She merely shook her head and smiled. She really did love hanging out with this man. Her own words caught her off guard. Love. Probably too strong a word—then again, people loved pizza and horseback riding and no one said that would be too strong a word.
“Something wrong?” Carrying the sawhorse in his arms, he paused mid step. “You look like you swallowed a bug.”
“No bugs.” Though she reflexively swiped at her mouth. “My mind was just wandering.” Forcing herself to smile, she backed up a step and grinned. “Bet you can’t beat me to the shower!” Turning on her heels, she took off at a fast clip, laughing as he muttered, “no fair” after her.
By the time he’d finished putting their makeshift shooting range away and made it upstairs to their room, she was already coming out of the bathroom, freshly clean and neatly dressed.
“You seriously don’t play fair,” he teased, ripping his shirt off and tossing it in the corner. “Just so you know, I will get even.”
And didn’t that just make her want to grin even wider. Kade Sweet certainly knew how to keep a woman on her toes. She liked that—a lot.
“Give me five minutes and we’ll go down together.”
“Only five minutes?”
Kade shrugged. “I’m in the army. There’s no such thing as a long hot shower.”
“Got it.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed, brushing her hair, checking her watch. She had her doubts about that five minutes.
In exactly four minutes and twenty seconds, the bathroom door opened and Kade stood on the other side, hair still damp, fully clothed, and ready to face his family.
“I’m impressed.” Lips pressed tightly together, head cocked to one side, she nodded at him. “Very impressed.”
“Come on, wife.” He reached for her hand and they walked down the hall and down the stairs. Walking around the house from time to time holding hands, assuming that’s what newlyweds would be prone to do, had become second nature to them. It was comfortable.
What had her almost stumbling with surprise was the title wife. He’d not said that before. Unless you counted the wedding ceremony, she didn’t clearly remember.
“There you two are.” His mom beamed from where she stood in the kitchen. “Now that we’re all here, I have the table set in the dining room.”
One by one his siblings and their spouses pushed to their feet, crossed the room, and followed Alice into the massive dining room. When Cassidy and Kade reached the doorway, he stopped short and her head snapped up to see what was going on.
Standing at the end of the table, Alice smiled wider than before, her arm gesturing widely to the centerpiece. A tall, cream-colored cake with a bride and groom topper. “Happy seven-day anniversary!”
Aw, hell. Her fingers tightened around his. If Alice went all out for one week, what would she do for one month, or one year? And then guilt churned in her stomach—or when that year came and ended.
“Close your mouths,” Alice chuckled. “You’ll catch flies. It’s not the same as a real reception, but it will have to do.”
Cassie glanced up at Kade and caught him looking at her. His eyes held the same surprise laced with guilt that she felt. Forcing herself to smile and play the delighted newlywed, she tried not to think about how awful she was going to feel in three hundred and fifty-eight days.
Chapter Eleven
Some mornings were better spent staying in bed. The angry shriek of metal on rock, followed by a sharp crack and a sudden, grinding halt, was a sound Kade knew all too well. He cut the power to the post-hole digger and swore under his breath. He and Clint had been at it since dawn, replacing a section of rotted fence posts in the rocky north pasture, and they’d just hit their third major snag of the morning.
Clint pulled the auger from the hole. The bit was mangled, a twisted piece of useless steel. “Well,” Clint said, his voice a dry, dusty rasp, “that was the last spare.”
Kade kicked at a loose rock in frustration. “Of course it was.” He pulled off his work gloves and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. “All right, I’ll head into town.”
The walk back to the house was a long, thoughtful one. Except for the irritation of the bit breaking, the last few days had been pleasant and downright peaceful. He and Cassie had fallen into a comfortable routine. Every so often, he almost forgot this marriage was legal but a pretense just the same. Mostly he was reminded at night, after their bedtime ritual, each of them hugging their side of the bed, the need to draw her close and spoon with her had become almost irresistible. It was probably a good thing that he’d be going on temporary duty soon.
Grabbing truck keys from the hook by the back door, Kade stepped fully into the kitchen. “Need anything from town?”
Cassie looked up from where she sat at the table with his mom sorting through seed catalogs.
“Perfect timing.” His mom clasped her hands together. “We’ve picked out some seeds. It’s been a while since we did a vegetable garden. I think Cassie here was just the motivation I needed to start up again.”
“I’ll need a list.” His gaze shifted from his mother to Cassie. “Unless…”
Before he could finish his sentence, she was on her feet. “I’ll come with you.”
