by Jeannie Watt
“Oh—here one comes,” Pete announced, shifting his feet at the edge of the conveyor like an athlete ready to spring into action.
He’d barely yanked the bag off the belt when Frances said, “There’s the next one.”
Once both bags were clear, Cassie took one and Katie the other, leaving Pete and Frances with free hands to offer granddaughters.
“Where’s Mom?” Pete asked as they left the terminal.
“She’s at the ranch. You’ll see her soon. Dan and Marge McGuire are also getting in today. They’re staying at Will’s house in town, so you’ll see them at the rehearsal tomorrow.”
“Will’s son has a disease and uses crutches,” Kendra explained to Frances.
“Will’s going to be our new grandpa,” Bailey added.
“I know, sweetie. Isn’t it exciting?” Frances replied.
“And how’s Travis?” Pete asked Cassie. “I hear you guys are working together.”
“We are,” Cassie said mildly, ignoring the little jolt she’d felt at the mention of his name. “And Travis is...” Attractive, challenging, thought provoking, hot. “Travis is fine.”
Her father lifted his eyebrows, making her suspicious as to what he already knew—or thought he knew.
“Have you heard otherwise?” she asked lightly.
Her father grinned at her. “No. I have not.”
* * *
THE CALLAHAN RANCH HOUSE kitchen was filled to capacity. Frances and Pete sat at one side of the table and Cassie and Rosalie on the other. Katie and Brady perched on the island stools and, since all the chairs were taken, Alex and Nick stood side by side, leaning against the blue quartz countertop, their shoulders pressed close together. Every now and again their gazes met and held, making Cassie smile inwardly, glad that her brother had found happiness, while also stirring a touch of jealousy. Even though they came from different worlds, Nick and Alex had worked things out, but they’d had the necessary proximity to do that. There hadn’t been a ticking clock involved.
She and Travis had a clock. There wasn’t a lot of time before she left, and while going with the flow had sounded fine a few days ago, it didn’t feel so fine now.
“My body is so confused about time right now,” Frances said to Bailey, who was snuggled on her lap.
“It’s bedtime,” Bailey told her.
Kendra instantly started shaking her head from where she stood leaning on her grandfather’s chair, but Pete laughed and said, “Your sister is right. Grandma and I are going to bed, too. We have to get our body clocks set to your time.”
“Why?”
He reached out to touch Kendra’s chin. “Because it’s near lunchtime where we live.”
Kendra put her hands on her hips, as if not quite certain whether to believe him or not.
“It’s true, love,” Frances said with a gentle smile. “And before we move here, we’re going to have you and Bailey visit us and see the sights.”
“I want to see where it’s lunchtime at night,” Bailey said as she slid off Frances’s lap.
“I think you’d be surprised at how much it looks like lunchtime here,” Pete said with a laugh.
After Frances, Pete and Rosalie said their good-nights, Brady topped off wineglasses and the five of them took seats at the table, making Cassie, literally, the odd person out. Normally she wouldn’t have minded, but tonight...tonight her thoughts were drifting to a guy who was doing night work in his fields. When would they find time to hammer things out during the hubbub of the wedding activities? Or did they have anything to hammer out?
As the time to leave drew closer, Cassie realized that there were matters she wanted settled.
“Cassie?”
She jumped after her sister said her name, quite possibly for the second or third time, judging from the amused tone of her voice.
“Yes?”
Everyone laughed and she realized that she hadn’t been called upon to answer a question—they’d simply noticed that she wasn’t there mentally.
“Is everything okay?” Alex asked.
All eyes were on her when she put her hands on the table and pushed her chair back. “I...uh...think I’m going to...” When had she ever hesitated to express her intentions? “I’m going to see Travis. He should be getting close to done.”
She got to her feet and when no one said a word, she made her way to the door, grabbing a hoodie off the coat hooks before stepping out into the warm night air.
* * *
THE LAST OF the hay was baled, and with the help of Will’s co-op friends, it would be stacked tomorrow, before the predicted rains came. Travis rolled the kinks out of his shoulders as he turned the baler and headed toward the ranch, which was dark except for the yard lamps—and the headlights that appeared on the driveway.
The lights were too close together to be Will’s truck, and besides that, Will was supposed to be picking up his son and daughter-in-law, whose flight came in at 11:00 p.m. It was after ten, so that left...Cassie?
His heartbeat ramped up as he got closer and recognized her car. She got out as he parked the big machine and then climbed down the steps from the cab. Had something happened? If so, wouldn’t she have simply called?
He started toward her and she met him halfway, coming to a stop a few feet away from him.
“What are you doing here, Cassie?”
She cocked her head and said, “I needed to see you.”
“That’s a good start.”
She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Isn’t it, though?” She lifted her chin in the direction of the field. “Done?”
“I am.”
