by Carly Bloom
There was no way to get a smooshy you’re welcome out of Carmen. Her real-life persona was pretty much the same as her television one. In your face. Loud. Colorful. And though she minced garlic at vision-blurring speed, she did not mince words.
Hope faked a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Carmen’s tired and cranky.”
“I’m not the only one,” Carmen replied. “Why don’t you go watch some more television and relax?”
“You’re trying to get rid of me,” Hope said.
Jessica laughed. Woe to the person who underestimated Hope because of her Down syndrome.
“You’re right. I am. Your sister and I need to talk.”
“But you’ve been talking,” Hope whined.
“Retreat to the dungeon,” Carmen ordered. “We’ll get dinner in an hour.”
Hope clapped her hands and smacked her lips. “Yum. Can we eat in the room?”
“You bet.”
Hope happily went into the other room and closed the door.
“You were gone longer than expected,” Carmen said.
“I went to the reception after the funeral.”
Carmen sat up. “You did?”
“Yeah. It was kind of fun.”
“That’s what they say about funerals. Fun times.”
“It’s just that I saw some old friends. It was nice.”
“That’s a little more normal.”
Normal. What was that supposed to feel like? She hadn’t felt “normal” since learning her mom was undocumented. It had turned her world upside down. There’d been no stability or security after that. Of course, there’d never been any, but she hadn’t known it. After learning the truth, she’d lived in fear of a traffic ticket or auto accident. Of literally anything and everything that could end up separating their family. And that included sharing their secret with anyone. So, they hadn’t.
Except for Mavis.
Now that her mom was dead, there was no longer anything to fear. But living without a noose around your neck was hard to get used to. The noose felt…loosened. Not gone. That was why she hadn’t been able to leave Hope back in Houston, even though Carmen could have taken just as good care of her there.
If at all possible, Hope went where Jessica went.
“I saw Casey,” she whispered.
Carmen’s eyes widened. She smirked, like a blue-haired elf. “Did you talk to him?”
“Yes. Quite a bit, actually. He’s the sheriff now.”
“You’re kidding!”
“No, he really is. He pulled me over for running a red light. Did you know you don’t have proof of insurance in your car?”
Carmen rolled her eyes. “How long has it been since you’ve been laid?”
“Carmen!”
“Well?”
Jessica went to the window. The lagoon-shaped pool, complete with slide and waterfall, brought back the memory of Casey’s graduation party. It had been a luau theme, and the pool hadn’t been so fancy. Just a plain rectangular lap pool. But to Jessica, a kid who’d grown up swimming in the Rio Verde, it had seemed magical and romantic. There had been floating candles and little paper boats, and then afterward, she and Casey had…
It had been too long since she’d been laid.
Carmen joined her at the window. “So that’s where the magic happened, huh? By the pool?”
“Well, not right by the pool,” Jessica said. She pointed to the right, where a fire pit blazed. “There used to be a thick clump of palm trees. Casey had laid out a blanket.” The blush crept in. “We had a bottle of champagne he’d lifted from the Château’s restaurant.”
She’d never tasted champagne before. The bubbles had made her sneeze.
“That’s so romantic.” Carmen sighed. Then she grinned. “But was the sex awful? The first time is usually nothing to write home about.”
A couple sat down on the lounge in front of the fire pit and snuggled.
“No, it was actually nice. I mean, I didn’t have a mind-blowing orgasm. Or any orgasm. I doubt I even knew what one was. But Casey was sweet and took his time…”
Her voice faded as the memory took over. Casey had more than taken his time. He’d explored her body with intense curiosity and a blush-rendering thoroughness. All of the things that had been only hinted at during make-out sessions on the couch or in the back row of the movie theater had come to fruition.
Later, as they’d lain in the shadows of the palms in the moonlight, he’d confessed it had been his first time. And that he loved her.
Jess, you’re my first. And I want you to be my last. Promise we’ll be together forever.
