by Merry Farmer
As they rolled to their sides, muscles loosening, energy spent, Casey kept her arms around him. She didn’t ever want to let him go, and she would be eternally grateful that he hadn’t pushed her aside when he could have. They were so good together, in spite of their differences. And as long as they were together, everything would be okay.
Chapter Nineteen
In the back of his mind, Scott had planned to head home after a few hours of napping and snuggling post-love-making. But leaving Casey had officially become impossible. He found too much contentment in her arms to force himself to get up in the dead of night and head out into the cold. Even when the tell-tale sounds of Roscoe and Ted coming home woke him from a sated sleep. He opened one eye, told himself it would probably be easier for Casey if her dad and brother didn’t know he was there, then closed his eye, snuggled closer to Casey’s sleeping form, and went back to sleep.
It wasn’t until sunlight peeked through the curtains the next morning that Scott realized if Roscoe and Ted had seen his car in the driveway when they came home, they already knew he was there and could fill in the rest of the blanks.
“Where are you going?” Casey asked, words slurred with sleep, as Scott untangled himself and moved to the edge of the bed.
“Just to the bathroom,” he murmured against her ear, kissing her cheek. “Go back to sleep if you want to.”
She mumbled something incoherent and flipped to her side, burrowing her head in the pillow.
Scott watched her with a grin as he got up and searched for his glasses. His chest felt impossibly tight with emotion as he gathered the bare minimum of clothing he would need to step out into the hall where the bathroom was. At the same time, he felt as light as a feather, pure bliss filling every corner of him. He’d been in love before, or so he’d thought, but the feeling that seemed to have grafted itself to his soul now was love times a thousand. Maybe marriage was the best idea anyone had had in…in the history of the world.
He managed to slip across the hall to the bathroom without being seen in his underwear and undershirt, but as he did, he heard the low tones of Roscoe and Ted talking downstairs. He took care of business, deciding that the manly thing to do was to face Casey’s dad and brother upfront. Lucky for him, there was a man’s bathrobe hanging from a hook on the door. It was completely weird to borrow it, but this was an emergency. He donned the robe for extra modesty, then headed downstairs.
Roscoe and Ted were sitting at the kitchen table. Both straightened, their expressions blank, when Scott appeared in the doorway. The tantalizing scent of coffee hit him just as the two closest men in Casey’s life, aside from him, stared at him, making an odd juxtaposition. He dissolved into a sheepish grin.
“Morning,” he greeted them with a nod, stepping cautiously into the room.
Roscoe and Ted exchanged looks. “All right, dad,” Ted spoke first. “Get the shotguns. We’ve got ourselves a wedding to see to.”
“Yep,” Roscoe said, keeping a grimly straight face. He put his hands on the kitchen table and started to stand.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Scott told them, keeping just as straight a face as they were. “Casey and I flew down to Vegas last night and took care of it ourselves.”
Roscoe froze halfway through standing. Ted’s game-face dropped, and his eyes went wide.
“You what?” Roscoe finished standing, blinking at Scott.
“Yeah.” Scott shrugged and headed to the coffeemaker on the counter. “We figured, why not?” His bravado would have looked a lot more impressive if he didn’t have to open three different cupboards before finding the one with coffee mugs. As soon as he found one, he took it down as if he owned the place and started fixing coffee. “Boy, let me tell you, those Elvis impersonators make great wedding officiants.”
Roscoe crossed his arms, his expression so blank Scott couldn’t tell if he was buying the story or not. Ted sat where he was, gaping.
“And your sister looks great in one of those Vegas showgirl outfits with the sequins and feathery headdresses.” He couldn’t finish his story without bursting into a goofy grin and laughing.
“You’re pulling our leg.” Roscoe called his bluff at last.
Ted called him a few choice names that Scott was glad Casey wasn’t there to hear. The three of them relaxed and laughed together. Since he was already up, Roscoe walked over to the counter to fill up his coffee mug, then invited Scott to sit with them at the table.
“I take it things are going well again between you and my sister,” Ted ribbed him after they were all seated and comfortable. “After all, you’re wearing my bathrobe.”
“And a very nice robe it is too,” Scott replied, running his hand over the front.
“Well if you’re going to fondle it like that, it’s yours.” Ted made a face and took a swig of coffee.
“Aww, I couldn’t take your robe,” Scott continued to tease. “I’ll get one of my own.”
“Well, I guess this means we should put a hook up in that bathroom for you,” Roscoe said. “Or are you just here to have some fun with my baby girl?”
Roscoe may have looked like he was just a man giving another man a hard time, but Scott heard the deadly serious question behind the joking.
“I love Casey,” he told him, as honest as he could be. He met Ted’s eyes too before going on. “She’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life. She’s life itself, and fire and storm and sweetness.”
“She’s special,” Ted agreed.
“She doesn’t need anyone breaking her heart right now,” Roscoe went on, continuing to be serious.
