Dearest Cowboys Box Set

by Mia Brown

  “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but you should probably sort this out sooner rather than later. If you lie long enough, you’re going to start believing it yourself.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Believe that I’m married to Houston? That’s not going to happen. I think I’d remember something like that.”

  “Oh, Cass, what a mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  “You see, this is exactly what I hate about going to weddings.”

  “I love you, Cass. Who needs TV when they’ve got you for a sister?”

  I groaned. “I love you too, Nic.”

  “Next time you get married, even if it’s just for pretend, don’t forget to invite me. I wouldn’t mind being your pretend bridesmaid. We could’ve even had pretend cake. Or real cake, actually. The cake can be real even if everything else is fake.”

  “I’m going now,” I said. Nicole was clearly having too much fun with all of this. “Bye. I’ll chat with you soon.”

  I ended the call and flopped back down onto the sofa. I stuck my head into the pillow and screamed. Nicole might think that this whole thing was hilarious, but it wasn’t, really. Some people still thought that Houston and I were married. I was going to have to go and see him tomorrow to sort out this mess. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do, but I figured some sort of public announcement might be best.

  We would be embarrassed at the start, but at least everyone would know the truth. I thought of Houston’s father and I couldn’t help but feel bad about the situation. I was the one who had started this whole thing, not Houston. He had only gone along with it to support me. He had done a good thing, and I had ended up turning his life upside down.

  A knock on my door startled me. Was it Houston? I rushed over to answer it and was surprised to find Jake standing at the door. Jake Grant was my old boyfriend. We’d dated over two years ago, and we’d only broken up because he had to go to France for work. I had been relieved when he left, because I had been considering breaking up with him for a few weeks prior to that.

  He was a nice guy, but the two of us were just not compatible. I didn’t feel any big spark with him, and after going out with him for eight months I knew that it was never going to happen. We’d stayed in touch for a few months until our emails and calls had eventually fizzled out.

  “Jake! Wow, this is a surprise.”

  He smiled, then whistled as he looked me up and down. “You look incredible, Cassidy.”

  I blushed. “Uh, thank you. I got some new clothes recently, that’s all.”

  “Well, it suits you. It suits you a lot.”

  I smiled. “Thank you. Uh, come on in. I had no idea you were in town. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “A hug would be nice.”

  I stared awkwardly at him and then allowed him to wrap his arms around me. Jake was a good-looking guy, even better-looking since I had last seen him, but I still didn’t feel anything. Still, it was nice to see him again. After the hug, I made him some coffee, and the two of us went to sit outside to catch up.

  “Are you back for good?” I asked.

  He grinned. “I sure am. And man, it’s good to be back. France was great. It changed me in a lot of ways, but this is home, and it will always be home. I’m happy to be here. And happy to see you. You really do look amazing.”

  “Thank you. That’s nice of you. Well, welcome back,” I said.

  “Any chance I can come around for a horse ride sometime? I’ve missed doing that with you.”

  “Of course. Anytime. I usually go in the mornings, so just let me know and I’ll wait for you.”

  He grinned. “Great. So…uh…is it just you here?”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.

  The question made me happy. The very fact that he had no idea about Houston meant that not everyone had heard the rumor. I was glad about that.

  “No boyfriend. Just me.”

  “Good.”

  I looked at him in surprise. Good? What was that supposed to mean? Did he think that the two of us were going to get back together? Surely not? It had been two years. I didn’t say anything, nor did I ask him if he had a girlfriend. I didn’t want him to think that I was interested. Instead, I changed the subject, and the two of spoke at length about what the last two years had been like for us. I didn’t have all that much to tell him.

  Other than the wedding debacle, which I was definitely not going to bring up, I didn’t have much news. Jake, on the other hand, had plenty of stories to tell me. It was nice. I was glad to finally have someone take my mind off the drama of the past few days. I enjoyed being in Jake’s company, and his stories were fascinating to me.

  “Have you ever thought about traveling?” he asked me.

  I smiled. “Oh yes, all the time. But…I love it here. I love the wide-open space around me. I love that I wake up every single morning to breathe in the fresh air. I love that time goes slowly here, and that I have my beautiful horses to keep me company. Traveling would be great, and I’m sure I’ll do it one day, but for now, I’m very content with being here.”

  Jake smiled at me. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Cassidy. You’re grounded. You appreciate what you have, and you don’t constantly live wishing you were somewhere else.”

  “Are you glad you went to France?”

  “I’m glad. But I’m mostly glad because it made me realize how much I want to be home. So, for that, I’m grateful. I have a feeling I’m going to be very happy now that I’m back again.”

  “I’m glad, Jake,” I said, and I really meant it. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “It’s good to see you too, Cassidy. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”

  I looked away from his gaze. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the area or about me anymore. Either way, he was making me feel uncomfortable. I wondered if I would’ve felt differently if he had arrived here a few weeks ago before the wedding took place. I couldn’t be sure. The only thing I knew now, and something that was making me feel strange, was that I wished there was someone else sitting here with me.

