When Lori left, Cassie looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven-thirty. She was tired and confused by her conversation with Lori, but needed to hear Rick’s voice. Curling up on the chair, she put the phone on her lap and waited.
When Rick had ended his earlier conversation with Cassie, his mood had changed considerably. Though still worried over the reason he and Steve were there, he knew that Cassie wouldn’t do anything stupid. She felt the baby move, and that was enough to assure him of her ability to show and use common sense.
He and Steve had spent the day apart. Since speaking to Lori, Steve had become quiet and decided to spend the day with a good book instead of his good friend. Rick knew Steve not only missed Lori but was still annoyed with him for his outburst at Sheriff Bishop. Steve wanting to be alone was just fine with Rick. It gave him the chance to do what he now felt like doing—work on refinishing the cradle. Now he was glad he’d forgotten to remove it from the truck before they left.
The weather was crisp, but still comfortable enough for him to work on the porch outside their motel room. Cassie hadn’t wanted to refinish the cradle, but Rick told her that if they were ever to get the musty smell out of the wood, he would have to. She agreed after making him promise not to sand out the bite marks that were still present. “Those were made by your little teeth,” she’d said, rubbing her fingers over the notches. Rick had rolled his eyes, but gave in to her request. Yet now, as he sanded the rough edges of the wood Rick found his own fingers had strayed to the teeth marks.
“Think your little ankle-biter will do the same thing?” Steve asked softly from behind him.
Rick turned and looked up at his friend. “Ankle-biter?” he chuckled, “I don’t know, she might.”
“She?” Steve’s eyebrows went up. “You know something I don’t?”
“Nah, Cassie just keeps saying ‘he’ so I’m trying to even it out. That way one of us will be right.”
“Does she want a boy?” Steve pursued.
“She wants twins,” Rick laughed. “She says that way we’d get one of each right away. That’s not going happen though, I don’t think. One at a time, that’s for me anyway.”
“I’m sure that’s very generous of you, Rick,” Steve laughed. “I envy you, you know that?”
Uncomfortable with that remark, Rick stood up. “Don’t envy me,” he said then flashed his famous smirk. “She’s no Cassie, but Lori is good enough for you.”
“Let’s not get into that, buddy,” Steve retorted then became serious. “Are you sure you can do this, Rick? Stay here idle for the next few days? And what if we can’t find anything out?”
“That is not an option.” Rick exhaled loudly. “It’s late. I’m going to call Cassie. See you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Steve repeated. When Rick had gone inside, Steve knelt and, running his fingers lightly over the cradle, whispered, “Lucky man.”
The phone ringing jarred Cassie out of her slumber. She answered with a soft hum-like greeting.
“I thought you’d pick up,” Rick said quietly. “You should be in bed though, it’s late.”
“You should be in bed too, but here,” she whispered.
“Soon, Sass, I promise,” he assured. “The minute I get my answers, I’ll be on my way.”
“Go to sleep now and dream of me, okay?” Cassie forced a smile in order to sound happy.
“I dream while awake,” Rick said. “Good night, pretty one.”
Replacing the phone to the table, Cassie once again felt the same fluttering as she had that morning. She smiled sadly since she wouldn’t be able to tell Rick that the baby had moved again until the next evening when he called. Cassie fell asleep, hoping it would only take a couple more days to find the information Rick needed to return home.
* * * * *
The couple more days Cassie hoped for turned into five. During those five days, Rick did call, but made a point to call earlier so Cassie wouldn’t wait up.
Kevin calmed down as far as constantly watching Cassie. He was around, but would also spend time with Elena—a necessary thing to do, as Cassie pointed out to him.
Keeping Cassie constructively active during those five days was a task. Keeping Rick the same way was nearly impossible. To help pass the time, Rick and Steve target practiced at a shooting range. By the end of the five days Rick could shoot the worm off an apple, blindfolded.
