Page 6 of Rope Me

Cassidy shakes her head. “Thanks, but I can’t.”

“Is it the frozen pizza of it all?”

She laughs and it’s a sound I could live on. “No, it’s not that. I’ve got to get my dogs to the groomer and pick up Connor from Randolph this afternoon. But I’m glad I ran into you, Alex.”

My name on those pillowy lips is mesmerizing. “So am I.”

We walk onto the porch, and Choke, our territorial rooster, scurries toward us. His chest is puffed and his wings are flapping as he struts between us and the Jeep. Cassidy hesitates, her handbrushing mine as she steps closer. The sensation sends tingles whipping across my body.

“Don’t worry about him,” I say, placing a hand on her lower back and guiding her past. “Choke thinks he owns the place, but he’s harmless.”

“Choke?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Choke the chicken,” I reply with a smirk.

Cassidy bursts into laughter, her hand flying to her mouth. “Of course. The Kingridge brothers don’t disappoint.”

When I open her car door, she hesitates before sliding inside. “Come to the Hitchin’ Hearts Hoedown next weekend,” I say. “I’ll pull a horse around for Connor. He’ll love it.”

“He’ll be with his dad,” she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Then I guess I’ll get you all to myself,” I reply, my grin widening as her cheeks flush pink. “Lucky me.”

Cassidy drives off, and I watch her Jeep until it disappears. My heart rate won’t come down and I know exactly what I’ll be doing before I head back to work. Only before I step inside, I hear tires crunching up the gravel toward me.

I watch as the white truck kicks up a thick cloud of dust and I already know which brothers could be behind the wheel. Bowen and Callum insist on driving like they’re auditioning for Fast and Furious, Farm edition.

They drive me crazy, but they work hard. It’s a trait that separates the upper half of the Kingridge alphabet– Alexander, Bowen, and Callum from the younger ones, Fallon, Geoffrey, and Holden. By the time they came along Pa was done chasing most of his demons, their mother stuck around, and our ranch was booming. They had it too easy and it shows.

“Hey, who was that?” Bowen slams the truck door as he makes his way toward me. “Heard over at the wheat fields thatyou were talking to someone… a woman.” He lets the last word sit heavy with innuendo.

I roll my eyes. “Word travels fast at the ranch. You remember Cassidy, right? She used to babysit us.”

“Mayor’s wife? What do they want from us? I don’t want to hear nothing about an easement or taxes, we’re square with that. I checked?—”

“She isn’t his wife anymore.” The words snap out of me before I can stop them.

Bowen holds his hands up in surrender and the corner of his mouth pulls into a cocky smirk. “My mistake dude.”

CHAPTER 5

CASSIDY

It’s beena week since I ran into Alex, and somehow, it feels like my entire life has shifted. We’ve exchanged at least two hundred texts—flirty, sweet, and on occasion, steamy. I’ve been floating through the days like a lovestruck teenager.

Still, I remind myself it’s too soon to think about getting into another relationship. I’ve been honest with Alex about that. He doesn’t seem to care. And, truthfully, he’s one hell of a distraction.

I fumble with the bag of baked goods I brought for him as I smooth down the front of my black fringed shirt. He can’t keep eating like a college frat boy. Pulling down the visor in my Jeep, I glance at myself in the mirror.

No makeup. Uneven skin tone. A few new lines around my eyes. It feels like walking into battle unarmed. Vulnerable. Naked.

“Why didn’t I just wear the damn pageant makeup?” I mutter to myself, letting out a shaky breath.

Then I glance at the backseat and force myself to rephrase my thoughts.Change is hard. New things are hard. But I’m not the mayor’s wife anymore. I don’t need to wear a mask forthese people. They’ll just have to get used to it. Soon enough the white-hot spotlight will train itself on someone else.

“Connor, are you ready to go inside?” I glance back at my son, his braces flashing in the rearview mirror.

“You bet!” He gives me a thumbs-up with the kind of enthusiasm only a nine-year-old can muster.

---