Page 20 of Sing Me Home
“What?” Uncle Ford asked, clearly the first he’d heard of it. “Where’s her 4Runner?”
“No idea,” Aunt Peyton said. “All I know is the transmission in the Civic was shot and they had it towed to a junkyard.”
“Did she say anything about Lorne?” Dad asked.
I stiffened as Cash’s gaze burned into the side of my head, willing me to answer that question myself.
“That tool better not show his face around here,” Ford snarled. “What kind of piece of —”
“Ford!” Aunt Peyton snapped.
“Well, he is,” he said unapologetically. “Letting her sleep in her car. He’s not taking care of his wife.”
Cash reached over, his thumb tracing over my bare ring finger. That one little touch lit me up in ways Lorne never had. Stomach fluttering, heart pounding, erogenous zones ignited. We stared into each other’s eyes.
“Didn’t you notice she’s not wearing her wedding band?” Peyton huffed. “I swear, men are so unobservant. She kicked that man to the curb. Done and dusted.”
Cash must’ve come to the same conclusion because he pulled my forehead to his. If I thought my reaction to holding his hand was intense, it was nothing compared to having his lips a hair’s breadth away. His thumb brushed over my cheek, leaving it tingling, and even though I had cotton mouth, my body hummed with the overwhelming urge to close the distance.
“I missed you, Charlie,” he murmured. His head tilted to the side.
Just before his lips hit mine, I shot to my feet. “Sorry, I have to…” I backed my way up two stairs. “I have to muck out the stalls for Gramps. I told him I’d be there first thing this morning.” I turned for my room.
“I’ll come with you.” Dang him, his long legs, and all those muscles—he was right on my heels. As soon as the guest room door was shut, he stepped behind me and wrapped his strong arms around my hips, pulling my back tight against his chest. I froze, looking down at his forearms. His nose nudged the space just behind my right ear and goosebumps sprang up across my skin. Everything in me screamed to cave to this.
But I couldn’t.
I whirled, pressing my palms against his pecs to keep him at bay. “Cash, I need you to give me a little space.”
His face fell and his arms dropped to his side. “Oh. Okay.” His Adam’s apple dipped. “Sorry. I just…”
I put my hand on his forearm and looked up into his sky-blue eyes. “The thing is…” I glanced away, wishing I didn’t have to say these words, but there was no way around them. “I’m…still married.”
The whoosh of air he released sounded like I’d taken a baseball bat to his lungs. I made myself stop being a coward and look at him.
His eyes turned down, so dejected. “No. It’s not supposed to go like this.” He jabbed a finger toward the ground. “Addie specifically said my miracle would be you coming home this week—notmarried—and you did.” He looked so confused.
I know I definitely was. “What’re you talking about?”
“My sister prayed for you to come home. This week. And you’re here,” he repeated. His hands thrust toward me. “Right here.” There was a pucker between his brows and his lips moved, talking to himself—but I couldn’t make out the words. After a few seconds, his fingers locked together at the nape of his neck. “You’re married?” he asked again like he hoped my answer had changed in the past five seconds. And like I’d stabbed him straight in the heart, coming home still hitched.
“Oh, Cash, no.” My hands flailed. “Not like that. I don’twantto be married anymore.”
He sank down with relief. His eyes turned bright, and he reached for me.
I took a large step away from him. “I need you to stop touching me, okay? And no more sleeping on my floor.”
The hurt was back.
“I missed you too.” My head tilted to the side, willing him to understand. “But Iammarried. Whether I want to be or not.”
He folded his arms like he was putting himself in check. “If you don’t want to be married, then why are you?”
“Because divorce is expensive and I’m super broke.”
His expression softened. “Uncle Holden will help you. Pro bono, probably.” That’s what I was counting on. “And I’m making money now. My single’s doing really well. So I’ll pay for it if he won’t do it.”
My heart tried to melt on the spot. “I’m not taking your money. I’ll figure it out. But there’s another reason I haven’t moved forward with the divorce.”
