by Helen Lacey
“Good, get used to it. I’m not a pushover anymore.”
Tanner raised a skeptical brow. “Since when were you ever a pushover?”
“Well, not with you,” she said. “But with other people. With Doug...I’m ashamed to say I put up with things. It was easy. No pressure. No risk. When we first met I was at a genuinely low ebb. My grandfather had gone into full-time care and I’d recently been overlooked for a promotion in my job. And then he showed up, all smiles and charm. And we sort of fell into it. He only came around to check out the house he’d bought and to meet the tenant. He certainly didn’t intend on staying. I don’t think he intended having a girlfriend, either.”
Tanner nodded. “He was always more at home with his military colleagues than he was with his civilian life.”
She smiled agreeably and without any lingering look of heartache. “I know. And when we were together there weren’t any fireworks or bells and banjos or that kind of thing. It wasn’t particularly passionate, either, if you get my meaning. It was simply...easy. And when he came home every now and then, I had a boyfriend and he had someone to look after his needs.”
Tanner swallowed hard. “You don’t have to justify your relationship with him to me.”
“I know. But I think that’s why I found it so confusing to be around you,” she admitted. “When you came to visit that first time I was surprised by how aware of you I was. Doug had told me you were this moody and disinterested loner who liked horses better than people, and when I met you all I felt was this intense attraction. I couldn’t get a handle on it. And I felt guilty. I knew I shouldn’t have been secretly lusting after you when I considered myself to be in a relationship with your brother.”
He chuckled. “Ah—that’s why you ignored me?”
She nodded. “You did a fair amount of ignoring yourself.”
“I know. I remembered who you were straightaway and I was knocked for a loop. And then I got to know you a little and all I could think was that my brother had somehow got the woman I was meant to be with to love him.”
“So you stayed away?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Until Doug was killed?”
Tanner sighed heavily. “I knew what he’d planned. I knew he hadn’t the intention or foresight to make things right. And I was tired of being angry at him. I wanted it over. I wanted to make sure Oliver had what was rightfully his so I could move on.” He met her gaze. “Except after two days with you I realized I was kidding myself.”
“Two days?” Her eyes glittered. “You knew you loved me after two days?”
“Absolutely.”
“I had no idea,” she said.
“I did ask you to marry me, remember?”
She grimaced. “I know. But I thought you asked me because of Oliver and because we’re...you know...good in bed together.”
He grinned. “Well, that was certainly part of it. But I asked you to marry me because I love you. I was just too afraid to say it.”
She pressed against him. “I wasn’t much better. I’m so happy it’s all out in the open now. There’s nothing between us now.”
“Cassie, about Doug’s letter,” he said, a little more soberly. “Have you forgiven me for keeping it from you?”
She nodded. “There was nothing to forgive. I know you only wanted to protect me and in some way protect Doug, too. Once I got over my stubborn childishness I understood.”
Tanner sighed and grasped her hand, linking their fingers. “He wasn’t all bad, you know. While he did some questionable things, like all of us he had his own demons to deal with. He was never the same after our parents died.”
“He gave me Oliver,” she said and sighed.
“He gave me my family,” Tanner said and marveled at the woman and child he was holding in his arms. “And I’ll always be grateful for that.”
She pressed even closer and kissed him. “Does that mean you’re going to ask me to marry you again?”
Tanner smiled. “Pushy, eh?”
“Just curious,” she replied and grinned. “And I am up for trying new things these days.”
Tanner moved, placed Oliver in his stroller, and then he dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Marry me, Cassandra?” he asked quietly. “Marry me and let me love you for the rest of our days,” he said, proposing for a second time to the woman he loved.
And this time she said yes.
Epilogue
Cassie was sure she’d forgotten something. She had her something old—a pendant that had been her mother’s—and her something blue was an exquisite lace handkerchief that Ruthie had gifted her.
I’m getting married today...
Their wedding was to be a simple ceremony at the courthouse with a justice of the peace and then dinner at the O’Sullivan pub down on Dryer Street. She was getting married, four weeks and one day after she’d arrived in Cedar Creek. She’d fallen in love with the small town, with its wide streets and unique mix of old and new storefronts. And she’d fallen in love with Tanner a little bit more every day.
And although they were doing everything fast, Lauren, Gabe and M.J. had flown in for the wedding. As had Ruthie.
“You look so beautiful.”
Cassie turned from her spot near the bedroom window and saw Tanner in the doorway. “And you’re not supposed to see the bride before the wedding.”
He put a hand to his heart. “I promise it’ll be our little secret.”
Cassie smiled lovingly. He looked so handsome in his dark suit. She never tired of admiring him. And she knew it was mutual. “If M.J. catches you in here you’ll be in big trouble.”
“She’s on the phone in the kitchen yelling at her boyfriend, so I’m off the hook.”
