Juliet.”

  Cheers are erupting behind us, but I shut them out and hug Ryan with all my might.

  He’s so much for so many people, but who takes care of him? I think that needs to be my job. And I think I’m going to kick ass at it.

  He smiles at me with shiny eyes full of hope. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.”

  “You’re you. That’s more than enough.”

  A furry beast circles my legs and chitters at me. I look down at George, and he smiles back up at me.

  Ryan brushes a thumb down my cheek. “Can I take you home?”

  “In a minute.”

  His brows furrow. “If you’re waiting for the sheriff, it’s safe to say he has his hands full with the real criminal now.”

  A relief I didn’t know I needed sags through my body. Having the entire town on my side is one thing. Convincing law enforcement is also necessary to staying out of jail, however. “Really?”

  Ryan grins at me. “George caught himself an arsonist.”

  “Good boy,” I tell George. “I’m making you extra popcorn tonight, and I want you to tell me all about it.”

  George doesn’t clap his hands, but his beady expression tells me he’s looking forward to being back where we belong. With popcorn. And Ryan. And each other, just like a real family.

  “So, about home,” Ryan says, taking my hands in his.

  I shake my head again. “Nope. This first.”

  And before he can object—not that he would, I’m quite certain—I give the crowd what they want. I go up on tiptoe to press a kiss to his lips.

  The quick kiss turns into a long kiss, and soon I’ve completely forgotten we’re in public.

  George hasn’t, though.

  He climbs Ryan like a tree, wedging his fluffy butt between us before any clothes are in danger of falling off.

  We break apart, laughing. “Okay, okay,” Ryan says to George. “We’ll get a room.”

  All of Happy Cat explodes in cheers behind us, and I realize I’ve found something I’ll never have in San Francisco.

  I don’t just have a true love, I have the love of a whole community.

  But Ryan is my favorite. My very, very favorite.

  That’s true even before the photos of Steve being led into the sheriff’s office in handcuffs break on InstaChat a few hours later. But when I hear how my man and my trash panda saved the day, I have no doubt I’m the luckiest woman in Georgia.

  “You guys,” I say, giggling as the comments and sheep emojis pile up on the InstaChat post. �
��You did so good.”

  Ryan kisses my temple, drawing me closer on the bed. As close as two people with a giant raccoon in their laps can get, anyway. But George insists on holding the tablet, even though he hasn’t yet figured out how to work the screen. But with this brilliant little critter, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.

  “We would’ve done anything for you,” Ryan tells me. “We’ll always do anything for you.”

  I lift a brow at him. “Anything?”

  “Anything.”

  “Even put matching handlebars on your bike?”

  He tips his head back and laughs, and I soak in the music of my favorite sound in the entire world.

  “For you? Absolutely.” He kisses me again, and I smile against his lips.

  Because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Ryan either.

  And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life showing him.

  Thirty-Two

  Ryan

  One Month Later…

  * * *

  Karaoke night at the Wild Hog has been pre-empted tonight by something better: the party for the formal launch of Cassie’s new gaming app for Sunshine Toys.

  Jace announced the party on InstaChat last week, and the event got so many RSVPs that he had to issue tickets. Since Steve ended up behind bars for a laundry list of offenses, including multiple counts of arson, Cassie’s been pretty popular around here.

  And the factory is gaining popularity too, at least to a degree.

  Now, as I wade through the crowd with two lemonades in hand, looking for Cassie, it’s all good vibes. Friends and neighbors shout greetings and congratulations, as if I’m the one who’s done something special, when really, it’s all my girl.

  She came up with the plan to save Savannah’s factory.

  She charmed half the people who are still opposed to the factory into putting up with it just to keep her sweet self around.

  And she’s made me feel like a new man.

  Until she came home, I had no idea what I was missing. No idea this kind of love was even possible. I don’t know what I’ll do if she ever changes her mind and decides to head back to San Francisco.