Page 94 of The Forever Rule

The older woman just waved that off. “Who knows with that brother of yours. And I hear there’s more brothers, and even sisters. Cage women. It’s about time we start to add more to the pool.” Then her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Blakely. “Is this one of your sisters? Or perhaps a new Mrs. Cage.” Her gaze went right to Blakely’s left hand, and I had a feeling this small-town life wasn’t going to settle in for long.

“This is Blakely. Not a sister.” I held back a visible shudder.

Blakely full-on laughed. “It’s nice to meet you. Although, I do know his sister.”

“Oh, really. I need all the gossip.”

Blakely met my gaze, and I saw the wince she tried to hide. My whole life was under a microscope these days, all about gossip, and perhaps coming to this small townwhere everybody knew the Cages and all of their mess, wasn’t the best idea.

“I don’t know about that. I’m just really excited to see the town. Maybe you should be the one to give me all the gossip.”

“Oh, I have a lot of it. I’ve lived here since I was a little girl and got married right up at that resort up there. The Cages take good care of us. My husband’s the mayor, you know.”

“And he’s not a Cage?” Blakely asked, and this time I laughed.

“No. Somehow, we’re not the mayor of this small town. Although, I think Grandpa was at one point.”

“He was. And I’m sure one of you guys will be again. We’re really easy here. And we all make sure that whatever businesses pop up are good for the economy, and all of the land here is owned to a point that nothing can be built up that we don’t want here. We want to keep this feeling like it always has, with a little bit of flair.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, Ms. Patty.”

“Now you head into the restaurant right here and have a great lunch special. Although, Cage Italiano? You guys could do better.”

“I don’t know who made that up. Probably Dad,” I said. I tried not to speak through gritted teeth.

Ms. Patty grinned. “He did love branding the place. But it’s what gives us character.”

People were walking past us, calling out their greetings,and I did the same. Because while tourists came and went, the people who had lived here all their lives stayed the same. They got older, got married, had kids, but they were the ones that had been here when I had visited. Had never quite lived, which maybe was the problem. I liked my expensive suits and drinking bourbon out of a low-ball glass, while sitting in a high-rise. I liked my fast cars, and dining with white tablecloths. But I also liked sitting on the ground, fishing pole in hand, trying to catch my lunch, knowing that my brothers would be better at it than me. Maybe I just liked memories that came when we were happy here. But then again, Dad wasn’t always here. No, he was down south, raising his other family.

I pushed those thoughts aside as we said our goodbyes, and I introduced Blakely to a few other people. I saw those curious glances and winced.

“Now that Ms. Patty and a few others know that I’m here, everyone’s going to know that I brought a woman to Cage Lake.”

“And you’ve never done that before?” Blakely asked, her voice soft.

“No. And I didn’t think it was going to be a problem.”

“Is it a problem?” Blakely asked before we walked into the restaurant, and I knew if I said the wrong thing here, it would screw things up for far too long.

I reached out and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face, ignoring the curious looks from onlookers. “It’s not a problem at all. It’s just something I’m getting used to.”

“Okay, then. I’m getting used to it too.”

“Well good. Now, let’s go see what this special is. And then I’ll show you my town.”

“Your town.”

“I meant because I spent summers here, not because my dad branded it.”

“Just a little bit of a problem,” she teased, and slid her hand into mine.

I didn’t want to think too hard about it, because I knew for a fact that things didn’t work out. My family was living proof. But I can enjoy the time we had together for now.

And as I introduced her to countless others who came to sit with us, I took a deep breath, and let the day wash over us.

We were deep into our salad when a familiar voice echoed to the room.

“And you don’t even say hi,” Hudson said as he came forward, waving at the hostess.

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