From Ashes (30 page)

Connor continued like we hadn’t been talking. “And
yeah,
I care about her that much that I’d fly to Texas to make sure she’s all right. As for kissing her and asking her not to go? I’ll remind you she kissed me back, and that promise? She willingly made it, and since you seem to have forgotten this as well, added her own part to it.”

“Nah, man, it’s kinda seared into my brain. I know what she told you. And I know at the end she told you not to wait for her because she was coming back to me. That should have been the last thing she needed to say to you. All this other bullshit is completely unnecessary. Now I’ll ask you nicely one more time. Get. Off. My. Property.”

Mama’s voice got a little higher. “Gage Michael Carson.”

“When you stop talking for Cassidy and treating her like a damn child, and when she asks me to go, then I’ll go.”

I opened my mouth but slammed it shut as Cassidy stepped around me and started walking up to him. Connor’s hands immediately went up to reach out for her hips but Cassidy stopped and took one large step back, shaking her head slowly back and forth. I should have been happy that she stepped back before his hands could land on her, but the way they’d automatically gone out to her, like he hadn’t even thought about reaching for her, it’d just happened, was like another punch straight to my chest. Without looking back at me, she reached one hand back and linked it with mine, then dragged me with her as she walked forward, pushing Connor toward the cars.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed at him as he continued to walk backward, toward his rental.

His face fell. “Cassidy, I had to know. I had to make sure you were okay.”

“Of course I’m okay! I’m with Gage!”

“Cass, he can’t just make you stop talking to me.”

“You’re right, Connor, he can’t,” she said, shocking the hell out of me. “But he doesn’t
want
me talking to you, so I’m not going to. I meant every word I said to you in California, and I told Gage that too. Connor, I am in love with Gage. He is my everything; don’t you understand that? If he doesn’t want me talking to you because I allowed you to kiss me, because I kissed you back, and because I think of you in ways that I definitely shouldn’t . . . then I have to respect that. And so do you.” She turned her body into mine and let her free hand flail through the air when she continued. “Or don’t, but at least respect me and my decisions. You knew I was coming back to Gage, and you knew when I left your apartment that I wouldn’t be coming back to you. I’m sorry if this isn’t what you want, Connor, but don’t make this into the huge, dramatic scene that it doesn’t need to be. Or more of one, anyway. I already told Gage about you, and he was the only one who needed to know; now I need to unnecessarily explain you to his family.”

“Cassidy—”

“Go home, Connor, you made this into a bigger mess and now I need to clean it up. Just go home.”

He stepped right up to her and cupped her cheek with his hand; my body froze before it started shaking. My free hand was already balled into a fist, but I forced myself to remain silent and still to see what she would do.

“Cass, I
need
you.”

“And I need Gage,” she said softly, and removed his hand while trying to force herself even closer to me, so I grabbed her and took a step away from him. “It will always be Gage for me.
Please,
Connor . . . go home.”

I watched as his completely broken face studied her, then turned to me and hardened up into an impressive glare. He wasn’t lying; he really cared for Cassidy. Connor didn’t seem like the kind of guy to back down from anyone, but as soon as Cassidy started telling him how it was going to be, he’d all but crumbled. With one last pained glance at Cass, he got into the Charger and drove away.

Cassidy relaxed as soon as he was off the ranch and her forehead hit my chest. “Gage, I had no idea. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything. I’m sorry for California, I’m sorry for kissing him, I’m sorry for leaving you.” Her chest was heaving up and down quickly and I ran my hands over her back to calm her.

“Darlin’, it’s fine. He’s gone and from the look on his face I don’t think he’s coming back. Are you all right? You looked terrified, Cassidy, did he say something to you?”

“No, but all I could think about was how mad you were going to be. I was afraid you’d think I’d wanted him here or that I’d be happy to see him.”

“And were you?” I asked tightly.

“No! Seeing him here . . . realizing how bad I messed things up and how he could ruin them, God, Gage, I was terrified I was going to lose you.” Her body started shaking and she made a choking sound. “I’m so sorry.” She burst into tears and her knees buckled.

I easily lifted her into my arms and held her tight, letting her cry as long as she needed. Ever since the letter from her mom she’d been more emotional, but I didn’t mind. I loved that she was now open enough that she would easily share this with me too. “C’mon, sweetheart, let’s get you inside.”

