32. Mollie
CHAPTER 32
Mollie
GOOD-LUCK CHARMS
I’m scrolling through nineties country playlists on Spotify the next morning in the front seat of my car when Cash calls out from behind me.
“Hey, Mollie. I think your mom is here.” He grunts as he lifts my largest suitcase into the trunk. “That her in the white Mercedes?”
I immediately whip around in the passenger seat to look out the windows. Yep, that’s my mother. She’s pulling into one of the parallel parking spots outside my building.
“That’s her.”
“You want me to run interference?” He meets my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“We’ll be okay. I think. I hope.”
Cash and I are on the opposite side of the street, just outside the building’s front door. He’s loading up the trunk while I figure out entertainment for our drive. Cash, being Cash, didn’t so much as let me touch my luggage, much less load it into the trunk.
Having a boyfriend who’s a filthy-mouthed cowboy in the sheets but an absolute gentleman in the streets sure as hell has its perks .
Watching Mom climb out of her sedan, my stomach dips. We left lunch on good enough terms yesterday. I feel like we had a breakthrough. At the very least, Mom understands where I’m coming from and why I’m making the choice to go back to the ranch today.
Still, when I called her this morning to tell her we were leaving after breakfast, I didn’t expect her to offer to swing by.
I certainly didn’t expect for her to actually show up. It’s a Sunday morning. While most people in her circle are at church or having brunch, Mom is usually working. Weekends are a real estate agent’s bread and butter.
She’s here, though. And I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.
Looking both ways before crossing the street, she hurries over to us. I notice she has a white paper bag tucked underneath her arm.
“Mom! Hey.” I push open the door and step out. Because it’s early on a Sunday, the street is empty. “I’m glad you came by.”
“Mornin’, Ms. Brown.” Cash straightens, hiking up his jeans. “How are you doing today?”
“Please, call me Aubrey. And I’m doing all right. How about yourself?”
“Just making sure Mollie has everything she needs.” He gestures to the full trunk with a grin. “Turns out, she needs a hell of a lot.”
“I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that my daughter is a little high-maintenance.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Runs in the family.”
“Guilty.” Mom smiles.
I look at Cash. This is a good sign, right? The smile, the insistence he call her by her first name? She didn’t say a word about that yesterday.
“Anyway”—Mom glances between us before she holds out the bag to me—“I’m glad I caught y’all. Here are some treats to bring back to the ranch with you. Figured y’all could use something to nibble on during the drive.”
I take the bag, only now seeing the Dean & DeLuca logo printed on its side. “My favorite. Wow. Thank you, Mom.” I hold out an arm.
She pulls me in for a tight hug. “Just promise me you’ll start answering your phone more often. I need to hear from you. Not every day, but more than once a week.”
My eyes prickle with heat. I close them and nod. “I promise.”
“I was up all night thinking about y’all.”
“Mom—”
“It’s all right, Mollie.” She’s still holding me. “I’m not going to ask when you’ll be back in town?—”
“Subtle,” I say with a smile.
“But I want to be part of this.” She finally lets me go and glances at Cash. “Part of y’all’s life together. You’re in your element when you’re together—that much is clear. You’re happy.” Mom cups my cheek. “ He makes you happy. Thank you, Cash, for taking such excellent care of my daughter. I’ve never seen her so lit up before.”
My boyfriend’s Adam’s apple bobs. “That means a lot. Thank you. You have my word, I’ll try my damnedest to make Mollie happy.”
“I believe you,” Mom replies.
I blink, genuinely shocked. “Wait, wait. You trust a cowboy ?”
Mom’s lips twitch. “No two people are alike. Same goes for cowboys.”
“Amen to that.” Cash touches his finger to the brim of his hat.
It’s an obscenely beautiful, obscenely sexy gesture that has both Mom and me blushing like idiots.
“Well, y’all drive safe,” Mom says .
Cash holds up that same finger. “Hang tight, Aubrey. I have something for you.”
Turning to rummage through the back seat, he emerges a minute later with a Walgreens bag in his hand.
I smile at him. We were there for hours last night.
“What’s this?” Mom asks, taking the bag from my boyfriend.
Cash curls an arm around my waist. “Copies of Garrett’s pictures. Thought you might want them.”
