No. A Byrne truck.
She told herself this only proved her fears were founded. If she had agreed to start over with Drew it wouldn’t have lasted. He would’ve moved on to someone new and left her with a broken heart. Andrew Sr. was sadly mistaken.
But Casey also felt horrible about the way she’d handled the readings once she’d discovered Drew was the raffle winner. She’d known all along he’d be furious if he ever found out, but couldn’t bear to face him. It was cowardly.
She nearly reached the edge of the farm when Josh came running toward her, his eyes wild. “Casey, where’s my father?”
“Back there somewhere. What’s wrong?”
“Grandpa’s in trouble. I think that pumpkin was too heavy for him.”
“What happened? Where is he?”
“Lying on the ground next to Dad’s Porsche. It’s his heart.”
“You go find your dad. I’ll call an ambulance and stay with your grandpa.”
Casey remembered Drew telling her his father had already had two heart attacks. She took off at a jog for the field of parked cars, thankful Drew had brought his blue Porsche today, since there were several black Range Rovers. Miraculously, she managed to find both the car and Andrew Sr. while calling 9-1-1.
He was not even conscious. As soon as she ended the call, Casey knelt in the dirt beside him and started the chest compressions she’d learned in the CPR training she’d taken for teaching adult fitness. Having never had to use it on anyone before, she hoped she was doing it right.
The minutes ticked by. No Josh, no Drew. Casey worried the ambulance wouldn’t see her here on the ground hidden by cars. But she didn’t want to stand up and let go. The more continuous the compressions, the better chance he’d have.
A family came by and saw her. The mother agreed to stand guard and wave to the ambulance when it came.
Casey kept pushing, terrified Andrew Sr. would die right there under her hands. The slack and pallor of his face brought images of her father’s last days and the sad, desperate girl she’d been, powerless to save the man who’d been the center of her life throughout her childhood.
Josh came running to her. “Casey, is he still alive?” his voice trembled.
She nodded, keeping her rhythm.
Drew squatted beside her, dread and sorrow in his face. “I can take over.”
“Do you know CPR?”
“No, but I can learn.”
The ambulance arrived, sirens at full. She hadn’t noticed a crowd had gathered around her. They shouted and waved. The EMTs took over, and Casey stood, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
Drew touched her hand and murmured a thank you.
Feeling too many emotions to handle, Casey just backed away, found her car and went home.
Chapter 29
Drew moved around the galley of his Ferretti yacht, his nostrils flared, his lips pressed together in irritation. He couldn’t get over Keith’s reaction when he told him about the real Madame Lumina.
Keith laughed so hard he practically sprayed his beer clear across the table. “She even picked the damn horse!” Crows feet pinching the sides of his eyes, the salty old mechanic shook his head.
“But she made a fool of me.”
“Ah, come on. Way too cute a story to be turned into something dark and diabolical.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying forget about it. Shut up and take her to dinner.”
Drew kept checking the stairs that led to the deck. Right now Josh was up there with Keith’s wife Lizzie. And Drew wanted to get in this private discussion before they returned. “Another beer?”
“Bad luck to drink on Sundays, they say. Which is why I’ll have another.”
He pitched a Corona to him. “I thought you’d take my side, Keith. Give me some support on this.”
“Not when you’re wrong, I won’t.”
“You don’t think this means she’s underhanded or anything?”
“Nope. Ditzy, maybe. The kind of person who might jump into things without looking and find herself in a bit of a jam.”
“Funny. I remember her saying that very thing about herself.”
Keith folded his arms behind his neck and leaned back on the white leather banquette. “From everything you’ve told me about this Casey, I’d say she’s just the kind of woman you need. Smart, bold, but sweet and sexy. Admits her mistakes, but fights hard when she knows she’s right. And didn’t you tell me she has a heart of gold? Came through when you needed her, right?”
“Yeah. Casey also may have saved my dad’s life.”
“She was there?”
He nodded. “Casey’s the one who kept up about twenty minutes of CPR on him yesterday. Doctors said it’s one reason he’s stable now.” How ironic that Andrew Sr. ended up in the hospital on the day Keith came for a visit. Drew had planned this a while back. Inviting someone his dad did not approve of had been a little act of rebellion for him.
“Sounds like a good woman to me.”
“Wish I knew for sure. Maybe she’s using me to get a studio.”
“Bullshit. You told me you had to push her into that.”
“True. And it’s not like she planned the Madame Lumina mix-up. But she let it go on. Kept me in the dark.” Drew added more onions and mushrooms to the butter in the pan and then dropped in the flounder. They’d eat inside, since the day was slightly nippy on the water.
Keith knocked back a gulp of Mexican beer. Then he sat forward and eyed Drew closely. “Let me ask you something. Do you love her?”
Drew gave an ornery shrug and fidgeted with his spatula, shuffling the sizzling fish and vegetables from one side of the pan to the other.
“Yes or no?”
“I thought I did.”
“If you found out she got married, that she loved somebody else and your chances of ever having her as yours were totally gone, how would you feel?”
The answer came like a boulder landing on top of him. “Flattened. Hopeless. Half dead.”
“Pretty strong reaction.”
