by L A Cotton
“I know, I just … it’s been a rough week, is all.” And even now, after everything, she was the one reassuring me when it should be the other way around.
As the silence enveloped us, my aunt’s smile slipped into something sadder, and my stomach began to sink. “Maybe it’s time.”
It wasn’t a question or a statement, but I still couldn’t believe she’d said it. Suggested that I—
“No, I can’t,” I choked out. “They don’t want …” An ugly sob ripped from my throat, and I squeezed my eyes closed.
“I spoke to her, Cassie, to let her know about things. She misses you; she wants to make things right.”
“No, no.” Wiping the tears from my eyes, I met my aunt’s gaze. “I can’t. Not after everything.”
“Shh, it’s okay, Cassie. It’s all going to be okay.”
Fear and shame and desperation wracked my body, rendering me a trembling mess. Aunt Ruby didn’t push the issue. She didn’t take the high road and insist that I return Mom’s call. She simply lay there, caressing my hand, while I fell apart.
And then Lilly’s cries pierced the air, and I leaped up and all but ran into her room. Her arms reached for me as I leaned over the crib and scooped her into my embrace. “There, there, Mommy’s got you.” I rocked her against me, burying my face in her fine baby hair, breathing her in.
Her sobs subsided, but I didn’t let her go, hugging her close and absorbing her warmth. She didn’t know it—wouldn’t for a long time yet—but Lilly had saved me. And I had to remember that.
When things got too hard and life kept chipping away at my already broken shell, I had to remember that I had something worth fighting for.
The doorbell rang, and Aunt Ruby’s voice cut through my moment. “Cassie, can you get that?”
“Yes,” I called back, moving Lilly to my hip. She had calmed, tugging and pulling at the zipper on my sweater. Heading downstairs, I went to the front door and opened it.
“Delivery for Malson.”
“Hmm, yes, that’s me,” I said, taking the bunch of flowers from the delivery guy. He fiddled with his handheld and then said goodbye. My stomach knotted tightly as I closed the door and made my way to the kitchen.
“Who was it?” Aunt Ruby called.
“Just a delivery.”
Popping Lilly into her playpen, I slid out the card. My heart hammered in my chest, expecting to see Luis’s name scrawled on the note. I didn’t know what to feel when I realized the flowers weren’t from him at all.
I hope your aunt is okay.
If you need anything … I’m here.
D x
My eyes lingered on the words. I hadn’t heard anything from Dennis since the hospital. Didn’t expect to after the way I dismissed him. But I kept telling myself it was for the best. He was a complication I couldn’t afford right now—or ever again. He confused things. Played havoc with my emotions.
My heart.
And that was a dangerous place to be when I still hadn’t come to terms with everything that had happened.
I found a vase and arranged the lilies, keeping one eye on Lilly as she chewed on her teething ring. God, why did he have to be in Redmont? Working with Luis? I’d spent days, weeks, months … years imagining him riding in and saving me. But he never came. I’d cried myself to sleep more times than I cared to remember, picturing his face, his deep, intense eyes, wishing he would come looking for me. At the same time, I’d hated him. Blamed him for breaking my heart. For leaving me at the mercy of Lyndon Bennet.
It wasn’t really Dennis’s fault, and I knew that. But if he hadn’t walked away, if he hadn’t crushed my hopes, my dreams, I wouldn’t have fallen prey to Lyndon. I would have recognized the warning signs sooner. Had my wits about me. God, I would have run at the first sign of something not being right. But I was desperate to make the pain stop. To forget all about Dennis Hayes and his empty promises and the gaping hole in my heart.
I just wanted it to stop.
“Cassie?”
My head whipped around, and my eyes widened to saucers. “Aunt Ruby, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be—”
“Hush now, I am quite capable of getting myself out of bed and walking downstairs in my own house. Flowers?” She came around the breakfast counter.
