Too Close For Comfort (Sweetrock Cowboy Romance Book 2) (12 page)

Gramps came back with two tall glasses. He handed one to Cash and he curled his palm around it, the coolness of the iced liquid squelching some of the angry disappointment that heated his veins.

Gramps leaned back in his recliner and sipped the drink, and then he made a face.

“Too much lemon in he’ya. I told her to add more sugar.” He sipped again then looked at Cash. “Too much lemon will make you pucker, but that doesn’t explain the sour look on your face, boy. Come on, now, and tell me what the problem is. Did Gloria give you trouble?”

“No, it wasn’t that. We got her down to the clinic and she agreed to counseling.”

Gramps nodded. “Good. And Gordy? How is the little tike?”

Cash’s lips tugged in a smile. “He was good. We dropped him off at school first, and then took Gloria to the clinic.”

“And Mel?” Cash’s heart tugged that Gramps was just as concerned about Mel’s problems as Nick, Cash, and the others were.

Cash shrugged. “She’s doing okay. Still has her ups and downs.”

“It’s understandable with Ida and Morry gone now. They were her anchor. Especially since her folks died so young. It ain’t easy for kids to be raised by their grandparents. And with Harley overseas...” Gramps’ voice trailed off and he took another sip. “Well, we’re doing everything we can for her.”

Gramps put his glass of lemonade down and leaned forward in the chair, his gnarled, weathered hands clasped between his knees, and his keen eyes studying Cash. Cash never could fool Gramps for long, and he knew it was just a matter of time before his grandfather got the truth out of him.

“So, you gonna tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Cash’s eyes flicked to the photo of his grandfather and grandmother. He’d never met her. Didn’t know what she’d been like or how much Gramps had loved her. But he could imagine how much it had hurt when she’d left. He was feeling that same pain now. It must have shown on his face.

“Women trouble?” Gramps guessed.

“Sort of.”

Gramps leaned back in his chair, his hawk-like eyes trained on Cash. “Must be one heck of a filly. Never seen you this twisted up about one.”

Cash looked down into his lemonade and swirled the glass. “Doesn’t matter. It’s over with.”

Gramps narrowed his eyes. “Over with? What do you mean? Doesn’t sound like you to give up, and from the look on your face it’s far from over with.”

“It’s not so much giving up as letting go. I probably should’ve never pursued it in the first place.” His eyes flicked to the picture of his grandparents again. “If I’d learned from you, I wouldn’t have the same regrets you have.”

Gramps look at the picture, his eyes softening. “Yep. I’ve got plenty of regrets,” he said softly.

Cash chugged the rest of his lemonade. “Right. I should’ve listened. Should’ve never gotten involved with a good friend.”

Gramps chuckled. “I figured it was Tessa.”

Cash simply nodded.

“But why do you say you should have never gotten involved? I don’t understand that at all because clearly the two of you are made for each other.”

Cash looked up from his study of the ice cubes in his glass. “Not so. Just like Grandma left you, now Tessa’s left me.”

Gramps forehead creased. “Really? And you’re just gonna let her?”

Cash shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. What else can I do?”

“When did you get to be so wimpy? You said you didn’t want to have the same regrets I did, but here you are, sitting chewing your cud and not doing a damn thing about it.”

Cash was confused. “What do you mean? You regretted getting involved with grandma and now I’ve gone and done the same thing. Gotten involved.”

“You think that’s what I regretted? Getting involved?” Gramps looked at the picture while his fingertips brushed the brass handle on the drawer underneath. “That’s not what I have regrets about. I regret that I never went after her.”

Gramps’ words sunk in as Cash watched him slowly pull the drawer open. The black velvet box sat all by itself, smack dab in the middle of the drawer. Gramps lovingly stroked the top of it. “See, I didn’t have the gumption. I
thought
I should let her go.” In one quick angry movement, he snatched the box out of the drawer in his fist. He leaned forward, his eyes bright, his face serious. “But I was wrong.
That’s
my regret. Got nothing to do with getting involved with her, it’s that I didn’t go after her and fight for her.”

Cash’s gaze flicked from Gramps’ face to his fist. Gramps had always been so soft-spoken that he’d never heard such passion in his voice. “But all this time, I thought you meant you regretted getting involved in the first place.”

“Nope.” His fist relaxed and he straightened his fingers, revealing the box sitting in the middle of his palm. “Those years with your grandma were the best I ever had, but I screwed up in not fighting for her. You don’t have to make the same mistake I did. You don’t have to have the same regrets.”

