Max’s team won the game. I took him out for ice cream to celebrate. Kyra had spent the night at the house of one of her dance buddies. She would be dropped off in about an hour. “Does Kyra really have to come back?” he asked as he licked his chocolate-chip ice-cream cone.
I laughed. “Yes, Max. Your sister has to come back. We want her back, right?”
“Pssst,” Max said but giggled. “It’s still summer. She could stay another night, couldn’t she?”
“Knock it off, Max,” I said as I took another spoonful of my mocha almond fudge.
“Fine.”
“Wanna help me make chocolate-chip cookies for the firefighters who helped us?” I asked.
“Sure,” he said, still licking his ice cream. He paused for a beat, then asked, “You aren’t sure you trust Ray, huh?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He nodded. “Grown-ups are dumb sometimes.”
I frowned, “Max!”
“Sorry, Mom, but they are. Admit it. They have something wonderful right in front of them, and they don’t see it.”
I felt the pressure build in my throat.
“Mom, you’re wonderful.” He got up from his seat and kissed me on the cheek.
A tear rolled down my face.
“I love you, Max,” I whispered.
He hugged me.
“I know. I love you, too, Mom.”
An hour and a half later, Kyra arrived back home, threw her large duffel bag into her room, and immediately disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. She came out with her wet curly hair twisted into an oversize bun at the top of her head. Max and I were in the kitchen getting ready to make cookies.
She sat at the breakfast bar and asked, “Can I help?”
I was surprised. It was the first time since Kyra caught me kissing Ray that she’d spoken to me or looked me in the eye. “Yes, of course.”
“It’s for the firemen,” Max explained.
“Oh,” Kyra said, disappointment evident in her voice.
“We can make a separate batch for us,” I offered.
“Cool!” Kyra replied.
Max shouted, “Awesome!”
Two hours later, we had a container of cookies ready for delivery to the fire station. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was a little after eight thirty. Ray had previously mentioned the guys eat dinner late. I figured it would be a good time to drop off the cookies. We piled into the van and drove to the station. When I pulled up, I noticed Ray searching for something in an oversize toolbox. He paused when he saw us.
The kids and I got out of the van and approached him.
“Hi,” he said with guarded eyes.
“Hi,” I replied. Max was carrying the container of cookies, leading the way.
Pete saw us approaching and said, “Whatcha got there, Max?”
“Cookies,” Max announced.
“Yes!” Pete grabbed the container.
Kyra extended her hand, in which she held the thank-you card she had made on the computer. “And a thank-you card.” She gave it to Pete. He placed it on top of the container and took the goodies into the firehouse.
“Thank you,” Ray said, still guarded.
“No,” I explained, “I’m thanking you. All of you. I should have stopped by a lot sooner.”
“You could have returned my calls, too,” Ray said, his voice laced with bitterness and hurt.
I felt flushed.
I glanced down at my white canvas shoes and nodded. I stuck my hands in my back pockets and slowly looked back up at Ray. He was studying me.
“Pete!” Ray shouted, but he was still looking at me.
“Yeah, Captain?” Pete called from somewhere in the firehouse. He jogged back to where we were standing.
“Why don’t you take the kids for a little tour while I talk to Cass?”
“Sure,” Pete said. “Come on, kids.”
“Cool,” Max said.
“Okay,” Kyra surprisingly agreed, a hint of excitement in her tone.
“So,” Ray said, his eyes still full of caution.
“I—”
“Let me guess. You heard a rumor about me?”
I nodded.
“One that involved my son and his fiancé, right?”
I nodded again.
“Cass, I want to tell you the full story. I don’t want to do that here. I want to say it when I’m ready. It’s hard. It’s painful.”
I dipped my head.
“I’m not proud of myself.”
So that meant it was true. Ray really had slept with his son’s fiancé.
