by Laura Moore
The sound of crunching gravel and the tooting of a car horn brought Cassie’s head whipping around. A smile of joy lit her features and she waved her arms wildly as her green Jeep came around the loop of the driveway and parked in front of her. An instant later came the noise of the twins fumbling with the door handles. Their high-pitched voices escaped the car’s interior the sound sweet to Cassie’s ears.
The four doors opened simultaneously, with the twins tripping slightly in their race to reach Cassie first. She knelt, her arms stretched wide to embrace her children.
“Lord, I can’t believe how much you two have grown in one week!” Cassie laughed, hugging them close, kissing their plump, soft cheeks. “What have Alex and Thompson been feeding you? Spinach and steroids?”
“Yuck! We hate spinach!” Sophie said indignantly. “Jamie and I got to have pizza three times. Soda, too! It was so good, Mom. Can we have pizza tonight, too? Please?” Sophie’s bright blue eyes peered up into Cassie’s face imploringly. Her heart melted at the sight of her daughter’s face, so dear to her. Cassie hugged her once more.
“We’ll see. I’m not sure there’s even a place in town.” At their shriek of horror Cassie, sensing a scene of epic proportions, hurriedly qualified her statement. This was definitely not the time for the twins to suspect their new home town might be lacking such a basic necessity for happiness. “Of course, there must be a pizza parlor somewhere. We’ll just have to ask Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer where it is.”
Cassie looked up and caught her brother’s eye. She tried for a tone that conveyed adequate censure. “So, Alex. I leave them in your and Thompson’s care for one week and they come back ’zah junkies. Whose influence is that, I wonder?”
Alex Miller shrugged his shoulder negligently, flashing his little sister a lazy smile. “Pizza fulfills the essential FDA food groups, Cass: bread, vegetable, and dairy. Food of champions.”
“Yeah, what about the thousands of calories and countless grams of fat?”
Cassie’s brother gave her a look of comic disbelief. “With these two? I think we burned any extra calories in about half an hour. We were into some pretty heavy duty athletics, weren’t we, Thompson?”
Alex turned to the older woman for support. The comfortably plump older woman smiled but refrained from commenting. Thompson had nothing but affection and loyalty for Alex Miller. In part this was due to the fierce love this man lavished on his niece and nephew. But also because he listened to her advice. Generally, that is. Even she had been amazed at the quantities of pizza the two five-year-olds had consumed.
Like a true diplomat, Thompson decided that the less said on the subject of pizza, the better. Instead, she offered, “They made the Olympics look like a couch potato fest. Soccer, running races, wrestling matches. I was exhausted just looking at them.”
“Don’t believe her, Cass. Thompson was in on it, too. Made a great fullback, and she almost beat Sophie and Jamie a couple of times in the running races. Actually, we probably all lost weight when you think about it. Even with the countless hot fudge sundaes we devoured.”
Cassie gave a shudder of horror only part pretend. “Well, I guess that makes it all right then. They’ll just have to be weaned off the junk food slowly so they don’t go into withdrawal.”
“Please, Cass, can you wait until I’m safely on the plane for New York? I don’t think I could stand to witness such torture.”
Laughing, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss Alex on the cheek. “I missed you all so much.” She turned and hugged Thompson next. “Come on into the house. I was just heading there to change my clothes. You can meet Hank and Melissa. Then we can head over to Caleb’s place. You’re going to love it, Thompson.”
Cassie extended her arm so that it encircled Alex’s back. Her brother smiled and brought his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, so that they could walk side by side. Cassie’s cheek rubbed the soft, chocolate brown of his suede jacket. The light, tangy citrus scent of his cologne reassuringly familiar.
Alex’s tall, solid presence by her side was like a soothing balm. He and the twins were all that remained of her immediate family. Since the automobile accident, Cassie and her brother had grown extremely close, depending on each other, supporting each other. Doing their best to help each other survive the awful tragedy life had thrown at them.
Cassie, Alex, and Thompson walked together as the children ran ahead toward the house, Thompson and Alex continuing their narration of the week’s events. Over the adults’ softer voices, Cassie caught the words chocolate chip cookie floating in the air behind the racing figures.
