Strung Along (Cherry Peak, #1)

by Hannah Cowan

“Knock it off, Braxton. I would much rather you have been taking care of my sick nephew than dealing with my problems,” I chastise her. “Not to mention you were out all day with your in-laws.” She curls her fingers into fists. “Either way, I want to string that guy up a flagpole by his tiny balls!” Her husband, Maddox, winces from where he watches us from his position in the doorway.

My sister is my best friend. Nobody has ever been able to compete with her, even when we used to spend too many days picking on one another growing up. “If he was never worthy of me, then why did you approve of him?” I ask her. “I never did,” Maddox puts in. The cheeky grin he gives us has my sister flipping him off. “You’re a no-good suck-up, Maddox. Go do something useful and keep watch for Ewie Stewie.”

The shorter of the two, Bryce, from what I’ve gathered, is intimidating as all hell, even from the healthy distance between us. With night-black hair and sharp blue eyes, she reminds me of Braxton. A much scarier version of her.

Watching Bryce and Poppy be so open and free with one another in such an obviously close friendship makes me undeniably jealous. I want that. Badly.

Me too

Me: Hi! Is this dress approved for the Morales wedding?

17805559540: Yes. 17805559540: What do I have to do to get plus one approval?

16045557841: You know what? Fuck you. As if I’d let myself be insulted by someone who could very well be a disgusting human being. 16045557841: I’m HOT. Very hot. You’d be struck stupid if you ever saw me in person. Which you will N O T. 16045557841: Lose this number.

Me: I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry.

17805559540: Ignoring a man’s apology is rude.

Me: Are you trying to flirt with me? Banana: You wish. I’m merely trying to stay safe. Me: By looking at a rack of abs? Banana: A girls gotta eat. Again, I hear myself laugh, and the sound is still as odd the second time. Fuck, that’s depressing. Me: Who am I to keep you starving then?

Me: Since a photo didn’t prove anything, the demand for it was just to get your rocks off huh? Banana: My rocks are still very much on, you filthy cowboy. Me: I don’t think I’ve been called a filthy cowboy before. I like it.

It’s dangerous for a man to be so good-looking. A goddamn crime that I plan on keeping myself well away from.

“Brody is all bark and no bite. Don’t worry about all the scowling.” I highly doubt that, but instead of saying exactly that, I look at Brody and smile saccharinely. My next words just explode from my mouth before I can think twice about them. “My sister’s a vet, so I’m not afraid of rabid animals.”

“Doubt she’ll be in town long enough to entertain you, Trev,” Brody grunts, not so much as flicking his eyes in my direction. “What makes you say that?” I snip, my cheeks flushing red. Another look at my body, or my outfit, maybe. “You really want me to answer that, sweetheart?” Steam nearly shoots from my nostrils as they flare. “You’ve known me for five seconds.” “I only needed three.” My fingers curl as my lips twitch. “To finish? And that’s something you’re proud of?”

“Long story short, Vic tried to bring a third person into their relationship, and when Bryce said she wasn’t comfortable with that, she dumped her on the curb and dated him instead. The first time Bryce saw them together, she kicked the guy hard enough in the crotch that she cracked his dick like a glowstick. She spent the night in a jail cell until I came and got her. Luckily, Vic had the decency to feel guilty enough to convince him not to press charges,”

Me: Hi. I know we said 1 night but I changed mi mind. Me: Sorry that was weiiiiird to say Me: Are u sleeping? Do u wear ur boots to bed? Me: I don’t. Anyway idk y I wanted to talk 2 u, but I do Me: Srry I’m being weird. G2G! xo

“Are you here to make fun of me?” “I was going to help you, but I can leave.” “I don’t want your help.” “You look like you need it.” Rage makes her nostrils flare. “You’re arrogant.” “You seem to bring that quality out of me, sweetheart.”

“You think I’m a poser?” “Aren’t you? With the borrowed country clothes and your dramatic gaspin’ when you first saw me at Peakside? Bryce and Poppy are too nice to try and set me up, so I have to assume you put on a pretty impressive show in order for them to bring you somewhere I’d be.” Despite what he thinks of me, my flinch is genuine. So is the hurt in my eyes that I can see reflected in the mirror.

“You moved here to start over, and I moved back to run away. Funny how that works,”

The appreciation shining in her eyes as she stares up at me is almost too much. The brown is even softer now than before, warm like melted chocolate. My chest is twisted up, and before I notice what’s happening, I’m grinning at her. Grinning like I haven’t just complicated my life with a woman who three days ago made me want to shout into a pillow. Great.

“You should have heard her in our teen years. She would have lived in the pages of a book if it weren’t for me forcing her out into the real world,”

“You didn’t have to come to my door,” I tell him, only half meaning it. It was thoughtful of him to come up. “That’s not the way I was raised, Buttercup.”

“Hey.” She blows out a breath, and I do the same. “You sound young,” she notes. “Disappointed I’m not old and creepy?” “You could still be creepy.” “Fair enough.”

