Chapter Ten – Lilibeth
Lilibeth
The air seemed to crackle between us after the admission from Caden.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to fall in love with him, and that was the last thing I wanted.
Every ounce of my being wanted to throw myself into his arms, but I needed distance between us.
We’d had an incredibly vulnerable moment, and I was almost positive Caden hadn’t meant to say those last words out loud…
and I didn’t want to admit how much I wished the same.
Turning away, I stood. “I can make us some sandwiches, if you’re hungry.”
The kitten stood up, stretched, and jumped off the sofa.
Smiling at the kitten, Caden asked, “Where does she think she’s going?”
His eyes lit up when he smiled, and it was something I wished he would do more often. I hated that his ex had broken his heart so thoroughly. It was locked behind multiple doors; there was no doubt about that.
“I think she heard ‘hungry.’”
He shook his head and pulled out his phone. “I’ll help you, I’m just going to call Bryce Meyers.”
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“Deputy sheriff. He’ll know how the roads are and if they’re clearing them yet. The guys have been plowing the roads on the ranch, and they’re almost all passable now.”
The idea of leaving this little make-believe world we’d created made my stomach feel heavy with dread.
I promised myself that I wasn’t going to fall for Caden, but the more time I spent with him, the more I felt myself falling.
He’d been honest with me from the beginning, so I needed to start mentally preparing myself for this to come to an abrupt end.
“Will they have cleared the roads this far from town already?” I asked.
Caden shrugged. “That’s the question.”
He tapped on the phone a few times, then put it to his ear. I decided to just head into the kitchen and let him find out about the roads. There wasn’t anything I could do if they were cleared or not.
The kitten meowed at my feet, and I scooped her up. I buried my face into the soft fur and whispered, “I’ll miss you most of all.”
The kitten meowed at me.
“You don’t believe that either, huh?”
Once in the kitchen, I put the kitten down. “I already texted Emeline to see if she had an extra litterbox for you, baby.” The kitten began playing with something on the floor. “Let me see if I can find you anything in here to eat.”
I searched Caden’s pantry and found cans of chicken. I took a few out, deciding chicken salad sounded good; plus, I could give some to the cat.
By the time Caden got to the kitchen, I had everything out and was dicing up celery.
“Chicken salad?” he asked, moving behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his hard body and closed my eyes. It would be so easy to get used to having his arms around me. To feel his lips on my neck, making me feel all kinds of pleasure.
I squeezed my eyes tightly and pushed away those thoughts.
“I hope that’s okay? I gave some chicken to the kitten.”
He looked down at the little one, who was now bathing herself.
“Sounds good to me. What do you need me to do?”
“Get the mayo out? I need half a cup.”
When he let go of me, I instantly missed his warmth. I started to dice up the red onion while blinking my eyes rapidly to keep the tears at bay yet again.
“My mother puts chicken broth in her chicken salad,” Caden said, handing me a wet washcloth. “She also peels the onion under cold water to keep from tearing up.”
I raised my brows. “Really?” I took the washcloth and placed it against my face. The cool cloth felt refreshing. I set it down and looked back at Caden. “Chicken broth? That sounds good. Do you know how much she puts in?”
“I think a couple of tablespoons. I have some, let me grab it.”
We worked in comfortable silence as I mixed the chicken and Caden cut slices from a fresh loaf of sourdough.
“Chips?” he asked, as he held up a bag.
“Sure,” I said, as I cut up a few strawberries that I found in the fridge. We took our sandwiches and headed back to the living room, where Caden and I sat on the sofa. We ate and talked about River Falls. He asked about my parents retiring here and me following them.
“The idea of not seeing my mother and father very often wasn’t something I was looking forward to. I’d always wanted to open my own store, and after visiting River Falls, well, I knew I had to do it here. I instantly fell in love with the town.”
“You don’t mind it not being a big city?” he asked.
“Not at all. I was so tired of living in Denver. Of course, my mother warned me that in a small town like River Falls, the gossip would be rampant.” I laughed as I thought about it.
“I have to admit the first time I saw my name in the paper, I let out a little scream of delight. It was all about the store opening, and just a small piece about me as well, since I was the owner. But it was fun to see it.”
“Don’t ever let my mother or sisters hear you say that. They hate having their name in the gossip column.”
