His Unexpected Return--A Fresh-Start Family Romance

by Jessica Keller

  Was she?

  Cassidy opened the front door to find Wade standing there, smiling at her with a bunch of black-eyed Susans in his hands. He stepped inside and she took the flowers from him. They had always been her favorites, which was why she had planted some at his gravesite a few years ago. Had he visited the cemetery and seen them there?

  She arranged them in a vase on her counter. “I have some bad news for you.”

  Wade cocked his head. “Don’t tell me you guys are standing me up.”

  “You’re half right. Macy called in to a radio station last night and won tickets to Dinosaur Expedition. It’s this traveling show with life-size moving dinosaurs. It’s actually supposed to be pretty fun. She took Piper with her this morning. I’m sorry.”

  “If I’m going to be ditched, at least it was for something as cool as dinosaurs.” Wade’s laugh was rich and warm, like honey in hot tea. “But you’re coming, right?”

  “You still want to go?” Cassidy held her breath after she asked the question. She had worried that he wouldn’t be interested if Piper wasn’t there. He might have only been spending time with Cassidy because he wanted a relationship with his daughter.

  It wasn’t one of his almost-smiles that graced his features; it was a full-blown lightens-every-plane-and-angle sort of smile. “Of course.”

  They were on the road within minutes. Cassidy relaxed into the seat, happy to trust Wade to drive them wherever.

  Wade adjusted the air-conditioning. “I’ve noticed you don’t have any pictures of your parents at your place.”

  Cassidy stiffened. She was fine with Wade asking about her folks, but she always braced a little when she had to talk about them. “That’s because they kicked me out of the house and told me not to come back.”

  “Piper?” Wade breathed.

  “You know how they were.” Cassidy had grown up as the only child in an upper middle-class home. The Danverses had been suburbanites in a school district of mostly farmers. Her parents were suite holders at McLane Stadium even though they rarely made the trek to attend a Baylor game. They were members at the golf club and her mother regularly hosted teas for the local chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. They’d had high hopes that Cassidy would grow up to be someone worthy of fawning over. They had spent Cassidy’s entire life pressuring her and telling her what she was and wasn’t allowed to do and who she was and wasn’t allowed to talk to. Their strictness had driven her toward Wade.

  She hugged her stomach. “When they found out I was pregnant, they wanted me to terminate the pregnancy.” Thankfully she had turned eighteen the month before, so they couldn’t force her to obey their wishes as much as they could have if she had still been a juvenile. “They said Piper was a mistake that would ruin my life.” A derisive laugh ripped from Cassidy. “Joke’s on them. Piper’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Wade quickly glanced her way, probably assessing how she was doing with their talk. “They kicked you out?”

  “They disowned me. That was my mother’s choice word the last time we talked. If you don’t do this we are officially disowning you,” she mimicked her mother’s stern voice.

  “Is there an unofficial way to disown someone?”

  “I think that’s called ghosting.” Which looked like what Wade had done to them, but she decided she wouldn’t point that out. They were moving on. She understood his reasons and forgave him.

  “They tried to bribe me, Wade.” That might have been the part that still bothered her the most. As if she had been a child clinging to a lollipop that they didn’t want her to have instead of a child. They tried to make a trade. The thought made her stomach roll. “They told me if I had an abortion, they would pay for college and I could study anything, anywhere I wanted.” They presented it to her as if they were making some huge gracious concession because before they had dictated two or three degrees she had to choose between.

  Cassidy hugged her stomach tighter. “They said they wouldn’t tell anyone what I had done, so I could still have the hope for a good future. But if I kept the child, if I went through with this—their words—they said they wouldn’t support me and didn’t want to know the child. So I left. I haven’t talked to them since.”

  Wade’s hand touched her arm, his fingers slipped down until he was able to take hold of her fingers. She relaxed her shoulders and uncrossed her arms, so she could wrap his hand inside both of hers and hold it in her lap.

  Cassidy pressed on. “Rhett stopped by my parents’ house to check on me and I told him what was going on. He helped me pack my stuff and moved me to the ranch that day.”

  “I owe Rhett so much,” Wade said. “Shannon had hinted to me that you were estranged from your parents, but I had no idea. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  She ran her fingers over his knuckles. Traced a scar on the back of his hand and wondered where it had come from. “It still hurts, you know? To know my own parents didn’t want me—didn’t want our beautiful child. All because their status was more important to them. I tell myself I’m better off without them, but the rejection still cuts when I think about it. Like was a teen pregnancy really the worst thing that could have happened to me?”

  “I can’t imagine what that must be like.” Wade’s voice was quiet. “My family. They’re so different.”

  “They’re perfect,” Cassidy said. “Your family is perfect.”

  “You realize that includes you too. You’re family, Cass.” His fingers tightened on hers. “You’re my family.”

  Cassidy swallowed hard as she looked out the window. The browns, yellows and greens of Texas Hill Country flashed by her as they rolled on. Wade was right. They were a family.

  And maybe one day, the three of them would be able to make that official.

