Red Velvet: A BBW Romance (The Cass Chronicles Book 5)

by Susannah Shannon

  The Trio Transgression

  It was early, too early even for Killian to be awake. Cass was miserable. She was hung over. The mulled wine had crept up on her She gingerly moved to the kitchen. She didn’t want coffee. She wanted a cold coke. Dammit, there were none in the fridge. She wanted one enough that she slipped on Killian's boots (they were by the door) and took the afghan off of the sofa in the family room, and looking remarkably like a color blind hillbilly, set off to the new hall. The large fridges there housed the soft drinks. Trudging past the cottage where Isabelle was staying she could hear quiet music still being played. She smiled to herself at the loveliness of it. She knew perhaps better than anyone just how romantic Slick Trench could be. Being as quiet as she could, she crept up the steps to the door and silently entered the new hall. She didn't turn any lights on. Turning into the kitchen, she immediately tripped over a couple asleep entwined in each other's arms in a sleeping bag on the floor. All three of them yelled some variation of “Oh My God.” Cass scrambled up and hit the light. And then immediately flipped it off. Ben and Virginia were both very, very naked. Ben began to explain, he was sharing a cottage and… Cass held up a hand to stop him, a gesture of limited efficacy since they were in the dark. “No, look. It’s none of my business. Just don't worry. I’m getting a coke and then I'm leaving.” Her decision not to leave without a coke was indicative of how much she needed one. She resolutely reached for the wall and felt her way along to the door to the walk in fridge. Taking no chances, she grabbed a six-pack and hurried out.

  “Jesus,” she thought, “did everyone get laid last night?” She immediately tamped down that line of thought since she already knew way more than she wanted to about Hazel’s marriage.

  Cass swilled her coke and took a few Tylenol. She meant to lie down for just a few minutes, but before she knew it Killian was waking her up. Admittedly, the flat of his tongue on her inner thigh was the nicest possible alarm clock. She moaned with pleasure and opened her legs. How did she get so fucking lucky she thought—a husband who loved going down on her as much as he loved spanking her bottom scarlet. She was still foggy as they made love. Even through her post mulled wine haze the raw power of the man was unmistakable. He rode her hard and kissed her gently and the combination set her on fire. They caught their breath in each other's arms. If that orgasm had not gotten her totally awake, a shower didn't have a chance. She took one anyway. Killian was already dressed and gone by the time she emerged from the steamy bathroom. There was a timid knock on their apartment door. Cass opened it to a Virginia that was avoiding her eye. “Ben—I mean the camera crew—said you would need make up this morning.”

  That was undoubtedly true. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Virginia, please, please don't be embarrassed.”

  “I don't usually do things like that.”

  Cass patted her on the arm. “Well, if you are gonna—Ben is definitely worth doing it with.”

  Virginia smiled. “Hell to the YES,” she whispered. With Virginia in charge of her she ended up with a made up face that looked makeup free and glossy hair twisted into some sort of prettier than Cass could have done, ponytail.

  Groups of guests came in for breakfast in waves. Cass put out baskets of muffins, huckleberry swirl, and pumpkin gingerbread. There was also bacon and hash browns. Cass had to swallow hard to make the eggs to order. Something about the runny yolks caused the bile to gather at the back of her throat. They were going skiing today. Hazel poured coffee. “You aren't skiing are you?” she asked the groom.

  He nodded that yes he was. “I haven't done it much.” His look towards Amelia and Chelsea made Cass sad. She had no doubt that they were excellent skiers.

  Hazel was made of sterner stuff though. “That's the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she proclaimed loudly. “I have been hoping since I heard who you are that you would teach me to snowboard.” Cass wasn't sure if she should laugh or groan. She had no doubt that Hazel would give it the old college try. She also had no doubt that she could end up with the old college broken hip.

  “Is there a good hill nearby?” Jacko asked. There was, but it was essentially opposite the woods that had the paths that were perfect for cross-country skiing.