She shifted her weight. “I’m not staying long.”
“Just popped by to say good-night?” The knot in his gut was relaxing. He’d been half-afraid that a night visit meant that she didn’t want anyone around to hear the fallout from whatever she was there to say.
She held out her hands and he took them, holding her smooth fingers in his. “Okay, I might be staying awhile, but the family is still sitting at the table and—”
“We wouldn’t want talk,” he said with a half smile.
“I don’t know what to do here, Travis. Time is passing quickly and next thing you know I’ll be deep in my classes and... Do we leave this thing hanging?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I...” She pulled her hands away and clasped them together, glancing down before raising her gaze again. “I’m thinking of staying here until my sabbatical is over.”
Travis’s heart knocked against his ribs. “Your doctorate?”
“I don’t need it to qualify for the top job in my district. I’d like to have it, of course, but I can do without it for a while.”
“I...didn’t see this coming.”
“I’ve changed.”
“No argument there.” The tenseness that had defined her after she first arrived was gone. Everything about her was more relaxed.
“Do you like me better like this?”
“I think you’re happier.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“I like you any way you are, Cassie.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “Some of your personas are more exhausting than others, but...I like them all.” He settled his hands on her shoulders. “What happens after your sabbatical?”
“I have months to figure that out.”
“More going with the flow?” he asked with a smile.
“I think the flow will be smoother without a ticking clock. I checked while the family was catching up, and I can get back eighty percent of my tuition if I cancel before next week.”
“Not much time to make a decision.”
“No,” she said as she tilted her lips up to his. “My decision is made.”
* * *
TRAVIS AND CASSIE didn’t manage mu
ch alone time as families caught up and final touches were put on the wedding barn. Before the very short and rudimentary wedding run-through, he and Lester and Will had set up dozens of rented folding chairs that Gloria had brought out in a small U-Haul trailer, and then oversaw the setting up of the caterer’s buffet tables.
He had to admit that the barn was perfect for a rainy event. It was roomy and dry and, thanks to Rosalie’s and Gloria’s expertise, really nice-looking. It was amazing what flowers and greenery and a thorough pressure washing could do for a hundred-year-old structure.
“There you are.” Travis’s older sister, Amanda, tucked her arm in his. “This looks good. Grandpa said you had a hand in it.”
“I had no choice. They wouldn’t let me hay.”
“I heard that you cut hay at night.”
“A little.”
She let out a satisfied breath as she studied the barn. “I can’t believe how much work you guys did in here.” She smiled up at him. “And you didn’t kill one another.”
“We did not.”
“Which Grandpa takes as a sign that you should be together forever.”
“I wouldn’t mind.”
Amanda stilled. “Imagine that.”
“There are obstacles.” He wasn’t foolish enough to think there weren’t, but with a long stretch of time ahead of them, he was hopeful that they could work things out slowly, instead of under intense pressure.
“You always did love a challenge.” She stepped back to look up into his face. “But from my perspective, there’s a lot of things at play here.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Awkwardness if things go bad.”
“Yes.”
“All this stuff has crossed your mind.”
He gave her a look and she bit her lip. “Okay. Well, best of luck.” She stepped back and gestured toward the driveway. “People are getting ready to head to town for the dinner.” Which Gloria was hosting at Will’s town house.
“I guess I’ll join them.” Cassie had already left with Gloria and Katie after the practice run-through, and he was looking forward to seeing her, sitting with her and watching the families interact, and not feeling the pressure to come to some resolution. Now.
He was still amazed that Cassie was giving up her classes. Amazed and thankful. If things worked out between them, he’d see to it that she got that doctorate.
Although he was still a little iffy on how things would work out. Like he’d told his sister, there were obstacles, but at least they had time to deal with them.
* * *
CASSIE HAD NO PROBLEM making snap decisions when it came to things like whether or not to take on a bully or accept a challenge to ride a cow, but when it came to the bigger decisions in life, the career-affecting decisions, she always took time to weigh pros and cons, assess possible outcomes, consider consequences.
But she’d made the decision to drop her classes and stay in Montana while sitting in the kitchen with her family happily chatting away.
And it still felt like the right thing to do. If she’d needed any reinforcement as to the rightness of her decision, every time Travis looked her way during the dinner at Will’s town house, she got it.
They had months to figure this thing out, so there was no need to move quickly. They had the luxury of time—and proximity, just as Nick and Alex had had—to figure things out.
It was possible that they may conclude it just wasn’t working out between them...but as she watched Travis balancing a plate on his knee as he listened to Bailey explain something possibly involving kittens, her heart squeezed. Honestly? She didn’t see that happening.
