His response was to kiss me. “I need to go. I’ll call you later.”
“Maybe I’ll answer.”
Carter chuckled and walked out the door.
“So?” Mom showed up again, fast enough to indicate she’d probably been listening from the dining room. She put the the vase of flowers on the kitchen table and faced me. “When did that start?”
I sighed. “Less than a week ago.”
“Have a seat, honey. Let’s talk.” She took one herself and smiled. “Your dad’s keeping everyone outside for a bit.”
I sat down and dropped my forehead to my palm. “I don’t really know what to tell you. I’m still not entirely sure what’s going on.”
“Start at the beginning and we’ll sort it out from there.”
I filled her in on the meeting at the club and our week so far, leaving out a few of the more graphic parts.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Yeah.”
“It’s really about time.”
I raised my head. “What?”
Mom chuckled. “Honey, you’ve loved each other forever. I knew you’d have to find your way back to each other eventually.”
“Didn’t know psychic was in your wheelhouse,” I grumbled.
“Don’t need to be a psychic to know you’re meant for each other, but if you want me to be more fabulous than I am, I’m good with that.”
I giggled and then groaned. “I don’t know why he’s here.”
“Aw, honey, he’s here for you.” She patted my arm. “And he’s making that fact known in a pretty major way.”
“How’s that?”
“Cass, he hasn’t been home in seven years. Not once. Do you know what that’s done to his mom?”
“I can imagine.” I frowned. “But they’re still talking, right? Jaxon said they were.”
“I think so.”
I frowned. “But you don’t know?”
“Honey, it’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it for me,” I said.
“Sheila and I haven’t talked in almost as long as Carter’s been gone.”
“What?” I gasped. “Why not? You were amazing friends.”
“Well, I certainly thought we were, but she showed her true colors after he went off to the Air Force, and quite frankly, I didn’t need the drama.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“Because you didn’t need to be roped into her craziness, honey. It had nothing to do with you after all.”
I sighed. “So, how do you know he never came home.”
“Aidan kept me updated. He keeps in touch.” Mom smiled. “Carter’s been to the beach once I guess, but other than that, nothing… until now.” Mom smiled. “So, he’s announcing to the world… at least our small one… that you’re his and he’s claiming you.”
“Ohmigod, Mom, he is not.”
“Yeah, honey, he is. Mark my words.” She smiled. “Now, go read or swim or whatever you want. Mav’s happy, so you get to rest.”
“I don’t even know what that means anymore.”
Mom laughed. “I remember, honey.”
I grabbed my Kindle, but before I let myself relax, I went in search of Mia. She was in her room, throwing things from her suitcase into her dresser.
“Hey, can we talk?” I asked from the doorway.
“Oh, we do that still?”
“Mia,” I sighed. “Babe, this all happened like three days ago.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Hand to God,” I said, and raised my hand. “Saturday, actually, so what’s that? Six? I just happened to be at a party and he was there. I did text you on Sunday, but you didn’t respond.”
“Well, if you’d said the great Carter Quinn was sniffin’ after your panties, I might have.”
Mia was always colorful with her words. “Um… gross.”
She giggled and threw her suitcase into her closet. “Well, I would have.”
“It wasn’t something I wanted to text bomb you with. I figured if you had time, you’d respond and if not, I’d talk to you this weekend.”
She sat on her bed and patted the mattress. “Assume the position.”
I grabbed a pillow and we laid down facing each other.
“So, he was at a party. Details.”
I filled her in on everything… and I mean everything. There really wasn’t anything I kept from big sister Mia.
“Holy shit, Cass. The man finally pulled his head out of his ass? I don’t believe it.”
“Mia, I’m really the one to blame here.”
“Bullshit.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay, well, we both have culpability in this and he’s apologized, I’ve apologized, and we are making a conscious effort to move forward. I’ve missed him, Mia.”
“I know you have, honey.” She smiled. “He went and got fuckin’ huge.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Big dick?”
“Mia!” I knew I was beet red.
“What? It’s a logical question. Did him getting bigger increase or decrease the size of his cock?”
“How would I know?”
“What do you mean? You haven’t seen it?”
I rolled onto my back and ran my hands down my face with a groan. “Ohmigod, Mia. No, I haven’t seen it.”
“I’d have hoisted my sail up that mast and sailed the seven seas, or twelve. Let’s go with twelve.”
“Ohmigod.” I giggled. “It’ll happen. I just want to take it slow.”
“Then fast, then slow again.”
“Mia!”
She giggled as well and then took my hand. “He better do it right, Sass.”
“He will. Now if I could just get him to quit telling me we’re getting married and put some kind of effort into asking me, we’d be good.”
“He’s talking marriage?”
I rolled to face her again. “He’s talking, let’s go down to the courthouse and take care of the legalities.”
“Romantic.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Douche.”
“Don’t call him a douche. He’s not a douche.” I smiled. “He’s up to something.”
“Oh really?”
