Page 41 of Wanted By You

Frankie starts to whimper on the floor, and Cassidy turns her attention to him begging at our feet. “Hey, I know you said you normally leave Frankie out when it’s nice, but I wouldn’t do that out here. I’d hate for something to get him,” I tell her, since she decided to leave him inside this morning with my approval. The poor guy was exhausted.

Her eyes go wide. “Like what?”

I shrug, swigging my beer. “Hawk, bear, coyote, wolves. Ma claims she saw a bobcat a few weeks ago, but Dad said it looked more like a large house cat.”

“Stop it,” she gasps, looking down at Frankie. “We’ve never had a problem in the trailer park. They must not come into town. Have you ever seen one out here?”

“Oh, yeah, and no offense to Frankie.” I chuckle, glancing down at him. “But he’s an easy catch for any predator.”

Frankie huffs, and I swear he’s glaring at me.

“Well, now that you just freaked me out. Looks like we won’t be going on our after-dinner walk, Frankie,” Cassidy says, grabbing our empty plates and taking them over to the sink.

I raise a brow. “Where were you planning on walking?”

“Up and down the driveway a few times,” she says. “We used to go around the park at least once, the big loop was a mile, the small loop was a half mile.”

I nod. “Driveway is about an eighth of a mile one way.”

“Ooo, you hear that, Frankie.” She snickers. “And since Butch has now scared me into not wanting to walk alone with youlooking like a snack. Would you mind joining us for our walkies?”

I laugh heartily, loving the smile this woman is giving me. “Yeah, I’ll walk with ya.”

I help Cassidy clean up and load the dishwasher. She goes through the motions of giving Frankie his small cup of food and medications. He’s quick to eat his food—practically inhaling it. Cassidy heads upstairs, coming back down with a pair of black flip-flops, I slip on my gym sneakers and pull over a T-shirt.

Outside, Cassidy holds Frankie’s leash as we start our walk right around sunset. “So, how’d it go when you picked up your car today?” I ask.

“Fine, I guess.” She shrugs. “At first, I didn’t think he was home, but Alison checked his room and he was in there—passed out cold with a trash can next to the bed. She said he looked awful, but I guess that isn’t surprising.”

“You didn’t talk to him?”

She shakes her head. “No. I just wanted to get out of there without any drama.”

I nod, glad she didn’t have to deal with any bullshit without me at her side. She’s done that for long enough.

“I put a few feelers out there,” she says so quietly I almost miss it.

“For what?”

We pause the walk for Frankie to sniff at a tall pine. “If there are any apartments available,” she tells me, and my chest tightens. “There’s nothing, though. I mean, I had a feeling it might be hard to find something, but…there’s nothing, Butch. Whitetail is getting flooded with seasonal tourists almost year-round now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for local businesses, but rentals are going short-term or putting themselves on the Bed and Breakfast listings. And I can’t afford to buy in thismarket.” She looks like she’s on the verge of tears, sighing heavily. “It’s just a lot right now.”

She’s right. Whitetail’s been teaming with tourists the last few years since the new ski resort opened on the mountain. In the summer and fall, people come for the lakeside camping and the hiking trails. When the snow falls, they fly in for the five-star resort. And year-round, they all come for the views and small-town charm.

“You know you can stay here as long as you need. I’m not putting a deadline on you being here,” I tell her, because demanding she stays here with me forever isn’t an option—yet.

Or is it?

Cassidy gazes up at me with a small smile. “I used to think you were the biggest asshole.”

I grin. “I still am.”

“Oh, I know,” she giggles. “But I’m sorry I didn’t try to get to know you before.”

My heart swells as I fight the urge to reach out and haul her against me at this moment. “Don’t sweat it, I’ve been told my personality is a sort of barbed wire and electric fencing situation.”

She throws her head back with a beautiful laugh. “Does that mean you’ve got a softer center beneath all the rough exterior?”

I snort. “Nah, just more bullshit.”

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