Unfortunately, it seemed as if she’d barely closed her eyes and taken a deep, relaxing breath, when noise erupted from the ball field and everyone began trailing back in search of drinks and food.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Cole said, dropping down beside her.
“I wasn’t asleep.”
“Oh, really?” he said, his expression amused. “How many innings of ball have we played since you took off?”
Cassie glanced toward Karen, but there was no help there. She was feeding plump strawberries to her husband. “I wasn’t paying attention,” she finally conceded.
“Five,” he said. “And you slept through every one of them. You missed my home run and Emma’s tantrum when Mimi Frances failed to touch third base and was declared out.”
If she had slept, it hadn’t done any good. She certainly didn’t feel rested. “Who won?”
“The women, of course,” Lauren said haughtily, sitting down beside Cole.
“Only because you used that body of yours shamelessly to distract us,” Caleb accused.
“You’re married. You’re not supposed to be looking at Lauren’s body,” Karen chided, but there was amusement dancing in her eyes.
“A man would have to be dead not to notice the way she was wiggling around,” he retorted.
Lauren feigned innocence. “I did nothing of the kind. I just took my turn at bat like everyone else.”
“I haven’t seen hips move that much since Marilyn Monroe strutted across a screen,” one of the other men said.
“Are you complaining?” Gina inquired. “Seemed to me like you were all but drooling.”
“I was not,” he protested.
Cole leaned down and whispered in Cassie’s ear, “I have no idea what all the fuss was about.”
She risked meeting his gaze and saw the twinkle in his eyes that was at odds with his pious expression. “Oh, really?”
“I only have eyes for one woman here,” he insisted.
“Oh? And who would that be?”
“You.”
A shiver washed over her, despite herself. “Cole, don’t.”
“I just want you to know where I’m coming from.” His expression sobered. “There’s unfinished business between us, Cassie. You know there is. I think it’s about time we dealt with it.”
“I can’t think about that now. I can’t think about you,” she said fiercely, scrambling to her feet.
“Where are you going?”
“For a walk.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No,” she said, her scowl keeping him in place.
“I’ll still be here when you get back,” he reminded her mildly. “And nothing will have changed.”
Cassie didn’t care. She needed space now. She needed time to figure out why Cole could still get to her, even when she desperately wanted him not to matter at all.
“You do whatever you want to do,” she told him. “You always have.”
That said, she fled, but though Cole didn’t follow, he stayed right smack in the middle of her thoughts. That was okay, though, she finally concluded. Thinking about the man couldn’t get her into that much trouble.
Being with him could be disastrous.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Mom, Grandma says there are going to be fireworks tomorrow night for the Fourth of July,” Jake said eagerly over breakfast two days later.
The class reunion had bumped smack into the town’s annual holiday festivities, so people had lingered after the weekend. Unfortunately, the one person Cassie wanted most to avoid lived right here in town. Cole wouldn’t be going anywhere, not anytime soon. And unless times had changed, he would be at the fireworks. His father, always a benefactor of the event, would no doubt be grand marshal of the parade. Avoiding the two of them would be next to impossible.
“Can we go, please?” Jake pleaded. “And there’s a parade, too. There will be hot dogs and all sorts of neat stuff. Grandma told me all about it.”
Cassie cast a startled look at her mother, who shrugged.
“He asked if anything special was going on for the Fourth,” she explained. “I guess I got carried away.”
“Mom, can we go?” Jake begged. “The Fourth of July is my very favorite holiday.”
Cassie chuckled at that. “And right before Thanksgiving you always say that’s your favorite because you love turkey and pumpkin pie. And then there’s Christmas with the tree and Santa and all the presents.”
“But they’re not for months and months. This is my very favorite because it happens now. We’ve gotta go. Maybe I’ll meet some other kids. If we’re gonna be here even for a little while, I’ve gotta have friends.”
Cassie hated the thought of denying him, but what about Cole? How could she manage to keep them apart? Or was it simply time to get used to the idea that she couldn’t, not and stay here in Winding River?
“Give me a little time to think about it,” she said, praying she could come up with a reasonable solution that would balance Jake’s needs and her fears.
Jake’s face fell. “You’re going to say no, aren’t you? You never want me to have any fun. You’re still mad about what happened before we left home. You said when we came here I wouldn’t be grounded anymore, but I might as well be if I can’t do anything and I don’t have one single friend to play with.”
“Sweetie, it’s not that,” Cassie told him. “I swear it. I would love to take you. And I do want you to get to know the other kids in town.” She thought desperately, trying to come up with a believable excuse for her hesitation. She could hardly tell him the truth—that she didn’t want him anywhere near his father.
“It’s just that your mother knows I haven’t been feeling all that well,” Edna broke in, throwing Cassie a lifeline. “It might have to be a last-minute decision.”
Worry immediately creased Jake’s brow. “You’re sick?” he asked, wide-eyed.
“Nothing serious,” Edna insisted, keeping to her agreement with Cassie to keep the truth from Jake for as long as possible. She fell back on the incident he had seen for himself. “But the heat bothers me some. You saw that in town the other day.”
