by Debbie Behan
‘This changes nothing for either of us. It’ll be business as usual again tomorrow.’
Cassie chuckled. ‘Yes, I’ll be back out there giving Pop hell again and he’ll be throwing whatever he can back at me. He will lose of course! But I’ll let him try.’
‘Cheeky monkey.’ He grinned good-humouredly. ‘See what I have to put up with? She’s a cocky little thing who needs to learn a lesson. I am so looking forward to her leaving.’ He laughed with her.
‘Bring it on, Pops!’
He grabbed her, not even waiting for her to change and threw her in the water. Drenched, she came up still laughing. She swallowed a mouthful of water and nearly choked but kept giggling.
‘See? Even choking doesn’t work with her. She’s like a cat with nine lives.’
Even Aqua was getting into it now and was smiling at them both. She could see they definitely were father and daughter. She was happy that Ald had the chance to meet her even if they were rivals.
Cassie looked under her top and saw a gold bikini top had magically appeared. She took off her outfit and threw it at her dad. ‘You wet it, you can hang it up to dry,’ she chuckled.
Aqua bent down, picked Cassie’s top and pants up and draped them over a chair. ‘You go have some fun, Ald. I’ll organise some lunch for you both.’
‘That would be lovely of you, sweet one.’ Aldebaran kissed her hand tenderly, making Aqua blush and giggle before she left him to have some private time with his daughter.
Cassie pulled herself out, ready to dive back in, when she saw her dad just standing there watching. ‘Come on, old man. Let’s see if you can keep up with your kid.’
He smirked, threw off his shirt and flew after her, catching her on his way and throwing them both in the water. ‘Give you old man crap, you little stirrer?’ he laughed.
They spent half the morning going up and down the slides. Her favourite was the tunnel. It went very dark and you could feel weird things touching you as you went through. It made you quiver with horror before being flung high up in the air. They dragged themselves out, laughing and exhausted.
Wrapping towels around themselves, they sat in the lounges by the pool with Aqua while servants brought out savouries and ice-cold drinks. These they enjoyed while chatting about how much fun they’d been having. Aqua seemed to have a thing for her father and constantly touched his arm or hand as she talked. He seemed to enjoy her constant flirting and was kicking back, relaxing and having a good time. Cassie hated to break up the fun he was having but she knew she would be going soon and wanted a bit of alone time with him before she headed off.
Aqua asked if they could stay for dinner but Aldebaran saw the look on Cassie’s face and declined, saying that he had just a few more hours left with her so he wanted to head off. He slipped his arm around Cassie and she was not prepared for her father’s powers. Her clothes appeared on her, dry and pressed. Her hair was again dry and her makeup felt freshly applied.
Aqua grinned. ‘Your father’s great to have around the morning after,’ she said. ‘He does have a way with making a girl not only look good, but feel good.’
Cassie put her hand up. ‘Far too much information!’ she giggled, looking up at her dad.
Aqua and her father both shared a look of tenderness before Aqua disappeared from their sight.
It only took an instant to get back, therefore Cassie felt she had time to pay Starburst a quick visit to make sure he was alright. Going inside the castle, she noticed her father had organised a drink for them both. She was happy that he wanted to just sit back and chat to her. He was making her feel very comfortable and welcome.
‘You seem very connected to that horse,’ Aldebaran commented.
Cassie took a sip of drink, recalling the first time she saw him. ‘I watched him being born and it was the first time I’d ever seen anything give birth. When he came out, he was an unsteady skinny little thing that could barely stand. He wobbled and made me laugh as he tried so hard to stay on his feet. He was beautiful.’
‘You missed a lot, didn’t you, Cassandra? Like today.’
She smiled. ‘Yes but yesterday is gone and from now on I intend to make everyday count and experience all the things I’ve only read about. What we did today, to visit a water park was high on my to-do list. So thanks, Pops. It was crazy fun and I loved it.’
She got up and walked around the big study they’d been sitting in. She couldn’t help but admire the books he had crammed onto the selves. There were even moving ladders to get to the paperbacks way up on the top shelf. It amused her he would need them with all his magic. He could have just summoned one to him.
Before she left, Aldebaran made a toast to his daughter. Cassie went to have a drink and then stopped to think about it before swapping their drinks and taking a sip of his. He gave her a quizzical look. ‘Swapped them just in case you send me home and everyone hates me again. You know that was a pretty dirty trick.’
He smiled; his eyes glowed with a crafty flicker.
‘A father will do what a father must do to be able to spend time with his little girl. You forgave me though or you wouldn’t have come back, no matter what the reason.’
‘I have no need to carry a grudge. Unlike my pops, I can forgive and forget.’ Darkness filled his eyes and she knew it was silly to spoil the day with one of her flyaway comments that were not called for. ‘Sorry, that wasn’t only rude but none of my business. If you allow me to pull my foot from my mouth I would like to retract that silly comment. I really would prefer not to bring business into our time together and spoil the lovely day we’ve just spent together. All too soon we’ll back on opposite sides and I don’t want to think about that just now either.’
