Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “It’s like we’re privy to a secret world that nobody else knows about.”

  “That’s a nice way of putting it. Hey, you want to ride out together? I’m probably still going to ride for another hour, at least.”

  “Yeah, sounds good,” she said.

  We rode out for a bit, and I noticed that Cassidy wasn’t her usual chatty self. I had always gotten along well with her. To me, she had always been like one of the guys. But she seemed different today, as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. I wondered if it had anything to do with her decision to stop barrel racing. It had definitely taken me by surprise when she announced that she was quitting. She had been one of the best barrel racers out there, taking home the championship title each year. She seemed unstoppable.

  Then, out of the blue, she quit and decided to focus on her horse ranch. I hadn’t seen her for a while, so I had no idea what was going on in her life, but I got the sense that something was bugging her.

  “All okay?” I asked her.

  She frowned. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

  “You seem upset about something. You just don’t seem like your normal happy self, that’s all.”

  “You think I’m normally happy?” she asked.

  “Yeah, you’re always in a good mood. You’re always pretty upbeat. But now…you seem upset.”

  She sighed. “I’m not upset. I’m just a bit contemplative. That’s all. Good to know that I normally come across happy, though.”

  “Has it got to do with the barrel racing?” I asked.

  “Barrel racing? What do you mean?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought that maybe you wished you hadn’t given it up. Sorry, I know it’s none of my business. I was just curious.” I had no idea why I was asking her such personal questions, but Cassidy had always fascinated me. She was just so different than all the other women I knew. Sometimes I even forgot that she was a woman at all. She was just one of the girls. The sort of girl I could relax around and be myself. I always found it quite refreshing, and every time I saw her, I wondered why I didn’t spend more time with her.

  “Oh no, it has nothing to do with that. I definitely don’t regret giving it up. Not for one minute.”

  “Why did you give it up, by the way?” I asked. “I mean, if you don’t mind saying.”

  She chuckled. “You’re nosy,” she said. I was just about to apologize when she carried on. “Of course I don’t mind saying. To be honest, barrel racing was something I sort of fell into. I had never planned on making that my career at all. It was one of those things that just happened, and I found out that I was actually quite good at it.”

  “Very good at it!” I said.

  She smiled modestly. She had never been one to brag. It was another thing I liked about her. One of my previous girlfriends had ended up being so full of herself that it eventually turned me off her. A bit of humility went a long way. “Thank you. I always told myself that I would quit when I was on top. So that’s what I did. I knew I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life, so I figured it would be best to quit while I was ahead. It was a good way to go. I am super proud of my achievements in the event, and I will always look fondly on that time.

  Of course, I was a bit nervous about leaving. There was always the chance that I would regret it, but I actually don’t really miss it as much as I thought I would. I’m happy with my decision. I love working on the horse farm. I was good at barrel racing, but it wasn’t my passion.”

  “Well, good for you, then. I don’t think many people in your position would’ve done the same. It must’ve been hard to leave. It’s always easy to leave when you’re not doing well. But you’re right; it’s better to go out on top. At least people will always remember you for that. Okay, so if you’re not worried about the farm or the barrel racing, then what are you worried about? And yes, I am nosy.”

  She laughed, then sighed heavily. “Oh, I have to go to another stupid wedding. That’s all. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound bitter like that. I just really wasn’t looking forward to getting this invitation. I almost hoped it wouldn’t arrive, but it did, and I can’t escape it.”

  “You have to go to a wedding? Anybody I know?” I was definitely not expecting her to say that. I thought something a lot more serious was going on. A wedding was just an excuse for a party, wasn’t it?

  “Yeah, it’s Rick’s wedding.”

  “Rick? Oh, your cousin. Wow, he’s getting married, huh? To whom?” I hadn’t hung in the same circles as Cassidy, but I knew some of her family and friends.

  “To Lara. I’m not sure if you knew her. Although, maybe you do. She was pretty popular.”

  “Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell, but by the way you just said her name I get the impression you don’t really like her.”

  Cassidy shook her head. “Not at all. She went to school with me. She was well-known in my school.”

  Cassidy and I had attended different high schools. We’d lived in the same area, but I had attended a private Christian school, and she had gone to a public school. Sometimes our paths had crossed, but the schools were very different, and I only knew a handful of the students. I tried to think back on the name Lara, but it didn’t sound familiar to me.

  “So, what makes her so bad?” I asked her.

  She sighed. “She used to bully me all the time. I guess you just don’t forget things like that, and I have a feeling that she hasn’t changed in the slightest. And now my idiotic cousin is marrying her. He clearly has no brains.”

  I chuckled. “Clearly not.” I glanced at Cassidy in surprise. She seemed very upset by this whole thing, and I couldn’t help but feel confused by it. I would’ve figured that should someone attempt to bully Cassidy she would bully them right back. I had never heard her talk with this much bitterness about someone before. “You know, I really never took you as the type to get bullied. Or the type to care so much. You’re one of the toughest chicks I know. Hell, you’re tougher than most men that I know.”

