JR was Pete’s son. He wanted Addie’s farm. He’d—
“Earth to Cade?” Cord joked. “You with me, bro?”
Cade blinked and turned to his brother. “What?”
“I said, ‘Are you ready to get out of here?’”
Cade sighed, but didn’t hesitate further. “Yeah, let’s go.”
Whatever was bugging him would come in time. Right now, he had a long drive ahead of him and they needed to get on the road before the full force of the next snowstorm hit.
Saying their goodbyes to Ivan, Cade stopped at the counter to do the same for Veta and Lana—who, surprisingly, showed little interest in flirting with him or his brother.
“Have a safe trip,” was all she said, and Cade couldn’t have been happier to have lost the girl’s interest.
“You remember how to get there, right?” Cord asked with a grin as they walked to their vehicles. “Or do you want to follow me?”
Cade gave his brother a dark look. “You can follow me… If you can keep up.”
Cord laughed. “I’ll keep up, just keep it between the lines.”
* * *
As they pulled onto the eastbound interstate, Cade’s mind drifted back to his thoughts from the café. Something about Ted and JR and Pete and Addie… What was it that she’d told him about her arrangement with Pete?
“I offered to give him a percentage of the profits on hay and grain for the next three years and he agreed to a discounted price…”
He remembered thinking she’d been awfully generous in that deal. Her tender heart had convinced her to give an old man something to live on, but what was it she’d said after that? Something about the hay payments…
The tires hummed along the snowy, sand-treated asphalt as Cade’s truck propelled him farther and farther from the woman who occupied his mind.
Addie’s smiling face flashed into his thoughts. She winked at him, flirted with him, made him feel like he was ten-feet tall. Addie’s eyes staring up at him with heat and so much more as they made love. Despite everything he’d done to protect himself, she’d reached inside him, broke down his walls, and touched his lonely heart in ways no one ever had. No other woman had troubled his mind the way this one did, nor did they stay with him as he was leaving them behind.
“She pushed me away and told me to leave,” he mumbled to himself, but the reminder of that fact didn’t alleviate the ache in his chest. I should’ve done something…more… He shook his head and distracted himself by turning his thoughts back to what he’d heard in the café and the elusive something that kept pecking at the back of his mind. “Something about the payments…”
A chill ran down his back as Addie’s words came back to him… “If I miss a payment, the farm will revert back to him…”
He glanced in his rearview and saw that his brother’s truck was right behind him. Turning his eyes forward, he searched for a place to pull over.
He had to go back, he just hoped Cord understood.
Spying an emergency vehicle turnaround, Cade signaled his intention and turned onto the snow-packed gravel. After coming to a halt, he stepped out of the cab as Cord pulled up behind him. He too hopped out of his truck and hustled over to where Cade waited.
“What’s up?” Cord asked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. White plumes of steam floated out of his mouth as he spoke and in the early morning darkness, it looked eerie.
“I can’t do it,” Cade said. “I can’t leave her. She needs me.”
Cord smiled. “I thought you might change your mind. She’s a great girl.”
“She is, but I screwed this up royally.”
“I don’t think she’ll hold that against you. Not for long, anyway.”
Cade’s brows drew down in confusion and suspicion. “What do you know?”
“I know she’s in love with you.”
His head snapped back in surprise. “What? No…she’s…”
“Yes,” Cord replied. “She’s in love with you, and you’re in love with her.”
Cade blinked but didn’t argue.
“Go, brother, tell her how you feel and don’t hold back. Do what you need to do to get her back. She’s worth it. We can work out what to do with the land at home later.”
“I don’t know…” Cade muttered, lowering his head and kicking at a hard clot of icy snow.
“If you don’t go back now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” Cord huffed a short chuckle. “Don’t get me wrong, I want you to come home, but I don’t want to live with grumpy Cade. I want you to be happy and she makes you happy. Don’t let her go and don’t let her push you away. That’s not what she wants.”
Cade grinned. “I don’t intend to.”
Cord’s return smile was broad as he slapped Cade’s shoulder. “Then go get her, brother.” His grin faltered. “But don’t be a stranger, okay?”
“No way,” Cade said, as he held out his hand. When Cord took it, Cade pulled him in for a brotherly hug. “I’m not losing track of you again.”
“You’d better not,” Cord replied as he pulled back and headed for his truck. “Come out for Christmas if you can,” he said over his shoulder. “We’d love to have you…and Addie.”
“We’ll see.” He waved as Cord climbed back into his truck.
Rolling down his window, Cord shouted, “No worries. I’ll call you next week about your inheritance and the income from the ranch. We’ll talk more then.” With a wave, he rolled up his window and pulled back onto the interstate.
Cade got back in his truck, wondering about Cord’s parting words. We’d love to have you? His inheritance? And what income? It’s not as if he’d been there to do any of the work. He shook his head as he put the truck into gear and turned onto the westbound side of
