Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

Jacey felt safe with her cowboy close by. It was funny to call him ‘cowboy' as it was a tease, but she also felt rebellious. This vicious mother of hers wouldn't appreciate her ‘slumming' with a cowboy. She could hear her voice. She shoved the impression away. Cade wasn't ‘slumming.' He was elevating, invigorating, inspiring.

"Let's go get the load," the sheriff said to the flirtatious brother. Easton? Definitely younger than Cade or Clint. He was charismatic and clearly interested in her, but she couldn't see beyond Cade and the joy and safety she felt with him near. She couldn't explain it, but Cade was the man she chose and needed to be with.

"We can help," Cade offered.

"Quaid wants to talk to her," Clint said, stopping both of them.

"My brother?" She put a hand to her heart. It raced. Her brother. Abused. Forlorn. She yearned to help him and protect him but didn't want to relinquish Cade and this heavenly spot of earth. Was that incredibly selfish? Should she go with the Coleville brothers? Should she be insisting she find her sad, hurting, but brave brother?

The sheriff pulled out a cell phone. He walked to her and held it out. "That's a phone you two can use until you fish Cade's out of the lake."

Her cheeks heated. Was the stern sheriff bantering with her? She sensed an uneasy tension between him and Cade.

"I suspect we cannot revive the phone," she said, easing away from the one the sheriff held out. Phones could be tracked, but Cade trusted these men and she wanted to talk to her elusive brother. Should she accept the phone?

"True." He inclined his head to her. "Quaid's number and my number are programmed in there. If you need anybody else, call me first to clear the name."

Cade tensed. "She won't need anybody but me."

Jacey startled. Cade was … claiming her? Similar to a cowboy of old? Thrilling.

Clint raised his eyebrows. "Call Quaid," he advised her, then placed the phone in her palm, turned, and walked out the front door.

The phone felt smooth and not dangerous. She wanted to call her brother.

Easton bequeathed her with puppy dog eyes, but mercifully followed his brother. She dreaded rejecting him.

Jacey glanced at the phone in her grasp and raised her eyes to Cade.

"Do you want some privacy?" he asked.

"Not from you. Please. Stay by my side." Admitting she was in need grated at her, but she needed him, just as she'd told him. She wasn't prideful enough to hide it.

His eyes got serious and turned almost a forest green. "I'll stay as long as you need me." He said the words like a vow.

"Thank you," was all she could manage. She tapped on the phone. The screen lit up, and she pushed the phone button and the recent number of Quaid Raven. Such a cool name. Would her brother be tough like his new name, or the hurting little boy she kept feeling she had to protect?

"Jace," a masculine voice answered immediately. "Are you okay?"

"I am. Thank you. Quaid?"

"Ah, Jace," he groaned. "It kills me that you don't know who I am. Are you scared? Do you want me to come?"

Jacey felt ecstatically happy at that moment. She did have family. A brother. And he was willing to come and defend her. She glanced up at Cade. His green eyes were warm and full of concern, and she knew he would shelter her.

"Thank you, Quaid, for caring so deeply, but I am safe and comfortable here. Cade has sworn to care for me."

Cade's eyes grew warmer still. The way she'd phrased it was beyond simple protection.

"Jacey. You have no idea how deeply I care for you," her brother said into the phone. Her brother. He didn't sound weak or afraid. Strong and brave and loyal defined his voice. She loved him.

"Regretfully, I do not," she tried to tease. "No memory."

Quaid laughed at that, and Cade grinned at her too.

"Sorry, sis," Quaid said, his laughter settling. "But you have to believe me when I say—you and Anna are my top priorities. You say the word and I'll drop the search for Catherine and come for you, watch over you, keep you safe, and help you get your memory back."

"Thank you." If only she remembered him. What a committed and loyal brother. "Who are Anna and Catherine?" Anna invoked light, while Catherine brought darkness.

"Catherine is our mother," Quaid said, his voice stiff.

"You're hunting the witch?" Horror filled her. She wanted to cling to Cade and beg him to go protect her brother, and somehow stay with her too. What a conundrum.

"Yes, and I don't want you to worry." Quaid sounded confident and like he could battle the devil and come out the victor. "Anna is my wife," he added, his voice warm and proud. "She is the most incredible, fun, and beautiful lady on the planet. The love of my life."

"Oh, Quaid." Her voice filled with emotion. Her brother was happy, in love, and nothing like the scared boy she'd worried about since opening her eyes to Cade's gaze this morning. "I can't express what it means to learn you are happy and in love."