She quickly shook her head and wiped at her cheeks and under her eyes. “No, you and Ty were going into town, and now I have to tell your mom and Amanda about Connor. I’d rather not have to see how I broke your heart again.”

“Darlin’, I’m not leaving you when you’re upset like this.”

“I’m fine, Gage, really. I just hate that I put you through that. Go run your errand. I’ll tell them and we’ll have dinner ready when you get back.”

“Cass—”

Her lips pressed to mine for long seconds, and without removing them she whispered, “Go, babe. I’m not running anywhere, I promise. This is my home—
you
are my home. I’m not leaving. Run your errand, I’ll be waiting here for you.”

My entire body relaxed at her words. “Be back soon, all right?”

“Be safe.”

Chapter Eighteen

C
ASSIDY

I
FELT SOMETHING
warm against my neck and smiled, thinking Gage had come for his morning hug. But then it felt like a weight on my throat and it was cutting off my air supply; at the same time I felt hot breath and tiny kisses cover my chin, cheeks, nose, and mouth. My eyes flashed open to see a sun-filled room and two tiny crystal-blue eyes directly above mine before a black nose plunged toward my eye and my face was covered in tons of little puppy kisses again. I reached up to pick the fluffy puppy off my neck and looked at the most precious face I’d ever seen. White muzzle and forehead, double mask of light gray with black spots and a couple brown splashes.

“Hi, precious,” I whispered, and giggled when I was rewarded with more kisses on my nose and cheeks.

“You like her?” a deep, gravelly voice asked from the side of the bed.

I turned my head and smiled brightly. “Like her? I love her! Is she ours?”

Gage nodded and reached over to scratch behind her ears; she instantly turned and started licking and nipping at his wrist. “She’s an Australian shepherd. If you want another kind of dog, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

“No, she’s perfect! Oh, Gage, thank you so much!” I brought the little ball of fluff to my face and cuddled against her, enjoying her puppy breath. My fingers hit a collar and I pulled her away so I could look at it. Turning it around, my smile widened when I saw the hot-pink color. I would have paid to see Gage buying girly stuff. “Did you name her?” I asked, but where I expected to see a name tag, there was a large white bow instead, and dangling off one of the loops was the biggest diamond solitaire I’d ever seen.

I inhaled sharply and froze, unable to do anything but stare and hold on to the wiggling puppy. Gage sat on the bed near my hip and took the puppy from my hands. Holding her up and keeping her facing me, he gently untied the bow until he could slide the ring off. I looked up long enough to see his green eyes staring at me and his dimples showing his excitement, before looking back down at his hands. The puppy had started chewing on the untied ribbon, but when Gage grabbed my left hand and slowly slid the solitaire onto my ring finger, she started following his hands, licking all the way.

Gage and I laughed softly once, our hands both going to pet her, but always remaining in contact as we looked back at each other. His free hand came up and brushed some hair from my face and held it there as he leaned in until our foreheads were touching.

“Will you marry me, Cassidy?”

“Yes!” I cried, and pressed my lips firmly to his, which were failing at fighting a smile.

The puppy yelped playfully and wiggled her way in between our chests until she felt like she was the center of attention again.

“Then I just need to know one more thing, darlin’.” Gage pulled the pup to the side of our bodies and laid us down. “When can I marry you?”

“Whenever you want,” I answered breathlessly when his lips left mine.

“Right now.”

“Have to give me at least a few months.”

“Few months?” He leaned back slightly and pulled the puppy back to the side when she tried to crawl between us again. “Tell me honestly, Cassidy, are you saying that because you want time before we get married, or you want time to plan?”

“
Need
time to plan.”

Gage smiled and kissed me thoroughly. “Then no way am I giving you a few months. Few weeks.”

“Weeks? Gage, I can’t plan a wedding that fast.”

“Darlin’, I’m not gonna spend the next few months living in our house without you. I’m not gonna spend the next few months waiting to start our life together.” He leaned up so he was resting on his elbows on either side of my head. “Cassidy, I’ve wanted nothing but to marry you since I first saw you hop out of Tyler’s Jeep nearly two years ago. We have the rest of our lives to be together, yeah, but we’ve already spent too much time apart.”

I smiled softly and ran my hands through his thick black hair. “Weeks.” I nodded and then shook my head. “As soon as possible.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, and brought his face back to mine.

