“Compared to what?” Priscilla muttered.
“Why are you here?” Cassidy asked. “We already said yes to the big family vacation thing. What’s so important that we couldn’t handle it over the phone?”
Lexie gazed up at her with a confused expression, which gave Cassidy a twinge of guilt for having been so rude. She cupped her daughter’s soft cheek to show that everything was okay. Even though it wasn’t.
“Mind if we come in?” Parker said.
“What for?” Cassidy replied.
“We have some things we’d like to talk to you about,” Kayla said.
Cassidy could see the other Kayla, the pushy, bossy one, straining to get out from behind this Kayla’s fake smile.
Priscilla caught her eye and shrugged slightly, which Cassidy took to mean, What other choice do we have?
“Lexie, play outside for a few minutes, will you?” Cassidy told her daughter.
“Why, Lexie can sit with us if she wants to,” Kayla exclaimed brightly.
“Do as I say,” Cassidy told Lexie firmly. To the others, she said, “We can sit in the den.”
Muffins, who’d been curled up on the couch where he wasn’t supposed to be, woke up and then streaked out of the room. Cassidy sat on the warm spot he left behind, her mother beside her, with Parker and Kayla in the two chairs opposite. The grandfather clock ticked, ticked, ticked in the uneasy quiet. She folded her hands in her lap and waited, mentally daring them to say what they’d come to say. She already knew it must have something to do with Mason. It was obvious from the brave-but-pained expression on Parker’s handsome face and from Kayla’s compulsive clutching of her magazines.
Priscilla crossed her arms and drawled, “Well, y’all dragged us all in here. What’s got a burr under your saddle?”
Kayla took an audible breath. “We’re concerned about Lexie. As her father, Parker would—”
“What makes you think you’re Lexie’s father?” Priscilla asked Parker.
“Pardon me?” Parker asked.
“I said what makes you think you’re Lexie’s father?” Priscilla leaned back with her arms still crossed. “I mean, we’re all friends here, right? All plainspoken folk. I’m asking what, exactly, you’ve done over the years to make you Lexie’s father. Two minutes in the back of a car don’t mean a hill of beans. Not to me, anyway.”
Kayla let her gaze flit away for a moment, but Parker loosened his tie, like maybe it was choking him a little. Cassidy wondered why it bothered him so much, the idea of losing out to Mason. Where did that come from?
“Look here,” he said, “I’ve done what I can. It hasn’t been easy working my way up the company ladder. Now I’m in a position to help out a little more. That’s why my sister and I put together this trip to Florida. That’s why—”
“Ten years,” Cassidy said slowly. She lifted her eyes to him and saw that Parker was flustered, for maybe the first time since she’d known him. “It’s been ten years and you haven’t spent more than a week altogether with your daughter. How can you possibly look at me and say you’ve done all you could?”
“We’re not here to point fingers,” Kayla said with the same brittle smile people had when they complained to Cassidy that their burgers were cold. “I think we all agree that taking Lexie to Disney World is—”
“A convenient way to play on the emotions of a young girl,” Priscilla said crisply. “It won’t undo ten years of no emotional or financial support for her mother.”
“I have expenses,” Parker said, but Kayla placed her hand on his shoulder to silence him. “Don’t let them provoke you,” she said. “We’re not here to talk about that.”
Cassidy felt heat flush through her body. “Why not? You came to talk. Let’s talk about the fact that I haven’t been able to buy new school clothes for Lexie since the day she started kindergarten. She wears hand-me-downs and Goodwill. Let’s talk about the fact that she’s dyslexic and her school can’t make any accommodations for her. Let’s talk about having to put off paying the light bill so I can buy her school supplies. Or the times I’ve had to borrow money from my parents so I could pay the taxes on this house.”
Parker and Kayla stared at the floor, Parker with his legs crossed, Kayla with those stupid magazines on her lap.
Kayla said, “I don’t really see—”
“No? Well, I do.” Cassidy pushed a handful of hair out of her face, heart pounding because after ten long years, speaking the truth felt crazy and wonderful and scary all at once. “I want to talk about the kids who tease Lexie because she reads slowly, who look down on her because she’s different. You don’t know because you’re not around. She’s a terrific artist, but you’ve never seen her drawings. When she was little, she used to draw pictures of houses with a mommy and daddy inside them. You know, a normal family. Just like every little girl wants.”
Cassidy’s whole body trembled with rage. Her precious daughter had been wronged by these people with their neglect and their selfishness. No way would she stand by and let them think if they paid the piper, they called the tune.
Kayla cleared her throat. She lifted one hand as though to make sure her hair was still in place. “No one’s saying that Lexie isn’t at a disadvantage, being raised by a single mother.”
Priscilla made a sound of disgust. “That girl has a whole family who loves her. I’m sure what you meant to say was that Lexie is at a disadvantage being raised without a reliable father.”
