“What are Matt and his boys doing for Thanksgiving?” Mom asked, more than a hint of suggestion in her tone.
Cassie put down her pen and looked toward the family room and the happy sounds coming from within. Today her mom had allowed the boys to make a fort, using both sets of couch cushions and at least a dozen old blankets. They’ll never want to play at my apartment again.
“Matt’s taking the boys to Oregon to visit his parents.” Nice try, Mom.
“That’s too bad.” Janet seemed suddenly worried.
“What’s bad about it?” Cassie returned to her list and the store ads that were spread across the table. “It will be good for Austin and Asher to see their grandparents and for Matt to visit his family.”
“Yes, but that leaves you all alone.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. Here we go again. Her mom continued to be bent on matchmaking the two of them, which was so weird. Her mom loved Devon, and she believed in marriage and fidelity. Cassie couldn’t figure out what her mom’s deal was, but it was really starting to bother her. “I wouldn’t call Thanksgiving with you and Noah all alone.”
“I won’t be here, dear.”
What new ploy is this? Cassie took up her pen again, tapping the end of it on the table. “Are you finally going on that Caribbean cruise you’ve been talking about for the past ten years?”
“Yes, actually.” Her mom smiled. “Well, that was easy. And here I’d worried about telling you.” She swiveled her chair around to face the computer again.
“You’re serious?” The steady thump of Cassie’s pen increased its tempo.
“It was a difficult decision, only made because I believed you wouldn’t be alone over the holiday, but I can’t back out now. My flight is booked, and I got such a fantastic discount through Karen’s friend.”
“What does Karen have to do with this?” Cassie asked. “Is this a Bunco cruise or something?” About the only social thing her mom ever did was attend Bunco twice a month, so Cassie supposed it made sense that any kind of trip her mom was planning would be with those friends.
“Not exactly.” The printer started up, and a few seconds later, her mom picked up the paper it had spit into the tray. “Here’s my itinerary.” She crossed the room and handed it to Cassie.
“You’re going to be gone for ten days?” Cassie couldn’t quite believe that her never-go-anywhere-or-do-anything mom was actually going to fly across the country and spend an entire week at sea.
“Ten glorious days.” Her mom clasped her hands together and wore an expression akin to that of Noah surrounded by a pile of birthday presents.
“That’s— that’s crazy,” Cassie finally said. “I mean, it’s wonderful that you’re going, but it’s just not you.”
“And why not?” Her mom sauntered past the table and into the kitchen. “I’m not so old that I can’t have a bit of fun.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Cassie tried, but she couldn’t imagine her mother swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, or biking around some island. “I just—” She was just confused and a tiny bit hurt. Her mom had been the one constant she could count on, everything from being a shoulder to cry on to watching Noah on Friday nights. With both Mom and Matt out of town, the next week stretched ahead, long and bleak.
“You and Noah will be fine,” her mom said, as if she’d read Cassie’s thoughts. “Go see a movie on Thanksgiving. Get ice cream at Samantha’s.”
“My oven isn’t even big enough to hold a turkey,” Cassie lamented.
“Cook it here,” Mom said. “I don’t mind.”
Cassie did. The thought of being here without her mom was strange and worrisome, yet someday, though hopefully not anytime soon, she’d be faced with that very scenario when her mother died. If she felt alone now, she knew it would be ten times worse then. Her mother was more than a mom; she was her friend and confidant. The thought of being without her was frightening.
Whistling a tune that sounded like “A Pirate’s Life for Me,” Mom came to stand behind Cassie and leaned close. “Noah will keep you company.”
“He will.” Cassie tried to sound positive. Three days off with Noah was a gift, and she’d enjoy it, but Lego superheroes could only go so far. The same loneliness she’d grappled with continuously since Devon’s accident hit her again. It seemed to be getting worse lately instead of better. She loved Noah, adored him. Being his mom was enough.
Only, what if it wasn’t?
