From Ashes (9 page)

“Gage?” She looked worried.

I can’t believe I fell for her shit.
“I said get the fuck out. Both of you.”

“What?” She clutched her stomach, her eyes filled with tears.

Without another word, I stormed out of the main house and grabbed Bear, heading off toward the place I’d wanted to take Cass too. The house my dad and I had been slowly building since I was sixteen. Whenever I got married, this would be where we lived, and I’d never wanted to show it to anyone before meeting Cassidy.

Walking around it now, I thought about how perfect it would be for her. Over winter break and the first two months this summer we’d expanded the kitchen, and I knew Cassidy would have loved it. Hell, I’d expanded it
for
her. There was a large bathtub in the master bathroom as well, and I smiled remembering the conversation with her months ago about how she would kill to have a tub that she could relax in. The ones in our apartment weren’t much in the way of relaxing, but this one was. I walked back out to what would be the living room and sank onto the wood floor, my head between my knees. Other than windows and the wraparound porch I still wanted to build, all the house needed was furniture, and it would be finished. But that would be up to Cassidy to pick all that out. No, not Cassidy. My wife. Whoever that might be, because obviously it wouldn’t be her.

My heart ached and I kept replaying last night and that morning in my head. I’d been so sure last night before waking her up, and then after our time out by the creek, I knew I had been right. Cassidy and I belonged together. I thought about Tyler’s statement and Cassidy’s confirmation when she walked into the kitchen and I felt sick. Raking my hands through my hair, I fell back so I was lying on the floor and looked up at the ceiling through blurred eyes. God, what was happening to me? I couldn’t remember the last time I cried. No . . . I did. It was when my grandma died when I was little. And now this girl, who apparently had no issues leading on one guy and messing around with another, was bringing it all out. I wanted to kick myself for falling for her. For spending an entire year miserable because I couldn’t be with her, and for once again letting myself
think
I could.

The sun had begun setting when my dad walked into my house. “Figured I’d find you here.”

“Here I am.” I let one arm make a sweeping motion before bringing it back to rest on my chest.

“You want to tell me why I walked into a house full of my confused family and a seriously pissed off Bradley family?”

“Not really.”

“What about why Cassidy seemed so odd? She wouldn’t speak to anyone—hell, she looked about as messed up as you did before she got here.”

“Are they gone?”

“Left a few hours ago.”

“I can’t move back in with them, Dad. I need to get my own place this year.”

He sat down next to me and stared at the stone fireplace. “We’re not leaving until you tell me what’s going on. From what I saw this morning, I wouldn’t have expected what I witnessed this afternoon.” He looked down at me. “Or what I’m seeing right now.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said after a few silent minutes. “I thought she liked me. I was wrong. She’s still completely hung up on Tyler.”

“Sure didn’t look like it this past week.”

I groaned. “I know that, Dad. But trust me. They made it extremely clear this morning who she wanted to be with.”

“How so?”

“I’d rather not repeat what I heard them saying.”

“Maybe you didn’t get the whole story.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I heard the entire damn thing.”

He stood up and stretched his back. “Well, I can’t change your mind; no one can. But I just sat there listening to your sisters and mother trying to figure out what could have happened. And they all came to the conclusion that you hurt her. From the time they spent with her this week, apparently she was all talk about you, and not a damn thing about your cousin.”

“I hurt her?!” I sat up and looked at him incredulously. “All she’s ever done is rip my fucking heart out!”

My dad didn’t seem surprised by my outburst, just stood there waiting to see if I was finished.

“I hate feeling whatever this is, and caring so much about her. There’s no reason some insignificant girl should make me this crazy.”

“Insignificant?” he said after I’d lain back down with a huff. “You really think that?”

“No, Dad . . . I don’t. I’m just mad right now. Even after what happened this morning, I came here and thought about every part of the house I knew she would love. What I still wanted to add for her, and about how she would make this our home.” I sat there clutching my chest, the ache there almost unbearable. “But that won’t happen.”

He opened his mouth but shut it and continued to stare at the fireplace.

“I can’t take this. It’s like I told you a week ago before they showed up. I already hurt thinking about not having her in my life somehow. Even as just a friend. But I don’t know how to do that. I love her too much to just be her friend, and it kills me seeing them together. More so now. I don’t know what to do. I know I need to move out, but I know I won’t be able to stay away either. It’s like I’m asking for her to keep breaking my heart.”

