by Paige Powers
“I would.”
They strolled for a moment in silence.
“Have you ever felt stuck, Cassie? I mean, in your life, have you ever felt like you needed to move on and make changes?”
She stared at him with her big round eyes. “I have.”
Bryan was not sure how it was happening, but he was caught up in Cassie’s energy.
“And what did you do about those feelings? Or I mean, what did you do about needing the change in your life? What did you do?”
Cassie knelt down to pick one of the wildflowers that spread all over the ground in Bryan’s backyard. She loved the way the flowers grew all over the yard.
“I just did it. I did not take the time to think too long about what I needed to do. It’s best to just dive in headfirst. You’ll never do it if you don’t just go for it and do it.”
Bryan stood there deep in thought. What Cassie said seemed like common sense. If you want something, just go for it. There was no sense in waiting for it. Hadn’t he done that? Picking up and moving to a new life? Taking a risk coming West with no job, an urge to do something different, and the desire for another life?
“Was moving here with us one of those risks that you took?”
Cassie smiled. “Yes. It was. But it’s not like I had much back at home that was worth risking.”
They continued to walk the perimeter of the property, coming nearer to the barn.
“Don’t be so short with yourself, Cassie. Packing up and leaving everything that you’ve ever known and leaving to go to the unknown is pretty big.”
Bryan regarded the woman standing in front of him. She was unassumingly beautiful. Getting to know her, he realized that she had a soft heart, and that she was loyal, caring and thoughtful. All the things that he thought Lizbeth once was and that she was turning out not to be.
He stepped forward, gently running his hands through her hair. Gazing into her eyes, he did what seemed to come naturally.
His lips brushed hers. It was more of an attempt to ask permission to kiss her. Bryan was surprised when she stood firm, allowing him to do so.
He stood back, realizing what he had done.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to confuse you or make you uncomfortable.”
The way she smiled melted his heart. “I’m not uncomfortable at all. Believe me, it was a pleasant surprise.”
“I have to confess that I’m not sure what that was about. I could not tell you what the next step is, Cassie.”
“Living one day at a time is all that counts, Bryan. I am always willing to wait for what I want. Patience is a virtue.”
“Well, I think we should be getting back to the house. I don’t want them sending out a search party looking for us.”
“Lead the way.”
Bryan took Cassie by the hand and led the way. It felt right. It felt like what was supposed to be happening in his life.
He was not sure where the emotions came from, but he wanted to go with it. The problem was that he was engaged to Lizbeth and their families were counting on them getting married in a few months. Lizbeth’s entire reputation was at stake because she had moved across the country with a man she was not married to, with the promise that he would make the home for her that she deserved and marry her.
Bryan had looked her father in the eye and secured that promise and he had meant it when he did. But things had progressed to a point where he could no longer tolerate Lizbeth. She was no longer the woman that he met and fell in love with. She was no longer the woman that he thought would be his wife and live out this life together with him.
Once they approached the house, Bryan gently let go of Cassie’s hand. “You understand that this is a delicate situation and that I have to tread lightly.”
“I do,” she affirmed. “I know that you have a situation to take care of. I also know that it won’t stop the feelings you have for me. Will it?”
“No it won’t. I just need a little time to figure out exactly what I am feeling. Hopping from one relationship to the next is not the healthiest thing and I want to make sure that we take things slowly. I still have to sort things out with Lizbeth.”
“Understood.”
The silence between them would normally have been filled with two lovers sealing their time together with a kiss. Instead, Cassie turned to walk away.
Bryan watched for a moment as she turned away. His heart sank. He was not sure what he had done or what his next move should be.
It was all too much to consider. He really had no clue that he had feelings for Cassie and that those feelings were reciprocated. How was he going to go in the house and face Lizbeth?
He remembered what Cassie had said: take things one step at a time. He would have to do it that way and hope that the answer to what was going on in his life would reveal itself as clearly as possible.
Chapter 7
Lizbeth turned around and hid behind the barn. She could not believe what she had seen. If she really thought about it, everything made perfect sense. She knew that Cassie was sweet on Bryan. She was also well aware that things had changed between herself and Bryan since coming to Owen’s Bluff.
She had not been the easiest person to get along with in those weeks that they had been there. And it was not her intention to push her fiancé away, and especially not into the arms of another woman. But the damage had been done.
When she asked Cassie for some time alone, she sat in the parlor reading for a moment. She was going to go out to Bryan to talk with him about possibly taking a trip home, just for a while because she was immensely homesick. On the way to the barn, she rehearsed over and over exactly what she would say to him to convince him that she should take a trip back to South Carolina. Instead, what she saw was her fiancé standing there, holding her lady’s maid in a passionate embrace.
Lizbeth was taken aback by the site. She was not sure what to make of what she saw. Trying to still her heart, she knew her relationship was over. Not necessarily because of what Bryan had done, but because of what she felt in her heart. She knew that uprooting herself to live in Owen’s Bluff was not what she wanted at all. She had given it a chance and knew that it did not work for her.