  Chelsea interjected. “You should snowboard. I’ll ski with my parents and then come find you.”

  “I will snowboard,” Isabelle put in. Cass wondered if she was hoping that a certain muscle bound drywaller might be joining them.

  “We’ll do fondue afterwards,” Cass added.

  Chelsea anticipated what her mother was going to say. “NO. No, no, no. We don't need a rehearsal. We just don't.” She was firm.

  Amelia was not convinced. “Do you even know what you're going to say?” she asked pointedly.

  Chelsea was unbowed. “Of course we do. We wrote them ourselves and sent them to the minister weeks ago.”

  Amelia ignored this. “At the very least I need to hear the musicians. What time do they arrive?”

  Chelsea appeared to brace herself. “Okay, now, Mom, stay calm—”

  Amelia raised an eyebrow. “I always stay calm.” Cass didn't doubt that; she couldn't imagine Amelia losing control. That didn't make her any less scary.

  Chelsea seemed to hesitate. “There’s a storm and the strings trio couldn't make their flight to Homer.”

  “A storm where?”

  “Ummm, I don't know, wherever they were.”

  “This is ridiculous, what’s the number of their manager?” Amelia had her cell phone out. Chelsea looked anxious, Cass would be too, if her mother was about to split open and roast alive a trio of classical musicians.

  The ambassador, who had been closely watching his women folk, rose. “Let me do it, sweetheart—you have plenty to worry about.” He strode outside and they could see him on his phone as he walked along the path.

  Chelsea turned to Cass and shakily asked, “Could I have a drink?” Cass beckoned her to follow into the family room. She led the suddenly very nervous bride to the bar. Chelsea filled a short glass with ice and poured a slosh of vodka over it. She opened the jar of olives, popped two into her mouth and downed the clear liquor. She jumped when the front door shut.

  Amelia’s raised voice reached them. “I can't even believe that!”

  Chelsea hesitated and then poured herself another slosh, she drank it in one fast motion and seemed to square her shoulders. Cass followed her back into the kitchen. Amelia was pacing. Ed looked at his daughter. “I told your mother the way it is.”

  Chelsea gave a sharp nod. The ambassador continued, “There’s nothing that can be done. The trio is stranded in South Carolina.”

  Chelsea was silent for a moment. “Right,” she said hesitantly. “That’s right—they were in South Carolina.”

  “And I was telling your father, that surely we could get them here, somehow.”

  Hazel shook her head. “The ferry left Homer a few minutes ago. That’s the only one today. If they aren't on it—they won't be here in time.”

  Amelia was livid. “I knew it wouldn't work out with him in charge of things.”

  “Him?” asked Chelsea. Recognition gleamed in her eye. “You told Jacko to hire the trio.”

  Her mother glared at her. “Of course, do you really think he has that kind of taste on his own?” The door opened and a number of guests sauntered in looking for breakfast. This redirected Amelia's fury, but did not abate it. She turned to Cass. “You said we were having fondue. Can I assume that you mean a proper fondue?”

  Cass was ready for this question, although she hadn't expected it to be couched in those exact terms. “Well, if you're asking me if my recipe is like they make in Switzerland, not exactly. A true, she used her hands to put air quotes around true, fondue has kirsch in it. And I’m making one with aged white cheddar.”

  “So you could have answered that in one syllable—NO, it's not real fondue.”

  Cass needed to tread carefully here, she hadn't seen Ben, but chances are he and his fu
cking camera were somewhere nearby. “Most Americans think that kirsch tastes like cough syrup.” Apparently, Cass’s intention to tread lightly didn't go very far.

  “What would you know about truly excellent food?” the elegant succubus snapped.

  Kimberly came to the rescue, she moved close to Amelia looked her up and down carefully and said, “You haven't lost an ounce, and with the ice skating, and walking you’ve needed at least 3,000 calories to maintain your frame. So our girl here, clearly knows a thing or two about excellent tucker.” Cass could have kissed her.