“I told y’all no hanky-panky until you marry that girl, Gage! I just knew you were sneakin’ in here. You are just like your daddy . . .” Her voice trailed off when Gage, who still hadn’t stopped kissing me, took my left hand away from his head and lifted it so the ring was facing Tessa. “Oh my God!” I heard Tessa’s footsteps quickly leave as she called for her husband.

Gage smiled against my lips and took my raised hand and brought it above my head, pinning it down onto the pillow.

“And, Gage!” she said, suddenly back in the room. “Get your butt off her and out of that bed this instant!” Gage groaned but only separated far enough to look into my eyes.

“Ma?”

“Nu-uh! I told you no funny business.”

“As soon as possible, Ma.”

“What’d you say?” She walked over to us and grabbed the back of his shirt and began pulling, only stopping when our little ball of fluff jumped onto Gage’s back and yelped playfully at her. “A puppy? Oh, son, I knew I raised you right.”

I laughed and grabbed the puppy so Gage could get off the bed, letting his mom feel like she was able to pull him.

“You’re gonna be mine, Cassidy,” he said with the widest smile I’d ever seen on his face.

I bit my lip and nodded. “As soon as possible, baby.”

“As soon as possible,” he agreed, and laughed out loud when his mom smacked his head twice for being in bed with an unmarried girl, at the same time that she screamed downstairs to Amanda that we had a wedding to plan, and then told Gage how happy she was that he hadn’t wasted any more time.

When they got to the door, he grabbed the frame and turned to wink at me before he let her pull him out, and I about melted. The puppy wiggled out of my arms, and, after a few seconds of looking a little unsurely at the ground, she took a step off the bed and half fell, half jumped to the ground. Her paws slid in place as she tried to take off running toward the door before she got traction. By the time she got to the door, Tyler was there and scooped her up.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he called, and nuzzled the pup. “Hey, Li’l Bit.”

“Gaming systems, huh, Ty?”

He smiled and kissed my forehead as he sat down next to me. “Had to think of something quick. Let me see it on you.”

I held out my hand and rested my head on his shoulder as we both studied it. I couldn’t stop smiling and my heart had been pounding since I’d seen my beautiful ring hanging from the ribbon. “I think it’s perfect,” I whispered.

“That’s what he said too.” The ring fell to the left from the weight of the rock and we both laughed. “I think it’s too big.”

“Nope.” I let the word pop out of my mouth and took my puppy from Ty’s arms. “The whole thing was perfect.”

“I’m glad you’re happy, Cassi.”

“Me too,” I breathed, and kissed the pup’s wet nose. “Hey, Ty, can I ask you something? It’s not really conventional, and you might be offended by it . . .” I trailed off as I realized how awkward it might be for him.

“Offended? Oh hell, you have to ask now!” He turned so I could see the wicked glint in his brown eyes.

“Not like that! This is something serious.”

“All right, all right. I’m serious, but I get to hold Li’l Bit.”

I rolled my eyes and vowed to name the puppy as soon as I handed her back over. “All right, well, I have actually been thinking about this a lot this week. I like your dad a lot, Ty, you know that, but I don’t have a connection with him like I do you and your mom.”

His eyebrows drew down in confusion. “Yeah . . . ?”

“I could always walk down the aisle by myself if this makes you uncomfortable, but I was wondering . . . will you give me away?”

Tyler sat there quietly for a moment. “Never thought I’d be on this side of things, Cassi—”

“Okay, then we don’t have to do that—it’s all right.”

“You gonna let me finish, sweetheart? I always thought one day you’d see things the way I always have, but you found that in Gage. I know I’ve been a real dick, Cass, but I
am
happy for you guys. You know, you think your question is weird, but Gage asked for my permission to marry you.”

I raised my head up to look at him. “He did?”

“Yep, and I didn’t even have to think about my answer. I’ve been taking care of you for most of our lives, and there’s no one I’d trust with you more than him. I would never let you walk down the aisle alone, and since your dad can’t be here, I’m glad you asked me to be the one to give you to him.”

“Thanks, Ty, you don’t know how much this means to me.” I sighed happily and caught the puppy with a grunt when she jumped from Ty’s arms onto my stomach. “I know things got weird for us, but everything feels like it’s back to how it should be; it feels perfect.”

“You know I’ll always love you most,” he said a little loudly, and before I could question his increase in volume, Gage came back into the room and I understood.

“Well, I don’t know about that.” He smirked and sauntered over to the side of the bed, leaned over, and kissed me softly before grabbing the puppy. It was still so weird to have Tyler not say anything when Gage kissed me in front of him. “You name her yet?”

