Amanda gasped loudly, and though I tried to keep it in, a short cry of pain escaped my lips. I couldn’t even try to get myself standing; my entire body was trembling too hard as I subconsciously waited for the blows to start. All I could seem to do was stare at my lap as flashes of different beatings quickly flipped through my mind. Suddenly, Max’s hand was gone and Tyler was directly in front of me, pushing my chin up so I would look at him. His eyes were wide and he was speaking, but I couldn’t hear him over the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, glass breaking, my screams, Jeff’s grunts, and my mom’s moans.

Tyler pulled me up and half carried, half walked me back to his Jeep. Sitting me on the passenger seat, he stood just inside the open door and between my legs, gently rubbing the throbbing ache on my arm, his other hand cupping the back of my neck and holding my forehead to his. Slowly, the nightmarish flashes disappeared and I could hear Tyler whispering softly.

“ . . . okay, I’ve got you. Never again, Cassi, they’re gone, they can’t touch you here. You’re okay, I’ve got you. I’ll always have you, Cass. They’re gone—”

“Is she okay?!” Gage’s voice broke through my immediate world of my rock, my Tyler, holding me.

“She’ll be fine,” Ty responded, and went back to whispering, “I’ve got you, you’re going to be okay, sweetheart.”

Next thing I knew, Gage was in the driver’s seat of the Jeep and talking directly behind me. “Darlin’, are you all right? Tell me what happened.”

I couldn’t bring myself to respond to him; I didn’t want him seeing this. Didn’t want him to know I was so messed up that from Max grabbing my arm, I’d begun having a full-on meltdown in front of everyone. Tyler gently squeezed the back of my neck as his whispering continued, over and over. I wrapped my arms around his waist and moved my head so it was resting against his chest. His lips pressed down on my head and his whispers slowed, changing slightly.

“That’s it, sweetheart, you’re okay. I’m here, I’m always here for you. I love you, Cass, you’re all right, I got you.”

“Ty—man, what happened?”

I felt Tyler’s head shake as he continued whispering.

“Holy crap, Gage!” Amanda said loudly. “You knocked Max out cold. I think you busted his nose . . . again.”

“Amanda,” Tyler growled at the same time Gage hissed, “Shut up, Manda!”

My body started shaking harder, and I pulled myself closer to Tyler and farther from Gage. I didn’t want to hear that, I didn’t want to think about what had happened between him and Max. I focused on nothing but Tyler so those images wouldn’t put themselves in my mind.

“I need to get her back to the house,” Tyler said, still speaking softly. “Are we good to go?”

When the others agreed, he moved me so he could get onto the passenger seat as well and pulled me onto his lap. My head instantly dropped to the crook of his neck and I let his large arms, warm scent, and soft words continue to soothe me all the way back to the ranch.

Once we were back, Tyler gave me one of his shirts and gently pushed me into the bathroom. I took a quick shower; dressed in his shirt, which came down to my thighs; and made my way back to Amanda’s room. Gage had been standing there with Tyler, but after one look at me, his expression turned worried and he didn’t say a word as I walked past him and went to the sofa bed in the far corner of the bedroom. The guys left when Amanda came to get in her own bed, and once she was asleep Tyler was slipping under the comforter with me. My rock . . . my best friend. I didn’t know what I would ever do without him. His arms went around me and I curled myself tighter into him, taking a deep breath in. Finally feeling safe in his arms, I closed my eyes as my shaking slowed to a stop and I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Six

G AGE

I KEPT TOSSING and turning in bed. Cassidy was going back to Austin tomorrow, and I wouldn’t see her for three weeks. This last week had been more torturous than living with them, and I was seriously considering not letting her go back with Ty. Despite the things that had happened in the last year, and what happened at the beginning of the week at the bonfire, I knew for sure she was in love with me too. Mama didn’t have to tell me that she didn’t look at Ty the way she looked at me; I’d known that from day one. But my entire family was now convinced she wanted me too, and I think that made watching her with Tyler harder than ever. Before, I kept telling myself I was only seeing what I wanted to; now I knew that wasn’t it, and I needed to try to get in her head one more time. Besides, Mama and my sisters, especially Amanda, had taken a huge likin’ to Cassidy, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who wanted her in our family now.

Jumping out of bed, I threw on a pair of jeans and the first shirt my hands touched before quietly making my way to Amanda’s room. After making sure my sister was completely out—since apparently she had been awake every morning when I woke Cassidy up for my hug and decided to fill Mama and my sisters in on that bit of information—I walked over to Cassidy’s bed and didn’t waste time. I brushed her hair away from her face and pressed my mouth to her neck and cheek before saying low in her ear, “Wake up, darlin’.”

Her eyes shot open and she looked at me, confused, for a moment. “Gage? Is it already time for you to go to work?”

“Not even close.”

“Oh.” She yawned and tried to lean over to look at Amanda. “Then what are you doing?”

“You wanna go for a ride with me?”

She paused. “Right now?”

“If you want to go back to sleep we don’t have to . . .” God, this was a bad idea.

“Who’s going?”

“Just us.”

Her eyes widened and a soft smile touched her lips. “ ’Kay, let’s go.” She crawled out of bed and looked at me, then down at herself. “Uh . . . what should I wear?”

I looked at her little body in those short sleep shorts and that form-fitting sleeveless shirt; my body started burning and my pants got tighter just looking at her. “That.”

Cassidy pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and even in the dark I could see her cheeks went red. “Guess I’m ready then.”

Grabbing her hand, I led her through the dark house, snatching a blanket out of the closet on the way out, and had Bear saddled up and both of us on him in no time. I could have gotten Star ready for her, but I wanted this excuse to have my arms around her, her back against my chest.

I led Bear to a creek that ran through my favorite part of the ranch and tied his reins around a tree branch on top of the hill before spreading out the blanket and lying down with Cass. We talked for two hours about the ranch, the stars, the quiet other than the light wind and cicadas, and the fireflies, which were her favorites. Cassidy began yawning a lot and I started to wonder if I should take her back, but I wasn’t ready to end this.

“I’m going to miss it here.” She sighed softly. “It’s so beautiful, all of it.”

“You can come back as often as you’d like.”

She smiled as she rolled on her side to look at me. “I’d wear out my welcome if I came here as much as I wanted to.”

“Not possible, my family loves you.” I love you.

“I’m going to miss them too; they’re so amazing. I’ve never really been close with any other girls, even Jackie. I mean, she’s a good friend and all, but it’s just not how I feel with your mom and sisters. I wish I could’ve had family like that growing up.”