It wasn’t a question, and he found he didn’t want it to be. A month ago, the idea of running errands with someone would seem unnecessary. Now, the thought of her not coming along felt wrong.
“Let me grab my boots.”
With the radio set to his mother’s favorite oldies station, the ride into town was quick, accompanied by the sound of Cassie humming to the hit tunes of yesteryear. Her voice was low and melodious and he found himself losing track of space and time until the striped red and white awning on Main Street announced that he had arrived at their destination.
He held the door for Cassie, and pointed to the right side of the hardware store. “If things haven’t moved around since I was last in here, the seeds should be near the back over there.”
Cassie nodded and easily made her way to the seed section.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise. Kade Sweet. What brings you in?”
Kade turned to the owner who had been an old man when Kade was a little boy. The guy had to have a portrait of himself up in the attic because he didn’t look any older than he had a couple of decades ago. “Just picking up some new auger bits. In the same place?”
The old guy nodded and pointed exactly where Kade had expected to go.
A teenage boy was restocking shelves at the end of the aisle. As Kade scanned the shelves for what he needed, something about the kid just a few feet away caught Kade’s attention. Not because of what he was doing, but how he was doing it. The kid moved with mechanical precision, like someone operating on autopilot, his face pale beneath a shock of dark hair. Deep circles shadowed his eyes—not the kind from staying up late playing video games, but the bone-deep exhaustion that came from working too many hours with too little sleep.
Returning his attention to the reason for his errand, he found the auger bits he needed and grabbed a few extra to be safe. Heading over to where Cassie was happily filling a small basket with packets of garden seeds, he took one last look at the kid and wondered what was his story. Was it just a kid out with his friends later than he should be, or was it something else? And when the heck did Kade become an expert on kids? “Find what you two wanted?”
Her head bobbed rapidly, reflecting the enthusiasm in her smile. “All of it, and I thought a few of these flowers might be nice too. I remember reading that marigolds and petunias help deter pests.”
“Great idea. Mom will love it.”
Pushing to her feet, her gaze stopped at the kid now adjusting items on this aisle. She seemed to study him more thoroughly than he had. The narrow ridge between her brows told him she didn’t like what she’d seen any more than he had. Heaving a sigh, she turned to Kade and lifted the basket. “Ready when you are.”
The line at the counter was short so it didn’t take long for the owner to get to him. “Find everything you need?”
“Yes, sir.” Kade stood at Cassie’s side as the old guy rang each item up on the ancient push-button register with the speed of a sickly snail. His gaze returning to the kid in yet another aisle, Kade had to ask, “Who’s the kid working over there?”
“Jacob? That’s Hal and Linda’s boy. Hard worker. Wish all teens had his work ethic.”
“Know what you mean.” Kade flashed a smile and accepted the brown paper bag. “Thanks.”
On the street, Cassie walked beside him to the truck, her stride keeping pace with his. “You saw it too.”
“Saw it?”
“That kid, Jacob, looked exhausted. Too exhausted for a young boy. Think maybe he works on a ranch and he’s just tired from working at the crack of dawn, going to school, then working here afterwards?”
Kade shrugged. “Could be, or he could just be doing whatever it is today’s kids like doing when their parents think they’re tucked nice and safely in bed.”
“Oh,” she smiled, “I smell a story. What did young Kade do when his parents thought he was sleeping soundly in bed?”
His grin widened to match hers. “That, my dear lady, is for me to know and you to never find out.”
She roared with laughter as she climbed into the truck. He really did love that laugh.
Dinner had been another loud, chaotic, and wonderful affair. Cassidy found herself not just observing the family dynamic anymore, but participating in it. She’d laughed at Garret’s story about a disastrous high school science fair project and found herself defending Kade when Jillian teased him about his questionable taste in music as a teenager. By the time Alicedeclared it was time for dessert on the back porch, Cassidy felt a sense of belonging so profound it was almost frightening.
Now, she sat in one of the old wooden rockers, a slice of apple pie on her lap, listening to the easy rhythm of the family’s conversation. The sun had long since set, leaving the sky a deep, velvety black, scattered with a brilliant spray of stars. The air was cool and clean, carrying the sound of distant, gentle lowing of cattle.
One by one, the other couples began to drift away. Once again the mantra early to bed early to rise was more than lip service on a ranch. Now, it was just her and Kade left on the sprawling porch, the comfortable silence settling around them like a warm blanket.
Leaning against the porch railing, his back was to her, his gaze fixed on the star-dusted horizon. The easy camaraderie of the dinner table had faded, replaced by a quiet, thoughtful stillness that she was beginning to recognize.
“You’re thinking again.” She set her empty plate aside.
He didn’t turn, but she saw his shoulders relax slightly. “Just enjoying the quiet.”
