14. I’m Always Alone And He Always Show Up
I’M ALWAYS ALONE AND HE ALWAYS SHOW UP
PAIGE
“So, how has the last month gone?” Lottie asked as she linked her arm in mine.
“It’s been…interesting.” I giggled as we walked toward the club inside the MGM Grand.
“Has Daddy Cash been treating you well?” Micah, one of my best friends, asked with a smirk.
“Cash has been fine.” I rolled my eyes. The girls didn’t need to know about the kiss Cash and I shared—at least not yet. That was a secret that could come out during girls’ night a few years from now when we could all laugh about it.
“Daddy Cash is hot,” Maeve Kelly said as she stepped in line with us.
“How long until Cash barges into the club and steals her away?” Taylor, my other traitorous friend, chimed in.
“Wait, has that happened?” Keegan Kelly popped up next to us.
I had heard endless stories about the Kellys, but this was my first time meeting them.
I realized I had a few new girl crushes.
Keegan, Ryleigh, and Maeve were Owen’s sisters, and Maggie was engaged to Owen’s brother, Nolan.
The girls had a contagious energy that made you want to laugh and stay up all night gossiping.
I could see why Lottie loved them.
“We have been dying to hear all about this Daddy Cash,” Maggie added as we approached the club doors.
“I will tell you guys all about the thorn in my side that you speak of. But for now, I need a drink.”
I grabbed Lottie’s and Keegan’s wrists dragged them forward into the dark club.
We were guided to a roped-off area that had a large round velvet couch and buckets of every type of alcohol you could imagine.
Neon lights filled the air as smoke blasted from behind the DJ platform.
The ceiling was four stories high with black pipes exposed and crystal chandeliers that glowed pink.
We grew up with money on the ranch, but this was beyond anything I could fathom.
I was used to country dive bars and an occasional night at the only nice Italian place within twenty miles of Ashton Creek.
Lottie had told me the Kellys enjoyed luxury, and honestly, this was a lifestyle I could get used to.
A lifestyle that Lottie was already used to.
Once the drinks were poured, we joined the crowd on the dance floor. We jumped up and down, making fools of ourselves as people around us stared. I couldn’t remember the last time I had this much fun with my best friends. I couldn’t remember a time when Lottie smiled this much.
Even being surrounded by this group of women, there was a pressure on my heart. The way Lottie laughed with the Kellys. The way they had inside jokes that I wasn’t part of. The way they naturally clicked like a family while I lingered in the background.
No one was making me feel that way on purpose—which almost hurt more. It simply meant that I didn’t fit.
Lottie fanned her sweaty face and announced she was going to sit down for a few minutes. She walked off with the Kelly girls in tow, but I stayed on the dance floor to get lost in my own little world. I was so distracted I almost missed the hard body that was suddenly pressing up against me.
I glanced up to see a man a few years older than me with a grimy smile.
He was wearing a full suit and his hair was slicked back with so much gel you definitely couldn’t run your fingers through it.
He was all hard edges and his smile had nothing on Cash’s.
I tried to slip away, but he hardened his hold on me.
“Come on, baby, you can’t be out here alone looking like this,” he whispered in my ear.
“No, thank you,” I shouted against the music, attempting to push away from him.
“Don’t be a bitch,” he snarled as he gripped my arm tight enough for me to wince.
“Let me go,” I shouted, but he ignored my plea with a sinister laugh.
I frantically looked around for my sister, but I couldn’t see anyone through the massive crowd. I could scream, but the music and bass were so loud that no one would notice. Panic rushed in as the man attempted to pull me deeper into the crowd.
No. No. No. No. No.
Tears pricked at my eyes as they trailed down to his grip that was definitely going to leave a bruise. I twisted to face the asshole and swiftly kneed him in the balls so hard he cried out and released my arm.
I took off through the crowd, letting the tears fall.
I must have looked insane as I ran through the hotel lobby and up to the elevators that led to the penthouse suites.
As soon as I made it to the room, I sank to the floor and burst into tears.
I wasn’t sure if it hurt more that I could’ve been assaulted or that my sister disappeared without a care that I was somewhere in the club alone.
At that moment, no one was there for me and it was terrifying.
I bet that wouldn’t have happened to one of the Kelly girls. Lottie wouldn’t have left their sides.
I buried my face in my hands. In the chaos of what happened, I left my purse at the club so I didn’t have a room key. Luckily, I stuck my phone into my shirt when we hit the dance floor so I could at least call someone for help without going back down there.
I stared at my phone, contemplating who to call.
I knew I could text my sister or the girls, but I didn’t want to make the night about me.
The moment Lottie heard I was in distress she would go all superhero big sister and come to my rescue, which would be so embarrassing.
This trip was about her, and little Paige wasn’t going to ruin it.
I typed out a text and pressed send, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the closed door before I could change my mind. I texted the one person I knew would drop everything and come to my rescue without question.
The one person who—unfortunately—I knew would always show up for me.
I need you.
Ten minutes later, the elevator door opened and Cash came rushing out with my purse in hand. The moment he saw me on the floor, he picked up his pace and fell to his knees in front of me.
“What happened?” he asked tensely.
I just shook my head as a sob broke from my throat. I wasn’t sure why I was so upset. It was like all of the built-up, tense emotions I’d been feeling for the past year were expelling from my body at once. Tonight was a catalyst to break me.
Cash scooped me into his arms and held me against his chest. “Shh. It’s okay, baby,” he whispered into my hair as he held me.
I sat up and wiped my eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. Cash placed his fingers under my chin and forced me to look up at him.
“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He nodded and pulled me to my feet. I used the key to enter the girls’ suite, but as the door closed Cash caught it with his foot.
“Paige,” he called out.
I glanced back at him.
“Go change.”
I scrunched my brows in confusion.
“We’re going out. Go put on something you’re comfortable in and meet me down here.”
I nodded and went upstairs. Whatever plan he was concocting, I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t a little excited to spend some one-on-one time with him—away from prying eyes. Away front he ranch. Away from Buck and Tweety. Away from reality.
I quickly searched through my suitcase and found a simple white sundress with blue flowers on it. I threw on my brown cowgirl boots and let down my hair.
When I walked down the stairs, Cash was standing at the kitchen island looking like a cowboy dream. He changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and a simple white tee with black boots—his hat firmly on his head.
This was the Cash I knew and tolerated.
“Wow,” he said when he noticed me.
“Do I look okay?” I did a little twirl, making the dress fan out around me.
“You look amazing, Paige.”
My heart melted at his tone, but I snapped myself out of it.
Cash wasn’t hanging out with me because he wanted to, he was only trying to make my night better.
Just because he was a natural-born protector didn’t mean he liked me as more than Walker’s little sister.
I couldn’t let one nice gesture and a damn hat steal my heart and make me stupid.
Even if it was just this once.