Tempting Fate (The Blake Boys Book 9)

by Rhonda Laurel

  Channing decided to attend a cancer survivor’s meeting going on in the hospital while Cassidy went for more tests. He normally attended evening meetings after work, but he felt like he needed to go. On the way back he stopped at the gift shop and bought her a teddy bear. Cassidy’s room was already flooded with flowers and gifts from the Blakes. The boys sent her a tin filled with toy cars, a couple of their favorite books and get-well-soon drawings.

  He entered the room to find the orderly putting her back in the bed. She looked a thousand percent better than she had when she was admitted. She even sported a cute, pink bandanna on her head.

  “Aren’t these the most beautiful flowers you’ve ever seen?” She adjusted herself in the bed.

  “Very nice. Those are from my mama’s garden.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. They poked and prodded all morning. The nurse started me on the next cycle of antibiotics a little while ago.” She pointed to the new bags of meds on the IV pole. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  “You’re kidding right? I had to call the paramedics after we made love the other night.” He gave her a strange look.

  “I don’t want your life to change because of me.”

  “Too late.” He kissed her hand.

  “I must have scared the crap out of you.”

  “When I retell this story I’m going to say you were exhausted to the point of collapse from my arduous love making skills.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “I want a do over. When I get out of here I’m going to rock your world.” She smiled.

  “I’m counting on it.”

  “Want to watch television? There’s a game show that I like to watch.”

  “Whatever the patient wants.”

  “What I want is to cuddle with you.” She pulled back her bed sheets.

  Channing removed his sneakers and cozied up next to Cassidy. He was happy that she was OK. The nurse came in and checked on her and said lunch would be coming around soon. As they watched television and talked, he stole glimpses of her as she giggled at the corny jokes the host made. He’d been afraid he was going to lose her, and that was something he didn’t want to experience again.

  Cassidy was fighting sleep, but he held her closer, hoping she’d relax into the warmth of his body and give into the feeling. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to be with her, something he’d never felt with another woman. The game show was over and she’d finally fallen asleep, so he reached for the remote to turn down the volume. A knock on the door jarred him from thoughts.

  “C.J.?” Emma poked her head in, but when she saw him, she quickly disappeared.

  Channing eased out of the bed so as not to wake Cassidy and went out into the hall. “Emma, what are you doing here?”

  “Penny said you were here at the hospital with a sick friend, and I had to come see for myself.” Emma pouted. “Is that the woman from DC?”

  “Yes. You met Cassidy at the party you crashed.”

  “I thought I was surprising you,” she snipped.

  “Whatever. What are you doing here? What’s so important that you have to talk to me now?”

  “Oh, so all of a sudden you don’t have time for me because of your sick girlfriend in there?”

  “Every time I make time for you, it turns into a disaster,” he snapped. “And frankly I gave up waiting for you to decide if it’s worth being in a relationship with me. I won’t apologize for that.”

  “I knew you were going to break my heart. That’s all the Blake men ever do. You go around discarding women like they’re playthings. Just like Seth did to Penny. It must be a family trait.”

  “My brother did not screw over your sister.” Channing’s voice rose. “The way I remember it, Penny played double bluff, and she lost him. He loved her, and to say that he was some kind of heartless jerk only does a disservice to the relationship they had. It ended and they both moved on.”

  “She hurt for a long time. When they broke up a part of me hurt too. I loved Seth like a brother.” Emma’s lip trembled.

  It was becoming clearer to him now. The casualties in that breakup spanned farther than either of the families would admit. He remembered that Emma had adored Seth. It took some time for the Blakes and Winterbournes to be civil with each other.

  “I saw them as the perfect couple too.” He ran a hand over his face. “I can’t change the past, and neither can you. But that doesn’t excuse you from the roller coaster ride you’ve taken me on the last two years. Maybe you ran out of fear because the first part of the fantasy didn’t come to fruition. But it’s not just that. Do you realize how often you mention me moving away from the ranch? The dirt on that ranch runs through my veins. My family is there. I am happy there. It’s where I belong. And I belong there with someone who isn’t tortured by the history of my family. I loved you for a long time. I’ll always love you. But it’s not going to work for us.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “What?”

  “The woman in there. Cassidy.” She motioned to Cassidy’s room.

  He looked her in the eye. “Yes, I do.”

  Emma tried to push past him. “Looks like history is repeating itself.”

  The pair stopped in their tracks when they saw Seth and Penny coming down the hall.

  “Hey, baby brother. Emma.” Seth kissed Emma on the cheek.

  “What are you going here?” Channing stammered.

  “I had a check for the Main Street Clinic and knew I’d be coming to the hospital to visit Cassidy, so I thought I’d drop it off to my favorite doctor.” Seth was all smiles, but the look in his brother’s eyes meant something else was going on.

  “I love it when your brother stops by. He always brings the best presents.” Penny held up the envelope with the check in it.

  “And of course I wanted to congratulate Penny on her impending wedding in person. She’s marrying a hell of a guy.”

