AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Jesus,” Franks laughed. “She is perfect for you,” he told Cash.
“That is what I keep telling her.”
“I was going to swing by later on, but since you are here, you saved me a trip. I have been digging into Mitchell Craft and Reed Carter. I caught the attention of the FBI. You know anything about that?”
Reese only shook her head. She couldn’t say she was stunned, but it was news to her. A person like her father would attract attention of all kinds. If the FBI wanted them, they were welcome to them.
“Didn’t figure you did. Anyhow, they were extremely interested in why I was looking into them.”
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Reese groaned. “I don’t suppose the FBI said they would take them to a place far, far away never be heard from again.”
“They were long on the questions and short on the details. As long as they are looking at both your father and ex, it should benefit us. We have four officers here. I wouldn’t turn down extra manpower. I will give my contact a call, let him know about our latest run-in with Mitchell.”
“Thanks, Franks. Anything you need, name it,” Cash added.
“That your new ride Reese?” Franks walked them to the parking lot, admiring the car.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Cash and Reese answered at the same time and then glared at each other.
“Okay, let me know if you are ever interested in that dinner,” he called to Reese with a smirk.
“Not going to happen,” Cash called back good-naturedly. “Come on, Beautiful. Let’s go get the rest of the family and go home.”
Chapter 17
Reese stared up at the ceiling. There was no way for her to get comfortable. Damn Cash. It was all his fault she couldn’t sleep. He wormed his way into her life. After weeks of sleeping in the same bed, he decided to go home for the night. Reese never thought to question it, but now staring at the ceiling, she had lots of time to think about it. Damn man. He had to know this was going to happen. Make her sleep with you until she can’t sleep without you. It had to have been his devious plan.
Rolling over, she looked at the clock again. The glowing red numbers told her it was twenty minutes later than the last time she looked. Tossing the covers off, she knew it was no use looking at the ceiling tiles for a few more hours.
She stopped outside Mav and Pappy’s door. The soft snores warmed her heart. They had settled into a comfortable coexistence. With her first paycheck from the bakery, she bought another bed and a chest of drawers from the secondhand store. Rearranging the little room had given each more of a defined space.
Reese slipped down the stairs in the darkness. There was no need to turn on the light. She knew every inch of her house. Silently she entered the kitchen to start the coffee pot. She prepped it every night before bed setting the timer so it would be waiting for her when she came down every morning. When the sounds indicated the magic was happening, Reese wandered back into the living room.
Thinking about Cash, she stood looking out her front door with what she knew must be a goofy grin on her face. Right now, she couldn’t find it in her to care. How the man scaled every wall she put up and kept after her until he had her heart, she still wasn’t sure. Somehow, he managed it. Reese hadn’t admitted the L-word just yet, but it didn’t cause a full-blown panic attack like it used to. He was still putting out not-so-subtle nudges about living together, but Reese kept shutting down that train of thought. Mav was back in school, and fingers crossed, there hadn’t been any fights or calls from the principal since his return. She was happy where she was for now.
Reese was about to turn away when movement across the street caught her eye. Forgetting about her coffee, she watched as Cash’s front porch light came on. He stepped out of the front door shirtless. For one brief second, she thought Cash was coming over, but then he stopped.
She watched as Cash turned back toward his house and held open the door. Reese’s heart fell, shattering into pieces. A woman stepped out behind him. Reese could easily see her hair was a mess when she stepped into the light, and her clothes were disheveled. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they had been doing.
Reese stood frozen in place, watching as he put his hand on the small of her back to lead the woman to his truck. Cash was treating the mystery woman just as he treated her. He even went as far as making sure she was buckled in before he went around to the driver’s side. Reese watched until he backed out of his driveway then drove down the street.
She was glad there were no lights on in her house. The last thing she wanted was for him to think he was welcome to come over after taking his other woman home. Cash was going to find out how unwelcome he was very soon, but Reese needed time to process what she saw.
How could she have been so wrong? Reese sank to the floor. Her legs refused to hold her up. How could he possibly think he wasn’t going to get caught when he lived right across the street? All his ramblings about how much he loved her played through her mind. The way he told her she was his and made her want that too. Then he went out and found another woman when he realized she wasn’t what he wanted. It made her want to march across the street and introduce Cash’s balls to her knee. Standing, she walked to the kitchen, filling her cup with the blessedly strong, hot brew before sitting at the kitchen table in total darkness.
“Oh, Reese, you are so damn stupid,” she scolded herself. “How could you have let this happen a second time?”
She was sitting at her table watching the clock tick. She drank the coffee, waiting for the hurt to ease. When three rolled around, her coffee pot was empty, but she didn’t feel any better. Reese didn’t have any answers, and it didn’t look like she would figure it out before she went to work.
“Time to pull on the big girl panties,” she said out loud. Rinsing her cup, she set it aside to dry. Her feet felt heavy as she went upstairs to get ready for the day ahead.
Half an hour later, she was dressed and ready for work. Standing in the drive, she looked at the car he bought her. Shaking her head in disgust, she moved on down the driveway walking to work. Digging in her purse, she found the little flashlight she stashed for emergencies. Well, this may not be considered an emergency, but the little light would be helpful this morning.
“Something wrong with your car?” Cash’s voice startled her.