“I don’t blame them. Whoever it is who writes those articles seems to have a problem with the Wilde family.”
Caden let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, they do.”
“Jealousy, probably,” I stated.
“Maybe. You don’t think you’ll miss the city and want to go back?” he asked. That had to be another reason Caden was afraid to open his heart to someone, especially someone not from the small town he grew up in.
“No, I won’t miss it. The peacefulness here is such a gift.
I love sitting on my front porch, listening to the wind blow through the trees.
I like mingling with the kids playing ball in the middle of the street.
It reminds me of all the times my parents spoke about what it was like when they were my age, growing up in a similar small town.
How different the times were, and how much slower life was.
That’s what I’ve always longed for. My father always used to tell me I was born in the city, but I had the heart and soul of a country girl. ”
Caden smiled, then leaned back and placed his hands over his stomach. “That was the best chicken salad sandwich I’ve ever had.”
I playfully hit his thigh and stood. “I hardly believe that.”
He stood as well, reaching for both of our plates. “Believe it. You made lunch, I’ll clean up.”
“How about we both clean up, then maybe we can watch another movie.”
A sexy smirk appeared on his handsome face. “Is that really how you want to spend the afternoon, watching a movie?”
Before I could answer, his cell rang.
“It’s Bryce.”
I took the plates from him while he took the call. I could make out a few words here and there. From what I could gather, it sounded like most of the major roads were cleared.
After rinsing the plates, I put them in the dishwasher, then cleaned the plate the cat had eaten from and set it aside, so Caden could feed her later.
When I walked back into the living room, Caden was standing at the window, staring out over the ranch.
It took everything I had not to walk up and wrap my arms around him.
I wanted to punch Rachel in the face for hurting him.
He had such a beautiful heart, and he hid it behind the grumpy persona he’d adopted after she left him broken-hearted.
Oh, how I wished we had met first, too, Caden.
“What’s the update on the roads?”
He turned. “They just finished clearing 165.”
I attempted a smile. “Guess that means it’s time to go back to reality.”
Caden nodded. “Guess so.”
“Caden…I don’t want you to regret the last couple of days. I knew going in where you stood, and I don’t want to lose the friendship we’ve started. I’ve truly loved spending this time with you.”
He slowly exhaled, and I knew he was about to explain all over again why things had to end. I couldn’t bear to listen.
Holding up my hands, I shook my head. “Don’t, Caden. Please, let’s just not say anything, except that we’ll be friends now, and not enemies.”
He walked toward me and stopped only inches away. My heart pounded in my chest when he reached up and cupped my face. The pull I felt toward Caden was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. My body leaned forward, and when his mouth captured mine, we both moaned.
The kiss was slow and lacked nothing in passion. It was also very much a goodbye kiss. A kiss that said so many things when words couldn’t be spoken.
When we finally broke apart, Caden leaned his forehead to mine. “Thank you for this, Lili. You have no idea how much a part of me feels…healed.”
I squeezed his arms and smiled when we stepped apart. “I should probably go take off your clothes.”
He glanced down and shook his head. “Keep them. I’ll drive you back to the barn and to your car.”
I quickly gathered up the few things I had.
Said goodbye to the kitten, who I named Misty, and made Caden promise me he wouldn’t put her back out in the cold.
We drove in silence to the horse barn, and I silently prayed we wouldn’t see anyone.
I didn’t have it in me to have Ensley or Emeline take one look at me and realize what had happened between their brother and me.
“Looks like Gatlin, or one of the guys, cleaned off your car,” Caden said, as he pulled up and parked his truck.
My car was indeed cleared of snow from the windows and most of the body. “That was sweet.”
“Do you have a land line at your house?”
Confused, I asked, “A land line?”
He smiled. “Telephone. You lost your cell, so I wanted to make sure you let me know when you get home safely.”
A bubble of laughter slipped free. “Yes. I actually do, but I have no idea what the number is. It’s stored in my cell.”
He pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card. I glanced down and saw the ranch’s logo. It was a large black W with a bullhead and horns, as well as a horseshoe, above the W. It read “River Falls Cattle Company,” and included Caden’s name, email, and cell number.
“Call me when you get home so I know you’ve made it okay.”