  “He’s wonderful. You’re a hell of an act to follow.” Penny winked at Seth. “Emma is my maid of honor, of course.”

  The banter between the two was refreshing, but a little confusing too. There was a time these two couldn’t be in the same room together.

  Emma put her hand to her throat. “I didn’t know you two were so chummy.”

  Seth spoke up. “Well, it took some time. After that fight with Caine, we agreed that it was time to let all that animosity go. I think Penny and I spent so much time being mad at each other, we didn’t acknowledge that we weren’t meant to be. We had different paths carved out for ourselves and were better people for knowing it before we did something stupid, like get married.”

  “That sounds very mature.” Channing nodded.

  “The maturity part didn’t come overnight.” Penny put a hand on Emma’s arm.

  Emma turned to Seth. “We used to e-mail each other and text, and then it all just stopped. I feel like…you broke up with me too.”

  “Emma, I owe you an apology. You were the little sister I never had. When Penny and I broke up, I wasn’t very mindful of that. But I didn’t want to put you in an awkward position. The support of family is what helps us through things like failed relationships. I know you would never be disloyal to Penny, and I knew our keeping in touch might hurt her feelings. So I didn’t want to put you in a position that seemed like you were keeping a secret from her. Channing wasn’t all that thrilled with me back then either.”

  “That’s true.” Channing blinked. Seth was right. When they broke up, Emma wouldn’t speak to him, and he blamed it on his brother.

  “I think the mythos of Penny and me became bigger than all of us. We all just reacted in different ways during the fallout,” Seth replied.

  The four of them stood there for a moment taking it all in. Years of bitter feelings and confusion had just been aired, and it was refreshing. He and Emma’s relationship had always been overshadowed by Seth and Penny’s, and
it made sense to him.

  “Channing, it was so good seeing you again.” Penny hugged him. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to take my sister to lunch.”

  Channing and Seth watched as the Winterbourne sisters walk down the hall and got on the elevator. As the doors closed, Emma waved good-bye. He waved back.

  Channing turned to Seth. “How on earth did you know to come here?”

  “Penny called me and said Emma overheard Clint and her talking about Cassidy when he got the call to come into the hospital late last night. Emma remembered her from DC. When she stormed out of the house this morning, Penny knew she was headed here. We agreed to meet and see if we could help.”

  “Is Morgan OK with all of this?” The last thing he wanted to do was create an issue between Seth and his wife.

  “She practically pushed me out the door. She had a similar experience with a girlfriend of Robert’s. He dated his high school sweetheart for a long time. The family just knew they were going to get married. When it ended, Morgan was hit pretty hard with the loss, not having many women in her life and all. She suspected Emma’s reluctance to give you a real chance had something to do with our past relationship. You were both so young when we broke up. Things like that can have strange effects on the bystanders invested in the relationship.”

  “Like grown men having fights at the Bright Star?” Channing raised an eyebrow.

  “Exactly. Morgan said if the family didn’t want a repeat of that night, I should try to break the cycle.”

  The last thing he needed was Caine and the rest of the Winterbourne men putting a price on his head.

  “You’re right.”

  “But I wouldn’t mind another shot at Caine.” Seth waggled his eyebrows. “How’s Cassidy?”

  “Sleeping.”

  “Why don’t Morgan and I come back in a few hours? I’ll bring food.”

  “Great.” Channing rubbed the back of his neck. “Seth?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks.”

  He patted Channing on the back and smiled. “That’s what big brothers are for.”

  * * *

  When Channing said good-bye to Seth, Cassidy hobbled back to bed as quickly as she could. She’d taken a deep breath when she heard Emma’s voice and still hadn’t exhaled. Channing had just said some pretty tough words to his ex-girlfriend, but she knew he was hurting. It was a hard thing to learn there was so much of the past that stifled their chance at a real relationship.

  Channing came back into the room and slid into bed with her. He pulled her into his arms, and when he held her close, she felt his heart beating fast, like he’d just run a marathon. Soon he was fast asleep, but she was wide-awake thinking of all the things she had to do when she returned to DC. She looked at her laptop on the table across the room. She really needed to return some emails. She sent Mark a text yesterday. He asked if she wanted him to fly down, but she declined. It was bad enough Channing was missing work because of her. Mark made her promise to text every day and threatened to kick Channing’s ass if he didn’t take good care of her.

  It was getting to be too much. She’d disrupted his life enough. A relationship with Emma was now out of the question, but he still had time to find someone who didn’t have all the baggage she had.

  He deserved a perfect life like his brothers, and he wouldn’t be able to have that if he was constantly worrying about her. He deserved happiness, just like she did. Unfortunately she didn’t think they could be happy together.

  * * *

  Channing was elated when Cassidy didn’t put up a fuss when he insisted she come home with him. As soon as she got back to the guesthouse, she fired up her laptop and hadn’t stopped typing since. She was recovering well, but he sensed a change in her. She recoiled at his attentiveness, even the question of what to have for dinner seemed to set her off. He thought maybe he was smothering her, so he decided to spend some time with his brother. They had an important real estate decision to make today.

