by Dylann Crush
“You’re squishing me, Unca Wob.” Junior’s little hands pushed at my gut, and I loosened my grip.
“All right, little man.” I placed a quick kiss on his forehead as he snuggled down under his baseball-themed sheets. “Get a good night’s sleep.”
“Are you and Cassie gonna go to bed now, too?”
Cassie bit her lip and peered up at me, probably wondering how I was going to field that question.
“Not unless she asks me to.”
“Good God, Robbie. How old is he, like three?” She placed a palm on my chest and pushed me away. “Goodnight, Junior. I hope to see you again soon.”
Junior nodded and closed his eyes. I followed Cass out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen.
“So whadda ya say, Cass? For old time’s sake, want to check out my big truck?”
She rolled her eyes. “Get over yourself. I’m offering you a business relationship. You fix up my house. In return I’ll feed you and pay you a buttload of money. Are you in or not?”
“Oh, I’m in all right. But tell me one thing.”
“What’s that Unca Wob?” The corner of her mouth ticked up in a smile.
“Aren’t you the least bit tempted?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Tempted by what?”
“To see if we’ve still got it? One last go for old time’s sake?”
“Business, Robbie. Strictly business. You’ll get your dinners and your pie. But I’m definitely not part of the deal. I don’t care how many little minions you sic on me to try to convince me otherwise.”
“Hey, he did that all on his own. It’s not my fault you want me so bad even a three-year-old can see it.” I was pushing it. But I needed to know. Were there any lingering feelings on her part?
Cassie groaned and poked a finger into the center of my chest. “I. Do. Not. Want. You.” As she spoke each word she jabbed her finger into my breastbone. “From what I hear you’ve got no business even making the offer. Aren’t you practically engaged to Swallow Springs’s Pork Rind Princess?”
I wrapped my hand around hers. “She was the Pork Producers’ Princess. And you can’t believe everything you hear around here.”
“Whatever. I’m still not part of the deal. We’ve been over for a long time, got it?” She yanked her hand away.
“Oh yeah?” I advanced. With every step I took forward, she took one step back until she couldn’t go any farther. With her backed up against the kitchen wall, I leaned down, my mouth just a fraction of an inch from her ear. “Then why do your knees knock together every time I come close to touching you?”
She turned her head away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Prove it.” I cupped her chin and turned her head to face me, leveling my gaze at her. The Cassie I knew would never back down from a challenge.
Her face squished up like she’d just smelled one of Fisher’s diapers. “Prove what? I’ve got to go.” She made a move to side step away from me.
I put my hands on her hips to stop her. “One kiss, Cassie. Give me one kiss, and if you’re able to walk away after that, I won’t bring it up again.” I wanted to press her up against the wall and ravage her mouth with mine, make her crazy, just like I used to do way back when.
Her eyes narrowed to slits and she clenched her jaw. “We’re not seventeen any more. I won’t fall for your stupid dares.”
“One kiss.”
“And then you’ll leave me alone?”
“Cross my heart.” I went through the motions, tracing a cross on my exposed pec over my heart. Her gazed followed my finger and she took in a deep breath.
“Fine. One kiss. You’re so freaking immature.”
I stepped closer, nudging my leg in between hers. One hand went behind her head. I stretched the other above her and put my palm to the wall, leaning in, crowding her personal space. She shivered and bit her lower lip. No effect, huh? My nose rubbed against hers and she tensed.
“I’m not going to bite you, Cass.”
“Just do it. Get it over with,” she whispered. Her hands fluttered awkwardly between us, like she didn’t know what to do with them. She let them drop to her sides.
Calm, compliant Cass. What a change from the pissed off version who’d pulled into town a few days ago. I pressed the length of my body up against hers, enjoying the feel of her soft curves. Her lips parted as her eyes drifted closed. She wanted this too. Her words might try to deny it, but her body didn’t lie. As I moved in, ready to prove to her how right I was, the pitter patter of tiny footsteps registered in my brain.
“Unca Wob?”
My head jerked toward the sound. Cassie’s palms went to my chest, pushing me away. Junior stood in the doorway, naked as the day he was born.
“I hafta go potty.”
At Junior’s untimely entrance, Cassie slipped away. She slid her purse strap over her shoulder and squeezed past him, dropping a kiss on top of his towhead as she escaped to the front room. “See you tomorrow, Robbie!” The front door slammed behind her.
Dammit. I’d been so close to having her right where I wanted her. I still hadn’t decided if the kiss test would have been more for her benefit or mine. I needed proof that I could survive without Cassie Belmont, that I wouldn’t get lost in her kiss, that I’d be able to resist her, that my heart should truly belong to Caroline. What I’d done instead was prove to myself that I had a long way to go before I exorcised her from my system.
As I moved toward Junior, a stream of pee dribbled down his legs and puddled around his feet. Who knew kids could leak so many different bodily fluids? I had to hand it to Junior. For someone who didn’t even know the biological difference between girls and boys yet, he’d definitely made some interesting moves on Cassie. Maybe after I got him all cleaned up he could give me some advice on how to keep her smiling and possibly even win her back.
