Page 25 of Promise Me a Forever Texas Love

A loud crash coming from inside had Huck cussing and racing for the back door.

Cadee should have headed to her car and left. Whatever was happening inside wasn’t her business. But for some reason, it felt like it was.

When she got inside, she saw what had caused the crash. Someone, more than likely Jaxon, had tossed a cowboy onto a table and broken it. It looked like the cowboy’s friends hadn’t taken kindly to that and were now holding Jaxon’s arms, waiting for their friend, who had just staggered to his feet, to dish out his retribution. But before he could, Poppy came rushing out from behind the bar with a baseball bat and headed for the two cowboys holding Jaxon—which had them releasing him and racing out the door—while Huck rushed toward their friend and grabbed him. The guy swung around and delivered a punishing punch to Huck’s jaw that had him stumbling back.

Cadee wasn’t sure what happened. One second, she was standing there watching the bar brawl go down, and the next second, she was jumping on the cowboy’s back, choking him with one arm while she yanked on his hair with the other.

“You asshole! Don’t you ever hit Huck. Ever!”

The cowboy spun in circles, trying to reach behind him and get her off his back, but she hooked her boots around his waist and kept on yanking until he stopped and covered his head with his arms.

“Okay, okay, bitch. I give up.”

“Bitch? I’ll show you bitch.” She continued to yank on his hair until Huck’s humor-filled voice pulled her out of her red haze.

“That will do, Catydid.” His muscled arm encircled her waist and pulled her off the cowboy, setting her on her boots just as Jaxon came up and twisted the guy’s arm behind his back and shoved him toward the door.

Cadee turned to Huck. “Are you okay?” She reached up and touched his eye that was already starting to swell. “You need to get some ice on that right—” She cut off when she finally noticed the huge smile lighting up his face.

And she suddenly realized what she’d done.

She’d shown Huck Hennessy she still cared.

She quickly dropped her hand and smoothed back the hair that had come loose from her ponytail. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the ranch.”

But of course, he didn’t let her walk away with any dignity. Instead, he followed her outside. If he had said something, even one word, she might have punched him in the other eye. But he remained quiet all the way to her truck. He opened her door, then waited for her to climb in and buckle her seatbelt.

Before he slammed the door, he finally spoke with a smile that lit up his entire face.

“See you tomorrow . . . bestie.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Stockton Ranch had always seemed like heaven to Huck.

But it didn’t have to do with the two-story brick house with its wide porch and gabled roof that most Texans dreamed about living in. Or the thousand acres of prime cattle land that surrounded it. It had to do with what Cadee’s parents had turned the house and ranch into.

A loving home.

Cadee’s parents had been the best kind of parents. The kind that were scout leaders and room moms. The kind that showed up for every sporting event and school activity. The kind that beamed with pride when their kids won . . . and when they lost. The kind that put their kids first and would never think of putting an old dancehall with bad plumbing before their own children’s needs.

While Huck had never been inside the house, Cadee had told him stories about living there. The time her daddy had gotten her a pony for Christmas, and instead of taking Cadee out to the barn on Christmas morning, he’d brought the pony right into the house and it was next to the tree eating a bucket of oats when she walked into the living room. The time she found the biggest Easter egg and got to boss her brothers around all day as Head Bunny. The special birthday parties and the big family gatherings. All of it had sounded like heaven to Huck.

Which was one of the reasons he’d been so focused on making money. He’d dreamed about owning a ranch just like the Stocktons’. Unfortunately, not one of his schemes had ever resulted in enough money to buy a ranch. Which was probably a good thing seeing as how he knew absolutely nothing about ranching.

But if he couldn’t have the dream, he was thankful his son had it. Even though, at the moment, the pretty house with its picturesque front porch filled with pumpkins and magazine-worthy fall décor was making him feel a little sick to his stomach.

Of course, that might be due to the early hour.

Six o’clock? Who got up at six o’clock in the morning? The sun had just barely peeked its head over the horizon. The last time Huck had been up that early, he’d been getting ready to go to bed after partying all night. But if getting up with the roosters was the only way he got to see Camden, then he’d be a rooster.

And Camden wasn’t the only reason Huck had rolled out of bed after only three hours of sleep.

A big smile spread over his face as the image of Cadee coming to his rescue popped into his head. He’d thought the feisty best friend he’d left behind was long gone. Last night had proven otherwise. As much as she acted like she no longer cared about him, she did. It was that thought that gave him courage to park his motorcycle in front of the Stockton’s gorgeous sprawling house and get off.

He exchanged his trucker’s cap for the cowboy hat he’d stowed in one of the Harley’s saddlebags. If he was going to be a cowboy for the day, he needed to dress the part.

When he knocked on the door, he expected one of the Stockton brothers to answer. He figured they’d be waiting to threaten him with bodily harm if he hurt their nephew or sister. But it wasn’t Cooper or Callum who threw open the door.