Page 15 of Cold Foot Cash (Wreck’s Mountains #4)

Harley knew those people in the corner.

She’d met them before, and they recognized her. She knew they did. She could tell. Look at them on their double date. How cute. They kept looking over at her, but she wasn’t leaving this bar.

Swaying slightly, Harley turned around and waved at the bartender. “One more should do the trick, I think.”

“Who is driving you home?” the bartender asked.

“A ride share,” she said, showing her the app on her phone screen. “I’m a mediocre driver when I’m sober. Can’t imagine how I would be tipsy.”

The bartender, Tammy, her nametag read, snorted. “I hear you. I hit that curb out front like three times a week.”

“Sober?”

Tammy nodded and finished drying the glass in her hands. “Sober,” she said.

“Ha.”

“You want the same thing?”

Harley blew a breath out and thought about it. “What are those people having right behind me. Those look good.”

“Blue Hawaii.”

“Perfect. I’ll take one of those.” Harley formed her words carefully. “I know them.” Her brain was so fuzzy right now.

“Those people over there? Why don’t you go sit with them?”

“Trying to kick me out of this platinum seat, are you?” she teased. “This stool is first class.”

Tammy huffed a laugh. “Actually, you’ve been the most entertaining part of tonight. I had a long morning.”

“Tell me about it. If I could cut this morning from my brain-memories, I would totally do it. I would pay to do it, in fact. I would pay all thirty-two cents I’m about to have left to my name.”

Tammy was busy making the blue concoction that was going to get her a little drunker. “How do you know those people?” she asked conversationally.

“They’re friends of friends. Actually, they’re kind of friends of enemies. I met them through my husband. I would call him my ex-husband, but today I am having to accept that I will be married to him forever and ever. Not on purpose. I’ve been trying to escape for a while now.” She cast a glance back over her shoulder, and then went back to watching Tammy make her drink. “They’re friends of his girlfriend. She went to college with them or something. I don’t really remember what she told me. I only met her once before I figured out my husband was banging her.”

“Wait.” Tammy pushed the drink in front of Harley. She leaned over on the bar top and leveled Harley with a look. “Was he banging her when you met her and her friends?”

“Yeah. I met them all here. On our five-year wedding anniversary. He proposed to me here, so every year, we would come back and order the same meal, the same drinks, and party with our friends. And on our fifth anniversary, his girlfriend was here with her friends, and they clearly all knew Lance, and looking back, that should’ve been a red flag, but he was friendly with everyone, and his girlfriend was acting really nice to me, so I had no reason to suspect they were cheating on me. Pretty dumb huh? I bet they thought they were pretty slick, hanging out with me, and me none the wiser. I found out they were together a few weeks later.” She hiccupped and then sucked that blue Hawaii right down. It was delicious

Tammy’s narrowed eyes watched the level of her drink go down. “How did you find out?”

“Someone named Mama kept texting him.”

“Mama?” Tammy asked.

“Yeah, he got away with it for a while. I thought he was talking to his mom until his actual mom called him one day and was definitely showing up on his phone as Mom. He was in the shower, and I remember staring at his phone just…” Harley shook her head. “I knew something was off.”

“Did you open their texts?” Tammy asked, visibly enthralled with her shitshow life.

“I tried. He had the phone locked. He required me to give him my passcode from day one, but he didn’t let me have his passcode. I tried every number I could think of, but couldn’t get into it. So, I had to be patient. I had to wait until Mama texted, and then I asked what he and his mother were talking about. He was firing away, texting a mile a minute, wearing this smile on his face that he hadn’t given to me in a long time. He would make something up. Some bullshit conversation between him and his mom that made no sense. He would interrupt our conversations to rush and respond to her. I finally asked for his phone. He was like, what? And I said, ‘let me see your phone.’ I wanted to see how he talked to her.”

“And then what?”

“And he got very defensive, and protective of his phone. Yelled at me. Called me crazy, all that.”

“Of course he did.”

“And then he got so angry at my questions, he got up and left. Which I knew he would do, so I had parked my car where I could follow him easily. Do you know she only lived a few blocks away in that old apartment complex off Roake?”

“The dirty rotten bastard.”

“So dirty. I knocked on her door.”

Tammy’s eyebrow’s shot up. “Really?”

“I had to know for sure.”

“Another one?” she asked, gesturing to her drink.

