Chapter Three
The automatic doors of the casino slid shut behind them, and the desert heat, dry and honest, settled over Kade.
The cacophony of the casino floor faded, replaced by the distant hum of city traffic.
Standing beside the woman who was about to show him the real Las Vegas, it struck him that he didn’t even know her name.
“I guess I should introduce myself properly. I’m Kade Sweet. ”
“Sweet?” A soft smile teased at her lips as she extended her hand. “It suits you. I’m Cassidy Barker.”
“Nice to officially meet you.” All his siblings had been razzed at one time or other over their last name, and there certainly was no shortage of teasing from the men he served with, at least at first, but she was the first to suggest the name suited him. “And thank you—I think.”
“It was a compliment, I promise.” She beamed at him.
Many a time he’d heard the word infectious in relation to another person’s smile.
Sort of like when one person in a theater laughs raucously, within moments, the whole place is doubled over in laughter.
Her smile seemed to have the same power.
There was no resisting the impulse to smile back. “Where to?”
“We need to get some food into that tummy of yours.”
As if cued, his stomach rumbled again—loudly. “Good idea. I skipped breakfast and guess I skipped lunch too.”
“Follow me, soldier.”
She led him away from the main boulevard’s overwhelming glare, turning down a side street where the buildings had character and the noise of the Strip faded.
Tucked into a Chinatown strip mall, they settled at a small taqueria where the neon sign flashed and the smell of charred meat and fresh tortillas promised to satisfy anyone’s appetite.
Not what he’d expected to find in Chinatown, but then again, if he’d learned one thing in the military, it was never to be surprised.
“Tacos El Gordo.” She slid into the vinyl booth across from him. “Best kept secret in Vegas. Well, not so secret anymore, but the tourists don’t usually venture this far off the Strip.”
“You come here often?” He tried to keep his tone casual, but found himself genuinely curious about the many sides of this particular woman.
“When I need to remember there’s actual life beyond the casino floor.” She unwrapped her first taco. “The adobada is the best. Try it.”
He did. The spiced pork hit his tongue with a burst of flavor that made everything he’d eaten at the casino taste like cardboard in comparison. “Wow.”
“Right?” Her smile was triumphant. “Told you.”
After silently shoveling down a few mouthfuls, he glanced up at her. “How long have you lived in Las Vegas?”
“All my life.” She shrugged. “Well, not in the city itself but the suburbs. I guess sort of all over.”
“Sort of?” Something about the way she suddenly began picking at her food didn’t sit right with him.
That shoulder hefted in another lazy shrug. “Foster kid. Moved around more than most.”
His heart actually squeezed at the words. Having grown up in the same house as generations before him, he couldn’t imagine being passed around from family to family like a hand-me-down pair of jeans. “Do you have any siblings?”
She shook her head in silence, still toying with the food on her plate.
No siblings. One more thing he couldn’t imagine living without. No Garret, Preston, Carson, Jillian or Rachel. No one. All alone. A change of subject was in order before he wallowed in nostalgia. “How’d you wind up dealing in a casino?”
“Actually, it was the son of my last foster family. He’s a dealer here and thought that my ability to remember numbers made me a good candidate. He got me the job. How did you wind up in the…” her words hung.
“Army.” He chuckled. “And honestly, I don’t know. All my other siblings went to college. That had always been my plan. Then I ran into a K9 handler for the army and the next thing I knew, I was signing up. Been working with the best dogs on the planet ever since.”
Her smile brightened. “I bet it’s amazing working with dogs all day.”
He couldn’t help but smile back. “Ringo is my best friend. I can’t imagine not working with K9s. It was hard leaving him with another handler while I’m going to be on temporary duty here in the States this coming year.”
“That must be hard.” She sighed. “I always wanted a dog, but not a great idea in an apartment.”
“You’d like a house?”
She nodded. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“Not always. Some people aren’t meant for a cozy cottage with a white picket fence, a dog, and two point five children.”
“And you would be one of those people?” Her question was honest.
Opening his mouth, all set to answer, he suddenly realized, he didn’t have an honest answer. Only a few weeks ago he would have said yes without skipping a beat. Now, after spending a few days with his siblings and watching Sully take the final leap, well, now he wasn’t so sure. “Maybe, maybe not.”
“Sounds a little evasive. Care to share?”
Did he? Normally, he would divert the conversation to less personal matters, but instead, he found Cassidy easy to talk to and the words simply tumbled out.
His dad’s unexpected death, his siblings, the ranch, the thieving foreman, and how they stood to lose everything that had been in the Sweet family for generations.
“So, all your brothers and sisters agreed to marry for trust money?”
He bobbed his head, not quite believing that he’d blabbed about everything from being swindled to his siblings falling one by one for their arranged spouses, to how confused everything had left him feeling.
And maybe even a little guilty. “I thought they were nuts when they finally told me, but based on the circumstances, the idea had some merit. I actually felt a little guilty for a while that they had to risk so much while I was off safe from the scheme.”
“Not so sure I’d say you were that safe. I don’t know much about the military but I know that side of the world holds more risk than any arranged marriage might.”
As much as he’d have loved to argue with her, the woman had a point. The last few years he’d been in a handful of very sketchy situations and was for the most part damn lucky that he and his team were still alive.
Turning Kade’s words over in her head, Cassidy couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to have siblings you love, land that has been in your family for years, never mind generations, and then to have someone come along and try to steal it all from you.
Her heart actually ached for him. Especially the pain that lingered in his eyes. “It’s not your fault.”
