16. Presley
Chapter 16
Presley
When Kade pulls up to the Montgomery Family Ranch, I’m surprised. I thought he’d take me somewhere else. I don’t know where, but when he said he wanted me to have fun, the ranch wasn’t the first place I had in mind.
I play with the fringe on my purse and gaze out the window at the golden plains. While my anxiety attack has ceased, my heart is still racing from walking into Night Hawk and seeing Marié, the lead singer of my now ex-band. When I spotted her lithe frame and long brown hair standing at the bar, I immediately turned and ran out. If she saw me, she would’ve told Derek where I was.
The entire ride back to the ranch, I quietly scold myself for not picking a town further away from the city, but I didn’t think she’d ever come to a place like this. She likes upscale restaurants and VIP clubs, not bull-riding bars in small towns.
Crap . At least she didn’t see me—well, I don’t think she did. I was only in the bar for a second before I turned and ran at the sight of her. So there’s that.
“Do you have a hoodie or something?” Kade asks.
I turn my head to look at him. He’s parked outside the hands’ quarters and has just killed the engine of the truck. Now, he’s waiting for my answer.
“Why?”
He smirks. “In case you get cold.”
“Please tell me we’re not camping. I don’t camp. ”
“You really are a city girl, aren’t you?”
“I just like beds.”
That makes his smile grow wider. “We have that in common.”
I raise my eyebrow at him. He really wants to go there right now?
“Presley.” He sighs. “Just get into something comfortable. We’re not going camping.”
Presley. He hasn’t called me Lemon or any other nickname since I got back in the truck. It strikes me as strange and a little off-putting.
Wait, am I upset he’s calling me by my name? My heart skitters to a stop in my chest. Is there something in the water that’s making me like his nicknames for me? Maybe I’m still sick from fainting. I should go to bed instead of hanging out with a person I don’t even like. Or think I don’t even like.
“Kade—”
“Nope.” He cuts me off. “You’re not getting out of this. Fun is going to happen.”
I sigh as he unbuckles his seatbelt.
“Go get changed. I’m going to grab a few things. I’ll come get you in ten.”
Kade exits his truck and jogs away toward the main house, leaving me to my own devices. With an exasperated sigh, I get out of his truck and head to the quarters, making a mental note to figure out how to get new tires as I pass my car. Just another thing I’ll have to dig into my savings to pay for.
Once I’m inside the safety of my room, I take out my phone. There are more texts from Derek, but I don’t look at them. I turn my phone off and put it in the bedside table drawer. He’s already caused me enough pain; I don’t need to think about him or that selfie he sent me with my replacement…or the fact that Kade saw the messages and I had an anxiety attack in front of him!
My life is so screwed up right now. Kade’s assessment of me was right, too—I am running from my life. Though the second part of his assumption made me reevaluate what I came here looking for.
Did I come to Randall for someone or something? Do I want attention?
I walk into the bathroom and grip the sink, taking a deep breath. Maybe I need to try to see a therapist again. They offer free sessions at a clinic in Lynn. I thought I was managing my anxiety attacks, but they’re coming back full force with all the changes in my life.
I splash some cool water on my face and stare in the mirror. I look tired, sad, and lost—a far cry from the girl I was before I met Derek. I didn’t have anxiety attacks like this then. I had normal anxiety like any person living in this day and age does, but not like this.
I take a few minutes to clean up my face then reapply a little bit of mascara to my lashes and some pink-tinted moisturizer to my lips. It doesn’t make sense, but I kind of want to look good for him instead of showing up as some weird gremlin girl. Not that it should matter.
I search the small wooden dresser between the room’s two twin beds and find a pair of high-waisted black leggings, a loose-fitting white shirt with bell sleeves, and an oversized tan-and-white flannel button up. I tug them on, tying the flannel shirt around my waist and then putting on a pair of white off-brand sneakers I got last month. They will probably get dirty, but I don’t feel like wearing cowboy boots. They’re not that comfortable on my wider calves, and he told me to be comfortable.
Fine with the way I look and feeling a little more like myself, I walk out into the living area just as Kade strides in through the front door. He stops and smiles when he sees me, letting out a whistle.
“You look good in white. Though your shoes are gonna turn brown.” His words echo my earlier thoughts .
“It’s fine,” I say, ignoring the fact that he complimented me. I’m sure he was just being a flirt like he is with everyone.
