by Moxie North
“All right, you are a pain in the ass you know that, right?”
Cassie gave a sad laugh. “Thanks.” She meant that. She missed being a pain.
“I can’t promise Sophie won’t poke her head in. She’s been asking about you. The rest of them we’ll keep back with a sharp stick. Deal?”
Cassie sniffed and nodded. “Yes, that I can handle tonight.”
“Okay, maybe we’ll start slow, huh? One tonight, maybe a few more tomorrow?” Edward nudged her arm.
“Can we wait and see?” Cassie asked. She didn’t want to make any promises she wouldn’t be able to keep.
“How about we do some rearranging of the furniture in here tomorrow? I think we can move things around, maybe put a chair in so you can look out the window. I see you use your tablet a lot. Would you like a TV in here?” Edward asked, looking around the room.
Cassie shook her head. “I like my tablet. It’s easier to watch my porn that way,” she said, no hint of laughter.
Edward started laughing, though. He saw the tiny glimmer of sass in her eyes, and he loved to see it.
“Makes sense. Practical,” he said. “All right, I’m gonna go help with dinner. If you change your mind, you are welcome at any time to join us.”
Cassie gave him a nod. Little did he know she totally wasn’t joking about using her tablet to get off. She had a number of bookmarked sites that weren’t the full on pay-to-wank sites. But more independent offerings of naughty pictures or gifs. Just enough to get your imagination rolling and your fingers trolling.
Her hands weren’t damaged in the accident, and when you have hours and hours to kill, why not get off? It wasn’t like she only watched porn. She’d made her way through three different series. She had years worth of show episodes at her fingertips.
Getting out of meeting the entire family tonight took some of the tension out of Cassie. She figured with the family on their way, she needed to get moving. Stuffing the last of the cake in her mouth, she grabbed her crutches. Heaving herself off the bed, she listened at the door and only heard noises coming from the kitchen.
She cracked the door open and peered out. Nobody but her and the dust motes. She made her way to the bathroom and took care of her business. She decided to stock up and hit the kitchen when she was done with the bathroom.
Connie stopped what she was doing when she saw her and came over, cupping her face in her hands. Cass was used to this now. Connie Rochon was very touchy. “We understand, sweetheart. But this house is full of people, so I can’t promise how long they will give you before bribing their way into your room,” she said with smile.
Cassie didn’t feel like she needed to say anything, so she just nodded. Connie nodded back and let her go. Cassie looked around, and Edward pitched his thumb over his shoulder. “Your stash is in there.”
Cass made her way to the open pantry and hobbled in. She found her staples that Dax had shipped were arranged on a shelf with a hand printed sign under them that said Cassie’s Only! Violators will be dismembered! Seeing the sign brought a little tear to her eye. This had to be Effie’s doing.
Spying a sack of plastic shopping bags, she grabbed one. She tossed in some cheesy poofs, a pack of red licorice, and a couple orange sodas. Tossing everything in the bag, she grabbed her crutch handle and headed back out. Spotting a package of marshmallows and figuring Connie wouldn’t mind, she stuck them between her teeth and hit the kitchen.
Connie and Edward looked at her then started laughing, both of them shaking their heads as they smiled, but then went back to their work.
Seeing the marshmallow theft wasn’t going to get her kicked out, she made it back to her room and was happily propped back up on her pillows munching away before the first group arrived.
She could hear the greetings, the laughter. There was a tiny part that was hidden far below the pain and embarrassment that wanted to be out there. Wanted to be in the middle of the fun. The big meanie, though, was reminding her that they would be staring. There was no way they wouldn’t.
So she put on her headphones and blocked out the happy family.
Chapter 9
“So she’s not coming out?” Conner asked.
Conner had his arms wrapped around his mate Kenzi’s waist as she held their son Kingston in her arms. If he wasn’t holding his son, he was holding his mate holding his son. Either way, he kept them close.
“Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. We have to go slowly. She met with her therapist today, which was a big step. Dax said she’d stopped going back home,” Connie said, pulling trays out of the double oven.