Staring into the bag, Mom blinks. I can tell by the way her chin ducks out that she’s trying not to cry.
I let the tears fall freely. “It was Cash’s idea.”
“That’s”—Mom swallows, still looking down—“so thoughtful. Thank you.”
Cash chuckles. “Of course. Can we hug it out now, or…”
Mom laughs. “Yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
Which is how the three of us end up hugging each other multiple times in the middle of the street on a Sunday morning.
Pulling back, I look at Mom. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Really. I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’ll survive.”
Cash is at my elbow now, his hand on the small of my back. “I know you’re not Hartsville’s biggest fan, Aubrey, but you’re welcome to visit us on the ranch anytime. We’d love to have you.”
Mom nods, her eyes bouncing between us. “Maybe one day. I’m excited to see what y’all do with the place.”
Funny she mentions that. Ever since Cash surprised me with the plans he drew up for a studio by the river, I’ve been thinking nonstop about what else we could do with the ranch.
In particular, what else we could do with Rivers Ranch. Cash is doing everything he can to make my dreams come true. It’s only fair I return the favor.
My heart is full as Mom pulls me in for one last hug .
My heart spills over when she pulls Cash in for one more hug too.
“See y’all soon.” She smiles. “And send me updates on the studio. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“So Cash has four brothers.”
I smile at Wheeler’s not-so-subtle question as I guide the ATV away from the river and back toward the New House. “Yes.”
“And they’re all tall.”
“Yes.”
“And they have blue eyes.”
“Yep.”
“ And they’re cowboys.”
“Wheeler, I just took you on a tour of my family’s working cattle ranch. We saw cows, horses, snakes, and a freaking bald eagle. Not to mention the Colorado River. But all you can talk about is cowboys?”
Wheeler blinks. “Yes, cowboys are what interest me most. What’s wrong with that?”
I laugh. “Nothing. They interest me too.”
“Well, yeah.” Wheeler grins at me as she tucks stray strands of her copper hair out of her eyes. “You’re gonna marry one.”
“I’m not asking Cash to marry me.”
“No, you’re just about to show him the branding we did for y’all’s new ranch. The one you’re going to run together.”
“Exactly.”
“He’s gonna think you’re asking him to marry you, Mollie. Friends don’t combine ranches.”
I lift a shoulder, like my heart isn’t already thrumming inside my chest at the prospect of presenting my idea to Cash tonight over dinner. It’s part of the reason why Wheeler drove down from Dallas this morning, two weeks after I signed the paperwork at Mom’s lawyers’ office. I need the moral support.
“If he wants to get married too, fine.”
“Oh, stop it. You’re dying to have that man’s babies.”
Grinning, I park the ATV by the back door. “I am.”
Now that we’re well into October, it gets dark early. The New House blazes with light, its windows glowing in the deepening twilight. I can see Patsy moving through the kitchen inside. The bittersweet smell of a fire fills my head at the same moment my eyes catch on the smoke drifting up from the kitchen’s chimney.
Home.
I’m finally, finally home.
My pulse seizes when I see Cash sidle up to the sink. He turns on the tap and slowly washes his hands, expression smoothed over as he works the soap into a lather. His hair is wet, slicked back from his face. He showered, then.
My body warms. In a couple of hours, probably less, we’ll be alone together at the cabin. And when we’re alone at the cabin, my clothes don’t stand a chance. I can already smell his skin as he guides my shirt over my head and climbs over me in bed, settling his weight between my legs while he kisses my mouth, my neck. My breasts.
The way I crave this man is unlike any other urge I’ve had. I’ll never get over it.
If tonight goes well, I’ll never have to.
Taking a deep breath, I reach for the laptop case I tucked underneath the seat and glance at Wheeler. “You ready to meet the family?”
Because that’s what these people are now. Part of my family. They know my history—my hopes—better than pretty much anyone besides Mom and Wheeler.
“I truly cannot wait.” She rubs her hands together as she looks at the house. “Cowboys, here I come. ”
The second I push open the door, we’re greeted by the smell of something good roasting in the oven and a cacophony of voices. It’s like everyone knows I’m about to put my heart and my happiness on the line and they made sure they were at the table early.
All five Rivers boys are here. So are John B and Sally. And it appears Goody and Tallulah have stopped by for supper too.