“Yup.” While Tammy made her a drink, she told her the rest of her story. “Alissa answered the door and Lance was right behind her, and he looked busted as hell. He didn’t have a shirt on, and that was that.”

“That was that,” Tammy uttered.

“I tried to forgive him for a little while just to save the marriage, but he wouldn’t leave her alone, and then it was deliberately cheating, and blatant, and thrown in my face. He would have date nights set aside for her, and he would ask me, ‘What are you going to do? Nothing,’ before he left me crying in the kitchen. And I asked myself that like a hundred times before I figured out what I was going to do.”

“Leave his ass.”

“Yep. Leave his ass. Only he wouldn’t leave the house, and he changed all the damn locks while I was at work, so he kept the house and he’s getting all my money and now half of the proceeds from my own car, apparently. And my pride, and my dignity, and self-worth—”

“Okay, let’s focus on the positives. You’re cutting dead weight from your life.”

“I’m cutting dead weight from my life,” she repeated, slurring her words.

“Hey,” Tammy called to someone behind her. “You can’t do that.” Whoo she sounded mad. “Don’t take pictures of her. She’s not doing anything to you.”

Harley twisted around in her chair to see the group she knew talking quietly amongst themselves, snickering, and looking at one of their phones. She sighed. “People just love taking pictures of me, and you know, I don’t get the appeal. I probably look like a mess right now.”

“You look gorgeous, but I bet they’re sending pictures to your ex or his girlfriend. Hey, ya’ll? Come close out your tab. Y’all can leave.”

“What? We’re not leaving. We come in here all the time,” the pretty blond called from the table.

“Cool, see you next time you come in.”

“No, let them take their pictures,” Harley sang, twisting the bar stool around completely. “Get my favorite finger in it.” She flipped them the bird and cheesed the biggest smile she could muster. “Send it to Alissa and tell her I said she looked really pretty in her hooker-red mini-dress that she wore to her cheating boyfriend’s divorce proceedings today—”

“Okay,” Tammy said. “Bathroom break.”

“The bathroom broke? Oh no.”

“No, I mean you need to take a breather while I get these assholes out of here.” She looked over at a big guy in a black shirt sitting at a table near the bar. “Gray? They need to go.”

Gray, who was apparently the bouncer, stood and made his way to the table to talk to the Butthole Squad, and Tammy turned her attention back to Harley. “You look like you’re a nice lady.”

“I’m not. I’m evil. That’s why my husband left me,” she slurred, bobbing her head back and forth.

Tammy tried to hide a smile. “And you seem really fun, and would probably be a hoot to go out with, when you aren’t right in the middle of your own personal hell. And look how gorgeous you are, in your fancy clothes—”

“—lawyer mediation clothes—”

“And you have nice heels.”

“I’m not fancy,” she argued. “I drink canned margaritas, and use my middle fingers.”

“Right.”

“In fact…” Harley took a minute to suck down her drink. “Do you have any canned margaritas here?”

“I’m afraid we do not.”

“Pity. They’re my new identity.”

Tammy was busy making drinks from a ticket that had printed out from the computer behind her, but she was still listening. Tammy didn’t realize this, but she was probably her only true friend in Bozeman right now. Maybe she should order her a fruit basket. Those were easy to order online. She pulled her phone out of her purse and squinted at the plethora of text messages on the screen. Some were from Cash. “Oh my gosh. My friend is texting me,” she told Tammy, pointing to her phone.

“I love that for you,” Tammy called, shaking up a non-canned margarita. Yack.

“ Heeey babyyy ,” she said aloud as she typed. “ I’m at the bar and I’ve made a hundred trillion friends because I’m so amazing at friendship and being enough for people and keeping everyone interested and sticking around. Extracting loyalty from people is my super power . Send. Why was the room spinning?

She held the camera up and took a selfie, making sure to get the heifers behind her in the background. These people took a picture of me to send to Lance’s not-garden-ho, so I am repaying them with a picture too. Cheese, mother facers. She’d misspelled motherfuckers, but he would get the idea. Send.

His responding text came quick. You look hot tonight. Can you take a picture of the bar top? I want to see what you’re drinking.

Weird, but okay. She did as he asked, and sent it to him. Tammy, my new friend, says there are no canned margaritas so I have to settle for a blue drink that tastes a little like sperm. I mean coconut. Haha. Those don’t taste the same. I saved your feather. It’s in my purse. Do you want to see it? Send. She took a picture of her purse-feather, then sent it to him. I’ve named it Gregory. Send.

