Chapter 4 Cassidy
FOUR
CASSIDY
“Ishould introduce us,” I say quickly, watching Caleb as he eyes the worsening weather. My heart thunders with how violent the storm is, and how fast it came in. When I’d gotten into the shower, the sky had been grey, yes. But there’d been no snow. No sign of it turning.
And now, it’s like we’re being punished. For being in this cabin without his permission. For leaving New Mexico altogether.
The man looks us over with shielded, dark eyes.
In the bedroom, I hadn’t realised how much he looks like Winnie, but now with the light to really see him, I can tell they are siblings.
There’s something about the similarities that gives me a sense of ease, like seeing the resemblance calms my racing, panicked heart.
He doesn’t give me the vibe he intends to do us harm, but he’s also a man who’s had his privacy violated, and we’re basically squatting in his home.
I trust Winnie, probably more than I should considering how long we’ve known each other, but I don’t know how much of that trust extends to her brother.
“This is Cleo and Arlo. The twins,” I introduce slowly, watching Caleb’s expression.
His gaze darts between the pair, probably wondering how they could be twins.
They look like they could be siblings, of course, but they’re fraternal twins who look almost nothing alike.
Cleo takes after me in terms of looks, except for her hair being a couple of shades darker than mine.
Arlo has my blond locks, but he takes after his father with his features and lanky build.
Caleb bows his head in a nod. “Hello.”
Arlo, being the more confident one, waves. “Hi.”
Cleo, however, shies behind me. “Hey.”
The man standing across from us raises his eyes to mine. “And I never got your name.”
My cheeks heat. He’s already basically seen me naked. I didn’t realise Winnie never told him my name.
“Cassidy,” I reply, clearing my throat. “Sorry.”
Arlo looks up at me with concern, lips pressed together. “Are we leaving?”
I look from my son to Caleb, who shakes his head. “Maybe if the storm hadn’t set in, but it’s not safe for you to go anywhere now. It doesn’t take long for the snow to block these roads leading into the mountain, and it was already pretty thick when I got back.”
I don’t know whether I should be disappointed or scared.
This is not a good situation. The last couple of months have included bad choice after bad choice, culminating in the present situation.
Maybe I should have never confronted my ex about his lies.
If I hadn’t fought him, maybe we’d still be in that beautiful home, my kids would be at their good public school, and I’d be safe in my role as wife.
I could have slowly pulled my shit together, saved, hidden away what we needed to survive. But I jumped the gun.
Now we’re trapped in a cabin with a stranger.
“Is there a way to get…rescued?” I ask slowly, pulling the kids tighter into me.
Caleb sighs, shaking his head. “Technically, you aren’t in a dangerous position. If the power went out and we lost heat, then yes. The rescue team would come up. But we aren’t in any danger.”
I don’t know whether to be disappointed by that answer or relieved. Especially because that means we’re trapped here with Caleb.
Thankfully, the mountain man alerted his sister to his whereabouts and let her know he’s with us. That gives me some relief, because if anything happens, she knows. Then again, if he did do anything, Winnie could cover it up…
I shake my head before my thoughts can spiral in ways that lead to me trying to pack the kids into my car and drive away from the cabin. That would only put them in more danger, and the enemy I know is better than the one I don’t.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t stay at the motel,” Caleb says as he enters the kitchen. “All residents were evacuated because of the storm. Power went on that street.”
A chill rolls through me as I look up from the dishes I’ve been washing. “Oh.”
His ice-blue eyes are a lot warmer now than when I’d found him in the bedroom watching me. But they’re still mostly unreadable. I can’t tell if he’s concerned, wary, frustrated, angry, or all four mashed together.
“You said you can’t get a rental?” he asks.
I sigh, forcing myself to look away from him.
He’s a lot more handsome than I would have expected.
He looks like a damn Norse god, with his blond hair, short beard, blue eyes, and sculpted form.
Now that the cabin is quiet again and is warming up with the fire on overdrive, he’s dressed down in a pair of jeans and a thin sweatshirt.
I can tell he’s muscled. I’m pretty sure he’s also a lumberjack at the local mill, which makes sense with how thick his forearms and thighs are.
It only makes me feel more embarrassed he’d caught me so…undressed. In my damn underwear. A thong, no less. All because laundry had been the least of my worries and I hadn’t been quick enough to go to the laundromat before it closed.
Once again, I feel heat rise to my cheeks.
“No,” I reply sadly as I return to the dishes, washing them with renewed interest. “I haven’t really got enough for a deposit.
Well, I have barely enough for one. But without a job, I can’t get proof of income.
