Page 36 of One Reckless Moment

I tore off his shirt, not caring that Cash got a full view of my bra and thong.

He swallowed harshly, keeping his eyes up. Slipping my dress on, I grabbed my purse and shoes, and moved to the door.

“Baby. Baby, stop,” Cash said, catching my arm, but I tore it away.

“No. This was reckless and I heard you loud and clear. I’m a mistake. We’ll get through the week and keep this to ourselves. Once we get home, we’ll figure it out.”

I took the rings off my finger and slammed them onto the desk before running out the door. Once I was in the hallway, the tears fell.

How could I be so stupid? How could I think Cash might want me when he wasn’t under the guise of tequila? Did I want to be married to Cash Leonard? No. Of course not, but that doesn’t mean a girl wanted to hear about how much of a mistake she was. Especially not when you’re hungover and emotional.

Dark hallways and nights we barely remembered. That was all I was worth.

That was all we would ever truly be.

Last night, Cash told me all about what my father said to him when he was first hired. How he couldn’t touch me or he’d be fired. I didn’t want to be the reason Cash lost his livelihood, but my heart still ached at what could have been.

Luckily, in our drunken state we had the common sense to book a room in the same hotel we were already staying in. I took the elevator up to the penthouse and let myself into the girls’ suite. As soon as the door clicked behind me, I heard the screams. Lottie, Taylor, and Micah came running up to me.

“Where the fuck did you go?”

“Are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

I held my hands up and took a deep breath. My head was spinning and I needed to sit down.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry for dropping off the grid. I met a guy and we ended up having a really fun night.”

Lottie eyed me like she could tell I’d been crying, but I smiled through it as the girls instantly started the interrogation about my mystery man. They swooned over my fake—but somewhat real—story about how this man learned I was from Montana so he took me to Bootleggers. How we had too much tequila and got a room. They seemed content with my fun Vegas story, and I was sent upstairs to change for brunch before our spa day.

I had to get through four more days with these girls while keeping the biggest secret I’d ever had in my life. I just hoped that Cash had the decent sense to keep his big mouth shut so we could get home and figure out how to deal with this situation privately.

17

AVOIDANCE IS MY SUPERPOWER

PAIGE

We’d been back in Montana for two weeks, and things were so awkward I wanted to scream every day. Since we were moving on to the second half of the circuit, we flew from Vegas into a small airport in Northern Montana where Tweety and Buck picked us up.

They were so excited to see us and I was able to fake a smile.

I didn’t think the guys noticed anything was off, but Cash and I hadn’t exchanged more than a few sentences since we got back. Cash had tried being nice, but I couldn’t face him. He’d left coffee outside my door. He’d made me dinner that I didn’t eat. He’d let me play whatever bubble-gum pop country I wanted on our way to the event last weekend. I noticed his lack of jabs at me and his sweet gestures, but I wasn’t naive.

He just didn’t want me to rat him out to my father.

We pulled up to the parking lot of the Northern Montana State Fair where Cash would be competing today. I jumped out of the truck with my camera bag and started across the parking lot. I heard Cash calling after me, but I ignored him.

This was a bigger competition than what Cash had previously competed in and it showed. The crowds were lined up outside the fair gates waiting to be let in as horse trailers and contestants flooded into the back staging area.

Since it was now summer, events like this would be picking up. I had to get through today and then we were going home for two weeks before leaving again for Western Montana where there were three more events before the season ended in July.

All I had to do was get through this event and then I could curl up in my own bed for two whole weeks and hide in peace. I needed Shadow—I needed my best girl. Maybe I could even convince my dad to let me off the hook for the rest of the summer.

I walked up to the check-in table and got my media badge before entering the event. I found a good bench to start putting together my camera when I saw Buck and Tweety enter in through the gate. They spotted me immediately and walked over.

“Okay, P. What’s going on?” Buck crossed his arms.