Now Cassidy says, “Be careful, Sadie. The Rhodes boys have all had women throwing themselves at them for as long as I’ve known them. They might be rough-and-tumble, but they’re also privileged beyond belief. And they’ve all got a wild streak a mile wide. He’s not going to be the safe choice.”
Cassidy is all about the safe choices. Her fiancé is her first and only boyfriend, a neurosurgeon-in-training who is, as far as I can tell, ideal for her in the way that someone who's never home is ideal: no friction, no mess.
But I've never been in a relationship, so what do I know.
Between working multiple jobs and school and looking after Momma, there was never much room for anything else. Or anyone else.
“The more important question is, what are you wearing tonight?” I ask her.
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be invisible next to you tonight. You’re the talk of the town. You’re either going to be ignored by guys terrified of Walker Rhodes, or swarmed by guys who want a piece of what he’s having.”
I flop back on the bed. “Ugh. Is it so much to ask for a guy who’s just interested in me as a human being?”
“Yes,” she says instantly. “Why do you think I’ve had the same boyfriend for six years? He’s not perfect, but he’s decent,and that’s rare enough. I’m never letting go. It’s hell out there.”
She’s not wrong. That hellscape is precisely why I’ve never given myself to anybody.
And it’s probably only going to get more hellish for me, now that I’ve put either a shield or a target on my back with all this gossip flying around about me and Walker.
Oh well. Not that I had any hopes of finding a relationship this summer. I’ve never had one before, and it would be just my luck to fall in love right before I’m leaving town.
After we say our goodbyes, I hang up the phone still smiling. Then I look out the window and see Walker in the yard with Jonah, and the smile stays, for an entirely different reason.
I watch them for a moment, one hand on the window frame.
Jonah's getting frustrated. I can see it in the set of his small shoulders, hear it in his voice even from here. He's complaining about something, probably the lasso practice Walker's been working on with him all week.
Walker demonstrates again, slow enough for Jonah to follow, the rope cutting through the air in a clean arc before it catches the fence post with a satisfying crack. He’s patient and unhurried, like he's got all the time in the world for his son. He makes it look effortless, the lasso and the patience both.
Today he’s in his hat, a white t-shirt, faded Wranglers, and scuffed boots. The late afternoon sun catches him just right, all tanned skin and thick, muscled biceps, and when he swings the lasso overhead I can see every shift and flex of his shoulders and arms.
He's good with his hands.
I’m not going to think about what other good things he might be able to do with those hands. I still can’t forget the way they felt on the bare skin of my thighs.
He’s my boss, I remind myself. The dad of the kid I’m nannying for. Whatever vibes might be between us, we’ve got too good of a thing going to complicate it.
The problem is, I think I like “simple” the way Walker likes “nice.” Which is to say, it bores the hell out of me.
I curl my hair and slip into the lavender dress. It looks pretty with my skin tone and doesn't cling in the heat, which is all I'm asking for tonight.
And if it just so happens that Walker seems to have a thing for my little dresses, well, that’s just a coincidence.
Grabbing my purse, I head outside before I can spiral any further down that particular path.
The summer heat slams into me the second I step off the porch, thick and heavy. I'm doubly glad I wore the light cotton dress.
Walker senses me immediately, like he's got some kind of radar for when I'm nearby. While Jonah continues practicing, Walker pulls Journey up to where I'm standing and brings him to a halt, the stallion tossing his head once before settling. I let the horse nuzzle my flattened palm, the stallion’s breath warm and soft against my skin.
“You heading out?” Walker asks.
“I am.”
“Big plans?”
“If Marble Falls’ favorite dive bar is ‘big plans,’ then sure.”
“You coming back tonight?”
