Cash is Cash.

I wish I had believed Shannon when she claimed that you couldn’t win a fight with him.

I stare at my image in the bathroom mirror as I prepare myself for what I’m pretty sure will be yet another day without seeing Cash or making the kind of progress I know he’s capable of.

Our make-out session happened more than a week ago, and yet I can still feel Cash’s mouth on mine. I can feel his gaze on me whenever we’re going through the set of exercises I’ve put together for him. His hands feel hot on my skin as he holds on to me for support. It’s those little moments I’ve secretly come to look forward to.

We’ve come such a long way, and now he’s halting again. He pushes himself, only to give up an hour later. He declares his readiness to participate in physical therapy, only not to turn up.

I begin each day with the same thoughts—will he or won’t he let me do my job?

Today is no different.

I shake my head grimly as I regard myself.

Only a few weeks into this job and the dark shadows I used to sport back home are gone from under my eyes. My skin has turned a light golden shade from all the walks I’ve been taking thanks to Cash’s unwillingness to actually let me work hard for my money. I thought we had come to an agreement. I thought Cash meant it when he proclaimed his willingness to work with me, albeit on his terms. I was sure a kiss would suffice to get him motivated.

I was wrong.

Thank goodness I didn’t give in and sleep with him on the spot. I wanted to, and maybe, under different circumstances, my decision would have been a different one.

But as things stand, he’s too full of himself and in dire need of my help.

And help is the only thing he’s getting from me…for the time being.

At eight a.m. sharp, I tried knocking—or rather banging—on his bedroom door…to no avail. I tried calling his name, left a note on the kitchen counter.

Begging, pleading, demanding—nothing seems to do the trick.

All I can do now is wait—again—give him more time.

Minutes. Hours.

Time he doesn’t have.

I don’t want to say it, but his refusal to work with me is slowly making me frustrated. He’s still being difficult even though I’ve offered him the kind of reward that could make me lose my license.

I want him, but more than that I want him to succeed because I know he can. Unfortunately, Cash doesn’t share my confidence in his abilities.

“Maybe I’m approaching this the wrong way,” I mutter to my mirror image.

Maybe he’s wallowing in self-pity because too many people care, and he enjoys the attention.

A kiss seemed to motivate him for a little while. Maybe I could give him more as we go along until—

My breath hitches and heat rushes through my abdomen, gathering in that private spot that begs for his touch.

The thought of sleeping with him, just for the sake of it, is both scary and exciting. I don’t know if I should be shocked or appalled at the fact that I want him to the extent of putting professionalism aside, even though I should know better than that.

Clearly, I need to straighten my head before this job turns into a disaster.

As I change from my usual work attire into tight shorts and a tank top, I devise a new battle plan, one that involves calling Shannon.

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***

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Half an hour later, I leave my bedroom without my therapy gear, and instead of heading for the living room, I round the house and stroll straight for the open fields and the woods stretching out in the distance.

The broad gravel path crunches beneath my feet. Even though it’s barely eight a.m., the air’s already scorching hot and heavy with the scent of approaching summer. I take a few long breaths, marveling at the untouched beauty around me. There’s a fence in the distance right next to a huge barn. I head in the opposite direction. It’s at least a half-hour walk to the woods, but I have all the time in the world.

Lost in thought, I only hear the footsteps behind me when a tall figure appears right next to me. I jump a step back, and a startled yelp escapes my throat.

“Jeez, you scared the crap out of me.” Cupping a hand over my eyes, I look all the way up into the stranger’s face.

He looks just like Cash, maybe a couple of years younger. But the resemblance is striking—the same haunted, green eyes, the same dark hair, and straight nose. The only difference is that whoever the guy is, he’s sporting a smile rather than the scowl I’ve gotten used to seeing on Cash Boyd.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” The guy’s smile broadens, revealing two strings of perfect white teeth. “I’m Josh, Cash’s cousin. Mom sent me.”

“I’m Erin.”

“I know.”

We head up the path, keeping our stroll leisurely. “How do you know?”

“I know everyone around here.” Josh winks. “You’re the only new face I’ve seen in ages. But a very pretty one at that. Joking aside, we’ve already met at Cash’s birthday party.”

I narrow my eyes as my brain struggles to place him.

Now that he’s mentioned the party, I remember him faintly.