“Alright, then. I got provisions.” He has a bulging canvas bag in one hand and a blanket over his other arm. “Follow me.”
He doesn’t give me time to think before he’s walking out the door. I follow less reluctantly than I thought I would. Despite how Kade and I first started out, something about him draws me in, makes me want to follow him instead of protest. That has me putting one foot in front of the other to go have “fun” with him.
The gravel and dirt crunch under our shoes as we walk, and Kade slows down a bit so we’re now side by side. He has to intentionally shorten his stride so we’re moving at the same pace—I’m not that short, but he’s got long legs. It’s kind of funny to watch him try to stay beside me.
“Are you feeling better?” he asks.
I study Kade’s side profile, his five-o’clock shadow coming in strong. The sun is setting, and the orange hues of the sky make his suntanned skin almost glow. He’s beautiful.
I clear my throat before he can comment on my silence. “I’m fine.”
He scrutinizes me but doesn’t say more, pointing to the big red barn ahead of us. I haven’t been inside yet, but Blake told me it’s where they keep all their hay stores and some equipment. She said one day they’d like to renovate it for events like weddings, which would make a killing in a setting like this. I can see the photos brides would get with the tree-dotted plains rolling expansively in the background. It would be stunning.
“We’re going in here.”
My interest piques. When he said we’d be having fun, I didn’t picture going into a barn. But I reserve judgment, thinking there must be something more to it.
Kade slides open the door, and my attention moves to the way the veins in his forearms bulge and how his glutes flex inside his Wranglers. My cheeks flush at the sexiness of it, and I look away to try to school my features, not wanting him to catch my reaction to his body this time. Thankfully, he doesn’t look at me as he walks inside, flicking on a light. I follow him silently.
Once we’re both in, he slides the door back in place, and I look around. The overhead lighting isn’t super bright, but it’s enough to illuminate the hay inside and the particles of dust and feed floating in the air. The barn is huge, and the vaulted ceilings are high, making it look even larger.
“Up the stairs you go,” Kade quips. He’s smiling wide, dimples showing, as he points to a staircase toward the back of the barn.
I head that direction with him hot on my heels. When we reach the steps that will presumably lead us to the barn loft, I put my hand on the railing at the same time Kade places his on the small of my back. I tense at the unexpected touch, and he pulls back.
“Sorry, I should’ve asked,” he offers sheepishly. “These stairs are old, and I didn’t want you to trip.”
Warmth fills my chest. I can’t remember the last time a man, let alone any person, was concerned about me unless they needed something from me. Like Derek being fake concerned about me being hurt or murdered so that I would pick up the phone.
“It’s okay.” I nod, and Kade takes that as permission to put his hand on my lower back again. I try to relax then take my time walking up the steps, and I’m a little winded when I reach the top.
I suck in a shallow breath as Kade drops his hand. I’m not going to lie; I miss the heat of it. The security of it.
Taking another short breath, I force myself not to think of that and observe my surroundings. Like downstairs, the light up here is dim, but the sunset from the open loft door casts an orange-and-yellow glow around us. I walk toward the opening and wrap my hands around the wooden railing, looking out over the plains and pastures. The beauty of it steals my breath .
“Wow” is all I manage to say. The sunset paints the sky, almost like it’s been photoshopped—reds, oranges, and yellows streak in almost broad brushstrokes across the landscape as the sun slowly sinks behind the horizon. Horses graze in the distance, and the sound of cicadas surrounds us. Yes, I’ve seen sunsets before, but not like this. Not on an open plain with no light pollution to hide its true beauty. Now I get why Kade was excited.
“Mother Nature is putting on a show tonight,” he hums, stepping up beside me. “When I saw the way the sky was turning, I had a feeling it would be a good one.”
I gaze at his profile again and take in his genuine love of what he sees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man appreciate nature like this before. It’s endearing, a side of Kade I never expected to see.
Lately, though, he’s been showing a different side of himself—his question about why I quit smoking, his concern for me after I fainted then again when he found me crying. I also can’t ignore that he gave me a ride to work because of my tire and took me away from Night Hawk after my anxiety attack. And now this, an attempt to get me to have fun. Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought?
I turn my attention to the skies, and we quietly watch the colors of the sunset and the breeze blow across the plains before he steps back and motions for me to follow. Then he points to where he’d set down the canvas bag and blanket he brought.
