AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It is.” He felt a little stupid about it now. She must not have known Nash that well before Porter came along, so in her mind, it must not have been that big of a deal that she’d mistaken their identities. The prank had turned on him, it seemed.
Well played.
“I can’t just let him rot up there,” he admitted. “We’re really close.”
“It explains a lot.” Her voice softened. “You must be very worried for him.”
“I am. Yeah! I can’t even tell you how much.” And it felt like a weight had been lifted now that he was free to talk about Nash. He hadn’t realized how gagged he’d been. His twin was a huge part of who he was. “He’s a big boy and he can take care of himself, but I warned him about going up there, and now he won’t answer my calls or…”
She kissed him, her lips tender on his. He melted all over as she ran her hands down his arms—for a lot of reasons; even in the darkening twilight, the air was sweltering and the heat of her body added to that, though nothing could tear him from her. Her eyes glistened. “You have a big heart, and I’m the one who’s sorry… because I almost knocked you out with that lamp.”
Now she was apologizing? No need! He was sure that Nash had it coming… even though it was Porter that had borne the brunt of that. “I do not deserve you,” he said. He let out a grim chuckle. “I have to admit I was sweating bullets about telling you.”
“You were?” Her hands tightened over his forearms. “You’re so funny. You care about me that much?”
“I do.” Nowthatwas a confession that she could pull from him every hour of every day. “I’m sure you can devise some fitting punishment for my sins.”
“Hmm, how about this?” She leaned into him, her lips turning more demanding, until she wriggled back and used that momentum to knock him into the water.
He shouted with surprise. Seeing the devilish glint in her eye, he snatched at her and took her overboard with him.
They landed in the cool water. And for a moment, he released her just as the refreshing river flowed over their heads, relieving them from this heat. It felt almost as good as getting that confession over with. Her hand found his in the water just before he bobbed back up to the surface near their raft.
He met her dancing eyes, and he grinned back at her.
So much for feeling contrite. He was over the tense anticipation now that she’d forgiven him. Angel splashed him, and he seized her around the waist, bringing her close to him just as the fireworks shot off overhead. The glorious sparks burst and glittered as they fell through the sky.
They were nothing to the majesty of her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
To think that Porter and West were twins?
That was just so crazy! Cadence had never seen a more dramatic case of good twin and evil twin. The two looked nothing alike. She had definitely lucked out there.
Cadence didn’t understand why it was such a touchy subject, only that she had been right all along—Porter had been on a mission to rescue his brother. Clearly, he hadn’t been successful, because he was home now, and West was nowhere in sight. Of course, Cole had talked about another brother who’d gone up to be with West. Wasn’t that Nash?
Maybe that would turn out better?
For Porter’s sake, she hoped it was so, though she worried. If Cadence was right, Nash was Liv’s ex, and from what she saw, he didn’t take a very active role in his children’s lives. Nash might be headed down the same shadowy pathways that West traveled. They might be a bad influence on the other. And still, Porter was so sweet to care about his brothers. Such an important lesson—no matter how lost the soul, there was always someone out there praying for their recovery.
“Don’t get ambushed by Mike and Walt,” Funches called cheerily out to them. “They’ve been after your hide since the water fight this morning.”
Porter and Cadence nodded tiredly and slid out the side of his pickup. It had to be midnight by now. Funches had spied them stranded at the dock a few hours earlier where they’d stashed the raft in the reeds.
They’d been marooned. Porter’s truck was parked clear at the waterfall, though he’d quickly reassured her that it would be fine. And strangely, it was. Funches’s shouts at them to get into his truck was only the first of half-a-dozen friendly offers to give them rides into town. However, the roads were so clogged with the Fourth of July traffic by the time they reached Main Street, that Porter and Cadence opted to walk the rest of the way to Emily’s apartment.
“Hey, Funches!” The loud growl of the old man’s diesel truck almost swallowed her words. Cadence leaned next to his open window to be heard and shouted over the noise, “You really going to sell your land to WhiteBoulder?”
Funches snorted. “Why? You trying to put in a good word for Porter?”
“Ha!” Porter guffawed at that. “Don’t bother. He sold it right out from under me. It’s as good as gone.”
“Is it?” she asked Funches. Cadence really hoped that Lacy hadn’t won. “Did they buy it?”
Funches shrugged noncommittedly. “They’re offering me quite a bit.”
More than a small town rancher could. She gritted her teeth. The deal hadn’t gone through yet. She could tell. Cadence tried to think of the biggest threat that might make Funches back off. “That sounds amazing,” she said. “I bet they’ll put a gas station by it.”