“I was expecting you to sound more hillbilly, to be honest.” “Hillbilly?” I roll my lips before the tug up into a grin. “Sorry to disappoint ya, darlin’.” Her laugh is too fucking sweet.

How many women have similar laughs? And moved from British Columbia to Alberta recently? Anna Banana? I’m ashamed that I didn’t put that one together. God, even her body makes it all that clearer. I don’t remember details from that single accidental photo, but I remember seeing curves and pale skin. And the memory of Anna in the window earlier is as crystal clear as ever. It’s obvious now. Anna is my mystery woman.

I’ve never wanted to be manhandled before, but if that was anything like what I could expect from a guy like Brody, maybe I’ve been missing out.

Be as awestruck as you want, just don’t act like this in his presence. He’ll never let anyone hear the end of it.” I lean forward again with my hands fisted on the table, my next words coming out far throatier than I mean them to. “Plannin’ on bringin’ me home to the family, Anna?”

“Don’t change the subject.” “You’re going to smell like peppermint if you don’t stop picking on me.” My smirk is sinister. “And why exactly would I smell like peppermint? Plannin’ on kissing me?”

“Why are you smiling like that?” I blurt out. “Like what?” The fucker somehow grins impossibly bigger. “Like you know exactly how good-looking you are, especially when you smile like that. Are you trying to seduce me or something?” His laugh is pure sin. It runs a soft touch down my body before settling between my legs. The involuntary clench that follows makes me breathless and annoyed all in one. “If I was trying to seduce you, Anna, you wouldn’t be thinking so hard,”

“I didn’t take you for the bad-boy type, but maybe you actually are into the whole motorcycle-and-arrogance persona,” he teases. “Am I too nice for you, Buttercup?”

And while I’m sorry that jackass hurt you, I’m glad you wound up here,”

“Happy I wound up in Cherry Peak or right here?” I whisper. His eyes turn from soft to sharp so quickly I stop breathing altogether. I wouldn’t mind if he cut me with that stare as long as he kissed the wounds afterward. “Both,”

I flash her a grin, feeling like a damn lucky guy knowing she’s about to venture into my world.

“It doesn’t matter to me when I meet everyone. I’m just happy to be here with you.” With me.

I want banter and new adventures and thoughtful gestures that have my cheeks burning from smiling. Even if it’s temporary, Brody gives me those things. I’d like to think that I give him those things too.

“Meetin’ the horses will make you happy, right?” “Yes,” I whisper, the moment too delicate for anything louder. “Then that’s what we’ll do.” Appreciation fills me. It’s like this man wants nothing more than to see me smile. How was I ever supposed to keep him at a distance? It almost feels like a trick question.

“Who’s Steph?” It’s an effort not to appear smug at her jealousy. “The ranch employs two horse trainers. Steph is one, and Randy is the other.” She nods. “That makes sense.” “Would you like a full list of employees, sweetheart? I can name all the women for you,” I purr. She scowls and swats at my arm. “You’re an ass.” “Yet you like me enough to get jealous.”

Whether it be from seeing her connect with Sky, or wearing those damn boots like she was born to, or even just every moment spent with her over the past few weeks combined, something gives inside of me.

In this moment, it doesn’t matter that this isn’t forever. Not when the right now is so damn good.

“Better?” I murmur. “Better?” she echoes. “Are you still jealous?” Her eyes snap open, and I chuckle when they roll. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” “When it comes to you, that’s the one thing I can’t seem to do.”

I’m so happy for my sister. She deserves everything she has. A beautiful son, successful career, and a husband who would lie on hot coals just to form a bridge for her to walk across them.

“He’s from Cherry Peak. We met at a bar and got off on a very wrong foot, but now . . . now he’s just everything.

You don’t meet a woman like Annalise Heights and not make her yours. Especially not when you share the same natural chemistry that we do. The same unadulterated want for one another.

I met my dream woman twice and still took this fucking long to make a move.

What’s even harder to believe is that I never knew what I truly looked for in a woman until I met Anna. I didn’t know that I wanted a funny city girl with a snarky attitude when annoyed and a fierce passion for helping others. Not only is she fierce, but she’s also incredibly easy to talk to. There isn’t anything that she wouldn’t listen to me talk about, even if I didn’t need her to say anything back. But if I did, she would give me the best advice.

One kiss, one taste of her was all it took. Fuck, I’d let her string me along forever if it meant ...

Three more weeks isn’t enough with Anna, but it’s a start. I need that time with her. To really be with her. To show her that maybe, just maybe, this thing between us wouldn’t have to come to an end once I leave.

I’m about to welcome her into my world. I just hope to God she doesn’t run.

It’s almost hard to look at him for too long without risking getting stuck in his trance. So handsome it hurts. It should be a warning given to every person that gets too close.

“This is the second time you’ve grabbed me like this. Some would say that’s a bit of a creepy habit to have,” I say, rolling my lips to hide a smile. Brody’s chest shakes against my back, his laugh vibrating beneath my skin and damn near into my bones. “Only have a habit of grabbin’ you like this, sweetheart.”