  I barely wanted to admit it to myself, but I couldn’t help but wish that Houston was the one here telling me that he wanted to be with me. Why did people always want what they couldn’t have? Perhaps I should just forget about Houston, a man who clearly didn’t want to be with me, and concentrate on Jake, a man who clearly did. Life would be so much easier then. Instead, I told Jake that it was getting late and that I should probably get some rest.

  “Oh, of course,” he said. He seemed surprised by my words, as if he had expected to stay longer. “Uh, Cassidy, can I ask you a question?” he asked as the two of us headed out to his truck.

  “Sure.”

  “Do you think there is a chance that the two of us will get back together?”

  “I…I don’t think so, Jake.”

  He sighed. “I thought you were going to say that. Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re fantastic, Cass. I’ve missed you. And seeing you here tonight makes me realize just how much I’ve missed you. I was an idiot to leave, and an even bigger idiot to let you go. Do me a favor, and let me know if you change your mind. I think that the two of us would be good together. And I promise never to leave you again.”

  “Thank you, Jake. That is so nice of you to say to me. I really appreciate it. But…”

  “Just think about it,” he said.

  I nodded. “I will.”

  He gave me another hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, then got into his car and headed off.

  That night, as I lay in bed, a few tears escaped me. I hadn’t felt this confused or emotional in a long time. Jake was a good guy, and maybe I could learn to love him. I didn’t love Houston. I was just confused because of what had happened. I’d probably sleep with him again and feel disappointed. I wasn’t a crier, so I wiped the tears away. I had a perfectly good guy after me, and maybe I
just needed to realize that this was as good as it got for me.

  Sixteen

  Houston

  What was I doing? I sat in the car for a long time after my father had driven off, wondering what was wrong with me. I shouldn’t be doing this. I should be telling everyone that Cassidy and I weren’t married. I should be insisting that my father listen to me. Instead, I was going along with this weird and random idea despite knowing the truth. I was sure that I had officially lost my mind.

  Finally, I drove home with the idea of sleeping it off. I kept postponing things, hoping that time would magically heal everything, but the longer I left things, the worst they seemed to get. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to tell my father. I had never seen him quite so happy before.

  When my mother had passed away, something inside my father had changed. He went from being this overly affectionate father to someone who barely smiled my way. I knew that I looked a lot like my mother and that he hurt every time he looked at me. Of course, after a while, things got better. He got on with his life and spent most of his time working. Working was the one thing that seemed to get him through the tough times.

  I had gotten so accustomed to him always being busy that I had almost forgotten about the man that I had once grown up with. This was the first time that I had seen him smile like this in a long time. He seemed…excited. I sighed. I had missed seeing this side of my father, the man who used to smile all the time and make plans. He used to love throwing parties for me when I was little boy. I had no idea that he was this excited for me to get married. I had no idea that it would dial back time for me and allow me to see him like this again.

  The thought of disappointing him was so much worse than the lie. I was going to have to tell him the truth, and then I’d go back to seeing the father I now knew so well. The busy man, not the loving man. I was aware that I was only making things worse, but I wanted to hold onto this feeling for just a little longer. Was that really so bad?

  The following day I made my way over to Cassidy’s place. I woke up worried about what she was going to say when she found out that I still hadn’t told my father. I also woke up with an idea, one I was sure she was going to find completely insane. The more I thought about it, the more the idea began to blossom in my head. Now the only thing left to do was to do was to convince Cassidy that it was a good idea, and I had a feeling that it was not going to be easy at all.

  When I arrived, I was surprised to see another car in the driveway. I was even more surprised to see Cassidy walking out of her house with another man by her side. I was already out my car and walking toward them, so I couldn’t run away and hide. It was only when I got nearer to them that I realized who it was. It was Jake Grant, someone I hadn’t seen around town in a long time. Wasn’t he Cassidy’s ex-boyfriend too? What was he doing in her house at this time of the morning? Had he slept over? It shouldn’t matter to me. But it did. If the two of them were a couple, then my plan would be completely ruined.

  “Jake? Wow, it’s been a long time.”

  Jake frowned when he saw me, probably wondering why I was at Cassidy’s so early too. Then he smiled, even though I was sure it was forced. “No way. If it isn’t Houston Jones. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Hi, Cassidy,” I said.

  “Uh, hi,” she said nervously, and I wondered what was going on. Had I walked in on something?

  “Sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” I said.

  “No, not at all. Jake was just leaving. We went out for a horse ride this morning.”

  Jake frowned, as if he was not too happy by her words. Then nodded. “Uh, yeah, I’m on my way. Well, it was good seeing you again, Houston. Maybe we can go for a beer sometime. Cassidy, I’ll see you soon.”

  “Sure thing. Thanks for coming over,” she said.

  Jake walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t kissed goodbye, and it didn’t seem like the two of them were together. I turned to Cassidy and smiled.

  “Morning.”