“She won’t see us at all?” Jinger asked. Wyatt stood behind her playing with her red hair that she’d put into a braid. He liked to pet it. When it got on her nerves, she’d tie it up on her head and watch him pout.
“Cassie said that she would see Sophie tonight. I’m going to say that is at least a step forward,” Edward said, carrying a huge tray of chicken in from the grill outside.
“Well, aren’t you special?” Cage gave Sophie’s ribs a poke.
“Yes, I am,” she said giving a haughty sniff.
Connie looked around the group and was happy to have her boys here, but something was missing. “I miss the babies,” she sighed.
“Come on mom, one night we get off. We were lucky to have Cash’s sister Allison come over to watch the little hellions,” Conner scoffed.
Connie glared at him. “My grandbabies are way easier then you three ever were.”
The boys all started laughing. They couldn’t deny for a second that they were all hell raisers. It’s a miracle their mom didn’t kill them herself for all the trouble they got into.
“Well, I’ll be happy to bring her dinner and try once more to lure her out. I’m just going to enjoy not having to clean boogies and food off my trouser leg.” Sophie sighed. Almost three-year-old Micah had taken to wiping his face on the closest available adult pant leg. It was gross.
“He’s spreading his love, babe,” Cage said, giving her a noisy kiss on her neck.
“Uh-huh, sure.”
“Soup’s on!” Edward called out.
The boys and their wives all dished themselves up and took seats at the large wood table. Without all the babies, they could sit together instead of running back and forth to the clip on counter chairs the babies usually sat in. Normal dinners meant at least two or three people were going to be eating their meals cold.
Sophie made up a plate and took it down the hallway. She knocked on the door and waited. She didn’t hear anything, so she tried again. Still nothing, so she cracked open the door and waved a white napkin she’d brought along.
“Safe to come in?” she called out as the shadowed room came into view. She spotted Cassie on the bed, her headphones resting over her blonde hair making the spiky edges stick out all over. The light from her tablet cast a white haunting glow over her.
Pulling off her headphones when she saw who came through the door, she offered, “Sorry, didn’t hear you. It’s just you, yeah?”
“Yup, just me. Brought you some food. Although you don’t appear to be starving,” she said spying the empty wrappers around the bed.
“Just snacking. That smells good,” Cassie said sniffing at the cooked chicken. She reached over and flicked the switch on the small table lamp on the nightstand.
“Grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and as usual around here, fruit. These guys are nuts for it. I had to start thinking of ways to sneak it in my normal recipes,” Sophie said with a laugh.
“They all just super healthy?” Cass asked, dipping into the cheesy noodles.
“I think it’s all the dark, rainy days out here. Their bodies crave the vitamins. Keeps the scurvy away,” Sophie said with a laugh.
Cassie thought that seemed reasonable. She didn’t know what else to talk about, so she kept shoveling food in her mouth.
“So…” Sophie started.
Cassie glanced up from her plate. She swal
lowed the garlicky chicken and waited.
“Why me? Not that I’m not flattered, I love that you are willing to see me. I hate to think of you all alone in here,” Sophie said reaching out to gently touch Cass’s foot.
Cassie looked at the sweet round-faced woman next to her. She was pretty and soft. She looked homey.
“Well, I didn’t want to come off like a crazy recluse, and you did make an awesome dinner. I hoped that someone that was that thoughtful wouldn’t stare at my scars,” she said quietly.
Sophie’s eyes softened even more than they already were naturally. Sophie’s heart was breaking. She’d called Effie and asked her about Cass after she’d met her. Effie was happy to fill her in. The stories she told about her wild and crazy friend were nothing like the young woman sitting next to her. That girl was hopefully still in there, but right now she had all her shields up. The walls she’d built were for protection, and Sophie didn’t blame her.
“First, your scar is far less noticeable than you think. I’m guessing it’s the first thing you see in the mirror. But I’ll be honest with you, the short blonde spiky hair is the first thing that draws the eye.”
