Page 67 of Dust Storm

“I said, ‘please,’” she snapped.

“You’re angry,” I began, but Cassandra cut me off before I could finish.

“Which is obviously something you’ve never felt in your entire fucking life!” She whirled around, blonde hair flying like a tornado. “You’re a walking sedative!Mr. Never-Raises-His-Voice. I’m sure I look fucking crazy to you! Of course I’m angry, you serene fucking horse whisperer!”

Honest to God—I wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t exactly the time for it. Cassandra was shaking with rage, and I didn’t blame her.

I knew she had a lot to drink, but the woman could handle her liquor. She looked sober as a judge.

In a burst of fury, Cassandra balled up her fist and swung at one of the posts along the porch railing.

“Hey now,” I grunted as I caught her fist in my palm. “You’re gonna hurt those pretty hands, not him. Don’t hurt yourself trying to take down someone else.”

“I just—” One glimmering tear fell to her cheek, then another. Cassandra hiccuped.

Miraculously, she turned and rested her head on my chest. Oxygen rushed out of my lungs as I wrapped my arms around her, cradling her head in the palm of my hand.

“You loved him,” I reasoned. “It’s okay to be angry after someone betrays you like that.”

“I didn’t love him.” Cassandra sniffed back tears, but they just kept streaming down her face, streaking her makeup. “I just wanted to be loved.”

We stood there for what felt like an eternity, swaying together in the porch light as she cried.

Eventually I coaxed her inside. She fought me the entire way.

Sadie helped, nipping at Cassandra’s ankles until she parked herself on the couch. Sadie kept watch while I heated up the leftovers.

“Eat,” I said as I set the plate in her lap and handed her a fork. “If you’re anything like me, drinking on an empty stomach will bite you in the ass in the morning.”

She just poked around at the green beans.

I pitched a throw pillow across to the empty armchair and sat down beside her. “What does this mean for your job? He was your boss, right?”

“Boss adjacent,” she clarified.

Good to see that her fire hadn’t died. I liked her sass.

Cassandra stabbed a green bean with a little more force than necessary. “He liked to act like my boss, but after I got demoted back to business development, it took me out of his chain of command. At least I’m still employed.”

“You really want to work near him?”

Her lips curled up. “Why should I be the one to leave? If he’s uncomfortable with my presence, that’s his problem.”

“That’s my girl.”

Her attitude was strong, but her eyes were sad.

I settled in, stretching my arm around her shoulders and reaching for the remote. “You’ve got a place here as long as you want.”

15

CASSANDRA

“Why isn’t the damn horse moving!” I shouted from ten feet behind Christian and Libby.

Libby huffed, turning her giant head and glaring at me, annoyed that we had to stop yet again.

Christian’s smile flashed brighter than the midday sun. The snicker he tried to hide beneath his beard pissed me off.

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