Of course they have.
Wheeler grabs my arm as she takes in the tall cowboys at the table. “I think I’m going to like it here, Mollie.”
“Mollie! Hey! This must be your friend you were telling me about. Welcome to the ranch, Wheeler.” Patsy rounds the island, a bottle of white wine in one hand and a bottle of red in the other. “What can I pour y’all?”
“A tall glass of cowboy,” I reply with a smirk.
Cash saunters over, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. He’s smirking too. “I’m right here, honey.”
“I’d like one of those too, please.” Wheeler’s eyes still haven’t left the table.
Cash laughs. “Here, let me introduce you to my brothers. I told them to be on their best behavior, but they don’t listen to me so apologies in advance.”
I decide to wait until after dinner to make my announcement. Sitting in between Duke and Goody, I tuck into the most delicious pork tenderloin and mashed sweet potatoes and sip inky, dark red wine while we talk about everything and nothing.
Cash’s foot finds mine underneath the table. His eyes dance with mischief. The man is forever finding ways to touch me. Tease me.
I love it.
Just like I love coming together this way every night for supper. Sharing a meal with the people I adore is the loveliest way to bookend the day. Growing up, Mom and I would usually eat dinner together at a restaurant. But in boarding school and then at college, I never really found a great dinner crew. Wheeler had a lot of late afternoon and early evening classes in college, so she wasn’t around a ton at that time of day.
Now I have found my crew, and it’s kind of the best thing ever.
Goody gently elbows me as she cuts her pork. “I’m so glad you decided to stay on the ranch, Mollie.”
I nod, sipping my wine. “Guess Dad’s stipulation worked, huh?”
Goody raises a brow. “What do you mean?”
“Do you think Dad did it on purpose? Brought me back to the ranch because he knew I’d end up staying?”
Goody thinks on this for a minute, chewing, before she answers. “He remembered you loving the animals when you were little. He told me so many stories about how quickly you learned to ride. He was sad you didn’t keep it up.”
“He knew I’d never come back on my own.” I’m ashamed to admit that, but no use hiding it now. “So he forced me to.”
“He did.” Goody wipes her mouth on her napkin. “I didn’t always agree with Garrett, but he was ultimately a good man with a good heart. What he did came from a place of decency. He loved the land so much, Mollie. I think he didn’t want you to miss out on that.”
My throat feels tight as I finish my wine. A little liquid courage never hurt anyone, right? “Not gonna lie, I hated him at first for forcing me to come here.”
“And now?” Goody glances at Cash, who’s busy chatting up Wheeler.
I smile. “I don’t hate him anymore.”
I think I’ll always have complicated feelings about my relationship with Dad. I’m sad I missed out on so much. I’m angry he let me. Yes, I had a part in that, but he was ultimately the adult in the room .
I’m angry at myself for adopting my mother’s assumptions and prejudices as my own.
But all that anger—all the sadness and regret and pain—it makes this moment so much sweeter. I can appreciate life now in a way I never could before I came to the ranch.
I came this close to losing out on all of this, but I didn’t.
I came this close to washing my hands of the will and Dad and Cash, but I didn’t.
Now here I am, about to propose joining forces with Cash.
I hope Dad would be proud. It’s a huge risk, but I’ve learned those are the kind of risks you absolutely have to take if you want to create any kind of magic in your life.
What I have with Cash is magic.
Clearing my throat, I stand up. “Hey, y’all, if I could have your attention for a second, that’d be great.”
Wyatt glances at me, his lips curling into a knowing smile. “I like the sound of this.”
“What’s up, honey?” Cash asks.
He’s so shameless about calling me that in front of everyone these days. Even now, weeks after he started doing it, I feel myself smiling.
Wheeler holds up a fist. You got this.
I dig my laptop out of its protective sleeve. Opening it, I cradle it in the crook of my bent arm. “I’ve been working on a little something that I wanted to run by y’all. Well, specifically, I wanted to get Cash’s opinion on it, but the rest of you are welcome to chime in, too, since it involves everyone.”
“She’s starting a cult, isn’t she?” Ryder asks Sawyer. “I’ve always wanted to be in one of those.”
Sawyer nods. “She’d make a great leader. Very charismatic.”
