Page 3 of Cold Foot Cash (Wreck’s Mountains #4)

We need to talk.

No four texted words had ever dredged up such dread inside of Harley before. Lance always used words like those when he was planning something. Never once in the last two years had his plans benefited her in any way. Only him.

She didn’t respond.

I know you can see my messages. It says read under them.

Harley inhaled deeply, and set her phone face-up on the table of the restaurant, then took a long sip of her sweet tea. They were so close, she just needed him to follow through.

Her phone vibrated, rattling against the wood of the table. Another text lit up the screen. You aren’t home. I stopped by. I really just want to talk. I need closure.

Gritting her teeth, Harley closed her eyes until she knew the phone screen would be dark again.

On the other side of the restaurant was a bar area, with a jukebox and pool tables. There was laughter over there, but on this side, it was just her and her stupid phone, and her sweet tea, and an order of fried pickles that she’d suddenly lost her appetite for. Lance had that effect on her these days.

Hoping for a distraction, she watched the crowd growing on the bar side. A group of people seemed to be meeting up near the farthest pool table, and were hugging and greeting each other. They wore big smiles. She couldn’t help her own smile as she watched a couple of giant men rack pool balls, while their girls were chattering happily on their way to the bar. Those people were having a good day. Good days existed. Sometimes the reminder was nice.

Another man blocked her view of the guy racking the balls, and with his back to her, she could admire him safely. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and dark hair slicked back, with his hair cut short on the sides. His muscles were easily visible through the thin material of his white T-shirt. He had tattoos down his right arm that looked like tribal feathers. From what she could see at this distance, the tattoo was a cool design.

She’d checked on Carolina a couple times since this morning, but her sister wasn’t picking up the phone. Harley would need to stop by her house on the way into town later. Gah, she was putting off that four-hour drive back to Bozeman. This week would be the hardest one of her life thus far.

This guy she was staring at was right up Carolina’s alley. With an idea in her head, Harley looked around quick, and then lifted her phone, and snuck a picture of the guy as fast as she could.

He turned his face at the last second, and when she reviewed the picture and saw him looking back at her through the photo, she froze.

She recognized him.

Cash. The real Cash. Shit.

Harley jerked her attention up to him. Cash was standing by the pool table, holding a pool stick, and he was staring right at her with a slight frown etched into his handsome face. He nodded his head in a greeting, and then went back to talking to one of his friends.

“Oh my gosh,” she murmured, rushing to delete the picture. She had been about to send a picture of him to her sister, with the caption there are more fish in the sea, and you will find the perfect one . And it was the damn guy Carolina had thought she was dating!

What were the freaking odds?

Right before she deleted the picture, a text came through from Lance.

I need closure.

The repeated text pissed her off.

He needed closure? He needed it? Fed up with his entitlement, she texted him out of anger. Closure happens on Tuesday . Send.

Where are you? I need to see you.

I’m wherever the fuck I want to be. It’s none of your business anymore. I’m not doing this. Send.

Where are you? Please, Harley. Please.

She wanted to cry. Why? Why did he still get to her like this? Why did she allow him to affect her at all anymore? It had been too long. She didn’t even have his last name anymore. She didn’t wear his ring. She hadn’t lived with him in a year, so why did he still have the power to make her tear-up?

A picture came through, and it was a selfie of him sitting on her front porch. His eyes were raw and full of emotion. I’ve been waiting here for two hours.

Angry, she shook her head. Would she ever not feel angry again? She didn’t think so.

Harley leaned back in her chair and looked out the window with a sigh, but something important happened. Now, she was a believer that everything happened for a reason, and at this exact moment, the glowing neon sign of the Elk Creek Motel across the street flipped from red ‘no vacancy’ to green ‘vacancy.’

She frowned, and sat up straighter, staring at it. Huh.

Today was Wednesday. From now until Tuesday, Lance was clearly going to be a problem, but only if she was in Bozeman, where he could reach her.

She didn’t have any of her things here, because she had planned on finding out what she could about Cash, and then driving straight back to Bozeman tonight after doing a little shopping around the cute downtown strip of Darby. This wouldn’t work. Right? She had no toothbrush, no change of clothes.

Her eyes flickered toward the general store directly next door to the motel. She could probably track down some leggings and T-shirts somewhere. The general store would have toiletries.

She could stay a night or two. Right?

Her job would let her call in. She worked at an orthodontist’s office, but hadn’t taken a vacation in forever. Hell, her boss had already offered to give her the week off just because of what she was going through. The reasons not to stay were disappearing fast.

Hello?

Lance’s text dragged her back to the present.

Feeling reckless, Harley picked up the phone and typed out, Wait on my porch as long as you want. I’ll be out of town until Tuesday. I had my closure a long time ago. Her finger hovered over the send button for a few seconds before she pushed it. Send.