You’re feeling pretty good right now, aren’t you? he messaged.

I mean my whole life is over, but other than that, I feel great. Send.

The phone rang behind the bar and Tammy answered it. “Hello? Yeah. Oh, yep, she’s right here. Sure, I’ll make sure she doesn’t drive. Yeah, she’s fine. Hella entertaining.” Tammy huffed a laugh. “Yep, see you then.”

“Who was that?” Harley asked. “Was it your boyfriend?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Girl-talk time. What’s his name. Where’s he from. What’s his sign?”

Tammy was holding back laughs now, which meant something pivotal—Harley was hilarious, and that, ladies and gents, was a direct biproduct of not being with Lance Patchy-Beard Fallonherd, or, as she had saved him in her phone today, Fallonturd.

“Not my boyfriend. Yours,” Tammy told her. “He’ll be here in a few. Said his name was peanut or something.”

“Cashew?”

“Yep, that’s it.”

“Inconceivable,” she said, bumping her fist onto the bar top. “For I have no boyfriend, for I am still married.”

“Mmm, is it a marriage if your husband’s girlfriend’s friends are taking photos of you and making fun of you to them? No. That is not a marriage, that is a mess. Your dude sounds cool.”

“My not-dude, is a super-hot shifter with a six pack, and straight teeth, and he smells good, and he almost hugged me once.”

“Whoo, scandalous,” Tammy said, pouring a beer.

“I require more mead, Bozeman Best Friend.”

Tammy snorted. “I think you’ve had enough mead for the evening, my good lady.”

“I’m not good. I told you, I’m evil. I’m a villain, with a cape and a dark laugh, and heavy eye makeup, and a questionable moral compass.” She looked around this place with a smile stretching her face. “I like it here without my ex. It’s way more fun without him standing around trying to impress anyone who looks at him with his big words. Do you know, I never understood half of the shit he said to me. I think he talked over me on purpose. He always liked acting like he was better than me but when it came down to it, he proposed to me in a bar, when he was drunk.” She pointed to a table in the corner. “Right over there,” she said, pointing. A wave of sadness washed over her. Why had she said yes to him? Why had she done that? “Wait a second, did you say Cash is coming here? He doesn’t know where I am.”

“He saw it on the coaster by your drink. Did you send him a picture?”

“Son of a biscuit,” she murmured, staring down at the Hatley’s Bar coaster. “He’s a genius.”

“He’s also coming through the front door right now, if I had to guess,” Tammy said, pointing to the front.

Harley turned the entire spinning chair around to witness the sexiest hot-guy walk ever. Cash was wearing dark jeans and a light gray t-shirt that clung to the curves of his muscular shoulders. He sauntered toward her with the confidence of a man who knew exactly who he was. His eyes were blazing gold, and locked on her, and he hadn’t shaved, so his beard was coming in thicker. “Wow,” she whispered.

From right beside her, Tammy said, “I bet Lance didn’t look like him.”

“Lance looked like a ferret.”

“Can I get you a drink?” Tammy asked Cash.

“Uh, water for me and a water for her as well. Thank you.” To Harley, he said, “Where are the people taking pictures of you?” and looked around.

“They just left. Gray the Bouncer told them to kick rocks. Hi, Cash,” she murmured, swaying slightly. “You’re here. You’re really here. Tammy you see this right? He’s here.”

“Yep, he’s really really here.”

“Wow,” Harley whispered again.

Cash’s lips kept curving up into little smiles. He took the seat next to her and swiveled her chair around until her knees settled between his legs. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m amazing. Couldn’t physically and mentally be any better.”

Cash scrunched up his face. “That’s a lie.”

“Or perhaps your shifter lie-detector senses are off tonight. Who knows. Cash, have you met my Bozeman Best Friend, Tammy, yet?”

“Hey Tammy.”

“Hey Cash. Good to see you.”

He nodded once and pulled out his wallet. “Can I close out her tab? Can you put her drinks on this card instead of hers?”

“You got it.”

“Are you making me leave?” she asked in a small voice.

“Hell no. Are you still having fun? We can stay. I’ll just hang out with you.”

“With me?”

