“Nope! I’m cool and smart and nice. Don’t tell anyone that last part, Cass. I’d hate to have to kill you for ruining my rep. Now come on. I’ve been jonesing for those cupcakes since Tina took them out of the oven. Have to feed the spawn!” she laughs, gently rubbing her belly.
I smile, my eyes watering at the sight. I have always wanted like six or seven kids, enough to really have a perfect Christmas each year. Hannah’s face turns green, and I grimace, pulling a face.
“I said it out loud, didn’t I?” I mumble.
“Seven? You really are a dreamer. I wager a million you’ll push out the first one and sew up your vagina,” she quips, opening the door.
I shrug, not saying that there isn’t any pain that could kill a dream I’ve had since I grew up alone and lonely. They’re not the same, though I doubt anyone with siblings could understand.
Grinning at her shake of the head, I leave the room barefoot, carrying my heels and wonder what more surprises are in store for me. It’s been barely one day and already my head is reeling.
Chapter Five
Cass
I take a deep breath when Logan pulls his truck into a short driveway where one car sits in front of a single garage, the house beside it another cabin-type setup—though this one is nowhere near as big as the house Logan and Hannah share.
I would have believed the size and grandeur is all Hannah since the woman has an over-the-top personality that sort of smacks you in the face, but Logan confessed laughingly that the house was his creation and built long before he married Hannah.
I guess in this part of Montana everyone seems to like their houses of the cabin variety, and since space isn’t an issue, they build big. This place though…I like it. It’s homey, and just big enough to say “we have money”—but it’s not so large that I would be afraid I’d get lost once I veered away from the company I’m with.
I like it. I really like the little porch, where a swing hangs idle, the weather outside stopping everyone from lazing there until summer comes around again.
Me, I am just relieved I don’t have to wobble in there on these stilts and endure another dose of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Not that I don’t love Logan and Hannah’s house. I do. I just haven’t been all that comfortable with it all because I’m used to much simpler things.
Hannah sighs when Logan leaves the truck and looks back at me with a grimace.
“I despise coming here since the Kilters are all so fucking sweet and over the top loving with their kids, but it’s a family thing. Don’t be surprised if Ros practically kisses your face off, and be warned, she’s a mouth kisser. Ew.”
Logan, who by now has already opened her door, laughs and pecks her lips before helping her out of the truck and opening my door. I almost faceplant, trying to get out and reach the ground, my own personal hell proving true when Logan and Hannah both grab me to keep me from falling.
“Steady there, sailor! You need to make it inside before you start looking all helpless in the heels. Now remember, don’t be shy—that’s for losers with no self-esteem—and just relax. They’re not that bad once you get past the lovey-dovey crap.”
“Female, that’s my family,” Logan mutters, making me giggle because Hannah isn’t one bit repentant.
“And that is why you’re lucky I love you. For anyone else, I would have run a mile already.”
Somehow, I don’t believe her, I think, wobbling behind them with my coat pulled tight, my nervous tension rising the closer we get to the door. God, don’t let them notice my ass, I beg, sweating profusely despite the chill in the air when the door opens and a big, blonde giant steps out, his mouth slashing into a happy smile.
“Banana! You’re looking good, little daughter. Logan, son, she looks like she needs to eat more. Feed your female better. And who is this?! Is this Cass? Why you were right Hannah, she does look like a bear female…er…I mean, she is gorgeous,” he stutters, coming over to kiss my cheek and take my hand in two of his. “I am Dennis Kilter. Please call me Denny, most everyone does.”
I smile, my first impression of this man being that he has kind eyes, and the naughty twinkle in them is most definitely where Logan got his. I like both men so far, Logan being a kind, though quiet guy unless he’s yelling at Hannah to stop doing something “dangerous” and Denny, who seems like he could con the panties off a nun.
Heck, are all these people going to be this hot? And really, did Denny Kilter drink a potion to stay this young because—honestly—the man can’t be a day over forty, and yet he is definitely Logan’s father.