Living in Texas was not the life that she envisioned. It was not what she wanted for herself, to live so far apart from her family and everything that she knew. She loved the weeping willows that hung overhead on her family’s acres. She loved the strolls by the river and the parades and fireworks over the water.
She loved the security and attention she received from her family and the status the Wilkes family had. Here, her status did not matter. And it seemed that Bryan did not care about her status or things she cared about. It was a fact she’d known long before now; it just finally sunk in that he did not desire at all to live in the world she was willing to share with him.
Knowing that he had an interest in Cassie made her decision much easier. Still, it hurt to know that Cassie had secretly developed feelings for Bryan. And not only had she developed feelings, she had acted on them. It was hard to comprehend how Cassie could do something like that to her.
As far as Lizbeth was concerned, she had been nothing but kind and generous to Cassie. When Cassie practically came from nothing, she had picked her up, taken her in and made sure she had the best of everything. She lived in an elegant home, ate some of the best food, traveled with Lizbeth to some of the most quaint places, and she got a taste of Lizbeth’s life every day.
Maybe she had loved it way too much and thought it was best that she step completely into Lizbeth’s life and take over. As far as Lizbeth was concerned, if Cassie wanted to live in this dust bowl that they called Owen’s Bluff, she could have it. She could easily bow out and go home, and quickly pick up where she had left off.
No one had to know that things between her and Bryan had failed. She had only been gone for a little over a month and as far as anyone else back home was concerned, she was on a vacation and would be returning. Her father would
make sure that society erased the memory of herself and Bryan being engaged and that she would move on with her life as easily as possible.
She left Bryan and his new lover enveloped in each other’s arms and walked away. Lizbeth knew that she was walking away from so much more than that one particular moment. She was walking away from life in Owen’s Bluff, Texas and returning to all she knew and loved.
* * *
By the time she returned to the house, the sky had grown orange. The sunlight was blocked out by some unforeseen force, although it was obvious that it was still daylight. Miss Sarah had discussed this warning with her. It was a possible sandstorm coming and Lizbeth did not feel prepared to deal with it.
It was yet another reason that she needed to move back home. She walked back to begin packing and by the time she reached the house, the wind had kicked up to an almost unbearable force and she was almost unable to breathe. She covered her mouth and nose the best that she could with her handkerchief and ran into the house. It was hard to shut the door completely with the wind pushing against it from the other side.
She began to push a bureau in the path of the front door.
“Let me help you.” Chavez came to the rescue to assist her.
“Thank you.”
She ran to the window, trying to see if Bryan and Cassie were following behind her. It was impossible to see out of the window at all.
“Bryan and Cassie were out there near the barn. We should wait for them to get here.”
“No Ma’am. They should take cover in the barn and we should do our best to cover the windows quickly.”
The sense of urgency in his voice let her know that she should move immediately. Maria was already working to cover the windows and push heavy furniture in front of the doors.
“We have been through this many times before, Miss Lizbeth. It will blow over quickly. We must take cover in the event that the windows blow open and the sand ends up inside.”
Lizbeth did as she was told and moved as quickly as she could. She kept waiting to see if Bryan and Cassie would knock, pleading to come in, but they never did. She hoped for their sake that they had taken cover in the barn.
She felt more like she was in the way with Chavez and Maria busily preparing the house. She did as she was told when Maria gave her a cloth to place over her mouth. Chavez herded them both under a blanket and they crouched in a corner at the exact moment that the house began to shake.
Lizbeth screamed when she heard glass crashing to the floor and a window break somewhere in the house. Chavez held her tightly and she could feel Maria rubbing her on the back, murmuring something in Spanish.
The few minutes that it took for the storm to blow over seemed like an eternity. When it did, there was an eerie silence. The only thing that Lizbeth heard was her own labored breathing and Maria who continued what she assumed was a prayer.
“Are we still alive?” she whined.
“We are still alive,” Chavez responded.
“Oh thank goodness. Maria, if you would please help me clean this all up, that would be wonderful. And Chavez, if you could follow me. I have something that I need done right away.”
* * *
As they made their way back to the house, Bryan and Cassie were suddenly surprised by the strength of the wind. It came out of nowhere.
“Oh, my goodness!” Cassie yelled. “What is going on?”
She tried to hold on to Bryan as best she could. He clutched her by the arm and held her tightly.
“This way,” was the only thing he could get out of his mouth.
He pulled her in the direction of the barn, which was the only place that he could think of for cover.
Bryan shoved the door open and practically pushed Cassie inside. She fell to the ground as he forced the two of them inside and used all of his body weight to close the door.
Both of them were out of breath and disheveled.
“What on Earth is going on?” Cassie was absolutely terrified. She watched as Bryan surveyed their surroundings.
