41. I Think We Need Backup
I THINK WE NEED BACKUP
PAIGE
My body was tired by the time we pulled onto the long, winding street, and I sighed a breath of relief. There were mountains everywhere you looked, but they were different then home. There were less trees and the air smelled like salt as the sun beat down.
When the car pulled up to the modern Hollywood Hills home, I tipped the driver and got my suitcase out of the trunk. I wheeled it up to the front door and rang the bell before I could convince myself out of it.
Lottie swung it open and her jaw dropped. “Paige?”
“Hey, Lo,” I said, then immediately burst into tears. The big sobbing sort of tears that feel impossible to stop.
Lottie sprung to my side and wrapped me in a hug, walking me inside without shutting the door behind us.
“Owen! Can you grab the suitcase from the porch?” she shouted.
Owen came running out in joggers and a hoodie.
“What?” he asked before spotting me. His eyes widened out of pure panic before he silently nodded and headed to grab my bags.
Lottie guided me to the couch, and I dropped onto it before letting my head fall into my hands.
“I’m sorry for just showing up like this. I thought if I called you’d talk me out of it.” I managed to choke out words as my vision blurred from tears.
“Oh, babe, you are always welcome here.” She pushed my hair behind my ear and crossed her legs under her. “What happened?”
“I left Cash,” I said, sucking in air in an attempt to stop crying.
“Did he do something?” Lottie looked concerned and I knew I was about to drop a bomb on her.
I shook my head. “It was just all wrong.”
“Can you spell it out for me? I’m a little confused.”
I took a settling breath and looked at my sister. “I lied to you.”
Lottie’s eyes widened and she looked over her shoulder. “Owen!”
Owen immediately walked into the room and placed two ball glasses and a bottle of tequila on the coffee table before Lottie could even ask him.
One look at the glass bottle and my tears just streamed harder.
It reminded me of Cash.
“I thought this was a safe bet,” Owen said.
“This is why I’m marrying you.” She laughed softly.
“Grab a third.” I nodded at him. “I could use a male perspective.”
Once Owen was back with his glass and the drinks were poured, I took a sip and let my nerves settle.
“Start at the beginning,” Lottie said, crossing her arms like she was ready for an argument.
“I have been in love with Cash Leonard since I was fourteen.”
“We know that part.”
“Right, well, on my eighteenth birthday I kissed him, but he didn’t kiss me back. From that day, until Vegas, we argued and tortured each other. I was dealing with some hard emotions about you moving away and getting married. I wanted that. I wanted the big love story.”
Lottie nodded along but stayed quiet.
“We got absolutely shit-faced and ended up at a chapel in Vegas. I didn’t even remember it when I first woke up. We were living in the moment, but until that day we hadn’t even really kissed, let alone dated.”
“Shit…” Owen trailed off.
“Yeah, so, we made a plan to not tell anyone and get a divorce once we figured out how to pay for it without dad finding out. Then when we were at the rodeo, that reporter got under Cash’s skin and he let it slip that we were married. Things got out of hand.”
“So, you pretended to be married?” Lottie scrunched her brow and took a long sip of her drink.
“I mean, legally, we really are married, so that wasn’t a lie.”
“Why not just say that?” Owen asked, glancing between the two of us.
“Because Dad and Walker told Cash I was off-limits, and he was scared that if this came out as some reckless decision we made, he would be fired and kicked off the ranch. The ranch is the only home he’s ever really had.
So we decided to come home and pretend to be real married and then at the end of the summer we were going to get real divorced. ”
“Then Mom wanted to have the wedding…” Lottie looked at me with sadness in her eyes.
“Then Mom wanted to have the wedding. We got into a fight. Everyone was mad at Cash and me, and then unbelievably supportive of us. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t expect…” I trailed off and downed my drink before the tears started again.
“You didn’t expect to fall so deeply in love with him.”
I shook my head. “He’s attentive and supportive. He understands me on a level I’ve never felt understood.”
“Then why leave?” Owen arched a brow.
“He earned a place on the pro rodeo circuit. He has a chance to work with sponsors and travel. He has a chance at this life that I didn’t fit into and I don’t want to drag him down. He didn’t choose to marry me. We both deserved the choice.”
“Oh, sweetie. He did choose you. He chooses you every day.” Lottie wrapped an arm around my shoulders and leaned her head against mine.
“Maybe, but I want him to have the space to make that choice on his own.”
“Well, you can stay here as long as you need.” Lottie smiled at me and pulled out her phone.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking over her shoulder.
“I think we need backup.”
Two hours later, the front door was basically kicked open and a sea of voices filtered into the open foyer.
Keegan, Maeve, and Maggie bounced in, their arms filled with shopping bags stuffed with snacks and drinks.
They hugged us and then immediately started emptying the bags onto the kitchen island.
We gathered around as everyone got lost in conversations, and I couldn’t help but smile for the first time since I left Cash’s bed. The Kellys just had this energy about them that was infectious.
“Okay,” Keegan said as she hopped up to sit on the counter. “We are here to listen.”
I was a little tipsy, but I took a deep breath and told them the entire story of Cash and me.
From him showing up to the ranch, to the lost years after our kiss, to the tour, to our marriage in Vegas, to now.
I told them about all the times he picked me up after parties and him driving to school when he thought I needed him.
I told them about our hidden moments that we stole without anyone knowing.
I laid it all out on the line. The complete truth.
By the time I finished, every girl was looking at me with hearts in their eyes.
“Girl, that man is in love with you,” Maggie said, popping a chip into her mouth.
I shrugged. “Maybe, but it all got to be too much too fast. We never even dated. It was zero to married in twenty-four hours.”
“So, now you want distance?” Maeve asked.
“I think I need to take some time for myself.”
“I think if that’s what your gut is saying then you should. What do you want?” Keegan chimed in.
“I want Cash, but I’ve never left Montana. I’ve never lived my life for me. I think I need to do that.”
My phone started buzzing on the counter and I sent the call to voicemail. Cash had been calling nonstop since I landed in California, but I was too much of a chicken-shit to face him.
“Is that him?” Maggie pointed at my phone. I nodded.
“Have you talked to him?” Keegan asked.
I shook my head. “What do I say?”
“The truth, babe.” Lottie nudged my shoulder.
My phone buzzed again so I picked it up and saw Cash’s name lighting up my screen. With a few hushed words of encouragement, I walked out onto Lottie’s back patio and swiped to answer the call.