  * * *

  Wade adjusted the pack he wore and then took Cassidy’s hand again. They continued down the path. He had forgotten how challenging the hike to Gorman Falls could be. It was a mile and a half over rugged terrain. Not that Cassidy seemed to mind. Despite their conversation about hard things in the car, she had been smiling the whole hike.

  She released his hand and got close to the bank of the river. A couple of frogs protested her presence and splashed into the water. Wade stayed back and watched as she flipped over rocks and shoved aside sticks with her shoes.

  “Lose something?”

  She kept her focus on the river. “Remember when we used to find topaz in the riverbeds?” Cassidy squatted down and flipped another rock. She pulled a face and wiped her fingers on her jeans.

  Wade nodded. “But if you find it here, you’re not allowed to bring it home. State park rules.”

  “Of course, Ranger.” She saluted him the same way Shannon had at Enchanted Rock.

  “Watch out,” he called as her hand hovered close to the water’s surface. “You don’t want an alligator gar to think your hand is food.”

  “Oh, come on.” She splashed water in his direction. “You’ve been feeding me a line about that fish since I was twelve and I’ve never seen one in this river.” She rose and popped her hands to her hips. “Actually, I’ve never seen one at all. Besides, I’m pretty sure they feed at night, Wade.”

  He shook his finger at her, enjoying the tease in her voice. “Just because you haven’t seen one, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

  She marched toward him, her eyes narrowed. “You’re just trying to scare me.” She put her hands on his chest and gave a playful push. “Aren’t you?”

  “Is it working?” He grinned down at her. “Because if you’re afraid, I’m completely fine with you clinging to me. You know, for protection.”

  Cassidy bit her lip as she walked her fingers up his chest. “Only for protection, huh? You don’t want me clinging to you for any other reason?”

  “Cass.” Her name was a whispered warn
ing, letting her know he wouldn’t be able to hold back if she kept this up.

  Cassidy inched closer, sliding her arms around his waist. Her hands found a resting spot at the small of his back under the backpack he wore. “So you’re willing to protect me from alligator gar.” She tipped her head up and looked at him. Even batted her eyelashes. “Anything else?”

  When they had dated, Cassidy had loved to flirt with him and he had loved how confident she was when she teased him. But she was walking a dangerous line. They couldn’t flirt like this and then act like it hadn’t happened.

  Wade set his hands on her shoulders. He licked his lips. “I’ll protect you from anything, Cass. From everything.”

  “What about from you?” she whispered.

  He opened his mouth, not sure how to answer. Not sure what she meant.

  “Promise you won’t ever leave again.” She slipped a hand between them to press a finger to his lips. “But if you promise me that, you better be ready to kiss me.”

  Wade couldn’t take it any longer. He tugged her hand away from his face so there would be nothing between them. Then he claimed her lips. He had meant for it to be a slow kiss, but Cassidy’s hand was instantly in his hair and her nails dragged against his scalp and he couldn’t help but deepen the kiss. It was as if they were each other’s oxygen and they’d been dying to take a full breath for years.

  Cassidy was in his arms again and it felt right. He didn’t want to let go.

  Promise you won’t ever leave again.

  Never. He would never leave this woman for as long as he lived. He would dedicate the rest of his life to making her happy and meeting her needs.

  When they finally parted, they leaned against each other, almost as if they would fall down without support. Wade’s legs trembled and his pulse crashed through him as if he had run a marathon. Cassidy hugged his middle again and pressed her head against his chest, her shoulders rising with ragged breaths. Wade wrapped his arms around her and rested the side of his head against the top of hers.

  Wade had promised Shannon he would consider telling Cassidy about the surgery tomorrow. His sister had urged him again yesterday when she had helped him move some of his belongings into an empty staff house at the ranch, so he could stay there until he was healed enough to be in public. Coming back to the Jarrett house wasn’t an option. If his mom or Rhett spotted him, they would be worried, which was why he had already told them he would be away for the weekend to take care of some things.

  Tonight after he dropped Cassidy off, he would have to turn around and drive to Houston and check into a hotel room so he could be at the hospital bright and early in the morning. After what he and Cassidy had just shared, he was beginning to think Shannon might have a point. When they got to the falls, he would tell her.

  After a few minutes, they reluctantly untwined from their hug.

  Wade offered his hand. “We did come to see the main attraction, right?”

  Cassidy laughed softly. “I don’t know. I kind of thought we just had the main attraction for the day.”

  They continued down the path, walking a little closer than necessary. They stole a few more quick kisses as they walked. Wade’s mind buzzed with questions. Did this mean they were dating again? He wanted to discuss it but wanted to wait until after she knew about his thyroid cancer. It was only fair.

  Cassidy brushed past so she was ahead of him on a narrow part of the path, towing him by the hand in her wake. “You haven’t said much about what you were up to before you came back. On the way to Enchanted Rock, Piper asked where you had been and I noticed you didn’t answer that part.”

  Wade heaved a breath. “I didn’t want to explain to Piper what a party boat was or what happened on one.”

  “Will you explain to me?”

  Wade passed Cassidy in order to hold some branches out of their way. She ducked under them and he followed.