On the fifth day Steve heard a car approaching the motel. Gun handy but still in its holster, he called for Rick. With his own gun concealed, Rick hurried outside where he found Steve talking to Sheriff Bishop.
“It’s about time,” Rick shouted. “Tell me some good news.”
“I’m sorry I took so long getting in touch with you,” the sheriff said. “I just ended my investigation. The body was Eddie James—the jockey. He was shot four times, just as your wife testified.”
“I don’t need to hear what she testified to!” Rick said through gritted teeth. “I need to know why her picture was on the body.”
The sheriff kicked a rock across the parking lot. When it stopped rolling, he looked at Rick. “Eddie James was in love with her. The kid’s brother confirmed it. That’s why I’ve taken so long getting back to you. I wanted more than just the brother’s word so I took a trip to the track and surrounding stables. It was no secret how he felt about her.”
“Except to Cassie,” Rick whispered. “She didn’t know.”
“Apparently, neither did Luther,” Sheriff Bishop said. “Until, according to the brother, Luther overheard Eddie announcing that he planned to make his feelings known. When Luther questioned him, Eddie pulled her picture out of his pocket. The brother said Luther turned white as a sheet and left without saying a word. That was two days before your wife witnessed the shooting.”
Rick laughed without humor and turned to Steve. “Remember Shelly Bancroft’s defense of Luther, saying it was Cassie who suffered from unrequited love? Damn it!”
“I’ll send this information to the authorities,” Sheriff Bishop said. “I wanted you to know about it first, though. I really did. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry it went down like this.”
Rick knew the sheriff was sincere, but other than extending a nod and his hand to the man, he didn’t respond. Instead, he’d let Steve do what he did best—practice diplomacy. But before Steve got the chance, Sheriff Bishop smiled at Rick then headed for his car.
As they watched the sheriff’s car fade from view, Steve turned to Rick.
“Well, we’ve really got Luther for murder now, but what are you going to tell Cassie?”
“I don’t know,” Rick said grimly then sighed. “Let’s go home and find out.”
“This isn’t right,” Cassie grumbled at Lori.
Lori looked at the paper Cassie had in front of her. “It’s fine. You’re not going to be able to get detail for a while.”
In addition to being a bodyguard, Lori was an artist. Cassie had heard that before and was convinced the moment she saw Lori’s work. Drawing had always been a skill Cassie had wanted to sharpen, but there never seemed to be any time to learn. Now it seemed she had nothing but time and thankfully an art teacher had been provided free of charge. They spent the past few days drawing objects within the confines of the parlor. Cassie’s drawings were crude compared to Lori’s, but she had enough skill to make an image look enough like what it represented for Lori to identify it.
Now, at nearly midnight, Lori stretched and looked up to see Rick leaning in the doorway observing the art lesson. Cassie’s back was to him and she was too busy trying to draw the coffee table to notice Lori smiling at someone.
“If you’re teaching her to draw, maybe she’ll teach you to ride a horse,” Rick said casually.
Cassie’s head turned in time to see Rick walking toward her. With a noise that resembled a squeak she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her close.
Lori was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Where’s Steve?”
> “He had to go around back to park the truck.” Rick smiled. “I came in through the front.”
“You couldn’t even wait to park the truck?” Lori rolled her eyes.
“Nope.” Rick kissed Cassie’s forehead.
“Oh, you really are in love.” Lori laughed and slapped his back as she walked out of the room.
Laughing softly, Cassie looked up at Rick then frowned as she touched the dark circles under his eyes. “You look like a raccoon. You told me you wouldn’t lose sleep worrying about me.”
“Old habits die hard, Cassandra,” he whispered kissing her again. “I missed you.”
Cassie smiled. “Did you bring me something?”
Rick’s eyebrow arched. “How’d you know?”
“Because I feel something in your pants, and as tempted as I am, I’m not going to make some stupid joke about you being happy to see me.”
