Page 45 of The Other Half

But it was too late now. Not only was it too late to call off tonight, it was too late to shove the feelings that had grown for her back inside. That damn icepick of hers had done too much damage. There wasn’t enough duct tape in the world to patch up all the cracks she’d made in my carefully constructed armor. Every look. Every laugh. Every accidental touch. Each one tore apart my resolve, begging me to toss away my inhibitions and swing my leg over the horse one more time.

The sound of her car chugging down my driveway sped my heart up to speeds reminiscent of that time I went to Great America with Matt and rode the roller-coaster.

Matt. Just thinking about him put one more patch over the armor Cassie had chiseled away. Thinking about Matt made me think about Nikki, and soon I slipped into a downward spiral fueled by fear and regret. Trying to stop myself before I hit bottom, I took a deep breath and looked out the window. That beautiful blonde climbing out of her car wasn’t Nikki. Not every woman in the world was a cheater and a liar. At least I hoped not because the way she looked tonight in that little tank top and those jean shorts would make not kissing her even harder than it’d been last night. And last night was downright torture.

Hank barked when he heard her knock.

“Coming!” I called, trying to hold myself in position a few seconds longer so I didn’t look too eager.

“She’s not Nikki,” I whispered before I pushed off to the door.

“Hi.” She smiled when I opened it.

“Hi,” I answered back.

Hank exploded out the door and jumped around her, his excitement mirroring how I felt, even though I kept my emotions locked tightly inside.

“Hey, Hank!” She knelt down and scratched his head. Like a boneless lump, he collapsed at her feet and rolled onto his back.

“Come on in.”

“Come on, Hank.” With one last pat on his stomach, she stood and waved him in.

“Did you bring Muskybait?”

A playful glare met me while she brushed by into the house. “No, I didn’t bring Poppy. Should I have?”

“Well, you could have. She had fun playing with Hank yesterday.”

“Maybe next time.” The words hit me like a mac truck. Next time. Yesterday I was avoiding this at all costs. Now I was excited hearing she was already planning a next time. “This is a really nice place.” She strolled through my house, looking at photos and examining the main rooms.

“What were you expecting? A palace like yours?”

“Shut up.” She laughed. “More camo. And definitely more dead animals on the walls.”

“In here.” I waggled my brows and opened the door to the den. When she looked inside, she nodded.

“Yep. Like that.”

Deer and fish mounts lined the walls. My various camouflage hunting coats and suits hung on hooks. Wooden racks displayed a massive assortment of guns and bows that would make any hunter green with envy.

She turned back to where I stood leaning on the doorframe. “It’s a bonified man cave. I guess I figured the whole place would look like this.”

“My mother didn’t have a problem with my dad hunting, but she hated the mounts. So, they had a deal that my dad could do whatever he wanted in this room. He just had to keep the door closed.”

“Valid.”

We laughed while I walked to the big sixteen-point buck head overlooking the room. “Even though I bought the house from them and don’t have a wife to bark at me to keep it in one room, I guess I just kept up the tradition. My grandmother had the same rule with my grandfather, as well. The men in my family get one room, and the women get the rest of the house.”

“Also, valid.”

Our laughs deepened when she flashed me a knowing look.

“Are these all yours?”

“Oh no. These are my grandfather’s.” I gestured to the east wall. “And those are my father’s. And that wall is mine.”

“As much as I hate the dead animals, I love that you have a family tradition and have your grandfather’s and father’s stuff up here. I think that’s awesome.”