She felt his mood lift instantly. ‘Thanks, Cassandra, I appreciate you apologising. It’s one of your many traits I find adorable. To tell you the truth I never want politics to deter you from visiting me. I’m stubborn and change is not easy for me nowadays. At this time I can only see it causing us both heartache. Instead I would prefer you to visit because you just enjoy your old man’s company.’ He held out his hand for her to accept this or not.
There was no way Cassie wanted to even think of him as anything more than her cool dad who had given her his time freely without an explanation as to why she had requested it. She ignored his hand, instead wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. This time he automatically hugged her back. ‘You would have made a pretty good dad. Thank you for showing me that,’ she said, meaning it.
He growled in a playful way. ‘I could eat you up, you’re so sweet,’ he chuckled, making little chomping noises around her ear and making her laugh happily.
Walking out to the horse, Cassie was sad to be leaving. She had enjoyed getting to know her real father and hoped one day, to visit again.
He held her for a long time, silently searching her face like he was looking for something. When a tear ran down her face at the sadness she felt at having to leave him, he smiled with utter joy. ‘I knew you loved me too,’ he said, pleased. ‘Come and visit me again as soon as Kayden allows it. I’ll understand if it won’t be for a while. After all, we are enemies and you have been in the rival’s camp, which in war times is frowned upon. But I had the best time, Cassandra. Thanks for making an old man very happy,’ he said, helping her up on the horse.
With tears in her eyes, she blew him a kiss as Starburst flew off and headed for home.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Second Chance
Starburst landed them in the paddock and trotted back to the horse stables. The slow trip back to Kayden’s farmhouse had given her time to try and calm down a little. Even the magical cloud with its colourful lighting did little to ease her mind. Since leaving the comfort of her father’s home the worries of what she was coming home to washed over her to a point where she was on the edge of bursting into tears.
; Was Conor better? Had Pop put a spell on her that would make Kayden distrust her again? What about Woody? Would he be there waiting or be replaced by a stranger?
Starburst trotted the last few yards to the barn. Kayden heard them and was out of the door in a flash. He lifted her off and held her while their emotions stabilised. He had missed her terribly and she had not only missed him but now missed her dad.
After Starburst had been tended to they went inside and had coffee and a chat. As Cassie sipped it, she told Kayden all that had happened since she’d last seen him, starting with the massive room where Aldebaran played his war games with his officers to the wonderful time she had with her father on Aquarius. She broke down and tears ran down her face. ‘You know, he really is my father and he loves me. Because of that I was unable to approach the subject of the war going on up there. It just didn’t seem appropriate to bring it up. I hope I haven’t let you down.’
‘You haven’t let anyone down. I wouldn’t have expected you to be negotiating at this early stage. It has taken the men years to learn the correct techniques. You could’ve really ticked him off and made it worse, so you’ve done well. And as for him keeping his side of the bargain, we’ve not been summoned by Zoren yet so your dad kept his promise. He didn’t attack while you were with him.’
Pleased her father didn’t lie to her, she then focused on the other of her worries. ‘Is Woody back and how’s our Conor?’
He shook his head and looked at her a bit forlornly. ‘I’ll be replacing Woody. He deserted us, Cassie! He forced me to keep a secret from Zoren—who is not going to be impressed when he finds out. He could have indirectly killed Conor with his thoughtlessness. Also to stop Aldebaran from attacking anyone while Conor was healing, it put you in a most compromising and dangerous position. Admittedly it turned out okay with your father—but it could have been disastrous. I was imagining all sorts of scenarios. Most of all I hoped you would get home safely or we would have had to find a way to go in there forcibly to extract you. Not counting the constant worry I’ve been under having to leave you up there. It was crazy of me to even consider that mission with only four of us. I’ve already stood Woody down and I’ll be telling him tonight that he’s no longer a part of the team.’
Cassie put her cup on the table. ‘So you haven’t told Zoren yet?’
He shook his head. She felt relief flood through her, knowing that there was still hope for Woody if she could get Kayden to discuss it further.
‘But it turned out alright, didn’t it?’
Drinking the rest of his coffee, he picked up both their cups and put them in the sink. He wished they didn’t have to have this conversation. She obviously didn’t understand how Woody’s actions could have compromised the whole mission. He knew she wouldn’t let the topic drop and he’d missed her so much he really would sooner be holding her and loving her than getting into something he had already made a decision on. ‘Yes, it turned out alright. Aldebaran actually acted as a father should. He kept his word and you are back. But Cassie, you know it could have ended badly, very badly. I have a big responsibility up there and if things go wrong I’m the one held responsible. Earth is in danger every time they go to war. The human race is too important to have a member of my team putting themselves first.’
Cassie wasn’t going to give up. His argument was solid but his team was also important. Replacing a member at this stage, with her only a learner, scared her more than even the thought of what her father could do. He’d left a door open and she took advantage of it. ‘Kayden, what would have happened if, when you had fallen in love with me, I was the one with no powers? How would you have concealed your secret from me? You knew I was starting to work it out for myself and I knew there was something very weird going on. Would you have been able to walk away from me?’
He put his head down and clamped his hands together. ‘I’ve given that a lot of thought and I don’t know the answer.’