  “They’re these luxury yachts that the wealthy rent out,” he said. “Depending on the boat, they pay anywhere from 40K to 100K a week to stay on these things. And with that type of money comes this expectation that their every whim will be catered to. If they want wine flown in from Italy brought to them in bed at two in the morning, you do it. When we had guests, you’re basically on duty twenty-four hours a day.”

  And sometimes the female guests tried to throw themselves at the deckhands. Wade wouldn’t mention that part. He had never had an interest in any of them and thankfully the main boat he had worked on had a no-fraternizing-with-the-guests policy that saved them from most advances. Sticking with Preach, who was an expert at diverting their attention elsewhere, had also saved Wade from his share of awkward advances through the years.

  Cassidy pursed her lips. “That doesn’t sound like the best situation for someone to be in if they’re trying to overcome an addiction.”

  It had pretty much been the worst place he could have been. Though in the end, Wade believed God’s hand was in where he ended up because facing down the hard temptations had made him stronger.

  “It wasn’t. Those people drank from sunup to sundown. Massive quantities. My saving grace was I was pretty depressed from being away from you, and my bunkmate on my first trip was Preach.” And thankfully whenever it had been time to find a new boat to work on, Preach had come along with him.

  “That’s his name?”

  “No, his real name is Elochukwu. He’s Nigerian. But he told us to call him Preach. That man loved God and he wasn’t afraid to talk to the staff about it. At first, I was so angry with him.” Wade had even begged the captain to move him to another room. “He would quote Bible verses at me while we were on our hands and knees scrubbing the decks. He would sing hymns in our bunk at night. He slowly wore me down though and became a good friend. Preach led me to the Lord after eight months of working on me.”

  “It sounds like a weird job for him to have too.”

  “Preach had a family back in Nigeria. A wife and three kids,” Wade said. “He was there because we were paid really well and at the end of the week, the renter usually tipped the staff in cash. Depending on who it was, it could be a ten-thousand-dollar tip left to split between us.” Without many expenses, Wade had squirreled most of the money away over the years, which was the only reason he had been able to pay the medical bills so far. If Wade hadn’t stockpiled his tips, he would have been forced to confide in Rhett by now for help.

  “Preach sent most of it home. He’s trying to build a church in his community and he didn’t want help from an outside organization to do it. He said God called him to take care of his village.” Wade shrugged. “I thought it was really cool. He reminded me a lot of Boone.”

  “Ironic because you and Boone were never too close.”

  Cassidy was right about that. Boone had been so book smart and straight edge, they just hadn’t had much in common when they were younger. When Wade had begged Boone to help him learn to be a bull rider, Boone had shoved him off to go to the library to study. When Wade wanted a sibling to go exploring with him, Boone rolled his eyes and told him to go find Shannon.

  “True. But I have a feeling we could be friends now if we were given the chance.”

  Wade sent up a prayer that he and Boone could patch up their relationship. Please let my calls go through next time.

  They reached the last one hundred yards of the hike, which consisted of a rocky slope down a steep path into clouds of mist gathering from half a dozen cascades spilling off the sixty-foot limestone cliff. The chilled air that clung to them as they descended the path was refreshing after their brisk hike. At the bottom, they were greeted by a moss-and-fern-swathed grotto. Every rock in sight had patches of green. For the moment, they were alone at the falls. They found a large rock near the bottom and huddled together there. Cassidy pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her head on them. They sat like that in silence for a little while. Conten
t to just be together.

  Tell her now. Before you lose your nerve. Now.

  “Cassidy—”

  “If we’re going to do this, I think I need to wrap you in bubble wrap or something,” she blurted out. “That’s the only way this is going to work.”

  “Wait.” Wade crinkled his brow. “Bubble wrap? What are you talking about?”

  She twisted toward him and latched onto his wrist with a fierceness that made him wonder if she thought he might disappear right here.

  “I don’t think my heart could take it if something happened to you again. Don’t you understand?” Her eyes searched his face. “I lost you once.” Only a whisper but it completely gutted him.

  “I’m right here.” He cupped her face.

  She leaned into his hand. “I know what it feels like to lose you. I’d be lying if I said I’m not terrified right now.” She sat up, letting his hand fall away. “What if I let myself care about you in that way and you get hit by a car like your dad was? What if something happens to you, Wade?” Her eyes went wide. She sucked in a deep breath. Closed her eyes. “You’re going to have to be patient with me. I’m afraid I might worry or freak out for a while whenever you’re late to something or if there is a chance of you getting hurt. It’s something I’m going to have to work on but I think it may take a long time.”

  Her words were a band around his chest, around his lungs, that pulled tighter and tighter until Wade was afraid he would have to gasp for air. Thickness gathered at the back of his throat.

  He couldn’t tell her about his surgery.

  Given what she had just admitted, revealing he had cancer would scare her. He would have to follow his original plan. Just have the surgery done and she would never have to know, never have to deal with yet another thing that could cause her anguish. The doctor had explained to Wade that the type of cancer he had been diagnosed with had the highest survival rate out of any cancer. Wade would face down the monster tomorrow, overcome it, then pursue Cassidy without anything holding him back.