“Yeah, because you aren’t alone goofball. I didn’t like when you texted me that earlier. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“It’s just a feeling I had deep in my chest.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“Right now?”

He inhaled deeply. “Well, I asked Raynah for girl-advice, and she said I’m supposed to listen to you, and not try to fix anything.”

“You asked Raynah for advice about me?”

“Yeah of course. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with a woman like you. I’m still shocked you’re talking to me.”

“Me?” she asked in a high octave.

“Harley.” He leveled her with a look. “Look at you. How much did you pay for your high heels?”

Unsteadily, Harley looked down at her high heels peeking out from under her wide-leg pant suit. “Thirty-nine ninety-nine.”

“No you did not.”

“I got them from the outlet mall. Want to know how much I paid for my power pant suit?”

“Kind of.”

“Forty-eight dollars and fifty-two cents.”

“Did you like, use coupons or something? These look really nice.”

“Thank you,” she said earnestly. “That made me feel good.”

“Look, the point is, you look like a million bucks, you’re so damn pretty, and classy, and I’m not used to women like you.” Cash reached forward and pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear. “You’re really okay?”

“You keep asking me that.”

“I was worried.”

“You’re making it very difficult to see you as a friend when you keep being so nice to me, Cash.”

“Did you really name my feather Gregory?”

“Yes.” She pulled Gregory from her purse. “I’ve taken him on adventures today. He’s my little friend.”

Cash had his hand over his mouth and he was chuckling.

She giggled in response. “What?”

“You’re just really fuckin’ cute. I had this plan to come in here and save you from whatever was happening, but you’re just in here being adorable. No notes. Keep coping however you need to cope. Do you want to drink some water?”

She inhaled sharply, and admitted in a whisper, “I’m really sad.”

Whatever he saw on her face drained the amusement from his eyes. Cash dropped his gaze and swallowed hard. “I know. It’s a bad day, huh?”

She nodded, her eyes prickling with tears. “I was doing good all night and I barely cried here at all,” she pushed out past her tightening vocal cords. “But you’re here and I have to tell you bad news, and I’m sorry.”

“Okay, that’s okay. Tell me the news.”

“We will have to be best friends forever.”

He nodded for a few moments. “Okay.”

“I mean forever, forever. Forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. I will never be allowed to have a crush on you.”

Cash glanced over at Tammy, and then pulled Harley’s chair closer to his. “It will end at some point. You can’t go hopeless on me, Harley, okay? I promise it’ll end at some point. I don’t know when, but I know it will. Okay? Do you trust me?”

She stared down at her hands as she wrung them in her lap.

“Hey,” he said, hooking a finger under her chin to lift her gaze back up to his. “Remember when I took you flying? And I never let you fall?”

She nodded. “I’m telling you, it’ll end. If you were a shifter right now, you would be able to hear that I’m telling you the truth. And until this is over, I’m here, best-friending the shit out of this. It’s me and you, Garden Ho.”

She sniffed. “You drove four hours to come see me.”

“Well, technically less that that.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I beat the GPS’s ETA by forty-five minutes—”

“Forty-five minutes! Cash! How are you still alive? Is your truck okay? How many tickets did you get? Did you ride here in a freakin’ time machine?”

His laugh sucked all the tears back up into her eyeballs. God, it felt good to have him here.

“Tuesday is not going to happen,” she told him, just wanting to get it over with.

“Okay, well we’ll figure it out. Tonight, let’s just enjoy these delicious ice waters.”

“And go get fast food tacos?” she asked.

“And obviously go get fast food tacos.” His smile was so handsome.

Satisfied with their plans for the night, Harley relaxed into the worst posture imaginable. “You’re a good best friend.”

“I’ve looked down at your boobs like four times already.”

“Shhhh,” she said, pressing her finger to his lips. “I wore a low-cut blouse, and a push up bra, so that’s kind of on me.” He bit her finger gently, and she was stunned into stillness. “There’s a swirling inside of me.”

Cash sucked on her finger and released it slowly. “If you touch me, I’m yanking us right out of this friendzone.”

“Accident,” she said half-heartedly.

“Tell me more about this swirling in your body.”

“It’s right here,” she said, pressing her hand to her lower belly.

His gold eyes dipped to her hands and back up, and oh, that man could smolder.

“Tacos?” he asked, and she knew what he was doing. He was breaking the spell between them.