“There’s no school this morning. Go back to bed, Noah. Better yet, come snuggle with me.” Half asleep, Cassie patted the bed beside her.
“Get up, Mom. Someone’s at the door.”
Cassie bolted upright in bed, nearly bumping heads with Noah as he leaned close. “Someone’s—”
The knocking came again, and Cassie threw back the covers. “Stay here,” she ordered then tiptoed to the front room, though she needn’t have bothered. The floor was so squeaky it sounded like there were three of her marching around.
“Cassie, I know you’re in there.” Matt’s voice.
She placed a hand on the arm of the loveseat and leaned on it a second while her pounding heart slowed. What did Matt think he was doing, scaring her half to death, coming over at— she glanced at the clock on the stove— six a.m. Cassie slid the chain lock and flung open the door.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded in a voice snarly enough to match the morning tangles in her hair.
A lazy smile spread across Matt’s face as he took in her disheveled appearance. “Kidnapping you.” He held up a pair of kids’ plastic handcuffs and a bandana. “Though with that hair, you’re the scary one.” He pushed past her into the apartment. “Come on, boys. You know what to do.”
Austin and Asher marched in behind Matt.
“Get Noah’s toothbrush and pajamas,” Austin said.
“Stuffed animal and blanket.” Asher hurried to follow his brother. A second later, the sound of the three boys’ happy reunion came from the bedroom. Since the soccer season ended and it had become too cold for their scrimmage games, they hadn’t been seeing as much of each other. Noah had really missed them.
Cassie closed the door, then leaned against it as she faced Matt, her arms folded. “Kidnapping is a felony with some pretty hefty consequences, you know.”
“I’m well aware of that, Mrs. Police-Officer’s-Wife.” Matt picked up her purse from the table and glanced inside. “Wallet, check. Where’s your phone? You’ll want your charger, too.”
“Planning to use my Visa and reroute my calls as well?” Cassie stifled a yawn. “You’ve thought this out.” She dropped onto the couch and lay back, kicking her legs up over the arm.
Matt set her purse by the door. “You want to pick out your clothes, or should I?”
“I get to bring clothes? Goody.” Cassie closed her eyes and tried to hide her smile and her secret joy that Matt and the boys were apparently staying for the holiday. She wondered what he had planned for the day. Maybe they were taking the boys to the zoo and spending the night in the city or—
“Only if you want clothes.” Matt picked up her feet and started pulling her. “If you’re comfortable wearing that same t-shirt and sweats in front of my mom all weekend, then I’m cool with it, too.”
“Your mom!” Cassie kicked him away and jumped up. “What are you talking about?”
“You and Noah, me and the boys, and Oregon. It’s about time you left this town. According to your mom, it’s been years since you went anywhere.”
“My mom put you up to this, didn’t she?” Cassie folded her arms and silently berated herself for not catching onto her mother’s scheme earlier. “She went on a cruise this week so I’d be alone and go with you.”
“I know she likes me,” Matt said with jovial arrogance, “but leaving town just so you’d come with me sounds a bit extreme, even for your mom.” He pointed a finger down the short hall. “Heading to your room for clothes. Oregon can be a little chilly. We’d better at least get
you a sweater or two.”
Oregon. Matt’s parents. A long weekend with Matt and the boys. Her heart beat a staccato rhythm at the thought alone. She grabbed Matt’s sleeve before he was out of reach. “I can’t go with you.” Disappointment leaked through her words. She wanted to go.
“Why not? What’s holding you here, Cassie?”
He knew what kept her here, the reason she never left. If Devon woke up while I was away… and with another man, no less.
“I can’t leave because of Devon,” she said resolutely. “I’d miss seeing him on Friday night.”
“You would.” Matt’s gaze was even. “But will he even know you’re gone?”
“He will if he happens to wake up while I’m away, and even if he doesn’t, that was mean and uncalled for.” Cassie crossed her arms in front of her and tried to move past Matt to the bedroom. He blocked her way.