Melissa was struck momentarily speechless at the extraordinary sight of Cassie, Alex, Jamie, and Sophie standing together in her kitchen. Genes certainly ran strong in the Miller family, she thought to herself. Alex looked like the male version of his sister though she noted that his face was more harshly chiseled. And his hair was clipped short, close to his head, ruthlessly suppressing even a hint of a softening curl.
Melissa supposed he probably didn’t want to look like a Renaissance angel. But there was little he could do to alter the astonishing perfection of his features. It was a shame his eyes were so hard, though. They made her think of ice blue glaciers, and she imagined they’d frozen more than one business adversary before. But those eyes might, however, have quite a different effect on the opposite sex. More than a few women would find them irresistible. Eternally hoping they’d be the one to turn the ice to a burning blue flame.
While Cassie excused herself to run upstairs and change, Melissa filled any moment of awkwardness by offering Thompson and Alex some iced tea, the twins some milk and cookies. Melissa liked the way Thompson handled the twins, reminding them every few minutes, in a quiet and gentle voice that brooked no nonsense, not to stuff three cookies in their mouths at the same time, and to say please and thank you. Alex and Thompson made small talk with Melissa, complimenting her on the beauty of the farm, asking her about Five Oaks’s operation. Their interest in Cassie’s new job revealed how much they cared for her.
Cassie rejoined them a few minutes later. “Melissa, I thought I’d take everyone to look at Orion. I’m sure Jamie and Sophie want to see their ponies, too. Right, kids?” At their enthusiastic cries of agreement, Cassie continued, “Then I thought we’d go over to Caleb’s house. I can’t wait for them to see it.” She hesitated a moment before asking, “Do you know when Caleb will be getting back? I don’t want him to think we’re barging into his home.”
Melissa laughed. “It’s your home, too. You’re going to be living there. And you should know how eager he is to meet the rest of your family, especially Jamie and Sophie.” Melissa turned to Thompson and explained. “Caleb Wells is my husband’s partner. A vet, although sometimes I wonder why he didn’t go into pediatrics. He’s got a way with children.”
“Probably because he’s still a lot like a kid himself. Real immature,” Hank Sawyer joked, coming into the kitchen with Caleb at his side.
“Very funny Hank.” Caleb smiled, his eyes scanning the room. Pretty easy to figure out who was who among this lot. He walked immediately up to the older woman and held out his hand. “Hello, you must be Mrs. Thompson. I’m Caleb Wells.” His smile was warm, his dark brown eyes as inviting as a three-layer chocolate cake. “Cassie’s told me about you and the children. It’ll be nice to have company over at Hay Fever Farm.”
“Please call me Thompson. Mrs. isn’t necessary, Dr. Wells,” Thompson replied a bit breathlessly, smitten by his looks.
“Thompson? Is that your given name?” Caleb’s smile and manner were so easy it might have been as if he and Thompson were alone in the room.
“Well, no, actually. It’s Bessie. But I’ve never liked the name. Just don’t feel like a Bessie somehow.”
“I knew a Bessie a few years back. A piano teacher. She broke my heart when she married an accountant and moved to California. You have similar eyes. And please call me Caleb, Mrs. Thompson.”
“O
h my.” Thompson’s cheeks were a rosy pink now. “Thank you. And please call me Bessie.” Cassie and Alex stared at her in amazement.
Feeling their eyes upon her, Thompson returned their stare, saying defensively “A person’s got a right to change her mind, if she wants. But I’m still Thompson to the rest of you.”
A goddamn southern rake, Alex thought looking at Caleb with disgust. All polished manners, he’d been clever zeroing in on Thompson first and winning her over in a mere thirty seconds with that soft Virginia accent and effortless charm. Handsome son of a bitch, too, with his dark, slightly dangerous good looks.
He’d bet his last penny he’d been making the moves on Cassie, too. Alex had recognized the possessive light in Wells’s eye when he’d looked at Cassie. And he’d noticed how Cassie had been surreptitiously glancing at Wells when she thought no one was looking. The longing he’d read in them told him his sister was already half in love.