  Chelsea got a phone call and excused herself into the hall. After a few minutes she was upset enough that her voice carried over the awkward chatter of guests who all knew that the mother of the bride was on the warpath.

  “Is it too late to change it back? That was exactly what I wanted… All right, I appreciate that. See what you can do. Thank you.” Chelsea was back in the kitchen in a millisecond and it suddenly became clear that her mother had passed on more than just her symmetrical features and her blonde hair. “I cannot believe you called the florist to change my order.”

  “I did no such thing.” Amelia sniffed. “Although, there is no question that what you had in mind was vulgar and cheap.”

  “Why are you even trying to deny it?” Chelsea yelled.

  “Young lady, you watch your tone. I said I did not contact the florist, and I did not.”

  Jacko laid a hand on his fiancée’s arm. “Babe, it was me.”

  “You? Why? What the hell is going on with you lately?”

  “I want it to be perfect for you.”

  “What we picked out was perfect.”

  Jacko, for the first time that Cass had ever seen looked uncomfortable in his own skin. “I don't want you to think you could have done better.”

  “Well, if you are trying to figure out what I really want don't ask HER,” she said with venom, gesturing to her mother. “She thinks Isabelle should be a lawyer!”

  “Was I wrong about your education?” her furious mother spit back.

  “No, you weren’t. But it was what I wanted, too. You are dead wrong about my sister.”

  The ambassador deftly calmed the situation down. He raised his coffee cup. “A toast to the friends and family who love us enough to not hold our wedding nerves against us!”

  Everyone chuckled. There was a lot that Amelia and Chelsea wanted to say to each other, but Ed had reminded them of their audience. Killian rubbed his hands briskly together, “Let’s get out in that white stuff!”

  They split into two groups, the skiers and the snowboarders. Libby and Torsten were guiding a group of moderately experienced skiers through the woods. The ambassador and Amelia were going to strike out on their own. No one raised an objection, their abilities were in no doubt. Cass found herself hoping that Killian was wrong about the unlikeliness of anyone becoming a wolf’s lunch. Although she just as sincerely hoped that the ambassador wouldn't be the entree. Cass decided that since she could do neither, she was safer where Amelia wasn’t. So she joined the snowboarders.

  She was not pleased with the way her ski pants and jacket looked on her, a sort of fuchsia stay-puft marshmallow man. As they all trudged their way to the hill, Jacko and Chelsea came abreast of her. She was pleased to see that they were holding hands. A breakup would not bode well for her series. Jacko said, “I need to apologize, for being a lunatic.”

  Cass laughed. “It’s okay. My pleasure.”

  “How bad was he?” asked Chelsea.

  “Only a little,” Cass fibbed.

  Chelsea looked at him with pure adoration. “He had this crazy idea that he isn't good enough for me.” She shook her head in amazement.

  Jacko, gestured to his lady love. “Not so crazy, look at her.” As if on cue a perfect snow of big fat flakes began to fall.

  “This is going to be the most perfect wedding, ever,” the bride said.

  The darling couple kissed in the snow. “It is—it totally is,” said Chelsea. While people were picking their snowboards, Hazel and Lloyd arrived on snow machines. Killian had come out earlier with the snow plow and had plowed and packed some snow into a ramp at the foot of the hill. The Nelson matriarch insisted Jacko gave them a demonstration.

  “Wheels are my thing—not snow,” he said and then came whipping down the hill and at the last minute executed a tight turn and grabbing the snowboard spun around three times before landing and continuing down the hill. He launched off the ramp and flipped head over heels and then coasted to a stop. Everyone cheered. The others moved up the hill and tried to follow his example. Most of them sucked. There was no nicer way to put it. Hazel was a good sport, and was doing her best to follow Jacko’s instructions. “Bend your knees, lean forward. No shoulders further back.”