“I didn’t intend for it to be, but I’m not thinking about Devon right now. I’m thinking about you and Noah and what’s best for the two of you this weekend. It seems a little vacation would be both well-deserved and enjoyed.”
“I can’t just think about myself and Noah,” Cassie argued. “I have to consider everyone in our family.”
“I respect that.” Matt’s words were soft and slow, giving her the impression he was choosing them carefully. “What I’m asking is that you think about Noah first this weekend. Put his needs above Devon’s. What would Noah enjoy more, the weekend here with you— not that I’m saying that’s a bad option— or a big family weekend in a house on the beach with a tableful of conversation and food, kids running around, bonfires and marshmallows, memories and fun?”
Cassie closed her eyes against the vivid, enticing picture. No doubt Noah would love such a weekend. She would, too, but leaving Devon here alone and being with Matt felt wrong. And she was dearly sick of feeling conflicted and wrong all the time. It was a heavy price to pay for her friendship with Matt.
“I’m ready, Mom.”
She opened her eyes to Noah, fully dressed and with his bulging Lego backpack slung over his shoulder, standing in front of her.
“Asher said there are donuts in the car and they’re still hot. Can you hurry and get dressed so we can go?” The question was more a statement, and Cassie could see in his joy-filled expression that he had no doubt they were on their way to an adventure. She thought briefly of sending Noah with Matt and staying here alone but quickly dismissed the idea; being separated from Noah for a whole weekend might kill her, to say nothing of how truly lonely she’d be then.
Swinging her gaze up to Matt, she fixed him with her worst glare possible. “You don’t play fair.”
A corner of his mouth lifted in a roguish smile. “Never said that I did. Sometimes you have to play hard ball.”
“Don’t get all sportscaster on me,” she grumbled as she stomped past him to the bedroom. She slammed the door for full effect of her tantrum. Oregon. Matt’s family. This is crazy. But Noah’s happy face crowded out all else in her mind. She grabbed a duffle from the closet and began throwing clothes in it, admitting to herself that the two of them were probably overdue for a little crazy.
Matt gave Cassie what he hoped was an appropriately repentant look. “Still mad at me?” She’d spent the first two and a half hours of the drive curled up with her pillow as far away from him on the bench seat as possible, sleeping with her head against the passenger window.
“Furious,” she said, covering a yawn. “What time is it?”
He glanced at the dashboard. “Around nine.”
“The time I’d planned to get up today.” Cassie pulled her legs out from beneath her and sat up.
“Sorry to have disturbed your beauty sleep.”
“No you’re not,” she shot back at him.
“Actually—” He tried but couldn’t hide his grin. “You might need some more. Beauty sleep, that is. Your hair—”
Cassie flipped down the visor and looked in the mirror. “I may just keep it like this all weekend. See what your parents think of me.”
“My dad probably wouldn’t notice, and Mom would think it’s just some California style. She warned me about all kinds of bizarre things that go on there before we moved.”
“Like what?” Cassie asked. “Are we all hippies or something?”
“Exactly.” Matt nodded. “Liberal hippies with nose and belly button rings and tattoos from head to toe.”
“You don’t have people like that in Oregon?” Cassie asked.
“Sure,” Matt said. “But everyone in California fits that description according to my mom. You’re all a bunch of extremists.”
“Look who’s talking,” Cassie said. “I’ve never kidnapped anyone.”
“I don’t see any handcuffs or blindfold. You came willingly. The boys are my witnesses.” Witnesses, who were, at the moment, completely oblivious to anything except the game on the iPad held between them.
“Hmmph. It was still a low trick.” She pulled a brush from the bag at her feet and began pulling it through her hair. “Using my son like that,” she added in a harsh whisper.
“If you still feel like I’ve used him at the end of the trip, then I’ll do whatever you ask to make it up to both of you, but give this weekend a chance, Cassie.” He looked over at her. “Please.”
She sighed. “I will. I just feel guilty, you know.”