This felt bold. She didn’t talk to him like this in general. Why? Because she’d been so deep in love with him, and then so deep in the hurt he’d caused. For a long time, he’d been her hopes and dreams, but then he’d wrecked that, and she hadn’t found steady footing quite yet.

Another picture came through. It was a black and white photo of her and Lance on their wedding day. They were both all smiles, and she was holding up her left hand, with the new wedding band on it. She’d been so proud to be his, once upon a time.

Harley winced at the memories, and then rubbed her eyes, trying to ward away the oncoming headache that was building just at her temples. Dangit, she had probably smeared her eye make-up everywhere. Whatever, who cared?

“Here you go,” the waitress said, startling Harley. She set a beer in front of her.

“Oh, I didn’t order this.”

“That guy over there did,” she said, pointing across the restaurant to Cash. He lifted the same beer up in a silent cheers.

“Thank you,” she told the server, flustered. She lifted the beer up and mouthed the same to him. Thank you.

He took a long drink of his drink, glowing gold eyes trained on her, and a slight frown knitting his dark eyebrows.

She took a sip too. This was what she was supposed to do, right? When a man bought a lady a drink? She didn’t know. It had been a long damn time.

And then Cash did something that shocked her.

You okay? he mouthed.

There was something about him asking from way over there. He wasn’t trying to crowd her space, or push for information. It was just a check-up.

She forced a smile. Always , she mouthed back.

He nodded, eyes thoughtful, and then he perked up at a couple of women who approached. He matched their grins and began chatting easily with them.

And just like that, the moment was done and gone, and she was back to being alone in a moment she hated.

He’d been nice to ask, but as she watched him flirting with the two gorgeous women, with their short skirts, and tits pushed up high in tiny crop tops, she remembered why she didn’t grow crushes on gym rats. They were incapable of keeping attention on one female at a time.

But then again, Lance wasn’t hot and he’d cheated on her. That thought was brutal. So true. Lance wasn’t a gym rat, or even classically good-looking, and he’d still given his attention to others. The smile faded from her face.

Men were all shitty. It didn’t matter if a woman lowered her standards, or settled. Men were all the same. She had always judged Carolina for her taste in perfect-looking, six-pack wielding hot guys, but she was no better off. Harley had thought if she attached her heart to an intellectual man who wouldn’t be caught dead in a gym, who was down to earth and modest, she would be safe from heartbreak, but that’s not how the world worked, now was it?

Out of habit, Harley moved to twist the wedding ring that wasn’t there anymore. She had flushed it down the toilet months ago when Lance had showed up at her favorite bar on a date night with his mistress and flaunted his new relationship in her face.

Out the window, that vacancy sign was glowing such a bright shade of green.

Maybe it would be good for her to get some space and some rest in this sleepy little town. She hadn’t taken a vacation for a long time. Perhaps if she stayed here for a few days, she could find some clarity, and maybe even feel like she wasn’t drowning for a little while.

That sounded so nice.

Harley took another swig of the beer, and studied the label. It was good. It was some kind of local beer, it looked like, called Happy Hooker, brewed right here in Darby, Montana. She liked it. Good choice, Stranger .

She looked back up at where Cash had been, but he wasn’t talking to the girls anymore. He was leaned over the pool table, lining up a shot. He knew what he was doing, from what she could tell. His form was good. Clack . His shot on the cue ball broke up the others with a sound that reached her ears way over here.

He was talking easily to a couple of the guys he was with, and good Lord, they were all hot as hell. Hot as hell? She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d noticed a man in that way. Being away from the storm in Bozeman was kind of nice. Of course Cash had hot friends. Birds of a feather, flock together, or whatever that saying was.

He was laughing now, and good Lord that man had a smile on him. Perfect white teeth and his grin reached his bright-colored eyes. Somehow it made him hotter, and something clicked into place for her. Of course someone wanted to pretend to be him. This man was pure charisma, and he had looks for days.

I promise I’m not what anyone is looking for. He’d said that to her earlier, but he had to be full of crap.

The girls he’d been talking to returned, and one handed him a drink. The smile faltered a little on his face as he asked her a question, but returned as he took the drink from her and took a sip. The other girl leaned in and pushed up on her tiptoes, and whispered something in his ear, and Harley didn’t miss it—his hand slid to her waist. He was a total player. It was so interesting to her, watching the mating rituals of hot people.

He nodded at the girls and then pointed over to Harley.

What the hell?

Head lowered, eyes locked on Harley’s, Cash said something to the girls, then waved to them and sauntered Harley’s way.

Oh crap. She patted the table and looked around like a panicked animal looking for a hidey hole. She hadn’t paid her check yet, so she couldn’t just run away, and besides, even if she ran, she wasn’t that fast.

“Pipe down, I’m not trying to stress you out, stalker,” he said easily as he sat across the table from her. “Are they looking?”

Eyes wide, Harley leaned over so she could see around his bigass shoulder muscles, and laid her attention on the two beauties that were still standing by the pool table, looking this way, and shooting daggers from their eyes directly at her.