Cash stared at the little velvet box his grandfather now held out to him. Hope surged through him. He
knew
there was a connection between him and Tessa, and it was something better than she could ever have with Derek. Could he make her see it his way? Derek had crushed her once. Why would she want to go back to him?

He reached his hand out and touched the soft velvet box. His grandfather’s face cracked into a smile. “That’s my boy. Now, you go get that girl. You fight for her like I didn’t, and then you can live out the rest of your life without regrets.”

Cash snatched the box from his grandfather’s palm and shot up from the couch, stopping only long enough to hug the old man before racing to his Jeep.

T
he old Dobbins
house had been vacant for a decade. The paint was peeling, the shutters hanging crooked and the grass overgrown. A niggle of trepidation tickled the back of Tessa’s neck as she approached the door. The broken-down appearance of the house mirrored the relationship she’d had with Derek. She just hoped she could face him without breaking down herself.

Thoughts of Cash and why she was doing this filled her with resolve, but still she hesitated. Would seeing Derek bring back a flood of bad memories? And how would that affect her?

She raised her fist and knocked on the door, the hollow sound echoing the thud of her own heart.

The door squeaked open and there was Derek. He looked older but still devastatingly handsome. The kind of handsome that makes a girl do stupid things.

He smiled, revealing perfectly straight pearly white teeth. He still had that dimple on his chin that drove women wild. But now instead of wanting to run her fingers over it, Tessa wanted to punch him in the face. His magic didn’t work on her anymore.

“Tessa, please come in.” He stood back, opening the door wider, revealing an entryway and living area in various stages of demolition. One wall had been taken down, the floor pried up in one section, and the ceiling, which look to have leaked at one time, had caved in on one corner. “Please excuse the mess. The place has been empty for a while, but it was a good deal. And since I’m in town to stay, I figured I might as well renovate to my specifications.”

Tessa stepped tentatively inside. She kept close to the doorway, aiming to keep the front door open. The thought of venturing deep into Derek’s house reminded her of a fly getting caught in a spider’s web.

“I can see you’re doing a lot of work,” she said lamely, not knowing how to start the conversation or what she intended to say.

“Come on in. Can I get you something?” His eyes had a hopeful gleam...and something else. Predatory was the word Tessa would’ve used. Yes, Derek was certainly trying to trap her in his web again.

She took a step back now, hovering just at the edge of the threshold. “I can’t stay long. I just came to hash a few things out.”

“Hash out? What do you mean?”

As if he didn’t remember how they’d left things. As if he didn’t know what an asshole he’d been. Anger bubbled up inside her and she clenched her fists but kept her voice even. “We left things unfinished between us, Derek, and I came to finish them.”

He stepped closer, his fingertip tracing her jaw. “I’d like that.”

She slapped his hand away. “I didn’t mean that. I meant the way you dumped me without even saying a word. I found out from Veronica.” Tessa looked around the house, noticing no touches of a woman. Apparently, the rumors of his divorce were true. “Where is she, by the way? Did you fool around on her, too?”

Derek looked contrite, his lips pressed together. “We’re divorced.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I know I treated you badly but I was young. You were away at college and, well...a man has his needs. Veronica was there and willing to satisfy. Unfortunately, things turned out the way they did.”

Tessa’s stomach roiled in disgust. Is that all he had to say? He was satisfying his needs? At least he married Veronica, even if they were divorced now. Veronica was much better off, but Tessa felt sorry for the child they’d conceived to be saddled with a selfish jerk for a father. She was relieved it wasn’t
her
that he’d gotten pregnant.

“So, you thought it was okay to cheat on me because I was away at college?” Tessa glared at him. What had she seen in him in the first place? She’d been naïve and young back then. Now that she was older, she saw through his act. He was a player, a smooth operator that would tell a girl whatever he thought she wanted to hear.

“It wasn’t exactly like that. She came on to me.”

“Oh, so that makes it okay?”

“It didn’t mean anything.”

“You married her!” The fact that he had done at least that did little to redeem Derek in Tessa’s eyes. “That’s not the worst part. You weren’t even man enough to tell me to my face.”

Derek pressed his lips together and looked down at his feet. Did he actually feel bad about that? “I know. That wasn’t cool. But I was a kid and I couldn’t face you. I knew I’d done the wrong thing.”

Tessa wasn’t sure if he really did feel bad about it, but that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was how
she
felt and right now, she saw Derek for what he was. A lying, selfish coward. She’d spent all those years twisted up inside, wondering what was wrong with
her
that caused the man she thought she loved to treat her like that and it hadn’t been her shortcoming at all.

All the years she’d spent second-guessing the motives of every guy she’d dated and unable to trust someone else was for nothing. It never was her fault. It had always been his. She felt as if a weight had been lifted.