He scrambled off his chair and snuggled close to her side. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to go,” he said bravely, though his chin quivered ever so slightly as he made the concession.
His grandmother gave him a fierce hug. “You are such a thoughtful child. Thank you. Now why don’t you go on out to the garage and see if you can get that old bike in shape to ride. Once you’ve got some wheels, you’ll be able to get around and meet those kids.” She gave him one last squeeze. “Now, go on.”
Jake gave her one last worried look, then left.
“Thank you for bailing me out,” Cassie said, breathing a sigh of relief when he’d gone.
“It was my fault he got his heart set on it in the first place. I just remembered how you used to love the parade and the hot dogs and the fireworks, and the next thing I knew I was feeling nostalgic and telling him all about it.”
“I wish I could take him,” Cassie said wistfully.
“Then do it,” her mother said staunchly. “Maybe we’ve been going about this all wrong, keeping him from Cole. If you’re determined to stay here, you can’t keep Jake locked up in this house. He shouldn’t be punished because of something that’s not his fault.”
Cassie had been thinking the same thing herself just moments earlier, but the fear the idea stirred was tough to conquer. “You know all hell will break loose if Cole adds two and two together and figures everything out.”
“It might,” her mother conceded. “But that child needs a father. He could do worse than Cole.” Her mother seemed to be oblivious to the fact that her attitude was a major turnaround.
“That’s quite a change of heart,” Cassie noted.
“Not really,” her mother denied, looking guilty.
“Oh? You’ll have to explain that to me.”
“I always thought he was a fine
young man. What you told me after he left the other night, that he’s willing to pay my medical expenses is proof of that. Back then I just thought things got a little out of hand between the two of you, especially with you being so young. Then when he left and you turned out to be pregnant, naturally I blamed him.”
“There were two of us to blame,” Cassie said, finding herself taking Cole’s side as well.
“Well, of course, but he was older. I thought he took advantage of you. And, then…” She shrugged and fell silent.
“Then what?”
“Nothing. It’s water under the bridge now.”
Before Cassie could press her, she heard a masculine voice outside. “Oh, my God,” she said, leaping up. “What if that’s Cole?”
“Then you go out there and act perfectly natural,” her mother advised. “Anything else will make him suspicious. Until you decide you’re going to admit the truth to him, you have to keep those two apart, but you have to do it as subtly as possible. He won’t see what you and I see when we look at Jake, because he won’t be expecting it.”
Cassie knew she was right, but that didn’t stop the panic from clawing at her as she stepped outside and saw Cole bending down to help Jake tighten a bolt on the bicycle he’d retrieved from the garage. Her heart slammed to a stop at the sight, then resumed beating at a more frantic pace.
Jake looked up at her with shining eyes. “Mom, Mr. Davis is helping me fix the bike.”
“I see that. Does Mr. Davis actually have any idea what he’s doing?”
Cole frowned up at her with feigned indignation. “Hey, lady, are you questioning my mechanical skills?”
She forced a grin. “You bet. I seem to recall an electric coffeepot that blew up after you’d tinkered with it.”
Cole tapped the wrench against the bike. “No electricity involved here, just nuts and bolts and chains.”
“True, but I’m sure you didn’t stop by to do bike repair,” she said. “I’ll help Jake later.”
“But, Mom,” Jake wailed.
“I said I’d help later. Cole, why don’t you come on inside? I know Mother is anxious to thank you for what you’re doing for her.”
“Is she really?” Cole asked, his expression skeptical.
Cassie did grin at that. “Well, she will thank you right after she tells you how she can’t accept, that Edna Collins doesn’t accept anyone’s charity, et cetera, et cetera.”
Cole got to his feet. “Now that sounds more like it. I guess I’ll just have to dust off my charm.”
That ought to do it, Cassie thought as he held out his hand to her son for a grown-up handshake. Certainly one member of the Collins family was under his spell. Okay, two, she conceded reluctantly. She might not hold out any hope for their future, but that didn’t stop her from indulging in the occasional fantasy, the one in which she, Jake and Cole somehow put aside all the lies and deceit of the past and became a happy family.
* * *
As soon as Cole left and she could get away, Cassie invited her mother to come into town with her and Jake to have lunch at Stella’s. Eager for an outing of any kind, Jake had already raced ahead to the car.
“I need to talk to Stella about that job,” she explained to her mother. “This is as good a time as any. And maybe it will pacify Jake. He’s still smarting over the fact that I didn’t let Cole spend the whole morning helping him with that bike.”
“Then you’re determined to stay?” her mother asked. “Even with Cole showing up here earlier and sending you into a tizzy?”
Cassie couldn’t deny that she’d been thrown, but a promise was a promise. “I told you I would. Besides, there is nowhere else I could be right now. You need me.”
Her mother nodded, and what might have been relief passed across her face. “That’s that, then,” she said giving Cassie’s hand a squeeze. “It’ll be good to have the two of you here. The house gets awfully quiet sometimes.”