Cassie laughed. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“So you say,” he said and stepped into the room. “She’s down there calling some poor guy an arrogant jerk and telling him she never wants to see him again.” His eyes darkened with delight. “Sounds like love to me.”
“Poor M.J.,” Cassie said and grabbed her small rose bouquet. “Well, since you’ve seen me there’s no backing out now.”
“No chance,” he said and looked her over. “You look amazing.”
Cassie had chosen a knee-length ivory chiffon dress with a beautiful beaded bodice and pearl-colored heels. Her hair was down, her makeup minimal and the ring on her finger felt as though it had been there forever. They’d chosen it together from a small jewelry store in town. It was an antique setting with perfect white stones set in platinum. It wasn’t huge or ostentatious. It was elegant and understated and exactly what she’d dreamed of.
“You know, you could have had a big fancy wedding with all the trappings,” he said, and not for the first time since he’d proposed.
“I know,” she replied. “But this is what I wanted. Just you and me and Oliver surrounded by the people we really care about. And you know how I love the steaks at the O’Sullivan pub,” she said and laughed.
“Even without the finest Parker Charolais beef on the table,” he said, grinning. “Who doesn’t?”
Grady’s brother-in-law owned the pub and it was no secret the two men barely tolerated one another. “So, how about you go and grab our little angel and we’ll get going.”
“He’s with Ruthie. So, for the next—” he checked his watch “—ten minutes, you’re all mine, Miss Duncan.”
She smiled lovingly. “Soon-to-be Mrs. McCord.”
He moved closer and reached for her hand, and then kissed her knuckles softly. “I can’t wait.”
“Me, either,” she said with complete love in her heart. “I love you.”
He grinned, but Cassie wasn’t fooled. He was as moved by emotion as she was.
“I love you, too.”
And an hour later they were in front of the justice of the peace, declaring their love and devotion to one another. Cassie cried a little during the ceremony as Tanner spoke of loving and honoring her for
all his life. Once their vows were made and their marriage officiated, Tanner gripped her hand, took Oliver in the crook of one arm and led them out of the courthouse and onto the front steps.
And into the rest of their lives.
*
Don’t miss M.J.’s story,
THE CEO’S BABY SURPRISE,
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Chapter One
“You know, you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”
Theresa Pirelli shifted her gaze from the towering redwoods flashing by the passenger-side window to glance over at her cousin Sophia Cameron. Concern drew Sophia’s dark eyebrows together beneath her fringe of bangs, and Theresa forced a smile.
A smile she’d gotten used to pulling out like fine china—all for show and, often she feared, just as fragile. “As much as I’d love to spend my whole trip spoiling that baby of yours, the three of you need your time alone.”
And so do I.
After the weeks she’d spent in the hospital following a devastating car accident and then the months of recovery under her parents’ watchful and worried eyes, Theresa desperately needed an escape. But it had to be one that wouldn’t cause her parents further angst. A visit to Clearville and to meet the newest member of the family fulfilled both of those needs.
But with her cousin Drew getting married to local baker, Debbie Mattson, her family would soon descend en masse on the Northern California town. Her freedom from their almost suffocating concern wasn’t going to last long, but she planned to make the most of it and use these precious days to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.
“Not so much alone time that you couldn’t stay with us for a few weeks. Adult conversation is appreciated, you know. I’m half afraid baby talk is going to become my first language.”
Despite the complaint, Theresa didn’t think she’d ever seen her cousin so happy. And why not when Sophia was married to the man she loved. A man who was not her son’s biological father. They’d had a rocky start to their relationship, but Jake had fought hard to prove that he was the family man she’d been looking for, finally winning Sophia over.
It was a similar battle to the one Theresa had fought with her fiancé, Michael Parrish. Only she had lost.
Her muscles tightened, as if physically trying to block out the memories. Her right hand curled into a tight fist in her lap while her left hand...did not.
After pulling in a deep breath, she made sure her voice was even and calm as she stated, “It’s not like we won’t see each other while I’m here just because I’m staying outside of town.”
“I know but...in one of Jarrett Deeks’s cabins?”
From what Theresa had read online, along with being an equine rescue, the Rockin’ R offered trail rides, lessons and boarding for horses. Recent expansion included building half a dozen or so guest cabins on the property. Judging by the somewhat stark descriptions on the website, the cabins didn’t offer much in the way of amenities. They were an alternative for people who didn’t want to stay in the cute and cozy Victorian bed-and-breakfasts the small town was known for.
Theresa supposed hunters and fishermen drawn to the area by its rugged wilderness weren’t interested in sleeping in the “Rose Suite” or “Daisy Drawing Room.”
“I’m sure the cabins will be fine,” Theresa insisted. Long hours working as a nurse in a St. Louis emergency room had taught her to sleep wherever and whenever she could. Lumpy couches, narrow, uncomfortable beds, even sitting on the floor with her back propped up against a wall had all provided her with a few hours’ rest between many a shift.
