“I suppose we’ll have to set you two up. You certainly can’t spend your honeymoon in his old room.”
“Mom,” he practically groaned.
“What?” His mother stopped short and spun around to face Kade. “This is your honeymoon. I mean, how long have you been married—two days?”
And so the questions were about to begin. “We were married day before yesterday,” Kade volunteered before Cassidy could.
His mom bobbed her head, seemed to relax. “Yes, well, I’ll talk to Jillian, see how long…”
“No need.” Jillian came in the back door. “Blake and I are moving the last of our things over to the new house.” Casually, she strolled over to her brother and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then turned to face her new sister-in-law. “Welcome.” Then so no one could see, she mouthed, “Thank you.”
And now the true rapid fire of questions began. Placing two tall glasses of tea on the table, his mom gestured for everyone to take a seat. “So, how did you two meet?”
To her credit, Cassidy smiled sweetly. “Kade rescued me.”
Alice froze mid motion.
“From a drunk.”
Now his mom blinked, her gaze narrowed in confusion.
“I’m—I mean, I was a dealer at a casino. This one drunk was losing and getting rather…obnoxious. When he grabbed my hand, your son intervened.” He had no idea if she was truly that grateful or one hell of an actress, but she turned to level her gaze with his that actually had Jillian sighing.
“Okay.” His mother smiled. “My son played knight in shining armor.”
Blushing, Cassie nodded. “Since he only had one day in town, and I was off shift, it seemed that the least I could do was show him around town.”
More questions came at them as more siblings came through the door, each trying rather unsuccessfully to deflect their mother. By sticking to the truth, it was pretty easy to get through the inquisition, but Kade noticed Cassidy’s smile becoming just a fraction tighter with each inquiry.
The corners of Alice Sweet’s mouth curled into a huge grin. “So what you’re telling me is that this was love at first sight.”
“Really, Mom,” Rachel interrupted while Kade and Cassie once again glanced at each other, not wanting to lie, but needing to keep up the charade.
On a deep sigh, Alice’s smile slipped. “At least tell me if it was a nice wedding?”
Pushing to his feet, he looked to his mother. “You know how much you love Elvis Presley music?”
His mom nodded.
“Well, then you would have loved the ceremony. Now, if it’s okay with you, I thought I’d take Cassidy to the barn, show her what she’s getting into.”
His teasing tone had his mother grinning even wider. “Of course. Dinner won’t be ready for a bit more. Take your time.”
He led her out the back door, the screen door slapping shut behind them. Cassidy hesitated beside him, her gaze sweeping over the sprawling landscape, over the horses roaming in the paddock, the cows and their new offspring grazing in the distance. Sheer reverence and awe shone in her eyes.
“Ever seen a cow before?”
Her head shifted left then right. “Only in pictures. Same with horses.”
“Hey,” Preston called from just outside the barn, walking briskly to catch up to them. “Sorry. I really wanted to be back at the house before you got here to help run interference with Mom. But we had a mare reject her foal and I’ve beenscrambling.” He came to a stop in front of Cassidy. “Welcome to the family, and thank you.”
Her one brow lifted but nodding slightly all she said was “thankyou.”
Preston turned to face him. “How did Mom take it?”
“Better than I thought. Though, I suspect the questions are going to get tougher before they get easier.”
“Agreed. We’ll help where we can. As we’ve done with the rest of us, you two will have the master. King bed makes the charade a little easier to handle.” His gaze drifted to Cassidy and back to Kade. “That is unless true congratulations are in order?”
