I knew from the first page it was Cash’s mom and dad. He looked just like his father. The resemblance was uncanny. They looked so in love. In every picture he was looking at her like she’d just hung the moon. It was truly beautiful and it made me wonder if they would have liked me. I know how much something like that would mean to Cash. It was easy to see how much they’d meant to him. I could tell whenever he talked about them or this farm.
Cash caught me up there. His eyes flashed with something when he saw me on the floor, the album in my lap. That’s when I knew. All this was up here because it was hard to look at. It compounded the loneliness he’d told me about. And when he told me I should wear the dress, that he wanted me to bring something down from the attic said a lot. It signaled that he was moving on from this loss. Moving on with me. We’d both lost our families, but we’re ready to start our own. The past is a lot easier to take when we’re together.
I don’t know if he knew what it meant for him to say that to me. I knew he’d given me the ring already, but this somehow felt different. It was more intimate. It made me feel like I belonged here and that I was becoming a McCallister in more than just name.
I run my fingers through my hair for the millionth time. The curls won’t let me do anything with them today. They seem to have a mind of their own. I was going to pin it back, but Cash asked me before he left if I’d leave it down.
I went to protest but found myself flat on my back, his face between my legs. It’s something he’s doing a lot lately. He brought me to orgasm twice before I tossed in the white flag. Not that it mattered. When I’d gone to the bathroom later, all my bobby pins were gone. He seemed to have a fascination with my wild curls that had me liking them more and more by the day. He was always playing with them or cuddling his face in them while he slept. Wrapping them around his finger, then letting them go, fascinated by their corkscrew shape.
I smile at the reminder. It’s hard to believe I only met this man four days ago. My life has changed so much over these four days. The things he makes me feel fill parts of me that I didn’t even know were there. Parts I didn’t realize were longing to be filled.
Grabbing my little purse, I slip on my white flats and head out of the bedroom and towards the front door. Cash said he was going to run next door to talk to the Johnsons about something. No more fences had been broken the past couple of days, and Sammy was safely back home. But last night someone broke into the barn and released six horses. The men were out hunting them down, and Cash was aggravated but trying to keep his cool.
Flipping the lock, I open the door and let out a little squeak when I see a man I don’t know standing there. His hand is up in the air like he was about to knock.
“Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says removing his Stetson to reveal short blond hair.
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect anyone to be standing there when I opened the door.”
He smiles as his dark eyes run up and down my body like he’s taking me in. It gives me a creepy feeling.
“I’m Billy Buckman, the foreman over at the Johnson farm.” He reaches out his free hand.
“Mrs. Clare McCallister,” I return, taking his hand. When I go to pull it back, he gives it a little squeeze like he might not let it go, but does.
“Not yet.” He half smiles like it’s a cute little joke, and it makes me narrow my eyes.
“I suggest you take a step back, Mr. Buckman. My husband doesn’t like others in the house when he’s not here.”
“I didn’t realize you two were married yet,” he says, ignoring my words.
I slip past him, pulling the door closed behind me, making him take a few steps back. I take a few of my own in the other direction, trying to get some distance from him.
“Cash is over at the Johnson farm right now. Shouldn’t you be there?”
“He always fill you in on his affairs?” The way he says the word affairs has my heart picking up a few beats. The tone doesn’t help any either. He studies me, and I look to the driveway the leads over the hill. Cash should be back any minute. He said he wouldn’t be gone long and then we’d be on our way.
His boots click on the wooden porch as he takes a step closer to me.
“I can see why June was so fit to be tied. You are a pretty little thing. I’m not sure what Cash is gonna do with you. I don’t think you could handle one ride.”
I flinch at his words because I don’t think he means a ride on a horse. And the implication runs a little too close to home.
He reaches out, grabbing one of my curls. “The Johnsons aren’t home, you know. Went to a cattle show. Only one there is June. How long has he been gone over there with her?”
My body freezes at his words. He’s been gone for over an hour now. I turn to bat his hand away from my hair and tell him to leave, but before I can, he’s gone. A loud crash fills the porch as Billy is pulled away from me and he hits the house. Cash’s hand is around his throat, and Billy is starting to turn red.
Cash has him a good foot off the ground. I hadn’t noticed how short the other man was, but now that Cash is next to him, it really shows.