  “I guess that was part of the issue that Lara had with me. She tried to make my life hell because I was so different from her. She hated people like me. Then again, she hated most girls. I guess I was just easy pickings for her. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she had bullied other girls, too.”

  “What did she do?” I asked.

  “Oh, she did a lot of things. She told a boy that I liked that I was a lesbian. The boy liked me too, but she was very convincing. She made up some story about how she had caught me with another girl at the school, which was obviously a complete lie. Then she flirted with the guy until he eventually asked her out. She would hold his hand and walk past me when I was sitting all alone. She loved the fact that she managed to get the guy, even though I was sure she didn’t even like him.”

  I groaned. “Seriously? What a loser. Why did the guy believe her, though?”

  “Well, I was actually going out with him at the time, but the two of us hadn’t had sex. I didn’t want to have sex while I was still in school, and I told him that I was going to wait until I finished. Lara told him that I wasn’t trying to save myself, but that I actually didn’t want to sleep with him because I wasn’t attracted to boys. Ah, the whole thing was so ridiculous. She stole him in front of me. I guess at the end of the day he cared more about the thought of having sex with someone than he did about having a relationship with me.”

  “That’s ridiculously mean. Although, she probably did you a favor. Any guy that would believe a girl like that is obviously not someone you want to go out with.”

  Cassidy nodded. “I guess you’re right. But Lara had a way about her that the boys loved. She would always be nice to the boys, but she did a lot of horrible things to me. Like I said, it’s hard to forget about these things. They stay with you. I hated the way people used to fall at her perfectly manicured feet when it was so obvious to me that she was using them. The worst part was that she just dumped the
guy a few days after getting him. She didn’t actually like him or want to be with him. She just wanted to screw with me. Which is funny really, because she didn’t screw him at all.”

  “And now she’s marrying your cousin,” I said sadly. No wonder poor Cassidy was so upset. I would also be upset if my high school bully was going to become a member of my family. That was the stuff nightmares were made of.

  “Yeah, isn’t that just wonderful?” she said sarcastically.

  I groaned. “Why does life have to be so cruel? Do you have to go to the wedding? Maybe you should just not go. Wouldn’t that be the best feeling in the world? To just not go to the wedding.”

  “I do,” she said. “I thought about canceling, but the family will go crazy if I don’t go. That’s the problem when family is involved. It would’ve been so different if it was just some random friend or stranger. Family makes it so much harder. Also, it would feel too much like I let her win. I guess I want to go to prove to her that it doesn’t bother me anymore. Which is a lie, of course; it bothers me a great deal. She doesn’t need to know that, though.” She turned to look at me then with a puzzled look on her face as if she were trying to figure something out.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

  “Any chance you want to be my plus-one?” she asked. The moment she asked the question I could see that it had taken her by surprise too. As if she had thought it in her head but hadn’t expected to say it out loud.

  “You want me to go to a wedding with you?”

  “I know it’s a weird request, but I really don’t want to go alone.”

  “I thought you would go with your sister,” I said.

  “She’s going with her boyfriend. The two of them are going to be all loved up, and the last thing I need is to be a third wheel. That would be so much worse. I really don’t want to go into the den of the lioness alone. Lara has clearly gotten Rick all bamboozled, and I need some moral support to get through it.”

  “When is it?” I asked.

  “Uh, it’s next week, and it’s for the whole weekend. They have rooms at the ranch.”

  “Next week?” I asked in surprise. “When did you get the invitation?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “You got the invitation yesterday for a wedding that’s happening in a week? That’s crazy.”

  She nodded. “Tell me about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing is just some crazy scheme of Lara’s to embarrass me. She’s either expecting me to bail or she’s hoping that I’ll arrive by myself. She probably did this so that I wouldn’t have a lot of time to find a plus-one. Maybe I’m looking into this too much. Maybe my invitation just took longer to arrive than it should’ve, but I have a feeling it was planned. It just seems like such a Lara thing to do.”

  “Will your parents be there?”

  “They won’t be able to make it. Medical reasons,” she said without elaborating. “Which means I won’t have any moral support. I’ll just have a lot of extended family and random people feeling sorry for me. Ah, you know what, don’t worry about it, Houston,” she said suddenly. “I can’t believe I just asked you to come with me to a wedding. The worst is that I’m even trying to make you feel sorry for me. I don’t know what has gotten into me lately. But you really don’t have to come. Maybe it won’t be as bad as I’m making it out to be. And hey, free food and booze! I’ll just go and make the most of it.”

  I didn’t say anything for a while. I wasn’t used to seeing this side of Cassidy. I had no idea that she was bullied at school or that she was so insecure. I had always gotten the impression that Cassidy didn’t care about what anyone else thought of her. She’d always come across as a strong and independent person who took no bullshit from the world. There was something about this vulnerability that made it impossible to say no to her. Anyway, there was nothing romantic going on between us, so the wedding could be fun. We’d always had a good time together.

  “You know,” I said with a grin. “Free food and alcohol don’t sound like a bad idea, actually. I’d love to be your plus-one.”