“I thought you’d be grateful for that after all the ruckus I raised as a kid.”
Her mother smiled. “I was for a time, but no more. Having Jake running in and out, having you to talk to now that you’re a grown-up woman yourself, it’s a real blessing, Cassie. I’m grateful.”
“I don’t need your gratitude, Mom. I belong here, especially now. Go on and get your purse. I’m going to buy you the biggest sundae Stella can make.”
“Oh, my, I couldn’t possibly,” her mother said, but she looked tempted as she followed Cassie to the car.
“Of course you can,” Cassie said as she checked to make sure everyone had fastened their seat belts. Then she grinned at her mother. “And you can have it before lunch.”
Her mother looked horrified. “Heavens, no. It will ruin my appetite.”
“So what?” Cassie said as they made the quick trip to Main Street. “Why can’t we have dessert first every now and again on a special occasion?”
“And what occasion would that be?” her mother asked as Cassie pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner.
“My homecoming, of course.”
A rare and full-fledged smile spread across her mother’s too-pale face. “Now that really is worth celebrating.”
She said it with such genuine emotion that Cassie had to blink back tears. Maybe she’d had it wrong all these years. Maybe her mother really had missed her.
“Can I celebrate, too?” Jake asked from the back.
“Absolutely,” Cassie agreed.
“And we’re really going to stay here?” he asked. “You’re not going to change your mind again?”
“I’m not changing my mind,” Cassie said firmly.
He pumped a fist into the air. “All right!”
When they were settled into a booth at Stella’s, Cassie beckoned her old boss over. “We need three large sundaes, two hot fudge.” She glanced at her mother. “Caramel or strawberry?”
“Definitely strawberry,” her mother said.
Stella reacted with shock. “No main course? Not even a burger?”
“Not yet,” Cassie said.
“Anything else?”
“How about a job?”
Stella’s mouth gaped. She stuck her order pad in her pocket, then scooted into the booth next to Cassie. “You’re looking for work?”
Cassie nodded.
“Well, hallelujah! That must mean you’re home to stay.”
“I am.”
“Then you can start tomorrow. With the parade and all, it’s going to be a zoo in here, and the teenage girl I had working for me announced today that she intended to spend the Fourth with her boyfriend whether I liked it or not.”
“Did you fire her?”
Stella chuckled. “I will now. Irresponsible kids need to be taught a lesson.” She patted Cassie’s hand. “Didn’t take long for you to catch on, did it? One warning had you in here right on time every single day you were scheduled.”
“I liked the perks,” Cassie said with a grin. “All the ice cream I could eat.”
“It was a small price to pay for a reliable worker,” Stella replied.
After she’d gone off to fix their sundaes, Jake left his grandmother’s side to squeeze in next to Cassie. “If we’re gonna stay, that means I can spend more time with Mr. Davis, doesn’t it? My friends back home will be so jealous when I tell them I know him. I mean, he’s almost like a celebrity.”
“In that case you should understand that you can’t go bothering him. I’m sure he has lots and lots of work to do,” Cassie said.
“But I asked him if he would explain to me about computers and how they work and stuff, and he said he would.” Jake regarded her with an earnest, hopeful expression. “He said he wouldn’t mind at all.”
Cassie exchanged a helpless look with her mother. Leave it to Jake to take matters into his own hands.
“We’ll see,” Cassie said evasively.
“I think we should go after lunch, before he forgets,” Jake said.
“No, not today,” C
assie told him firmly.
“When?”
“I’ll talk to him and work something out,” she said, grateful when Stella appeared with their sundaes.
The ice cream distracted Jake for maybe five minutes before he began to badger her again.
“If you don’t drop this right now,” Cassie said finally, “you won’t see him at all.”
“But—”
“I said to drop it.”
Tears welled up in Jake’s eyes, but he fell silent, shoving the rest of his sundae away in protest. Cassie’s appetite disappeared, as well. Only her mother continued to enjoy her sundae, or at least pretended to.
Was this what it was going to be like living in Winding River, a constant tug-of-war with her son over his hero worship of a man he didn’t even realize was his father?
By the time they left for home, Cassie had a splitting headache and a knot the size of Wyoming in her stomach. At this rate she was going to wind up in a hospital bed right next to her mother’s.
* * *
Naturally Jake didn’t take her decision as final. Nor did the concession she made, allowing him to attend the parade and fireworks, appease him. She had to admit that had gone well enough. If Cole had been around, she hadn’t spotted him. And Jake’s delight had been worth every second of nervousness she’d experienced.
But by the next morning the treat had been forgotten, and Jake was back on the subject of going to see Cole. Her repeated warnings that she didn’t want to hear another word about it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
He continued to pester her for the rest of the week about going out to the Double D. He’d gotten his stubbornness and willfulness from her, no doubt about it.
She steadfastly continued to refuse to take him to visit Cole, making up excuse after excuse, but Cassie could see that they were wearing thin. Even so, she was stunned when Jake disappeared on Saturday morning. She searched high and low, but finally had to admit there was no sign of him.
“Mom, have you seen Jake?”
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