Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“Mom! Hey.” I push open the door and step out. Because it’s early on a Sunday, the street is empty. “I’m glad you came by.”
“Mornin’, Ms. Brown.” Cash straightens, hiking up his jeans. “How are you doing today?”
“Please, call me Aubrey. And I’m doing all right. How about yourself?”
“Just making sure Mollie has everything she needs.” He gestures to the full trunk with a grin. “Turns out, she needs a hell of a lot.”
“I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that my daughter is a little high-maintenance.”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Runs in the family.”
“Guilty.” Mom smiles.
I look at Cash. This is a good sign, right? The smile, the insistence he call her by her first name? She didn’t say a word about that yesterday.
“Anyway”—Mom glances between us before she holds out the bag to me—“I’m glad I caught y’all. Here are some treats to bring back to the ranch with you. Figured y’all could use something to nibble on during the drive.”
I take the bag, only now seeing the Dean & DeLuca logo printed on its side. “My favorite. Wow. Thank you, Mom.” I hold out an arm.
She pulls me in for a tight hug. “Just promise me you’ll start answering your phone more often. I need to hear from you. Not every day, but more than once a week.”
My eyes prickle with heat. I close them and nod. “I promise.”
“I was up all night thinking about y’all.”
“Mom—”
“It’s all right, Mollie.” She’s still holding me. “I’m not going to ask when you’ll be back in town—”
“Subtle,” I say with a smile.
“But I want to be part of this.” She finally lets me go and glances at Cash. “Part of y’all’s life together. You’re in your element when you’re together—that much is clear. You’re happy.” Mom cups my cheek. “He makes you happy. Thank you, Cash, for taking such excellent care of my daughter. I’ve never seen her so lit up before.”
My boyfriend’s Adam’s apple bobs. “That means a lot. Thank you. You have my word, I’ll try my damnedest to make Mollie happy.”
“I believe you,” Mom replies.
I blink, genuinely shocked. “Wait, wait. You trust a cowboy?”
Mom’s lips twitch. “No two people are alike. Same goes for cowboys.”
“Amen to that.” Cash touches his finger to the brim of his hat.
It’s an obscenely beautiful, obscenely sexy gesture that has both Mom and me blushing like idiots.
“Well, y’all drive safe,” Mom says.
Cash holds up that same finger. “Hang tight, Aubrey. I have something for you.”
Turning to rummage through the back seat, he emerges a minute later with a Walgreens bag in his hand.
I smile at him. We were there for hours last night.
“What’s this?” Mom asks, taking the bag from my boyfriend.
Cash curls an arm around my waist. “Copies of Garrett’s pictures. Thought you might want them.”
Staring into the bag, Mom blinks. I can tell by the way her chin ducks out that she’s trying not to cry.
I let the tears fall freely. “It was Cash’s idea.”
“That’s”—Mom swallows, still looking down—“so thoughtful. Thank you.”
Cash chuckles. “Of course. Can we hug it out now, or…”
Mom laughs. “Yes. Yes, I’d like that.”
Which is how the three of us end up hugging each other multiple times in the middle of the street on a Sunday morning.
Pulling back, I look at Mom. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Really. I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’ll survive.”
Cash is at my elbow now, his hand on the small of my back. “I know you’re not Hartsville’s biggest fan, Aubrey, but you’re welcome to visit us on the ranch anytime. We’d love to have you.”
Mom nods, her eyes bouncing between us. “Maybe one day. I’m excited to see what y’all do with the place.”
Funny she mentions that. Ever since Cash surprised me with the plans he drew up for a studio by the river, I’ve been thinking nonstop about what else we could do with the ranch.
In particular, what else we could do with Rivers Ranch. Cash is doing everything he can to make my dreams come true. It’s only fair I return the favor.
My heart is full as Mom pulls me in for one last hug.
My heart spills over when she pulls Cash in for one more hug too.
“See y’all soon.” She smiles. “And send me updates on the studio. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“So Cash has four brothers.”
I smile at Wheeler’s not-so-subtle question as I guide the ATV away from the river and back toward the New House. “Yes.”
“And they’re all tall.”
“Yes.”
“And they have blue eyes.”
“Yep.”
“And they’re cowboys.”
“Wheeler, I just took you on a tour of my family’s working cattle ranch. We saw cows, horses, snakes, and a freaking bald eagle. Not to mention the Colorado River. But all you can talk about is cowboys?”
Wheeler blinks. “Yes, cowboys are what interest me most. What’s wrong with that?”