His blood ran cold at the thought of Cassie being used by this Virginian Don Juan. Before he returned to New York on Sunday morning, he was going to set this asshole straight about messing with his sister. He’d let that jerk Brad hurt her badly. He wasn’t going to let it happen a second time.
Now that Thompson was virtually putty in Caleb Wells’s hands, Alex watched him turn his attention to the twins. Caleb squatted down on his haunches, bringing his tall frame almost down to their eye level.
“Hi. You must be Sophie and Jamie. I’m Caleb. I work with your mom and Hank. Your mom’s a fine rider, and I’ve heard you two are pretty good, too. I’ve even seen your ponies, they’re really special looking. Now, what are their names again?”
“Pip and Topper ” Sophie and Jamie replied in unison, with Jamie adding, “Pip is short for Pipsqueak, ’cause he’s so small. Topper comes from some movie Mommy watched when she was a kid. She’s had him forever. He was her first pony. He’s ours now.”
A quick look at Cassie’s pink-tinged face confirmed the accuracy of Jamie’s assertion. Caleb chuckled softly. “Her first pony huh? That I didn’t know but somehow it doesn’t surprise me. Your mom cares about horses and ponies a lot. Did she tell you what happened last week when she was riding her old friend Topper?”
Sophie and Jamie shook their heads vigorously.
“No? I can’t believe it! Well, I’ll tell you about it.” Caleb proceeded to regale the children with a comic account of Cassie’s tumble off Topper’s back and into the wet, gooey mud. The children asked a dozen questions, wanting Caleb to repeat each second of Cassie’s ignominious fall. Caleb patiently answered them, keeping the tale light and humorous.
Looks like conquest three and four, Alex Miller thought resentfully, taking in Sophie and Jamie’s excited expressions, lapping up the story involving their mother and their pony the way kittens would a bowl of milk.
The only good thing he could say about Wells at this point was that at least he didn’t try to win the twins over by talking baby talk, Alex conceded grudgingly. He’d always felt nothing but contempt for adults who started talking in high-pitched voices, bad grammar, and cutesy language whenever they addressed children. He figured any kid with half a brain could see through that kind of schmaltzy stuff as well. Sophie and Jamie might be only five, but they were sharp as tacks.
Caleb smiled at the small faces of Jamie and Sophie. They were adorable. And they looked so much like Cassie his gut ached. It didn’t seem as if they were spoiled rotten, either. God knows, if they were his kids, he’d be tempted to give the pair anything their hearts desired. He wondered how much of the credit was due to Cassie and her brother how much to Bessie Thompson.
He liked Bessie, too. She reminded him of a great-aunt on his mother’s side, a woman who on first acquaintance appeared to be a no-nonsense kind of person, but whose sudden laughter could fill a room. Caleb had responded to the warmth and generosity he saw in Bessie Thompson’s face. And she did sort of make him think of a piano teacher he’d dated years ago, never mind that her name had been Becky.
Ruffling the soft curls springing from the twins’ heads, he straightened, rising to meet the last member of the Miller clan. Caleb’s expression changed to one of bland speculation as he met the barely veiled hostility in Cassie’s brother’s eyes.
Ahha, Caleb thought. So big brother’s territorial. Certainly suits the way he looks. A shark. A rich, successful shark, he added, taking in the suede jacket, the buttondown shirt opened casually at the collar and the charcoal grey flannel trousers. Even his shoes look fancy Caleb thought, contemptuously.
He probably has women crawling all over him. Caleb wondered idly whether Stuart Ross would have been so successful with his wife Pamela if Alex Miller had been living in the neighborhood. If she had laid eyes on Alex Miller how long would it have been before Pamela tried to crawl into his bed? He wondered, too, if Alex Miller was the kind of scumbag who poached on another man’s preserves. He wouldn’t want to lay odds on that one.
In the short space of time it had taken for that summary inspection, Caleb’s dislike for Alex Miller was equal to Miller’s for him. Had Caleb been alone, he doubted he would have bothered to shake Miller’s hand. As it was, he was aware of the other’s presence in the kitchen, above all Cassie’s. He’d seen the way her face lit up when she talked about her family. The quickest way to alienate Cassie forever was to cut Alex Miller publicly.
