That Fine Line (Pride and Pranks, #1)

by Cindy Steel

The swing groaned a bit as Mom leaned back next to me once again. She patted my knee. “There can be lots of stories to tell the grandkids. I just want you to make sure it’s your story.”

There was something about unloading all my burdens on my mom that made me feel better. I needed to remember to do it more often. I was so grateful for my parents.

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.

“That could have happened to anybody.” He nodded slowly. “I know. But you’re not just anybody. Not to me. And I’m discovering… that I kind of like having you around.”

Why was it that the people you walk the most on egg-shells with are the ones you are the most nervous to disappoint?

“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.”

“You and me. We both like a challenge. We can both be a pain in the butt. Some of us more than others.” He gave me a look and squeezed me tighter. Balking, I tried to move away, but he held me fast. “But at the end of the day, no matter who wins, I can’t wait to do it all over again the next day. You’re the first person I want to talk to when I wake up. I lose way too much sleep at night trying to think of ways to get a rile out of you, make you laugh, torture you, kiss you…” Can a chest explode from happiness? My body, once tense and stiff, now felt light as air, floating away on some cloud overhead. I was looking everywhere but at him, but I held on tight and drank in his words. “Kels… I’m in love with you.” Startled, my eyes flew to his. “When I first saw you this summer, I began to wonder if I always had been…if it always was you.”

“Did you hear me? You drive me crazy in all the best ways. One day I want to give you that white house on a ranch. I love you, Red.”

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. All my worries, doubts, fears, and insecurities vanished while he wrapped me up in his arms. With the right man, my worries turned to calmness, my doubts to faith, my fears to bravery, and my insecurities to confidence.