“Yeah. I guess it is.”
“I think you do love her.”
“I think you’re right.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
***
Thursday arrived, the day of the final Got Moves challenge.
Drew still had not spoken to Casey. Josh saw her daily at rehearsals and sent her text updates about Andrew Sr.’s progress. But ever since Casey had given Drew that bunko about limiting their relationship to friendship and business he’d made a point of keeping his distance. He’d started handling every single communication to her through his secretary and hadn’t joined her on any of the Got Moves trips since that first show.
But today was the Cove Corps’ final showdown. Aside from his need to test the waters with Casey, Drew wanted to be there for Josh, either to celebrate or to console. Not that Josh seemed to care about his dad’s presence. On the drive up to Manhattan the boy purposely sat far away from Drew’s parental eye so he could yock it up freely with his pal Brendan.
Drew had hired a twenty-seater to accommodate a few more parents and friends coming along with the group today. Somehow he got stuck sitting next to Krissy Wheeler’s mother, who went on with an endless narrative about how she’d recovered from her foot surgery. He nodded every so often to be polite but let her words blend into the buzz of voices inside the limo and the whirring hum of the highway outside.
He glanced at Casey sitting near the far end, comforting fourteen-year-old Filipa whose nerves were getting the best of her. He remembered the night on his boat when Casey first told him her group had been chosen for the Got Moves show. He remembered her saying she hadn’t even told her mother because she didn’t think it was as important as the things her younger sister did. But to Drew everything Casey did was important. Truth was he wished he were sitting next to her right now, holding her hand, sharing this day with her.
He hated himself for the w
ay he’d dissed Casey at the pumpkin festival. But her deception around Madame Lumina had cut him to the core. It was only last night after struggling with Keith’s advice for three days that he’d come to accept the relative innocence behind it. And when he tried to think of what harm the whole thing did he came up with just the opposite.
Madame Lumina had helped him face up to his toxic relationship with his father and taught him to look at Josh in a way that allowed Drew to grow closer to both of them. And he got a kick out of her saying the “dancer” would definitely go out with him. He thought about the sniffling head cold Madame Lumina supposedly had that day she called him in Saratoga. Now he realized it was probably Casey weeping. Over him. Because she knew he was there with Amber. And still she went ahead and picked a winning horse for him.
Not a mean bone in her body.
Keith had asked Drew how he’d feel if Casey loved somebody else, and the mere idea of that leveled him. It also made him understand what Casey must have felt seeing him acting all romantic with Amber. How selfish and blockheaded he’d been to miss that. While Casey’s stubborn refusal to forgive him irked the hell out of Drew, he could see now what she must be going through if she really loved him.
And if Drew had to put money on it—he’d bet she did.
***
After a day of shooing away parents so she could work with her group and the Got Moves stage manager, Casey reluctantly left her Cove Corps backstage and headed out front to join the audience.
This was it. Their final performance for the show. Their chance to win. Butterflies churned in her stomach as if she were going onstage herself.
Peering out at the audience milling around the graduated rows of seats, Casey noticed Drew immediately. How could she not? He was a standout in any crowd. Did he know about the outrageous gift his father had sent her?
Yesterday afternoon when Casey answered a knock on Parker’s door, a man handed her a lumpy envelope and left. She opened it to find a thank you card from Andrew Byrne Sr. along with a set of car keys and an owner’s registration in her name. She stepped out the door and saw a shiny, cherry red Escalade Hybrid SUV parked in the yard.
She remembered his remark about her beaten-up Honda, but this was ridiculous. Casey called Josh, asked for his grandfather’s phone number and contacted him on the spot. “Mr. Byrne, I can’t accept this.”
“Yes, you can.” Click.
“Hello? Mr. Byrne?”
He obviously had caller ID because the rest of her calls went unanswered.
She considered talking to Drew about it, but after his discovery of her Madame Lumina faux pas, the idea of facing his scorn was just too much to bear. Bad enough she’d be near him in the block of seats Paige’s mom and dad had claimed for the Cove Corps cheering section.
Suppressing her guilt over the Madame Lumina mess and her sorrow over losing any chance of renewed romance with Drew, Casey put on a game face and ventured into the crowd. The electric atmosphere of anticipation that buzzed through the audience buoyed her spirits. As she approached her section she spotted her sister up ahead. And as usual Jenna looked stunning.
Casey had used her credit card to buy a new dress and shoes for this special day. But her fitted tuxedo dress paired with black-and-white pumps seemed dull next to Jenna’s beaded halter dress. No surprise. No matter what Casey did, she always came in second best next to her vibrant and beautiful sister.
However, that wasn’t Jenna’s fault. Casey rushed forward and wrapped her in a warm hug. “I’m so glad you made it. I thought you said you were busy.”
“I do have to leave right after the show. But I know Parker and Mom both hate coming into the city, so I figured you should at least have one Richardson here.”
“Thanks, Jen.” Casey inclined her head toward her group’s gathering place. Three more carloads of parents and friends had arrived during the afternoon. “My people have a bunch of seats over here.”
They walked arm-in-arm along the stepped aisle. From the corner of her eye Casey saw Drew watching them.