10
Cassie
I pulled the car door shut behind me and pressed the lock button. What was Robbie trying to do to me? I’d barely managed to escape with my pride intact. My underwear hadn’t been as lucky. I shifted my butt around on the leather seat, uncomfortable in my damp boy shorts. Anticipating that kiss, my body had hummed on high alert, traitorously ready for whatever might come after. Dammit.
Hiring him back might not have been the best move. But what choice did I have? It’s not like I could do all the work myself. And with extremely limited options, I’d just have to squelch any leftover warm fuzzies my body still harbored for Robbie, and get the job done as fast as possible so I could get back to Parker…whose warm capable hands would never sport a callus and who didn’t have to resort to childish dares to earn one of my kisses.
I shoved thoughts of a shirtless Robbie somewhere deep down inside and dialed Parker on my speakerphone.
He picked up after one ring. “Hey, Cookie.”
“Hi. Did I wake you up?”
“No. I was just working on budgets.”
I glanced at the clock on the dash. “At ten o’clock on a Saturday night?”
“Yeah. The numbers are tight, Cassie. Any idea when we’ll be able to put up our share?”I flicked on my high beams, illuminating a wider stretch of the two-lane highway. My grandpa used to warn me about deer on this section of the road and I scanned from side to side, not wanting to tangle with another buck besides Robbie tonight.
“I’m working on it. Robbie should have an estimate to me by Tuesday along with a timeline.” I loved the fact that Parker was so focused on this new restaurant venture, but sometimes it seemed like the only thing he wanted to talk about.
“Robbie, huh?”
“Yeah, he’s the contractor I told you about. What did you do today?” I wasn’t ready to fill Parker in on exactly how well I knew my contractor. Some things were better left unsaid, especially when they were irrelevant and unimportant.
“I made it over to Fort Worth and checked out that place you told me about.”
“Wonton Taco?” The
restaurant had just opened in February. Their menu featured the same style we were targeting: a combination of Asian/Mexican fusion.
“Yeah. The place was packed.” Parker’s fingers tapped on a computer keyboard in the background.
I pictured him sitting at the desk in his office. He probably had CNN on mute on the TV. “Was it any good?”
The tapping stopped. “Your chiles rellenos egg rolls are better. But they have a killer cilantro chutney shrimp roll. We’ll have to come up with some other menu options if we want to stay fresh.”
“Yeah, okay. I can come up with some new stuff.”
“And the interior is pretty posh. I’m going to meet with the designer on Tuesday to talk about some other options.”
“Do you need me to come back for anything? I can be there in eight hours.”
We’d been dating for several months but I was still trying to feel out the parameters of our budding relationship. He always seemed preoccupied or like he was in a constant rush to get to the next meeting or phone call.
“Not yet.” He groaned into the phone. “I think my boss is starting to get some idea of what I’m up to. I need to lay low for a while. The last thing I need is to get fired before I can quit.” The tapping started again. “You just keep doing what you’re doing. The cash is key. We can’t do anything unless you get us the money.”
“I’m working on it.”
“I know. I’m just not sure you realize how important it is that we get it in time. If we don’t come up with our part, Liz said she’d move on and find another team.”
Our part? Parker was only putting up about twenty grand. Our part would be coming from me and my grandparents’ farm. “I said I’m working on it.” The words came out harsher than I intended.
“Hey, take it easy, Cookie. I know you’re doing what you can.” I hated it when he got all patronizing on me. “I just wish I was there to help. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not much good with a hammer…”
He waited for me to let him off the hook. We’d been through this type of exchange several times over the past couple of weeks. “No, Parker. You stay there and do what you do best. Work the numbers, schmooze the investors. I’ll handle the heavy lifting from here.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
I did know. But every once in a while I wanted Parker to sweep me away with talk about something besides our joint venture. I knew I wasn’t being fair. It had been Parker’s level-headedness, amazing acumen for business, and practical approach to life, that had attracted me in the first place—a complete one-eighty from the fiery live-in-the-moment passion I’d known with Robbie. All passion had gotten me was a broken heart—a fact I needed to keep reminding myself of—especially now that I’d be spending so much time around the cause of my heartache.
I let out a sigh. “It’s just been a long day.”
“I understand. You’re tired. Let me know when you get the estimate.”
“You’ll be the first call I make.”
“Great. Talk to you soon. Miss you.”
“Miss you, too.” Silence. He’d already hung up. I lowered my voice to imitate Parker’s and talked to myself in the glowing interior of my car. “Can’t stop thinking about you. Going crazy without you, Cassafrass.”
I let out a long exhale and rolled down the windows, hoping the sound of a warm June Missouri night might wash away my pissy mood. The wind roared through the open windows, crickets chirped, bullfrogs croaked, and the scent of fresh cut grass assaulted my nose. I drove five miles before I realized what I’d said.
Robbie was the only one who’d ever called me Cassafrass. What did that mean? Did I want to start things back up with Robbie again? Hell no. Parker and I were just getting started. Sure, he was a little uptight and hyper-focused on his career. He was so self-assured, so confident in going after his goals. He was zealous in his pursuit of what he wanted. And he’d wanted me.
