Chapter 12 #2
“I think she agrees about you,” he tells me, wrapping his arms around my middle as he lays his head on my shoulder from behind.
I inhale a deep breath, relishing the man at my back, warm and comfortable.
His musky scent matches the barn, earthy and grounded.
“I’ve never seen her examine someone so closely.
” He squeezes me once before letting go.
“I’m just going to fill her water, and we can walk back up to the house. ”
Carrying the bag, and sipping the coffee, we walk the trail back to the house.
“This is Lizzie’s coffee,” he remarks and makes a big show of moaning.
I give him a playful shove which sets him off laughing.
“Shut up. It had been a long night, and it was good coffee.” I see Sonny and another man paused in the front yard of the house. Cash gives them a wave. They settle in, seeming to wait for us.
“This is the place that holds my soul, Callie. I’m never happier, or more at peace, than I am on this land.
” He tells me a different sort of confession than the kind I got last night.
“I got Daisy when I was a teenager and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
She’s my best friend, besides Duke I guess, but I can’t confess all my secrets to him.
” He winks at me, probably suspecting I overheard him earlier.
He whistles, loudly, two fingers in his mouth. A few seconds later, he does it again.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ll see.” I look around and see two dogs, running as fast as their legs will carry them across the field. One, a little smaller and way more excited, the second a little slower but his tail whipping so fast it looks like it might carry him away. “Tank, Snapper, come.”
The gorgeous gray and black cattle dogs run up to us so excited to see their master and make a new friend. “Meeting the whole family, am I?”
“Well, you’ve damn near charmed the pants off me. And Lizzie loves you. So, you may as well.”
I rub the dogs in as many places as possible as they run in circles around me, rubbing against my legs.
“Sweet babies.” I crouch down to get closer and the puppy knocks me down before jumping all over me. Laughing, I try to escape him.
“Snapper, off.” He backs up and sits on his haunches, giving me a minute to breathe before Cash gives me a hand to my feet. “Sorry, darlin’. He’s just excited.”
“He’s perfect. Aren’t you, Snapper? Just a perfect little baby.”
I think the grin Cash gives me will split his face in two.
Approaching the men, finally, I pull back a little, until I’m a step or two behind. It’s something deeply ingrained in me, by Roger.
“Men don’t want women who walk beside them, it makes them weak. I lead, you follow.”
These are Cash’s men, his workers, so I don’t want to embarrass him. Cash looks at me curiously but continues walking before greeting them.
“Sonny, Lincoln. Good morning,” he says, easily. I linger in his periphery. “This is Callie, she brought me breakfast.”
Shit, I didn’t bring enough for more people. Panic tightens my chest. I should have figured there might be more people. Is Cash going to be pissed?
“Nice to meet you, Callie.” Lincoln holds out a slightly dirty, calloused hand. “Sonny mentioned some woman walking around.”
Laughing, Cash responds, “I figured he would.”
“Nice to meet you too, Lincoln. Sorry again, Sonny.” I give him a little wave. He only grunts in response.
“Cash, the north pasture has some standing water and…”
I zone out. I mean, I’m interested, but not ‘standing water in a pasture’ interested. I reach down and pat the head of the dog leaning against my leg as I fully take in the land around me. The green rolling hillsides, rustic fencing with stretched wires, and barns and stables spread around.
Next to the house is a sitting area with a large grill and firepit, comfortable looking furniture gathered around it.
The porch of the old farmhouse wraps all the way around and has swings and rocking chairs casually interspersed with tables, pillows creating soft places to rest. So lived-in and cozy.
I see why he loves it here, I would too.
Cash grabs my hand, tugging me toward the house and breaking my contemplation.
He pulls me up the stairs and through the huge wooden Dutch door, into a large open plan house with high ceilings and warm wood.
One side of the open room is a floor to ceiling wall of stone housing a fireplace almost big enough to walk inside.
A soft-looking tan leather sofa sits across from it, flanked on either side by matching armchairs.
Tank immediately goes and claims his spot in one.
The floors are a deep, rich brown and a circular rug with a brown and red native-inspired woven pattern covers the floors in the entry, where Cash toes his boots off, setting them on the shoe rack.
I lean down, untying my own boots and placing them next to his.
He gives me a satisfied look. A large, sweeping staircase to my left leads up to rooms I can’t yet see.
Straight ahead is a giant kitchen with a massive wall of windows looking out to the back of the house, a barn and fields visible, a few cows in the distance.
A dining table large enough for twelve people fills the space between the kitchen and living rooms, right in front of the windows.
There are double glass doors on either side where I can see another table and a large television mounted on a covered porch.
Cash leads me into the kitchen and through to a little breakfast nook in the back, and I sit at the small round table.
Cash disappears, opening and closing the microwave and rattling plates.
He comes back, coffee in hand, a glass of orange juice in the other, two plates balanced on his arm, each containing a pastry from the bag.
“Blueberry or Cheese?”
“Blueberry, please. They’re my favorite.” He sets the plate down and takes the seat across from me.
If this house were a man, he would wrap you in a soft blanket, and hold you close, offering you comfort you didn’t know you needed.