“What is all that?” I ask.
He smirks. “What? Did you think the fun was just looking at the sunset?”
He bends down to grab the blanket then hands it to me. Our fingers touch when I take it, and much like the first time, electricity passes between us.
He lifts one of his dark-blond eyebrows at me. “Are you really going to tell me that’s just science?”
I huff. “I have dry skin. ”
He laughs, pulling his hand back. “Spread that out for me, Presley. Please .”
“Wow! My name and a please. What did I do to deserve this?”
Kade runs a thumb over his stubbled cheek, his eyes locked on mine. “I guess you’ve been a good girl.”
The coyness in his baritone voice has me shivering and my stomach filling with butterflies. I swallow for no reason. In an attempt to ignore his burning stare, I spread the blanket out then stand to my full height only to find his eyes haven’t left my body. His hazel gaze is softer than it usually is, and I think he’s trying to get a read on me.
After a second, he kneels on the floor and grabs the canvas bag, pulling things out and setting them on the blanket. A bag of chips, two bottles of water, a deck of cards, two shot glasses, another blanket, and a bottle of whiskey.
For a fleeting moment, I wonder if he should be drinking. But while he’s young, he’s an adult who can make his own choices. And even though I don’t know Kade that well, I know that people who live hard lives mature faster than others. Sometimes I don’t even feel like I had a childhood since my parents were so absent. I had to learn how to take care of myself, be my own boss—that changes a person. I don’t have to know Kade to know it’s been the same for him.
“Are you going to sit?” he asks before taking off his cowboy hat. He sets it next to him and extends his booted feet out in front of him, his palms propping him up.
Even though I am still unsure of how this is going to be fun, I shove away my thoughts and sit, crossing my legs underneath me as I look back out at the darkening sky.
“Are you sure Jake is okay? I feel bad.”
Kade nods. “You worry too much. He’s fine. I’m sure Stu helped him. And Jake can dance, he just doesn’t like to teach if he doesn’t have to. He also says if I’m there, I get more tips for us all and people spend more money on drinks. ”
His statement makes me feel worse. “You can go back, you know. You don’t have to stay with me. I’m fine.”
Kade lets out a rumbling sound. “Presley. It’s okay. I want to be here.”
His words stun me into silence, but I don’t know how to respond to that. Thankfully, I don’t have to because he sits up and takes the bottle of whiskey in his hands.
“You drink?” he asks.
“A little. Socially, when I’m—” I stop myself from saying playing gigs, though I suppose if he saw those texts, he knows I play something.
“When you’re…?” he asks, not letting it go.
I sigh. “Just pour me a dang shot, Kade.”
That has him smiling again. “I like when you’re bossy.”
I ignore his flirting and take the offered shot. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a shot of any kind, especially whiskey. I normally go for watered-down sugary drinks or a margarita on the rocks, but I guess this will have to do. After the last week, it’ll be nice to let go a bit—even if it’s in a barn loft with Kade.
“Cheers,” he says, lifting his shot glass to mine. We clink, and then I put the cool glass to my lips. As soon as the liquor hits my tongue, it burns, so I gulp it down as quickly as I can and reach for the bottle of water. Kade chuckles to himself while he watches me wash the horrible taste from my mouth.
“How do you drink that?” I cough.
“Have you never had whiskey before?”
“I have, but did you make it yourself?” I cough again.
He shakes his head, lips pressed into an amused line. “Just cheap shit.”
He puts the cap back on the bottle then opens the bag of chips. He offers me some, and I shake my head.
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “Eat some. I don’t want you passing out on me.”
“I had dinner.”
“You ate a little of it. The bowl was still mostly full. ”
A tingling sensation tickles deep within me when I realize he noticed that, but I ignore it by grabbing the bag and stuffing a chip in my mouth. “Happy?”
He smiles in satisfaction. “Very.”
We munch on chips for a minute, and I think of how different this situation would’ve been with my ex. Derek would have rather let me pass out than offer me chips. He was always on me about my appearance, especially when we started booking bigger gigs. He wanted me to look like all the other women around us: thin, attractive, and fashionable.
I brush my hands clean of chip crumbs and reach for the bottle of whiskey. Kade watches me as I pour myself one then fill his glass, too.
“Trying to get me drunk?” he asks, a playfulness in his tone.
“I’m trying to get myself drunk.” Then I knock back the second shot.