That was probably for the best.

Harley cleared her throat and announced, “I’m drunk.”

“Yep. No more touching tonight. Let’s go, ya lush.”

Tammy had brought their credit cards back, and Cash signed for a big tip, and then helped Harley get her card into the right slot in her wallet, on account of her fingers not working properly. Then he led her out of the bar.

“Bye, Tammy!” she called behind her. “Oh my gosh, Tammy! I almost forgot to say goodbye to you.”

“Stay evil,” Tammy called across the bar, and Harley snickered. Maybe she would get that tattooed on her butt cheek or something. She cackled a little at the thought.

Outside, Cash had parked his truck right next to her car. Well, soon to be the dealership’s car. She didn’t want to think too much about that right now though. That was a problem for tomorrow. Cash pulled a wad of clothes from a duffle bag in his truck, and placed them in her car, before he had her lock it up again.

“Planning on sleeping in my car?” she guessed as he held his truck door open for her to scramble inside.

“Nah. I’m going to come back and get your car. I can fly here, but I don’t want to drive it back bare-ass naked.”

“Oh,” she said, confused. “Why do you need to get my car?”

“So you have it to drive tomorrow?” He leaned over her and buckled her seat belt. “You just let me take care of everything, okay? You get to just enjoy the night. You’re safe. We’ll go get some tacos, and take you back to your place, get into some comfy pajamas, or naked, whichever you prefer.”

“Naughty,” she chastised him in a teasing tone.

“Hey, I don’t know what you like to sleep in. And then you’re going to get an amazing night of sleep.” He pulled an unopened bottle of water from the cupholder in his door. “I’ll give you like two new feathers if you drink all of that before we get back to your place.”

“Oh,” she murmured, twisting the cap. That would make three snowy owl feathers, and her horde could begin.

When he was behind the wheel and driving to a nearby all-night taco joint, she rolled her head toward him and smiled. “You said I’m safe.”

“You are. No one can mess with you when I’m around. I won’t let it happen.”

And she believed him. She’d seen those guys’ faces after he got into a fight with them. She’d seen the way he didn’t back down when they’d taken a picture of her in the bar. She had seen the way he came in tonight, immediately asking who was taking pictures of her. He had a protective streak, and she loved that about him.

“Where is your sister?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Where’s Carolina? Why are you out here drinking by yourself?”

“Oh, she’s mad at me.” Harley was so sleepy. “She said I’m not allowed to talk to you anymore, and so that’s why I left Darby. That was hard. She said you’re her ex so it’s the rules. I can’t like you.”

“Well, that’s a weird one since I’m not her ex.”

“That’s what I said.” Harley could barely keep her eyes open. “I think you’re a very handsome friend,” she said softly. Her eyelids were getting so heavy. She just needed to take a little nap. “If I could, I would have nine babies with you.”

****

Nine babies.

If I could, I would have nine babies with you.

Cash was having trouble keeping his focus on the road. He kept looking over at Harley’s pretty face as she slept in the seat next to him. God, it took everything in him not to pull over and just hold her. Just hug her. Just remind her body that she really wasn’t alone.

This woman had no idea how special she was. Watching her walk through fire with grace was bonding his animal to her so fast. She didn’t know that part. She didn’t understand that all he could see and think about was her.

He had to play this cool because she needed to get through this fork in the road, and then have time and space to heal. He knew that’s what needed to happen, but for him, his animal didn’t care about any of these technicalities. He just cared for her, and that was all that mattered.

He wanted to protect her.

He wanted to be with her.

When she said things like she wanted to have babies with him, he could imagine it so clearly.

“Hey,” he murmured, brushing a knuckle across her cheek.

“Hmm?”

“Where’s your home, pretty girl?”

“One four one three five Bark Ridge Avenue. It’s in Bozeman. Montana,” she said in the cutest sleepy voice he’d ever heard. “You said I’m pretty.”

His heart was hammering against his chest right now. She was filling up his senses. The relief he felt when he was around her was wild. He’d never been like this around another person before. He used to think humans were so fragile, and didn’t belong in his world, but he’d watched how tough she was. How she could hold her own. How she could stand up tall in a storm. He admired that about her.

Tomorrow, he would ask her what was happening, and figure out a way to help, but for tonight? He wanted to get her home and all tucked in.

Tonight, he just wanted her to know she really wasn’t alone.