The only window in the barn was a few stories up. He pointed to a small corner at the back of the barn.
“There. We need to take cover. It looks like a makeshift shelter especially for situations like this.”
Heart racing, Cassie held onto Bryan as he helped her up off the ground.
“What is happening? One second we are walking back to the house and the next moment, the sky is orange and the sun is gone.”
“My brother warned me about this. I think it is a sandstorm coming. We will be safe as long as we take cover over here.”
She followed him, feeling safe with him there protecting her. She sat down first, and found it easier and more comfortable to recline. Bryan inched in with her. Quarters were close and she was not sure they would both be able to fit in together.
Cassie closed her eyes. “I was not prepared for this.”
“Neither was I.”
She could feel his chest rising, his heart racing. He held her tightly as he stared at her face to face.
“We will be just fine.”
“Are you sure? We definitely don’t have weather like this at home.”
“Yes, we will be alright. We just need to wait this out.”
She lay there, on the hay, wrapped in Bryan’s arms. So much was going through her mind and she was completely confused as to what she was feeling for Bryan.
As if he could sense what she was feeling, he kissed her. Laying there in his arms felt so right. It almost felt like the end of the world was coming and she had only a few seconds to decide what to do next.
Relaxing her body, she allowed him to settle with her. His body on hers, she felt his hardness, the muscles of his arms. The kisses became flurried and she lost all ability to keep her wits about her. She wanted this man and she wanted him badly.
When his kisses began to trail down her neck, she knew they could be moving into uncharted territory for their relationship. He was gentle and attentive and she wanted so much for him to be all hers. It was all she could do to simply concentrate on the moment at hand.
As the sandstorm blew past them, she relished the moment that they had together. But Cassie wanted him to be hers first before they moved forward so intimately.
She softly gave him the sign to stop by pushing at his chest. The man was full of desire and she as well.
“There is nothing more that I want from you but to be with you, Bryan. But not this way. You still belong to Lizbeth and I do not want to infringe on that.”
He bit his lip as he sat up. “I understand. This is all moving so quickly for me. I had not anticipated any of these feelings I have for you.”
Cassie tried to sit up, hoping that in some way, it would stop the flow of passion between the two of them. It did not. Bryan kissed her again.
She could not control herself when he did. All ability to think clearly was abandoned.
“Why is it that we have come to this point?” he asked after the kiss.
Cassie shrugged. “I’m not sure. It just is what it is. I just hope that your desire for me is not due to the lack of desire for your fiancée.”
Bryan shook his head. “I am not that kind of man.”
“So what kind of man are you?”
He pushed back a loose strand of hair that framed her face. “I am the kind of man that likes to be loyal. I like stability. I love the love of a good woman. When I find something I want, I like to work hard to get it.”
All she did was nod as she took it all in. The entire moment was difficult to absorb. Here she was, taking a stroll with Bryan and then they were stuck in the barn together, stranded for a moment in time because of a sandstorm. It was as if the universe wanted to carve out some time for them to be together alone.
“And what is it that you want now?” Her question was one that was fully loaded. His answer could either completely tear her apart or it could create an opportunity for her to have what she had wanted for so long.
; “I would like to tell you, Cassie. But I must be fair to all involved.”
“Understood.”
She did not want to say much more, and just when she resigned to be quiet, Bryan coaxed more answers out of her.
“Is it safe to assume that you have had feelings for me for some time now?”
At the sound of his question, she wanted to run halfway across the barn. How could she look Bryan in the face and admit that she had been in love with him for years?
Stumbling over her words, she responded: “I guess you could say that.”
He lifted her chin so that they were looking each other in the eye.
“How long?”
She tried to look away, but he held her gaze. “Tell me, Cassie.”
“Since I first laid eyes on you. I have sat for years and watched you love a woman that does not love you as I do. It has been almost impossible to deal with.”
A look of distress came over his face. “You have been in love with me for all of that time?”
His question was more rhetorical than anything.
“I cannot believe that you have been secretly feeling this way for me.” He rubbed his chin, seemingly deeply in thought.
“Bryan, this is not the way I wanted to tell you the way I felt. I know that this discussion puts us in an awkward position. Especially because I know that before living here in Owen’s Bluff, you never paid attention to me as anything other than the help.”
His touch was soft and comforting. “I’m so sorry about that. As you know, I was battling my own demons. And at the time, I realize now that I was in love with the idea of love. It’s good to know how you feel, though.”
“Maybe we should see if it is safe to make our way back to the house? It’s been a few hours out here and it should be okay to leave the barn.”
“I think that is a good idea.”
Bryan held his hand up, giving her the signal to wait where she stood. He walked to the barn door, and with all of his strength, he pried it open.
Sunlight streamed in and it was as if nothing had happened. Although the sky was not completely clear and dust particles continued to swirl in the air, he told her that it would be safe to make their way to the house.
