Cash paused at the mouth of the hallway, very aware that just because Lark’s door was closed didn’t mean she couldn’t hear them. He glared back over to his friends, though he wasn’t truly that upset. “All right,” he said. “And I promise I won’t kiss your sister in front of you.”
He grinned, turned, and had only taken one step down the hall when Lark appeared in her doorway, no towel over that bright pink swimming suit, and one hand planted on her hip.
And Cash had the very real feeling he’d be lucky to even get to hold Lark’s hand again, let alone kiss her. His feet stuttered, but he managed to keep going.
“Hey, Songbird,” he whispered as he approached.
Her frown disappeared. “What are they saying?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll text you after your shower, okay?”
She nodded, and Cash thanked the Good Lord Above that he had her number now and could continue their conversation away from the prying ears and eyes of Jet and Wade.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Cole Young paced the length of the dining room table, occasionally throwing a glance out the tall windows that lined the back of the house.
His father’s house.
“You’re crazy,” he muttered to himself, because he had nothing to offer Rachel Walker. The problem was, he’d gone and fallen in love with her, and the only reason they weren’t engaged yet was because his father had told him to give himself six months.
If, after that time, Cole still couldn’t see a future without Rachel in it, Daddy and Sunny would gladly help with whatever they needed to start their life together.
But Cole had no house for him and Rachel to live in. He’d never attended a single college class. He workedfor her, for crying out loud.
“You’re up early,” Rosie said as she entered the kitchen.
Cole barely looked at her. “Yeah. Yep.”
Rosie stopped on her way to the fridge, where she’d pull out her lunch and an energy drink—the same thing she did every morning. She packed her lunch at eight o’clock the night before,and she was in bed by nine. She worked at a local boarding stable, and she had to be there by six-thirty in the morning.
Honestly, Cole admired his younger sister on many levels, only one of which was her dedication to routine. She knew what she wanted from her life, and it was horses, horses, and more horses.
Oh, and she wanted to be a champion barrel racer on one of those horses.
Cole had no doubt she’d achieve that, probably in the next couple of years. She had seven months of high school left, and she and Daddy had already started looking at facilities in Texas where she could train over the summer.
“What’s going on?” Suddenly Rosie stood in front of him, and Cole hadn’t even seen her move from the other side of the island. “Cole. You’re freaking me out.”
He blinked, not sure how much time had gone by or how many times she’d asked what was happening. He drew in a deep breath, his chest aching slightly, which told him he hadn’t been breathing properly.
“I’m going to ask Rachel to marry me,” he blurted out. His hands immediately moved to his hair, where he flattened them against his scalp and then pulled slightly. “And it’s pure madness.”
He turned away from his sister and paced to the end of the table before turning back to her. Now Rosie wore a wide smile, and while she’d been pretty skeptical of his whirlwind romance with Rachel, she’d come around pretty quickly.
Mostly because Rachel was kindness epitomized, and she could handle Rosie’s sassiness just fine. After all, she had an older brother a lot like Rosie, and Rachel handled him, her other two brothers, and the whole rodeo animal training facility with skill and grace. Rosie hadn’t even presented a challenge for her.
In fact, everyone who met Rachel loved her, Cole’s daddy and step-momma included.
“I’m going to be sick,” he said, and he pulled out a chair and sank into it.
Rosie sat beside him. “Stop it right now.”
He looked at her, feeling utterly pathetic. “I can’t do this. I’m not even twenty years old yet, and I have nothing to offer her.”
“That’s just garbage talk,” Rosie said firmly. She looked at him with blazing eyes. “You’re offering heryou, and you’re awesome, Cole.”
