Winding River Reunion

by Sherryl Woods

  Cassie actually found herself grinning at that as she brushed the hair back from his forehead. “Oh, no? You always have a million questions.”

  “But I wouldn’t ask them. I swear it.”

  “Sweetie, if I could make it happen, I would.”

  His expression turned mulish again. “You could. You just don’t want to. And you said we were gonna stay at Grandma’s a long time, so there’s plenty of time.”

  Apparently, he hadn’t picked up on her earlier comment about leaving…or else he’d chosen to ignore it because it hadn’t suited him.

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” she admitted slowly. “I think we should leave right after the reunion.” She forced a smile. “How about going to Cheyenne? Wouldn’t you like to live in a big city for a change, Jake? Just think about it. It’s the capital of the state, and in the summer there are Frontier Days. You’ve asked about that.”

  Jake pushed away from her, that look of betrayal back in his eyes. “No. I don’t want to live in Cheyenne. I want to stay here. You promised. When you said goodbye to Earlene, you said you weren’t ever coming back except to pick up our things. That meant we were gonna stay here.”

  “I didn’t promise. I said it was something we might consider. I’ve thought it over, and I think it’s a bad idea.”

  “Don’t I get a say?”

  “Not about this.”

  “Well, I won’t go. You do whatever you want. Grandma will let me stay with her.”

  Cassie knew better, but she let it pass. Once Jake calmed down, she would make him see how exciting it would be to move to Cheyenne, even though she dreaded the prospect herself.

  “Come on. Let’s go find Grandma,” she said, taking his hand. He yanked it away, but he did come with her.

  She could see her mother still waiting in front of Stella’s, leaning against the bumper of a pickup, her face pale except for too-bright patches of color in her cheeks. There was a sheen of perspiration on Edna’s brow. Cole’s offhand remarks flooded back to Cassie. She studied her mother.

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. It’s just a little hotter out here than I thought.”

  Was it that or something more? Was her imagination running wild? After all, it was hot. She was perspiring herself. “Let’s go inside and get you something cold to drink,” Cassie suggested.

  “No, I’d rather go home. If you’ll get the car…” Edna’s voice trailed off.

  Cassie regarded her worriedly. The request was a totally uncharacteristic sign of weakness. “Of course I will. Where did you park?”

  “I can show you,” Jake said.

  “No, you stay right here with your grandmother in case she needs anything. I’ll find the car.”

  “It’s just around the corner,” her mother said, handing her the keys.

  Cassie ran all the way to the car. She hadn’t liked the way her mother looked. Worse, Edna Collins never admitted to an illness of any kind. She had borne everything from colds to appendicitis with stoic resolve during Cassie’s childhood. For her to ask Cassie to get the car, rather than coming along with her, was an incredible admission.

  Cassie found the car parked in front of Dolly’s Hair Salon, whipped it out of the tight parking space and was back at Stella’s in less than five minutes. Her mother all but collapsed into the front seat.

  “That air-conditioning sure feels good,” she said to Cassie. Then, as if determined to reassure her daughter, she added, “The heat just got to me for a minute. I promise that’s all it was.”

  Cassie let the remark pass. She had no intention of discussing her mother’s health with Jake sitting in the back seat, tuned in to every word. The minute they were alone, though, she was determined to get some straight answers. And if she didn’t like them, she was going to call their longtime family physician and get the truth from him.

  Unfortunately, her mother seemed to anticipate her intentions and scooted straight to her room, where she all but slammed the door in Cassie’s face.

  “What on earth?” Cassie murmured, staring at the door.

  She picked up the phone and called the doctor, only to be told he was away until the following week. Frustrated, she had barely hung up when the phone rang. She answered distractedly, then froze at the sound of Cole’s voice.

  “Cassie?” he repeated when she remained silent.

  “What?” she said finally.

  “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, I do. I’m coming over.”

  She glanced at Jake, who was back in front of the TV. “No, absolutely not,” she said fiercely. “I don’t want you here.”

  “Why not, Cassie? What are you hiding?”

  “I’m not hiding anything. It’s my mother. She’s not feeling well,” she said, grasping at straws. “The last thing she needs is to have the two of us fussing right under her nose.”

  “Then meet me. You pick the place.”

  “Didn’t you hear a word I said? My mother’s not feeling well.”

  “Of course. You need to stay there for now.”

  He had given up too easily. That only made Cassie more suspicious.

  “I’ll see you at the party tomorrow night, then,” he said. “We’ll find some time to talk there.”

  “You’re coming to the party?” she asked, not even trying to hide her dismay. “You weren’t in our class.”

  He chuckled at that. “It’s a small town. The reunion’s a big deal. Everyone will be there, if only to get a glimpse of our big movie star.”

  “But…” Why had she never considered that possibility? What had ever made her think she could go to a reunion in Winding River and not bump into Cole everywhere she turned?

  “My being there won’t bother you, will it? Ten years is a long time. Whatever was between us is surely dead and buried, right?”

  She heard the unmistakable taunt in his voice. “Absolutely,” she responded. “It is definitely dead and buried. Just one question, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “If it’s dead and buried, then what could you and I possibly have to talk about?”

