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At school, I spent my life chasing a degree and dating a suit coat. Swept away by grand ideas and pretty words; I had forgotten how real I felt sitting on top of a horse, riding a fence line with dirt under my nails. It had been a long while since I had ever felt this alive.
“You used to be fun. Whenever I pranked you, you’d give it right back. Now you act like you’re too good for everybody here. You never used to talk to people the way you just did.”
“Maybe some people don’t need the whole world. Maybe some people are satisfied with a good honest life, making a good honest living.”
“There can be lots of stories to tell the grandkids. I just want you to make sure it’s your story.”
There was something so satisfying about this simple, but beautiful way of life.
The fire snapped and all at once, I knew exactly what he meant about me being all talk. I understood what he wanted me to give. That real part of myself I kept guarded and tucked away from all the world. That vulnerable part, deep down, beneath the false confidence. The part buried by the jokes and the teasing. The part filled with fears and doubts that even Parker had no access to. Cade had a taste of it tonight… that raw vulnerability.
But instead of feeling embarrassed or ashamed, he tucked my worry beneath his arms, soothed my fears with his touch, and chased away the nightmare.
“You keep the world out. Open up and let the sunshine in, Red. I’ll only bite a little bit.”
“You were always… mine… to tease… you had always been mine and… I don’t know, Red. I think they knew I was a bit… possessive of you. Well, at least Ramsey figured that out.”
“Why were you already on edge that night, Cade?” I pressed, needing him to tell me what he wasn’t. Cade looked at me for a long moment, his eyes taking their time trailing up and down my face, settling on my lips, before he said, “Because… Ramsey ended up being right about me. I didn’t like watching you with another guy. With him. With anyone else.”
There were so many things I wanted to say with this kiss. So many things that were difficult for me to say any other way. I kissed him for saving my life. I kissed him for making me laugh, for putting me in my place, and for teasing me. I kissed him for making me feel special. And for this date. This glorious and magical and most confusing date that I wished could go on forever. But mostly, I kissed him for me, because I was starting to wonder if Stitch really was right about that fine line between love and hate.
but that’s the thing about love stories—sometimes it takes a wrong turn to go in the right direction. Sometimes home is exactly where you left it.