I nodded. “Yep, he’s just seeing if I’ll blink first.”
“Don’t blink, Sass.”
“Bitch, please. I don’t blink.”
Mia giggled. “There’s hope for you yet.”
“God, I hope so.” I squeezed her hand. “Can I go read now? I need a time out from my adorable but very busy little boy.”
“I will go spend some time in the pool with my niece and nephews and let you and Shannon go on time out.”
“This is why we love you best.”
Mia slid off the bed. “Don’t you forget it.”
I stayed where I was and powered up my Kindle. Mia’s bed was more comfortable than mine anyway.
MAVERICK CRASHED AT about eight, which suited me just fine. He’d been nonstop all day and had tired himself out, as did my niece and nephew, which meant I got some quality time with my family without kids.
I headed up to my room about ten and found several texts from Carter on my phone. I’d left it on my dresser, partly on purpose, partly because I’d forgotten to retrieve it after my shower. Instead of texting him back, I called.
“Hey, baby,” he said, sounding breathless.
“Hi, honey, you okay?”
“Was just finishing a run.”
I slid my watch off. “Want to call me back?”
“Hell, no. I’ve missed your voice. Just give me a minute to cool down.”
“Okay.” I grinned. “I talked to Mia. Everything’s good.”
“I wasn’t worried, babe.”
“Well, I was,” I countered.
He chuckled. “You worry too much, Cass.”
“Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean no one’s following me.”
“Yeah, but I’m following them, so I got you, baby.”
“Well, there is
that.” I smiled. “Are you really out running?”
“Treadmill.”
“At ten o’clock at night?”
“Baby, you’re not here, so I had to work off some pent up energy.”
I bit my lip… hard.
“Babe, you there?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice husky. “I was just imagining how you might work off that pent up energy in other ways.”
“I’m coming over.”
“I don’t know if I feel up to working off anything in my parents’ house, Carter,” I whispered.
“As much as that sucks, I agree with you, but I am gonna come say goodnight,” he said. “Do I have to climb the tree?”
I giggled. “Do you want to climb the tree?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“I’ll meet you on the porch, then.”
“I’ll grab a shower and be there in a few.”
“Okay, honey.”
I hung up and headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and freshen up a bit. I still had no makeup on and my hair was in a messy bun due to doing nothing all day. I combed it out, then pinched my cheeks for a little color rather than putting makeup on. I’d just have to take it off again, and quite frankly, I couldn’t be bothered.
Carter texted me to let me know he was on his way, so I checked on Maverick who was sleeping soundly and then slipped out of the house. It was rather cool, so I grabbed a blanket and sat on the porch swing to wait for him.
“Hey, baby,” he said as he jogged up the steps. His hair was still damp, but he smelled delicious as he leaned down to kiss me.
“Hi.”
He sat next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “Missed you today.”
“Me too.” I smiled up at him. “How’d it all go after you left here?”
“Fine.”
“Fine, good, or fine, meh?”
He sighed. “Babe, I’m gonna say somethin’ and then you need to drop it.”
I pushed away from him and sat up. “Well, that sounds crappy.”
“The shit I’m dealin’ with with my family has nothin’ to do with you. I know you think you’ve caused a rift or some shit like that, but it’s not true.”
“So your mom doesn’t blame me for you leaving?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me,” I said, and stood. “How can we make a life together if your parents’ hate me?”
“They don’t hate you, Cass.”
I crossed my arms. “Let me tell you a little secret about boys and their mamas. We are viscious when someone hurts them and I can guarantee that your mother sees me as the enemy in regards to you… especially, because I took you away from her.”
He smiled and rose to his feet. “Baby, you didn’t take me away from her. And my mom might be working some shit out in her head, but she does not hate you. But even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. I choose you and I will every time. She knows that.”
Well, that was seriously nice.
“She does?” I whispered.
“Yeah, honey, she does.” He pulled me into his arms and gave me a gentle squeeze. “I love you, Cassidy. It’s always been you.”
“I kinda love you too.”
He chuckled and I dropped my head back to smile up at him. He covered my lips with his as I stood on my tiptoes and opened my mouth, touching my tongue to his and deepening the kiss. Breaking the kiss, he cupped my face and stroked my cheek. “I can’t wait to wake up with you every morning.”
I grinned. “You think that’ll happen?”
“Hell, yeah, it’ll happen. I still say we head to the courthouse sooner than later.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Why am I an idiot?” he challenged.
I pulled away from him, but he held tight. “The fact you don’t know why just happens to drive home that you are.”
“I’m gonna wear you down, Cassidy, you’ll see.”
I rolled my eyes. “How long are you staying?”
“Tonight or this weekend?”
“This weekend,” I clarified.
“I’m driving home with you.”
“What?”
“You let me know when you’re ready to go and I’ll drive home.”
“What about your truck… or bike, or whatever you drove down with?”
He smiled. “I came with Jaxon. He’s leaving on Monday.”