“I don’t know what will happen. But I think you should give it some time. You’re a part of the triangle, which means you didn’t get to see things the way the rest of us did. I admit it’s strange the way she clings to Tyler, and if I’d never seen her look at you, I would think they’re a couple too. But I did see the way she looked at you, we all did, and there’s no doubt—well . . .

“Maybe you should move out. Do that, and you can decide from there how to approach her. Whether that’s as a friend or if you keep fighting for her, you’ll decide then. You have three more weeks until you go back to Austin. Let’s finish out the summer work, then you can find a new place, concentrate on finishing school, and let the rest happen as it’s supposed to.” He made his way to the door. “I’ll explain the situation to the girls, but you should come back to the house soon. I know you’ve been gone all day; you need to eat something, and there’s a storm rollin’ in. Should be here for the next few days.”

“I’m right behind you,” I said from the spot on the floor I hadn’t moved from since that morning.

“It’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to.”

I thought about Tyler holding Cass that morning. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

Chapter Seven

C
ASSIDY

“
Q
UAD ICED VENTI
mocha for Natalie,” I called out, and looked at my watch face on the inside of my wrist; only five minutes left. I could do this. I set out making the last few orders of drinks and walked over to the supervisor taking over for me. “Do you need me to do anything before I head out?”

She glanced at me and gave me a bright smile. “No, Cass, see you Monday.”

I was shaking so much it took me three tries to get my code in so I could clock out. It had been almost three weeks since I’d seen Gage and I knew he was coming home either today or tomorrow since classes were starting back up on Monday. I was a wreck, to say the least. Ever since Gage told us to get out and then walked away from me, I hadn’t spoken a single word to him, and my heart broke a little more with each passing day. I had no idea what happened or why he was so mad all of a sudden that morning. Tyler had been just as confused as I was. All I knew was Gage and I had gone right back to our normal back-and-forth routine of flirting then avoiding each other, only this time it was worse since I couldn’t see him. Tyler and everyone at work was worried about me, but I knew I just had to make it until Gage was back, then we could talk about everything face-to-face and try to fix whatever had gone wrong this time.

I walked home, my heart racing the entire time as I went through different conversations and scenarios for when he showed up. Most of them ended with me in his arms, his mouth on mine, and by the time I got home, I’d convinced myself this was all going to work out. Shutting the door behind me, I saw a grim-faced Tyler standing in the living room, arms crossed over his chest.

“You okay, Ty?”

He took a deep breath in and out before answering. “He’s gone, Cassi.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Gage. He showed up right after I got home from dropping you off this morning, moved all his stuff out.”

My heart painfully skipped two beats before I took off for his room. A sob stuck in my throat when I saw his bed still there, but bare, and nothing was in his closet, in his drawers, or haphazardly thrown around the room. He had made sure to do all this while I was at work; he left and didn’t even say good-bye. I tried to slip into indifference so Tyler wouldn’t see me lose it over this, but I couldn’t. My knees were weak in the worst way possible, my lips were quivering even as I tried to force them firmly together, and tears were blurring my vision.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Tyler wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.

“I d— I don’t—why?”

“I don’t know, Cassi, but I’m so sorry.” He turned me so I was facing him and cupped my cheek with one of his hands. “What can I do to make this better?”

“Nothing.”

“Cassi—”

“I’m serious, I just . . . I just need to be alone right now.” I moved out of his arms and went to our room, curling into a ball on the bed. When Tyler opened the door I spoke before he could. “Please, Ty. Just leave me alone for a while.”

After giving me a kiss on my forehead, he turned and left the room.

“
S
WEETHEART, COME ON.
Get dressed, let me take you out to lunch or something.”

I sighed deeply and wrapped the pillow closer to my chest. “I’m not hungry, Ty.”

“You need to eat, you’re losing too much weight.”

“I’m fine.” No, I wasn’t. This couldn’t be normal, not that anything between Gage and me had ever been normal. Not the sudden love I felt for him, not how I felt like I couldn’t breathe unless he was near me, and especially not how I’d slipped into a “zombified version of myself,” as Tyler liked to call it. I stopped doing Saturday shifts, but other than that I still went to work and continued to cook dinner for Tyler and the guys. When I wasn’t doing either of those two things, I was curled into a tight ball in bed, trying to ignore the intense pain of Gage ignoring me. It had been another three weeks since he’d moved all his stuff out, making it a month and a half since I’d seen or heard from him. Tyler still saw him at school, and I was glad that their relationship hadn’t suffered as well, seeing as they were still doing their Saturday-morning breakfasts at Kerbey Lane.

