In the dark days of her youth, it was his friendship that kept her alive and made life in a junkyard worth living. So she’s learned to shove her feelings for Cash down deep, even if that means ignoring eyes that shine brighter than the Montana summer sun and the smile that illuminates the snowiest winter day.

Except with every passing year, the denial takes its toll on her wounded heart until one day Katherine decides to take an impulsive road trip to the Oregon coast. Alone. That is, until Cash cons his way into the passenger seat.

The farther they travel, the harder it is to pretend. And when she confesses her feelings, she learns that Cash has some secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bond them together.

Or rip them apart.

I was excited to read about Kat and Cash after meeting them in Wild Highway.

Katherine spent her teen years as a runaway living in a junkyard with five friends and several of them ended up in Montana on the Greer Mountain Resort, but she was the only one that stayed. Years later she has worked her way up to running the resort and has been practically adopted by the Greer family. She is smart, dedicated, and a work-a-holic.

Cash Greer has been her best friend, pseudo-brother, and roommate for years...but unfortunately she has also been harboring non-brotherly feelings for him for over a decade. He is the perpetual good guy...charming, easy-going, kind, and protective. He is the second son so many decisions seem to be made for him and he just goes along with them to keep the family peace. And he is clueless when it comes to his best friend.

She is the type to run when hurt so when something finally pushes her over the edge, she is ready to take the borrowed car from her friend, Gemma, and drive it to Oregon to take to their old friend, Aria. A couple weeks away should clear her head and help her figure out how to deal with her life.

But she did not plan on the man she was running away from jumping in the passenger seat. Their journey is one of discovery. It alternates between awkward, emotional, miserable, and illuminating. They begin to fight, lust starts affecting decisions, and they start crossing lines of more than just the states. Their communication is tested. They are pushed out of their comfort zones. They are at a crossroads where they cannot ever go back but will have to find a way to go forward or their separate ways.

When she is ready to run again, will Cash figure out what he wants and chase her?

This is a fast-paced, heartfelt, hidden love, best-friends-to-lovers adventure full of feels and humor. Kat and Cash are so wonderful together. Even when they are fighting or ignoring each other, you can feel their connection and chemistry. But they both have had reasons for not taking a risk in the past because they had a lot to lose if it did not work out. And their hearts and heads seem to be fighting each other. They both have secrets and need an additional layer of deep trust. Family ties add both complications and their own agenda to the situation.

I have really enjoyed this series and getting to know these old friends and see how their lives have progressed. The whole premise of this series is unique and each of the stories has been touching and beautiful in their own right. They all still have growing to do in order to find their true happy place. This one relates more strongly to Wild Highway due to the Montana locale and family, but they are all intertwined. I am looking forward to Aria, Clara, and Karson's stories.

Katherine “Kat” Gates has been in love with Cash Greer as long as she can remember being in Montana. They are best friends, roommates, and in his words, she’s the little sister he never had. That puts a damper on any feelings she has for Cash, and it is getting harder and harder to live under the same roof as the love of her life, since he doesn’t feel the same. 

A quick decision to reconnect with a long lost friend in Oregon has Kat prepping for a solo drive in the car her friends are passing around the country in an attempt to return it to California. One step closer for the car and some much needed breathing room, the second part of Kat’s goal is foiled when Cash cons his way into the passenger seat. 

The miles are not as easy as their friendship has been in the past, and the time forces them each to confront feelings they thought were hidden and unrequited. But Kat is also considering the direction of her life on this trip and though she loves Montana, the open road has her yearning for something new. Cash is hiding some things as well. The revelation of Kat’s feelings and Cash’s secret might be exactly what they need, or it might tear them apart for good.

I’ve been waiting for Kat and Cash’s story, and this did not disappoint. They go through so many different emotions as they flip a coin to determine the geographic direction of the trip. As they explore the West, they explore the feelings between them, leading to moments of discomfort and awkwardness, as well as heartfelt, sweet ones.

I loved the reunion between Aria and Kat. As we meet more and more of the group that lived together in the junkyard, I can’t help love each new individual and the journey they are on. Aria may not have made it to Montana with Kat, Gemma, and Londyn, but she did find her way to working in a hotel in a role that suits her personality perfectly. She will carry the next leg of the car’s journey, bringing it to her sister in Arizona before it makes its way to California. 

“Why did you turn the air on?” she asked, looking above us to the open air.

“I’m hot.” Desperate. What would it take for her to put on a goddamn sweater? “Are you wearing sunscreen?”

“Uh, no.” She gave me a sideways glance. “Why?”

“You’re going to get burned.” Get the sweater, Kat. You know you want to.

“I’ll be fine. At the next gas station, I’ll grab a bottle for us.”

Us. Why did that word sound so serious? It wasn’t the intimate kind of us. There was no us. Not in the couple sense of the word. Did I want there to be an us?

Yes.

That lightning-fast internal response nearly had me slamming on the brakes, turning this car around and going back to Montana, where the world was normal.

Kat was my friend. My best friend. Roommate. Coworker. Pseudo sibling. There were days when I’d trade Easton for her permanently. Okay, any day. There were plenty of ways to label our relationship and us was not one.

I could not—would not—tear down the boundaries that nearly a decade and firm family reminders had put in place.