"I know. Jace. You're an angel—a spicy angel, but an angel. You've always put my happiness first."

That was intriguing. A spicy angel. Unselfish for her brother. She appreciated those words and prayed they were accurate.

The front door pushed open and Clint backed in, his arms and hands full of a suitcase, grocery sacks, and a large platter. Easton followed with loads of grocery sacks up his arms and in his hands. What was happening? She didn't want the men staying with them.

She wasn't unselfish in her thoughts. She yearned to be alone with Cade, safe and comfortable and thrilled with a look or touch. Romance felt unfamiliar to her, forbidden, and absolutely exhilarating with this kind, large, and enticing cowboy .

"Sis … are you there?" Quaid asked.

"Yes. Sorry. Clint and Easton carried in half of a supermarket and a suitcase." She raised an eyebrow in question.

Quaid laughed again. "Sounds about right. I'll hang up so you can speak to them. But Jace … you are choosing to stay with Cade Miller, and you feel safe there?"

"Yes, please," she said. "I need Cade and I choose to stay with him."

Cade's gaze captured hers.

Please, heaven above. Let me stay with him.

"Interesting choice of words, sis."

She didn't rise to his teasing. "Can we talk more later?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"I love you," he said easily, as if this tough brother of hers often told her he loved her. "Be safe."

She put a hand to her heart, tears pricking her eyelids. "I love you as well."

"Bye, Jace."

"Goodbye … Quaid."

She clung to the phone, her eyes riveted to Cade.

"You all right?" he asked.

Nodding, she managed, "My brother is far from a scared, abused little boy."

"Far from it," he agreed. "A very impressive and tough man."

She loved him reaffirming what she'd felt in the conversation. "Are you personally acquainted with Quaid?"

"Only what I've seen on the news and in magazines."

Her family was famous. Because of her devil of a mother, or had her brother earned distinction with his military prowess ?

"You thought Lieutenant Quaid Raven was a beat-up little boy?" Easton asked incredulously.

"Easton," Clint all but barked. "She isn't herself."

Jacey inched closer to Cade. He sheltered her with a strong arm sliding around her lower back. She placed the phone on the kitchen table and nestled into his ridged abdomen. He was tall and broad, and she was his to shelter. Even though it was obvious Quaid had watched out for her and loved her, she felt instinctively she had to be strong and brave on her own. Relaxing into Cade was coming home. A home she had never imagined or even dreamed about. This man was her safe haven. Her cowboy would never permit anything to happen to her.

"Apologies," Easton said. "I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around …" His gaze focused on Cade, then trailed back to her. "All of this."

"No need for apologies," she told him. "Regrettably, I have lost my mind."

Easton and Cade laughed. Clint seemed too serious to do more than crack a smile.

"Do you want to set that load down?" Cade asked. "I'm assuming Mama Millie feared I wouldn't feed Jacey?"

"You guessed it." Easton shook his head, then imitated in a female voice, "‘I know that handsome Cade will have man food up there, but he won't have home-cooked goodness and all the fruits and veggies that my Jacey loves.'"

Jacey smiled. Then she realized she had no idea what she loved. The veggie and ham omelet she and Cade assembled had been delicious. It was thoughtful of ‘Mama' to send groceries and baked goods, and a relief to know the men were not staying.

Easton hurried over to the long kitchen counter and slid bags off his arms .

Clint followed and set the platter down and the grocery sacks. He returned to Jacey and extended the suitcase to her. "She demanded I pack all your clothes and toiletries for you." He grinned, actually grinned. He was an extremely handsome man when he did that. Not as handsome as Cade, though, and he didn't make her insides warm. "I made Walker do it."

Cade laughed, and she felt some of the tension between the two men dissipate.

"Thank you, Clint," she said, reaching for the suitcase handle.

He nodded to her.

Cade grasped the suitcase handle. "I'll show you which room you'll be staying in, then come help these boys unload all this food if you want to shower or change or anything."

"Thank you. It would be blissful to change out of these smelly, torn running clothes."

"You could never stink," he said.

She beamed.

He gestured toward the staircase, and she walked that direction. She caught Easton and Clint exchanging a glance but focused forward. They were attempting to help her, but she wanted to be with Cade. She would like to meet her brother, but he had responsibilities to track down their evil ‘witch' mother. It stung that her mother could be awful, but Quaid seemed incredible enough to make up for what she clearly lacked.

There were four doors off the landing at the top of the stairs, one on the right that was isolated and three grouped closer together on the left.

