Author: Molly McAdams

“I have to start working, but I wanted my morning hug first.”

She smiled and wiggled her way deeper into my arms, wrapping one arm around my waist and placing the other on my chest, fingers splayed out. “Good morning, Gage.” She yawned and buried her face deeper into my shirt.

“Morning.” I held her to me and tried to savor every second of her warm body against mine, her long hair wild from her lying on it, her sweet scent engulfing me.

“What are you doing today?”

“Gotta feed everyone first, then we have to fix more of the fences. We stopped early yesterday and they need to be done before we can move the cattle into that area. Other than that, whatever pops up.”

She nodded against me. “Do you need me to do anything?”

I didn’t need a thing from her, but I wanted everything. I wanted her to leave Tyler, to love me, to want to live here with me for the rest of our lives. I wanted so damn much. “Just go back to sleep, then enjoy the rest of the day with the girls. I’ll be back tonight.”

“I’ll be here waiting for you.”

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in and held it. If only she knew what she did to me. I could see us, just like this. Whispering in the dark room before I started work each morning, her telling me she’d be waiting for me when I got back. God, I wanted to kiss her and stay in that bed all day, but just then I heard the front door open and shut and knew I had to get going. With one last squeeze, I reluctantly unwrapped us from each other and left the room.

CASSIDY

“THOSE BOYS ARE treating you all right, aren’t they, Cassidy?” Stephanie asked as she pulled up a chair at the breakfast bar where Gage’s youngest sister, Emily, was coloring. “It was hard enough losing Tyler, and then you had to go with him. I feel like all my babies are gone and I just need to make sure you’re all taking care of each other.”

“They’re great. I work early in the mornings, and Gage takes me; when I get home they’re at school and by the time they’re back I have dinner made for them. Everything’s been great so far.”

“Good, sweetie,” she said, and I couldn’t believe how much she and Gage’s mom, Tessa, looked alike, and how Tessa looked nothing like her kids.

“You tell me if my boy’s actin’ up, all right, sweet girl? I don’t care if that boy is grown, I’ll still smack him upside the head.” Tessa gave me a look and I didn’t need to have seen Gage’s flinching to know she would.

I laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that, Gage is . . . Gage has been . . . he’s great.”

Tessa and Stephanie shared a look and Stephanie raised her eyebrows as she took a long drink of iced tea.

“All right, I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Are you dating Ty or not?” Amanda, Gage’s oldest sister, put the stack of plates away and leaned back against the counter so she was facing me.

I paused, opening up the package of yellow cake mix, and looked at her, confused. “Uh, definitely not. Why?”

“Well . . .” She looked at her mom and other sister, Nikki, before continuing. “We’ve all heard about you since as far back as I can remember . . . and it just kinda looks like y’all are together.”

Stephanie started laughing and I could only imagine the look of horror on my face. “No. Tyler’s my best friend—really he was my only friend until we moved to Texas. We’re just really close like that; he’s like my family.”

“So is there anyone you are dating?” Amanda asked, and I noticed even Tessa had stopped what she was doing and looked up at me.

“No.” I drew out the word, uncertain as to why they were all looking at me like that.

“Interested in?” Tessa asked, seeming a little too concerned in what my answer was going to be.

“Um, well . . .” My cheeks flared and I had to bite down on my lips to stop my ridiculous smile. “I—”

Just then the front door opened and shut, and Gage’s and Tyler’s voices drifted in toward us. My eyes went wide and I swear I somehow blushed harder. Tessa took one look at me and smiled to herself before turning back around to the food she was preparing. When I looked over at Amanda, she was studying me intently. She shot a quick look at her brother and cousin when they came in and the same smile I’d just seen on her mom spread across her cheeks.

“You girls wanna go to a bonfire?” Gage drawled, and winked at me; I swear I somehow blushed harder.

“I do!” Nikki yelled, and ran up to the guys. Gage and Tessa started disagreeing immediately.

“Absolutely not!”

“No way, Nik.”

“You said girls, Gage! I am a girl, you know!”

He kissed the top of her head and ruffled her hair. “When you’re older, kid. Amanda and Cassidy,” he clarified, and smirked when Nikki huffed, “do y’all wanna go?”

