Page 24 of Cold Foot Cash

“I’m not asking for you to be my hero either, you know.”

“I know. You’re tough. It’s just kind of nice to see someone else having a hard time.”

She snorted. “Thanks a lot.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. It’s just nice knowing I’m not the only one without all my shit together.” His lips thinned. “That also sounds like I’m wishing hard times on you just to make myself feel better.”

She couldn’t help her smile. “You’re a monster,” she murmured.

“Well at least I’m not crying on your porch sending you selfies.”

She laughed. Okay, he was making her feel better. He really was. Smiles should not exist tonight, but they had by the dozens.

“Do you want to see what you caused?” she asked, stalling. Truth be told, she didn’t want him to leave yet.

“Let me see, but be warned, if he is cussing and calling you names, I’ll fuckin’ fly to Bozeman and throttle him.”

And she believed him. The look in his eyes said he had no patience for that behavior, and also that he didn’t bluff. She should be scared, or worried at least, but she wasn’t. She liked that he was sticking up for her. She liked that he had that grit and confidence to him.

How long had it been since she’d opened up enough for anyone to even want to get protective of her? Lance hadn’t ever been the protective type.

She opened the text thread and handed her phone over to Cash.

Cash leaned his shoulder against the wall next to her motel room door as he read and scrolled. His face was unreadable other than his eyes, which were sparking with irritation.

“You know he’s not allowed to talk to you like this, right?” he asked as he handed her phone back to her.

Harley shrugged. “It’s almost over.”

“Was he like that when you were together?”

“Only at the end. When I started asking questions, trying to figure out if he was cheating, he got really defensive. It was a different side than I’d ever seen of him, you know? He had to get me back in line, thinking I was crazy so he could keep doing what he was doing with less guilt, I guess.”

Cash nodded slowly, his eyes blazing molten gold. “Sounds like a real catch.”

“I thought he was. He was smart, you know? Had a PHD, was intellectual, could carry very intelligent conversations and I felt smarter being around him. Sounds weird, but I was attracted to that. He could walk into a room of intelligent, educated people, and run the conversation, and entertain them, and God, it was fun to watch. It was fun to be around it.”

“Fun to be his?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I’m not smart like that, but I felt good having a man like that see value in me.”

Cash shook his head and pushed off the wall, stood to his full height. “Text me if you need anything.”

“Wait, are you upset?” she asked, frowning at his back as he strode down the hall toward the exit.

“Nope.” He didn’t turn around though, and now she was swimming in confusion.

“Wait!” she said, following him. “You are mad. What did I say wrong?”

“You didn’t say anything wrong,” Cash said, turning around. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just can’t watch you elevate aman in your imagination who would talk to you like that,” he said, jamming his finger at her phone. “If he’s so fuckin’ smart, why did he throw you away?”

Harley was stunned. She parted her lips to defend the old Lance, but why? Cash was right. All the smarts and education and intellect in the world couldn’t take away from the fact that he had willingly hurt her, and over a long period of time, and now was losing his mind because he thought she was finally moving on?

Cash was spot-on.

Maybe Cash was the smart one.

She swallowed down her defensiveness and nodded. “You’re right.”

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