He extended his hand. Alex mimicked the gesture. Neither man prolonged the contact unnecessarily.
“Good trip down?”
“Not too bad.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Satisfied that he’d been as polite as the situation warranted, Caleb nodded briefly and let the conversation die a natural death. He turned to Cassie, while Hank introduced himself to Thompson and Alex in turn.
“I guess you’ll be taking everyone up to my parents’ place in a bit.”
She nodded. “We were just going to check on the ponies, and I wanted to show Alex and Thompson Orion.”
“I’ve got some calls out at a few farms, so I won’t be able to head over there now. I’ll drop by later to make sure you’re all settled.” He shoved his hand into his front jeans pocket and fished out a set of keys.
“Here. I locked both the front and back doors, just in case you weren’t planning on going there ’til dark. There are extra keys on the kitchen counter.”
The keys were warm from his body and Cassie clasped them firmly, savoring the heat.
She inclined her head in mute acknowledgment, the words she wished she could say locked in her throat. She wanted to ask him to stay with them, to be with her, to tease her as he had in the beginning, and then later to touch her with his wonderful, knowing hands and mouth. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jamie and Sophie talking excitedly with Hank and she remained silent. She was a mother, a horsewoman, not a lovesick fool. But involuntarily, her eyes followed Caleb as he said his good-byes and left.
11
“O h, my! What a pretty house.”
Cassie grinned. Thompson’s enthusiasm was a good deal warmer for Caleb’s house than it had been for his horse. When Cassie had led Orion out of his stall, Cassie had heard her mutter something about a “big brute” and then back away to a safe distance. At least Alex had been appropriately impressed, taking in the stallion’s proud, elegant carriage. Although Alex didn’t ride, he’d picked up enough from watching Cassie’s horses and those in the stables where she’d ridden to recognize a superb animal when he saw one.
“Come inside, everyone. The inside is as nice as the outside. No, kids, don’t run ahead. Let’s all go in together.”
“Mom? Will Caleb be living with us? It’s his house, right?” Sophie asked.
“No, Pumpkin. The house we’ll be living in is that of his parents. Caleb has his own house that’s in back of ours. It’s very nice, too.”
“Oh,” Sophie paused as she digested that piece of infor-mation. “Well, that means Jamie and I can still play with him. He’s so funny.
” Her little five-year-old voice made it sound as if she’d just spent the afternoon with Robin Williams.
Cassie didn’t try to dissuade Sophie from thinking of Caleb as a source of fun and games. She realized that the kids probably considered most of the grown-ups they encountered potential playmates, as the friends Alex sometimes brought home were more than willing to take a break from the stress of their jobs by romping around on the floor and playing with Legos. Cassie figured that as the children made new friends in the neighborhood and at school, their interest in Caleb would wane.
They walked up the front porch steps as a group. Cassie inserted the key in the lock and pushed the door wide open.
The warm water bubbled and lapped around her. She wondered whether she’d died and this was paradise. It was everything she’d thought it would be, and more. After showing her family around the house and letting the twins choose their bedrooms, Cassie had carried her bag to her own room to unpack. She’d put her things away in the drawers and closet and stepped into the bathroom with her bag of toiletries. And stopped, immobilized with wonder and delight.
Around the jacuzzi stood four vases bursting with lilacs, peonies, and lilies. A sheet of white paper lay on the rim of the tub with a single sentence written on it. “Honeysuckle is still my favorite.” At the end of the tub was a bottle wrapped with a large satin bow. Cassie lifted the bottle and read the label: Wild Honeysuckle Bath Foam.
As if in a trance, Cassie turned the tap on. Steaming water cascaded out of the spigot, filling the silence with its soft roar. Slowly she unscrewed the bottle and sniffed appreciatively. The heady floral scent greeted her. Pouring a small stream of the golden gel under the rush of water she watched as bubbles formed in white foamy masses. Layer by layer, she stripped off her clothes, then stepped into the warm perfumed water swirling and lapping around her calves and knees. Slowly, she eased her body down.
