She laughed, flashing another feral grin. “No, Quinn. I’m a hunter as well.”
It all made sense now. I think Cash really had met his match.
By the time I made it back to Hux’s side, I realized I’d forgotten to get myself a drink. I’d been too caught up in everything.
“Where’ve you been?” he asked, pulling me against him.
“Watching the weirdest things unfold,” I admitted, before launching into what all had happened. The connection I swore I could feel between Ollie and Cash. The strange encounter between Whit and Cash’s Uncle Goodie. “She’s still over there talking to him, by the way,” I went on, my gaze flicking to them for, like, the dozenth time. And what was even more unexpected was how happy and at ease she looked. He still came across as nervous and fidgety, but there was intrigue and a bashful smile on his face, so I think it was going well.
“Maybe she’s into older guys,” Hux offered.
“Yeah, maybe.” Except I’d never known. She was my best friend. Shouldn’t I, like, know or something? It wasn’t like I was weirded out or anything like that. Though, the thought that she might be into someone as old as my dad was a bit surprising. But hey, whatever floated her boat.
Shaking my head to clear it of my thoughts, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You ready for the auction?”
He blew out a breath, and I felt him tremble beneath me a bit. “Is it weird I’m nervous? It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been up in front of people. But…I don’t know. This feels bigger. More important.”
I reached up on tiptoe and brushed my lips against his. It amazed me how quickly the tension in his muscles and limbs melted. As if my touch held that much power over him. I know he held that much power over me.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” I whispered against his lips. “And I’ll be right by your side.”
He cupped my face in his hands, scraping his thumbs along the curve of my jaw. Butterflies danced in my chest. “Love you, darlin’.”
I hummed in approval and kissed him once more. Slow and deep, like we were the only two souls on the planet. “Love you too.”
“Wait, who the hell is gonna auction things for us?” he asked as we made our way toward the DJ’s table to grab the mic.
“I already got it covered. Cash said he’d do it.”
“Oh shit,” Hux cursed.
Trepidation welled in my stomach. “Is that a bad thing?”
He’d seemed like the perfect candidate. He was witty, charming, and a bit aggressive, which I figured were all attributes that someone trying to sell things would possess.
Hux blew out a breath and laughed. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we, darlin’?”
Not much later, Huxand I made our way to the center of the dance floor. He gripped my hand like his life depended on it. I didn’t mind, I probably held on just as tight, especially with all the eyes on us.
Hux rolled some of the tension out of his shoulders and held the mic up to his lips. “Thank y’all for comin’ out tonight. I hope y’all‘ve been havin’ a good time.”
A chorus of claps and an all too familiar crow of excitement erupted from the crowd—Cash. I bit back a grin as I found him close to the front with their group. Mr. Mooney met my gaze and offered a reassuring wink. I smiled and nodded. I liked him.
“I know that I’ve already talked to quite a few of y’all here about the uh…the significance of tonight, and what we’re plannin’ to do with this place,” Hux said, pulling my attention to him once more.
“The first night I met Quinn, she told me she got into event planning because she wanted to breathe life into things. Well—“ Hux cleared his throat, his gaze dipping toward me. It was moments like this when it was easy to think he was actually seeing me. Maybe he could, in a way. “Not only has she breathed life into this event, but she managed to breathe life into me as well.”
He kissed my forehead and I melted, tears stinging in my eyes. “I love you,” I whispered, quiet enough for only him to hear.
He peppered another soft kiss to my forehead before continuing on. “Quinn and I want to create a place for people to come and heal. To have the life breathed back into them. The Broken Creek Ranch Equine Therapy Center will allow patients to recover and heal here through the power of horsemanship and other forms of therapy. And as you can imagine…that’s gonna cost a pretty penny to get started. So, all proceeds from tonight’s auction will be goin’ towards that.”
A wave of approving murmurs traversed through the crowd.
“Now, before we begin,” Hux went on, “I know that an awful lot of you wanna know if I’m comin’ out of retirement. And I am…on one condition.”
I swear, the roar of cheers and excitement was so loud it was deafening. It went on so long Hux had to shush everyone.
With a chuckle, he said, “If we can raise enough money tonight…if we can reach our goal, I’m gonna ride one more time. So, how about we get this auction started? Cash Mooney, you wanna come on up?”
