Page 129 of Dust Storm

Warm light bathed the inside of the cabin as I poked my head in the door. “Girls?”

Giggles echoed from the kitchen.

The whole place had been cleaned top to bottom. The smell of grilled steak mingled with the fresh lumber, wood stain, and paint.

“You didn’t tell me the furniture came in,” Cassandra hissed under her breath.

I stopped and spun. Her chest bounced off of mine, but I caught her before she teetered backward. “I would have if you hadn’t been ignoring me.”

“Now I can’t return it if they’re not the right pieces.”

“They’re the right pieces, I double-checked the order invoice,” I countered.

She huffed like I was daft. “Just because they’re the right pieces doesn’t mean they’re right for the space.”

I rested my forehead on hers. “Now who’s speaking in cowboy proverbs?”

“Let’s get this over with,” she said as she brushed by me. “Girls,” she said as she entered the kitchen and looked around. “What’s going on?”

Bree and Gracie stood beside the two-seater kitchen table with their hands clasped behind their backs, looking rather smug.

“Welcome, Dad. Miss Cass,” Bree said. Cassandra’s necklace gleamed around her neck.

I stood behind Cassandra, close enough to feel her body heat against my chest. “Would one of my mischievous daughters care to explain what you’re doing all the way out here by yourselves?” I glanced at the table. “And why there’s steak.”

“Grandma’s here!” Gracie blurted out, pointing to the corner where my mother stood, tucked away with an apron around her waist.

I raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Co-conspirators, please tell me why you’re not doing homework under my roof.”

Bree and Gracie looked at each other without the slightest bit of guilt. Apparently, Gracie was the brave one now. “Dad, we want Miss Cass to stay and we want you to date her.”

Cassandra stiffened.

I raised my eyebrows, glancing over at my mother, who gave me a little nod.

“We made dinner,” Bree said. “Well, Grandma helped and so did Uncle CJ. But this was all our idea.”

“Right.” I groaned as I pressed my fingertips into my eye sockets. “Girls, maybe this is something we should talk about back at the house. Dating… that’s a grown-up decision that people have to make on their own. You can’t trick people into it.”

Gracie looked crushed. Her eyes welled up instantly and her lip quivered.

“But…” Bree’s eyebrows drew in. “You like each other. And you look at her like you used to look at Mom.”

Fuck. Me.

Gracie sniffed. “We thought maybe you never had a chance to take Miss Cass out on a date because you’re always working.” She ramped up the waterworks. “We love you, Daddy, and?—”

“Fine! Dinner! We’ll eat it!” Cassandra blurted out, spinning around and putting her back to the girls.

I leaned down and whispered, “You gotta build up an immunity to the puppy face or you’ll go broke.”

She rubbed her temples. “Make it stop. I can’t take that look.”

I sighed. “We will… appreciate… all your hard work. Thank you for being thoughtful and putting together this nice dinner.”

Gracie’s face changed instantly. “So, you’ll date her?”

“Jesus, do you know how long it takes me to coach clients into crying during interviews? That child needs to teach acting classes,” Cassandra whispered.

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