She’d promised.
She turned away from the window. It was time to let it go. She’d paid her respects to Mavis. She’d seen a few friends, and it had been pleasant. Now she just had to lie low at the Château—harder than if they’d stayed at the Big Verde Motor Inn—and visit the lawyer on Monday.
“Are you going to see him again?” Carmen asked.
“I don’t think so. I went into the ladies’ room, and when I came out, people said he’d taken off. Something about cattle being loose on the highway.”
“Lame,” Carmen said.
“Well, not really,” Jessica said, feeling suddenly defensive. “That’s actually a dangerous situation.”
Carmen snorted. “If you say so.”
Jessica had been bitterly disappointed by Casey’s hasty departure. There was so much she’d wanted to ask him, but what would be the point? It was probably best to hide out the rest of the weekend.
As if reading her mind, Carmen said, “So are we allowed to leave the premises of the hotel this weekend? Or are we trapped here while you hide from Sheriff Long?”
“Which Sheriff Long would you be referring to?” Jessica asked. “The Sheriff Long who pulled me over this morning? Or the former Sheriff Long who happens to be Hope’s daddy? Because I’m hiding from them both.”
“Sheriff Long is my daddy?”
Carmen gasped. Jessica’s throat closed up. They both turned to face Hope, who stood in the doorway. How long had she been there?
* * *
Casey sat on a fancy chair that was too small for his large frame and stared into his beer. He was dazed. The clinking plates, laughter, and conversations around him were muted, as if he wore earmuffs.
One funeral reception should have been enough. But now he had to suffer through a private family gathering at the Village Château. Mavis would have hated all the fuss.
Someone poked him in the arm. “You all right, pardner?”
JD gazed at him with concern.
“I’m just sad about Aunt Mavis,” Casey said, but really, he was completely distracted with thoughts of Jessica. He’d had to leave the fellowship hall without even saying good-bye, much less getting any answers.
“Liar,” JD said.
“Pardon?”
“It’s not Mavis you’re missing.”
“Why are you even here? This is a private gathering for family only,” Casey said. “And I am sad about Mavis.”
“I know you are. But that’s not why you’re moping around. And I think we’re related in some way or other.”
He was not moping. Although seeing as how he was crammed into this chair in a corner, staring out the window with a warm beer in one hand and a plate of untouched food in the other, he could see how a fella might think he was.
Dammit. It had been twelve years. He should be over this teenage shit by now. But seeing Jess had brought on a rush of emotions he couldn’t quite sort out. They’d talked about getting married, for Christ’s sake. She’d just needed to get her mama to come around. Then they were going to live happily ever after. Stupid teenage stuff.
But it had seemed real.
He took a sip of beer but had trouble getting it to go down.
“Unless there are two red Porsches in Big Verde, she’s right here at the Village Château,” JD said.
Casey’s heart sped up. “Are you sure? I figured she’d
gone back to Houston right after the funeral.”
“I didn’t hear her say she was going to do that,” JD said. “I heard you ask her if she was sticking around long, and she said she wasn’t. That’s pretty vague. Maybe she’s heading back tomorrow.”
Casey’s heart started pounding again. Like nearly out of his chest.
“I think I’ll head to the bar for a drink,” he said.
You could see the lobby of the hotel from the restaurant’s bar. She’d have to come down eventually, even if it was tomorrow morning…
“There’s an open bar right here,” JD said with a grin, nodding at the bartender doling out booze in the corner of the room. “But you go do whatever it is you’ve got to do.”
Chapter Six
Jessica sat at the bar, sipping a margarita and trying to catch a buzz. After settling Hope down, she’d asked Carmen what the hell she was supposed to do now. And Carmen had said, “Get drunk.”
Normally, she’d have blown that off and set herself about fixing everything. But these were not normal times.
So here she sat.
