Chapter 14
CASSIDY
My feet were stone slabs weighing a thousand pounds. I watched as she scurried over to the two bed rolls, snatched hers up, and then found a mostly flat area to spread it out upon. She climbed beneath the thin blankets without another word.
That had actually happened, yes?
And I had no idea what sense to make of it. Did she like me? Did she not? Was I wearing her down? Was it because I’d pumped the brakes a little on how persistent I was with her?
Exhaling slowly, I knew there were no answers to be had standing here like an idiot. So, I strapped my big boy boots on, smothered the fire with dirt, and walked to the second bed roll.
Finding a spot a respectful distance from hers, I laid it out and went to sit down on it when she spoke. “You’re going to sleep like that?”
Squatting beside the makeshift bed with its single scratchy blanket since the other one was protecting our saddles from the ground, I paused and lifted my gaze to her. She kept her back facing me, her hand tucked up next to her mess of a braid.
“Like…what exactly?” I asked.
She flopped over and rolled her eyes. “In your crusty clothes that I doubt are dry yet.”
“Well, Goldie, if you can’t tell, I ain’t got anything else.”
“You can take them off and lay them out by the saddles?” She blinked at me as if I should’ve already thought of that.
“I’m already down a blanket, damp clothes are warmer than being nearly naked.” I lifted the single layer up and sat down, kicking my boots off. I heard a muted sigh, and then grumbling occurred beneath her breath, growing louder and louder as something crunched over the dirt, accompanied by a shuffling sound that I couldn’t place.
Glancing behind me, my brows raised on their own.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she whispered, laying down directly next to me on her bedroll she’d dragged this way. “It’s not like we didn’t cuddle last night, and you were in your underwear then.”
I studied her face as it sparkled in the low moonlight. “You need a hairbrush,” I teased and stood back up.
She clicked her tongue, but a smile twitched at the edges of her lips.
“Close your eyes unless you wanna see all this,” I instructed, running a hand up and down my body.
“I think it’s so funny that you believe I might actually want to see all ‘that.’” She waved at me, and closed her eyes.
“You’re the one that almost took my shirt off.” I stuffed my feet back in my boots and stood up.
“I told you we aren’t talking about that,” she grumbled as I quickly walked over to the saddles.
“Whatever you say, Goldie.” And I stripped down to my boxer shorts, which were also still a bit damp. In nothing but a pair of boots—which had me chuckling at the sight that I could only imagine others were seeing—I dashed back to the makeshift bed, kicked them off, and slid beneath the blankets as quickly as possible.
Without hesitating, I threw my arms around Briar and pulled her against my body. She shuddered beneath my touch and didn’t fight the movement. Curling into my chest, a heavy sigh left her lips.
“Just so we are clear, this goes on the list of things we don’t talk about,” she muttered. Warm breath danced against my chest, and a shiver ran down my spine. Man, I liked this way too much.
“Yes, ma’am,” I whispered and closed my eyes.
∞∞∞
Bud was hurting. Ponying him was making for a slow trek home beneath the blistering heat of the sun that blazed bright above us. And I was torn in two. Briar clutched my waist, riding behind me, which only increased the sweat that was dripping like a storm down my body. But I also didn’t want her to let go.
Because she’d stated this was another thing that stayed between the two of us.
“You are sticky. It’s gross,” she grumbled, leaning tighter against my back.
“You can choose to let go, Goldie. No one is forcing you to hold on to me.”
“And risk the chance of you doing something to purposefully get me bucked off? No, thanks.” She slapped my thigh. Adjusting the lead rope that twisted around my saddle horn, keeping Bud with us, I smiled to myself. Such a casual thing for her to do that sent sparking tingles up my body.
“Well, then I don’t know how to help you,” I answered and responded to her slap by tapping her hand around my waist.
“You could take your shirt off.”
“I knew it!” I exclaimed, and she groaned.
“Cassidy Duke, it’s not like that.”
Chuckling, I steered my horse around a couple of trees, wandering the long path back down to the main ranch. “Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m really not in the mood for a sunburn, so I’ll be keeping my shirt on.”
“Can’t I have a turn riding up front?”
“Do you know the way back?”
Her groan vibrated against my body. “No.”
“Then should you be the one in charge of the reins?” I asked, enjoying the lighthearted banter between us.
“Probably not…” she grumbled, and silence fell once again.
We trekked forward, her constant touch igniting a war within my soul. Boundaries had been set, ones that I was determined to respect and adhere to. But the longer my mind focused on her hands wrapped around my waist, narrowed in on her fingers lightly dancing back and forth across my abdomen, the less restraint that remained in my bones.
Think about anything else, Cassidy. Anything at all…
Like the fact that she hadn’t considered the possibility that this dude who allegedly killed all of her cattle may have also killed her father.
Wait, her cattle.
“Briar?” I asked, my hips swaying with the horse’s movement.
“Hmmm?” she lazily buzzed against my back.
“Your herd. Did they all die at once, or was it strung out over a period of time? Did any start to die off before your father passed?”
Her head raised from my back, and her fingers stopped moving, tightening around my shirt. “It started maybe three and a half months after my dad passed, and the final head died the day before I…may or may not have stolen his horse. Because it was over a couple months, at first I thought I was doing something wrong, and then eventually, I was out of money and out of cattle.” She sighed, and I draped the reins over my horse’s neck. Reaching back, I slid a reassuring hand up and down her thigh. Her body quivered against mine.