“Um, yeah. They’re staring at me.”

“Perfect.” He leaned back in his chair and cocked his head. “I told them we’re dating.”

“What?”

“Fix your face. They’ll think we’re fighting.”

“Um, we can’t fight, because we don’t know each other, and I don’t care about your feelings enough to engage in the effort of fighting.”

“Engage in the effort…girl, talk regular. Those two are shifter-chasers, and I know you’re probably a shifter chaser too, but at least you’re over here sulking in a corner instead of trying to fuckin’ marry me.”

“Oh, that sounds like such a hard life, Cash. You have hot women trying to marry you.”

His eyebrows arched up. “Harley is a cool name. Is it short for Harley Davidson?”

“Is Cash short for Cashew?”

His smirk faded. “Okay, that’s a lot.”

She gave him an empty smile. “Go back and tell your fan club we aren’t dating. I’m married.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Where’s your ring then?”

“I just…took it off…for a little while.”

He gestured to her left hand. “You don’t even have a tan line from the ring.”

“Well…I’ve had it off for a few months…to resize it.”

“How many months?”

“Three.”

“Try again.” Cash leaned forward and oh goodness, his cologne smelled amazing. “I can hear lies.”

Crap. She’d heard that about shifters. “Nine months ago, but I’m. Married.” She said it clearly.

He nodded, eyes cooling. “I don’t fuck with married women. You’re super-safe from me coming onto you. I just need a buffer for those two. Just come play a game of pool with me and get them to give me space.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“I’ll find your sister’s catfish.”

That offer sucked the next sarcastic remark right out of her throat. “You’ll…”

“I’ll find out who it is. I’ve already been digging around a little.”

“I…” She frowned. “I actually want to know who did that to her.”

He nodded. “I figured. You seem like a good sister.” He crossed his arms over his chest and pushed back on the back two legs of his chair. “Where’s your husband?”

“He’s back in Bozeman.”

“You’re from Bozeman?” he asked. “How far a drive is that?”

“Four hours.”

“You drove four hours to find out if I was the real deal or not? You really are a good sister.”

Harley shrugged.

“Cash!” One of the guys by the pool table called. “You’re up!”

He didn’t even flinch. “You’re really married?”

He didn’t need to know what she was dealing with, or what she was going through, or that she truly was not supposed to still be married, but her asshole ex was dragging out the divorce. Cash was a stranger now, and would be a stranger still tomorrow.

She pulled up the text from Lance and opened up the wedding picture he’d sent her. Cash studied the picture for a moment, then snatched her phone.

“Hey!” she yelped, reaching for it, but he was inhumanly fast and yanked it out of her reach in a blur.

He frowned at the phone screen and scrolled, then handed it back. He tilted his chin back. “He’s fucking it up, isn’t he?”

Harley refused to give this termite the satisfaction of admitting anything. It was none of his business.

“One game with me. Forget whatever is going on. Come meet my friends, and relax for a night. Keep those shifter-chasers off me so I can enjoy the night too, and then I’ll give you every bit of information about Carolina’s catfish as I can find.”

“Keep the shifter-chasers off you,” she scoffed. This guy was so full of himself. Gross.

Cash leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, clasped his hands in front of him and said low, “What do you have to lose? You have my word I won’t try anything with you. I’m not interested.”

“Is it because I called you Cashew?”

“That’s part of it. Complete turn-off.”

“Well, you being arrogant is a turn-off.”

“Well, you aren’t even my type.”

“You couldn’t be further from my type if you tried.”

“Clearly. Your husband looks like he collects action figurines and would be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse. I run with monsters. Now that we have that cleared up, and neither one of us is at risk of falling in love with the other, can we go?”

“Cash!” one of his friends called.

He stared pointedly at Harley. “You’re holding up the fun.”

She leaned over and looked in the bar area, and everyone was turned, staring at them. She offered a tight-lipped smile at them and then hid behind Cash’s wide frame. “I have to pay still.”

“I already paid.”

“No, not for the beer. I mean I need to pay for my tea and fried pickles.”

“I already paid for those too,” he said, standing. He offered his hand.

She sighed heavily, annoyed at everything that was happening. Annoyed at the entire bar’s attention on her. Annoyed that she was negotiating with this guy. “No touching,” she gritted out, as she ignored his hand. She brushed past him.

“I was just being nice.”

“Well, thank you but I don’t need a man’s help to stand up,” she muttered as she gathered her purse and grabbed her beer.

“Fine. Can you tie your shirt in a knot or something?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re in a bar with a sweatshirt that is three sizes too big and no one can see your figure.”

“I’m not in the bar,” she gritted out, and he pushed her behind the wall with the touch of his fingers on her hip. “I’m in a restaurant,” she whisper-screamed. “Minding my own business—”

“Staring at me this entire time—”

“And furthermore, I don’t need to dress like a stripper to turn a man’s head. Clearly. I’m dressed like this and you came a-runnin’.”