She touched his face and he looked up. ‘Would you have trusted me enough to tell me?’ she asked. ‘Because I know that I would’ve taken this secret to the grave. I loved you that much. I was away from you for three months and never thought I would ever see you again and yet I didn’t tell a soul—even after I knew.’
Kayden stared into her eyes. She knew he was working through what she’d just said so she continued. ‘Maybe in certain cases, like Woody’s, the partners could be taken into their confidence. That is, if it is serious and he loves her like you love me. What is the worst that could happen? She blabs! Yet who would believe her? Such a wild story! In Ella’s case we could justify it by saying it is the ranting of a spoilt little rich girl who is trying to seek revenge. The tale is so wild no normal person would ever believe it.’
‘It’s a big call, Cassie. The other guys don’t like her and neither do you so how can she fit in with us?’
‘I thought about that. I know Woody wouldn’t want her around all the time because he does like his freedom and she’s a jetsetter. If she understands what his big connection is with us, she may settle and not be so jealous and bitchy back at us, maybe preferring instead to just pop in when she’s in town. She’ll understand his commitment to the bigger picture and knowing her kind, I can guarantee she will actually feel quite proud of him.’
‘If you’re wrong we could end up with a situation,’ he said, concerned.
‘So, we all disappear for a while, live somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be here. Rent these two farms out for a while as you do when your neighbours start to notice you not getting old. When it dies down or she dies, we move back.’ She grinned a little deviously. ‘When Ella gets old, Woody will want her less and less. We’re a family forever! She’ll only be a thorn in our side for maybe ten or thirty years, tops. But I can guarantee she’ll do one of two things. She’ll stick around, as I said, until she gets old and he dumps her nasty self. Or she will be married in the next twelve months to someone she can own. She will always keep Woody as her lover which is all he really is asking for anyway.’
‘You make a lot of sense. Being so angry with him has stopped me looking at it with any sort of perspective.’ He smiled, kissed her cheek and stood up. ‘Woody and the boys are waiting for me to discuss the issue but until you returned, I wasn’t able to face it. Feel up to a little visit with them tonight? It’s time we all discussed it like grownups. It would be better as a group decision; changing the rules on partners will affect all their relationships from now on.’
Cassie ducked in and had a quick shower to freshen up before going out into the barn to get Kayden. He wanted to check on Starburst. As she entered the barn she could tell by Kayden’s grin as he talked to Starburst telepathically that he was pleased they had kept him in good condition.
* * * *
It was getting late when they arrived at the boys’ home. They were all out the back, lazing around on the outdoor lounges, not even slightly looking like they were ready to retire for the night. Cassie knew how they felt as she herself wouldn’t be able to sleep until the Woody problem was sorted.
Woody was sitting on one of the deckchairs with his elbows on his knees and his head and shoulders bent. He looked miserable, waiting to hear his fate and who his replacement was going to be. Cassie could tell they had all been discussing it and Kayden’s visit would be just a formality.
Cassie went around and gave them all a kiss and a warm greeting. Her bright chatter cheered them up—except for Woody—he just sat quietly looking like he didn’t belong with them anymore. Jason asked Kayden and Cassie if they wanted a tea or coffee. Cassie really needed more than just a hot beverage, asking for a nip of spirits to be added. All the men went inside to give Cassie some time alone with Woody. She knew secretly they would be hoping she’d be able to fix the mess that Woody left in his wake. It was obvious how upset he was as his body trembled when she went over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
‘
I’ve really stuffed up this time, Cass. Sorry kiddo—maybe you better go and not stand with the enemy,’ he choked emotionally.
‘I missed you, Woodsta. And you’re not my enemy—never will be.’
‘Don’t be nice to me, Cassie. I don’t deserve it.’
‘Woody, stop it. Just because you made an error in judgement doesn’t mean your friends will desert you. We all muck up and unless you’re a robot and programmed to be perfect, this will not be the last for any of us.’ She patted his shoulder friendly-like as the others came out and she moved back to where she had been sitting.
Kayden looked serious as he walked out to the others. Woody sat nervously, waiting for the final blow to his shattered life.
‘I wanted us all together to discuss the issue regarding Woody and the whole girlfriend situation that I thought I had put to rest. It’s been brought to my attention tonight that I may have been a little hasty with my decision.’ He gave a slight nod towards Cassie and they exchanged a knowing glance. ‘Cassie feels that if any of you do fall in love and want to reveal our secret world then you should be able to do just that. She herself is living proof that she knew all about us yet lived in Perth for months and never breathed a word, even after we had broken up. Why? Because she could be trusted! Her love for me, for us, even though squashed, stopped her from giving any of us away. She would never have done that. With that in mind, the ruling on secrecy that we put in place when we all formed as a group needs to be revised. Maybe other women can be trusted too. You see, guys, this isn’t all just about Woody.’ He paused. ‘It affects you all. If any one of you falls in love from now on, you should be allowed to use your own discretion as to how much is revealed. As Cassie said, if the love turns bitter and they mouth-off about what we do, it’s their word against ours and we can always just pick up and leave for a few decades until those people are no longer around and come back as we always do.’