His head snapped around to face her.
“You said you felt guilty being so far away and letting your siblings carry the burden of finding spouses to save the ranch. What you do is just as important as what they did.”
He stared at her long and hard, his head tipping slightly to one side. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For listening. For understanding.” He shrugged. “Just thank you.”
“Well,” she pushed her chair back and stood, a new resolve settling over her, “come on. There’s a lot to see and not a lot of time.”
A slow, grateful smile spread across his face. “And where are we going now, tour guide?”
“To the heart of old Vegas.” She led him out of the taqueria and back into the warm, buzzing night. “Fremont Street.”
The moment they stepped onto the neon light-covered street, the energy shifted.
“Whoa.” Kade stopped mid-step, tilting his head back to take it all in.
This was the Vegas of old that most people expected when they hit the strip. Bright neon lights and signs. Street performers—a man painted entirely in silver pretending to be a statue, a woman with a python wrapped around her shoulders—vied for attention.
Kade grinned, reminding her of a little kid the first time he met Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. “This is… a lot.”
“And there’s more.” She tipped her head encouraging him to follow. Moving along, she pointed out the landmarks of her city—the Golden Nugget, Binion’s, the El Cortez. They stopped to watch a surprisingly skilled magician make a tourist’s watch disappear.
“Look,” she pointed to a man in a white jumpsuit, his hair a perfect black pompadour, “an Elvis.”
Kade chuckled. “I guess it wouldn’t be Vegas without one.”
“One?” She pointed in the opposite direction. “There’s another one.” A second, slightly less convincing Elvis serenaded a group of giggling women. “Little did the real Elvis know, after he died there’d be an Elvis on every corner in Las Vegas.”
Kade shook his head, a genuine, easy laugh rumbling in his chest. It was a good sound, a sound that for just a moment made her wish he didn’t have a plane to catch in a few hours. They continued walking, taking in all the sights and sounds that were strictly Vegas.
Kade studied a weathered neon sign carefully. “This is quite the show, but I can’t fathom living here twenty-four seven. Sort of like Disney World; a nice place to visit but living there all the time would be a bit like Alice having fallen down the rabbit hole.”
That made her chuckle, she’d never thought to compare Vegas to Disney or Alice in Wonderland, and yet, he’d nailed it.
Suddenly, as if to prove his point, the LED canopy above them exploded into a full light show—thousands of feet of synchronized imagery and sound transformed the street.
All around them tourists and locals began to dance where they stood, whether on the sidewalk or in the middle of the street.
Some quite good, others, well, two left feet came to mind.
A moment taking it all in and one of the multi-footed dancers bumped into Cassidy, sending her full force into Kade. Pressed against him, her hands splayed across his chest, she blinked at the unexpected energy sizzling under her fingertips.
Slowly, the startled look in Kade’s eyes shifted to sheer amusement. His lips tipped up at the corners, and that amused glint turned mischievous. “When in Rome, do like the Romans. Shall we?”
Taking hold of her hand, his fingers circled around hers and then with the slightest flick of his wrist, he had her spinning out and then curled her back in again.
The unexpected dance move had her head tipping back and a bubble of laughter escaping.
Her other hand on her chest, she actually giggled as he had her bopping back and forth and spinning like one of the awkward celebrity contestants on Dancing With the Stars made to look good by their professional partner.
Another burst of laughter erupted and she had to ask herself: when was the last time she’d had this much fun?
The tempo slowed along with the light show above and on a regretful sigh, she tugged him down the street toward a doorway from which the sound of a raucous, sing-along piano spilled out. “This is a Vegas highlight for any true music lover.”
The piano bar was packed, the energy infectious.
They had to stand in line for a few minutes before a couple people left and they were allowed in.
Dark paneling surrounded the room, dim lights kept the patrons incognito, only the two back-to-back grand pianos were illuminated under bright spotlights.
Easily the one player shifted from Three Dog Night’s song “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog” to the Brazilian hit “Girl from Ipanema.” To her surprise, it seemed as if everyone in the place, regardless of their years, knew the lyrics.
Even Kade, who she’d thought would be more reserved, was singing loudly now to Michael Bublé’s “Haven’t Met You Yet. ”
The waitress came over, handed them a menu with a short list of bar food and a longer list of drinks.
Perusing the options Kade glanced at his watch.
“Still have a couple of hours, I guess it will be safe to try their famous Punchbowl.” Putting the menu down, he bobbed his head at the next tune to play and leaned into her.
“Quite the music variety,” he said, his fingers tapping to the beat. “No wonder you like this place.”
“I’ve actually never been here before.”
His eyes rounded in surprise. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “Though it’s quite famous.
Everyone is always talking about it, I just never gotten around to coming.
” She wasn’t going to say she didn’t have any close friends and it seemed rather pathetic to come alone.
She was glad to finally have an excuse to check it out in person, and was a little sorry she hadn’t done so sooner.
This was proving to be more fun than she’d expected.
“I do hear that the reason that signature drink is called the Punchbowl is because it packs quite a punch.”
“Now I have to try it.”
The waitress came back and Kade ordered a mixed cheeseboard and two Punchbowls. When the drinks arrived, the sheer size of the tall curvy shaped glass gave her pause. The thing was probably at least twenty-four ounces of punch. She was definitely going to take this one very slow.
Kade lifted his drink, and she did the same. Glasses clinking against the next ivory pounding tune, his voice carried over the song, “To pleasant surprises. Cheers.”
“Cheers,” she echoed, wishing they had more than a few hours left.