“Good God, lady, who is the arrogant one now? I saw you over here looking all forlorn and on the verge of tears, and I’m offering to give you a fun night. No strings attached. I’ll keep the guys off you, and you keep the girls off me. You know what?” He asked, throwing his hands up and backing away a few feet. “You’re right. This is stupid. I thought it would be fun and we could be a little team, but you’re right.” His eyes softened. “I read some of your texts. You’ve got some big stuff going on, I’ll bet. You don’t need this. You don’t seem ready to have fun. Not yet. Deal with your shit, have the night you want, I won’t bother you anymore.” He sighed and glanced around the corner. “I’m sorry.” He shook his head and walked off and said it again. “Sorry.”

You don’t seem ready to have fun. Why did those words feel like such a deep cut?

She took another swig of her beer and watched him saunter back toward his group. His friend, a giant of a man with dark hair handed him a pool stick. Cash called a pocket, bent right down and made the shot. Then he stood, glanced over at Harley, and she could see the confusion written across his face. And you know? She felt confused as hell too.

What could it hurt? A night spent with a bunch of strangers who wore easy smiles and laughed a lot. She’d forgotten what that was even like these days. And honestly, she’d enjoyed watching their antics from afar.

She drank her beer down and clutched her purse close as she made her way to the bathroom.

You don’t seem ready to have fun. God, those words stung. Before Lance, she’d been a blast.

The bathroom was empty, but just to make sure, she checked for feet under the stalls. Truly alone, Harley looked at herself in the mirror. She had her dark hair pulled back, and was wearing an old oversized sweatshirt. Why she’d brought this thing instead of a jacket, she had no idea. She’d gotten into a habit of dressing herself down in the hopes that no one would look at her, or pay attention to her. She’d grown scared to be noticed.

That was it.

She was scared.

Scared of moving forward, scared of moving on, scared of being alone, and scared of realizing she deserved what had happened.

What if she had been the reason Lance had done what he’d done? What if she was to blame?

She swallowed hard, and gritted her teeth. “Stop it.” She jammed a finger at herself in the mirror and said it again. “Stop it.”

And before she could change her mind, she pulled the hair band from her ponytail, and fluffed her curls down her shoulders, combed out a couple of waves with her fingers, and then peeled the sweatshirt off. Underneath, she was wearing skinny jeans and a tight black tank top. Inhaling deep, she pulled the neck of the tank top down lower, and pushed up her cleavage in her bra. She rubbed her makeup in on her cheeks because she definitely had stupid tear-streaks there that she hadn’t noticed all day. Geez. She was a disaster.

She pinched her cheeks for some color there, and then pulled her purse strap across her body and turned to the side. Not bad. Better than she’d thought it would be. Kind of. She didn’t even remember the last time she’d just worn a tank top with nothing over it. The winter had been long, for sure, but she’d started covering up with extremely baggy clothes when her confidence had tanked a year ago.

She started to tie the sweatshirt around her waist, but frowned at it in the mirror.

Where had she gotten this old thing? Was it Lance’s? If so, she didn’t want it anymore. She’d hung onto her wedding ring three months into their separation too. He’d literally been with his mistress, moved in with her, and Harley had still been wearing her ring. Gross. She clung for too long. It’s what her loyal little heart had always done.

She shoved the sweatshirt in the trashcan, relieving herself of any covering, or way of hiding.

Tonight, with these strangers, she wouldn’t hide. She would sink or swim, but she wouldn’t hide.

She didn’t like Cash, but she could appreciate his effort to include her, even if it was for selfish reasons of using her as a shield.

That didn’t matter right now though. He’d said she wasn’t ready to have fun yet, and she wanted to prove him wrong, not only for him, but for her as well.

Why was she nervous?

Harley took a deep breath, left the bathroom, and headed for the pool tables.

The girls were back around Cash, and it was his turn to shoot pool again. He was leaned over the table, lining up a shot, with his friends loosely hanging around him.

He glanced over at Harley, and back to the ball, then back, and he froze. Time slowed. Cash straightened up and a smile took his lips as his eyes dragged down her body, and then back up.

“You have tattoos,” he said as she approached. With a glance at the girls, who were staring at her, Cash said, “I mean, I’ve missed your tattoos. That’s what I meant to say. Of course you have tattoos…babe.”

“It was a long winter,” she said, saving him. “I’ve been in long sleeves for months.” She gestured to his arms. “I’ve missed your tattoo too. Also. I’ve missed your tattoos also.” She cleared her throat and wished she was smoother.

“We keep wearing those damn muumuus to bed,” Cash deadpanned.

A laugh escaped her at the thought. “Hey those things are comfortable as hell.”

“Hell isn’t comfortable at all,” he said. “It’s full of fire and flames. Speaking of fire, let me introduce you to Wreck.”