“I, hmm, they’re from a friend.” I stuffed the card behind my back, feeling my cheeks heat.
“And this friend wouldn’t happen to be the same friend who watched Lilly for you at the hospital, would it? The same guy who stood on our doorstep not that long ago?” The suspicion in her voice was at odds with the warmth in her eyes.
“I … he… we should get you back to bed.” I linked my arm through hers, but she grabbed my wrist, holding me still.
“You deserve to find happiness, Cassie. It’s all I want for you. And it’s out there, I know it is. When you’re ready.”
She didn’t know that I’d already found it once.
And when it left me, it ruined me.
Chapter Thirteen
Dennis
I padded into my bedroom, towel slung low on my hips, beads of water rolling off my hair and down my back. It was late, and all I wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Introductions with Hale had taken all fucking day. He wanted to show us around his operations—an eerie place on the edge of town. He’d moved in six months ago, looking to expand the business. We knew of him. His reputation in and around Montecito County preceded him. Drugs. Acquisition and distribution of stolen goods. It was even rumored he occasionally moved guns for the Mexicans. Josiah Hale had his finger in a lot of pies. And when word got around he was looking to buy Stonecreek real estate, I’d anticipated a turf war because my old man had been running our town long before I was born. What I hadn’t anticipated was for him to turn up on my old man’s doorstep with an opportunity so enticing he couldn’t say no.
Brett and I had spent the day meeting his guys, and then Hale had invited us back to his place. It was an old farmhouse overlooking the Sacramento River. The beer had flowed. Brett lapped up the attention, doing shots with the guys and sidling up to one of their girls, but I kept a level head. With someone like Josiah Hale, you needed to keep your wits about you. My old man might have gotten into bed with him, but I still didn’t trust him.
My cell phone vibrated, and I grimaced, imagining Brett’s text message. Only when I scanned the screen, it wasn’t his name. I snatched it up and sat on the edge of the bed.
Cassie: Thank you, for the flowers. For everything.
Shit. My heart jackhammered in my chest. I’d finally caved and reached out. But I didn’t want to crowd her, so flowers seemed like a safe bet. After her radio silence all week, I hadn’t expected a reply. My fingers flew across the screen, but then I paused, running a brisk hand over my head. Before I could talk myself out of it, I hit call and waited.
“Dennis?” Sweet relief swelled inside me.
“Hey, I got your text.” I got your text? I groaned inwardly.
“They’re beautiful.”
“How is your aunt? And Lilly?” I’d only spent a moment with her daughter, but I missed her.
Who the fuck was I kidding? I not only missed the kid, but I also missed Cassie needing me. For those moments when I watched Lilly, she’d needed me. Relied on me.
Trusted me.
It was only a few hours total, but Cassie had given me a piece of her. And I wanted more.
I wanted her all.
“She’s good. The doctors still want to run more tests, and she needs lots of rest, but she’s home.”
“Good, that’s good. And Lilly?”
“She’s fine,” Cassie breathed out, and then silence echoed down the line. There was so much I wanted to say, but I didn’t want to scare her off or give her an excuse to hang up. Kicking my legs up, I shuffled back against the headboard.
“What are you doing, Dennis?” Her question came out of left field, punching me in the gut, and my stomach dropped.
�
�I ...” Shit. What was I doing? She’d made it clear she didn’t want me around. But it was Cassie. The only girl I’d ever let in. And she’d always held some kind of power over me.
I cleared my throat. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Dennis ...”
“It’s cool. I’m not asking for anything. Fuck.” Jamming my fingers into my damp hair, I tugged, frustration and yearning rushing through me. “Do you know how many times I’ve imagined seeing you again?”
“It’s not a good time. I have ... my aunt and Lilly. I have to focus on them.” Her voice wavered, and I could sense her torment. It crackled down the line. And Jesus, I latched onto it. Hoping … Praying.
“Cassie, maybe it’s not a coincidence.”
“Wh-what? What do you mean?”