“Then it’s a good thing I don’t have any plans to break anything,” Scott said with a reassuring smile. “I intend to hold onto her and cherish her for as long as she’ll let me. I know she’s been going through a lot lately, but I also think she’s turned a corner recently. I think she’s going to be okay, and if I can help her with that or add to her happiness, then that’s what I intend to do.”
“That’s so sweet.” Casey herself answered his little speech from the door.
All three of the men at the table turned to her. She looked like she’d just woken up, face pink, eyes bleary, hair a mess, but she was far and away the most beautiful woman Scott had ever seen. He stood, walking to greet her and kissing her cheek. “Can I fix you some coffee?”
She nodded, then shuffled to the table, pulling her robe tighter around her. “Hi,” she said to Roscoe and Ted as she sat.
“Morning, sweetheart,” Roscoe replied with a gruff old smile that could melt lead. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
“We were just telling Scott here that he’d better make an honest woman out of you or we’ll take him out to the shed and cut his balls off with that rusty, antique saw,” Ted said, trying to keep a straight face.
“Stop,” Casey laughed, reaching across the corner of the table to swat at him.
Scott found another mug and fixed Casey’s coffee the way she liked it as brother and sister bickered. The happy feeling in his chest expanded. They were a real family, even though one of them was missing. He could feel it, feel the presence of Hester Flint in the silly laughter of her kids and the fond smile of her husband as he watched them. And somehow, he felt as though he was invited to that table.
“So today’s the big day for you,” Roscoe said as Scott sat and handed a mug of coffee across to Casey.
Scott blinked. The city council vote. He’d been wrapped up in comfort so thoroughly that he’d forgotten. “Right.” He shrugged and picked up his own half-finished mug. “Well, we’ve done what we can. All that’s left to do is go to the meeting and find out if our arguments were convincing enough.”
“And even if they vote for the law,” Roscoe said with a sage nod, “we’ll figure something out.”
“That’s what we do,” Casey agreed. “If one thing falls through, we come up with something else.”
Ted and Roscoe smiled at her as though her words wer
e unusual. In fact, Scott had the idea they might be, considering everything that had been going on with Casey in the last year. He had only witnessed a tiny part of it, but his heart told him a dark chapter was finally closing and the next one was starting.
Casey seemed to confirm that when she said, “I’ve been thinking that I might start going over to Louise’s on Saturdays when the old team is training.”
Ted and Roscoe couldn’t have looked happier if Casey had told them she’d found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow in their backyard.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Roscoe said, eyes crinkling as he smiled. That was all he said, but it spoke more than volumes.
“I should come with you one of these days,” Scott said. “You know, to see what it’s all about.”
“It’s just a bunch of girls running around on horses.” Ted downplayed the whole thing, though there was a shine to his expression that wouldn’t go away.
“I thought you liked watching girls on horses,” Casey ribbed him.
Ted shrugged. “They all look the same after a while. I feel more like expanding my horizons these days.”
“As if any woman in her right mind would let you expand in her direction,” Casey muttered, lips twitching to a grin, then took a gulp of coffee to hide her face.
“Women usually like it when I expand in their direction,” Ted told her with a smarmy wink.
“Eew, gross!” Casey burst into laughter.
Scott just sat back and smiled. Forget about the city council vote. A family like this was the real prize.
It was agony to have to wait all day for the city council meeting that night. But there were worse ways to spend a day. Sleepy as she’d been, Casey’s heart nearly dropped to her toes when she saw Scott sitting at the kitchen table with her dad and Ted. And then her heart had lifted and soared nearly to the sky when she realized that the three of them were getting along like a house on fire. Not only that, when Roscoe offered to make pancakes for them all—the way her mom used to make them—Casey had enjoyed a meal where she felt, for the first time in a year, like the family was all there.
But by the time she and Scott drove back into town and walked from the hotel to the Town Hall, all those warm, fuzzy feelings floundered under the weight of the vote ahead of them.
“I’m so nervous I think I might puke,” she said as they walked into the Town Hall lobby.
Scott chuckled and looped an arm around her back. “You aren’t going to puke.”
“How do you know? I might end up blowing chunks all over your boots.”
That only made Scott laugh harder. It was a glorious sound, a reassuring sound. It stilled the butterflies raging inside of her. But she still pretended her dinner was about to make a reappearance.
“One city council vote isn’t going to make or break any of us,” he said, coming to a stop in a corner where the main hallway branched out toward the new part of the building. “And if things don’t go the way we want them to, there are other things we can do.”
“Like what?” She arched a brow.
“Like appeal the decision,” he said. “Like get Howie involved. Like buying other land and building there.”
Her raised eyebrow twitched higher. “You’re making it sound like I’m part of the building of your house now.”
“Well, aren’t you?” he asked.
Swirls of excitement and disbelief, not to mention a little bit of fear, flew through Casey. This whole time, she’d been thinking of Scott’s house as something other, something outside of her. But the possibility of being involved—the possibility of living in that house?—was far more attractive than she would have thought.
