Chapter 18
Come on Get Higher – Matt Nathanson
Cassidy
By the time we made it to the main house I was burning up. The weight and feel of Gunner’s arm around me made me hot. Not like I had a fever but a longing desire. It scared me to think he had that effect on me, but the feelings it evoked were exciting, too.
“In you go,” he said, opening the front door and stamping the snow from his boots. “Honey, we’re home!”
I paused to stamp my own boots and chuckled when I heard Wilder yell, “Your family don’t live here any longer, you need to leave.”
“He thinks he’s the funny one,” Gunner grumbled.
He was grinning, though, when I glanced at him, and it was clear he did think his brother was the funny one. When he moved to help me with my coat, my heart did a fly-by of my rib cage and added a loop-the-loop before landing back in my chest.
“Go into the lounge and get in front of the fire.” His voice was deep and raspy, like there was something stuck in his throat.
When I looked at him his eyes were darting around the foyer. Looking anywhere but at me. Taking off his own coat, he hung them both on the rack. His broad shoulders filled out his Henley to perfection. His ass in his jeans was even better.
“Cassidy.” I turned to see Lily in the doorway. “Looks like you’re staying overnight.”
“It does.” I glanced at Gunner who was hovering by the staircase, hooking his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “I hope you have some spare jammies for me.”
“I do and if not I’m sure one of the boys has a tee you can borrow.” She turned a mischievous grin on her brother-in-law. “You have one don’t you, Gun?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure I do.” He moved past me for the lounge, and I heard him whisper, ‘meddlesome woman’.
As he disappeared into the lounge to yells from Bertie and squeals from Billy, Lily sauntered my way.
“What’s happened?” she asked, tipping her head on one side and perusing me. Just like she did with the kids in her class when they were regaling her with some fantastic tale.
“Nothing’s happened.” I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
When I tried to walk past her she caught my hand. “Do not lie to me Cassidy Ann Turner.”
I burst out laughing. “Boy you get all country when you’re being nosey.”
“So?”
“We’ve been working on the camp. Calling about permits, getting costs for equipment. That’s it.”
Lily put a finger to her lips. “Hmm. You both look different. Shifty.”
“Shifty! What the hell does that mean? How do we look shifty?”
“Not bickering for one. Or calling each other names like my third graders.” She winked and then turned on her heels. “Come on in, get warm by the fire while I get dinner started.”
Then she disappeared leaving me wondering what made her think something had changed between Gunner and me.
The house had finally quieted. Nash and Lily had gone to bed hours ago, and Bertie had been tucked in with a story that Gunner insisted on reading to her despite her protests that she was too old for bedtime stories. As for me, I couldn’t sleep, so after what felt like hours of tossing and turning I found myself in the kitchen, standing by the window watching the relentless snowfall in the glow of the moonlight.
“Can’t sleep?” Gunner’s voice came from behind me, low and gravelly with tiredness.
I spun around, finding him in the doorway wearing flannel pajama pants and a worn gray t-shirt that clung to his shoulders. His hair was mussed, like he’d been running his hands through it.
“Too much on my mind,” I admitted, wrapping the borrowed cardigan, Lily’s, tighter around myself. “And I don’t usually need coffee to function, but I think I had too much today. It’s your fault for brewing such good java.”
He chuckled and moved toward the refrigerator, pulling out a carton of milk. “Hot chocolate helps. My mom used to make it whenever I couldn’t sleep.”