  They walked partway up the hill, and Hazel stepped onto the board and succeeded in staying on the board all the way to the foot of the hill. “Way to go, Hazel!” cheered Cass. She had no intention of even trying. A cast would make cooking the menu that even Jacko now realized was spectacular, impossible. She stood next to Jacko’s parents and watched. With everyone bundled up, it wasn't always easy to tell at a distance who was who. When a man the size of a minivan came blazing down the hill and sailed over the ramp of snow, there was no question who it was. “He is incredibly athletic,” Cass said to Kim.

  “Too right, probably has an unusually high proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers as well as an unusually dense skeletal structure.”

  “Yeah, that is just what i was thinking…”

  “Although, let's be frank, he is so big he looks like a flying rhinoceros.” Leslie added.

  Danny had taken his helmet off and was offering to help Isabelle. “I think I can figure it out,” the cello player said and then zigged and zagged between the people standing on the hill. Danny was clearly delighted with everything about Isabelle. Watching Chelsea and Jacko, and Danny and Isabelle made the afternoon perfect. She doubted they could end up as happy as she was, but they had a chance of getting close.

  Cass noticed people on top of the hill pointing first. Only when she turned around did she see the skier moving at impressive speed towards them. She could hear the swish swish of the skis on the snow. There was something worrisome about the way the skier was moving. When the skier got a bit closer, it was clear that it was Amelia, and that something was very wrong. Cass wasn't sure why, but she began running towards her. Other people apparently had the same idea, since snowboarders came swooping down the hill. They got to Amelia before Cass did, but Amelia’s voice carried on the icy air. “It’s Ed. His arm is broken and maybe his neck. I can’t get him up. He can’t even move.”

  Killian asked, “Where?”

  “We were on the number three path, right by the sixth marker.” Cass was impressed, she would never have thought to ascertain their exact whereabouts if she had just seen Killian seriously hurt.

  “All right, Dr. Evans you come with me—” Kimberly spoke up, apparently she was the emergency injury physician. “I need my bag, it's in our cottage.”

  “Okay, Lindsay, you go with Danny and get the bag, we’ll meet you there.” Killian wore authority easily and everyone followed his suggestions. The remaining snowboarders trudged home with boards under their arms. People loitered in the lodge, unsure what to do with themselves. No one was hungry. Cass turned on a Christmas movie, because she needed the noise to calm her nerves.

  It seemed to take forever. Killian had his phone on him, but Cass didn't want to bother him. He would text when he had a chance. She sat with Chelsea and Isabelle. They all wanted to run to see how they could help, but were afraid they would be in the way. The only person who seemed to know what to do with herself was Hazel. Hazel was bustling in and out of the kitchen. Cass went in to tell her that no one was going to need dinner for some time. Hazel was not cooking. She had covered the kitchen table with a clean sheet. She had also brought extra lights into the room. “What are you doing?”

 
“They will need light to assess his condition. Thank god, we have those doctors here.” Cass heard a loud clang outside and ran to the window. It was not the rescue party returning. It was Lloyd, dragging spotlights and extension cords out into the courtyard. Cass didn't want to ask. “It will be dark soon, it won't be safe to get the boat out in this. If we have to, we’ll need to call the coast guard and they will need to be able to see us.” Cass nodded with a lump in her throat. They had left the gate to the lodge open. The lights of the snow machines made it possible to see that the rescue party was returning. Without grabbing a coat Cass ran out.

  Danny was carrying Ed. His arm jutted out at a bizarre angle. She had expected Ed to be screaming in pain, the fact that he wasn't terrified her. “It’s all right,” Kimberly said, jumping off the snow machine. “It’s not his spine.” That was a huge relief. Cass held the door open and stepped out of the way. Danny seemed to have no difficulty carrying the older man, but he had to maneuver to get them through the door. The doctors noticed Hazel’s preparations and were pleased with them. Danny laid the patient on the table. Cass noticed that the sleeve of Ed’s coat had been slit open. She remembered that Killian never went anywhere without his Swiss army knife. “The elbow is dislocated.”