I dropped my cheek to his chest. “Are you telling me that you came down this weekend because of me and that I don’t have to drive all the way home by myself?”
Carter chuckled. “Yeah, baby, that’s what I’m telling you.”
I squeezed his middle. “Sometimes, Carter Quinn, I love you so much I think I might explode.”
He laughed and kissed my head. “Well, don’t do that… it’s messy.”
I grinned and nodded.
“You gonna make out with me a little more before I have to leave?”
Smiling up at him, I licked my lips. “Um, duh.”
He led me back to the swing and the make out session commenced.
* * *
Ace left Cassidy an hour later and walked home. He arrived to find his mother in the kitchen, surprised to see she was still awake. “What are you doing up?” he asked, kissing her cheek.
“Waiting for you,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because you’re making a mistake and I don’t want to watch it happen again.”
He braced himself. “And what mistake would that be?”
“You taking up with Cassidy Dennis again.”
Ace frowned as he sat at the island. “Mom, you need to quit with all of this.”
“I’m just trying to understand what this new obsession with you is.” She crossed her arms and faced him, leaning against the sink. “We never see you… you haven’t been home in almost a decade, haven’t even been to the beach house in more than two years, and now you’re suddenly here?”
“I’m here, Mom, I thought you’d be happy about it.”
“I am happy about it, honey. What I’m concerned about is you disappearing again. We’ve seen you twice in the last year and that’s because we came to Portland. Before that it was once in two years.”
“I’m not gonna disappear, Mom.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” She frowned. “She took you away from me and then Aidan followed because he does whatever you do, including “protecting” the crazy Cassidy Dennis. I can’t help but think it’ll happen again.”
“First of all, she’s not crazy, and if you say that again, I’m out of here for good. Second, she didn’t take me away from anyone, Mom—”
“She got pregnant with another man’s baby, Carter, what would you call it?”
“Be very careful how you proceed, Mom,” he warned. “Cassidy was young and she made a mistake, but I could have easily made the same one and you know it. Regardless of her getting pregnant, though. She’s not the reason I left. I left because of my career.”
“You left because she broke you.”
“Damn it, Mom, I did not!” he snapped.
“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” Jaxon asked as he walked into the kitchen.
“Nothing, Jax,” their mom said.
Jaxon sat next to Ace at the island. “Where’s Dad?”
“Asleep.”
“Is that why you’re yellin’ at Carter?” Jaxon pressed.
“I’m not yelling at anyone.”
“Kinda sounds like you’re yellin’ at Carter.”
She jabbed a finger between the brothers. “You two better not gang up on me or we’re going to have a problem.”
“Mom,” Ace said with a sigh. “No one’s gangin’ up on you, but you need to hear me on somethin’ because I’m not gonna keep goin’ around and around on this subject. Cassidy’s gonna be part of this family one day… if I had my way, it’d be tomorrow, but she’s making me wait and I think it might have something to do with you and your opin
ion of her. So, you need to fix it. If you don’t want to fix it, that’s your choice, but you want me in your life, you will love my girl and mean it, because if you don’t, I’m gone.”
His mother gasped and threw her hands in the air. “See?”
“See what, Mom?” Ace challenged.
“She’s taking you away from me again.”
“Fuck me, woman, I can’t talk to you right now.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me that way,” she warned.
Ace took a deep breath. “Mom, I love you. I will always love you, but you’re not hearing what I’m telling you. I am the reason Cassidy did what she did. This whole fucked up situation is on me and I will do anything to fix it because I love her. I have always loved her. She’s it for me and you know it. Whether you choose to believe my reasons for leaving and staying away or not, those reasons have nothing to do with Cassidy and more to do with me workin’ shit out. I’m going to marry her and I’m going to adopt her little boy because in my heart he’s mine and he always will be. You either get on board with this and make them both feel loved or we’re done.” He crossed his arms. “By the way, what happened to the letters I asked you to forward to her.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“You didn’t send them, did you?”
She had the good sense to lower her head.
“Where are they?” he demanded.
“I threw them away.”
“Fuck me,” he growled. “I’m going for a walk.”
He walked out of the house and stamped down his anger. Cassidy was right and he hated that she was right, more because the thought of her feeling unloved was beyond him. Shit!
He pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text before heading Cassidy’s way.
I HEARD THE buzz of my cell phone and set my Kindle aside. I couldn’t imagine who would be texting me at midnight other than Carter, but we’d just seen each other, so hopefully, something wasn’t wrong.
*Open your window, babe*
I frowned and slid out of bed, pushing open the window and peering into the dark.
“Cass?” Carter whispered.
“I’m here,” I whispered back. “What are you doing?”
“Comin’ up, give me a sec.”
I shook my head and stepped back from the window, forcing down a groan as I watched Carter shimmy his way out onto the large branch closest to my window and swing into my room with a thud. “Fuck me, that’s harder than I remember.”
Road to Absolution Page 9
