PAR FOR CINDERELLA

by MCCARTY, PETIE

  “You’re up early, and it was my morning to make breakfast.”

  “Guess I missed out,” she told him.

  The very last thing she felt like having this morning was a lecture. She could barely think past the sharp pain in her chest right around her heart.

  “Aidan gone?” She knew the answer, but her traitorous heart forced her to ask anyway.

  “Yeah. Had a driver pick him up last night. I caught him on the way out.”

  “What about him not leaving town before his hearing?” She had hoped anyway.

  “Shaun said the FDLE boys, with help from some Palm Beach attorneys, got the charges dropped. Actually, that was the first thing PJ offered when Aidan pinned him to the ground outside last night.”

  Casey almost smiled. She would’ve loved to have seen that. “Still smells a little like gas in here.”

  “The fire department hosed the place down pretty well last night to remove any fire threat.”

  She pulled the cart forward and attached a charger cable to the battery.

  “You don’t need to do this, Casey Jo. Rory will be in later.”

  “I need to keep busy,” she blurted and then wanted to kick herself.

  She hadn’t wanted her uncle to know how badly she hurt. He would try and fix it. Just like Aidan. She swallowed back a sob that had been trying to escape for over an hour. She would not cry over a liar, a pretender like all the other men she had ever cared for. Even if Aidan had saved her life.

  “Don’t you have mowing to do?”

  “I have business right here.” Frank pointed to the ground at his feet with a scowl. “And I’m not leaving until you admit the real reason you signed Aidan up for the U.S. Open qualifier. Until you do, you won’t have a chance to heal.”

  She frowned at him. “I told you. I wanted to give him his dream.”

  Frank was shaking his head before she ever finished.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “You pushed him away before he could leave you on his own. Admit it.”

  She jerked back, feeling her uncle’s words like a slap. Had she really done that?

  He frowned right back at her. “You shoved Aidan away with both hands.”

  “I wanted him to have his dream,” she insisted stubbornly.

  “Well, you got your wish. He’s gone.”

  The sob finally bolted forth, unwilling to be contained. “He didn’t even say goodbye.”

  “You tossed him out like a dented golf ball, and you expect him to roll right back in to say goodbye?”

  The pain in her chest knifed through her. She wished Frank would just stop talking and go away.

  “A man’s got his pride, Casey Jo. Aidan admitted he loved you before you ran off last night.”

  “No, he didn’t. He mentioned love, but he never said the words, I love you.” Lord knew she had replayed that conversation in her head all through the night. “And you have conveniently forgotten the part about him being the developer for the project that will ruin your golf course, and he only wanted us to help grease his welcome here.”

  “Our course.”

  “Whatever.” She went to the next cart in line and removed a leftover water bottle and used score card.

  “That project only ruins our Cypress Key Golf Club if we let it,” he said, trying to reason with her.

  She wasn’t playing. “Oh right, and the golf course Prince from Palm Beach will let our little course sit here next to his, like the redheaded stepchild.”

  “He might.”

  “Dream on, Uncle Frank.”

  “Can you love him anyway?”

  “Loving Aidan was never the problem. I can’t seem to stop, no matter how hard I try.”

  Frank stepped closer, looked like he’d hug her. If he did, she would break down, so she wiped down the cart seat and dashboard.

  “Can you forgive him then? For not telling you?”

  “I guess I’ll have to wait and see.”

  Frank threw his hat down. “Dammit, Casey. You two make me crazy, both of you so darn stubborn. Can you forgive me for not telling you?”

  She stared dumbfounded. “You knew who he was, and you didn’t tell me? You let me get hurt?”

  “You let yourself get hurt, tossing him away like you did. I didn’t say anything because I needed to see for myself what Aidan was made of, even though Belle trusted him.”

  Tears burned at the backs of her eyelids. “And?”

  “And he’s a stand-up guy. A good man. I only wanted you to be happy. I pushed because I thought he was perfect for you.”

  Frank held his arms out, and she went into them. Needed his hug. “I know you did, and I love you for trying. Some girls get to be Cinderella, and some don’t.”

  “What does that mean?” He let her go. “Dammit, give the guy a break, Casey. He didn’t set out to hurt you.”

  “Why are you defending him? His golf resort is going to put you—us—out of business.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yes!” she cried. “Are you blind?”

  “Did you ask him?”

  “Of course not. He already lied to us once. Why would I believe anything he said.”

  “He didn’t really lie to us,” Frank reasoned. “He said he wanted to leave Cypress Key safe for the rest of us, and he did.”

  “He said to trust him,” she grumbled.

  “And did you?” Frank asked. “Oh yeah, that’s right. You were too busy pushing him out the door and running off without discussing things,” he shouted back.

  “I’m surprised you trusted him. He’ll ruin you.”

  Frank shook his head slowly.

  “He will!” Casey swiped the maddening tears off her cheeks. “He doesn’t care about us. Don’t you see? He only cared about his stupid resort.”