I stole a quick glance at Tyler and gave him a smile when I saw he was staring at me intently. “Sounds . . . fun?” When he nodded I looked back to Gage and nodded once. “Yeah, sure.”

Amanda agreed and Gage grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge, tossing one at Tyler. “All right, we’ll leave after dinner.”

“Gage!” Amanda looked quickly at the clock, then back to him. “Dinner’s in like—three and a half hours!”

“And?”

“That gives us no time! We need to go into town!”

“Why?”

She just shook her head and grabbed my hand before towing me toward the front door. “We’ll be back before dinner!” she called as we went out the door. “Do you have boots?”

“Uh, what?”

“Boots, do you have any?”

“No . . .”

She hopped into her car and I followed. “Figured as much. You can’t go to a bonfire out in the country without ’em.”

“Oh, if that’s why we’re going into town, we don’t need to. I can just go in my flip-flops or Converse.”

“Yankee,” she mumbled, and I snorted.

“I FEEL LIKE I look like a cliché.”

Amanda laughed and checked herself out in the mirror. “And why is that?”

“You put me in a plaid button-up and cowboy boots.”

“Yeah? And you look hot! At least I didn’t give you a torn denim miniskirt to match it with, because I have one. I can even get you a cowboy hat!” I looked at her, mortified, and she laughed. “Exactly. Now, that would be cliché; what you are wearing is perfect.”

I fluffed my hair, which Amanda had curled before dinner; checked my makeup one last time; and stepped back to take in the entire thing. I did like my boots and shirt, which was an electric-blue, black, and gray combination and worked well with the dark skinny jeans I had on, but seriously. Walking cliché.

“All the guys there will love it, trust me.”

“I don’t exactly care about the guys we’ll meet there,” I mumbled, and followed her out of the room toward the stairs.

“Gage will love it.” She shrugged and feigned indifference before turning to wink at me.

“He doesn’t, I mean, I haven’t—”

“You haven’t told him? Yeah, I figured. You should change that.”

“Change what?” Tyler asked, and I jumped, causing me to miss the next step and start sliding down. Ty caught me around my waist and smirked. “Always wanted to sweep you off your feet.”

I laughed and pushed on his shoulder until he let go. “You’re so dumb, Ty.”

“You girls rea—” Gage cut himself off quickly; his green eyes widened and he just stared at me until Tyler cleared his throat. “Uh, y’all ready?”

We followed when Tyler started pushing him toward the door, and Amanda leaned in close. “Told ya, time to change that.”

If only she knew just how bad I wished I could.

“WE’RE GONNA GO get more beers, y’all want some?” Gage asked. Amanda and I both shook our heads and went back to talking about this guy she was seeing off and on at A & M.

Other than the fact that we were out in the country instead of on the beach, and all the girls were dressed scarily similar to me and Amanda, this felt like one of the many bonfires I’d gone to with Ty whenever he’d tried to get me more socialized during high school. And like then, this really wasn’t my scene. Even with moving to Austin, I still wasn’t a huge fan of new people. I couldn’t stand the looks some of the girls were giving Gage, and already we’d had an issue with one of the guys, Max.

We’d all been standing near the fire, and I must’ve gotten so caught up in thoughts of my dad and the phoenix while looking at it that I hadn’t noticed Max watching me, or when he came up to my side to push me toward the fire, only to quickly wrap his arms around me and slam my body back to his chest. He’d thought it was hilarious until Gage pulled me away from him and proceeded to give him a verbal ass-kicking with Ty.

He’d avoided me the rest of the night, as had the rest of the guys there since Gage and Tyler had already made it known that they shouldn’t mess with or come near me. But now that they had gone to get more drinks, Max was stumbling over toward me and Amanda, causing me to groan and Amanda to stop talking about her pseudo-boyfriend to glare at him.

“What do you say we head back to my truck? Have us a little alone time.” His breath reeked of beer and his eyes were completely glazed over.

“Um, no thank you. And you should really consider giving someone your keys.” I turned to look at Amanda when she snorted and I shook my head. Seriously? Who did this guy think he was? After the stunt he’d pulled earlier he really thought I’d go anywhere or do anything with him?

“I didn’t say we’d be driving.”

“Like I said, no—”

He grabbed my hips and turned me so I was facing him and pressed my body close to his. “I bet I have you screaming my name in no time.”