It's been a few days since Cayden woke up in my bed, and I haven't seen or heard from her since. She's all I've thought about since telling her I was in love with her, but she didn't say it back. That's okay though. I know all about her crazy hang-ups, and I'm willing to wait for her. However, I can't let too much time pass without seeing her, because she could slip through my grasp and fall right into the arms of that dipshit staying at her momma's house. I can't let that happen.
The storms that rolled in last night have finally begun to die down, and this is the perfect opportunity to spend some time with Cayden. She used to love going out on the four-wheelers after it rained. The girl cleans up beautifully, but she isn’t afraid to get dirty either. She's the prime example of a pure-hearted country girl; a hometown girl you want to take home, put a ring on her finger, and plan the next fifty years with. Fuck! I sound like a stereotypical country song when it comes to Cayden Fisher, but I can’t help it.
Snatching my keys off the bedroom dresser, I run quickly down the stairs and out the front door to the garage. My silver Tacoma sits with the four-wheeler already loaded in the back. I jump into the driver’s seat and start up my truck. It’ll only take about ten minutes to get to Cayden’s property going down the gravel roads. I change the song on the radio, turn the music up, and head straight to my girl.
Standing at Cayden's front door, I nervously tap my fingers against the dark denim of my Wrangler's. I don't know why the hell I'm so nervous. Maybe it’s because I haven't seen a hair on her head since I confessed my feelings? Maybe because I could’ve already lost her? Walking into the unknown is always terrifying.
Cydney opens the door. "Hey, Brody." She smiles kindly, but there is annoyance behind her eyes.
"Hey, Cyd. Is Cayden here?" My anxiety gets the best of me, especially her sister’s annoyance. Is this a lost cause? Feeling awkward for nothing more than being here, I nervously lift my baseball cap off my head and turn it backward to give my hands something to do.
"Cayd!" Cydney shouts through the house.
"What?" Cayden yells back.
"Brody's here." Cydney leaves me standing on the doorstep with the door open while she walks away. I always got along with Cydney and Callie, but this is definitely not the welcome wagon. I can only assume that since they are dating the friends of my competition, the sisters are rooting for him instead of me. I won’t give up that easily, and they won’t scare me off from my ultimate goal of getting the girl I love.
"Brody?" Cayden stares at me questioningly as she reaches the front door. "What're you doin' here?"
Grinning, I reply, "Now that the rain's gone, I figured it would be the perfect time to go four-wheelin'."
A slow smile starts to appear. "I'll go change. Come on in."
I follow her over the threshold, stopping when I get to the living room. She continues up the stairwell.
"Hey, Brody!" Callie gives me genuine smile and stands from her seat on the couch with a baby in her arms. She walks over and wraps one arm around me in a hug.
"Hey, Cal," I whisper in her ear, "At least someone is happy to see me 'round here." She lightly laughs but doesn't respond. Pulling back, I gaze down at the cutest little girl I have ever seen. Her little chubby cheeks and reddish-brown curls are adorable. She wrinkles her little button nose and bats her bluish-brown eyes. "Who's this?" The baby hides her face in Callie's neck.
"This is Raine, my boyfriend's daughter, but that's a long story. You haven't met the guys yet, have you?"
"Nope, I haven't." Not really sure I want to either, but I fake my enthusiasm. "Introduce me to the men that made the Fisher sisters honest women."
"Ha-ha, Brody." Callie rolls her eyes at my joke, and it makes me chuckle.
She points to the couch where she was just sitting. "This is my boyfriend, Dex Mitchell. Dex, this is Cayden's friend, Brody Masters."
He stands up from the couch and joins us, holding his hand out. "Nice to meet you, man."
I firmly shake his hand. "You too."
Callie then points to a guy sitting in a chair with Cydney on his lap. "That's, Maverick Taylor, Cyd's boyfriend.”
Neither of them bothers to stand, so I tip my head. "Nice to meet you."
"You too." Mav eyes me up and down.
I'm not small by any means, considering I bulked up for football, but these guys are bigger than me and have tattoos. The girls always did like the bad boy type, and these two ooze bad boy.
I hear footfalls on the stairs, not one set but two, and arguing voices.