“You hiding out in Redmont. Me turning up at the bar. I mean, come on, what are the chances?”
“I’m not hiding,” she bit out, slamming her walls back up, and I released a heavy sigh.
“Sorry, that was—”
“It’s okay. I just … I can’t do this. Not now. Not with you. Least of all you.”
Ouch.
“Dennis …”
But it was too late. A red mist enveloped me, firing up my instinct to run. Reinforcing everything my old man had drilled in to me.
Women couldn’t be trusted.
They were a distraction.
An unnecessary distraction.
They would take and take and take until, in the end, they would destroy you.
“It’s late. I should go,” I clipped out.
“Den—”
“Goodbye, Cassie.” I hung up, blinking away the moisture in my eyes and closed them tight.
“You look like shit.” Brett tapped the hood of my truck as he climbed inside. I followed, slamming the door so hard it reverberated all around us.
“Want to talk about it?”
“No,” I snapped, firing up the engine. The truck rumbled to life, and I eased into the traffic. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Easy, Den. This is a big gig for us. Uncle Miller doesn’t want—” I silenced him with a sharp glare, and he sank back into the seat. “You need to get laid.”
“Brett.”
“For real, Den. You’re wound so tightly you’re like a bottle rocket waiting to go off. Ginny is hot for you. Told me herself. Stick it to her already and thank me later.”
“Brett,” I warned him again, but the fucker just grinned.
“Come on, she’s begging for it. You saw how she was at the bar, watching you.”
Ignoring him, I took the road out of town toward Hale’s place. He’d requested to deal with me directly for all future meetings. As if he knew I was the glue holding Miller Hayes together.
“Want me to call the guys and you can stay back?”
“Hale wanted me.” So he would get me.
Brett mumbled something under his breath, and I almost felt sorry for the guy. He was so eager, so at home with the family business. It wasn’t his fault he was stuck in the middle of me and my old man and all the shit that came with it.
Twenty minutes later, I turned onto the dirt track, following it until we reached the big farmhouse.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Brett said as he unbuckled his belt.
He wasn’t wrong. With the two pristine Harleys parked out front, it looked like something out of a low budget horror film. We climbed out and made our way up to the porch. The door swung open, and Josiah Hale appeared. At about six-foot-two with dark shaggy hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck and hazel eyes that looked right through you, he was one mean looking son of a bitch.
“Hayes. Good to see you, brother. Brett.” He nodded curtly at my cousin who seemed to shrink into himself. “Come, let’s eat.”
Eat? What the fuck?
I eyed Brett discreetly as we made our way up to the house, and understanding passed between us. This was … unexpected. I wanted to get in and get out. But from the sounds coming from inside the house, Hale had company. Following him down the hallway, we reached a huge kitchen complete with a wooden table and benches big enough to seat a football team.
“Margie, meet Dennis and Brett.”
“Hey, boys.” The woman glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Take a seat and grab a plate.”
Brett looked at me for direction, and I nodded at the bench. What other choice did we have? We were in Hale’s home.
“Momma, Jacob hid my shoes again,” a voice echoed through the house, and the woman put down the bowl in her hands and wiped them down her apron.
“Excuse me while I’ll go bang some heads together.”
We sat down, watching, waiting, as more bodies filtered into the room. Two girls, no older than fifteen, eyed us warily.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Josie, Jenna, this here is Dennis and Brett.”
“Hello,” they said in unison, and I realized the similarities.
The woman, Margie, marched a younger boy into the room. “And this here is, Jacob,” Hale added.
“Hey,” I said, and the boy’s eyes narrowed at us as he sat down.
“I hope you’re hungry. There’s enough here to feed an army.”
Hale helped his wife load the table with plate after plate. There were sandwiches and salad and some pasta looking thing. Brett’s stomach growled, and all eyes shot to him.
“Sorry, I missed breakfast.”