“I don’t know,” she said, scrambling to get a handle on the emotions that welled up in her. She’d had more than enough of her emotions ruling her to last a lifetime. Then again, as long as the good emotions did most of the ruling, she might just be okay.
Scott took her hands. “Well, I’d like you to be involved.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.” He smiled—a smile that reached into his eyes and deep into his soul. “I love you, Casey. I wasn’t just saying that because we were getting hot and heavy. I feel like I’ve been walking around my whole life missing something, and as soon as I found you, I knew what that was.”
Her insides started to melt, but she wasn’t ready to turn into a blubbering pile of tears again. “You were missing someone who would give you a hard time and make your life miserable?”
He chuckled, then pulled her closer for a light kiss. “I was missing someone who would break through the regimented routine that I would otherwise find myself in. And yeah,” he shrugged and tilted his head modestly to the side. “I need someone to give me a hard time and remind me that there are other ways to do things now and then.”
“Well, I can do that for you.” It was getting harder and harder to joke, and much harder to stop herself from leaping into his arms and staying there forever.
At least until Ronny and his dad passed them on their way into the meeting. They didn’t say anything, but the grin Ronny sent them was so smug, so sure of himself, that in an instant, Casey was both enraged and terrified all over again.
“We can’t let him win,” she muttered her old refrain.
“We don’t have to,” Scott said.
She blinked and turned back to him. “Of course we have to.”
He shook his head, sliding his arms around her and pulling her close. “We’ll be okay,” he said. “No matter what happens in that auditorium today, we’ll make it through this and be better for it.”
It was hard to resist his argument, especially with the warmth of his body enveloping her.
“I’m not used to facing decisions like these with any degree of chill whatsoever,” she admitted.
“Borrow some of my chill, then.” He chuckled and dipped down to kiss her. “We’ll be okay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She smiled, a contagious sort of confidence filling her. As long as Scott was with her, she didn’t have to go it alone.
“You kids ready?” Roscoe asked as he approached them from the lobby. Ted walked with him, but so did Howie.
“I’m not going to let them distract me away from an important meeting this time,” Howie said.
“I’m as ready as I can be,” Scott said, shaking Howie’s hand.
“Me too.” Casey smiled and let out a breath. “Come what may.”
“All right.” Howie nodded. “Then let’s go in there and see if the world is about to end.”
Chapter Twenty
Whatever happened with the vote, Scott was determined to accept the outcome. He took Casey’s hand, threading his fingers through hers as they joined the scrum of people making their way into the auditorium. If the worst happened, in spite of what he’d said to the contrary, he would definitely consider proposing to Casey. Not just to ensure he’d be able to build his house, but so that he could lend whatever money Roscoe needed to keep the ranch safe and sound. It had only been a couple of months, but already he felt highly invested in the Flint family.
“This ought to be interesting,” Roscoe said as they finally squeezed through the door.
Scott knew in an instant what he meant. The auditorium had been crowded for his initial presentation. It had been full for the meeting after that. But the only way to describe it now was stuffed to the gills.
He let out a low whistle. “Are the citizens of Haskell usually this involved in their political process?” he asked as Casey tugged his hand to lead him into one of the side sections of seats.
“It can get pretty interesting around here,” Ted answered, filing into the row behind Scott. “But this might be a record.”
They reached four empty seats and took off their coats in preparation to get settled. Scott glanced out over the auditorium. He’d wondered why the city council met in such a huge room, but now he knew. He knew a lot of other things about Haskell now too, or was learning. Never
had he seen a town where everyone took such personal responsibility. He only hoped that would bring things out in his favor.
Most of the city council members were already on the stage. Luna Clutterbuck stood talking to Darren Ross, and threw her head back in laughter at something he said. The room was so crowded and noisy that Scott barely heard the sound. Louise Meyers was already seated at the table, looking over something on her cell phone. Ronny and Mayor Bonneville had reached their places at the center of the table, but hadn’t taken their seats. Jessica Chapman was saying something to them from her chair. Gary Haskell and Piper Strong rounded out the city council, both already seated and talking to each other across an empty chair, frowns on their faces. But none of the people on the stage were the ones to start the meeting.
“Richard,” Howie boomed, making his way down the center aisle. The crush of people parted for him, rushing to take seats as the show started. “Let’s get to the bottom of this thing.”
“You’re not in charge here,” Richard Bonneville called across to Howie. “I’m the mayor.”
But regardless, the crowd hushed and took their seats, and the city council members that had been chatting broke off their conversations and took their places.
“I don’t care if you’re the Pope. Vote and get this circus over with.” Howie marched right up to the first row and took a seat at the end of the row. Scott was surprised that there was even a seat free that close to the action. Then again, everyone in Haskell probably knew that was Howie’s seat and had left it free on purpose.
Bonneville glared down at him, mouth pinched as though he’d bit into an oatmeal raisin cookie when he was expecting chocolate chip. He waited until everyone else was seated before taking his own seat and banging on the table with the gavel waiting there for him. “I hereby call this meeting to order,” he said. “Ronny, will you read the minutes of the last meeting?”