“Y’all, hush,” Cash says.
I’m still smiling, but now I also feel like I’m going to cry. “As much as I appreciate the compliments, I’m not starting a cult. Yet. Instead, I’m starting a new ranch. Or would it be creating one? Combining one? Setting a new ranch up? I, um, didn’t think that verbiage through.”
Cash’s eyes flicker. “Don’t have to be perfect, Mollie.”
“It just has to be with you,” I blurt, then turn the laptop around so that he can see the horseshoe logo I designed on the screen. The ends of the horseshoe are pointed down, so the words Lucky Rivers Ranch are wrapped around the horseshoe’s curve at the top. “You helped make plans for Bellamy Brooks. I want to help make plans for Rivers Ranch. Run it with me—your ranch and mine. Not as my foreman, but as my partner. Total equals. We’ll put everything together, pool our resources, and turn our ranch into the one you’ve always dreamed about.”
The room goes dead quiet. Cash stares at the screen, his blue eyes wide as he looks, and looks, and looks .
My heart works its way up my throat. Oh boy. Maybe I misjudged this one. It’s ballsy of me to suggest joining forces when Cash never expressed interest in any kind of partnership. I’ve way overstepped. Jesus, what was I?—
“Lucky Rivers Ranch,” Cash says at last.
I nod, sweat breaking out along my scalp as I bend my neck to look at the screen. “That’s what I thought we’d call it. I’m not married to any of it, though.”
“Good,” Duke says. “Because the horseshoe?—”
“Don’t,” Cash cuts him off.
I start to panic. “Don’t what?”
Goody clears her throat.
“Someone tell me, please,” I beg.
Wyatt glances at Cash. “That horseshoe, with the ends facing down, it can, uh, sometimes be a symbol of bad luck. Like the horseshoe was full of good luck, but now you’re letting it all out by putting it that way.”
“Oh.” My face burns as I look back at the screen. “Oh my God, how stupid of me?—”
“It’s perfect. ”
I look up at the decisive rumble of Cash’s voice.
He’s getting up.
He’s rounding the table.
“Y’all aren’t up on your horseshoe shit.” His gaze is locked on mine as he approaches. “That kind of horseshoe can mean you’re letting luck out. It can also mean you’re letting luck rain down on anyone who passes underneath it.”
Sawyer clicks his tongue. “Dang, that actually makes sense.”
“It’s perfect,” Cash repeats. “My answer’s yes, honey.”
Then he takes my face in his hands and crushes his mouth against mine.
The room erupts in hoots and hollers. I try to break the kiss, pull away, but Cash holds me steady, giving me a long, deep kiss that’s definitely inappropriate to share in front of others.
Cash, of course, doesn’t care about that. Instead, he licks into my mouth and says, “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
His kiss deepens. Sucking on my bottom lip, he nicks it with his teeth, then pulls back. “Marry me.”
My heart explodes. A starry, happy rush fills my skin, like my pulse has dissolved into a million tiny pinpricks of light.
Is this really happening?
How in the world did I get this lucky?
I can’t believe this is actually happening. Not only have I met the love of my life. Now I get to marry him.
I smile, eyes welling with tears. “You proposing to me, cowboy?”
“Only because you proposed to me, cowgirl.”
“It’s a hell yes for me.”
He grins. “It’s a hell yes for me too.”
The cowboys bang their boots on the floor. Sally hog-whistles. John B starts to weep. And Cash just keeps on kissing me .
“One other thing,” he says when he finally allows me to come up for air. “I think I like the sound of Lucky River Ranch better. You added a letter to your name—Luck became Lucky—so let’s take one away from mine. Evens it out. Since we’re equals and all.”
Like I could say no to that.
“Yes,” I breathe, going up on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck. “Yes. Yes. Yes , Cash.”
We kiss. Then people are pulling us in for hugs. Patsy is crying. Wheeler is crying.
I’m crying.
But I know I’ll be all right, because I’m home.
I end up in Cash’s arms again, his lips finding mine for another searing kiss.
“Get a room,” Wyatt says with a smile.
Sally shakes her head. “Champagne toast first. Then the room.”
“I like the sound of that.” I wipe my eyes.
Cash grins. “Cheers, y’all.”