“It was orange,” Cassie said softly.
“Wow, orange. I’d love to see that,” Sophie said with a laugh. She got a smiling lip quirk from Cassie.
“Second, I’m British. No matter if I saw something shocking or not, I would never be so tacky as to show it,” she said, raising her eyebrow in an aristocratic look.
Cassie took in this cherub trying to look snotty, and it sooo wasn’t working. She started cracking up. She laughed and laughed. “You’ve seen that look, but girl, you have not practiced it,” she mocked.
“Oh damn, it’s my mom’s look. I’m thinking of using it on Cage,” Sophie said with a pout.
“That look will probably just get you kissed,” Cassie guessed.
“Oh, honey, you don’t even know. That big dummy thinks I’m cute when I’m pissed. Can you imagine? It drives me barmy!”
Cassie wasn’t sure what barmy meant, but she figured it was annoyed at the very least.
“I can’t imagine a man finding me cute when I’m angry. I tend to scream and scratch,” she admitted.
Sophie tried to imagine this broken little bird getting rowdy. It was hard to imagine. “Hmm, I think I’d like to see that.”
Cassie just shook her head. She made poor life choices. Effie had once called her a Tasmanian devil when she’d gone ape shit over her favorite TV show being cancelled. Her world would never be shiny again. It was ugly.
“You don’t think I’m going to get any other visitors tonight do you?” Cassie asked as she finished up her plate, leaving it on the nightstand.
“Nah, sweetie. We’ll give you your time. But we are a pushy lot. We will only be patient for a while. Then we will bulldoze into your life. It’s kind of like an initiation,” Sophie explained thoughtfully.
“Nice, do I get a funny hat to wear? The Bison lodge has ones with horns,” Cassie snarked. It was a weak snark. All the food she’d consumed in the last two hours was starting to weigh her down. She let her head fall back to her pillow. Her eyes were droopy as she looked at Sophie.
“Well, we can make you one for sure,” Sophie said thoughtfully.
Cassie gave her a weak smile, and Sophie saw how tired she was. “I’m gonna let you rest, sweetie.” She gave her foot another gentle touch and left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
“You were in there a while, babe.” Cage pulled her onto his lap when she came up to him. “Everything all right?”
“Yup, chatted a little. She ate quite a bit. I think she’s going to sleep,” Sophie said. Cage was spoon feeding her the dinner she’d missed.
“Is she in pain?”
This came from Cash, who’d joined the group after Sophie had taken Cass her food. He was leaning against the counter with a plate in his hands. He put the plate down when he asked the question, his bear concerned for some reason.
“She didn’t seem so. But man, is she sad. Like deep down, soul sad,” Sophie said frowning.
For some reason, Cash’s bear didn’t like hearing that. The wounded woman with the amazing smell should be happy. Anyone that smelled like candy shouldn’t be sad.
“I have to say, her biggest fear, and stop me mom and dad if I shouldn’t share this, is about her scars,” Sophie started.
“No, dear, I think everyone needs to know. I could see it when I met her,” Connie agreed.
“She mentioned it to me today. Apparently the PT guy made a face. That’s why she didn’t want to come out tonight. I think if she could get past some of the anxiety about how she looks, she’d be moving around more. Getting better faster,” Edward added.
“What scars?” Cash asked. Now his concern for this woman peaked even higher.
“Well, the car accident left her with a scar that runs from her forehead down beside her eye. It’s healing well really. A year or two and it should only be a white line. I know she has a significant scar from where they took her spleen out. Her leg injuries are all internal,” Cage said, filling Cash in. He’d been in touch with Dax since the moment they had to leave Christmas to rush to Cassie’s side.
Chapter 10
Cash took in the words, a list of injuries that if this Cassie had been a shifter, would have healed in a matter of weeks. Here she was human, fragile, and suffering. It didn’t seem fair.
“I think her seeing me was a big step. She even laughed. She’s very pretty when she laughs. I can see that naughty streak in her that Effie mentioned,” Sophie said with a smile.