It had been a huge mistake to bring Hope to Big Verde. Carmen was right. Nobody was coming to take anybody away. She should have let her stay with Carmen in Houston. But the last thing her mom had said was Take care of Hope.
Her mom. She’d die all over again if she knew Jessica had blabbed about Wade Long being Hope’s father right in front of Hope! Maybe Hope would forget about it.
She caught the bartender’s eye and raised her empty glass. He nodded and began measuring ingredients into the blender.
Hope wouldn’t forget about it.
She’d been so excited and confused by what she’d heard that she couldn’t even eat her dinner. And Hope lived for food.
Carmen had gone on and on about how good it was—which meant it was really good—while Hope had asked a million questions.
Carmen: This fried Brie is to die for!
Hope: But where is my daddy?
Jessica: He’s not really your dad—
Carmen: Did you taste the sauerbraten?
Hope: Will he buy me a doll?
Jessica had felt too sick to eat. How could she explain to an eleven-year-old that her “daddy” had used his power and privilege to coerce a woman into a sexual relationship? And that when the relationship resulted in a pregnancy, he’d threatened to have her deported.
Her mom had sworn her to secrecy. And Jessica had understood the importance of cooperation. It didn’t need to be spelled out for her. If Wade Long alerted the authorities, her pregnant mom would have been forced to leave the country.
While sobbing, she’d written a letter to Casey.
Dear Casey,
Something horrible has happened and my mom and I have to move to Houston. I will write you when I get there, so you can come find me. I’m having to sneak this in the mail. THIS IS TOP SECRET. Do not tell a soul!
I love you. We’ll be together again soon.
Jessica
She’d put a stamp on it and dropped it in a box in a strip mall when they’d stopped for fast food.
Two weeks later, she’d dropped another letter in the mail. Begging him to call. Hang up if my mom answers! I love you, Casey. Come find me.
Three more letters. Come find me! Casey, why aren’t you answering?
He never did. Her mom said all Long men were horrible. They took what they wanted and discarded you. Jessica hadn’t believed it at first.
With time though…
She sighed, worrying about Hope. How could she explain this? Hope’s tendency to fixate on things meant she repeated herself endlessly. And this was one thing nobody wanted to hear. Carmen had taken her swimming again in the hopes of distracting her. She’ll forget all about it after some ice cream and a swim.
Only she wouldn’t. And Jessica knew it.
The bartender set her second margarita in front of her. She decided to go for the guzzle. She sucked up about a third of the frosty beverage through the straw, and then grimaced and grabbed her head because (a) brain freeze and (b) Casey had just walked into the bar.
What the hell was he doing here? She grabbed her glass—she wasn’t abandoning her margarita—and slunk off the barstool. But she couldn’t escape with him standing in the doorway. A large potted tree caught her eye. Maybe she’d hide behind that until Casey moved and she could make a run for it.
Their eyes met. She probably looked like a deer caught in headlights.
The tension Casey had carried in his shoulders since he’d first walked into the bar seemed to seep away. And then he smiled.
It made her gasp. Seeing a smile spread across Casey Long’s otherwise stern and stoic face was like seeing a vibrant flower in the middle of the desert (and thinking it had bloomed just for you). It warmed every single inch of her body except for the fingers wrapped around the frozen margarita. Actually, they felt warm too. And she became even warmer—and a bit tingly—as Casey made a beeline for her.
Why hadn’t she put on any lipstick? She looked down at her feet. Flip-flops! Although she’d have looked silly wearing anything else with her cutoff shorts and Hello Kitty T-shirt. What had she been thinking when she came down here like this? Her mother would have been mortified.
It’s important to look our best. People judge.
Boy, did they ever. Especially in small towns.
“Tell me you weren’t about to dodge behind a potted plant,” Casey said with a grin.
* * *
Shit, she was cute. Would she deny that she’d been making a run for the plant? Or would she own it?
“There goes my life as a super-secret agent,” she said with a shrug.
She owned it.
