“That’s the hash brown casserole,” he said, and Cash fumbled for his phone in his back pocket. He silenced it and looked at Lark, but the moment had been broken.
“Dude, something’s going off down here!” Jet called, and his footsteps started toward them.
Cash scampered toward the door and opened it. “Yeah, I’m coming.” He tossed one look over his shoulder before stepping into the hallway. “I can hold them back for maybe five minutes.”
“It’ll only take three to change and brush my teeth,” Lark said.
He looked out into the hallway. “Yeah, she’s awake.” He turned his back on Jet and met Lark’s eyes. “And we’ll come back to this later.”
Lark smiled, heat pouring through her, and nodded. Cash stepped out into the hall, chuckled and jostled with Jet, and headed back into the kitchen. Jet now filled the doorway, and Lark’s smile straightened.
“Are you okay, Larky?” Jet asked, taking Cash’s place in Lark’s bedroom.
Her throat tightened for some strange reason, so she simply nodded and moved forward to hug her brother. Jet grunted as he received her into his arms, but he wrapped her up and held on tight.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispered.
“Is that where we are?” Jet whispered back. “Because, Lark, none of us have truly lived here for years.” He pulled away and peered at her. Lark wasn’t sure what he saw or what her face looked like, but Lark realized that was the problem.
How could she feel anchored when she had no home?
“Come on,” Jet said. “I’m glad we’re here together.” He took her hand and led her out of the bedroom. “And your boyfriend has been cooking for a couple of hours, and hoo-boy, is he good in the kitchen.”
Lark wanted to protest, because she still wore her pjs, but when she entered the kitchen, she found Wade there in his black and gray flannel pajama pants, and Cash wearing a matching pair with his dark gray tee.
How she hadn’t noticed his clothing before, Lark wasn’t sure, but she decided to attribute it to those mysterious midnight eyes.
CHAPTER
TWENTY
Cash dang near dropped the casserole pan as he turned to put it on the countertop. Jet had brought Lark down the hall just as she was, and her hair flowed loose and wild around her face. Cash loved that and wanted to slide his fingers through it to tame it.
At the same time, he suspected the woman was completely un-tame-able. If he could figure out how to keep her in his life, she’d continue to surprise him each and every day.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Wade said as he rose from the barstool. He smiled at Lark with all the love of an older brother as he hugged her, and that gave Cash a moment to collect himself and right the tater tot casserole onto the trivet.
“I wasn’t sleeping,” Lark said. “I was just lying in bed.”
And yep, Cash had that picture in his mind now, as he’d practically yelled as he’d volunteered to go see if Lark was awake. He kept his head ducked as he turned back to the stove to turn off the oven, something hot moving through him that he needed to control. No woman he’d ever met had affected him this way before, and he employed his defenses to keep his thoughts and fears—and hormones—from roaring, the same way he did whenhe got in the saddle to be the heeler with a partner he barely knew.
He didn’t want to let them down, and he wanted to put on a perfect performance. The same thing applied here, with Wade, Jet, and Lark. Oh, especially Lark.
“…right, Cash?”
He turned, realizing he’d fallen into his thoughts. “Yeah, what?”
Jet slung his arm around Cash’s shoulders. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
Cash stiffened. “Where is this going?”
“I’m just trying to express my gratitude for you feeding me today.” He fell back a step. “This whole week, while Wade’s been galavanting around with his new girl.”
“I haven’t been gallivanting,” Wade said, sandwiching Cash on his left side. “But I want to say thank you too. When I get back to the house late at night, there’s always been something to eat.”
“Somethinggood,” Jet said.
Cash grinned from Wade to Jet. “I like cooking. It’s something I can…get right.” He cleared his throat, not wanting to continue this conversation. “Now, come on. Everything is ready.”