We met through my boss, the superstar chef. He’d worked with Parker on the last restaurant he’d opened, and when Parker came in for dinner one night he introduced us. He had on black slacks and a deep purple button-down dress shirt open at the collar. When I sneezed, he offered me a handkerchief. My grandmother would have died and gone to heaven. A real fabric handkerchief. My grandfather always used to carry one in his pocket. Any time I needed to blow my nose he’d pass it to me. I’d also seen him hand it off to grandma when she teared up at bad news or when her hay fever got the best of her. Grandma always said a man who carried a handkerchief was a man who could be trusted. Once he pulled out that hanky, I was toast. Funny thing though, I hadn’t seen him use a handkerchief since then.
I slowed the car as I passed mile marker twenty-two and turned off the highway onto the long gravel road leading to the farm. If Robbie was going to be true to his word and show up first thing in the morning, I’d need to be ready. Hopefully he’d bring plenty of extra clothing. I didn’t think my underwear or my heart could handle the sight of his exposed grown-up chest again.
11
Robbie
“What’s this?” I got out of the truck and crossed the yard to the front porch.
“Well hi, Rob. Cassie and me are just gettin’ reacquainted.” Misty gave me a self-righteous look and tipped her mug up to her lips, taking a sip.
I looked at my watch. “It’s only eight thirty. On a Sunday morning. Don’t y’all need to be at church or something?”
“Don’t be rude, Robbie.” Cassie tossed a wadded up napkin at me. “Misty brought over some sweet rolls. Go help yourself.”
I clomped up the steps in my heavy work boots and entered the house. Something smelled good. A pan of Misty’s cinnamon rolls sat on the kitchen counter. I helped myself to a cup of coffee then cut a huge roll out of the pan and stood over the sink, taking big bites.
Their voices floated in through the open kitchen window.
“So you’re only sticking around for the summer?” Misty asked.
“That’s the plan. As soon as Robbie can help me get the place fixed up I’ll put it on the market. Hopefully it’ll sell fast.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” I could picture the look on Misty’s face as she asked question after question. She could sweet talk the kernels off an ear of corn. She’d just bat her long, thick lashes and give a sugary smile. Hell, she’d even managed to charm me out of information a time or two. Jake was pure putty in her hands.
“I’ve got a business opportunity back home. If I’m going to be able to make it, I need to put up the funds by the end of September,” Cassie said.
The porch swing creaked as it swung back and forth. “What kind of business are you going into?”
“A restaurant. I’m a chef.”
“Mmm. Sure could use a new restaurant around here.” Smooth, Misty, real smooth. “You probably saw the diner on Main went out of business.”
I took a sip of coffee. I could stand here at the kitchen sink all day. Wonder what else she’d get Cassie to talk about. Between Misty and Junior, Cassie might not stand a chance.
“Yeah, I saw that. It’s too bad. My grandparents used to take me there every Saturday morning. Those blueberry pancakes were to die for.”
Misty laughed, a high-pitched peal. “Bet your initials are still carved into that booth.”
“I’d forgotten about that,” Cassie said. “Those were some good times.”
Cassie was right. Those were some good times. The first time I set eyes on her was at that diner—The Lovebird Café. She came in for breakfast with her grandparents and my dad had chosen that day to treat us to a rare meal out. When we got older, the gang used to stop in at the diner on our way back from an afternoon at the lake. We’d empty our pockets and pool our money together to order an extra-large basket of fries. One afternoon I’d pulled out my Swiss Army knife and carved our initials inside a heart. C.B. + R.J. I’d thought that little heart would wrap around us, guaranteeing we’d stay together for life. Things were so much easier
then. That and I was an idiot. Seventeen is way too young to count on any guarantees.
“So why did it close?” Cassie asked.
“Duke had a heart attack. His wife, Patsy, remember her?” Cassie must have nodded or something because Misty paused then continued. “She couldn’t keep it going on her own. None of their kids wanted to come back and help out so she closed it up about a year ago. It’s a shame. You know, they met and fell in love there. Used to be the Early Bird Diner but when they took over they changed the name to the Lovebird Café. There’s something about that place.”
“What do you mean?” Cassie asked.
“People who meet there fall in love.”
Cassie laughed. “So, you’re saying it’s magic?”
“Some say so. My friend Jenny waitressed there and she ended up marrying the UPS guy who made deliveries. My uncle was a cook there and met my aunt when she came in with some of her friends. There’s something to it.”
The porch swing creaked and Misty continued. “They were always busy. Somebody could really make a go of it if they opened back up again.”
Someone stood. Footsteps sounded on the porch right before the screen door creaked open. “Robbie, you get lost in there?” Cassie called.
“Nah, just getting another sweet roll.” Misty’s rolls were good, but they didn’t come close to Mrs. Macon’s. Maybe Cassie knew her grandma’s old recipe. Should have bargained for a breakfast or two last night when we were renegotiating.
I grabbed another roll and my coffee and went back out to the front porch. Misty stood and picked up her giant purse.
