Page 93 of One Reckless Moment

“I have been in love with Cash Leonard since I was fourteen.”

“We know that part.”

“Right, well, on my eighteenth birthday I kissed him, but he didn’t kiss me back. From that day, until Vegas, we argued and tortured each other. I was dealing with some hard emotions about you moving away and getting married. I wanted that. I wanted the big love story.”

Lottie nodded along but stayed quiet.

“We got absolutely shit-faced and ended up at a chapel in Vegas. I didn’t even remember it when I first woke up. We were living in the moment, but until that day we hadn’t even really kissed, let alone dated.”

“Shit…” Owen trailed off.

“Yeah, so, we made a plan to not tell anyone and get a divorce once we figured out how to pay for it without dad finding out. Then when we were at the rodeo, that reporter got under Cash’s skin and he let it slip that we were married. Things got out of hand.”

“So, you pretended to be married?” Lottie scrunched her brow and took a long sip of her drink.

“I mean, legally, we really are married, so that wasn’t a lie.”

“Why not just say that?” Owen asked, glancing between the two of us.

“Because Dad and Walker told Cash I was off-limits, and he was scared that if this came out as some reckless decision we made, he would be fired and kicked off the ranch. The ranch is the only home he’s ever really had. So we decided to come home and pretend to be real married and then at the end of the summer we were going to get real divorced.”

“Then Mom wanted to have the wedding…” Lottie looked at me with sadness in her eyes.

“Then Mom wanted to have the wedding. We got into a fight. Everyone was mad at Cash and me, and then unbelievably supportive of us. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t expect…” I trailed off and downed my drink before the tears started again.

“You didn’t expect to fall so deeply in love with him.”

I shook my head. “He’s attentive and supportive. He understands me on a level I’ve never felt understood.”

“Then why leave?” Owen arched a brow.

“He earned a place on the pro rodeo circuit. He has a chance to work with sponsors and travel. He has a chance at this life that I didn’t fit into and I don’t want to drag him down. He didn’t choose to marry me. We both deserved the choice.”

“Oh, sweetie. He did choose you. He chooses you every day.” Lottie wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned her head against mine.

“Maybe, but I want him to have the space to make that choice on his own.”

“Well, you can stay here as long as you need.” Lottie smiled at me and pulled out her phone.

“What are you doing?” I asked, looking over her shoulder.

“I think we need backup.”

Two hours later, the front door was basically kicked open and a sea of voices filtered into the open foyer. Keegan, Maeve, and Maggie bounced in, their arms filled with shopping bags stuffed with snacks and drinks. They hugged us and then immediately started emptying the bags onto the kitchen island.

We gathered around as everyone got lost in conversations, and I couldn’t help but smile for the first time since I left Cash’s bed. The Kellys just had this energy about them that was infectious.

“Okay,” Keegan said as she hopped up to sit on the counter. “We are here to listen.”

I was a little tipsy, but I took a deep breath and told them the entire story of Cash and me. From him showing up to the ranch, to the lost years after our kiss, to the tour, to our marriage in Vegas, to now. I told them about all the times he picked me up after parties and him driving to school when he thought I needed him. I told them about our hidden moments that we stole without anyone knowing. I laid it all out on the line. The complete truth. By the time I finished, every girl was looking at me with hearts in their eyes.

“Girl, that man is in love with you,” Maggie said, popping a chip into her mouth.

I shrugged. “Maybe, but it all got to be too much too fast. We never even dated. It was zero to married in twenty-four hours.”

“So, now you want distance?” Maeve asked.

“I think I need to take some time for myself.”