9. Easton
EASTON
The moment I walk through the door of the pizza shop, a rush of heat called jealousy runs through my veins.
There, sitting in a booth with another guy's hand on top of hers, is my woman.
And whatever the bonehead says is making her smile.
She throws her head back in laughter, and my neck and shoulder muscles tighten.
I'm pissed. Just as my feet move me forward, Cat's eyes lock with mine, and the smile on her beautiful face quickly fades.
The guy sitting with her turns in his seat to see who is stealing Cat's undivided attention. I stop and glare at the asshole. "Who the fuck are you?" I grind my teeth and size him up.
"Easton, wait—" Cat pauses as the dickhead with her stands and offers his hand.
"I'm—" he goes to introduce himself, but I’m not interested in getting to know him.
"She's mine," I growl.
"Jesus. Easton. You plan on throwing me over your shoulder and carrying me out of here too?" Cat folds her arms beneath her breasts and cocks her head.
"The thought crossed my mind," I admit.
"Carter is an old friend," Cat says, exasperated. "Carter, I'd like you to meet Easton." Carter waits for me to shake his hand.
I do my best to snuff out the anger still stewing inside.
My focus shifts back to Cat. I reach for her and guide her up off her seat, pulling her to me.
I kiss her. My lips laced with an apology for being a dick and making it clear to anyone watching she belongs to me.
I pull away and look at her. "I'm sorry. "
Carter clears his throat. "Listen, I need to run."
Cat breaks eye contact with me and looks at him. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He takes some cash from his wallet and drops it on the table. "It was good catching up with you, Cat." Then Carter looks at me. "Nice to meet you."
"Same," I reply tightly.
A few minutes of silence hang between Cat and me before she walks away, heading for the exit.
"Babe." I fall beside her to open the door, and she steps outside. "Cat," I call out as she continues to walk down the sidewalk.
"I need to get back to work, Easton."
"Hey—hey." I take her by the hand, stopping her.
Cat sighs. "Easton, what is this—what are we doing?"
"I think we're having our first argument." I brush the red hair from her face.
"Easton," Cat says softly. "Don’t you think we're moving a bit too fast?"
"No." Cat tilts her face toward the sky, and the sun filters through her long lashes, casting tiny shadows on her skin when she closes her eyes.
"Look at me, babe." I palm her face, running the pad of my thumb across the spattering of red freckles on the apple of her cheek.
Cat opens her eyes and stares into mine.
"Playing music and traveling the world feeds my soul, but I want more.
" Cat chews on her lower lip as I continue to open my heart and empty the contents into the palms of her hands.
"You're it for me, Red. There is no doubt on my end where I stand.
" I take her hand, placing her palm against my chest to feel the rapid beating of my heart.
"This is what you do to me." And I can tell by the rapid rise and fall of her chest that I have the same effect on her.
"I always thought love at first sight, that your entire center of gravity would shift, was a bunch of poetic bullshit.
" I press my forehead against hers. "It's real," I whisper, and Cat smiles.
"You believe in that phenomenon, huh?"
"I'm living it." I kiss her soft lips—slow at first before deepening it, and pour out what’s left of my confession until it leaves us both breathless.
"Um—I should get back to work," Cat says but doesn't attempt to move.
"Ask for the rest of the day off."
She shakes her head. "I can't. We need the money."
I look at her with understanding. "I can help, you know."
"No. I can't let you do that. It's not your cross to bear."
I lift her face to mine. "I want to take care of you."
"I don't want your money, Easton."
"That's not what I meant." I study her face, admiring her strength to do it all on her own.
Money is something we can discuss another time, especially since I don't like seeing how hard she works and how much she struggles.
Right now, all I want is to be with her. "Spend the rest of the day with me."
Cat pauses a second in thought, then looks over her shoulder at the salon. "I'll go ask." She turns back to me. "You're crazy, you know that?"
I smile like a fool in love because I am.
"So you say." Cat's hand slips from mine, and she starts to jog toward the salon, but she suddenly spins on her heels and rushes back in my direction.
Leaping, she throws her arms around my neck, and I embrace her back.
Cat's mouth crashes on mine. "Don't move.
" Her skin glows from the sun as she smiles at me.
"I'm not going anywhere."
For the remainder of the afternoon, I spend the day working alongside my girl.
True to her nature Cat isn't about to waste hours on herself.
Instead, we accomplish a few chores around the ranch, then take a little leisure time afterward, cooling off with a dip in the lake, which leads to sex beneath the very oak tree we made love the night before.
"That's Lev's truck," Cat states as we pull up to the house. "I wonder what he's doing out here?" Beside the truck, I recognize the sports car parked in the driveway the moment we return to the ranch. "Not sure who the car belongs to."
"Miles," I say.
"Who's Miles?" Cat looks at me as I park the truck.
"The band's manager." And I'm positive his arrival brings bad news.
My thoughts are confirmed when we find Miles, Lev, and Cat's grandad sitting at the kitchen table and see the grim look on my manager's face.
All three men look at us, their eyes falling to our joined hands.
Lev grins but says nothing. Miles, on the other hand, true to his nature, has something to say.
"You look better than you have in a long time." He stands and approaches us, looking at Cat. "And I bet this pretty young lady is to blame." He smiles at her. "I'm Miles."
"Cat." She takes his hand.
Miles sighs and addresses me. "Easton, there was a break-in at your apartment."
"What? Anything stolen?" I ask him.
"No." His eyes cut to Cat briefly.
"You can speak freely. I’m not hiding anything." I guide Cat to the table, and she sits next to her grandad as I pull out a chair beside her.