“Li’l Bit,” Tyler said immediately.

I rolled my eyes. “Sky.”

“Sky?” Gage asked with a smile, and I nodded. “All right, Sky it is. I’m gonna take her out, and the girls are waiting downstairs for you, darlin’. I’m warning you. You thought a few weeks wasn’t possible; just wait until they start plannin’. They’re unstoppable until everything’s done.”

“As soon as possible,” I whispered.

“As soon as possible,” he agreed, and pulled me out of the bed with one hand, keeping Sky in his other arm, and led us downstairs.

Gage hadn’t been lying: there wasn’t any cooked food sitting around, and there wasn’t any food being cooked; they were
that
serious. Tessa, Amanda, and Nikki were huddled around the kitchen island with a pad of paper. Each had a pen in hand and was jotting things down as they talked chattily.

Emily looked up from where she was sitting near Amanda’s side on the island and squealed, “Puppy!”

The rest of the girls looked up and started demanding to see the ring. Gage pushed me toward them as he took Emily’s hand and led her outside with Sky. After fawning over my ring, they shoved the pad of paper in front of me and all started talking at once. All I caught were the words,
how soon,
colors,
and
in the barn.

“Wait, I’m sorry, did you say
in
the barn? Like have the wedding in the barn?” They had a massive barn, and Amanda had told me about the dances and numerous parties they’d had in that barn. Granted, I’d never been inside it, but a wedding in there? Um . . . What?

“No, darlin’ girl.” Tessa laughed, and I relaxed. “The reception will be in there.”

Oh. Just as weird.

I must not have been very good at hiding my thoughts that early in the morning, because Tessa and Amanda laughed even harder. “Trust us, Cassidy, it’s not gonna be some hick wedding; you’ll be amazed what we can do with that barn. Not too far from the barn is a perfect spot for a wedding though; I’ve always thought that!” Tessa went on and started sketching the trees that formed an arch and the field between it and the barn, explaining where chairs and such would go for the ceremony. “How many people will be coming?” she asked suddenly, and my mouth opened, then shut.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. From Stacey, I knew all about the issues of having too many people to invite, but I had hardly anyone. I had the Bradleys, who were Gage’s family; Jackie and Dana, whom I’d met because they were dating Gage’s best friends . . . The only people who were solely mine to invite were Jesse and Isabella—hell, even they were technically linked to his family now—and Lori and Stacey.

“Okay, well how many people in the wedding party?”

I glanced at Amanda, then back to Tessa. “I don’t know.”

Thankfully Gage came back in then and Tessa asked him the same question. “Uh . . . Ty, Ethan, and Adam.”

Tessa looked back at me and leaned forward to ask quietly, “Do you have three girls you’d want in the wedding?” She finally understood my sudden awkwardness.

“Amanda, Jackie, and Dana.” I looked back to Amanda. “Will you be my maid of honor?”

“Oh my God, really?!” she screeched, and threw her arms around my neck. “Thanks, Cass! Okay, what about colors?”

“Green,” I said at the same time Gage said, “Gold.”

I turned to him with a confused look and he pointed to my eyes. My stomach warmed and I kissed his lips quickly. “Green on the guys, gold on the girls.”

Gage smiled widely and cupped my cheeks to deepen our next kiss. “Gotta get some work done, darlin’, have fun. Ma—”

“I know, I know!” Tessa said somewhat distractedly. “As soon as possible!”

As soon as Gage slipped out the door, the wedding planning took off.

G
AGE

I
WALKED INTO
my old room, where Cassidy was now staying until she moved into the house with me, and my heart stopped before kicking into overdrive. Cassidy was curled up on top of the comforter with her phone in one hand, that hand resting on a notebook with a list of names, all of which had checks and numbers next to them. I looked at the floor and picked the pen up; put it, her phone, and the notebook on the nightstand; and turned to look at her again. Her hand was still out like it had been when she was holding her phone, and the other was curled around a sleeping Sky. Deciding to let them be, I kissed Cassidy’s forehead and turned to leave.

“Gage?” Her voice was husky from her nap, and damn if the sound didn’t shoot straight through me.

“Hey, sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay.” She patted the bed behind her and I carefully climbed in so I wouldn’t wake Sky. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Y’all get a lot done today?”

“Oh my word, like you wouldn’t believe. You weren’t lying; your mom has connections any wedding planner would kill for.”