Cade carried her suitcase to the one on the right, pushed open the door, and gestured her in. She walked into a spacious bedroom. Windows on two walls showcased the lake and mountains beyond from one angle and the dark forest and steep mountainside behind the house on the other. The bed was large, with a log frame around it. The bedspread was a remarkable quilt. It appeared handmade, with patterns in blues, greens, and tans. The dressers were the same light wood as the log bedframe. An overstuffed recliner resided in the corner next to a fireplace and a bookshelf, a navy fleece blanket draped over its back. Open doors on the other wall led into a walk-in closet and a bright white bathroom.

It was all decidedly manly. Decidedly Cade. It even smelled like him. Leather and musk and sunshine.

She loved this space.

"No." She shook her head and started to back out of the room. "You are not giving up your master suite for me."

"Jacey." His mouth turned up in a teasing smile. "Don't fight me on this." He captured her around the waist with one arm and hefted the suitcase with the other. Directing her into the bedroom, he kicked the door shut behind them.

The finality of that door thumping closed behind her made her heart race. Cade was a gentleman. She'd trusted him from the moment she'd seen him. He wouldn't force her into his room. Her brother's friends downstairs would take her away if Cade had untoward intentions.

Her cowboy was a gentleman. She believed he was.

He carried her suitcase into the walk-in closet, flipping on the overhead light. The closet was large, manly clothes spread throughout shelves and hanging racks. Her heart raced faster seeing T-shirts, jeans, boots, hats, dress slacks, white shirts, ties, and even suits. He didn't wear Wranglers to church? Did he attend church? Maybe not. Ihe was conning her into sharing his bed .

Cade wouldn't do that.

Are you certain?

He directed her out of the closet and into the bathroom. There was a large window over the huge tub, a glass shower that almost rivaled the tub, a partitioned off toilet, and a long vanity with two sinks and cabinets above and to the sides of the mirror.

"Apologies," he said, glancing at the window. "I can tack a blanket over that if it bothers you. Nobody up here but me, so I've never bothered getting blinds. With the angle it'd be hard to see up here anyway." He released her waist and stepped back. "But you enjoy the shower or whatever you want to do. I promise I won't let Clint or Easton come around the back side of the house, climb the mountain, and try to look in the window."

He smiled at that.

Jacey wasn't concerned about Clint or Easton. She felt awful that she was concerned about her cowboy, but she also instinctively knew she'd been forced into uncomfortable situations before. Cade was muscular, huge, and she had claimed she ‘chose him'. He may think that meant something different than she'd intended. She had to be clear and brave now.

"Cade," she said firmly. "I cannot share your bed."

His eyes widened. He stepped back and hit the doorframe with his shoulder. "Of course not. Who intoned that?"

"I said I was not taking your bedroom, and you stated I should not fight you." Had she had to fight for her purity before? She feared she had.

He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking chagrined. "I didn't mean it like that. You'll stay in my room," he said. "I'll get some of my things later and stay in the guest room."

That was a relief, but guilt was a second quick and stinging emotion. She had let unknown memories and fears rule her and accused her cowboy. He was sharing his home, his master suite, and caring for an unstable amnesiac woman. "I am terribly sorry. I didn't mean to … I shouldn't have believed …"

He smiled and held up his hands. "Honest mistake. You don't know me, but I promise you, Jacey…" His smile disappeared and his green eyes grew determined. "I will keep you safe in every way possible, and I would never expect or plan to share a bed with any woman."

She studied him. The sincerity in his gaze was genuine. "Thank you, Cade. I am safe with you. Forgive me for allowing my imagination to run."

"It's forgiven and forgotten. Nobody would blame you for making sure there are boundaries, and you've got plenty of reasons to feel mixed up right now." He tipped his head to her. "Take all the time you need. I'll wait downstairs for you."

"Thank you."

He eased out and shut the bathroom door. The master bedroom door shut a few seconds later.

She relaxed against the counter for a few moments. Cade was an honorable man. She appreciated that he was so willing to forgive her error. He was an exceptionally generous cowboy. He would keep her safe. She knew he would.

As she walked out of the bedroom and into the closet to unzip the suitcase and see what variety of clothes and toiletries she possessed, she was only confused about one thing he'd said—he never planned to share his bed with any woman. Maybe he'd expressed it incorrectly, but it felt significant. Why wouldn't he say any woman but his future wife?

Odd.

He also hadn't explained why she needed to stay in his master suite and him in the guest room. Was the guest room unfit for female guests? Not clean like his own bedroom and bath?

So many questions were already crowded into Jacey's head; she couldn't give much space to anything additional. Not even riddling out how the handsome cowboy's mind worked.