  “Morning. Coffee?” she asked.

  “I’d love a cup,” I said as I followed her into the house. “So, Jake, huh? That was a surprise,” I tried to say as casually as possible.

  “For me too. He arrived the other day and showed up at my house. I was very surprised. He’s back from France.”

  “Here for good?” I asked.

  “Yep. He wanted to do some horse riding. I think he’s missed it.”

  “The two of you…uh, you were a couple, weren’t you?”

  Cassidy nodded. “Yep, but it was two years ago.”

  “Why did you break up?” I asked.

  “Oh, we broke up when he moved to France,” she said. Then she handed me a cup of coffee and we went to sit outside. It was a beautiful day, and I wished I had also gone for a horse ride. I’d slept in that morning after battling to fall asleep the night before and woke up with too much on my mind.

  “Oh. So, are you back together?” I asked.

  She chuckled. “No. He did sort of ask me, though.”

  “He did?”

  She frowned. “Don’t act surprised. I’m not that repulsive, you know.”

  “I never said that. I just…well…”

  She laughed. “I’m kidding. Anyway, I said no. I mean, I was pretty happy when he left for France. He’s a good guy, and we get along well, but there’s no chemistry between the two of us. No spark.”

  I couldn’t help but think about how it had felt sleeping with her at the wedding. There had definitely been chemistry then. At least, there had been for me. I wonder if she had felt the same. I thought about asking her, but then she turned to look at me, and she spoke before I had a chance to.

  “So, what’s been going on? Have you spoken to your father?” she asked.

  “Uh, well, that’s what I came to talk to you about,” I started. I took a sip of my coffee to avoid looking at her.

  “Uh-oh, why do I get the feeling that you’re about to tell me something really bad?”

  I sighed. “Don’t be mad.”

  “Houston! What have you done?”

  “Okay, so I went to talk to my dad, I promise you I did. I went with the intention of telling him what was going on. In fact, I did tell him the truth, but he doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m just trying to backtrack because I feel bad about getting married without telling him.”

  “But you didn’t get married without telling him,” she said.

  “I know. That’s what I told him. He doesn’t believe me. He’s also…well…he’s excited. He’s happy. He thinks we’re doing the right thing.”

  “Houston, you have to tell him the truth.”

  “I know. I will. I promise you. I did get him to delay the reception, at least. So, he’s no longer calling around and organizing things.”

  “Well, that’s good, I guess. But still. He has to know the truth.”

  “Uh, there’s one more thing.”

  “What?” she asked. “Why do I get the impression you’re about to tell me something that I really don’t want to know?”

  “So, uh, he wants us to live together.”

  “You’re kidding me, right? You don’t really think that’s a good idea, do you?” she asked. When I didn’t say anything, she gasped. “You do think it’s a good idea. Houston, why on earth would we live together? This doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

  “Just hear me out, please,” I said. “My father…I’ve never seen him this happy. He’ll be so disappointed when he finds out the truth. It’s been so good to see him like this. I just…I don’t want to tell him right now.”

  “Houston, that’s nice of you. Your father is a wonderful man, and I can understand that you don’t want to hurt him. But don’t you think that he’s going to be even more upset when he finds out that you lied to him?”

  “You could come and live with me, and we can ask him to hold out on the wedding reception for a while. Then I can tell him that things between us didn’t work out. He�
�ll be upset, but at least he’ll know I tried. Then we can ‘split up’ and things can go back to normal.”

  Cassidy sighed. “I don’t know, Houston. This is completely insane. I’m not sure if this is a good idea.”

  “But you’re not saying no,” I said. I felt a glimmer of hope rise up in me.

  “I’m not saying no. I’m not saying yes, either. How can I come and live with you?”

  “I have a guest room. You can just crash there for a while. We can invite my dad over even, and he can see that you’ve moved in. You can still go home every day because it’s close by. Just for a few weeks, maybe. I promise it won’t be more that. Please, Cassidy, I really want to do this.”

  “It’s crazy. Completely insane, actually. I honestly don’t think it’s a good idea at all.”

  “Is that a yes?” I asked hopefully.

  Cassidy chuckled. “Only because you helped me out at the wedding. How can I say no to you when I’m the one who put you in this position in the first place? It’s a yes, but only if we can sort this out soon. I can’t live with you forever. And I can’t keep going on with this lie.”

  I smiled. I was surprised. I thought it would take a lot more to get Cassidy on my side. I felt elated at the thought of pleasing my father. Also, if I had to be honest with myself, the idea of having Cassidy with me for a while wasn’t too bad, either.

  “Thank you.”

  She sighed. “Okay, we’re even after this, then.”

  I chuckled. “We’re even.”

  “I’ve got to say, Houston. Life with you around is definitely not dull. Not dull at all.”

  I had no idea if that was a compliment or not, but she smiled at me regardless. She was right, I probably shouldn’t be doing this. But the lie had gotten out of control, and the only way to get out of it seemed to be to go deeper into it.

  Seventeen