Page 96 of Wyatt

I smile.You’re welcome.

Wyatt helps me into my jacket. I wait for him to take off the bunny ears and put on his hat, but he doesn’t.

“Even Cash can’t be mean to a bunny,” he explains with a smile.

We follow Cash out into the autumn sunshine. It’s a bright, beautiful day, the air crisp, not a cloud in the sky.

It’s a startling contrast to Cash’s stormy expression.

“How long?” he asks.

Wyatt grabs my hand. “How long have we been dating or?—”

“How long have y’all been sneaking around behind our backs?”

I give him a look. “That’s unfair, Cash. We only startedtelling people today. And we’re telling y’allbecausewe don’t want to go behind anyone’s back.”

“If you say so.” Glaring at me, Cash runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek before he turns to his brother. “And this is different from all your other flings because…”

Talk about awkward. Cash is putting Wyatt on the spot by making him confess his feelings for me all over again.

“Sally is my best friend. I know my history is working against me here, but people can change. Just look at you and Mollie. Y’all were hell-bent on hating each other in the beginning, but then you talked about your misunderstandings and realized y’all were more alike than different. Isn’t that how it went?”

I nod. “Y’all are so cute together.”

“Thanks,” Cash replies gruffly.

“If you can change, then I can too,” Wyatt continues. “I know you think I’m full of shit, but you have to give me a chance to prove you wrong.”

Cash takes a deep, aggravated inhale. “It’s my job to look after the ranch and everyone who works here. Y’all screw this up, y’all could screw us too.”

“You don’t know that.” My chest tightens. “You said you loved us. Show it. Give us the benefit of the doubt.”

A pained expression crosses Cash’s face. “I want to, Sally. But I also don’t want anybody gettin’ hurt. You understand how this puts me in a bind, don’t you?”

“It only puts you in a bind if you’re assuming the worst will happen,” I counter.

“Again, that’s kind of my job, Sally. Hope for the best, anticipate the worst. And the worst that could happen is pretty damn bad. Y’all break up, Wyatt’s devastated, you’re heartbroken, and your parents decide it’s time to retire because they fuckin’ hate our guts for destroyin’ their daughter. Aren’t you supposed to be moving to New York in, like, a week or something?”

“End of December,” I say.

“What’s the plan then?”

Wyatt clears his throat. “We’re getting there.”

“And your daddy?” Cash says to me. “What does he think about all this?”

It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes. “He’ll come around.”

Cash gives us a pointed look, as if to say,See? Y’all haven’t grown up.

Wyatt is silent. Cash puts his hands on his hips and looks out across the yard.

Time to bring out the big guns.

“You and Mollie happened fast,” I begin.

Cash kicks at the dirt. “Well, yeah. We had to work together a lot?—”

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