Page 34 of Caden's Situationship

I rubbed my fingers up and down Cordelia’s back to try and ease her tension. She may be more open with me than she’d ever been, but she still held herself with a certain class and I knew she was freaking out on the inside.

Luckily, my mom had the gift of gab and quickly changed the subject. “Most the guests are enjoying town tonight, so we’re set up to have dinner in the dining room.”

“That works for us.”

“There you are, son.” My dad came from around the corner and gave me a hug before I introduced him to Cordelia.

“So this is the woman everyone is talking about around town.”

Cordelia giggled. “Goodness, I guess my wardrobe is still a hot topic.”

“Not your wardrobe,” Dad said. “Folks in town are saying they’ve been seeing you and Caden spending a lot of time together.”

“Dad, since when do you listen to gossip?” I asked.

“Well, since your brother, Crayson, has been warning your mom and me that you may in an unhealthy relationship with a cow, I figured we needed to pay more attention to your love life.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, ready to remind my parents that Crayson was an idiot, but Cordelia only added fuel to the fire.

“Oh, Ms. LeeLee and I have already had an altercation over Caden.”

“So you have met LeeLee?” Mom asked. “What did you think of her?”

“The jury’s still out,” Cordelia told her. “But, if she’s important to Caden, she’s important to me.”

As Cordelia and my mom walked into the dining room and began talking about an array of topics, I went to the outdoor deck with my dad, catching him up on everything that had been going on around the ranch.

Mason Madden was a great man, and growing up, I always wanted to be just like him. I guess in a way I was because I was the only son to take up a life in the country. Yet, I was more like my mom in a lot of ways, and there were times I knew my dad could relate to my brothers a helluva lot more than he could relate to me.

The sound of Cordelia’s laughter grabbed my attention, and from my angle, I could just catch a glimpse of her sitting next to my mom inside.

“I remember that look,” Dad said, lighting one of his cigars.

“What look?” I asked, reaching for a cigar as well. Crayson had gotten the entire family into cigars after he opened his first cigar lounge.

“The look of a man falling for a woman.” He gestured at me with his cigar. “When Crayson called and told us about Cordelia being the rep from Red Rose Investment Firm, he told your mother and I that you were different around her.”

“Does Crayson have anything better to do than call y’all and talk about me?”

Dad shrugged. “He’s protective of you, you know that. Crayson never did know how to tell folks he cared the normal way, so instead, he does things like call us whenever he’s concerned about something that goes on with you boys.”

“And what else did he say about me and Cordelia?”

Dad laughed. “Well, your brother is a lot more colorful than I am, but he implied that you and Cordelia had chemistry and he could tell you really liked her.”

I nodded. “I do. We went to school together, but I’m sure Mom or Crayson told you that.”

“Crayson told me. Your mom is better at keeping things private than that boy is.”

“We’re just keeping things casual, pops,” I told him, to nip any theories about Cordelia and me in the bud.

“Son, I’ve got my own set of eyes, and things between you and Ms. Cordelia are far from casual.”

I leaned back in my chair, not even trying to argue with him because he was right. Deep down, I knew things were already more complicated than I’d been willing to admit to myself. And with my parents, I never could lie to them anyway.

“She heads back to Texas soon.”

“Is she here at least another week?” he asked.

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