He gestured to the dark-haired tall guy beside him with the flames in his eyes. No really. There were literal flames consuming the colored parts of his eyes.

“Well, you’re terrifying,” Harley said nervously.

The guy huffed a laugh and offered his hand for a shake. “Good to meet you. Cash has told us so much about you.”

“Really?” she asked, shaking his hand.

“No,” another guy said from across the pool table. “Nothing other than you’re probably a stalker.”

“And stalking me with…love,” Cash said, dirty-looking the guy. “That’s King, or as I call him, Asshole King.”

“I nicknamed him Cashew,” Harley teased, pointing to Cash.

“Shhhuuuut the fu—”

“Cashew! Hahaha,” one of the girls along the wall crowed.

Cash’s head dropped back, exposing his muscular neck and Adam’s apple. “Thanks a lot…girlfriend.”

“Cashew, Cashew,” the girls were chanting back there.

“Hey remember that time you wanted me here?” she quipped, grinning.

“I’m full of regrets,” he told her, but his smile said otherwise. He handed her the pool stick. “We’re switching to doubles.”

“In the middle of a game?” King asked.

“Dude, you have like seven balls left, you lose.”

Indeed, no solids remained, save the eight ball.

“I’m Reed,” another of the guys introduced himself, with a quick hand shake.

“Kade,” another one called from near the girls.

The two ladies that were interested in Cash took their seats a couple tables away, giving them some space, and okay. Doubles. She hadn’t played in a long time, but she could give it a go.

While Reed racked, Cash came to stand next to her. He bumped her shoulder.

“No touching,” she reminded him.

“Oh come on. Friends touch. I’m not after you like that. Was just saying thank you.” He pointed to the women along the tables near the wall, and introduced them one by one. Timber, Sasha, Katrina all waved back as he said their names, and then he explained that Raynah was a new mom and she and her man were staying home tonight.

“I’m Harley,” she said with a little wave for the women.

They didn’t seem catty at least. Their smiles were big and they didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to her, which was nice.

“Do you want a drink?” she asked Cash.

“From you? No thanks, stalker. I’m not trying to get drugged.”

“You’re so weird,” she muttered, feeling a little embarrassed for trying to be smooth and offering. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“Oh, it’s been a while since you’ve been out of the flirting game, huh?” he asked.

“Yes.” She frowned. “But also, we aren’t flirting, because I’m—”

“Yeah, yeah, your married.”

“And also because this is friends-only. Stop flustering me.”

Cash watched Reed and Wreck argue over the order of the balls while they were racking them. “Do you fluster easily?” he asked.

She thought about it. “Not in general. No.”

“Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“That you get flustered easily by me.” He grinned at her and moved to break the newly racked balls. Clack!

He did make her kind of nervous, and kept her on her toes. She was pretty sure he was the hottest man that she’d ever been around.

“Are your tattoos only on your arms?” he asked.

Reed handed her a pool stick, and she thanked him, and then looked down at her arms distractedly. “Maybe I have tattoos on other places,” she answered cheekily.

“Oh, she does remember how to flirt.”

“I’m not flirting.”

He slid a gold-eyed glance at her as he moved around the table and then lined up another shot. “I have a tab open. Do you want another drink? Or food?”

“I don’t need you to buy me stuff. I’ll get you another beer. My treat.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I don’t like owing anyone.” She turned and made her way to the bar, and ordered him a beer and her a margarita. Her appetite was back now that she was feeling more settled, so she ordered a few appetizers to set at the table near the girls in Cash’s group—Crew?—and while she waited on those, Timber, Sasha and Katrina came up to the bar and chatted with her for a bit.

“Are you local?” Timber asked.

“Nah, I’m just here for a short visit. Well, I was only supposed to be here for the day, but I’m thinking of staying in town for a few days just to get a little vacation.”

“You should!” Sasha told her. “We can give you all the cool hangouts to check out. We’re all pretty new to town, but we’ve found some fun spots.”

“That would be awesome. I appreciate it.” And now her plans to stay were solidifying.

Harley excused herself long enough to call the motel across the street and secure a room for the night. Now, she didn’t have to worry about driving. She could leave her car here and walk to her motel tonight. Tomorrow, she would figure out how long she wanted to stay.

When she returned to the section of the bar where the girls were hanging out, the appetizers had come out, and they helped her carry them to the tables. They probably thanked her a dozen times as they all picked at the nachos, fried cheese curds, and southwest eggrolls. They were nice people. She could tell. Nice, with glowing eyes, all of them.

Part of her was curious about their animals, and part of her didn’t want to know. It might scare her to learn she was in the middle of a pack of werewolves or something, so she kept her questions about their shifter animals carefully tucked away inside of herself.

She meandered over to Cash and handed him his beer, then tinked her glass against his, and took a sip.

“You’re up,” he told her. “Want me to show you how to do it?”

She pulled a face at him. “Is that your move?”

