"No. I can't let you do that. It's not your cross to bear."
I lift her face to mine. "I want to take care of you."
"I don't want your money, Easton."
"That's not what I meant." I study her face, admiring her strength to do it all on her own. Money is something we can discuss another time, especially since I don't like seeing how hard she works and how much she struggles. Right now, all I want is to be with her. "Spend the rest of the day with me."
Cat pauses a second in thought, then looks over her shoulder at the salon. "I'll go ask." She turns back to me. "You're crazy, you know that?"
I smile like a fool in love because I am. "So you say." Cat's hand slips from mine, and she starts to jog toward the salon, but she suddenly spins on her heels and rushes back in my direction. Leaping, she throws her arms around my neck, and I embraceher back. Cat's mouth crashes on mine. "Don't move." Her skin glows from the sun as she smiles at me.
"I'm not going anywhere."
For the remainder of the afternoon, I spend the day working alongside my girl. True to her nature Cat isn't about to waste hours on herself. Instead, we accomplish a few chores around the ranch, then take a little leisure time afterward, cooling off with a dip in the lake, which leads to sex beneath the very oak tree we made love the night before.
"That's Lev's truck," Cat states as we pull up to the house. "I wonder what he's doing out here?" Beside the truck, I recognize the sports car parked in the driveway the moment we return to the ranch. "Not sure who the car belongs to."
"Miles," I say.
"Who's Miles?" Cat looks at me as I park the truck.
"The band's manager." And I'm positive his arrival brings bad news.
My thoughts are confirmed when we find Miles, Lev, and Cat's grandad sitting at the kitchen table and see the grim look on my manager's face. All three men look at us, their eyes falling to our joined hands. Lev grins but says nothing. Miles, on the other hand, true to his nature, has something to say.
"You look better than you have in a long time." He stands and approaches us, looking at Cat. "And I bet this pretty young lady is to blame." He smiles at her. "I'm Miles."
"Cat." She takes his hand.
Miles sighs and addresses me. "Easton, there was a break-in at your apartment."
"What? Anything stolen?" I ask him.
"No." His eyes cut to Cat briefly.
"You can speak freely. I’m not hiding anything." I guide Cat to the table, and she sits next to her grandad as I pull out a chair beside her.
"I went by your place to grab the bed for your cat. The damn furball thinks my pillow belongs to him, and I want it back." Even under the circumstances, I can't help but grin. Miles will never admit he likes the cat. He hands me his phone. "Anyway, I found the place ransacked." I slide my finger across the screen, looking at images of my apartment torn apart. "I took those while waiting for the police to arrive." The final image I stare down at is my bathroom mirror, with the wordsI will find youwritten in bright red.
"Is that blood?" Cat says, sounding concerned.
"It's lipstick," Miles states.
"Are you sure this stalker isn’t some scorned ex?" Cat eyes me for an explanation.
"I don’t have exes. Just a problematic fan." I try to make it sound less than it is.
"I'd say this is more than problematic. You have a crazy-ass woman on your hands," Cat states. "And you have a cat?"
"Yeah, Gizmo. Found him in the back alley at a gig one night a few years ago. He's been my sidekick ever since." I look from the screen to Cat. "What"”
She smiles, her eyes twinkling. "Nothing."
"Can we get back to the problem at hand?" Miles says. "The police found no signs of forced entry. Hell, even I saw nothing out of the ordinary before opening the door. The place was locked uptight."
"I obtained a list of residences in the building. Security cameras didn't turn up anyone who was out of the ordinary coming or going aside from delivery personnel, and they were all men," Lev informs us.
I run my hand through my hair and blow out a breath. "You need me back in Seattle?"