  “Just putting one last nail in the coffin to make sure it stays that way,” he said dryly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Now there was something to look forward to, she thought dully as she hung up the phone. The prospect should have terrified her, and on one level it did. His taunts should have filled her with outrage, and to a degree they did.

  So why was her pulse scampering wildly out of control? Why was she suddenly wondering if there was one sexy outfit packed in her luggage? Why did she feel as if not one of the outrageous, dangerous things she’d done in high school could hold a candle to what might happen tomorrow night back in that same high school gym?

  Something told her she didn’t dare spend a whole lot of time considering the answers to those questions. If she did, and if she was smart, she might pack up everything and head for Cheyenne tonight.

  * * *

  Cole couldn’t imagine what had possessed him to call Cassie, much less announce his intention of going to the reunion party. It was the last place he wanted to be. In fact, he’d ignored the invitation, though he doubted anyone would turn him away at the door as long as he showed up with the price of admission.

  He blamed his last-minute change of heart on that encounter with Cassie in the street. It wasn’t just the fact that her skin still looked as soft as silk. Nor did it have anything to do with the way her body had added a few lush curves over the years. And it wasn’t because her hair was shot through with fire when the sunlight caught it. No, it was none of that.

  It was that damnable lie she’d told him with a perfectly straight face. If he hadn’t known the truth, he would have believed her—she’d been that convincing. Which meant, he concluded, that she’d believed every word she’d spoken.

  Somewhere along the way something had gotten all twisted around, and he wanted to know
how. Once he knew that, he could put the past to rest, put that last nail in the coffin of their love affair, just as he’d told her. Maybe she didn’t care about what had happened back then, but he did. God help him.

  In fact, he was so anxious to get the difficult conversation over with that he got to the gym the next night before seven, while the reunion committee was still setting up its tables outside the doors. Mimi Frances Lawson took one look at him and latched on to his arm with a death grip.

  “I need you inside, Cole,” she announced, dragging him along behind her. “The streamers are falling down around us, and I don’t have time to deal with it. The ladder’s over there.” She pointed it out. “Here’s a roll of tape. I don’t know what Hallie used when she put them up, but it’s not holding.”

  She leveled a look straight into his eyes, the somber look of a general sending troops into battle. “I’m counting on you to fix it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, amused and somewhat relieved to have a task that was actually within his capabilities and not fraught with the emotional repercussions of his anticipated confrontation with Cassie.

  “I mean it,” Mimi Frances said with an authority that came from being class president for three years running, or maybe from being the mother of five rambunctious boys. “I’m counting on you, Cole.”

  “These streamers won’t budge before next Christmas, Mimi Frances,” he assured her. “Now go on with whatever you need to be doing and leave this to me.”

  She nodded. “I’ll send someone in to help as soon as I can spare them.”

  The fact that she thought he needed help rankled a bit, but Cole ignored it and went to work. He was at the top of a ladder, balanced precariously, when he realized he was no longer alone. He looked straight down into Cassie’s familiar green eyes. She stared back unhappily.

  “So, Mimi Frances recruited you, too,” he said mildly, all too aware that she wasn’t one bit happy about being stuck with him, even in this very public setting.

  “That woman could run the entire U.S. government without breaking a sweat,” Cassie muttered. “I’m fairly certain I told her I was not climbing any ladders.”

  “Then it’s fortunate she paired you up with me. I’m not scared of heights,” Cole said, trying not to stare too hard at the sexy little black dress that revealed way too much cleavage, at least from this angle.

  “I’m not scared of heights, either,” Cassie retorted, indignant patches of color promptly flaring in her cheeks. “I beat you to the top of the town water tower, if I remember correctly.”

  “So you did,” he agreed, grinning. “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I’d like to see you climb anything in this dress.”

  “Honey, if I were in that dress, we’d have bigger problems at this reunion than the falling streamers.”

  A chuckle erupted, just as he’d intended, but she was quick to choke it back. Clearly, she wasn’t quite ready for a thaw in the icy distance between them.

  He gazed down at her. “Don’t stop. I always liked hearing you laugh.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Don’t go there, Cole.”

  “Go where?”

  “You know.”

  “To the past? Isn’t that what this reunion is all about? Can you think of a better time to think about what used to be?”

  “I suspect you and I have very different memories about what used to be.”

  He nodded. “Based on our conversation yesterday, I’d say you’re right about that.”

  He was about to use the opening to pursue the topic, when Mimi Frances bustled up.

  “Stop chatting,” she ordered briskly. “We only have a few more minutes.”

  “Everything is going to go beautifully,” Cassie reassured her. “The gym looks sensational. And Cole only has one or two more streamers to secure. Go outside, Mimi Frances, and take a deep breath, then sit back and enjoy yourself. You’ve outdone yourself. It looks prettier in here than it did on prom night—and that’s saying a lot.”

  “I don’t have time to enjoy myself,” Mimi Frances snapped, refusing to bask in the praise or take the advice. “Somebody has to see to all the details. I’d like to know who it’s going to be, if not me.”

  “Delegate,” Cole advised. “You got me on this ladder, didn’t you?”