“Thank you so much for having me, Denny. I’m honored to be a guest in your home,” I say, breathing easy when he smiles and pushes my hand through the crook of his arm.
We all go inside, and I want to bolt when Logan offers to take my coat, his hand outstretched for the thing. Just do it! Do it. It won’t be that bad, I tell myself, gulping as I unbutton the coat and shrug it off, keeping my back to a wall for self-preservations sake.
People have been teasing me about my booty for as long as I can remember, and standing here in a lilac, knee-length dress with everything outlined by the skin-tight dress is not comfortable.
I look good…from the front. It’s the back that is killing me.
“Stop hiding!” Hannah yells, grabbing my hand in hers and pulling me along behind her.
I don’t dare look back at the men—though God knows I feel like I’m being watched as she drags me into a kitchen where I smell…heaven.
“There you are. I thought you were cancelling again. Oh, hello! Is this her? Glory be to God, she’s marvellous.”
I go still when Ros Kilter comes my way and stifle a groan when she leans in to kiss me, proving Hannah frighteningly right when her lips hit mine.
I don’t move a muscle but to make my lips as thin as possible when she leans in and plants one on me. To be honest, I kinda like it.
“You must be Cass. Welcome, honey. I am so glad to meet you. Hannah tells us that you’re new in town and you’re in need of a place to stay and a job. Now the place is pretty easy. I have an empty, little cabin on the eastern side of town, but the job, well, I don’t know if that’s going to be as easy. People around here are pretty difficult about out-of-towners.”
I feel my heart sink at the words because it doesn’t really matter if I have a place to live if I can’t afford to live day to day. I’ll have rent, utilities, groceries, and all the other stuff I can’t imagine. I have credit cards that I’ll eventually have to make payments on. There go my dreams of starting over.
“Oh, Cass. Don’t you worry about that. I already have something lined up for you. As for the cabin, I’ve seen it, and it’s perfect for you. A little one-bedroom with a great view and one neighbor!” Hannah trills, putting my mind at ease.
After that, I spend the next few minutes watching Ros cook while Hannah insults her grey velour pantsuit and asks her if cooking is that easy or if she has the evil touch.
Sipping wine, that Hannah eyes longingly, I listen to the two talk and feel myself relax more and more. I like this. I haven’t ever had this. My mom was great in her own way, but by the time she got home from work, I’d either cooked myself or she’d shoo me away and tell me to finish up homework while she threw something together. Being in the kitchen and listening to the two women talk and tease each other mercilessly only serves to remind me just how long I’ve been alone.
After Mom passed away, I got some money from a small policy she had been paying and a box of old photographs of people I never met. I took it all, got myself a little rent-controlled apartment, and went to work to support myself.
Part of my savings is still from that policy, though most of it comes from being frugal and putting away anything I didn’t need to live a decent life. Now I have a few thousand socked away, and I could use it, if not for my fear that I’ll end up garnering attention from a crazy, serial-killing, rapist werewolf.
God, my life is ridiculous.
“You oka
y there, gorgeous?”
I jump, spilling some wine and turn to the owner of that deep drawl only to feel my jaw drop and come practically unhinged.
“Oh my God, this is a hidden town for supermodels,” I mutter, blushing when the guy laughs and Hannah and Ros titter.
This man is just…
Logan. A younger version of Logan with blonde hair, green eyes that sparkle with mischief, and a set of dimples that make my chest flutter with delight. He also has about a foot and some on me, standing no less than I would say six three.
I’m so shocked by his looks that all I do is gape before he leans in to peck my cheek and step back. It’s when his eyes land on my downtown traffic stopper that I unhinge my jaw and close my mouth, blushing to the roots of my hair. Oh darn it.
“Hooooly shit, girl. You have the best ass I have ever seen on a female. Please, please tell me you’re not attached to anything with balls, and I will be the happiest male this side of the dreaded Canadian border.”