“You don’t have to hide from me, you know,” he said. It hurt that she wanted to, but he understood. It was awkward. So much time had passed…
Yet, as he looked into her big brown eyes, it hardly felt like it. Hair in a ponytail, shorts, and a T-shirt; he recognized this girl. Hell, if she put on a cheerleading outfit and went out onto the field tonight, nobody would even question it.
He swallowed. Thinking about Jess in a cheerleading outfit was making it difficult to form words into a sentence, and he had enough difficulty with that as it was.
“I wasn’t hiding from you, per se. I just figured all the locals would be at the football game tonight and it would be safe to come down dressed like…” She looked down at her gorgeous tanned legs. “This.”
She held out a foot and a flip-flop with ribbons tied all over it dangled from her toes.
“That’s high fashion for Big Verde. And tonight’s an away game. Folks don’t necessarily want to drive all the way to Smithville to cheer the Giants on to their eighty-seventh straight loss.”
“Fair weather fans,” Jessica said.
She’d cheered her little heart out for those Giants once, all while stealing sideways glances at Casey while he stood along the fence with his ragtag group of rodeo pals. He remembered trying to act cool when his friends wanted to leave, pretending to care about the pathetic football game when all he really cared about was seeing Jessica do one of her famous split jumps.
Those legs. Could she still do the splits?
“I lost interest in football when a certain cheerleader moved away,” he said. “But I’m here tonight for a family celebration of Aunt Mavis. It’s in the hospitality suite.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! Don’t you need to be getting back?”
“She would have hated the fuss,” he said.
Jessica nodded in agreement.
Casey was missing something. He just knew it. But he didn’t have a clue as to what. “Want to go for a walk?” he blurted.
He was desperate to not let her out of his sight. When he thought she’d left earlier, damn it, he was eighteen again. Eighteen and heartbroken. Ready to put out an APB to track her ass down.
She wouldn’t stay forever. But right now, he could barely think beyond the current moment. And in the curre
nt moment, he needed to touch her. A strand of hair had conveniently escaped her ponytail, and he gently tucked it behind her ear.
Jessica licked her bottom lip and trailed her eyes down the front of his dress shirt. She looked very much as if she was imagining what might be underneath it, and the odds of her finding out were increasing, since he suddenly felt warm. Every damn inch of him might as well be on fire, just from the heat of her eyes.
He tried not to look as if he might be doing the same to her, but it was hard. He’d already noted all the things about her that were familiar, but he was dying to discover the ways in which she’d changed. And not just physically (although she did still look cute enough for a cheerleading outfit). The way her eyes continued to roam his body indicated the years had given her confidence. And he liked the way it looked on her.
“Well?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and holding out his hand. “How about that walk? You can keep your drink; we won’t leave the property.”
Jessica nodded, as if she’d made her decision. Then she took the straw between her lips, and while never taking her eyes off his, she sucked down the rest of her margarita.
“Hold on there. You’re going to get a—”
She winced and shut her eyes. “Brain freeze,” she said. “I know.”
With a satisfied sigh, she set her empty glass on a nearby table, and took his hand. When her fingers touched his, every hair on his body stood up, as if lightning were about to strike him dead.
Chapter Seven
Was she really holding Casey Long’s hand?
She wanted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Or slap herself in order to wake up. Or maybe just slap herself because holy cow they were heading out the French doors toward the pool, where Hope and Carmen were swimming.
Dang!
“Pardon?”
She’d said it out loud.
Casey looked at her quizzically.
Jessica could see Hope paddling around under the waterfall. She turned, forcing Casey to look away from the pool. Luckily, they were in the shadow of the corner of the building, where Hope and Carmen probably wouldn’t spot them.
Being spotted would be disastrous. Not only would Carmen embarrass Jessica by making hubba-hubba eyes and giving thumbs-ups and God only knows what else, but there was a good chance Hope would accost him with Hi! Are you my daddy?