He grunted, then put his hands on his hips. He looked down at his black work boots and said, “Promise me you will not listen to the gossip mill. Promise me you will believe in me. Promise me you will give me a chance?”
“It’s hard Ray,” I said. I felt my heart squeeze a bit. “You know what my ex-husband did. Trust is hard for me.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.
“I know this is probably not the perfect time to ask, but will you be my date for my son’s wedding?”
I blinked.
“It’s next weekend in Beach City. The kids are welcome to come, too.”
“I—”
“Just say you will think about it,” he almost begged. “Let me know soon, though. Okay?”
I nodded. There was a huge part of me that wanted to say yes now, but the hurt and untrusting part of me kept my mouth shut.
Chapter Eight
“Mom, can you help me with my room?” Kyra asked after she ate breakfast on Tuesday morning. Still in her pajamas, she sat in the only other chair in my office.
I was shocked. I had tried to help Kyra with her room since we’d moved in. She still had stuff in boxes.
“Sure,” I said. “I can help on my lunch break and then when I’m officially off work.”
“Okay,” she said. “I don’t think I’m going to unpack everything. But I don’t want to throw it all out or give it away yet, either. Is there somewhere we can put the boxes I haven’t opened yet?”
“Absolutely,” I answered. “We can either put them in the shed in the backyard or in the rafters in the garage.”
“Cool. Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.”
By the time I got off work and journeyed into her bedroom, Kyra had a pile of stuffed animals and a separate pile of dolls. All the boxes were ripped open. “I wanted to open them and make sure there wasn’t anything missing.”
“Makes perfect sense,” I said. “You are my daughter.”
Kyra rolled her eyes, then explained, “The boxes are ripped and look yucky. Can we get storage bins maybe?”
“Look at you, motivated to organize,” I said proudly.
“Well…” Kyra waited. When I didn’t say anything, she asked again, “Can we get storage bins? Please?”
“What brought this on?” I asked. She’d never been interested in cleaning her room, much less getting rid of or storing old toys.
She bit her lower lip. “The girls at the dance school all said they don’t play with dolls anymore. They said stuffed animals are for babies.”
“Oh,” I replied. My baby was being pressured to grow into a full-fledged teen.
Her eyes were a bit misty.
“Yes, we can get storage bins. You want to go now?” I offered. “We can pick up dinner on the way home.”
“Really?” she asked excitedly.
“Really,” I replied.
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” I shouted to Max, “Get dressed, Max. We’re going shopping.”
“Ah, man!” he groaned from his room.
At the local bargain retail store, we piled four huge plastic storage bins with lids into the shopping cart. Max wanted to push the cart at first, but I scolded that he would not be able to see where he was going. He pouted for the rest of the
shopping trip. Not that he hadn’t already been pouting, just more so now. He didn’t believe me when I said I couldn’t see where I was going, either. He thought it was because he was short and just a kid. No matter what I said, he didn’t believe me, nor did he perk up. I changed the subject by asking Kyra about her room.
“Did you get rid of all the empty and half-empty water bottles that were all over your room?” I asked.
“Yep,” she said.
“What about all the scraps of paper?”
“Yep.”
“Mom…” Max’s warning came a little too late.
I felt the shopping cart ram into something, then heard a male say, “Umph” as he was reamed with the cart loaded with storage bins. I heard a loud thunk as he fell. “Ow! What the…”
The voice was a little too familiar for comfort, but Kyra and I immediately shifted to the front of the cart near Max to see what had happened.
Ray was sprawled on the aisle floor in an awkward position. Kyra and I covered our mouths in dismay and embarrassment. Max, on the other hand, burst out laughing, pointing at Ray with one hand while holding his stomach with the other.
Ray sat up, then looked briefly from me to Kyra. Then he glared at Max. “Well, I’m glad you find this funny, Max,” he said sarcastically. “I never thought a shopping cart would almost kill me. I always thought it would be a massive raging fire.”