“What do you mean?”

She snatched the pool stick out of his hands and rolled her eyes. Bent over the table and lined up a shot. Movement across the table caught her attention, and it was a table of guys, looking over at her. Eee, her lowcut shirt was probably a bad idea for playing pool.

“She’s good.” Cash’s deep voice had some grit to it.

The guys at the table were looking over her at Cash now, but she couldn’t read their expressions.

She focused on the shot, and missed it cleanly. Crap.

“Yes, she sucks! We have a chance,” Reed said.

“Cash,” Wreck said, with a warning in his voice.

Harley looked back at Cash to see what the problem was, but he was staring at the guys at the table. There wasn’t a trace of humor in his eyes now.

“Cash,” Wreck warned again as he began to make his way to the table.

The guys were leaning over something, talking amongst themselves, and laughing softly.

“It’s fine,” she murmured as he passed her. She brushed his hand, and he surprised her by grabbing it and taking her with him.

Cash reached them and snatched something off the table. She didn’t know what it was until he showed her a phone screen with a picture of her bent over the pool table. Her tits were nearly popping out from that angle.

“Oh come on man,” one of the guys said. “We’re just having some fun.”

“Mmm,” Cash said, deleting the picture.

“Dude,” another one said. “Look what she’s wearing. She’s fine. She doesn’t care about people taking pictures, do you sweetheart?”

Cash’s smile chilled her blood. He dropped the phone in one of the full beers.

One of them stood in a rush, looking pissed, but whatever he saw on Cash’s face stopped his advance.

“Give me a reason,” Cash gritted out.

The guy threw up his hands. “We were just playing around.”

“Play somewhere else.”

“This is our bar.”

“Not anymore.” He jerked his chin to the door. “You’re dismissed.”

“We’re dismissed?” Another one said, standing. He was a behemoth of a man.

Cash squeezed her hand gently. Wait, she was still holding his hand. She was still holding his hand? Harley looked down at where his big strong hand was wrapped protectively around hers, holding her right behind him. She shouldn’t feel safe right now at all, but she did.

A presence pressed against her back, and when she turned her head, Wreck and Reed and King were there. Kade was against the nearest wall, watching the guys, arms crossed.

The big guy looked around at them all, and then flipped a chair. “I’m over this place anyway. They only let trash in here now.”

The guy yanked the phone from the beer, and shoved another table over on his way out, and the bar was completely quiet until the door shut behind them. And then the murmuring and noise picked up again. Cash turned to her with a smile on his face. “You suck at pool, friend.”

“I do not,” she said. “I just need to warm up.”

“For ten years. You damn near missed the cue ball.”

Okay, was he really going to gloss over what had just happened with those guys?

He led her back toward the pool table, still holding her hand, and she allowed it. Harley rested her other hand on the inside of his elbow to steady herself as she checked the door behind her to make sure those guys hadn’t come back in. That had scared her a little.

The two girls who’d been all over Cash were watching her, but she only met their eyes for a couple seconds. This Crew was right in the middle of a lot of attention, weren’t they? Was this the norm for them? From the way the ladies of the Crew hadn’t even reacted, and from the way the guys went directly back to bantering and playing and laughing, she thought it was.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said softly to Cash.

“No, I shouldn’t. You’re right. They shouldn’t have taken pictures of you without your permission.”

Reed was shooting now, but only got two in, and then Cash ran the table to finish out the game. She’d never been attracted to men like Cash, but here, under his protection, absorbing his banter, his laughs, his grins, his teasing flirtatiousness, his seriousness when he explained right-and-wrong…she could see the appeal.

He pulled her over to the darts in the corner next while his Crew started another game of doubles at the pool table. This was a game she actually did need some guidance on, because she’d never played before, but after a couple of games, she had the hang of it and was having a blast. The music got louder the later it was, and eventually a live band took over where the jukebox left off.

Cash was good at conversation and kept it easy and smooth. He would make a great salesman. She was normally more awkward, but he kept them on this strain of conversation that was lighthearted and teasing, and set her up for good comebacks, and she just…well she lost herself for a couple of glorious hours.

“What time is it?” he asked after a while, pulling the darts from the board.

She checked her phone, but froze. There was a new message from Lance there. It simply said, I’m sorry.

“What’s he sorry for?” Cash asked carefully from right over her shoulder.

She flinched and shoved her phone back into her purse. “I don’t know.”

“Lie.”

“Let’s just enjoy the night,” she said, pleading. “I don’t want to talk about him. Just be a friend.”

“I’m trying.”

“Be a stranger-friend. You don’t have to dig too deep into my life, Cash. It’s a fun night of friendship and a good memory, and then you’ll be responsible for fending off the bar flies on your own tomorrow night.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Probably. Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Why’s he sorry?” Cash asked again.

“You’re breaking the rules. No strings attached.”

Cash squared up to her and looked so deeply into her eyes. “What did he do?”

