tugged on the brim of his battered Stetson and put the truck in gear. “I had no idea what it was like waiting for someone to propose. Every guy should have to go through this, because let me tell you, it’s hell.”
“I’ll bet. She still likes you, though, right?”
“Most of the time. But there’s a lot I don’t understand about women.”
“I’m sure we could all say that.” Damon knew for a fact that Cade and Lexi loved each other, but five years ago Cade had left town after telling Lexi marriage wasn’t for him. Now he was back and ready to tie the knot but Lexi wanted to hold off.
“She might be waiting until after the Kickstarter deadline,” Cade said, “to make sure Thunder Mountain Academy is a go before we make any plans. But September first seems like forever. I almost regret saying the decision was up to her. But I said it, so now I have to stick by it.”
“Maybe you should take her to a fancy hotel in Jackson Hole, drink a bunch of champagne and talk her into it.”
“That’s either manipulation or coercion or both. Not doing it.”
“So maybe I should talk to her and put the bug in her ear.”
“Don’t, bro. This has to be her idea. If you start making suggestions, you could mess things up.”
Damon sighed and leaned back against the seat. “Then I’m out of ideas. I know how to get them into bed, but I’ve never tried to get them to the altar. I only have one piece of advice. Plenty of orgasms.”
Cade laughed. “Got that covered.”
“Then you’re doing all a man can do.”
“In fact, I spend most of my nights at her place, FYI.”
Damon pretended dismay. “Are you telling me that I have to sleep in the Brotherhood cabin all by myself?”
“Ringo will keep you company. You might have to go get him, though. Now that he’s settled in, he spends his nights in the barn hunting mice.”
“Wouldn’t want to deprive him of that pleasure.” Damon had bonded with the gray tabby on his last trip. “But I’ll definitely pay him a visit. I have a can of treats in my duffel.”
“Have you adopted a couple of kittens like Lexi suggested?”
“Not yet. I’ll see about it after I get back. No sense in getting them and then leaving for seven days.”
“True.”
“Any uptick in the Kickstarter contributions?”
“Some, but not as much as we’d like.” Cade paused. “It’s been suggested that I contact the Chance brothers and see if they’ll put the word out.”
“Who suggested that?” It had to be a touchy subject for Cade. Until last month he’d thought he was alone in the world except for his foster family. Then a cousin had shown up. Molly Gallagher Radcliffe, now married to a saddle maker in town named Ben Radcliffe, had informed Cade that he was related to her family in Arizona and the influential Chance clan over in Jackson Hole.
“Molly, for one. She’s been at the ranch a lot to discuss the curriculum for the academy so the kids will get class credit.”
“Yeah, we’re lucky that she’s a college professor and knows about these things. But she’s a cousin to the Chances just like you are. Why can’t she tell them about the Kickstarter project?”
“She thinks that would make it seem like I don’t have the cojones to say something, since it’s a Thunder Mountain Ranch project, and I’m more directly involved than she is.”
Damon took off his Ray-Ban sunglasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. “That makes sense, I guess.” He put the glasses back on. “So who else is after you to buddy up to the Chances?”
“Lexi is, sort of. She figures they’d want to know because they’re civic-minded and ready to help anybody, and there’s a family connection through me, which makes it more likely they’d want to help. I admit that’s a good point, but she’s not pushing me to do it.”
“Have you and the Chances talked at all?”
“Not yet. But I promised Lexi I’d go with her when she conducts a riding clinic over there on the fifteenth.”
“That’s less than two weeks away.”
“It sure as hell is, and I still don’t know what to do. That would be the time to mention Thunder Mountain Academy if I’m ever going to, but...”
“I get it.” Damon wondered if anyone who hadn’t been a foster kid would, though. “You don’t want to meet them and immediately ask a favor.”
“Right.” Cade blew out a breath. “But I finally called Molly’s dad last week because I thought I should start with Molly’s side of the family. So here I was on the phone with an uncle I’ve never met, and we’re talking about my mom dying, and he starts to cry.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Can’t blame him. She was his sister, but I got choked up, too. I thought I was over it. It’s been fifteen years.”
Damon nodded in understanding. “Stuff can come back to bite you. I still have that same nightmare. Not as much, but I had it again last week.”
“Yeah, sometimes I have bad dreams about my dad, too.” As Cade left city traffic and continued on to the highway that would take them to the ranch turnoff, they stopped talking. Damon appreciated that about his brothers. They all had demons of one kind or another, and they sensed when to end the chitchat and devote some time to just being quiet.
Cade had his load to carry. Abandoned by his abusive father, he’d lost his mother to cancer. By then his mom had changed all their records from Marlowe to her maiden name of Gallagher. Cade had assumed her family had turned their back on her, but really she’d been too ashamed of her situation to notify her family of her illness. Now Cade had suddenly been thrust into two extended families, which could be good once he got over the awkward parts.
Damon had no illusions that he was connected to any reputable families. He’d run away at twelve and had concocted an elaborate story that had landed him a temporary home with the family of a kid he’d known at school. By the time CPS had been called in, his parents had left town without a trace, probably relieved that he was gone.
In his recurring nightmare, he was a kid barely existing in the pigsty of whatever cheap housing his parents had found. While they were passed out drunk, he searched the cupboards for something to eat, and nothing was ever there. He woke up shaking and sweating.
When he’d lived in the cabin with Cade and Finn, they used to tell him jokes until he’d settled down. And they’d always kept snacks around for those times, too, because he’d wake up starving even if he’d had a good dinner that night.
To calm himself these days, he got up and walked around whatever house he was renovating. He kept his surroundings neat. He put away his tools, swept up sawdust and closed paint cans at the end of every day. He always had food in the cupboard, too.