All part of the job she loved. The job she lived for...
“I know the cabin will be fine,” Sophia was saying, her cheerful voice calling Theresa back from the empty, endless void of her future, “but I was thinking that having you stay over would be like when we were kids, and you and your brothers used to come visit.”
Memories of those long-ago summer vacations drifted through her thoughts. How she’d loved the freedom of roaming the woods outside her cousins’ small hometown. “That’s a nice thought,” she told her cousin, even though she knew those carefree days were long gone. “But I need some time on my own.”
She’d been offered a place to stay for the next month with any one of her four cousins, but Sophia and Jake had the new baby, Nick and Sam were both newly married, having met the loves of their lives within the past year, and Drew was preparing for his own wedding. Her aunt and uncle had also offered her a room at their home, but that would have been almost the same as staying with her parents.
Even the small apartment above the antiques shop Sophia managed on Main Street had been a little too close. She could imagine family popping in every few hours. She loved them all and appreciated their concern—truly. But the strain of pretending everything was all right weighed so heavily on that porcelain facade, hairline cracks had started to show through. And just the thought of letting her family, or anyone, know how damaged she was beneath—
It won’t happen. I will not break.
She unclenched her fist, covered her left hand with her right and ignored the voice in her head whispering that she was already broken.
*
A few minutes later, Sophia pulled the car to a stop in front of a rustic building at the end of a graded dirt road. Through the trees, Theresa could see a corral and what she assumed to be the stables. As she opened the car door, the early-spring air carried a faint hint of hay and horses. The surroundings were so peaceful and quiet, she took her first deep, relaxing breath since...she didn’t know when.
“I’m pretty sure this is Jarrett’s rental office,” Sophia said as she rounded the front of the car and approached the building, “but it doesn’t look like he’s around.”
“I received an email confirming my reservation, so I’m sure this Jarrett knows I’m coming.” The website hadn’t offered any information about Jarrett Deeks, the owner of the stables and the newly built cabins. Sophia had said something about the man being a retired rodeo star.
Theresa could easily picture the aged cowboy relaxing in one of the rocking chairs that sat on the small porch. The perfect spot to greet guests and tell tales about roping calves and riding bulls or whatever he’d done back in the good ole days.
“He’s probably down at the stables,” Sophia said with a frown.
“Then I’m sure he’ll be back to the office in a few minutes.”
Her cousin sighed. “From what Nick says, Jarrett can be totally fixated when it comes to his rescue horses.”
Theresa knew the feeling. Or make that had known the feeling. The hectic pace of the emergency room could be overwhelming without the ability to focus on the job at hand. She could admire that kind of determination, and if it meant he’d forgotten about her arrival...well, that was okay.
She grabbed the edge of the car door to help pull herself to her feet, careful to balance her weight on her right leg. But even then, the muscles in her entire left side screamed after the long flight from St. Louis and ride in from the airport. The reconstructive surgeries on her knee had gone as well as expected, and thanks t
o the titanium rod and screws holding her broken femoral shaft together, the fracture had healed to a point where she no longer needed the crutches she’d so hated.
But the recovery was taking so much longer than she’d anticipated, even if her doctors and therapists insisted her rehabilitation for her leg was right on track. If she kept up with her therapy, she would in time regain her strength and range of motion. It was her other injury, the one far less obvious than the broken femur and damaged knee, that had a less-promising prognosis.
Nerve damage...
Could completely heal...
Might regain full use of hand...
But for all their noncommittal responses, Theresa feared her body was giving an answer that screamed louder than any words. The nerves weren’t healing. She didn’t have full use of her hand.
Look at you! You can’t even take care of yourself. How do you expect to help anyone else?
Echoes of the harshly spoken words battered her, the emotional blow rocking balance and stealing her breath as much as the ache in her left leg. Theresa forced herself to move as if she could run from the painful memories, but the best she could manage was a shuffling walk that failed to outdistance any of the raw images from that final fight with Michael.
“Maybe we should drive down to the stables,” Sophia was saying as Theresa made her way toward the porch.
The breeze cooled the sweat gathering at her hairline, and she was almost out of breath, but she’d made it from the gravel drive and up the three front steps. Waving a hand at one of the rockers, she said, “I’ll just wait here for him.”
“Theresa, no.”
“Sophia, yes,” she retorted. “I’ll be fine.”
The weather was crisp and cool, but far milder than the snowstorm she’d left behind in St. Louis. A small stream of sunlight filtered through the trees, bathing the corner of the porch with a warm glow. She’d brought her knee-length, red wool jacket and black leather gloves with her and would be perfectly warm enough to wait outside for Jarrett Deeks.
Between her time stuck in the hospital, in rehab and then at her parents’ house, she didn’t think she’d spent more than a few hours outside since the car accident. And most of that time was dedicated to the long, painful process of getting to and from doctors’ appointments.