  Frank reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. “Last night, he bought our golf course for his new resort.”

  Casey gasped and grabbed the check in case it was a trick. She glanced up at her uncle. “Two million dollars?”

  “Aidan’s driver brought it with him from Palm Beach,” her uncle said solemnly.

  “What will you do now?”

  He gave her a smug smile. “The mean, rotten golf course developer hired me to manage both courses. Besides our regulation course, he is going to build a PGA course.”

  Casey’s tears flowed freely. She didn’t even try to wipe them away. Aidan had taken care of the most important person in the world to her. She had no words, but she noticed the pain in her chest was gone.

  “He handed me a contract his driver brought with him too.” Frank said and tugged a triple-folded document out of his back pocket. “I was going to give you these at breakfast, but you ran off before I got up. Getting to be a habit with you.”

  Casey took the papers and carefully unfolded them. “A contract? For what?”

  Frank grinned. “Read it over.”

  Casey scanned the first page and inhaled sharply. Her gaze shot up and locked on her grinning uncle.

  “A contract for me to design his new golf course,” she whispered. “His five-star PGA tour-venue course.”

  Her uncle happily nodded.

  “Aidan gave me my dream. Even though I pushed him away.”

  Frank nodded again.

  She felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. Didn’t care.

  “Some guys say I love you with their actions.”

  A large figure blocked the morning sunlight streaming through the open doorway. “I’m looking for Aidan Cross. Do either of you know where I might find him?”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Ian called last night,” Rhett said and wiped off Aidan’s putter before handing it over.


  “Everything all right? He doing okay?”

  “Still trying to figure out the cause of his distillery explosion and mad because I get to caddy for you in the qualifiers. Said he’s waited since college to see you strike out after your dream.”

  “You have a business to run. You shouldn’t even be here,” Aidan said, feeling another poke from the guilt he’d harbored since his friend had shown up on Sunday. “I can’t believe you came to caddy. I could’ve hired someone.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Rhett shot him an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t have missed this week for the world. Besides, I own the business, so I can do what I please. Leave when I please. I brought Lily with me, so everything I want is right here. She’ll be over later when you tee off. No more practice rounds, my friend. Today is the day.”

  Aidan dropped a handful of golf balls on the putting green. “Is that all Ian wanted? To give you some lip over being my caddy?”

  Rhett wiped down the driver Aidan had just used on the driving range and didn’t look up. “Nah, he wanted to know what I thought of Cypress Key.”

  Aidan whipped around in surprise. “When were you in Cypress Key?”

  “The day after you left. Just missed you, I guess. I was anxious to see our new site. You know how much I love doing golf resorts on the coast.”

  Aidan broke down and smiled, his first in the days since he left Cypress Key in his rearview mirror. He’d spent his first three days here in Ocala, Florida, so angry he had scowled the entire time, and everyone but Rhett gave him a wide berth. Casey had stomped their future under foot without a glance back. How could she do that? She didn’t love him, that’s how. He worked to smooth away the scowl he could feel.

  “What did you think?”

  “Unbelievable,” Rhett said. “Perfect for us. I liked Belle right away.”

  The scowl snapped right back into place. “When did you meet Belle?”

  “You should know how Cypress Key folks just show up when a stranger comes to town.”

  Aidan nodded. He did know. The sharp ache near his heart—that had shown up the same time his driver had—stabbed again. He had missed Cypress Key every day since he’d left.

  “Did you, uh, meet Casey Stuart?” Stupid to ask. Sure enough, the chest pain stabbed again.

  “You mean the girl you refuse to talk about?”

  Aidan glowered at his friend. “Never mind.”

  “Oh, I met her. Talked to her for a while.”

  “About?”

  “About what a great guy my friend Aidan was.”

  Could it be?

  “And?”

  “When I went by the last time before coming here, she was loading her bags into the back of her Jeep. Said she had to chase her own dream just like you.”

  There it was. Aidan had tried to help with her dream, and she had tossed that away too.

  “Figures,” was all he could manage. “With Frank okay, there was nothing keeping her there,” he muttered.

  Rhett smiled, oblivious to the despair enveloping Aidan. “The course was just as nice as you’d said. I’m glad you made an offer for it.”

  “Frank took my offer as long as he came with it.” Aidan actually laughed—another first since leaving Cypress Key—at the memory of his friend. He still had Frank, though he hadn’t decided if that would make things easier for Aidan or worse for him.

  Rhett stretched his arms wide. “So, is this what you’re doing? Chasing your dreams? You’ve been silent as a mute all week.”

  “I thought so. This is what I always wanted. A chance to compete on the tour.”

  “And you’re happy now? After Cypress Key?”

  Aidan’s heart ached and his gut twisted, but his pride kept him silent. Couldn’t look weak in front of Rhett. “Sure.”

  “What about the resort?”