“Cash,” she whispered. “You’re ruining this.”

He just looked at her, refusing to release her from his gold gaze.

“Fuck,” she murmured, hating him. “My divorce is going to be final on Tuesday. I failed it. I didn’t even believe in divorce and here I am. Going through it. One o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, I’ll be at the courthouse in Bozeman, finishing the paperwork on the last part of my failure. We’ve been separated for a year, going back and forth with lawyers, and now I guess he’s having second thoughts. Again. He’s stopped proceedings twice already and stalled it out. He’s laying it on pretty thick right now.”

“What did he do?”

She shook her head, denying him an answer because she still felt loyal. She still had the urge to protect him.

“He was with another girl?” Cash guessed.

Harley couldn’t deny it, so she just pursed her lips.

“You were loyal?” he guessed.

She nodded. “I look and feel pretty stupid lately.”

“No you don’t. He fumbled you. He looks stupid.” Cash arched an eyebrow. “He looks especially stupid in that wedding picture in his baby blue bow tie.” He turned and threw a dart into the bullseye.

“Hey, be nice.”

“Fuck that dude, I don’t know him. Why do I have to be nice? We’re friends, Harley. I want to talk shit. Just lean in and talk shit with me.”

Her laugh surprised her. She didn’t know why she found it funny, but she did. It was nice to have someone have her back. In Bozeman, everyone was on the fence about them splitting up, and she didn’t feel supported. Not even from Carolina, who loved Lance. He’d been in their family for a long time.

“He sent me a picture of him sitting on my porch,” she admitted low.

“Oh my God, let me see. He’s crying in it, isn’t he?”

“No. Just…tearing up a little.”

Cash snickered as he looked at the picture she showed him. “He is laying it on thick. What happened to his girlfriend?”

Harley shrugged. “I have no idea. They were fine, last I heard. I’ve been living on my own the whole time, just waiting for the divorce to be finalized. He keeps freaking refusing to sign the paperwork last minute and pushing back our court dates, which makes no damn sense because he’s in a serious relationship with his mistress. Her name is Alissa and she has the perfect bone-structure. It’s annoying,” she muttered.

“She sounds like a cow.”

Harley pursed her lips against a laugh. “She loves posting pictures of them, and my friends would show me the pictures every once in a while, but it wasn’t good for me. It kind of destroyed me, so I asked them to stop.”

He handed her darts, and she threw them one by one. None of them were near the bullseye, but at least they were all on the board this time.

“Hey, you suck less now.”

She giggled. “Thanks a lot.”

“If you ever want revenge on him, let me know.”

“He doesn’t need his phone dunked in a beer.”

“We could make out and take a picture of it and post it,” he said. “I would even take my shirt off for it, if you asked me to. I have a six pack.”

“As absolutely insane as that offer just sounded, I actually appreciate you making it. I mean, the answer is hell no, but thank you for the offer.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe.”

“Nope. It’s not a maybe and we are not making out. We are friends.”

“Woman, I’ve been trying not to stare at your perfect tits all night. That does not scream friendship.”

“Keep us on the right track, Cashew. I’m going through a hard time, and you don’t seem like the kind of guy who wants to scoop up a girl when she’s vulnerable.”

“Being a good man is the worst,” he muttered as he threw a dart.

“Hey, you can go take one of the mini-skirt twins home, easy peasy.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, throwing another dart.

“Oh, you’re one of those boys who likes the hunt?”

“I don’t even know what I like. I’ve been in prison for the last six years.”

“Whoa! What?”

“Yeah. I just escaped a few months ago.”

“And you are an escaped convict?” Her shock was eternal.

“From the very non-judgmental tone of your voice, I feel like I’m definitely back in the running for that make-out pic,” he said sarcastically.

“Not on your life! What the hell, Cash?” she whisper-screamed.

“Do you need a shot?” he asked.

“A shot is not going to fix what you just said. Where did you escape from?”

“Cold Foot Prison.”

“The high security shifter prison,” she said, nodding. “Of course.”

“Of course what?”

Of course she would be attracted to a freaking felon. “It’s a good thing my sister is dating a catfish. It’s better than her dating a criminal.”

“Isn’t impersonating someone and stealing their identity criminal? So technically, either way she was.” Why was he being so nonchalant about this. Like he had no shame?

“Are you a murderer?”

“That’s not what I went to jail for.”

“You didn’t answer my question!”

“Well, rules for shifters are different than for humans.”

“Murder is murder, who did you kill.”

“I’m not saying I killed anyone.”

“But you aren’t denying it.”

“Do you want to know what I went to prison for or not?” he asked.

“Yes.”

His eyes went all serious, and he stood to his full height, and sighed. “For being too fine.”

She smacked his arm. “I’m being serious.”

“I got too many bitches.”

“I’m leaving,” she groused, shouldering her purse.

