Page 123 of Wilde Flame

It took Caden a moment to pull his worried gaze from me, but he finally smiled at his sister. “Thank you so much, Ensley. I owe all of you guys for this.”

She slapped him on the chest. “You bet your ass you do.”

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you again. I love you.”

It was her turn for tears to swim in her eyes. She reached up and hugged him. “I love you, too, Caden.” Stepping back, she wiped a tear away and laughed. “More happy tears!”

Then she turned quickly and rushed away, Caden and I both staring after her.

He let out a soft sigh, then focused back on me. He wore a look of sadness but quickly replaced it with a smile.

“Is Ensley okay?”

Taking my hand in his, he motioned for me to sit on the blanket. “I think so.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but has Ensley been in a serious relationship before? Since I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve seen her date anyone.”

Caden rubbed at the back of his neck as he sat next to me. He glanced in the direction where his sister had walked off, then looked straight ahead. “She has. Do you remember when Emeline told you about Grady Owens?”

Frowning, I shook my head. “I can’t say that I do.”

He blew out a breath. “Grady and Ensley were really good friends in high school. He was a year younger than Ensley, and I’m not sure exactly how they met, but they were thick as thieves. Grady had a brother, Colt. He’s my age, but I never really hung out with him. I’m not sure why, maybe because he mostly hung out with the jocks. Colt was the guy in school who was great at everything. Quarterback of the football team, pitcher on the baseball team. He rode bulls, and could ride a horse in his sleep. Whereas Grady wasn’t into any of that. He liked to party, was the class clown, and had big dreams of traveling the world. He never took life seriously.

“Anyway, Colt asked Ensley out, and they began dating. Grady hadn’t seemed bothered by it at all. They dated for a few years. Well, Grady committed suicide and Colt left town the day after Grady’s celebration of life. Never even said goodbye to Ensley or contacted her again.”

I put a hand to my heart. “That is so terrible, for everyone. Poor Ensley. That poor boy’s family. I’m sorry, too, for your loss.”

He smiled softly. “Well, enough of that. Shall we get the movie started?”

I felt like a kid in a candy store. “Yes! I can’t wait to see what we’re watching.”

Caden snuggled down next to me, grabbed his phone and sent off a text, and seconds later, our movie started. It took me only a few moments to realize what was playing.

Turning to look at him, I laughed. “How in the world did you remember I said Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie?”

He grinned. “I told you, I pay attention.”

I slowly shook my head. “You, Caden Wilde, are unlike any man I’ve ever met before.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

Reaching up, I brushed my lips across his. “That’s a very good thing.”

“Here you go,” he said, handing me my Sno-Caps.

We both settled in with our snacks and soon got lost in the movie. I knew this night would be at the foremost part of my memories for the rest of my life.

Caden

Week 18

The last few weeks had felt like a whirlwind. For it being toward the end of March, the temperatures were on the warmer side, and that meant the cattle and horses wanted to get out onto the ranch and explore more. The snow had melted, and everyone was hopeful that the winter snowstorms had come to an end. Hopeful being the keyword.

Lilibeth and I had gone on a few more dates, though nothing like our first date at the theater. We’d gone to dinner in Granby, took a drive to Estes Park and spent the day there, planned movie nights at home—where I made sure she had her Sno-Caps, which I was pretty sure she was addicted to.

There were a few moments when innocent kisses almost turned to something more passionate, but I was hell-bent on keeping my hands to myself to prove to Lilibeth that this wasn’t about sex. This was about so much more.

“Caden?”