Page 19 of Wild For You

“Of course. It had to be money. That’s how he got rid of them so quickly.” She frowns but there’s also a glint of pride in her eyes. “His father and I always wondered how he did it. We decided that he might have scared them away. Apparently, money can buy everything.” She lets out a laugh, and her eyes fix on me again. “But you stayed.”

I shrug. “I want to help him. That’s all. His offer wasn’t more appealing than that.”

“Not even double your paycheck?”

I shrug again. How can I tell her that I could have made good use of that money, but in the end my professional reputation is worth so much more than that?

“Not even that. But we can’t work together if he’s never around,” I mutter. “Do you have any idea where I might find him?”

So I can pour that bucket of water over his head.

“God knows. He could be anywhere.” She smiles kindly. “The best thing you can do is ignore him. He’ll get bored quickly.”

“How do you know?”

“He does it all the time, dear. To all of us,” Margaret says. “Now, between you and me? I reckon he’s had a secret bunker built.”

I smile because in all honesty, she must be joking. “I can’t just wait for him to get bored from his own disappearing acts. He even tells me to leave. I need to do something.”

I shouldn’t be gossiping about my clients, but it feels good to talk. Even if Margaret can’t really help me with my dilemma, she does know him better than I do, which in turn might help me find a way to get him to open up to me.

“You’re doing more than you think. You help him by just being here.” She places her hand on mine. “He knows you’re here. He knows you care. If he really wanted you gone, he’d be doing worse things than telling you to leave to get you off his property.”

“Like what?”

“Locking the door and barring the windows.” Her mouth twitches. “He did it a few times. Once, he didn’t let me in for a week. He must have taken a liking to you.”

“I don’t think that’s the case.” The idea makes me blush, for some reason. He does like me, but not in the way she thinks.

“Just be patient. Cash always had a mind of his own. His passion for bull riding is just one example.”

“Why does he do it knowing that he’s risking his life?” I know the question is superfluous the moment I ask it. It’s like asking why people race cars or jump out of planes.

He likes to take risks. It’s as simple as that. But just because I see it all the time doesn’t mean I understand the idea behind it.

“He’s obsessed with it,” Margaret says. “Taming bulls has always fascinated him, but at some point it became his sport. Trent used to take him to watch, and one day—and I remember the day well—Cash declared that he wanted to try it.”

“You must have been with the Boyds for a long time.”

The expression in her eyes grows warm. “A very long time. After Cash’s mother died, I helped Trent with the house. Raising four kids on your own isn’t easy, so we all pitched in, cooking meals, helping with the cleaning. The Boyd kids became like my own. When Clara died, I cried for their loss until I had no tears left. As if losing their mother wasn’t enough of a tragedy. They also had to lose their sister.”

I don’t want to pry and yet I find myself asking, “Their sister?”

“Yeah. Clara was military. The eldest of the kids, and so responsible. Grown up for her age.” Her eyes focus on me as she ponders whether to disclose more. “She died in a bomb blast.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, even though I know no words can express the kind of sympathy any loss deserves.

“So am I.” She sighs and a tear rolls down her cheek. She wipes it away quickly and shakes her head. “The best thing about getting older is that you get wiser. You learn how to let go. You learn to appreciate what you have and let go of the things that don’t matter. The hate. The worries. The stress. Even beauty. You learn that even beauty is fleeting. That you don’t need it to be happy. All that matters in life is family.” She glances away and her gaze grows distant as though she’s a million miles away again. “Cash has always been stubborn. You can’t win a fight with him, so don’t even try. After his sister’s death, that trait of his just got worse. It made him fearless. A rebel. He threw all caution to the wind and just went for whatever he set his mind to. We all warned him not to ride that beast of a bull, but he wouldn’t listen. To this day, he’s adamant that he only fell because he lost his focus.”

Taking in her words, I begin to form a picture of the kind of man Cash is. Stubborn and fearless, but maybe also a little bit hurt and as a result afraid of losing control. Maybe I can work with that. Maybe that’s the side to reach out to.

We finish drinking our tea, and then Margaret gets up, her face strained as she places a hand on her lower back. “My age is working against me. I think I’ve pulled a muscle.”

“Can I help?” Without waiting for her response, I round the dining table and gently shove her hand aside to examine her back. As I begin to massage her tensed muscles, she closes her eyes and relaxes into my touch.

“Only if you let me show you around. There are plenty of things to do when Cash isn’t around. Do you like gardening?”

“Gardening?” I smile at the idea of me growing and eating anything that hasn’t come out of a grocery bag. “I’m far from having a green thumb.”

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