“What’d you do with them?” I asked, and her fingers entwined with mine. Long and slender, calloused yet perfect. “The dead cattle.”
“I mean, I disposed of them when I could, but the ones that died most recently, I never got around to before needing to get out of there. I did try and make sure they were in the shade and cooler spots, so they wouldn’t stink as bad before jetting off. Why?” Pressure rested upon my shoulder. Her chin dug into my trap, but I didn’t shake her off. In fact, I smiled softly to myself, memorizing the feeling of her like this. Acutely aware of how much would shift when we returned to the ranch.
“Because, I have an idea. It’s kinda crazy, but you said you don’t have any way to prove Wayde is behind anything.”
“Yeah?” Creases pulled her brows together. “Cassidy, where are you going with this?”
“A necropsy. On however many are still viable. If we can figure out the cause of death, then—”
“Maybe we can connect it with Wayde!” she finished for me and squealed. “I can call the vet and get him out there as soon as possible.”
“No,” I immediately said, and she lifted her chin from my shoulder.
“No? But I thought you said that we needed to get a necropsy done? They’ve all been dead for at least over a week now and the longer we wait, the less likely it will help.”
I nodded and picked back up the reins with my free hand. Squeezing her fingers for some reassurance, I sighed. “The necropsy needs to happen, but here. Where Wayde can’t potentially find out or tamper with results, or worse.”
She closed her eyes and plunked her head back down against me. “While I agree, that presents a new problem.”
“Yeah, I know,” I muttered. And then tipped my head. “Idea.”
“Ooh, give it to me!” she exclaimed giddily.
“Rooney. He’s still got that big refrigerated eighteen-wheeler, right? You know, the one he had back when he was a butcher before getting into welding.” I pulled the horse to a stop as she whacked my waist in excitement.
“Yes! I never knew why he kept it in pristine condition; I mean, he’s not used it in twenty, thirty years. But oh my gosh, this could work!” She squealed again and then pulled her lips tight. “It took me two days to drive here hauling a trailer with a single horse.”
“Yeah, I thought of that, but I don’t see any other option.” Spinning sideways on my horse, I faced her the best I could. She gave me a tight smile.
“Rooney could get hurt,” she muttered.
“He’s a tough ol’ man; he’ll be fine,” I answered and gently grabbed her chin, tugging her gaze up. “This will work.” Her big eyes were wide and round with fright. She slowly nodded, the gentle swirls of a storm lingering behind her mask of determination was evident through the clear glass pane separating us.
“Wait, isn’t your sister-in-law your vet? The one that’s pregnant and due—”
“I was planning on having Doc perform it.”
“Doc?” her brows furrowed, and I brushed a thumb across her jaw.
“He’s technically retired, but he was Tenley’s boss and still pops into the clinic from time to time, especially since she’s gonna have a baby any day now,” I answered. She didn’t say a thing as her bottom lip trembled. Her eyes bore into my soul, winding down to the deepest depths that even I dared not to go. Every inch of my entire world was exposed to the innocence that tugged me closer to her.
“This will work,” she whispered, leaning toward me.
My gaze flickered down to her plump lips, begging for my kiss to be against them again. I needed another taste, another quick reminder of what her velvet brush felt like upon my mouth.
Her eyes followed, and my heart jumped in my chest. Everything disappeared around me; the thought and urgency of getting home floated away like a flower petal in the gentle, warm summer draft. The idea that there was anything other than this moment danced like tender music wrapping her tighter in my heart.
And I tipped my head, pausing right above her mouth.
“We’ll have to give Rooney a call,” she muttered, her warm breath brushing across my skin. Smelling sweet and strange, she pressed her lips lightly against mine.
I didn’t move to deepen the kiss—at first. Her pale lashes fluttered as a smile pulled across her face, matching the same one on mine. And I grabbed her cheeks, sealing the distance between us.
Simple and brief, I melted against the silky tenderness of chapped lips spent too long beneath the sun. She giggled as my unshaved face brushed against her skin, and then she leaned forward even more. There was no gap to close between us, but she certainly tried to lessen it as I slid my fingers over her ears and threaded them through her hair.
There was no before her, and there was no without her. There was only here right now with her, and a future with her. This became a life I no longer wanted to experience unless it was for her, and only for her.
But I knew she needed things to move slowly, seeing as it was crazy to think that after such a short amount of time together her feelings would be as strong as mine. Plus, I couldn’t be selfish.
As gently as possible, I broke our kiss apart, her lips lingering against mine even after I pulled away.
She kept her eyes closed and opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.
“Yeah, I know. This is also something we aren’t gonna talk about,” I said lightheartedly.
She giggled, and her fingers tightened around my waist. “Exactly.” Finally, her lids opened, revealing her beautiful gray eyes. “Exactly,” she whispered again.
Clamping my teeth together, my stomach plummeted to the ground, heavy at the shift in her tone. Such a casual kiss, but one that must have been more weighted for her than it was for me.
“Please don’t be mad, I just…” Her voice trailed off at my lack of response.
“Ain’t mad. Never mad, Goldie.”
She nodded, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth. That was harder than I thought it’d be. “How far do you think Bud can run? We need to get back,” she asked, her voice breaking.
I glanced at the horse, knowing that he would certainly not last long, but if we gave him adequate breaks from trotting, we might be able to cut this journey a bit.
“Hold on, Goldie. Let’s see what we can do,” I answered and spun back around.