I finally came to my senses and extended a hand to help him up. “I’m so sorry, Ray. I really am. I wasn’t paying attention, and it’s bad enough I couldn’t see because of the bins.”
He accepted my hand and used it to pull himself up. Zing, zing, zing.
His expression softened as he looked down on me. “Max, how about you carry the paper towels that flew out of my hand, and I will push your mom’s cart?”
“Ah, man,” Max managed to grumble but was still laughing.
“Seriously, Ray, are you okay?”
“My pride and dignity may be injured, but I’m okay,” he said.
“Okay.” I still felt awful.
“What’s with all the storage bins?” Ray asked.
“Mom is helping me remodel my room. I’m putting a bunch of stuff away,” Kyra explained. “We were gonna look for a bookshelf or desk, but I don’t think we have room for any more stuff.”
“I can help you with the bookshelf and the desk,” Ray offered.
“Cool,” Kyra said. “Thanks.”
He rubbed his back.
“Ray, are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again, feeling guilty.
He nodded. “Tell you what,” he offered, “you can make it up to me by going to my son’s wedding this coming weekend.”
Max grabbed the bundle of paper towels that had flown out of Ray’s hand. Ray pushed the cart, and we all followed. Man, Ray really was tall. He could totally see where he was going.
“Oh,” I said.
“Come on, Cass. We had a nice time on our date last week. Give us a chance, okay? I’ll explain some things. Maybe not at the wedding, but soon. I promise.”
“You should go, Mom,” Kyra whispered. I was surprised, considering that she had given me the cold shoulder for a few days after she’d discovered me kissing Ray.
“You guys are invited, too,” Ray offered.
“Ah, man,” Max said. “I wanted to go to Tommy’s house. He got the new video game and was going to let me play.”
“Yep, I was going to ask if I could hang out with some of the girls from dance class again. Maybe spend the night?”
“Oh, can I spend the night at Tommy’s?”
I groaned. “Thanks a lot, Ray. See what you started?”
He chuckled a bit wickedly. When I glanced at him to give a warning glare, I saw that famous twinkle in his eye. Uh, boy. I’m in trouble with this one.
“See, Cass? It was meant to be. I’ll pick you up at four thirty. The wedding is at five in Beach City. You might want to dress in layers. It gets much cooler in the evening by the beach.”
“Right,” I said.
“Oh, and if you can, wear something with lavender,” he suggested. “The boys will be happy about it.”
I wondered what he meant by boys, since apparently he was talking to only one of his sons. Maybe he was referring to his grandson and son.
Chapter Nine
On Saturday, as promised, Ray picked me up at four thirty, and we drove the thirty minutes to Beach City. The wedding was to take place on the beach, while the reception was at Beach City Embassy Suites. The hotel was within walking distance from the beach. Ray looked amazing, of course. He was in a loose-fitting tan shirt and slacks with a lavender lei around his neck. He also wore dark sunglasses. He appeared to be relaxed and genuinely happy. I had chosen a spaghetti-strap lavender sundress. My hair was up in a loose twist with ringlets around the edges.
He parked close to the hotel, and we strolled hand in hand to an area that had rows of chairs lined up. There were lavender, gold, and white helium balloons decorating the scene and chiffon ribbons tied to the aisle chairs. Rose petals were scattered about the aisle.
“So beautiful,” I said.
“My son is very artsy fartsy. He pretty much put the whole thing together,” Ray said with pride.
I grinned. “He did a great job. The bride must be happy not to have had too much to worry about.”
“Oh—” Ray was cut off by the officiant.
“Ladies and gentleman, please take your seats. Everyone appears to be here, and our hosts are anxious to get started with their new lives.”
A woman began playing the ukulele and singing “Rhythm of Love” as two toddler girls walked slowly down the aisle with baskets of rose petals. “Those are one of my sisters’ grandbabies,” Ray whispered.
“Cute,” I said.
“Yeah, they are little terrors.” He chuckled.