I snicker at his words, taking them to mean that all folks from Montana seem Canadaphobic, though I just can’t say why. I love ice hockey and maple syrup.
“Er—?”
“She’s single! You should totes take her to dinner and maybe show her the lake at night when it’s all moonlit and romantic,” Hannah cuts in, her enthusiasm making me flush to the roots of my hair.
Hell, this woman is definitely determined to keep me here. I don’t know why—since we hardly know each other, but I am so taking her obvious new homance—that’s my way of saying girl romance—with me. I like being wanted and liked, and I really enjoy seeing this man’s eyes light up with a happy sparkle.
“I’m Clarke. You can call me…anything you want, sweet thing.”
“She’ll call you dead if you don’t step the fuck back right now and roll your tongue up!”
I gasp, that growl making my body light up, and turn to see Banner, the ooooh-so-delicious hotty from last night, step through the back door, his lower jaw covered with beard growth and his hair standing on end all over his head.
He’s wearing a tight, black Henley, jeans that mold to every rock solid huge inch of his lower body, and a scowl that I feel all the way to my broken soul when he looks at me.
I look up, up, up, even with the added height of the heels, and almost whimper in distress when he looks me up and down, pauses on my ass and his face scrunches.
Oh God.
Kill me now, God. No really, you might as well. I think my heart just burst wide open and is now a bleeding lump on the floor of my fantastical lust.
“Banner, have some manners, boy. Say hello to Cass. She’s going to be staying in town for a while until she gets back on her feet.”
Banner grunts at me, his answer to his mother’s command and stalks out of the room without a backward glance, going God knows where, but leaving me with three very uncomfortable people. That is before Hannah blinks and turns to me.
“Don’t mind him. We’re best friends, and sometimes I swear his dislike bleeds from hormonal surges. Drink more. It’ll make him more attractive personality wise,” she tells me seriously, making me snort out a laugh.
I’m still uncomfortable. My ass feels like a throbbing mass that I am a hundred times more aware of after that snub, and I’m pretty sure I should not be getting wet just because a guy walks into the room with a certain cologne clouding the air.
Not fair. So not fair. Why can’t I react this way to Clarke? He’s hot and nice.
Clarke seems to read my thoughts because the guy grins, sidles up to me and throws an arm around my shoulders, his eyes peering down my back to the monstrosity still hanging there, seeming to grow another inch every second.
I’d be uncomfortable with his perusal, Lord knows I should be, but just the very fact that he’s looking and seems to like what he sees puts me at ease somehow.
“Don’t let that asshole bother you. He’s been working a lot lately, and he’s naturally unpleasant. I like your ass. Did I say that already? Let me say it again, as a male with all parts accounted for and eyes that work, I really like that ass. How about dinner? And drinks? And the rest of my life?” he purrs seductively, sighing when I giggle. “You’re not going to take me seriously, are you? Just dinner to start? I’ll use my charming personality and sexy bod to get the rest.”
His teasing is so unlike anything I’ve experienced before, so I can’t help but relax and smile at Clarke, liking him despite the way my vagina keeps whimpering for Banner.
Not now, you pathetic creature. I’m trying to look at another guy and convince myself I want his junk in my junk.
Something inside me snarls at that and makes me feel cold and clammy with desperation. I ignore it and follow Clarke and the others to the table where another glass of wine appears.
By the time Ros calls the others to dinner, I am loose and languid and laughing so hard at Clarke I don’t even notice Banner. Much.
At least that is what I want to believe. The problem is I have a never-die, never-give-up, try-till-you’re-bleeding kind of personality. Guys used to tell me all the time they find it fascinating that I take rejection, spin it into a goal, and just keep going.
It’s just me, okay? Growing up the way I did, and being alone all the time, so when I got a chance to make friends and really talk to people, I just sorta couldn’t bring myself to see the bad in them. Ever. Because I don’t believe in bad. I believe that anybody can be worthwhile and it’s up to me to make it so.
