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I smiled to myself, taking the porch steps in stride. “Maybe I’ll have you sleep in the bunkhouse since you’re acting like the rest of the hands.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she answered as I pulled open the front door. The porch chairs beside the entrance rocked in the light summer breeze.
“Try me.” I tugged my hat off my head and held the door as she stepped inside. The windows were open, fresh air dancing through what appeared to be an empty first floor.
“Mama?” I called out, and footsteps slowly clambered down the stairs. Briar’s eyes wandered around the house, scanning over the living area to the right, the fireplace lacking a flame for months now. The rug was clean, and the countertops at the far end of the massive open floor plan were sparkling. Any remnants of breakfast were long gone.
“Cassidy,” my mom said, her socks landing at the base of the stairs to my left. She smiled, and her brows raised as they scanned Briar standing quietly beside me.
“I know that Tyson’s girlfriend is staying in Remington’s old room while Tyson stays with his parents, so I was hoping Briar could stay here in my old room,” I said.
My mom lifted a smile, smoothing out her hair. “Briar, that’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you,” Briar answered, tugging the duffel tighter up her shoulder.
“Normally, I’d say yes. But Tenley’s mom is coming tomorrow, and she will be staying there until Tenley has the baby,” my mom answered.
“Can’t she stay with Weston and Tenley?” I asked.
“They’ve turned the second room into a nursery, you know that.”
“Right,” I muttered. That meant that Remington’s old room was occupied by his son’s girlfriend, and the guest room was claimed by Rosemary. Weston’s entire house was eliminated, so what else was there? “Oh, what about Pearl’s old room here?”
“My craft room? There’s not a bed in there anymore.”
“Then Weston’s?”
“We knocked that wall down years ago, don’t you remember?”
“Well…yeah,” I grumbled, running a hand over my face and sighing.
“You have an extra room in your new house,” my mom quickly added, and I glanced at her. She grinned wickedly, a scheme forming behind her gaze. I wanted to argue, to debate with her, but honestly, she wasn’t wrong. It seemed that was literally the only option unless I wanted to send Briar to the wolves by being the only girl staying in the bunkhouse.
“No,” Briar gasped under her breath. I slid my gaze to her but kept everything on my face as blank as possible.
I had just gotten away from sharing my living space with others, and now I was going to be forced to do so once again, so I couldn’t help but partially agree with her reaction.
Though this time, at least it was with someone I found rather intriguing.
Chapter 3
BRIAR
I could hear Cassidy clomping around like an oaf in his own room—which was directly across from mine—as I dropped my duffel down on the neatly made bed. His basement was unfinished, and everything still smelled new. Fresh paint lingered in the air, and while it looked clean, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be sharing a space with Cassidy Duke.
Rooney drew me a better picture of this man than what I’d found. Everything he’d said about Cassidy made me believe he wanted to make a name for himself, to become a man all on his own. That he was his own man.
Dumping some socks in the bottom drawer, I frowned. The picture painted by Rooney had me thinking that Cassidy was kind and intelligent, a hard worker, and a leader. But all I’d found was someone who banked on his charms to coast through life. Because everyone around him treated him like the perfection that he was. Everything seemed so easy for him; life was cushy for him. Things were handed to him on a silver platter, creating this surface-level, cocky person in the room across the hall from me.
Tugging a few shirts on some hangers, my lips curled in annoyance. Whoever the “Cassidy Duke” Rooney talked about was, was not the man I’d met. That man was his own person with his own hopes and dreams—and someone who pursued those goals. He was supposed to have been someone who’d experienced some hard stuff in life, burdened with hardships, and persevered. That man had made a few mistakes, was humble but trying his darndest to become better in every way he needed to be.
This Cassidy was too perfect. Those hazel eyes that held a level of mischievousness that had me leery of what he was thinking. And when he had stepped flush against me, glowering down at me, I hated it. Hated how nice he smelled despite knowing he probably had no issue with manure. There was this hint of hay and leather mixed in with whatever stupid musk or cologne or whatever he exuded.
Ugh, and that facial hair. Trimmed neatly over a jawline that I bet every girl swooned over.
I wouldn’t be that girl.
After throwing some pajamas into the dresser drawer, I slammed it shut. No way. I disliked everything about him. He was too chill and relaxed for the urgency that surrounded everything going on. Part of me hated that I had agreed to this, but I also knew there really wasn’t another option available. Plus, Rooney had vouched for him and told me that Cassidy would keep me safe.