And so did Jenna, who murmured, “Don’t tell me that glorious example of the male species is with your group.”
Casey’s throat tightened. What could she say? She and Jenna weren’t close enough these days for her to reveal her secrets. Besides, her little fling with Drew was totally finished. “He’s the divorced father of a boy in my Cove Corps.”
“Hmm. Then he’s available?”
“He sure is,” Casey said, thinking of the redhead he’d zoomed in on with no problem at the pumpkin festival. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d hooked up with the woman already. And how long it would last.
Drew stepped toward them. Casey saw his eyes scanning Jenna, who gave him a coy smile. Suddenly the noise and lights seemed too loud, too bright, the air stifling. Before Casey could make her dry mouth form words to introduce them, Drew reached out his hand. “Drew Byrne.”
Her sister did the same. “Jenna Richardson.”
Drew broke into that dazzling grin of his. “The little sister. Only not so little. You’re taller than Casey.”
“Well, it’s mostly my legs,” Jenna said.
Drew glanced down. “Yeah, they are pretty long.”
Casey just smiled. Yep, Jenna’s the deluxe version on every count. I’m the almost-but-not-quite girl.
Luckily Aaron’s mother waved Casey over. “How’s my boy doing? This morning he was fit to be tied.”
Grateful to be called away from Drew, Casey walked back a few rows to assure some of the parents that the prep went well and that no one was throwing up or crying.
When she checked on her sister, she saw Drew guiding Jenna to a seat. He settled in beside her. There was one seat on the other side of him on the aisle, which he probably left open for Casey. But there was no way she was going to sit next to Drew and listen to him flirt with Jenna.
For a moment the big sister in Casey considered trying to warn her sibling against him, except, ironically, Jenna was probably better at handling men like Drew than Casey was. She’d never be stupid enough to fall in love with him.
The lights dimmed, camera crews went into gear. The show was about to begin. Casey took a seat next to Paige’s mother three rows behind Jenna and Drew.
Because there were only two groups competing in tonight’s show, each performed three dances including their final challenge. Casey wasn’t sure if it was her own bias, but to her mind the Cove Corps aced the competition on both the first and second dance. Warmth and affection for her students filled her. Plus a proud mother hen glow.
For the third round the Cove Corps danced their newest, a complicated piece Casey choreographed to a Black Eyed Peas mix. She’d upped the ante for all of the kids, but Josh was the acrobat of the group. For him she created a spectacular solo with difficult moves that he’d had to work hard to master. She’d almost taken one out of the dance, fearing he might hurt himself. But Josh insisted on doing it, staying after the main rehearsals to practice with Casey until he had it down.
Still, she knew what it was like to perform live. Nothing was ever certain. When Josh’s solo came she held her breath and prayed.
Josh came through with verve and skill, completing his solo to roaring cheers, a smile on his face the likes of which she’d never seen before. With no sign of apology or shyness. Just sheer delight and pride in himself.
Unfortunately, Casey’s joy in her students couldn’t override the pain in her heart. Throughout the program Casey tried to keep her focus only on the stage, but she couldn’t help noticing every time Drew and Jenna tilted their heads close together to whisper or laugh with each other.
Would Drew actually be so cruel as to date her sister? Why hadn’t she steered Jenna away from him? Was there some sneaky old part of Casey that wanted to see if she’d be chosen over Jenna by the man she loved? Well, if so, she already had her answer.
The dance section of the program ended. Before the winners would be announced the emcee went into
an entertaining monologue.
Jenna turned around and gave her a thumbs up.
Paige’s mother touched Casey’s arm. “Isn’t that your famous sister? The one who’s a real dancer? With a New York company?”
She nodded in reply, a stiff smile plastered on her face.
Casey, the also-ran who would never be enough.
Chapter 30
Casey tossed most of the night, finally falling out near dawn and sleeping until noon. She woke to find a phone message from Drew asking her to call him. She ignored it. As she dressed, her phone rang two more times. She saw Drew’s number both times, but refused to listen to the messages or return his calls. To avoid being tempted, she stuffed her phone under her cot’s mattress and left the room.
Since Parker was out pruning trees for one of his clients she went to putter in the greenhouse, surrounding herself with the moist fragrance of soil, mint leaves, roses and sweet peas and sunlight shining through the glass ceiling. Anybody who wanted to reach her could wait. She needed a day to herself. She had a decision to make.
Casey knew she ought to be on top of the world with the triumph of her Cove Corps in front of a live television audience. They’d actually won!
After the show Jenna had hurried out with a quick good-bye and congratulatory kisses on Casey’s cheek. To her relief. Casey had been dreading a post performance chat where she might have to hear her sister say she’d accepted a date with Drew.
The backstage scene with the kids had turned into a melee of hugs and shrieking and laughter. She announced that the one hundred thousand dollar prize belonged to the performers and would be divided among the eight of them. But her students and their parents all insisted Casey not only take a share, but be the one to keep the trophy for the academy.
The sincerity of their appreciation and gratitude almost made up for her confused and painful regrets over Drew. She loved these kids so much. She loved all her students. That was why she had to think long and hard about whether to give them up or not.
Spring Into Love Page 169
