Page 71 of Cash

I watched her face, looking for a lie. She shifted her feet under my scrutiny, and I asked again, “What’s going on Rosie?”

She dropped her shoulders and closed her eyes. Pressing her forehead against my chest, she said, “I’m just a little overwhelmed. I needed a few minutes to myself.”

Lifting her face to mine, I asked, “Do you want to go?”

“No, I like them.” She looked down the hall. “I’m just not used to this kind of thing.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Can we talk about it later? They’re going to wonder what we’re doing.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me down the hall. I had no choice but to follow.

“Wow, this cake looks amazing.” She was wearing that fake ass smile again, and I didn’t fucking like it.

We ate the cake, and Rosie talked with both Ellie and Ryder, as well as the girls. Asking them all questions, but never really answering any of her own.

I didn’t push. Not wanting to upset her, I let her lead the conversation. When she insisted on helping Ellie with the dishes, Ryder motioned for us to step outside. I didn’t expect to like what he had to say, but he surprised me.

“I like her,” he said, pulling the door closed behind us, blocking out the females inside.

“But?”

“But she’s hiding something. She’s not using, is she?” I wrapped my hands around the railing. I understood why he asked. Her frequent bathroom trips were a red flag.

“No.” I shook my head, emphasizing my answer. “I’ve spent hours with her up on the mountain and she’s never done anything like this. She said she was overwhelmed and needed a minute. That she wasn’t used to this type of stuff.”

“What type of stuff?”

I looked over at him. “Family stuff would be my guess.”

“That makes sense.” He leaned back against the railing and folded his arms. “Look, I can’t say it doesn’t bother me at all that you met someone so soon, but reading Rachel’s letter helped. Thank you.”

“But?” I asked again, hopeful he would have something positive to say.

“But I can’t say I don’t like her. She reminds me of someone. And when Tabby crawled up in her lap while we ate the cake, I knew there was something special about her. Tabby doesn’t take to just anyone. Hell, Rachel had to work her ass off to get Tabby to trust her.”

He wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t until well after Tammi, Chrissy and Tabby’s mother, left that Tabby finally warmed up to Rachel.

“I’m just saying I wouldn’t vote against her,” he said, looking me in the eye.

My throat bobbed as I swallowed. “We aren’t there yet.”

“Yet,” he said with a grin.

We said our goodbye, and Rosie and I walked around the front where we left our bikes.

“Let me follow you home.”

“No, Cash.” She leaned up on her toes and grabbed my face, pulling it down to hers. I groaned when she pulled away.

“I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“You asked me to trust you. I’m asking you to trust me, too. I can take care of myself.”

She was right. I had to trust her if this was going to go somewhere. “Ok,” I conceded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Afternoon.”

“Morning,” I said, leaning down for one more kiss.