My husband leans in close to Derek and says quietly, “Say what you want about bull riding and Montana and all of it.” Those green eyes darken like the storm clouds moving across the sky. “But you donotspeak to a woman that way.”
Derek’s head swivels to meet Slade’s gaze head-on, but whatever he sees there makes him quail.
Beneath my hand, Slade’s thigh is iron. He’s not moving but he wants to. I can feel exactly how much he wants to. But this isn’t their fight. It’sCassidy’s.
Derek stands abruptly. “I don’t have time for this shit.”
As Derek stalks away, Walker calls out, “Who wears boat shoes to a rodeo, ya fuckin’ weasel?”
Cassidy just wraps her arms around her knees.
Then, stricken, realizing everyone just bore witness to that, she whispers, “Excuse me,” and hurries off in the opposite direction from her fiance.
“Get why Tanner hates him now,” Walker mutters. “Snot-nosed prick.”
Sadie and I exchange glances. Mari is pawing at her, clearly hungry, with whines that are starting to escalate.
It feels like someone needs to make sure Cassidy is okay though. Quickly I get to my feet.
“I’ll go check on her,” I tell them.
Slade squeezes my hand. “Want me to come?”
I shake my head. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, though,” I joke, “it means I’m lost or kidnapped.”
His expression darkens, so I give him a quick, soft kiss. “That was a joke, honey.”
“Ten minutes,” he says softly, the worry for me obvious in his eyes. “Then I’m coming for you.”
When our marriage is over, I’m going to miss having someone who worries about me.
I have a list of things I’m going to miss about Slade Rhodes. It only gets longer as our time gets shorter.
Chapter 49
The Best Thing
LILA
Ifind Cassidy outside the arena, leaning against the fence rail, arms crossed, looking out at the parking lot.
I put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” I say softly. “Are you okay?”
She laughs, short and humorless. “Sorry about that.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I say.
“He’s stressed. Work is insane right now and he didn’t want to come and…”
“You don’t owe anyone an explanation,” I say, still gentle, still waiting for her to say something real.
She looks at the parking lot for a long moment. Her eyes are bright.
“It’s just hard sometimes,” she says. “He doesn’t understand where I come from. The people I love. We’re from different worlds.” She shakes her head. “Relationships are just really hard.”
I choose my next words carefully. “Relationships can behard. Life is certainly hard. But do you want to brave it with someone who helps you feel strong, or someone who makes you feel small?”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears. “What if you’re so used to holding everything together for everyone else that you don’t even know what you actually want anymore?”