When the girls made it to the front row, a woman reached for them. I wondered why Ray’s son wasn’t standing at the front with the officiant. A bridesmaid and groomsman began making their way up the aisle, followed by two more, followed by two men dressed much like Ray except in white. They were holding hands. I blinked.
One of the men looked like a shorter, darker, thinner version of Ray. A lot thinner. I gasped. I tried to be as discreet as I possibly could, but I was shocked. Ray hadn’t told me his wife was black or that his son was gay.
“Yes, my wife was black, and my youngest son is gay,” Ray whispered, as if reading my mind. “Is that going to be a problem?”
I flushed. “No, of course not.” I thought about it for a second and wanted to make sure he knew about me. “You know I’m black, right?” I wasn’t trying to hide it; it had just never come up.
He nodded.
“You do?” I asked, surprised.
Not everyone realized that black comes in many different shades.
He nodded again. “Why? Does it matter?” Ray asked.
I shook my head.
“Good. Are you okay with one of my sons being gay?” he whispered, a hint of concern in his voice.
“No. I just had no idea. We obviously still have a lot to learn about each other.”
“Yep, we do, but we have all the time in the world.” He reached for my hand. “Now, let’s pay attention. This is the only time Lucas plans to get married.”
I nodded, but I felt a little uneasy. I wondered what other surprises Captain Raymond Jackson had in store.
Forty minutes later we were seated in the reception hall of the hotel at a table next to the wedding party.
A woman with sky-blue eyes approached. She wore her gray hair in a short bob. She was athletic in build and embraced Ray in a firm, long hug. “Hello, stranger. How’s my favorite brother doing?”
“Great, Maxi. How’s everything?” Ray asked as he released her.
“Good. I was hoping to see Junior. I take it you two still haven’t patched things up?”
Ray shook his head, then cleared his throat. “I’d like you to meet Cass.
She’s the one who had the huge rattler in her yard.”
“Oh.” Maxi’s eyes widened. She surprised me by spreading her arms open and embracing me in a strong hug. “I’m a hugger. Sorry, don’t mean to scare you off. Lord knows my brother scares the good women away all on his own.”
I wasn’t sure if I should laugh. The comment made me feel uneasy.
“Just so you know, Maxi, I don’t scare them away. I just…”
Maxi crossed her arms, tapped her foot, and raised her eyebrows.
“Look, this whole family scares them away. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep Cass around, so stop it,” Ray warned.
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows.
“And before you ask, no, I haven’t told Cass everything yet. Don’t mention it. I’d like to explain it to her on my own.”
His comment jumbled my nerves even more, which I didn’t think was possible. I already felt as if I had a ton of bricks in my stomach that were tumbling around and around.
“Hmm, well, good for you, Ray. It was a pleasure to meet you, Cass.” Before Maxi turned, she said, “Hope to see you both on the dance floor later.”
The DJ asked everyone to take their seats, then announced the wedding party as they entered the reception hall. Shortly afterward, the food was served and toasts were made. After the first dance, Lucas and his new husband, Matthew, appeared at our table. “Hi, Dad,” Lucas said.
“Hey, bub, congratulations! I love you, son.”
“Love you, too,” he said.
Ray stood to give his son a hug.
“Welcome to the family, Matt.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Matt replied.
“I’m sorry Junior didn’t make it. I’m sorry for it all.”
“I know,” Lucas said, waving his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll meet up with him next week.” Lucas and Matt turned their attention to me. “You must be Cass?” Matt asked.
I grinned. “Yep.”
“I’m glad you could make it and that you’re still here,” Lucas said. “Thank you for coming.” He reached over and gave me a hug. “Hope to see you on the dance floor soon.”
I realized the whole family and most of the guests loved to dance. I had a great time. The DJ played a variety of music, including hip-hop, R&B, some country, pop, and jazz. We danced, and danced, and danced.
Captain of My Heart Page 4