James hugged his sister and then as tradition dictated, ruffled her hair. As annoying as it was, the act gave Cassie comfort. She removed herself from her brother’s arms and ran upstairs to her room to take a bath.
The relaxing scent of lavender made Cassie drift off to sleep. She fell into a sexy dream about Joaquin and her when they were in Syria.
“Oh my God!” she screamed into the void of the tent.
Joaquin was eating Cassie out like he was competing in the Olympic Games, and she was on a mission to ensure he won gold.
“Fuck, baby. Your tongue is magic. Please don’t stop. I’m almost there.”
His Olympic training kicked into overdrive as the cowboy pushed her across the finish line. The way his mouth was working her, he just broke the world record. Cassie’s legs shook in the aftermath. Her body was on fire, and she couldn’t wait to see what heights he would take her to next.
“What’s this?” Joaquin laughed, as he swiped the wetness from her cheek.
“What?” Cassie answered, trying to play dumb.
“Are you fucking crying, Cass?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Embarrassed, Cassie attempted to turn her face away. Being the man he was, Joaquin would never let her get away with that. He caught her chin in his big hand and turned her to face him.
“Not the big bad Marine shedding tears during sex…”
Just then, Cassie jolted awake. She wiped her face and found that she was crying. She allowed herself to cry. Just once. Really hard. Once she was done, she exited the tub and vowed never to waste her tears on another man. Not now. Not ever again.
The next day Cassie got up, fixed breakfast for her brother and herself and then went to work in the orchard. She picked up where she left off, without the distraction of looking for a missing man.
Each day she would do the same until the pain in her heart disappeared. Cassie worked day and night. If she wasn’t picking apples in the orchard, she was thinking of new ways to improve Eden. When she finally fell into bed at the end of her long nights, she was so exhausted she didn’t even dream.
Before she knew it months had gone by. The loneliness had faded a bit. The pain was still there. However, it was just easier to push it deeper inside. The holidays were coming fast and apple picking season was over. She could feel the additional sadness seeping in from the absence of her parents.
She was sitting in the office going over her list of improvements, when the sound of an engine roared through the place. Cassie stood up to peer through the window to see who was coming. There shouldn’t be any customers on sight. There were no special events planned and picking season was over.
To her shock, she watched as Joaquin exited a truck looking like sin. His cowboy attire was the equivalent of lingerie as far as Cassie was concerned. He walked toward the office, making her ache for him. Suddenly, panic set in, causing her to shift between wanting to run or fight.
Before her mind could decide what to do, James popped up out of nowhere and smashed his fist into Joaquin’s jaw. There was a loud crack, and Joaquin went tumbling to the ground. Cassie ran out of the office to get between the two men to prevent further injury.
“Stop! James, please stop.”
She scrambled to help Joaquin up but then got in his face.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to get my girl.”
“What, now? After all this time? What would make you think I still want you?”
“Listen, I know you might not want to hear this, but I love you.”
“Please! Is that what you told Merlene, too?”
“Merlene? What the hell does she have to do with us?”
“I would think your baby mama would have a lot to do with anyone you want to be with. And by the way, there is no us. Not anymore.”
“Baby Mama? That woman is nothing to me. I have not now, nor have I ever touched that woman. She was lying about being pregnant. At least by me. But wait, how did you know about that?”
“Oh, she made a point to introduce herself to me. She was more than happy to inform me of her status. I think she was following you.”