With a huff, Tyler walked out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Four hours later, I was just starting to think I should get up and start making dinner for him when he walked back in. His long strides were determined as he made his way to the bed; lifting me up into his chest, he slammed his mouth down onto mine.

I started to protest, but my heart was so shattered, I could barely find the will to turn my head away. “Ty—” I finally managed, but when I opened my mouth, he forced his tongue to meet mine as he laid me back down, his body following.

“Damn it, Cassi,” he growled against my mouth when he realized I wasn’t kissing him back. He pulled away slightly and searched my eyes, pain filling his. “What do I have to do? I’ve loved you since we were kids. What do I have to do to make you love me too?”

“I
do
love you, Tyler.”

He shook his head. “Not like that, Cassi, I want you, all of you. I want you to be mine, I want to take care of you in every way possible for the rest of our lives. Can’t you see that?”

I just continued to stare into his brown eyes, unblinking.

When I didn’t say anything, he let his head drop into the crook of my neck and sighed. “I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep waiting for you to see me the way I see you. I kept—I kept hoping one day you would get it. But I see that’s not going to happen. I’m sorry, Cass, but I can’t do this anymore.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“
This,
Cass, all of it. Living here with you, only being your friend. I can’t keep doing this. I want all of you, or nothing at all.”

“What?!”

“You ne—”

“I thought you were my friend!”

“I am, damn it, Cassi, haven’t I always been that? But I’m tired of just being your friend! I can’t keep doing this with you.”

“Tyler—” My chest was heaving up and down quickly. I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. “How can you do this to me? I can’t lose you, you’re all I have!”

“Then don’t fucking lose me!”

“That’s not fair, I’ve never thought of you like that, Ty, and Gage—” Tyler’s eyes narrowed and darkened at the mention of his cousin. “You know what he meant to me!”

“Why can’t I be that for you? At least I won’t make you destroy yourself like he has from the heartbreak he’s caused you! So decide, Cass, right now. You’re with me, or you leave.”

My jaw dropped and I couldn’t stop the tears that escaped my eyes. Why was he doing this?
How
could he do this after all these years? “You’re breaking my heart right now!”

“And you think you haven’t broken mine? How do you think it felt that after years of being there for you, taking care of you and loving you—you took one look at Gage and you’re ready to give your heart to him.”

Words escaped me for a few seconds and my head quickly shook back and forth as I floundered for the right thing to say. I couldn’t lose Tyler. He was my rock, and with Gage gone, he was back to being all I had left.

“Let me love you, Cassi.” His voice went soft and low. “Let me be who you need.”

“Ty—” I cried, and shook my head once more, and instantly his features hardened as he started to push himself off me and the bed.
Oh God, no.
I realized right then I’d do anything—just as long as he wouldn’t leave me too. I grabbed his face and held it just inches from mine. He’d been the only reason I’d stayed in that house all my life, and he’d been the only reason I’d survived it as well. I did love him, more than I could ever explain to anyone. I owed him my life. But he was right, it wasn’t in the way he was describing his feelings for me. Could I love him in that way too? No one got me like Tyler did. Our relationship, however weird it may have been, was the result of leaning on and loving each other for most of our lives. He knew exactly what I needed and always made sure I was taken care of before himself, just as I did the same for him. I took a shuddering breath in and let my gaze fall from his eyes over his face and to his wide shoulders. There was no doubting he was attractive, I’d always thought that, but now that I was trying to look at him differently, I realized he wasn’t just attractive. He was sexy. His entire body screamed raw masculine beauty and I felt my heart kick up as I studied the parts of him I could see. His piercing eyes were so dark right now that they were almost black. They were hidden behind thick blond lashes that matched his shortish, unkempt dirty-blond hair, which I’d always secretly loved. His strong nose led down to his mouth, which was full but not too full. More like it had a constant perfect pout unless he was giving one of his heart-stopping smiles.

My heart and mind instantly wished for green eyes, black hair, and deep dimples, but I pushed it away. Gage didn’t want me. I glanced down to his hard jaw and my eyes kept going to his neck and the tops of his shoulders. He’d been a swimmer throughout school and his best stroke was the butterfly; because of that he had shoulders that were broad and covered in muscles, and I started to wish he had his shirt off so I could finally study the rest of his muscles too. Could I do this? Could I be selfish enough to try to make myself fall in love with him in that way just so I wouldn’t lose him? It wasn’t fair to him, and I would probably be a horrible person for it, but yes, I could. And I would. I couldn’t lose Tyler, and if that meant trying to give him my heart when it would always be lost to his cousin, then that’s what I would do.