  She turned to look at me in surprise. “You would?” I asked.

  I nodded. “Sure, why not. Hey, we might as well go and have a good time and show this Lara chick that she didn’t win. Who knows, maybe she’ll fall while walking down the aisle.”

  Cassidy chuckled. “Yeah, maybe. Hey, thanks, Houston. That’s nice of you. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

  Three

  Cassidy

  The wedding was one week away, and I was on my way to go dress shopping with my sister. Nicole was very different from me. Even though you could see that we were sisters, we had completely different personalities. She was far more feminine and seemed to take a lot more pride in the way she presented herself to the world. Whenever I went to her house, I was surprised by the amount of clothes that she had in her walk-in closet. She loved it in a way that I would never understand. I needed her now because otherwise who knows what I would show up wearing. I used to have a go-to wedding dress that I had always relied on, but I had given it away to a charity drive the previous Christmas and never bothered to buy another one. I had a feeling that arriving in overalls wouldn’t be appropriate for a wedding. Especially not Lara’s wedding.

  “Hey, sis,” I said as soon as I arrived at the shop. “Can we please go for coffee first? I need some caffeine. Something strong to see me through this.”

  She laughed and gave me a big hug. She looked so good, like she had just stepped out of a salon. Her hair smelled like berries and freshness. “Of course,” she said. “I know what you’re like when you haven’t had any coffee, and I need you feeling nice and happy for what’s ahead. I don’t want you saying no to everything I pick out for you.”

  I groaned. “You know me too well.”

  We made our way to the nearest café and ordered ourselves some coffee. Even the smell of it had perked me up. Then I looked at her and smiled.

  “Are you going on a date after this or something?”

  She frowned. “A date? No. Should I be?”

  “You just look so pretty today. I’ve never seen that dress before. And your hair smells so good and it looks all shiny. It was the first thing I noticed when I saw you.”

  “Ah, that’s what hair is supposed to look like,” she teased. “And I got this dress about two weeks ago. It’s cute, huh?”

  “It suits you. Thanks for doing this for me, by the way. I really appreciate it. You know how hopeless I am at things like this.”

  She giggled. “I know. And I don’t mind at all. You should know by now that I adore going shopping. Anyway, I’ve been trying to get you to go shopping with me for ages.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I didn’t have a wedding to go to until now,” I pointed out. “Man, this coffee is good,” I said.

  “You don’t always need to shop when there’s an event coming up, you know. You can actually go shopping for nice clothes to wear on a normal day.”

  “Yeah, but my normal day consists of cleaning and feeding horses, or taking them for a ride,” I told her. “My normal day and your normal day are two different things.”

  “True, and I do agree that you need certain clothes for that. But you don’t do that all the time. And you might as well look good while doing it, anyway.”

  “Why? In case some handsome man strolls up to me on a horse and sweeps me off my feet?” I teased.

  “You just never know. Anyway, I’m just glad that we get to do this today. It’s going to be fun. I can’t believe you’re actually going to the wedding,” she said. “I honestly thought that you were going to turn it down.”

  I sighed. “You and me both. But there was no way that I was going to not show up. She’d get the last laugh then. The last thing I want is for her to think that she has won the war. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’ve invited Houston to come with me. So at least I won’t be alone. He’ll be my plus-one for the night and will hopefully keep me thoroughly en
tertained.”

  “Houston? As in Houston Jones?” she asked in surprise.

  I nodded. “The very one.”

  “Oh wow, I’m very surprised that you asked him. I didn’t know you guys were such good friends. I mean, I knew you were friends. I just didn’t know you were wedding date sort of friends.”

  “We’re not. We’re…” I thought about it for a minute before shrugging. “I guess we’re friends. Although I barely see the guy. I happened to bump into him yesterday and ended up just asking him. Ah, the things you’ll do when you’re desperate.”

  “And he was happy to go with?” she asked.

  I laughed. “You make it sound like nobody would ever want to go with me.”

  “Not at all. And I like Houston. He’s a good guy. He’s just not the sort of guy I would picture saying yes to going to a wedding. You know what he’s like. He’s the most mischievous guy I know.”

  “Well, I did tell him that there would be free booze and food at the wedding. So maybe that swayed him.”

  Nicole chuckled. “You made a good case for yourself, then. Well, I’m glad that you’re going with him. Like you said, at least you won’t be alone. There’s nothing worse than sitting alone at a wedding. Especially one with the watchful eye of the bride on you at all times. Did you tell Houston what she did to you growing up?”

  I nodded. “I did. Maybe that’s another reason he agreed to go with me. He probably felt bad after my sob story.”

  “Think he’ll believe you when he meets her? You know what she’s like, she has a way with men.”

  I sighed. “I thought the same thing, but I’m sure it will be fine. Houston knows me, and he knows I wouldn’t make something like this up. Hopefully, he’ll see straight through her the way we do.”

  “I hope so too. You know, if you had a boyfriend you wouldn’t have to drag Houston along.”

  I groaned. “Wow, thanks for pointing that out to me. Way to make your sister feel even better about herself.”