Page 79 of Freeing the Wild
“I LOVE him!”CeCe says with excitement.“He’s really up-and-coming right now too.He’d draw a great crowd.I bet we’d sell out in a day.”
“Oh, Cassie, you’ve gone and done it,” Nash chuckles to me.“There’s no stopping this now.”
“Bite your tongue, baby,” CeCe tells him “Can you be a good supportive husband and tell Cassie you’ll cover Evan’s fee to perform?That way we can give all the proceeds to Penny Lane.And, if we raise enough, maybe we can even help other local businesses affected by the storm.”
Nash shakes his head and looks at me.“Hey, Cassie?”
“Yes?”I laugh.Everyone else does too.Except Wadeand Ivy, who have moved into the kitchen to make gaga faces at Billi.
“I’d love to cover Evan’s fee.And match whatever we raise.”
CeCe squeals in delight and kisses his face.Nash just shrugs and I can’t help but laugh at the way this man dotes on CeCe.He’s gonna make the best daddy.
“Well, if that’s the case, Nash … I’d be happy to call his manager and ask.”
“So it’s settled,” CeCe says.“We’re planning another event!Cassie, will you help?
I nod.“That I can do.”
Cole chuckles and points at Nash, his glass raised.“What was that you were saying about sitting on the other side of the fence?”
Nash grunts as he sips his own bourbon, and I grin as I look at the faces around me.I can’t help thinking about Dr.Payler’s advice to associate music with positive experiences.
Looks like I’m planning a concert.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Haden
“So, you over your little alpha cowboy stint?”Cole asks as we dry the whiskey glasses.At the big house, it’s expected that the men clear up after dinner.Nash said it’s a ripoff tonight since no one cooked.But here we are, tidying anyway, while the girls play Twister in the living room with Mabel.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I answer as I dry a platter that held Jo’s delicious sour cream cake.
“You mean to tell me you threw snow in Dirk’s face this afternoon because you thought he looked thirsty?”
“He did look fucking thirsty,” I retort.Cole laughs.
“What am I missing here?”Wade asks.
I look over at him—he has Billi strapped to his chest as he wipes down the kitchen counters and makes funny faces at her—and grin.“I’m still not used to seeing this guy wearing a baby and smiling all the time.”
“Nah, you’re not changing the subject that quickly,” Nash says.“We’re all a bunch of old married men now.Give us the drama.”
I turn and watch the girls in the other room as they play.Cassie is tangled in a big heap of limbs.And, of course, the only ass bent over right in front of me is hers.She’s laughing now and is a lot calmer than when she was at the table.I could feel the nerves radiating off her when CeCe asked her for help.But I’m proud of the way she handled it.And even though it probably brought back unsavory memories to speak to Evan’s manager, the second she was done with dinner, she made the call.I watch her laugh now as Ginger falls into a heap and Mabel laughs hysterically that she and Cassie are the last ones standing.
“No drama.Cassie’s a nice girl is all, and she doesn’t need a manwhore hitting on her,” I tell them.
Wade chuckles.“Defending her honor?That’s mighty nice of you.”
I sip my bourbon.“Someone needs to.Have you seen the way Dirk goes through the local single women?”
“Have you seen howyouused to go through them?”Wade asks.“Kinda like throwing stones in a glass house, ain’t it?”
“No, he’s reformed.I haven’t seen him with a woman in months,” Nash interjects.“At least, not at the Horse and Barrel.”
“You got someone we don’t know about?”Wade asks.
“It’s not that deep.Jesus.People grow up, you know,” I tell them.
