Page 39 of Holding The Reins

In fact, if I ever see Andrew, I won’t just be with the Ashby boys to beat him down, I’ll be first in line.

“What’s good, boys?” Cole says, pulling his sheriff hat off and placing it on his chair at the kitchen table as he comes into the kitchen.

He pulls the bottle of bourbon from the counter and pours himself a glass. Mama Jo has joined the dance party in the living room now.

The oven starts beeping as Jo changes the song on her phone for the girls.

“Cole, take the lasagna out and toss in the bread. You boys can serve us girls tonight.”

CeCe and Mabel cheer as they start dancing to “That Don’t Impress Me Much,” CeCe’s Shania favorite.

I look at the boys and we chuckle. As always, no one argues with Jo, so Wade pulls out the loaf of bread and makings of a salad, and I make a quick garlic butter to spread on it, as Dean squeezes into the kitchen past the girls. “You fellas making dinner tonight on account of this?” he says hiking his thumb over his shoulder.

“Yep, Pop,” Wade says. He hands him the cutlery. “Make yourself useful, you can set the table.”

“What’s wrong with you, you’re younger than me,” Dean jokes, taking the cutlery from him as he pours his own bourbon.

“Can’t. I’m tossing the salad.” Wade shakes his head as soon as the words leave his mouth while he mixes the salad.

“Yeah, Wade’s the best at tossing salad. Maybe even the best in the whole county.” Cole chuckles as he pops a crouton into his mouth.

“You know, come to think of it, I have heard around town that he tosses a mean salad,” I say.

Papa Dean winks, waving his handful of cutlery at Wade. “That only comes with lots of practice like my fingering.”

“Damn you, fuckers,” Wade mutters as I clap him on the back and start buttering the bread.

“Two dollars in my boot, Uncle Wade,” Mabel yells over the music and I laugh.

“Her hearing becomes supersonic for cuss words,” Wade mumbles as he tosses two bills in the boot.

“Mama Jo!” CeCe protests as the opening strings to “Cecilia” by Simon & Garfunkel begin to play. They always do this to her every chance they get, and although she protests, she always dances to her namesake.

I put the bread in the oven to crisp, then lean against the door frame and watch the girls make fools out of themselves while I knock back the rest of my bourbon. I just may need a second tonight.

No matter how many times I tell myself not to let her in, CeCe Ashby is getting under my skin. Wade’s words ring in my mind. Watch out for her. He trusts me to care for her the way he would. I can’t let him or Wyatt down for a crush, okay, a semi-obsession at this point. I make a mental note to use the phone number Cole passed onto me a few weeks ago, and soon, just to help clear my head. This family is the only one I have. But as I watch the free-spirited blonde that has all my attention lately dance and sing to the lyrics,

You’re breaking my heart,

I’m down on my knees,

I’m begging you please to come home…

I know it’s gonna be a tough fight. She’s just creeping into the crevices of my otherwise closed off soul and lighting it up like the fucking fourth of July. She looks up at me watching her, wearing what I’m sure is the world’s goofiest grin on my face and she smiles wide, tips her head back and laughs. It’s the prettiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.

“Dinner, Pistol Annies!” Cole calls to the out of breath dance team in the living room, fifteen minutes later. They shuffle in, and as CeCe passes by me still breathing heavy after her pre-dinner workout. I grab her wrist.

“You left this last night in my bar, must have fallen off you.”

I pull her infinity necklace out of my pocket and it dangles between my finger and thumb. She holds her palm out and I drop it in, curling her fingers around it. The size difference between our hands is staggering. Her hand molds underneath mine so perfectly it momentarily stuns me.

She smiles up at me. “I was so worried I lost it. My dad gave me this two Christmases ago.” She leans in. “He’s with me for eternity,” she whispers, I assume quoting his words.

“He is, you know,” I say back, looking deeper into her eyes than warranted.

She looks around and nods. “He’s everywhere I look here. It’s comforting.”

“Sure is,” I say as she smiles at me again.

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