He was the guy who organized some of the stuff—can’t remember what it was exactly. There were so many faces, so many people wanting to talk to me, caring about Cash, that I probably wouldn’t remember half of them.

“It would be hard to forget someone like you. Want some company?” Josh asks.

“Sure.” The compliment is so obvious that I can’t help but laugh, and Josh joins in. “I wish everyone would be so happy to see my face.”

“You’re talking about my cousin,” Josh says. “Don’t worry about Cash. He can be like that. You don’t need the world to like you; it’s enough if the ones who matter in your life do.”

I nod. “It would still be nice, though. Did your mother tell you why I called?”

“Yes. And she asked me to bring you the blueprints.”

I want to say that I’ve been thinking about invading Cash’s privacy because my patients matter to me, but I refrain from it. For one, I don’t want to give off the impression that I need to justify my thoughts or actions. And then there’s also the fact that Josh seems quite the chatty type, so I should probably let him take the lead. I’m here to help Cash, but for that I need as much information as I can get from whichever source I can get my hands on.

“Take a look,” Josh prompts.

I peer at the oversized manila folder in his hand, suddenly unsure. This is wrong on so many levels, maybe even immoral, and definitely not right.

“I’m not really sure I need those. It was just a joke. I—” I brush my hair out of my eyes, realizing my sense of humor wasn’t taken as such. I’m already unwelcome in Cash’s house. I can’t help but wonder how he’d react if he realized I might have gone a step too far by looking at documents that are really none of my business.

“Cash has been disappearing on you? As his contractor I can’t tell you why, but I can have you glimpse at the layout of his house.” He winks. “Obviously, you didn’t get those from me.”

“That’s—”

“Invasion of privacy?” Josh shrugs. “Sure. But you see, he’s pulled the same stunt on everyone else. Someone needs to do something about it.” He passes me the documents. “And that someone’s going to be you. Just don’t mention I gave them to you.”

I peer at him sideways. “You said you’re his contractor?”

“That’s right. I inherited my dad’s construction business a few years ago.”

I fold the document and tuck it under my arm. “I’m sorry.”

Josh laughs. “He’s not dead, Erin. Just banging some woman other than my mom. One day he just up and left, leaving us behind. Rather than selling, I took over the business.”

I frown.

Josh is around my age.

“You must have taken on plenty of responsibility at a very young age.”

His face is focused on the path ahead, his expression unreadable. “Yes. But it wasn’t that hard. I’ve been living here my whole life. I had people who helped me just as I help the people around here as much as I can. It’s something we do.”

He turns to me briefly, and I notice the strange glint in his eyes. “Cash was one of those people. As soon as he heard that my dad abandoned us, he asked me to remodel his house even though I had no real work or management experience. The house didn’t even need a lick of paint. He said he wanted a change and claimed to have been planning to remodel it for a while, but I know better. He wanted to make sure people wouldn’t doubt my abilities, and the business wouldn’t tank. He helped with my finances and my business’s reputation, so I owe him a lot.”

I try to imagine the Cash I’ve known so far taking care of his family. It’s a strange image, but it’s not completely unfathomable. Maybe he’s not the jerk I’ve made him out to be.

“Anyway,” Josh continues. “Business is doing great, and I’m pretty sure Cash’s initial trust in me had a lot to do with it.”

I smirk. “Your cousin’s still one tough nut to crack.”

Josh catches my expression and laughs. “Cash is a lot of things, but agreeable isn’t one of them. He can be quite a pain.”

“Maybe.” I smile and look away. I might not be my new patient’s biggest fan, but I’m not one to badmouth him either. Josh seems to sense my unwillingness to gossip because he clears his throat, signaling a change in subject is imminent.

He looks at his watch and smirks. “Sorry. Work’s calling. Call me if you need anything else. Or drop by at work.”

I nod, and we say our goodbyes. Deciding to stay a little longer, I watch him as he returns the same way we came. Once Josh has disappeared from view, I resume walking, his thoughts staying with me.

It’s only after I’ve returned to the ranch that I pull out the blueprints to familiarize myself with the layout of Cash’s house.

When I called Shannon, I only wanted to know if she happened to know if Cash had a friend who sneaked him out of the house.

She claimed that he never left the house. And then she offered to send the blueprints.

I peer at the layout and laugh as I realize Cash is one sneaky SOB.

Well, two can play that game.