Chapter Thirty-Seven
Cash
A Week Later, Early October
Hailey had been set up on the living room couch during the day since returning from the hospital, wrapped in blankets, with her computer and notebooks within reach so she could do her work without needing to get up to do much besides shower and go to the bathroom. I stayed worried about her all day, running in and out in between taking care of my chores on the ranch, just checking on her, though she usually told me to get back to work and stop bothering her. She’d written thousands of words while recovering and seemed pleased with the progress, her story going strong despite her nearly losing her life. Her strength was returning to her, too. She’d had a follow-up appointment with a doctor in town who said she hadn’t suffered any permanent damage to her hand and that she was fine to return to her normal activity level as soon as she felt up to it, which meant I wouldn’t be able to keep her from running around outside much longer. She was itching to get in some more activity, she said, though she liked how I’d stopped bothering her about cleaning up after herself, even going so far as to joke with her that I wouldn’t say a word if she left her candy wrappers around the house. I didn’t say I wouldn’t clean them up myself, just that I wouldn’t harass her over them.
She got up to use the restroom, shaking me off when I tried to walk with her. She came back to the couch, wincing a little, and I flew to her side to assist her.
“I’m fine, Cash,” she said, pushing me gently away. She still didn’t use her left hand as much as she normally would, but it was much better. She snuggled back into her nest of blankets, smiling at me.
“I might not be one of the rough-and-tumble country girls you’re used to out here, but I’m a tough-as-nails New Yorker, so don’t you forget it.”
I had a good, long laugh at that. “You are one tough cowgirl, by any standards, East or West.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, but her eyes were shining with how pleased she was. She did a lot of that, smiling without smiling, her big blue eyes announcing whatever she was feeling loud and clear for anyone who was able to read them. I was proud to say that I was one of those people.
“You know, I’ve had a lot of time to think since I haven’t been allowed to go outside and do anything.” She tried giving me a hard look, but her mouth was twitching, and her eyes were still doing that smiley thing.
“I can’t very well trust you running around out there, now can I? Last time, you went and got yourself snakebit.”
She slapped me with the back of her good hand but was giggling too. “I’ve used this opportunity to really assess my life and what I want for myself. Meeting you has really changed me, Cash. Or maybe it’s just revealed the true me, making what I want and need clear to me for the first time ever. I’ve been spending my entire adult life traveling from one place to the next, trying to learn as much as I could so I’d be able to write a realistic story about the people who lived there. But, really, I think I was searching for something. I’ve never felt truly connected to any place I’ve lived, not even Manhattan. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy there, just that I wanted more.” She reached for my hands, and I let her take them, not squeezing her left hand at all to keep from hurting her. “I love you, Cash. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find what we have together, but I realize that this is what I’ve been searching for, why I felt it so necessary to keep traveling to new places, always pushing for something completely different than what I’d seen before.”
I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I felt strongly for her as well, as she knew, but maybe I should tell her exactly what I was feeling since she was opening up to me in a way she hadn’t before. But I didn’t get the chance before she continued, her blue eyes widening so I wanted to fall into them like I would crystal clear, cool water at the end of a long, hot day of work.
“I feel an internal stillness that I didn’t have before. And I think it’s because I’ve finally found where I’m supposed to be in life.” A smile spread across her face, casting out some of the seriousness of the last few moments. “I’m as shocked as anyone to see that that place seems to be in rural Wyoming.”
I smiled, not taking the least bit of offense. I loved this state and this ranch. I could never picture myself happy anywhere else. Not because I didn’t know about other places, but because this was just so perfect, I couldn’t imagine another place that could top it.
“I can’t describe what I feel about this little corner of the world,” I said. “I was born and raised here. I ain’t done the traveling you have, but I’ve read about other cities and countries my whole life, so much that it seems like I’ve gone a thousand places without needing to leave my house. I never felt like I needed to go elsewhere. It always felt right to stay here, even when people I knew left town and never returned.” I squeezed the fingers on her right hand as I gave her a shy smile. “Maybe I was here waiting for the girl of my dreams to arrive.”
“Could be,” she said, her smile as bright as the sun that had just set outside. “I’ve fallen hard for you, Cash Ogden. Don’t break my heart.”
I touched her face gently with the tips of my fingers. She was so soft to the touch, but hard as nails underneath. That was what I loved best about her. You couldn’t keep the girl down for a moment.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. But you can’t go breaking mine, neither.”
She smiled, scrunching up her nose, and leaned to kiss me, lightly at first, and then more passionately.
I pulled away before I let myself get too excited. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her—we hadn’t rolled in the hay since before I went to my uncle’s funeral—but I wasn’t about to overexert her now that she was just starting to get back to normal.
“Don’t you think you should take it easy?” I asked.
She lifted her eyebrows, her eyes hot as the feelings stirring between my legs where I was already getting hard from just that little kiss.
“The doctor said I was back to normal,” she reminded me. She’d brought that up every time I told her to take it easy. She all but leaped on me this time, tugging my shirt off one-handed and then taking off her own. My eyes widened. She wasn’t wearing a bra. This time when she kissed me, I didn’t pull back. I let it happen, loving how sweet she tasted and how hard I was getting at the feel of her hot, needy mouth.