The group was quiet, thinking about their charge in the other room.
“Well, I know I think better with dessert,” Wyatt announced. Jinger gave him a none too subtle slap on the arm.
“Really? You stuffed yourself, and you’re after more?” she said exasperatedly.
“What? Mom has leftover Christmas cookies. Sophie made so many the freezer is still bursting with them. I’m just trying to help mom out. Don’t want them lying around going to waste,” Wyatt said, giving her a sad face.
Jinger rolled her eyes and stood up to start clearing the table. The rest of the group followed, picking up items and moving around the kitchen. In the Rochon family, everyone helped. So the guys started rinsing dishes while the girls put away any leftovers.
No one noticed Cash slipping out the front door silently with a bundle in his hands.
Sneaking around the outside of the house, the night had cooled off significantly. Springtime in Washington was still cold weather. He made it to the window of the bedroom that he knew Cassie was in. The edge of the ground on this side of the house sloped down a bit bringing the bottom of the window to just the top of Cash’s shoulders.
He positioned himself with his back to the house, out of the view of the window and raised his hand to the glass. He gave it two sharp taps and called out, “Cassie?”
He heard some rustling, then nothing. He tried again knocking on the glass. “Cassie? I’m Cash, a friend of Dax and Effie’s?” He hoped knowing her friends would make her realize he wasn’t some psycho outside her window. But then he realized, he was standing in the pitch dark, knocking on a lonely scared girl’s window.
“Dumbass,” he muttered to himself.
He looked up to see the window start to slide open. It was only open about two inches, when he heard a faint, “Hello?”
“Hey, I know this is weird, but I didn’t know if you’d see me. I mean, I know you talked to Sophie earlier. She said you weren’t up for visitors yet. But I wanted to bring you something,” he said, lifting the napkin wrapped bundle up in the air next to the opening.
Cash watched as a small delicate hand slipped through the opening and wrapped around the bundle. Her soft hands brushed his fingertips, and he sucked in a breath at the electric shock that travelled over him.
The hand and the package disappeared inside. There was silence for a moment then he heard a sm
all giggle. The giggle was like a tiny wind chime that made him smile. His bear made his opinion known that he also liked hearing the tinkling laughter. He wanted to hear more of it.
“Cookies?” came the soft voice inside.
“Yeah, Christmas cookies. Those are the best kind you know? Cookies, in general, are good. I’ve almost never met a cookie I didn’t like,” he said softly. He liked that he was getting to talk to her. Her voice was sweet like her scent. He wanted to keep her talking so he could soak it up.
“Almost?” she replied curiously.
“Hmm, once I got too excited about a chocolate chip cookie. Bit into an oatmeal raisin. Ruined my whole damn day,” he said gruffly.
More tinkling laughter came from the dark on the other side of the window.
“Don’t like oatmeal raisin?”
“Oatmeal yes, raisin no. Raisins are just sad grapes. The life has been sucked out of them. Nobody can tell me that raisins aren’t just mini prunes,” Cash said seriously.
More giggles.
“What kind of cookies do you like?” he asked when no more questions came.
“Anything dipped in chocolate. You ever had those shortbread ones with marshmallow on top that are coated in chocolate? Those are da bomb!” she said enthusiastically
“The bomb huh?” he laughed.
“No DA bomb. Get it right, Jethro,” came the smart reply.
“Cash,” he said softly.
There was silence for a moment and then he heard her say, “Well, that will never work.”
This made him and his bear pause. He was almost afraid to ask. Not knowing what wouldn’t work, it made his gut clench that there might be something in doubt. Weird.
“What won’t work?” He felt like he was holding his breath along with his bear. Not that his bear ever held his breath per se.
“Our names…We can’t start a torrid love affair and have everyone saying Cash and Cassie. That’s terrible, it’s worse than a tongue twister. Worse, someone will pull a Brangelina on us and start calling us Cashy. That just won’t do.”