“I’m sorry.” Matt concentrated on driving, though all of his senses were on alert with Cassie seated just a foot or so away. He winced when she hit a particularly bad snarl, and then wished he could run his fingers through her hair a few minutes later when it lay soft and sleek against her head.
From the corner of his eye, he watched as she ate a donut and licked her fingers. Would’ve taken care of that for you, he thought, then wrestled to rein in his unruly desire. Nothing would make this weekend a disaster quicker than him overstepping their boundaries. They had both spoken and unspoken rules. No touching. No wanting to touch. No being alone. Three smallish chaperones weren’t too bad. No getting too close to each other. Too late for that now. Matt couldn’t imagine his life without Cassie and Noah. He was pretty sure his boys couldn’t either. As much as he realized that it was foolish, he couldn’t seem to help himself from envisioning a future with the five of them together.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Cassie said sometime later when the grassland and rolling hills of California had given way to the lush green forests of southern Oregon.
“Have you ever been to Oregon?” Matt asked.
“Never. We didn’t travel much when I was a kid, and Devon and I weren’t in a financial position to take many trips, aside from Tahoe, that is.” She told Matt about yearly trips with their friends, winter skiing, and nights in a hot tub.
He wrestled against the jealousy that picture ignited. He didn’t want to think of Cassie in a hot tub with Devon, but it was ridiculous to feel that way. He’d probably been in a hot tub with Jenna sometime during the same years Cassie was talking about.
“We were supposed to take a vacation the week after he was shot.” Cassie glanced over her shoulder, checking to see if the boys’ attention was still on the game, Matt guessed.
“Devon had booked a houseboat on Shasta.” She gave a short, half-hearted laugh. “Our friends went without us. Devon was the one who’d paid the whole deposit.”
“They gave it back I hope,” Matt said.
Cassie shook her head. “No. It was the least of my worries then. As time went by, I’m sure everyone just forgot.”
Some friends. Everyone was a jerk was what it sounded like to Matt.
“Tahoe is beautiful, but this is incredible.” Cassie pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures. “Everything is just so green.”
“Just wait,” Matt predicted. “You’re going to love Newport.” For the next hour, he told her about his home and his family.
“My sister is bossy, but she means well, a lot like my mom, actually,” Matt said, realizin
g the similarity. “My brother was mostly a pain when I was growing up, and now it’s his kids who are mostly a pain, but overall we have a good time.”
Matt told her about his father’s crabbing and fishing business, about growing up with the beach for a backyard. They told each other about their engagements and when and where they’d married. Matt learned that Cassie loved the California coast, too, and especially San Francisco. He tucked that info away for later, hoping he’d get a chance to take her there. So far he’d just seen the city by the bay from across the bay but hadn’t actually made it there. It seemed he had a good reason to go now.
Two bathroom breaks, a stop for lunch, and five hours later, they neared Newport.
“Now Noah and Cassie, I don’t want you to be frightened by my mom,” Matt said.
“Is she scary?” Noah asked, glancing back and forth between Asher and Austin.
“Grandma’s funny,” Asher said.
“And loud,” Austin added.
“Funny and loud doesn’t sound too bad.” Cassie had the visor down again, rechecking her hair.
“She’s very opinionated in a flamboyant sort of way.” Matt knew his attempts at explaining his mom weren’t adequate. There probably wasn’t a way to describe her. Some things— people— you just had to experience.
He left the highway and turned down their street a few minutes later, nervous anticipation setting him on edge as well. What would his family think of Cassie and Noah? He prayed they would welcome them both and quickly see Cassie for the wonderful person she was. Matt felt almost certain that was how things would go.
Just as soon as they got over their surprise.
Cassie stepped from the truck and stomped her feet on the gravel drive a few times, trying to restore circulation to her legs. The nine-plus-hour drive was a lot more sitting than she’d done in a long time. It was also a lot more time than she’d spent with Matt previously, and she’d been surprised how the hours had flown by as they’d talked. She’d told him more about her life both before and after Devon was shot than she’d told anyone, except maybe her mom.
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