Page 8 of Love in the Details

Submitting his query, he wondered if he’d even get any offers.

Chapter 5

Guys were jerks. Especially ones who wore expensive suits, even to the grocery store. Kassidy hadn’t been in sweats, but she’d definitely relaxed after a long day of bridal shower setup and takedown.

Of all the people to run into her, it had to be Dustin Wakefield. And then he’d asked the cashier who she was. How she’d ever had a crush on him was beyond her. The guy obviously didn’t care about anyone but himself or he wouldn’t even think about shutting down the factory. Here she was, two days later, still having make-believe conversations with him in her head. If only she could be that direct and consistent in real life.

She rubbed at her eyes, trying to wake up enough to get dressed and head downstairs. This Monday was worse than when she had to get up for work at the bank, which surprised her. Probably because Kassidy didn’t have an idea of what to do with herself and her future.

As she headed out to help Easton with the morning chores, the smell of a coming storm swirled in the air. They’d been lucky not to have several storms already, and part of her was excited for all things winter. On the other hand, she’d have cabin fever by January, so she needed to come up with something to do with her time. A job would be nice.

She’d always loved the ranch, but this was Easton’s territory now. Their father had turned it over to him several months ago after a doctor’s visit found some small tumors. Easton and Natalie were almost done building a house on the property next to their parents, and Kassidy was glad the place would be taken care of no matter where she ended up.

“Why do you look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, little sis?” Easton asked, pulling up in his truck. He’d been out in the back fields mending a fence that some of the cows had snuck through. That was the story of his life.

Kassidy shook her head. “Just trying to figure out my future, and it’s not going well.” She stabbed the pitchfork into another clump of hay, moving it over for the animals. “I feel like I failed.”

Easton’s deep chuckle made her smile against her will. He’d always been quick to laugh, except for when things hadn’t been going well between him and Natalie when they started dating last year. Kassidy heard bits and pieces of the story when Easton explained it to their mother, but she did know he’d faced his fair share of obstacles over the years.

“Then you’re probably on the right track to figuring out what you want.”

“Awesome. You’re telling me I know what I want to do with my life while I have no clue? I mean, I went to the city and made it all of four months before I came home. I got passed over for a promotion, but there’s a lot that went into that situation. And I’ll probably be living in Mom and Dad’s house forever.”

Easton’s easy-going smile dropped. “When you say it like that, it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. What would make you happy?”

Kassidy stopped to think about that, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead despite the temperature. Moving hay was a tough job no matter the weather.

“Can you really have a job that makes you happy? Isn’t it all just suffering through the days to get a paycheck and then occasionally going on trips to see other places?” she chuckled, but her words didn’t sit well.

“If you look at it like that, you’ll never be happy.”

Kassidy sighed. “I know. I wish there was some neon sign that pointed in the direction I need to go.”

“It took me a bit to see that I wanted to be a rancher. I love Dad, but sometimes I just wanted to try something else, felt like I needed to get away to understand what I wanted. Ever since he let me take over, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, even though I couldn’t coach football this fall. Well, Natalie has had a good part in that too.” He grinned, his eyes drifting off to the house.

Jealousy and disappointment seared through Kassidy’s chest, and she knew she needed to get back to work to push away the thoughts of loneliness.

She wasn’t dumb and didn’t think that finding a man would solve all of her problems. In fact, it was probably a blessing that she hadn’t found someone yet, just so she could get her head on straight.

“Don’t give up, Kass,” Easton said, his arm draped out the window and tapping the side of the truck. “You’ll figure it out soon enough. Just get rid of those negative thoughts, will ya?”

Kassidy frowned at him before he drove off to another part of the property.

She finished up the chores around the outside of the house, taking in the beauty of the softly falling flakes. Grabbing some firewood, she brought it in and set it next to the wood stove in the corner of the main room. The weather hadn’t dropped down to the frigid temperatures that usually came with the snow, but it was only a matter of hours at this point.

“Looks like you got up early this morning,” her mother said with a wink. On the days she had to work at the bank, she usually slept in until the very last minute before she threw on her business attire and ran a brush through her hair.

“I figured I needed to earn my keep for the foreseeable future, until I decide what I’m going to do.” She heard the bitterness in her tone, and Easton’s words about being more positive floated through her mind. She’d definitely have to work on that.

“I think I’ve got an idea to help you figure that out.” Her mom was practically dancing as she grinned at Kassidy.

“Am I going to hate this idea?” Kassidy asked, teasing.

“Of course not. When have my ideas been bad?” Her mother feigned hurt, and Kassidy laughed.

“That time you told me to go out with Bobby Turner and we ended up in a ditch for six hours until someone rescued us.” Kassidy paused and then said, “When you didn’t tell me not to date my high school boyfriend and now former boss, Trace.”

Her mother pointed at her. “Touché. Yeah, that was not one of my better suggestions. But this one is; I promise.”

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