“You just did.” Rick tilted his head slightly. “And I am. Now let’s go to our room.”
Once inside their tower room, Rick handed Cassie a box. Inside she found a small gold key.
Before the question he saw in her eyes was asked, Rick answered. “This is the key to that cage I’ve been trying to keep you in.” Cassie started to argue, but Rick’s finger on her lips prevented it. “Let me say this. First of all, I want to apologize. I’ve been trying to keep you so safe that I almost became as much of a tyrant as Luther was to you. It was different when you were in witness protection because then it was my job to keep watch over you, but not now. Now my job is to be your husband, not your warden. I’m sorry for how I acted, Sass.”
“Old habits die hard,” Cassie repeated his words. “And don’t you ever apologize for something you’ve done out of love, Rick. I knew your reasons were for love and that helped me understand. But I’ll admit it makes me feel better knowing you’ll try to be calmer about not worrying.” She fingered the key gently a moment, then looked back up. “Was it Eddie’s body?”
“Yeah,” he soothed. “I’ll tell you the whole story, but tomorrow, okay? I’m tired and right now all I want to do is hold my family.”
Cassie tried to protest, but before she could open her mouth Rick lowered his head for another kiss. Closing her eyes she let what he said slip from her mind. Rick was home and they were together, that was all that mattered for the moment.
* * * * *
As usual, Rick woke to find Cassie looking at him. Smiling, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Sleep well?”
“No,” Rick answered. “And thank you,” he added with a smile.
“My pleasure,” Cassie whispered. “Do you know that for the last few days I have actually been able to get out of bed and not feel sick? I wonder if Steve and Lori are awake yet. Are you hungry? Let’s eat.”
Rick looked at her with his brow raised. “Which question should I answer?”
“None,” Cassie said hopping out of bed.
Stretching, Rick decided to wait until Cassie was out of the shower before he got out of bed. When she returned he looked at her and asked casually, “How about room service?”
Cassie gave him a look of mock irritation. “How about you get your butt out of bed and serve yourself?”
“Whatever you say,” he said, jumping up.
A moment later Cassie found herself back in bed with Rick on top of her.
“You’re hopeless, you know that?” she asked softly.
Rick smiled down at her. “You love me, you know that?”
Cassie’s smile faded and she answered him without speaking. After all they had been through, the time spent together was appreciated and hopefully would not be wasted worrying about what might be in their future.
Chapter Eight
“Dad called last night,” Cassie said, handing Rick a cup of coffee. “He and Maggie are going to Hawaii. He’s asking her to marry him and then, provided she agrees—which I know she will—they’ll get married there and then spend their honeymoon touring all the islands. He’s so excited. He sounded like a little kid at Christmas.”
“Dad and Maggie,” Rick snorted. “I still don’t know what she sees in him.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say about my father.”
Rick smirked. “He’s too old for her.”
“Rick, it may interest you to know that many women find older men attractive.” Smiling slyly she added, “And Dad and Maggie’s age difference is less than ours. She’s only eight years younger than him.”
Rick’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t remind me.”
“Anyway, if Dad’s happy, I’m happy.”
“And I’m happy,” Rick said softly. “You want to be happier?”
Cassie cast a suspicious look. “Define happier.”
“I thought we’d go to the coast for a few days. Get out of this city for a while.”
“You just spent time out of the city,” Cassie observed. “I would think you’d be anxious to get back to work. It’s okay to want to work, Rick. It’s important to feel useful.”
Rick couldn’t deny that Cassie needed to be kept busy as much as he did. The baby didn’t interfere right now and she knew it. The bells were ringing and this horse wanted out of the gate again, but he couldn’t let her run.
“I know you’re restless and I’m sorry,” he said finally. “That’s why I thought we’d go away for a few days. Maybe if you’re not here and seeing what the others are up to, you’ll be able to think of other ways to feel useful.”