  He made his way down to the stables, expecting Tyler to be the first to arrive. He went to get his horse, Patches, and saw that Tyler’s horse Trixie wasn’t in her stall.

  “Bo, have you seen Ty?” he asked as he approached.

  “He rode out about fifteen minutes ago. He said he couldn’t wait and that you knew where to meet him.” Bo laughed. “I can’t remember the last time he was early for anything.”

  “Thanks.” Punctuality was never Tyler’s forte, but for the first time in his life his older brother had beaten him to the punch. Channing rode out to their meeting place. Tyler didn’t even give him a chance to dismount before he started.

  “What about right here?”

  “You’re up bright and early.”

  Tyler touched the brim of his Stetson. “I was getting anxious. This is a big decision. I want everything to be perfect.”

  “Everything is going to be fine.” Channing surveyed the area around them. He could see Tate and Seth’s houses in the distance from each direction. “Looks good.”

  “So how’s Cassidy?”

  “She’s resting, but only under duress. That woman doesn’t want to listen to doctor’s orders. I just wish she’d let me help her more.”

  “If there’s anything I’ve learned from the women in this family, it’s that you have to let them navigate their own waters. Just loving her is all she needs.”

  “You think so?”

  “I’m sure of it.” Tyler mounted his horse. “Let’s go.”

  The rode a ways across the open field and stopped about three miles from the first location. Channing liked the way the sun hit in the spot where they stood. The natural sunlight would be good for a garden. He estimated they had to be at least two or three miles away from the road, but it would be easy for the construction crew to extend it.

  “I like this spot. If we build on the right angles, we can probably wave to each other from our porches.” Channing quipped.

  “And have paint gun fights.” Tyler laughed.

  “Remember how mad Mama got when we got paint all over the side of the barn?”

  “I remember being grounded for a month.”

  “Well, we have one last thing to do before we make it official.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A party to commemorate the occasion.”

  * * *

  When Channing left to go riding with his brother Tyler, Cassidy thought it would be the perfect time to talk to his mom. She went out into the garden to find Teri-Lyn turning over a new patch of soil. She was working on another project.

  “Hi, Cassidy.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Blake.”

  “How are you feeling?” Teri-Lyn pulled off her gloves.

  “Much better.” She tugged on her bandanna. “I’m so sorry to disturb you.”

  “Nonsense. I was just about to come over and see if you’d have lunch with me. How about I make us some sandwiches and a tall pitcher of lemonade?”

  “Sounds good.” She gave her a tight smile.

  Cassidy couldn’t stop the plethora of information that fell from her lips while having lunch with Teri-Lyn. It was a habit that flared up when she was under extreme stress, and sitting across from Channing’s mother qualified. Having raised five sons, the woman was a tough cookie, and Cassidy knew it.

  She took a sip of her lemonade. “When I first got the diagnosis, I threw the biggest pity party in history and cried for a week. Then one day a voice in my head said get up and fight.”

  “Fate sometimes deals unexpected things to us. From what C.J. has told me about you, you’re a fighter.”

  “You ever wonder what the point of life is?” She put her glass down.

  Teri-Lyn leaned forward and grasped her hand. “The point of life is fulfilling the plan that each of had when we were born. Your life gives great meaning to the people who love you, especially my son. It would break his heart if something happened to you.”

  “That’s precisely what I’m afraid of.” She bi
t her lip. How could she be hopeful that Channing wanted a future with her? How long would she be in remission? “I need your help.”

  “With what?”

  “The guesthouse is littered with cancer books.” She bit her lip.

  “My son is a thorough man. He bought those books so he could know how to take care of you.”

  “Surely he has better things to do with his time.”

  “What’s better than caring for someone you love?”

  Cassidy swallowed hard. It was love that brought her to this difficult decision.

  She pressed on. “Did you know he joined a cancer support group?”

  “Yes. I’ve gone with him a few times.”

  She gasped. “You too?”

  “Sure. I want to support my son in his quest to support you. He shouldn’t have to process those feelings alone, and it’s been an eye-opening experience for both of us.”

  This was all too much. The thing she feared was coming to fruition right before her eyes. A slow dance into a budding relationship had now become bogged down with medical books and harsh realities. She was a liability not only to him, but to his entire family.

  She doubted the buck stopped with Teri-Lyn; these were insanely close-knit people. This explained why his sisters-in-law have been so nice and mindful, not bringing up her illness. Channing must have told them he was invested in this relationship for the long haul, and it made her sad. She didn’t even know how long the ‘long haul’ would be.

  “All of this is very nice, but I’m afraid it’s all moving too fast. If I weren’t sick, Channing and I would have been on our third date and trying to figure out how to make the long distance thing work. Instead he’s going to cancer support groups with his mother.” She shook her head.

  “I think it’s a little late to worry about that. My baby is doing all of this because he’s crazy about you. We all care about you,” Teri-Lyn replied.