In light of that terrific personality glitch, I keep up with the conversation which centers around a man who I think may be the mayor, but I’m not sure. This Nick guy sounds really powerful to me. Anyway, he’s got some problem with another inhabitant of the town apparently and some senseless people who keep coming in and trespassing. At least that’s what I can make of the hushed conversation between the men, all of whom keep stuttering through the conversation, as if every word is top secret.
“Why don’t you just invite them here if they’re being weird? I mean, if you don’t know what they want—”
“That’s ridiculous. You have no clue what we’re even talking about,” Banner growls, making me blink and fight back a lip tremble.
Happy! We’re happy, Cass. Don’t let him push you back a step on the progress scale.
“But I thought Denny just said they know some Barbie woman who lives here. Maybe this is like family feud. You should totally watch that show. It is super inspirational! I mean, I don’t even understand how people could be so angry at their family that they’d just disown them. It’s so sad. If I had family, I would totally forgive them for anything so I could keep them. Blood is important,” I say solemnly, watching him grind his jaw.
“They’re breaking into people’s houses and hurting them.”
“Oh! Well, then you should totally call the cops, not plan vigilante-style retribution. Who knows, maybe they can be rehabilitated? I knew this guy in school who used to steal his mom’s stuff and sell it for drugs and she just kept trying to get through to him. That was so inspirational to me. The way she loved him,” I say and sigh, taking another sip of wine.
The buzz makes me feel dreamy, as if I’m wrapped in cotton wool. It also makes the throbbing I’ve been trying to ignore pulse another level of need through me.
God, his eyes are so dreamy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that dreamy a color. Like gold, the liquid kind that is silky looking and—
“What happened? Did she rehabilitate him? Did he go to rehab and come out and find Jesus?” Hannah asks eagerly.
I blink, dragging my entranced gaze from Banner and shake my head to clear it, my mouth pulling down into a sad frown.
“No. Unfortunately, he was a major crack addict with personality problems, and he tried to kill her before one of the neighbors called the cops. He’s doing thirty in a maximum-security prison, but Charlette still writes to him, and he sends her the most wonderful handmade paper flowers.” I sigh.
Se
e, there was a happy ending. Charl lived, Drew is drug free, and he’s studying accounting on the government’s dime. It all worked out.
The occupants of the table are quiet when I look around, their expressions all a mix of disbelief and horror. Even Clarke looks like he can’t believe what he just heard and I’m sitting right beside him.
“What?”
“Are you…you call that shit inspirational? Her son tried to kill her!” Banner snarls.
“Yeah, but—I mean—he didn’t. And once he went through painful detox in prison, and after he found himself, he totally apologized! Charl was so happy he got clean, and they’re planning a trip if they should ever parole him early. I hope so, for Charl’s sake at least. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but I think poor Drew is sitting the full sentence. So sad.”
“You… You’re—”
“So sweet! That poor woman was really lucky to have you as a friend,” Ros cuts in, shooting Banner a fulminating glare.
“Oh, uh…well, we weren’t really friends after I called the cops and had her son arrested and testified at his trial. But I still write to her from time to time, hoping she’ll forgive me. Fingers crossed,” I trill, sighing again when I catch a dreamy whiff of Banner.
It’s like he’s wrapped up in the smell of sex and perfection, and all I want to do is crawl across the table and lick him. All over. Hhhmm. I could so totally wing it when I get down to—
“Right! Uh, this has been great. Ros, your roast was edible. Thank you for not poisoning us all. Your clothes are still hideous, and I will take you shopping next week even if I have to kill you and drag your carcass behind me for fittings. Logan. We need to go. Now,” Hannah says through a clenched-tooth smile I hardly register because I can’t take my eyes off Banner.
Hhhm. Licking. I need to do some licking. And touching. Maybe I can find the source of that smell. I wonder if it comes from—?
“Cass! Let’s go!” Hannah barks, grabbing my arm in a surprisingly strong grip and pulling me from my seat.
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