I grabbed the flowers I’d purchased, climbed out of my truck, and ran into the house, searching the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. No such luck. I couldn’t find her anywhere. The bathrooms were empty as well. I was frantic and I hate to say that my heart started pounding thinking the worst. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself. One deep breath in. Two deep breaths out.
Once I was calm, I walked out to the barn to look for my girl. There she stood, my goddess, my Selene, perfection in the middle of the aisle brushing down Oakley. They must’ve just gotten done with their training for the day and she was a sight to see.
“Well, howdy sweetheart. You sure are a sight for sore eyes.”
A smile crept across her face and a blush spread over her cheeks as emerald-colored eyes found mine.
“Beau Montgomery, I need you to be less of a charmer.”
“Never for you, sweetheart. You deserve all the charm I can muster.”
“How am I supposed to resist you when you keep being sweet to me?”
I winked.
“The answer to that question is simple- don’t.”
She shook her head and went back to cleaning Oakley.
“How can I help you?”
“Well, you could agree to be my date for the opening day of the fair tomorrow.”
“Beau…” Her hand dropped from brushing Oakley and she looked over at me.
“It’s just a night with you and me. I’m not asking for anything fancy. Hell, we don’t even have to call it a date, but I sure wish we could. Let me do something nice for you. Let me take you out and show you a good time. Please.”
“Beau…”
“Please Cass… Come on. One date. One night. That’s all I’m asking right now.”
She still didn’t respond and I was starting to worry that she was going to really turn me down.
I dropped to my knees in front of her, flowers in one hand, “Please.”
She laughed, then fake rolled her eyes. “Oh, alright. If you’re going to pull my arm over it, I guess I have to.”
“One of these days, Cassidy Mae. You’re going to crash into me. You’re going to decide that you can’t live without me. I’m going to win you over, you’ll see.”
A spread widened her face.
“You keep telling yourself that, Beau. You got a yes out of me. Are you happy?”
“Baby, I’m so pleased you want to go on a date with me. As for telling myself, I’ll be telling you too.”
She eyed the flowers with a smile and I couldn’t help but feel proud for buying them.
“These are for you too.”
“Beau Montgomery, did you go and buy me flowers just to ask me out on a date with you tomorrow?”
“It would seem like that’s exactly what I did. Plus, I wanted to give you something to remind you that I’m all in with us, Cass. Every time you look at those flowers, you’ll think about me and I like that idea quite a bit.”
“You would, huh? You do realize that flowers die eventually, right?”
“You’re right, those flowers may die, but even when they’re gone they’ll still be a good memory of us. I’m trying to take every bad memory of yours and replace it with an “us” memory. An unforgettable one.”
“You’re too good to me. You know that?”
“I’m good only for you and when you want me to be bad for you, I can handle that too. You just tell me when and where.” I winked at her and the giggle that erupted from her mouth caused my heart to beat faster. I loved making her happy. Making her smile. Every single smile was mine. I was capturing each of them in a happy moment. One that we’d have for the rest of our lives.
If I didn’t watch this heart of mine, I’d lose it to Beau. He was the most charming, sexiest man I’d ever met. We shared a history. We’d both grown up in this small town and he was bound and determined to prove himself to me. I didn’t understand why he was trying so hard. I’d been fighting an internal battle daily. I wanted so badly to shed my past and let Beau in, but it scared the hell out of me.
Andrew had been nice to me once too. He had fooled me good. I didn’t think Beau would, but the problem was that I didn’t know for sure. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to risk it. My heart was on the line again and I didn’t think I’d make it through another battle. It’d been through a lot and another heartbreak would damn near kill me. I truly believed he was worth it, but fear was holding me back. I knew where he stood, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle his love. It was intense. He wanted to consume me. Was I ready for that? Yet I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Maybe I should let it all go and give in to him. Give in to my desires, and let go of my fear. I had no idea what to do.
Andrew’s fate still was a mystery to everyone, it seemed. If Devin was showing up in my town it was obvious that no one had heard from him. Devin knew something, but he wasn’t sharing. Those two were thick as thieves and