  “I can do both.”

  Rhett frowned. “I don’t think so. Sell me your half of the resort.”

  Not a chance in hell.

  “No.”

  Aidan eyed the line of his first putt, set his stance, and stroked softly through. His ball rolled steadily toward the cup, and a golf ball rocketed in from the side, slammed into his, and knocked Aidan’s ball three feet to the other side of the cup.

  “What the hell!” he growled and shifted in the direction the errant ball had come from. He needed to release some of his pent-up anger. Instead, he froze.

  Casey.

  He blinked, expecting the image of her at the edge of the putting green to disappear. The image that had continuously flashed before his eyes like a mirage for the last four days only to vanish.

  He blinked again.

  The image smiled. The mesmerizing green eyes locked on his. He wanted to make a fool of himself and run over there and grab her into his arms. Never let her go.

  Casey grinned. “You wouldn’t’ve sunk that putt.”

  He swallowed hard. “Maybe I would’ve. I’ll never know now.”

  Pride kept his feet planted in place. He’d already begged her for a chance. Five more painful heartbeats came and went.

  She started toward him, stopped about six feet away. How could she look so happy? She told him she was sorry she had ever met him. Of course, that was before she laid eyes on Frank’s check.

  “Why did you come?” he asked gruffly.

  Blinked one last time to see if she would disappear. The green eyes held his. Not a mirage. “Did you decide the money looked pretty good?”

  She flinched, and he heard Rhett groan.

  Her chin tipped up. “I came because you cared about me, even though I pushed you away.”

  “What makes you say that?” he ground out.

  Why was he being such a jackass? Casey had come to him. Had come here to see him.

  He couldn’t help himself. His heart said, Go grab her. His damned instincts crowed, Wait a minute. Hear her out, so you’ll never wonder later.

  She took another step forward. “You made sure you gave me my dream on your way out the door.”

  “Maybe you deserve to design the course in Cypress Key. It is your hometown.”

  “I wondered about that too.” She had eased another step closer while he was busy losing himself in those green eyes.

  “Then I noticed the fine print last night,” she said softly. “When I first read the contract, I thought it was just the Cypress Key course, but there in the small print on the last page is an option to design all the Cross Enterprises golf courses.”

  “That’s right. The choice is yours.” He held his breath. The choice had to be hers. For everything.

  “Then, yes. I want the whole dream.”

  Something turned loose in his gut, but the tug near his heart persisted. “Is that why you came here then? To accept the contract?”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “No, I came to see the man I love compete for his own dream.”

  One stride and he was in front of her. “What did you say?”

  “I want to see the man I love compete.”

  “But I thought you didn’t want me, or us.”

  He heard another groan. Not Rhett’s.

  “I didn’t want my Aidan to have money. Be some rich guy who only cared about his money and himself.”

  “I’m not like other—”

  “I know,” she whispered. “You fix things. You fix others. That’s why I love you.”

  “Are you sure?” Damn, he had to stop questioning this. He wanted this.

  “I was afraid you stopped wanting me when I sent you away.”

  “I couldn’t stop,” he growled.

  “Me either.” She finally smiled. Small, but there.

  He crushed her to his chest, felt her arms go around his ne
ck, felt that damn tugging on his heart finally cease. He would never let her go. Hell, he still had hold of his putter. “There’s one proviso to that contract,” he mumbled into her hair. “I come with the courses.”

  “You better or I won’t sign,” she whispered in his ear.

  A throat cleared close by. “Aidan?”

  Rhett.

  “We are on the putting green and not alone.”

  Aidan laughed and let her go, but loved that her hand still clutched the back of his golf shirt. “I guess you two have already met,” he said.

  Rhett winked at Casey.

  “Rhett’s helped me this week since Frank wasn’t here to do it,” Aidan told her. “He’s the only guy to beat me at golf every time I played him but one.”

  Casey stared at his friend. “Every time?”

  “But one,” Aidan quickly added. “I always figured him for the PGA.”

  “What did you do that one time to win, to beat Rhett?”

  Aidan had to think. “Believed in myself, I guess. Believed I could win.”

  “Then do that today because I believe in you,” Casey said.

  “Me too,” a voice said from behind them.

  When Aidan turned, a grinning Frank held out a hand. “I was afraid she wouldn’t come around, but we made it.”

  “Uncle Frank made me see what I had to lose. He said even if you traveled the world over for your fancy golf projects, I had to trust you to come back.”

  “I remember,” Aidan said. “Trust goes with love like heartbeats with a pulse.”

  She beamed. “Right.”

  “Then I owe you,” he told Frank, his voice hoarse with the emotion gripping him. He had everything he wanted. Well, almost.

  Frank nodded. “We’re a team.”

  “That’s what I thought. I figured if we could take care of a golf course together, we could build courses together.”

  Casey frowned up at him. “But I thought you wanted to compete.”

  “So did I, but—”