Chapter 15
CASH
Cash watched as she walked away. He couldn't help but smile, those leggings really were magical. But even more was what had just happened. He was confused, really confused, but happy. He wasn't sure what was going to happen with this wedding, but he knew for a fact that she would be his when it was all over.
After the day was over, Cash called River over.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yes..." he grumbled, looking less than pleased. "I still don't see why I had to come."
"Because you went into the city on your own again."
"Why are you being like this?” he complained. “I thought you’d be cool."
"You thought wrong," he said, dropping his bag in the back of his truck. "Your mother is trusting me to look out for you while you're here. And you can't be trusted to stay out of trouble, so you get to keep me company at the rink."
He just sat there; his arms crossed over his chest staring out the window. Cash almost felt bad for the kid, but not bad enough to cut him some slack right now. He ran away across the country from his mother and then went back into the city without permission. River thought being seventeen meant he was grown.
"Can I trust you to be alone for a few hours tonight while I go out to dinner?"
He just sat there staring out the window. The whole trip home was made in silence. Cash pulled into his garage and River got out and slammed the truck door behind him. He sulked into the house, leaving the door open behind him.
"Good talk," Cash called out behind him.
Fuck. He needed to stay home and figure out what the fuck was going on here. He pulled out his phone and ordered a couple pizzas. Then he sighed as he pulled up Evie's contact.
Cash - I think I'm going to have to take a raincheck tonight.
Evie - No problem
That was it. Why was this woman so infuriating? She gave him nothing to work with.
Cash - Tomorrow?
Evie - Sure
Loud music started blaring from upstairs as Cash stood in his kitchen. What was happening? His life was unrecognizable to him right now. He went from lots of women and spending the off-season free time how he pleased, to chasing one beautiful but infuriating woman and babysitting a teenager with a bad attitude. How the playboy has fallen.
If they were both going to make it through the summer, they needed to come to an understanding. Cash wasn’t an unreasonable man, but he also wasn’t going to let River do whatever he wanted. He couldn’t believe he was about to set some rules, but he needed to.
About an hour later, the music upstairs stopped just in time for the pizza Cash had ordered. He set up the pizza and some sodas in the movie room and made his way upstairs and knocked gently on River’s door.
Nothing.
“Can I come in?”
Nothing.
“River?”
“It’s your house,” River grumbled on the other side of the door.
Cash opened the door and saw River sitting on his bed, his back against the headboard and a frown on his face that would rival some of his own.
“Can we talk?”
River just looked at him and shrugged. Cash walked in and sat on his bed.
“Look, I’m happy to have you here this summer. I don’t want to babysit you because you’re too old for that, I want to be able to trust you.”
River just looked at him. At least now he was making eye contact.
“I won’t make you go to the rink with me anymore and I’ll give you more space. But if you go back to the city anymore, I’ll put you back on a plane so fast your head will spin. That being said, if you want to go into the city, I’ll take you sometime when camp is over. We can see bands and record shops…all of that.”
River’s glare softened and he nodded.
“Do you think we can come to an agreement? I like having you here. You're a great kid and a killer musician if I’m being honest.”
With that admission a hint of a smile crossed River’s face before he had the chance to shut it down.
“Basically,” Cash continued. “I’m willing to trust you but I have to know where you are. At all times. Can we do that?”
“Yeah, we can do that.”
“It should go without saying, but I’m saying it, no drugs, and no trips out of Glendale without checking with me, but besides that just keep me posted on where you are, and I think we can make this work. Does that sound fair?”
“Yeah,” River said. “That sounds fair.”
“Good,” Cash said as he patted River’s knee. “If you’re hungry I ordered a couple pizzas and I’m about ready to put on some horror movies in the theater if you want to join me.”
“I’ll be right down,” River said, and that time he didn’t bite back the smile.
“Good, I’ll let you pick the first movie but then it’s my turn, if you can handle it,” Cash said with a wag of his eyebrows.
After that they both settled in for a night of horror movies and pizza. Maybe a date with Evie would have been nice, but this was needed, and Cash was happy to be here with River. He was a good kid, and he got the feeling no one had made him feel like a good kid in a long time. While this wasn’t the plan for the summer, it was a pleasant surprise.
The next day Cash decided to try and trust River and left him home. He even tried to get in a little early to talk to Evie, but she was already on the ice when he got there. It was just her out there and he thought about calling her over, but he couldn't stop looking at her.