I was a stay at home mom for too long. I have experience in real estate, but that’s not getting me any jobs, and nowhere is hiring. ”
It makes me sound like a mess. Already, I know what his next question will be before he even asks, because I’d already imagined this exact scenario a thousand times.
“Before you ask, I didn’t know the state of the cottage before moving here.
The photo we were provided with gave us the impression it was in good shape, not falling apart.
The solicitor also said it was fully furnished, not that it’d been abandoned and looted years ago.
Clearly, he’d never bothered checking up on it,” I say without looking back at Caleb.
But I feel him inch closer, his warmth like a shock to my body.
I’d felt it when he hugged me earlier, too. He might have been gruff—and an asshole, if Winnie is to be believed—but he has a strength to him that draws me in. And that’s terrifying.
All I want to do is lean into him and never get back up. It’s like he exudes a sense of safety that no one else does. Maybe it’s the no-nonsense way he approaches the situation. Or maybe it’s because I’m lonely and scared, and I just need a little bit of help.
“Anyone in Willow Ridge could have told you that place was falling apart, and the fact that your solicitor didn’t is bad,” he says quietly, leaning against the counter beside me.
I place the last dish in the drying rack, sighing tiredly.
“And I tried, you know. To get work.” Hesitantly, I lift my stare from the empty sink and meet his gaze.
“I called around while driving here. Nearly seven hours straight of getting the kids to search local businesses for me to call for interviews.”
Caleb makes a sound in the back of his throat, looking away first. “We don’t have much work here, unfortunately.”
“I guessed as much.” I release another heavy breath and wipe my hands, stepping away from the sink as I do. “Maybe I should sell up. Winnie mentioned the land the cottage is on gets a lot of interest.”
Caleb immediately stiffens, his shoulders tense. “There are plenty who would buy it in a heartbeat,” he admits slowly without looking at me.
“But?” I can tell there’s something he wants to say, and this man doesn’t give me the impression he likes holding back. He tells it as it is, and maybe I need some hard truths.
“You could get a small fortune for it,” he says, finally meeting my eye. “Start over fresh money. But that’s if you sell it to the vultures.”
A shiver rolls down my spine. “The what?”
He shakes his head. “Some investment company has been itching to buy it for a while, split it into blocks, build homes for people who don’t even live here and sell them for an actual fortune.
The woman you inherited it from didn’t want that.
But those are the people who’ll give you good money for it. Or they’ll take advantage of you.”
I cross my arms tightly, trying to keep from shuddering again. “Okay. But there are others who would take it?”
Caleb nods once, his icy eyes falling to me, though not in a way that makes me uncomfortable. “Definitely. Locals would snatch it up if given the chance, but they won’t offer you as much.”
Tiredly, I blow out a breath. “I know I need to be thinking about this,” I mutter, pushing away from the counter, “but it’s the last thing I want to deal with.”
Before I can make a move to walk away, Caleb catches my arm. His fingers fit almost perfectly around my wrist. The touch makes my skin pucker with another shiver, though not from fear or overwhelm.
Caleb smells like nature and rain. There’s something earthy about him that doesn’t scream dirty, but masculine. Not in a manly-man way, but more in a man-of-the-earth sort of way. There’s nothing overpowering about it, unlike the men who douse themselves in body spray.
“I’ll take the sofa tonight,” he says, voice low, eyes striking as they find mine. “You three take the bedroom.”
My heart leaps into my throat, pounding hard and painfully against my ribs. “We can’t—”
“I don’t have an air mattress or anything that would support all three of you sleeping out here,” he murmurs. “Take the bedroom.”
I know he’s just being polite, but that doesn’t seem to compute with my heart, which flutters now. “Okay.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll assess whether you can leave or not. I might get you into town, but…”
“But we have nowhere to go,” I murmur. There’s no motel we can stay at.
Caleb shakes his head. “Anyone at the motel would have gone to the local inns. Those are probably filled by now, but if you want, Winnie might be able to call ahead. Ask around. If there are any rooms, she’d be able to find them.”
My stomach sinks with worry as I pull my eyes from his to look out the window at the dark sky, then towards the sofa where my kids sit quietly on their devices, making no sound.
“But you can stay here more than one night if you need to,” Caleb adds, voice low. “I’m not a complete monster.”
A shiver rolls through me as I look up at him. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes search my face for a moment, crinkling at the corners as if he’s trying to read me—or gather some kind of meaning from my apology.
I’m not sure he finds what he needs because he shakes his head again. “Don’t apologise,” he mutters. “You’re welcome here until the storm lets up.”
With that, he releases my arm and pushes away from the counter, striding towards the bedroom at the end of the hall. Once he’s gone, I finally loose a breath, heart calming immediately.
I really, really don’t know what to think of the mountain man now.