I looked back into his eyes and continued to convince myself that I could do this as I slowly brought his face down to mine, leaning up slightly to meet him halfway. Our eyes were still locked on each other as I pressed my lips softly to his once, then twice. Tyler searched my face for a moment before bringing our mouths back together, soft yet firm, and moved his lips against mine. It felt wrong, so wrong. This wasn’t like kissing Gage; I didn’t feel like the world fell away when Tyler kissed me, and I started to feel sick knowing I would never have this with Gage again. Squeezing my eyes tight, I took myself back to the hill next to the creek on the ranch, to the best night of my life. I thought about Gage’s hot breath on my neck as he made a trail of light bites and kisses from the hollow at the base of my neck, up my throat, and back to my mouth. I thought about the weight of his body on mine as we tried to pull each other closer together. I thought about the overwhelming sense of joy and belonging I felt in his arms. I thought about all these things, and tried to throw them into my kiss with Tyler.

When Tyler’s tongue slid across my bottom lip, I parted my lips slightly, this time meeting his exploration of my mouth with one of my own. He moaned and pressed my body deeper into the mattress while his mouth trailed down my neck and across my shoulder as he slid the strap of my tank top down. My breath caught when he went back and nipped my neck before lightly sucking at the sensitive spot behind my ear.

“You can do better than this, Cassi. I need to know that you want me as much as I want you,” he whispered against my skin.

I grabbed fistfuls of his hair and forced his head back up to mine. I wanted to yell at him, tell him he wasn’t being fair considering I was still completely not over his cousin. Instead, I crushed my mouth to his and sucked on his bottom lip before capturing it in my teeth. Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, I ripped it over his head and ran my fingers over his muscled body, causing him to shiver and his hard-on to become disgustingly apparent. I wanted to throw up. Trying to picture him as Gage wasn’t helping at all; if anything it was making it worse. There was no way to fool my mind into thinking this was the man who would always hold my heart. Every touch and every kiss was completely different, and lacking everything that was just . . .
us.

Tyler’s hand was running up my bare stomach toward my chest, and just as I was about to stop him, and hope he wouldn’t be hurt by that, his cell rang. I tried to suppress my sigh of relief when he rolled off me and grabbed his phone to answer. When he hung up he walked back to the bed and hovered over me on his hands and knees, placing two soft kisses on my cheek.

“Ty—” I had to clear my throat before continuing. “You’re going to need to be patient with me. Other than kissing Gage at the ranch”—Tyler’s eyes narrowed again—“I’ve never done anything. I don’t want to do anything yet, I just . . . I just need time if that’s okay.”

“That’s more than okay, Cassi, take as long as you need.”

“And I think I should move into the other bedroom.”

“What?” He backed up farther, his eyebrows shooting up. “Cassi, why?”

“Because it will be awkward to sleep together now.”

“Cass,” he said, rolling onto his side and propping his head up on his hand, “you’ve slept in my bed for years; that shouldn’t change now.”

I thought about all the times when Ty would wrap his arms tighter around me, making his hard-on more apparent, and we weren’t even in any kind of relationship when that happened. If we were, I could only imagine how much more often that would happen and I already felt disgusted just thinking about it. I really didn’t want anything related to that with Tyler . . . not after I’d spent a year fantasizing about Gage’s naked body against mine. “I’m sorry, Ty, but if we’re going to try to be in a relationship, I can’t start one in bed with you.”

Tyler exhaled slowly. “Okay, if that’s what you need, Cass.” He leaned down to press featherlight kisses to my jaw. “So we’re going to do this? You’re gonna be my girl?”

“Yeah, Ty,” I said softly, “I will.”

He grinned wider than I’d ever seen and kissed me softly. “Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too. It might not be the way you want yet, but I’ll get there. I just . . . as long as I’ve known you, I’ve only thought of you as a friend. I never considered anything else with you until about five minutes ago, so I’m sorry if this takes longer than you’d like.”

“Don’t be sorry, I know it’ll take time.” His nose skimmed across my collarbone, and my eyelids actually fluttered shut. “I’ve wanted this for so long, I’m just happy you’re finally giving us a chance.” He hopped off the bed and pulled his shirt back on. “Come on, let’s go.”