Cayden huffs once she hops off the last step. She looks sexy as hell in her Daisy Duke jean shorts, white tank top, and brown cowboy boots. "Brody.” My name jerks my attention away from her body and up to her face. “I hope you don't mind, but Zac is coming with us." She rolls her eyes, probably due to the argument they were just having. My heart sinks that I won’t get to spend time with her alone. I need to come up with an excuse– and quickly–for him not to join us. "By the way, this is Zac Benson." She throws her thumb over her shoulder, and I finally notice the hulk of a man that steps out from behind her. I thought the other two were big in size, but they don't have shit on this one.
I keep my cool. "Hi. I'm Brody Masters." I hold my hand out. Our eyes stay glued to each other, ignoring every other person in the room. He takes my hand while glaring at me as if he wants to pound my face into the dirt. His grip is tight, but I refuse to appear to be a little bitch; therefore, I squeeze tighter. We go back and forth a few times. My hand is beginning to go numb, the blood flow has stopped.
Cayden clears her throat. "Are we going, or are you two gonna hold hands all day?" We quickly release our death grips on each other and follow her out of the house.
I hear in the background, from Mav I think, "This should be interesting."
They all begin to laugh. "I'm glad I'm not Cayden," Callie interjects.
Walking over to my truck, I drop the tailgate and the ramp to unload the four-wheeler. "I'm sorry. Everyone's going out today, and I felt bad that he would be here by himself, so I invited him. I hope you don't mind."
I'm disappointed, but I just sigh. "Nope. Whatever you want, but I only brought one four-wheeler, so—"
She interrupts me, "I'll get ours out of the barn." She takes off before I can even think of another excuse to prevent this douche from going.
By the time I have mine unloaded, she's back with her pink and black machine.
Cayden asks, "Zac, you wanna drive mine, and I'll ride with Brody?"
My eyes dart between the two of them. He's glaring until a glint shines and he rubs the back of his neck. He answers sheepishly, "Cayd, I don't know how to drive one."
Her brows pull down. "Oh, shit. Okay. I thought everybody in Georgia knew how to ride a four-wheeler." She laughs and continues, "Hop on the back with me."
Zac sits behind her with his hands resting on her hips. “I guess I’m the exception.” He guffaws.
Well played fucker. Well played.
He brings his scheming glare to meet mine, and I see exactly how full of shit he is, the tilt of his lips gives him away. Cayden’s wrong. He wants her just as much as I do, and he’ll do anything to keep her in his grasp.
Game on!
We run the acres of land on Cynthia's property, hitting every mud puddle we can find. All three of us laugh hysterically, temporarily forgetting our feud and just have some pure unadulterated fun. Muddy water splashes up onto our clothes to soak the material.
We've been riding for a while, but it's time to take a break. We bring the four-wheelers to a stop at a pond situated a good distance from the house.
"Oh my God! I've missed this," Cayden happily blurts while she’s still laughing.
"Yeah, it's been fun," Zac agrees.
Grinning like an idiot, I chime in, "It's good to be home."
Cayden is the first to get off her ride. She bends down, and when she straightens, I already know exactly what's coming. "Hey, Zac."
His drags his eyes from the pond to her. "Yeah?"
"You got somethin' on your face." Without him realizing what she’s up to, she smacks her hand against his cheek playfully, dragging her hand down, and leaving the side of his face covered in mud. Cayden and I bust out laughing at Zac's narrowed eyes.
"Paybacks a bitch, Cayd!" He hops off the four-wheeler, bends down, and grabs a handful of mud.
"No!" She screams and takes off running, still giggling. He throws the big glob of mud, it lands in her hair. "Zac!" She screeches.
"All's fair in love and war, baby. Don't mess with a baseball player who knows how to throw." He laughs and begins chasing after her.
I'm the last to join the game, but in no time at all, the three of us are chasing each other and mud is being flung in every direction.
Zac and I take turns catching Cayden, picking her up, and gently dropping her into the water. The last time Zac tries, he ends up falling down into the mud with her, his body covering hers as their eyes lock. It almost appears as if he's leaning in for a kiss. I need to do something to stop this.
"Last one in the pond has to..." I begin shouting, and it does the trick, breaking them apart. Both of them jump up, and we all run to the water.
Cayden's wrong about Zac. It's so fucking obvious to me that he wants her. But he doesn't just want her, he has feelings for her. It's in his eyes, the way he stares at her. Maybe she's too close to the situation to realize it, but I sure as hell won't be the one to tell her. She's never looked at me the way she does him; however, I'm not going to let that deter me from getting what I want.