He followed. “I’m allowed to say bitches because that is the female version of a dog, and I’ve mostly dated werewolves. Where are you going?”

“Far away from you.”

“Oh come on. How cool would it be to have a make out pic with a bad boy? You would get so many cool points in Bozeman. You would get more street cred.”

“What? What are you even talking about?” She scoffed and waved to King and Reed, then made her way to the girls to say goodbye.

“You’re leaving?” Katrina asked. “It’s early.”

“Cash is…”

“Cash is Cash,” Timber, Sasha, and Katrina said in unison, like they already understood.

“What did you say to her?” Katrina demanded to Cash

“That he went to prison,” Harley whispered. “Prison!”

The girls’ faces cooled.

“Prison,” she repeated slower, in case they hadn’t heard her over the loud music.

“To be fair most of us were in prison,” Katrina said.

“I wasn’t,” Sasha pointed out.

“Nor I,” Timber said.

“Oh, Garret wasn’t in prison,” Sasha pointed out. “But you haven’t met him yet.”

“Wreck hasn’t been to prison,” Timber pointed out.

“Okay,” she said, looking around at the loosely formed group, counting in her head. “So, about half of you? Half?” Why was her voice so high-pitched right now.

“Is this some kind of meltdown?” Cash asked around a bite of southwest eggroll.

“Prison is a pretty big thing!” She looked around at the girls, but they were just chill. “Right? No?”

“I mean,” Timber drawled. “We’ve all made mistakes.”

“I haven’t made illegal mistakes,” Harley said, “and it’s been relatively easy to not get arrested.”

“She’s one of those boring, upstanding citizens,” Cash announced, picking up another eggroll. “Fuck, these are so good.”

“So all of you…escaped?”

Katrina shrugged. “Yes and no.”

“Do I even want to know?” she asked.

“Honestly, probably not,” Timber said. “You just have to accept this Crew the way it is. Can’t change the past.”

“Great,” Harley murmured. “Well, it was very nice to meet you all.”

“Do you need a ride?” Timber asked. “I haven’t been drinking.”

“Nope, no, I’m good. I’m staying at the motel across the street.”

She turned and offered her hand for a shake. “Cash, it’s been weird.”

He huffed a single, amused laugh, and then shook her hand. “Likewise.”

She turned to leave, but Cash followed. She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. She started walking again, and he kept up with her, step-for-step. She stopped again. “Why are you following me?”

“I’m going to walk you to your motel.”

“No thank you. Hard pass.”

“Harley, I’m not putting the moves on you. I’m just making sure you get there safe.”

“I don’t want you knowing where my room is, Criminal.”

“Oh, come on.”

She walked toward the exit with crisp, fast steps, but he trailed behind her still. “Cash,” she snapped.

“Well, can I fucking watch you from the sidewalk on this side of the road so I know you get there safe? Geez. I’m being a good friend.”

She crossed her arms. “You still have your tab open.”

“So? This place doesn’t close for another three hours.”

“I’m reminding you to get your credit card back.” She huffed an irritated sigh. “There, I am being a good friend too.”

“A great friend.”

He heaved a sigh and leaned over, grabbed a napkin off a nearby table. He scribbled something onto it and then folded it, and handed it to her. “Here’s my number in case you change your mind on the revenge picture.”

“You’re infuriating.”

He grinned. “Thank you.” He shook the napkin, still offered in his hand.

She rolled her eyes closed and counted to three, then snatched it from his fingertips. “Great, now I’ve got a criminal’s phone number. My shame is growing by the second.”

He grinned. “Call me after Tuesday.”

“I’m…” Well, how did she even respond to that? “I’m not looking for…whatever you’re offering.”

“Friendship? From someone who doesn’t have any eggs in the basket? If you need anything after Tuesday, call me.”

Well, okay. She shoved the napkin into her pocket, pretty determined to just throw it away when she got to the motel.

“Bye,” she said awkwardly.

He smiled this charming-boy smile that probably got him a lot of girls. “See you later, Stalker.”

So confident. So cocky. So arrogant, him thinking she would call him.

Her life was a firestorm and she couldn’t add her complicated feelings around Cash to the mix. She nodded and made her way to the door.

“Did you just curtsey?” he asked, following.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“That was so fuckin’ cute.”

“Stop following me,” she told him out on the sidewalk, and he did.

Harley made it across the street before she turned to find him standing on the sidewalk, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He pulled one out and waved, and her heart beat a little faster.

She’d had fun tonight. She could admit that in the privacy of her own mind.

She’d had fun with him.

A smile stretched her lips and she lifted a hand and waved, and then made her way inside the motel office. Everything really did happen for a reason.

Tonight, Lance had messed with her head, and she hadn’t fallen apart. It was a first.

Perhaps she was getting stronger, and not going back and forth as much about doing the right thing. Or perhaps Lance was finally losing the power he’d held over her.

Or maybe, just maybe, Cash was just the perfect distraction for tonight.