Instead, he wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close on the couch, kissing the side of my head.
“I just met your sister yesterday,” he says, giving me a squeeze, “but I'm halfway to falling in love with her. Call me crazy but I've been called worse things in my life.” His words are sure, firm. My heart, it flutters and my belly flip-flops and damn, this man is special.
“Hell, we just talked about that reality TV show,” Anchor continues. “So you know those details. Everyone there called me an asshole jerk as well as some other names that I'm not exactly sure I want Lemon knowing. Let's just say it wasn't my finest moment. But meeting your sister? It feels like home, being with her.”
Mac and Graham look at one another, frowning, having a silent conversation.
Probably about whether or not they should beat this guy up.
But Cash just drops his head back and laughs. “Well, damn, Lemon. Where were we a month ago? At Rye’s wedding, joking about you coming up here and fishing for a man. Looks like you did pretty well for yourself. Anchor’s quite a catch.”
“Stop it, Cash,” I say, half mortified and also ridiculously smitten with the idea of Anchor being mine.
I press my lips together, wondering if the bad luck I thought I had my whole life is gone. Because this all feels too good to be true.
“So are you going to answer the question?” Graham asks. “You say you’re falling in love, but I'm just wondering what you're doing now that you're not some fancy-ass reality TV show star who won a million bucks.”
I stand, moving to refill our coffee mugs, letting him answer the question. I listen from the kitchen, munching on a croissant as Anchor explains the story I heard while we had dinner last night.
“I build kayaks,” he tells them. “I've been making custom boats for a while now. In fact, I just sold my company last week: Glide.”
“Shit, that's you?” Max laughs. “I have one of those kayaks. I use it in the Rough River. Damn.” Mac is clearly impressed.
“You make them by hand?” Graham asks.
Anchor nods. “Yeah, for a while, but then I scaled up. I was bought out by a big recreation company based out of Seattle. And now I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to do from here.” He looks over at me in the kitchen. I feel proud of Anchor’s accomplishments, and my heart is full as I look at him, talking to my brothers without missing a step. Anchor is not just sexy as sin; he is also a confident, capable man who makes me feel really damn good.
My brothers follow his gaze, and they must realize that whatever's happening is really serious. I am sure I am all heart-eyes when I look at Anchor, but I have nothing to hide. Whatever I am feeling right now is as real as anything. I’ve never been one to be swept up in emotions, but right now, Anchor has pulled me into his orbit and I don’t want him to let me go.
Cash whistles low. “Damn, so you're fucking loaded. Right?”
Anchor runs a hand over his beard, clearly uncomfortable, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who's getting embarrassed.
“Something like that,” he says, “but it was never about the money for me. I love boats, I didn’t want my family’s tragedy to overtake all those good memories I had on the water. Making kayaks was kind of coming full circle.”
“And that’s the end of the story? You retire early and bang my cousin?” Cash asks.
Graham chuckles. “He’s an original, a country boy to the core.”
Anchor just laughs, taking Cash’s wild personality in stride. “Not sure about that. That's what I was coming out here to figure out. Bought myself a house on the lake and am gonna work out my next steps.” Taking the heat off himself, he turns back to my cousin. “How’d you get that cut? A horse give you that??”
Cash grins. “Nah, I got four brothers; one of those assholes did it. I'm the oldest of five so I got to keep things in check over there at our ranch.”
The cousins all laugh and punch each other, in typical fashion, really.
Wanting to break up the rough housing, I tell Anchor, “Cash’s horses are some of the best rodeo horses this side of the Rockies.” I turn to my oldest cousin and add, “Your mama would be proud.”
Anchor's eyes lift. “You lost your mother too?”
Cash nods. “Yeah, cancer.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.”
“I guess I understand your pain in trying to figure life out after it's offered you some blows, huh?” Cash says, and I appreciate seeing him that way. So often Cash Rowdy is nothing but trouble. But sometimes I remember that there's some depth to that untamed cowboy. And in this moment, I'm glad he came with my brothers today because it pulled out something in Anchor that I was needing to see.