“Now I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining all the time. But you know it’s hard for me to stay idle. And it was even harder when I was being watched all the time, no matter how good the intentions were.”
“Would it be better if only one person watched you for a while?” Rick took her hand. “I’m happy to volunteer, ma’am.”
“Watch who you’re calling ma’am.”
“That’s the whole idea.” He kissed her nose. “Let’s go. Pack enough clothes for a few days and don’t forget a swimsuit, although you probably won’t need one.”
“Because there’s no water?” Cassie asked playfully. Rick only gave her a slight smile and walked away.
* * * * *
The drive time was just under two hours when Rick pulled the driveway of a large, burned-down house. It was dark out, but the sea reflected the moonlight enough for them to view the ocean below. Cassie looked at Rick curiously, but he only smiled and pulled her by the hand along the cliff’s edge. He stopped in front of a steep stairway leading down.
“I’m not going down there,” Cassie protested. “What if the tide’s in and there’s nothing but water.”
“Tide’s in already and the waterline is way out there. See?” Rick pointed. “It’s safe. I’ll go first in case you fall, okay? Here, use the flashlight.”
“What’s down there?”
“Paradise,” Rick said flatly.
Cassie grabbed the flashlight and started down the wooden stairs. Rick picked up the duffel bag with their supplies and followed.
“When you get to the bottom of the steps, stop,” he shouted.
“How will I know? I can’t see anything.” Her voice floated up to him. “Are we camping on the beach? If I wake up with a lobster sitting on my chest, Rick Jarrett, you’re going to get it.”
“Good, I love lobster,” Rick joked. “Just be careful, you’re almost at the bottom.”
At the last step Cassie stopped as instructed. She couldn’t see much of anything except for the white foam from the waves. They were further away than she originally thought. Rick joined her at the step and took the flashlight. Hand in hand, they walked along the sand until the flashlight revealed a small house.
“Wait here,” he shouted above the ocean noise.
Unlocking the door, Rick stepped inside to turn on a light, then he motioned for her to come in.
The room was small, but comfortable. It had knotty pine paneling throughout. There was a couch, two overstuffed chairs,
a table with four chairs and a small kitchen.
“The bedroom and bath are in there,” Rick pointed, “and a closet over there. What do you think?”
“Where are we?” Cassie asked. “And why are we here?”
“Remember telling me how you like to walk barefoot in the sand? Well, this is the place to do it. In the morning you’ll see the cliffs jut out along the beach on both sides so no one can just walk in from further down the coastline. And the waters are too rocky for boats to land on the beach without risk.”
“You still haven’t answered my question. Where are we?” Cassie sat on the couch.
“Home,” Rick said evenly. “I bought this place.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “You bought it from who? When? How? What about our river house?”
“Any more questions, Detective Jarrett?” Rick asked. “This has nothing to do with the river house. You, my dear, married a tycoon.” He raised his brow. “I bartered for it. Good deal, huh?”
“You traded what? What could you possibly have to trade for this place? And what idiot would even want to sell it?”
“You underestimate your husband’s worth, pretty one,” Rick answered happily. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter how much. I did buy this place from an idiot though—Kevin.”
“Kevin?” Cassie asked, surprised. “I didn’t know he had a beach house.”
“He doesn’t.” Rick arched his head upward. “That place up there burned years ago. You know Kevin’s wealthy background as well as I do. It belonged to his grandparents and when they died he inherited it. This used to be a fishing shack, but Kevin’s only interest is in restoring the cliff house. I heard him telling Steve he was planning on tearing this place down so I asked if we could borrow it first. After a little more talk, he said he’d sell it to me. We both knew I couldn’t afford to buy it, so I told him I’d lease with the option to buy in return for being his best man when he finally got around to marrying Elena. I think he actually appreciated my humor.” Rick lowered his head. “I love how your eyes light up when you talk about walking along the beach when you were a little girl and I wanted to give you something special.”
My ShadowMy Love Page 11
