23. Cash
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cash
We head south of town, then climb a ridge that turns into a long, flat plateau. The ranches down here are massive operations. Cutthroat corporate machines. At the next town, we stop at a grocery store.
It feels good, holding Haven’s hand, being proud to have a gorgeous girl beside me as we buy sandwiches and fruit, coffee and iced tea.
She’s a little self-conscious about her dress, the way the satin hugs her curves, but I fucking love it. She’s sexy and lush, and as soon as I get her up into the mountains, all mine.
Back in the truck, I head west and start climbing out of the foothills. Once upon a time, I loved the switchbacks. They felt like freedom, and it’s long past time that I reclaim that.
“You ever been up here?” I ask as I take the steep turns with ease.
“No, never.”
I grin. “It was a popular place to park in high school. But you never did that, I bet.”
“No.” A little flash of emotion flits across her face. “You did it a lot?”
“Some. Not as much as people assumed. But I had my days of being young and dumb.” So fucking dumb. “This is actually where I was arrested.”
“I didn’t know that.” She goes quiet for a beat. “But you don’t mind coming back?”
“I haven’t actually come up here again until tonight.” I shrug. “I’m pretty sure the sunset with you will make it worth the pain.”
“Oh, Cash.”
“Don’t oh, Cash me. I’m a big boy. I can handle looking at my past mistakes. And there isn’t anyone else I’d rather walk down memory lane with.”
“I’ll try to be gentle and not ask you too many—” The road levels out and she stops, looking out the windshield. “Questions.”
The sun is hanging low in the sky and the view is incredible. She lets out a low, appreciative noise as I pull off at the lookout and park the truck.
“Yeah, exactly. You aren’t gonna want to ask me any questions. Just stare at the pretty sunset and let me teach you a few dance steps.” I grab my hat.
“What? Here?”
I come around to her side of the truck and help her down. I keep my hands on her waist when her feet touch the ground, and I spin her around, never letting go of her completely. “No place better than the top of the world. It’s private and almost as pretty as you in that dress.”
She laughs, a little nervous. “We don’t have any music—”
I interrupt her, singing a line from a recognizable song, and then instead of the next line of lyrics, I count numbers instead. “One two three four. Just like that.”
I alternate between lyrics and counting steps.
She’s not as bad a dancer as she thinks. She likes being in my arms, that’s clear.
She steps on my toes twice, but I just shift her to where she’s supposed to be, and she’s fucking cute when she stammers an apology.
I keep singing.
At the last line, I spin her under my arm and settle her in front of me, her back to my front, so we’re both looking at the mountain lake in the little valley below us and the peaks on the other side.
“Pretty good first lesson.” I kiss the side of her head.
“I’m going to need more practice.”
“We’ve got all evening.”
“Show me again.”
I turn her around. “Don’t look at my feet. Look at my eyes.”
That makes her smile.
“One two three four…”
Her tits bounce in the dress, so damn inviting, but that’s for later. I’m being a good boy and showing her a good time right now.
After she’s comfortable with the steps, I pause us on a high note. “Picnic in the back of the truck?”
I pull down the tailgate, then spread out the blankets and lift her into the back of the truck.
She stretches out on her side, the satin of her dress sliding up, showing her dimpled knees and a few inches of her soft thighs.
Irresistible.
I sit close enough that I can rest my hand there, caressing her as we pick through the food we brought. She has another dimple on the back of her thigh that cradles the pad of my middle finger so perfectly, I might never let go.
She gives me a searching look. “How are the ghosts of the past treating you?”
“What past?” I pass her a bottle of iced tea. “All I see when I’m up here with you is my future.”
She’s not taking the flirty bait. “What does that look like?”
I stretch out and adjust my hat. “More of this.”
“You’re happy in your life?”
“You worried about that?”
“Of course.”
“I’m happy enough. Happier tonight.”
She doesn’t push further.
We eat a little more, and fall into a companionable silence as we watch the sun sink lower, the late afternoon light turning radiant in the early evening golden hour.
But I can’t stop thinking about her question. How much she cares. “Why do you ask if I’m happy?”
She looks at me with her unique, sweet openness. “Because it’s been harder than I expected, being back here.”
Fuck me. “I’m sorry.”
She shrugs. “It’s not all bad. You’re lovely.”
“First time anyone’s said that.”
“I’m sure all the girls you brought up here thought you were lovely.”
“Shush. There’s only one woman I’m here with now.”
“I know.” She curves under the brim of my hat and we kiss. It’s slow and sweet, and I hope she knows I’m not gonna try to turn this into anything more than that.
“I want you to be really happy,” she says when we finally stop. “And if you were holding yourself back for some reason—”
“I’m not.” I stroke her cheek. “Are you?”
“I don’t know.”
She sucks in a surprised breath. Maybe that was an unexpected confession.
“I’m happy in your arms. I know that much.”
“But that’s not enough when people are making life actively hostile for you.” I set my jaw firmly. “We’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“I know we will.” But her expression clearly says that she’s afraid of what we’ll find when we do. Afraid of how deep the disrespect might run.
I hate that for her.
I soften my voice. “Turn around.”
The sky is a riot of orange and pink and gold and red, and everything in the valley has gone quiet.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispers as the sun slides out of view behind the next ridge over.
All I can see is her. “It sure is.”