I wouldn’t see the kids anymore. I wouldn’t see Cash, though I suppose that was the plan all along. None of this was ever supposed to be permanent. After last night, though, I wish it were.
The way Cash held me in his arms. The way he restrained himself from touching me. The feral growl in his throat as he repressed every filthy urge… he wants more than my body.
He wants me.
And though it’s terribly wrong in every sense, I want him too.
A chill runs down my spine and through my thighs as I think of his rough hands on my skin. This… is the part I need tostop sinking into. It was one night. One night and nothing really even happened. He just watched me touch myself a little.
No big deal.
That happens to people all the time, right?
My chest tightens and my panties dampen as a crack of thunder shakes the old farmhouse floor. It’s the jolt I need to get moving.
I pull on my raincoat, put my hood up, and step out into the yard where rain sheets in silver curtains. I’m glad I took the time to pack breakfast away in Tupperware. I was going to carry it down on a plate, like I usually do.
The sky is gray, despite the sun coming up hours ago. Usually, I don’t care for dark and dreary days, but there’s something about this particular scene that evokes a sense of cozy wistfulness. It reminds me of the colder months, when the days end early and the windows along Main Street glow like beacons against the dark.
Out here, the only light comes from the barn. A big, gray washed building with a pale yellow bulb flickering above an old workbench. Cash is bent over it, swinging his hammer in slow, solid blows. His biceps flexing, as his shoulders tighten.
The closer I get, the more the scene unfolds. Leather spread out in front of him. A saddle. He’s securing something metallic on a saddle.
I’m nearly to the barn doors when I see the roof bowing under the weight of the rain, a support beam that looks warped or water damaged, and another flickering light, probably from some unstable wiring. Red flags go off in my head as I analyze every risk, though none of them supersede the natural response my body has to be next to him again.
“Knock, knock.” I smile as I duck under the old tin roof, rain drumming in a steady rhythm that makes the whole worldfeel smaller. The warm scent of leather and hay rise to meet me, threaded with the faintest hint of pine.
I’ve never once thought of a barn as romantic, but as the light from the flickering bulb wraps the space in a gentle shimmer that catches on cobwebs like tiny constellations, I stand corrected. It’s beautifully imperfect. Then again, I’m pretty sure a dusty, dumpster-lined alley would feel romantic with a guy that looks like Cash.
He glances toward me and smiles like it’s the first time he smiled in an hour. “Thank Jesus you’re here. You have no idea how much I could use a break right now.” He tugs off his work gloves and takes a step toward me, his hand on my hip as he pulls me in for a hug. “Sorry I had to run out the door. How were the kids this morning?”
“Umm,” I grin, handing him the coffee and food I’ve brought, “they wereverypowered up. Cora insisted on chocolate chips with sprinkles and Jake wanted caramel sauce.” I narrow my brows playfully. “Candy breakfast may have gotten out of hand.”
He grins and bites into his own chocolate chip pancake with sprinkles. “You really are good at this.”
I nod once solidly and watch as he keeps eating, one big bite after another. The rough rasp in his throat as he chews. His big, rough hand gripping the fork. His dirty jeans. The salt and pepper in his beard.
Why does he have to be so insanely masculine?
Why does he have to be so insanely hot?
Any other friend of my dad’s could’ve needed a nanny, and I wouldn’t be feeling this way right now. Heck, I’d have already packed my bag and been halfway to Dallas.
“I mean it,” he continues, still eating. “I really appreciate you and everything you’re doing for my family. I hope last night doesn’t complicate that.”
My stomach fills with butterflies. Big ones. I’m talking Queen Alexandra Birdwing butterflies. The ones with an eleven-inch wingspan. I learned about them in one of Jake’s animal books.
I glanced down at the cracked cement floor of the barn and nod before I glance back up again. “Of course. I love you guys.”
A swell of heat rises up my spine.Did I just tell him I loved him?
“I mean, I love you guys like… I care about you guys, like family. Like… not in thecrazyway, but like the kind of love you have for your soccer team because you all… train all day together and you’re getting ice cream at the end of the season because you won the tournament.”
Did any of that make sense?All I can think about is my blazing hot face.
Cash laughs and crosses his arms over his chest, his dark gaze on mine. “Well, you should know we love you too… like a soccer team kind of love.”
I can’t help but smile as he leans back on his stool and stares at me. It’s the same electricity we had on the beach yesterday. The same spark that left me sopping wet with thoughts of pinning him to the floor to ride his cock until he filled me up.