"I went by your place to grab the bed for your cat.
The damn furball thinks my pillow belongs to him, and I want it back.
" Even under the circumstances, I can't help but grin.
Miles will never admit he likes the cat.
He hands me his phone. "Anyway, I found the place ransacked.
" I slide my finger across the screen, looking at images of my apartment torn apart.
"I took those while waiting for the police to arrive.
" The final image I stare down at is my bathroom mirror, with the words I will find you written in bright red.
"Is that blood?" Cat says, sounding concerned.
"It's lipstick," Miles states.
"Are you sure this stalker isn’t some scorned ex?" Cat eyes me for an explanation.
"I don’t have exes. Just a problematic fan." I try to make it sound less than it is.
"I'd say this is more than problematic. You have a crazy-ass woman on your hands," Cat states. "And you have a cat?"
"Yeah, Gizmo. Found him in the back alley at a gig one night a few years ago. He's been my sidekick ever since." I look from the screen to Cat. "What"”
She smiles, her eyes twinkling. "Nothing."
"Can we get back to the problem at hand?" Miles says. "The police found no signs of forced entry. Hell, even I saw nothing out of the ordinary before opening the door. The place was locked uptight."
"I obtained a list of residences in the building. Security cameras didn't turn up anyone who was out of the ordinary coming or going aside from delivery personnel, and they were all men," Lev informs us.
I run my hand through my hair and blow out a breath. "You need me back in Seattle?"
"I'd advise against it until the police need to talk with you," Lev cuts in before Miles can respond. "You shouldn't risk this person making contact at all. For now, stay put. Wait a few days. We have someone scoping the building, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity."
I look at Miles. "Have you heard from Archer, Cody, or Micah?"
"Micah and Tallulah are with her folks. Cody—he’s relaxing on a beach along the west coast, and Archer, well, he's spending his time flying all over the place." Sounds about right. Archer doesn't like to stay in place too long.
"The guys and I are going to install a security system inside the apartment. If anyone enters again, we'll be the first to know." Lev looks at his watch and stands. "I got to get home to my woman. If my guys run down any leads, we'll let you know." I stand and shake his hand.
"Thanks."
Not long after Lev takes his leave, I walk with Miles to his car. "I need you to do me a favor."
"Alright." Miles pauses after opening the car door.
"Cat and her grandfather have a loan out on the ranch. I want it taken care of."
Miles eyes me for a second. "She means something to you, doesn't she?"
I look back at the house and notice her grandad stepping outside. "She does."
"Does she know what you're up to?" he asks.
I look at Miles but don't answer.
He sighs. "Your funeral." Then shakes his head.
"I'll see what I can find out and take care of it," Miles says.
A few minutes later, I watch the taillights of Miles' car disappear the further he drives away from the ranch house.
Cat's grandad leans back in his rocking chair on the front porch and folds his arms. "You and my granddaughter have formed a serious attachment to each other. " Arthur gazes out at the setting sun.
"Yes, sir. I like her—more than like her if I can be honest." I lower myself to sit on the porch swing nearby.
"I can tell." He pauses for a beat. His chair creaks with the rocking back and forth. "My granddaughter is one of a kind. Doesn't nothing on God's green earth mean more to me than her," Arthur tells me.
"I feel the same."
Arthur clears his throat. "Good." Then stands. "I like you, Easton. Keep making her smile as you do, and it will stay that way." As he's walking toward the door, Cat steps outside.
"Hey." She kisses his cheek. "Your medicine and milk are sitting beside your recliner, and they have a John Wayne marathon playing on the TV."
"Thank you, sweetheart."
Cat joins me on the porch swing, and I tuck her into my side. "So, a cat, huh? I didn’t peg you as a cat person. What happens to him when you're on the road?"
"Take him with me," I tell her, and she laughs.
"You take your cat on tour with you—how does that work?"
"We tour on the bus mostly, so he hangs out there. And, if we happen to stay in a hotel," I shrug, "I sneak him in."
"You must love that cat," Cat says, then we sit in silence for a few minutes before she asks, "Are you concerned with the break-in?"
I sigh. "I am. The letters I've received over the past year never really bothered me, but this shit is too batshit crazy for my liking.
" Before we can get any deeper into the conversation, my phone rings, I pull it from my pocket, and Cat sees Emerson and my niece's faces on the screen.
"My sister." I answer the phone. "Hey," I say to Emerson and look to Cat, who goes to move away.
"I'll give you some privacy. I need to check on my grandad anyway."
"Hold on, Em," I tell my sister, then pull Cat back to me. "Give me your lips before you go."
"You're very bossy."
"You like it." I cover her mouth with mine. When we finally break away, Cat's pupils dilate, and her eyes become hooded with desire. The way she looks at me has my cock swelling. "I'll come to find you."
"You better." Cat walks into the house, and I lift the phone to my ear.
"Are you still with me?"
"Alright. Spill it," Emerson demands. "I just overheard a very heated lip wrestling match with you and a mystery woman."
"Her name is Cat. Her family owns the ranch."
"Don't leave this girl with a broken heart," Emerson warns.
"She's different, Em," I admit, and the lack of a smart-ass remark from my twin causes me concern. "Em, are you still there?"
"I'm here." She's quiet for a few more seconds. "You're serious?"
"She's the one, Em. My person. Cat is my yesterday, today, and all of my tomorrows." I hear my sister sniffle. "Are you crying?"
"You tell anyone, and I'll kick your ass," Emerson threatens, and I laugh. "East."
"Yeah?"
"I'm so fucking happy for you," Emerson says, and emotion pools in my chest.
"Thanks, Em."