Page 120 of Meet Dare

“He was going to leave eventually anyway,” I explain. “This way we cut him off before his leaving could hurt us.”

Except it already hurts pretty freaking bad. In fact, I think I may be having a heart attack. My hands are trembling, I have no feeling in my limbs, and pain is bursting from my chest.

Should I call 911? Unfortunately, the only first responder in town is my brother-in-law, River. My break-up would be all over town before he arrived at my door to perform CPR.

“What are we going to do, Diva? What are we going to do?”

Chapter 39

Never give up on a skittish horse – Cedar’s rules for capturing the woman he loves

Cedar

Isigh when I hear people trampling through the woods toward my house. There’s no sense worrying about who it is. No one hikes over on this side of Winter Falls unless they’re on their way to visit me.

I expected them to be here sooner. I’m honestly surprised no one followed me home from Cassie’s house after she threw me out.

Home.I study my tiny house. The tiny house has been with me for years. We’ve traveled around the country. Seen mountains and beaches. Highways and backroads. Poor spots and wealthy areas.

But this isn’t home anymore. No, a home is not a place. Home is a person. And Cassie is my person. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Correction. She does know it. But she’s afraid to admit it. I know she loves me. It’s in the way she looks at me. In the way she smiles at me. In the way she takes care of me.

But I understand her trepidation. She’s spent two decades believing she wasn’t worthy of love, thinking she was the cause of her parents’ death. Her misconception can’t be erased in a few short months. Although, I do have an idea of how to kickstart the process.

I only hope my idea won’t end up with me on my way to the emergency room because Cassie kicked me in the balls with all her might. The woman’s been working in bars for nearly a decade. She knows how to protect herself. She doesn’t need to protect herself from me, but she hasn’t figured that out yet. Thus, the whole throwing me out of her house and breaking up with me.

The door jiggles before it opens and my brother barges in with Cassie’s brother hot on his heels.

“I should have locked the door,” I grumble.

Rowan chuckles and holds up a key. “Except you gave my wife a key.”

Mistake on my part. Obviously.

“We came here to talk you out of leaving.” Beckett frowns as he scans the room. Boxes litter the area. “But we’re too late.”

“Who wants a beer?”

I don’t wait for a reply before grabbing three beers from the refrigerator and handing them out. I gesture toward the door – my place isn’t big enough for three men over six-foot tall on a normal day and today is not a normal day.

“What happened?” Rowan asks the second we’re outside.

“I—”

My answer is cut off when I notice Mercury trudging toward me.

“What’s wrong?”

The old man doesn’t wander into this side of town unless he has a reason.

“You said you were here to stay,” he accuses.

“I am.”

He points to where my truck is backed up to my tiny house. The trailer hitch isn’t connected yet, but it will be soon. “It looks otherwise.”

“Appearances can be deceiving. You of all people should know better.”

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