THIRTY-ONE
“All right, Sweetie,” Lark said with a sigh. She had just reached the front porch of the house, and she set the little dog on her feet. “Let’s go see what Cash is doing.” She expected the cowboy to be awake, though she’d arrived hours earlier than she’d told him she’d be there.
Lark had spent the last two days working nonstop, going through her apartment, gathering all of her belongings, getting all of her clothes back, and packing everything she owned. Though her SUV was one of the smaller ones, she’d managed to get everything inside, with the help of Sylvie and Caleb and another roommate, Ella.
Now she just needed to get it all unloaded and unpacked, and that fact had her heart quaking. She knew Cash needed to be out at Cousins Creek later that day, and in her mind, they could get her car unloaded, she could work on unpacking, and then go with him.
Of course, Lark knew she needed to be a little bit flexible, especially since Cash believed she was showing up with a couple of suitcases and a medium-rare steak from his favorite steakhouse in Jackson Hole.
Sweetie perched on the stoop, waiting for Lark to open the door, which she finally did. “All right, go find him,” she cooed at her Yorkie. Sweetie went scampering into the house, and Lark followed her with only her purse on her arm.
“Howdy, Sweetie,” she heard Cash say from further inside. “What are you doing here already?” She made it down the hall and into the kitchen to find Cash had picked up her little dog and was rubbing her with his big hands.
Sweetie panted and nipped his fingers in pure bliss, and Lark knew the feeling. Their eyes met. “You’re early,” he said, at the same time she said, “I’m early.”
That made him smile. He advanced toward her easily, hooking her with one of his arms while still holding Sweetie in the other.
“Horses alive, it isgoodto see you.” His voice carried relief and passion in equal measure, and Lark tilted her head back to receive his kiss. And oh, he could kiss her.
Her emotions existed on the precipice of a tall mountain, and Cash pulled away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head and put a smile on her face. “Now that I’m here with you, absolutely nothing.”
He blinked at her, a wisp of surprise in those dark eyes. “Do you need help bringing stuff in?”
“Oh, I need help bringing stuff in,” she said.
He stepped back and put Sweetie on the ground. “Well, let’s do it.” He started toward the front door without shoes, and Lark reached out and grabbed his hand. “Cash.”
He turned back to her, taking her other hand in his. “I think you’ve gotten prettier,” he said. “Maybe it’s just how much I’ve missed you.”
Lark looked up, pure happiness moving through her. She loved the way Cash could articulate his thoughts and feelings, and she wished she could do the same.
“I think you’re going to need shoes,” she said. “And maybe a jacket. It’s really cold out there today.”
“Yeah, but I got the snow cleared yesterday,” he said. “And it’s not supposed to storm again until Tuesday.”
She looked up at him, wishing he could simply see inside her mind and realize he needed to put shoes on. “Cash, baby.” She reached up and ran her fingertips around the collar of his T-shirt. “You’re going to take more than one trip, and I really think you need shoes and a jacket.”
“How much stuff did you bring?” he asked. She looked up and found the cute confusion between his eyes.
“Everything I own,” she said seriously. “Because I’m not going back to Idaho.”
The breath fell out of Cash’s mouth in a soft grunt.
Lark’s pulse raced and the words piled on top of one another to get out of her mouth now. “I just decided on Wednesday,” she said. “I’ve spent the last couple of days scouring the apartment and doing my cleaning assignments, canceling my classes, and applying for a tuition refund.”
“Can—can you even do that?” She had never heard Cash stutter before, and that was how she knew she’d truly surprised him.
“Yeah, of course,” she said. “It’s just some paperwork. I made sure the Agricultural Sciences Department knew where to send my last check, and well, me and my roommates packed up everything I owned last night, and all I had to do this morning was strip my bed and wipe down the bathroom before I left.”
She swallowed and wished he would wipe that stunned look from his face. “And now I’m home,” she said. “And I’m not going back.”
Cash released her hands and turned. “I’ll get my shoes.”
His voice held no emotion, and Lark hated that more than anything. Cash had always been a man who lived life right onthe edge, with the volume turned all the way up, and to hear him speak in such a monotone and watch him turn his back on her and walk away did not instill a lot of confidence in Lark’s heart.
“I thought he’d be happy,” she whispered to herself, her eyes dropping to where Sweetie had laid down on the edge of the carpet. “And I still have to tell Momma and Daddy,” she said to the little dog.
