Page 35 of The Bull Rider & the Wedding Planner

A rap came on the door. She startled and stood, walking toward the door.

The door opened upstairs and Easton rushed out. “Cassie, wait. We don’t know who that is.”

“Oh. Right.” She turned and hurried upstairs, passing him on the stairs.

He gave her an encouraging smile. “Probably just one of my brothers, but we have to keep you safe.”

“Thanks.” She hurried into Presley’s room, loving how diligent he was about their safety and knowing he was tough enough to protect them.

Presley was sitting up. “I want my Easton.”

Cassie smiled and closed the door. The room plunged into darkness. “He’ll be right back, sweetie. I’ll sing to you.”

“No fun, but otay.”

Cassie smiled and lay down on the bed next to Presley. Life without Easton was only fun because of Presley, but it was what she was reconciled to. She started singing, wondering who was there to visit. She heard the rumble of male voices.

Easton didn’t come for her. Presley fell asleep, and Cassie stood and walked to the door. Quietly opening it, she listened.

It sounded like his younger brothers. Could she go out there? Would he want her to? Earlier she’d been trying to think how to avoid spending more time with him tonight, but now she was the one instigating it. She was a mess. But if it was his brothers, they’d be a buffer.

She eased toward the balcony and spotted Easton, Rhett, and Houston. Easton’s gaze darted to her, his blue eyes warm. “Cass.”

“Cassie!” Houston called. “No way. Nobody told us you still lived.”

Cassie smiled, but there was worry she wouldn’t live if Baxter found her. She held up a finger. Turning, she shut the door to the bedroom and then hurried down the stairs. As soon as she reached the landing, Houston and Rhett both rushed at her. They were the little brothers she’d always longed for. They were both all grown up, strong, handsome, and towered over her. They took turns giving her bear hugs, lifting her off her feet, exclaiming about how pretty she was. She felt like she was with the family she’d always wanted.

“Okay, you two.” Easton shook his head. “Calm down and give Cassie some breathing room.”

“You weren’t even going to tell us she’s here? Keeping her all to yourself,” Rhett accused.

Easton held up his hands. “Sue me. Would you want to share your beautiful girlfriend with your annoyinglittle brothers?”

Cassie choked on a protest about that term. She was far from his girlfriend.

“Even Mama didn’t spill the beans,” Rhett said. “But she is consumed with the weddings.”

“Come sit with us,” Houston requested. “We want to hear about your life the past ten years.”

Cassie’s insides froze. She looked to Easton. He gave her an encouraging smile. She looked from Rhett to Houston, both impressive men, no longer the teasing and rowdy teenagers she remembered. She’d heard from Daisy that Rhett was a successful general contractor and Houston was almost done with his medical residency. She wondered if Houston knew about the huge crush Daisy had on him. It was hilarious but sad that the verbose Daisy claimed she couldn’t form a coherent sentence when he ‘lit up her world with those blue eyes’.

“I’d rather hear about you two,” she said, walking over to the couch and sitting down. Easton sat right next to her, slipping his arm around her and drawing her against his side for good measure. She went hot all over, contradicting the chill from a moment ago.

“No, no, no.” Rhett settled his large frame in an easy chair. “You first. All I do is deal with homeowners, sub-contractors, and pound in nails.”

Cassie knew there was a lot more to building custom homes than that.

“For sure.” Houston sat on the loveseat. “My life is boring. Unless you’re into medical terms and procedures, I doubt you want to hear about residency, or my three days off a month where I mostly catch up on exercise and sleep.”

“Three days off in addition to weekends?” she asked.

“No. Three days off total.”

“Yikes.” Cassie found herself cuddling into Easton. “When do you date?”

“Ha.” Houston shook his head. “Dating. Only Easton has time to date a hundred different women.”

She stiffened against him. Easton ran his hand along her shoulder, and she instantly calmed. How could he have such a profound effect on her when she knew she had to keep her guard up?

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