Margie huffed. “Most important meal of the day. But don’t worry, nobody leaves my house hungry.” She winked at him and continued to serve the food.
When she was done, Hale dropped a kiss on her head and helped her get seated before sliding into the space beside her. A bolt of jealousy shot through me, but I forced it down. Locking my shit with Cassie tight away.
“Now, we eat.”
Everyone started digging in, Brett included, but I sat there wondering what the fuck was happening.
“Dennis? Is everything okay?” Margie was smiling in my direction, and I nodded.
“Yeah, it’s great. Thank you.”
Conversation flowed. The kids talked about school and their plans for summer break. Brett slipped in with ease, working his charm on Margie and one of the twins, from the way she was staring dreamily at him. It was like being in some warped dream. I watched them, and Hale kept one eye on me. I could feel his heavy stare burning holes in the top of my head as I played with my food.
This must be a part of his plan. Lure us in. Soften us up. But to what end?
When the plates were empty, Margie fetched a pie from the oven. The sickly sweet smell filled the kitchen, overwhelming my senses of another time. Another kitchen. Another woman serving her husband and kid pie.
Jesus.
This was worse than a warped dream. It was a nightmare.
“Who wants pie?”
A chorus of yes pleases erupted, but Hale caught my eye and nodded to the back door. “Take a walk with me.”
I eyed Brett, but he was busy eating his pie and talking football with Jacob. So much for keeping his wits about him. All it took was some home cooking, and he was putty in their hands.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to him, and he waved me off, too far gone in pie heaven.
Traitor.
Hale disappeared outside, and I followed. From this vantage point, I could see the porch wrapped around the whole house, leading to a deck out back.
“I appreciate you coming here today,” Hale said, sliding a smoke out of a metal tin and pinching it between his teeth.
“Just doing my job.”
“How long you been running the show for Miller?”
My spine went rigid, and he noticed.
“Easy, it’s only a question.”
I knew in this business that nothing was ever just a question. There was always a motive.
“I’ve been back four years.”
“You went to Chastity Falls Academy, right?”
Nodding, I leaned back against the wooden railing, wondering where the hell he was going with the inquisition.
“Word on the street is you ran things for Marcus Donohue.”
“I was tight with Jackson, yeah.”
“Jackson Pierce.” This time it wasn’t a question. “If you ask me, it’s better to keep things tight. Fewer players, less risk.” He dragged a lungful of smoke in, held it for a few seconds, then released it, blowing small controlled rings into the air.
That he’d done his homework didn’t surprise me, but his line of inquiry made me uneasy. Jackson had escaped this life. I didn’t want to somehow end up dragging him back in.
“You ever speak to Jackson?”
“Listen.” I pushed off the rail. “I don’t know what you want, but Jackson, Chastity Falls, that’s my past. My life now is here in Stonewood.”
He leveled me with a look that said he didn’t believe me. A look that made my chest tight and my palms damp. And something told me Josiah Hale was the kind of man who made it his business to know everything about everything.
Fuck.
“That’s good to hear, son. Real damn good. I think you and me are going to get along just fine.” He clapped me on the back, and it felt a lot like I’d passed a test.
But for what, I had no fucking idea.
Chapter Fourteen
Cassie
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” My feet lurched to a halt, and Amanda swung around, her eyes searching mine.
“Come on, Cass. It’s your birthday. You haven’t left your aunt or Lilly in almost two weeks. You’re allowed one night off.”
“But what if—”
“No. Don’t do that. They. Are. Fine.” She gripped my shoulders. “Everything is going to be fine. Mrs. Garth is more than capable of holding down the fort while Lilly sleeps. Besides, your aunt is doing better, right?”
I nodded, swallowing down all the excuses on the tip of my tongue. She was doing better. It was hard to believe that only three weeks ago, she’d fallen in the kitchen. The sirens… the EMTs … the cloying smell of the hospital. It all seemed like a distant memory now. A bad dream.