This was the second time he had seen her on the ice, and he was transfixed. She glided effortlessly over the ice. The smooth lines of her voluptuous body being held tight by those criminal leggings had his gaze glued to her. Then she came to a spin and grabbed the blade behind her and pulled her leg up behind her in an elegant spin. How could something so breathtakingly beautiful also be giving him a boner? He'd dated his fair share of figure skaters, but none of them ever drew his focus on the ice like she did. He could watch her skate all day.
"You got it bad." A voice behind him pulled him out of the moment and he turned with a glare to whoever it was.
Wes just stood there with a dopey grin on his face. While Wes was never a playboy, he had become insufferable since he started dating Conner's sister. He thought everyone should be settled down and flaunted his happy relationship all over the place. It should make Cash irritated, but instead he found himself wishing for something like that.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said as he turned from Wes and started walking toward the hockey rink. "Let's do this," he said, pulling open the doors, but he was still thinking about that beautiful woman on the ice next door.
"Cash!" called on of the voices on the ice. "Check this out," he watched as one of the kids he's been working with finally mastered a changeover.
"Nice!" Cash answered as he walked over to the ice and the kid skated over to him and gave him a fist bump.
"Let me get my skates on," said Cash as the coach started another skating drill with the kids.
"They've come a long way this week," said Wes as he sat to put his own skates on.
It had been a week full of ups and downs from River to whatever was going on with Evie, but these kids were golden. When his professional career was over, he wanted to coach, but this week training these kids had solidified that for him.
The last day was over, and the kids were all in the foyer getting ready to go home. Cash had stayed behind to talk to the coach and thank him. He was sitting on the bench taking his skates off when Evie made her way over.
"Hi," she said quietly.
She had a look Cash had never really seen before. She was usually so confident and held herself with an undeniable grace. While the grace was still there, the confidence seemed to be faltering.
"Hey beautiful, are we still on for dinner?"
"I actually wanted to talk to you about that."
"About dinner?"
"No, about...the whole wedding thing." She sat down next to him with her hands clasped tight in her lap. "I just want to tell you I don't need you to be my date."
"What?" Just when he thought he was making headway, she pulls back again.
"I don't know what came over me. We can just forget about it," she said looking at the hands that were still clasped tight.
"Hey," Cash said as he put his hands over hers. Her body relaxed ever so slightly, but still Cash noticed, because he noticed everything about her. "I'm going to that wedding with you. And we are going out to dinner tonight."
"Cash," she said looking into his eyes finally. "It's really not necessary."
"Yes, it is. You are a necessity to me, Evie Masterson."
Her mouth fell open at his words. Those weren't words that had ever come out of his mouth before. While he was a sweet talker, he never lied to women. And he still hadn't, he meant it. He had no clue what was going on with them or where they stood. Evie was so damn hot and cold. He couldn't find his footing with her, but he would.
"Here's what we are going to do," he said as he laced his fingers through hers. "I'm going to head home to check in on my nephew and take a shower. You’re going to text me your address. Then I’m going to pick you up and take you out for dinner and we’re going to start over."
"You're serious?" She looked at him with a hint of a smile and it lit something inside of him.
"Yeah, I am. We’re going to figure this out once and for all.” His thumb lightly traced the back of her hand and all he wanted to do was sink his hands into her lush curves and pull her close and kiss the fuck out of her, but there would be time for that.
"Okay, let's talk about it."
He gave her hand a squeeze. "Okay. Now I'm going to go, just promise not to block me between now and then," he said with a cocked eyebrow.
"Just don't piss me off between now and then," she said, matching his expression.
"I’ll try my best." He stood and pulled her up with him. He leaned in close, close enough to kiss her, but he stopped just short of it. "I'll see you tonight." And then he pulled back and gave a look that let her know that kiss would be coming later. He knew she got the point when she pulled that bottom lip. Then he turned and headed out into the noisy foyer.
He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed out to his truck.
"Love is in the air," he heard Wes say in an obnoxious sing-songy voice.
"Shut up," he said, biting back the grin he felt creeping across his face. He turned and saw Wes beaming at him.
"It's been a fun week,” he continued. “Tomorrow Kate and I are headed to Detroit to introduce her to my mom. When I get back, we should go on a double date."
Cash just shook his head and climbed into his truck. "Have a nice trip." He shut the door without waiting for his reply. While going on a double date with Wes and Kate wasn't on the top of his list of things he wanted to do, he was going to make Evie his. The reality of that thought set in as he drove home.
When he arrived, he was happy to be greeted by the sound of a too loud guitar. River had stayed put. Maybe he would be able to make it through the summer after all. He had to chuckle to himself at how his life had changed over the past couple months. He had apparently turned in his playboy status for one with a beautiful woman and a rebellious teenager. While it wasn't anything he had planned on, he was pretty content with it.