“Thanks, Dad.”
“So how is it going today, Gunner?” Garret asked him.
“It’s slow. I saw your truck outside, Red, and thought I would come in to see you. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Red wondered what it could be and turned to look at Gunner. Gunner glanced at Garrett, and now Garrett looked as though he might know what this was all about.
“Gia and Deanna are a little concerned about your friend Cassidy.”
Red’s gut clenched. He hoped nothing had come through the police scanner about her ex looking for her. Red felt on the defensive.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Cassidy told Gia a little bit about Houston and being worried in getting to know your sons and their team because of it. Seems they are all interested in starting a relationship, but Gia wouldn’t get into what she knows. I just want you to know that you can trust me. So can Cassidy if she’s in some kind of trouble.”
Red looked at Garrett, who continued to wipe the same glass as he listened.
“Is Cassidy in trouble?” Garrett asked.
Red thought about a response for a few seconds. He cared for Cassidy, and he knew right now that she was with Cash and his team at their house. He’d left pretty quickly when he saw them kissing her. He didn’t want Cassidy to feel embarrassed.
“It’s not my place to say what’s going on in her life. I can tell you that right now she seems to be okay. She’s with my sons and the team. They’ve taken a real liking to her.”
Gunner smiled, and Garrett chuckled.
“Poor woman didn’t have a chance. The way Cash watched her that first night they met here. I knew that was going to happen.”
“What about the parade? Memphis and Orlando were attached to her by the hips,” Gunner said.
“They were making it known here at Casper’s that night that she would be their woman. I’m happy for them. Hoping it all works out, but to be honest, she talks like staying here is temporary,” Red told them.
“Gia and Deanna mentioned that. But maybe now that she’s seeing the men, her mind will change,” Garrett said to them.
“It’s not her mind making that decision. It’s the situation back in Houston.”
“Red, I understand if she confided in you and you can’t break that trust. I wouldn’t ask you to do that. I just want you to know, and of course for Cassidy to know, that we have her back. If she’s in some kind of trouble, she can tell us, and we’ll all help her out.”
“I appreciate that, Gunner. But Marines are not ones to ask for help and show weakness. I’ll talk to her though. Make her understand that it would be beneficial if she let down that guard enough to let us all in.”
“Sounds good, Red,” Gunner said as John Luke came back from the kitchen.
“Be ready in five minutes,” he told Gunner.
“Great. I’m starving,” Gunner said then took a seat by the bar.
Red thought about these men around him. They were trustworthy, and they were friends. Maybe his sons and the others could get Cassidy to tell them about Blaze. Then they could all protect her and keep her from harm’s way. He thought so much of Cassidy. To think she could become his daughter-in-law really made him smile. She deserved some happiness after Houston. It made him wonder how Stryker had taken to her, and he hoped Stryker didn’t try something or push her away. If he had another wish, it would be for Stryker to get better and realize life was worth living after all. Maybe Cassidy would be the one to show him.
* * * *
“I should really head to the cottage to shower,” she said as she snuggled next to Memphis.
He stroked her arm and her hip as Coast kissed her shoulder and pressed his cock against her ass.
“Stay here and shower with us,” Memphis said then kissed her forehead and then her nose.
She kissed his chest and ran her hands along his pectoral muscles. Behind her, Coast trailed a finger along her waist by the tattoo. They were both touching her, arousing her body once again.
“You have beautiful skin, Cass, and this body… Damn, I love this body,” Coast told her, and she felt his lips and then teeth scrape along her spine then to her ass cheeks.