If she needed more evidence that she was making the right choice, she got it when she and Travis walked to his truck to say goodbye for the evening. Will was spending the night at his ranch, along with Travis’s parents and sister. A full house. Gloria had shooed away all offers of help cleaning up after the meal, explaining that she’d hired a couple of high school kids to take care of matters the next day, so Cassie and her family were about to head out to their own ranch. It was only seven o’clock, so they had plenty of time to enjoy one another’s company before heading to bed prior to the big day.
“I guess I won’t see you until you walk down the aisle tomorrow,” he said as he ran a hand down her arm to capture her fingers in a light grip. He grinned then. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded.” His expression sobered. “I’m all about no pressure while we figure this out.”
Meaning a compromise that would make it all work. Cassie didn’t know what that would look like, but she had months to figure out her priorities.
“I believe you,” she said simply, meeting his lips in a quick kiss. “See you,” she said, stepping back as her nieces raced down the sidewalk to the car, followed by Frances and Rosalie. Rosalie held out her hand just as Cassie felt the first drops of rain hit her face and hair.
“And it begins,” she said to Travis.
He smiled down at her.
“So it does.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“HOW DOES FRANCES feel about leaving Australia?” Cassie asked, and Katie leaned forward from where she sat on the fireplace hearth to hear Pete’s answer. Rosalie and Frances and Nick were putting the little girls to bed, which allowed Cassie to ask the question she’d been wondering about. Big life changes were on her radar.
“Surprisingly good with it. I think it helps that she has no real home there anymore. Her brother moved to the UK and her parents have been gone for years now.” He leaned his head back against the same recliner he’d sat in when she and Katie were little girls. “She’ll be homesick. I was, but life is all about give-and-take. I’m sure it’ll work out. And we can vacation there.”
“Good compromise,” Katie said.
Cassie’s phone rang from where she’d left it in the kitchen, but she ignored it and continued to talk to her father about his retirement plans. The second time her phone rang, just minutes after the first, she excused herself to answer it, passing Nick on the way to the kitchen.
“They’re down?” she asked.
“All of them. Frances and Rosalie were more tired than the kids.”
Cassie laughed as her phone rang again.
“Better get that,” Nick said.
“I just need to see who it is.” Because she didn’t want to disturb her evening.
Anna Lee. Cassie pulled in a breath as she picked up the phone. She didn’t have time to worry about district goings-on, and was about to say so when she noticed she had two other missed calls—all from Anna Lee.
“What’s happening?” she asked after a quick hello.
“I’m so glad I caught you.” Anna Lee sounded breathless, like she’d been running.
“What happened?” Cassie repeated. She barely got the words out before a second call came in. She lifted the phone from her ear and saw Rhonda’s name on the screen. “I have a call from Rhonda.”
“Take it,” Anna Lee said. “Then call me.”
The phone buzzed again, but Cassie didn’t switch calls.
“What happened?” she asked Anna Lee, not wanting to go into a call with Rhonda without some details.
“While Doug was gone, there was an audit.” Anna spoke so quickly that it was hard to understand her. “He’s been skimming money.”
Cassie’s heart dropped. “You’re kidding.” The phone buzzed a third time and she said, “I’ll talk to you later,” before switching to Rhonda’s call.
“Hi, Rhonda.” Now she sounded like she’d been running. “What’s up?” Exactly what she would have said had Anna Lee not warned her about what had just happened.
“Serious matters. Is there any chance you can cut your sabbatical short?”
Cassie swallowed. Could she? “What happened?”
“There is a serious issue with Doug. He�
�s taking a paid leave now, but, frankly, I think he’ll be stepping down.”
“Can you give me details?”
“We’re looking at an embezzlement charge. And it’s not a small sum.”
“How could he...?”
“With help from Marie Smits.” The longtime bookkeeper.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Cassie,” Rhonda said earnestly, “you’re the only one who can step into my shoes while I take over Doug’s duties. School is starting in less than two weeks. I’ve already spoken to the board about returning you to active status. I need you. Now. Is that possible?”
Cassie shot a look through the dining room door to her family. Her father was in a deep discussion with Kendra. Her father, whom she’d barely seen.
“I need you,” Rhonda repeated when Cassie didn’t immediately answer. “The district needs you. We’ll reimburse you for the money you’ll be out for canceling classes at this late date. If there is any money left in the district accounts.” She gave a small laugh that sounded as if it was close to slipping into hysterical territory. “Doug has done some damage to our bottom line. I mean allegedly done damage, of course.”
“How soon would I have to be there?” she asked, her stomach tightening as she said the words. She’d put out some fires in her day, but this one was by far the most serious.
“How soon can you get here?”
“I can’t come until after my grandmother’s wedding.”
“There is an emergency board meeting with the attorneys the day after tomorrow. I need you for that if possible.”
Cassie swallowed. “Would it be possible to be there for the meeting, then take a few days? My father is here from Australia.”
“We can evaluate after the meeting. There are so many things going on. I need your experience and expertise. I need you.”