  Mimi Frances looked flustered for a second, then a smile spread across her face. “Yes, I did, didn’t I? Well, let me just go outside and see who’s lurking about with nothing to do. Thanks, Cole.”

  He gave her a wink. “Any time, Madam President.”

  Mimi Frances went off in search of more recruits. Cole came down the ladder, slid it a few feet across the floor, then turned to Cassie. “Okay, your turn.”

  “My turn?” she echoed blankly. “To do what?”

  “You were assigned streamer duty, too. So far, I’m the only one who’s done a lick of work. How could you stand there and look Mimi Frances in the eye, knowing that you hadn’t done a blessed thing she asked you to? That woman is counting on us. The success of this entire reunion rests on our shoulders.”

  “Oh, please,” Cassie said with a groan. “Besides, you’re doing a fine job. I’ll hold the ladder.”

  “Not that I don’t trust you, darlin’, but I think I like the idea of me holding it for you a whole lot better.” He handed her the tape, plucked her off the ground and set her on the first rung. “Climb.” He paused, his gazed locked with hers. “Unless you really are scared of heights.”

  She frowned at him, then dutifully kicked off her shoes. She was halfway up, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her dress had hiked a good three inches up her thighs, when she paused and scowled down at him. “If I catch you looking up my skirt, Cole Davis, you’re a dead man.”

  “The thought never crossed my mind,” he lied cheerfully, then dutifully averted his gaze, at least until her back was turned.

  “You can’t have changed that much,” she retorted, shooting daggers at him when she caught the direction of his gaze.

  “Maybe I have,” he said. “You haven’t spent enough time with me to find out.”

  “And I’m not likely to,” she told him, slapping a wad of tape on the streamer, then sticking it to the wall before descending.

  Cole stood right at the bottom waiting for her, just far enough back to give her a little room to maneuver her way toward the floor. Then he braced one arm on either side of the ladder so that when she reached the last step she was all but in his arms.

  “Want to place a bet on that?” he taunted, his mouth next to her ear. She almost tumbled off the bottom rung and into his waiting arms, just as he’d anticipated. He was starting to enjoy keeping her off balance, literally and figuratively.

  “Back off,” she commanded.

  Cole recognized the heat in her tone. Cassie had always had a temper. It was slow to flare out of control, but once it did, it was as lively as the fireworks the town had planned for the Fourth of July. He’d missed that kind of excitement in his life.

  He stood his ground. “Not just yet.”

  She looked over her shoulder and straight into his eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

  For the longest time he just lost himself in the depths of her furious, flashing eyes. He ignored the whisper of dismay in her voice, the cry of old wounds in his soul. Finally he sighed.

  “I wish to hell I knew,” he said softly.

  Then and only then did he take a step back and, after one last lingering look, turn and walk away.

  It was a strategic retreat, nothing more, he told himself. He needed to spend a little time getting his head together before he had that confrontation with her he’d been thinking about for the past two days.

  Otherwise he was liable to spend the time kissing her senseless, instead of getting the answers he wanted.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Cassie hadn’t felt this jittery since her first date with Cole more than ten years earlier. After he’d walked away, when she finally managed that last s
haky step from the ladder, her knees all but buckled. She grabbed her shoes and fled to the ladies’ room. She was splashing cold water on her overheated cheeks when Karen wandered in.

  “Here you are. Cole said you were around. How long have you been here?”

  “Too long,” Cassie muttered.

  “What?”

  “Oh, never mind. I never should have come back to Winding River.”

  Karen’s gaze narrowed. “Is Cole giving you a rough time? He hasn’t seen Jake, has he?”

  “Not yet, but wouldn’t you know my son spotted him yesterday and knew exactly who he was. Apparently Cole is some hotshot computer guy, total hero material to a tech-savvy nine-year-old. Jake is furious because I won’t introduce them.”

  “Oh, my,” Karen said, regarding her with sympathy. “That is a problem. Will Jake let it drop?”

  “Not a chance, which is why I’m getting out of town first thing next week.”

  “But your mom,” Karen began, then fell silent.

  Cassie seized on the inadvertent slip. “What about my mother?”

  “Nothing.” Karen turned away to concentrate on touching up her lipstick.

  Cassie regarded her with impatience. “Dammit, not you, too. Cole started this same tight-lipped routine with me yesterday. What is going on? The doctor’s out of town, so I haven’t been able to get any answers from him.”

  Karen sighed, then stepped away from the mirror to give her a fierce hug. “Talk to her.”

  Cassie’s heart began to thud dully. There was only one thing that would have Cole and one of her dearest friends tiptoeing around. She held on to Karen and looked straight into her eyes.

  “She’s sick, isn’t she?”

  “Just talk to her,” her friend repeated, then fell silent. A moment later, before Cassie could even attempt to persuade her to open up, Karen subtly sniffed the air.

  “School’s been out for a month. How is it possible that it still smells like sweaty gym socks in here?”

  Cassie chuckled despite herself, then gestured to the array of air fresheners around the room. “Don’t tell Mimi Frances. She’ll die of embarrassment. Evidently she thought she’d solved that particular problem.”