Page 22 of Caden's Situationship

Even predicting what Linc would say, it didn’t make hearing the truth any better.

“You know me,” I told him. “When it comes to business, I get it done.”

He slapped my shoulder. “That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout, bruh!”

I let him talk the rest of the quick drive because Linc lived for an adrenaline rush. I, on the other hand, would much rather have stayed on my couch with Cordelia.

Eight

CORDELIA

“I must have lost all my pearls because this is the worst idea I’ve had in a long time,” I muttered to myself as I picked up the pace and made my way through the garden to the admin building.

Following Caden and Linc was stupid, especially when I was doing so on foot in a ranch that I’d only recently arrived on. Yet, I’d been madder than a wet hen when he told me to get a good night’s rest. How dare he kiss the words off my lips and squeeze my backside like it’s the only thing he’s wanted to do for a week? Who was he to spend a romantic night watching a show together, forcing me to think about the times we used to do that back in college.

And he has some nerve for calling me a nickname that he knows I hate as some naughty form of foreplay.Well, technically, I used his nickname first, but that wasn't the point.The point was, Caden was just as lost in that lustful moment as I was, yet, he’d been able to cut it off like a light switch. No sirree. That just wouldn’t do. So without thinking too carefully, I grabbed a hat, my light jacket, and rushed out of the loft.

Fifteen minutes later, I was grateful to make it to the building, and was even more appreciative when I noticed one of the windows cracked open and a light on. My gut told me they were in that room, and my suspicions were confirmed when I snuck over and peeped through the window right as they were in the middle of their conversation.

Houston pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think we have to head there and handle this.”

“I can’t go to Nashville right now,” Caden said.

“Your staff can handle the ranch,” Hou replied.

Caden nodded. “I know. But have you forgotten that Cordelia is here? What would I say for this unexpected trip?”

I couldn’t see the other people in the room that Caden kept looking at, but I assumed it was Wade and Katrina since Linc had mentioned they were also here when he was at Caden’s house earlier.

“Just tell her the truth,” Linc suggested. “I’m sure she’s not the delicate flower you think she is. Some of those gaudy ruffles may just be for show. She can handle the truth.”

Precisely.Granted, he gave me a compliment mixed with an insult, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Either Caden had lowered his voice or the wind picking up outside was really messing with my eardrums, because I couldn’t hear them as well anymore. Then again, I’d never been good at eavesdropping. My father used to tell me it was because I breathed too loud. My cousin, Lance, used to say that I was too heavy-footed. And my mom occasionally told me I would start talking to myself or get distracted by something, giving myself up.Probably how you’re distracted by your own thoughts right now.

Glancing outside in the darkness, I spotted a crate that would give me a lift so I could dip my head in the window a little more. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one attracted to the light because just as I lifted my head with the crate in hand, I was met with something huge a couple inches from my face.

Forgetting that I was supposed to be incognito, a scream ripped through my body, causing me to stumble away from the window. However, the large, blotchy creature started moving my way—which, of course, made me get my heinie in gear and start running in the opposite direction.

Too bad for me I didn’t get that far and encountered a large, wooden sign instead. The last thing I remembered before everything went black was Caden asking me if I was okay.

Growing up,I always wondered what it would feel like to actually faint. I would see women catch the holy ghost when I was at church and fall into the pew. I recall seeing a movie in which the woman passed out and the man caught her in his arms right before they shared a passionate kiss.

Or, this one time my grandmother realized her prized ruby necklace had been stolen by one of my cousins, she fainted on the spot and I was fascinated at the graceful way she fell into her sofa. Then again, the fainting probably had more to do with the fact that my cousin was arrested that same day he stole her necklace.

In the Rose family, it wasn’t proper to have family members with a record, and my cousin, Mark, was the one no one in the family liked to talk about. Even so, at every family reunion we knew that when Mark was around, things typically showed up missing. That is, if he was invited in the first place. There really wasn’t a place in Dandelion Hills for people like Mark.Not even sure if there’s a place for people like me.Mark had always been nice to me, though. Even when I found out he stole my fake diamond studs, only to realize they weren’t real until he got to the pawn shop, we’d laughed about it when he told me.

But that’s Mark. Wasn’t sure what he was up to lately, but I was sure he was unapologetic about everything he’d ever done. I could learn a thing or two from him. I wouldn’t call me the black sheep of the family, but I definitely wasn’t the most loved. My grandma used to always tell me that I was too much of a dreamer. I wanted things that were unattainable for people like us. And when I once told her I wondered what it would feel like to pass out, she called me a melodramatic child.

Funny how I hated to ever say my grandmother was right about anything, but as I laid in the grass and slowly opened my eyes to a flashlight and five pairs of eyes looking down at me, I concluded that grandma was right. Fainting sucked.

“Why is my shirt wet?” I whined as Caden and Houston helped me up.

“We doused you with water to wake you up,” Caden explained. “Come on, let’s get you inside and get an icepack on that bump.”

At his words, I touched where I had hit my forehead. “Did you guys see that crazy creature?” I asked as we made it inside.

“It’s not a creature,” Hou said. “It’s a cow.”

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