Derek reached for her. “Can you ever forgive me?”

She pushed his hand away. “Forgive you? You did do the wrong thing. But you know what? I’m over you. I got over you a long time ago.” She stepped closer to him. The nearness of him made her nauseated but she wanted to prove her point. Wanted to show him that he had no hold on her. “I just wanted to come and tell you face-to-face what an asshole you are.”

Tessa saw the look of defiance cross his face and it made her feel even better. It was as if she’d broken some sort of spell that had been holding her hostage. The Tessa that had been taken in by Derek was young but the Tessa that stood here now was older and wiser.
This
Tessa no longer had to fear that she couldn’t trust anyone. Not all men were like Derek. Cash wasn’t.

She was buoyed by the realization that she’d finally broken through. She could trust now. She could be with Cash. She could tell him her true feelings and trust that he wouldn’t stomp all over them...and hope that maybe he felt the same way.

Before she could turn to leave, she heard footsteps pounding up the porch steps behind her. A hand pushed in between her and Derek, gently pulling her away.

She spun around, surprise jolting her when she saw Cash pushing his way in between them.

“Get away from her. She’s mine and I’m not gonna let you hurt her ever again.”

* * *

C
ash stood
in between Tessa and Derek, his heart beating frantically in his chest as his hands curled into eager fists. When he’d left Gramps, he’d rushed to The Chuckwagon, figuring that Sam would know where Tessa was. He’d almost lost his resolve when she’d said Tessa was at Derek’s. She’d tried to explain, but Cash didn’t want to hear it. Best he come and see for himself.

He’d been afraid she’d gone to take up with Derek where they’d left off. Afraid she wouldn’t want to be with
him
anymore. But a little part of him knew that Tessa and he belonged together. So he’d rushed over, determined not to let her go without telling her how he felt.

And now, here she was practically nose to nose with Derek. But once he’d seen her, he knew he wasn’t going to let her go easy. Tessa was worth fighting for.

The urge to pop Derek in his smirking face almost overcame him, but he knew that wasn’t the way to solve things. He didn’t know why Tessa was here or why she was standing so close to Derek but he did know that he and Tessa had something real. Whatever she might have thought she had with this Bozo was fake, and he just had to get her to realize it.

Cash didn’t care if he made a fool out of himself. He was going to lay it all on the line right here and now and if Tessa chose Derek, then so be it. At least he wouldn’t spend the rest of his life like his grandfather, regretting that he never fought for with the woman he loved.

Derek took a step back and put his hands up in front of him. “Whoa, there. Hold on. I’m not gonna hurt her.”

Cash’s head swiveled between Tessa and Derek. Come to think of it, neither one of them looked too happy. What had he interrupted?

“Good.” He let his fists relax.

“I don’t think you have any right to come barging in here, though,” Derek said.

“I came for Tessa.” Cash stepped back so he could try to read the look on Tessa’s face. She looked confused. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand and silenced her.

“Now, before you say anything, hear me out,” Cash said. His hand dipped into his pocket, touching the velvet box for courage.

“I’ve loved you ever since we were kids. Maybe at first it started out just as friendship but somehow it turned into something so much more.”

“Aww...isn’t that nice.” Derek’s voice dripped with sarcasm but Cash ignored him. His eyes were only on Tessa, and her eyes were dark with emotion, setting off a spark of hope inside Cash.

“Shut up and let him speak,” Tessa said, raising Cash’s hopes even further. She wanted to hear what he had to say. He had a chance!

“Now, I know you have a past with Derek,” he continued. “But he’s no good for you. He’s a jerk that will just hurt you again.”

“Hey, I am not. I’m nicer now,” Derek whined.

“Well, I wasn’t going to—“ Tessa started.

“Wait.” Cash held up his hand, cutting off her words. “Let me finish.”

Tessa quirked a brow. “Okay...”

His heart thudded against his rib cage as he took Tessa’s hand. “You know that we’re good together. I was hoping that we could continue being good together. But, I won’t stand in your way if what we had was just a temporary thing and you want to move on.”

Tessa’s eyes grew misty, and Cash didn’t know if it was because she was happy at what he was saying or sad that she was going to have to break his heart.

“Wait, you guys have a thing going on?” Derek interrupted.

“Shut up,” they both said.

Tessa turned to Cash. “I don’t want to move on.”

He knew she meant it. He felt it in every nerve, every muscle, and especially in his heart.

He sank down onto one knee. Pulling the velvet box from his pocket, he flipped it open and said, “Tessa Riley, will you marry me?”