“Looks cozy,” Wade said, and Lark’s face burned as hot as the water, even as Cash rose from the steamy hot tub like the cowboy god he was.
“You guys made it.” He grabbed Jet and hugged him.
“Dude, you’re all wet,” Jet said, his voice laced with disgust as he jumped back from Cash.
“Yeah, let’s go inside,” Cash said.
He bent to get his towel out of the warmer as Wade asked, “Why are you sitting in the hot tub with our sister?”
But Cash simply danced back into the house, silent.
Lark stayed right where she was, pretending to be a feline and thinking perhaps if she didn’t move, her brothers wouldn’t be able to see her.
So much for Jet and Wade not needing to know anything, and Lark being the one to tell them to mind their own business.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Cash had never felt as naked as he did standing there with Wade and Jet, the blue fluffy towel around his waist. He’d dried off with the weight of his buddies’ eyes on him as he scrubbed through his hair and wiped every drop from his shoulders.
“I saved dinner for you,” he said, deliberately keeping the noun singular. “You guys got here faster than I thought you would.”
The scraping of a barstool along the hardwood floor filled the kitchen, and then Jet sighed as he sat down. “The pilot made up time in the air,” he said.
“And you obviously didn’t have a problem getting your rental car.” Cash opened the fridge and pulled out the individual containers of meatballs and potatoes that he and Lark had proportioned for her brothers. He popped the venting spout on the first one and tapped the button to open the microwave. With that rotating around and getting hot, he finally faced the McClellan brothers.
A smile filled his face, though he still had no idea how to tell them about his feelings for Lark. She wouldn’t be able to stayout in the hot tub forever, and she didn’t have her phone, so he couldn’t text her when the coast was clear.
“Yeah, it was real easy,” Wade said, joining Cash in the kitchen. He opened the fridge and peered inside.
“Have anything you want,” Cash said.
“I emailed them my driver’s license.” Wade bent and pulled out a can of Diet Coke. “And they sent me back a locker number with a PIN.”
“Finding the bank of lockers was the hardest part,” Jet said.
“Yeah, but once we got it open, I had everything we needed, and getting to the car was real easy too.”
“Good,” Cash said. “I know that’s a new system, so I’m glad it worked.”
“It’ll be nice to have a car,” Wade said.
Jet scoffed. “Yeah, because you want to go see Theresa.”
Wade popped open his soda, the snap-hiss of it filling the space between the three of them.
“Theresa, huh?” Cash asked, turning his attention to Wade. Anything to keep the spotlight off him.
“They’ve been texting,” Jet said. “But I don’t get it. She teaches elementary school here, bro, and we have a ranch in Texas.”
“They need teachers in Texas too,” Wade drawled.
“So you think you’re gonna start something with her in the next three days?” Jet asked, and Cash felt like he was watching a tennis match, with the conversation simply flying back and forth between the brothers.
“We’re going to be here forfivedays,” Wade said. He took a long drink of his cola and focused on Cash. “When did Lark get here?”
“Yesterday,” Cash said, his voice suddenly a touch cooler—at least to him. He had no idea what Jet and Wade heard.