Outside the window, Lexie leaned her bike against the tree and glanced at the house, clearly wondering if they were done yet.
“We don’t want to argue,” Kayla said with exquisite politeness. “We just came here today to talk about something that’s important. Something that concerns us.”
Parker roused himself then, back from whatever fleeting self-reproach he might have let himself feel. With a kind of odd detachment, Cassidy observed him—the beautiful silk tie that brought out the green in his eyes. The immaculate nails and class ring. Mason’s hands had been cut and bleeding after his game. His knuckles looked as though someone had run them over with a tractor. He was movie star handsome, too, only his looks weren’t pretty. They were rugged. Masculine. No one would ever look at Mason and wonder who did his hair.
Kayla took the stack of magazines off her lap and fanned them out on the coffee table in front of her. She gave Cassidy a haughty, defiant look. “Have you seen these?”
Cassidy glanced at the titles. Celebrity gossip magazines mostly, the kind her mother collected, and a Sports Illustrated. “So?”
“Parker and I—well, to be honest, most of Cuervo—are concerned about your relationship with Mason.” Kayla opened the magazines to places she’d pre-marked with yellow Sticky Notes. Clearly, she’d done her homework. “We feel, out of our great love for Lexie, that it might be confusing for her to see her mother dating a celebrity. Especially one with Mason’s reputation.”
Cassidy folded her arms over her chest. Oh, here we go.
She looked at the glossy pages. Mason photographed like a dream. There he was wearing his tux. Another photo showed him strolling along the beach carrying a surfboard. Beside him in every photo was a different woman, all of them beautiful. One she recognized as the woman she’d spoken to named Anna.
Next to her, Priscilla palpably stiffened.
Don’t worry, Cassidy thought. I’ll handle this.
“What possible business is it of yours who I date?” Cassidy said, low and furious. “How dare you come in here and start making judgments! And what on earth makes you think a bunch of pictures means you know the first thing about Mason?” She pressed her finger on the photo of Anna. “We talked a few weeks ago on the phone. She’s the sweetest person alive. And you don’t know the first thing about her—any more than you do about him!”
“There’s no need to get upset,” Kayla told her. “I’m
just saying that it’s all over town how you and Lexie are going to Dallas next week. What kind of example is that to set for a young girl, having her mother tramp—” Kayla’s nostrils flared as she obviously realized her mistake. “I mean, stay in the same house with a man who has that kind of reputation with women.”
Priscilla slammed both hands on the table. She flipped closed the magazines and practically threw them at Kayla. “Well, you would know, wouldn’t you? The way I remember it, you and Mason were seen coming out of the Cattle Rancher motel the morning after prom. So if anybody knows about Mason’s reputation, it’s you.”
Parker visibly startled. He turned his entire body toward Kayla and stared at her. Cassidy thought, Your sister slept with your biggest rival. What do you have to say about that now?
“We were kids,” Kayla huffed. “It was prom.”
“I guess sleeping with people on prom night is a Nolen family specialty, right, Parker?” Cassidy stood up, stepped around the coffee table, and went to open the door. “You’ll excuse me, but I think we’re done here. I have dinner to cook and a daughter to raise.”
“Oh, so this is how you treat the people who care about you, who are trying to help?” Kayla gathered up her magazines and clasped them protectively against her chest. “My brother’s paying for you and Lexie to go to Disney World and this is how you thank him?”
“Cassidy isn’t going to Disney World,” Priscilla announced.
“What are you talking about?” Kayla said, and even Cassidy looked at her mother in bewilderment.
“I won’t let my daughter go. It’s that simple. And have you two snap at her the whole time?” Priscilla pushed herself up from the couch and drew the two edges of her sweater together. “I’m going to Disney World with my granddaughter. You’re stuck with me. And there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”
* * * *
“Wow, is that Dallas?” Lexie exclaimed, peering through the airplane window. “Look how tall it is!”
Cassidy followed her daughter’s gaze. Dazzling skyscrapers rose up out of a neat orderly grid of smaller buildings. Blue sky and puffy clouds were reflected in the skyscrapers’ mirrored windows. All of it was breathtaking, but it was Lexie’s excitement that brought Cassidy some measure of happiness and relief.
There hadn’t been much of that to go around since Parker and Kayla’s visit.
Now, she and Lexie were on their way to Dallas, and Cassidy had spent whole nights worrying about how to be a mom and a girlfriend all at the same time. What if Lexie hated it there? What if Mason couldn’t handle having a kid around who wasn’t his? Worse, what if she made a mess of things and Lexie and Mason both ended up feeling short-changed? There was only so much of her to go around and…
Cassidy tried to push those thoughts aside and enjoy her daughter’s first plane ride. What was wrong with her? She was going to see Mason. Ordinarily, that would fill her with happiness. Now, her stomach had this dull hollow ache inside.
“Amy’s mom says that Mason’s pool is super big,” Lexie said, her eyes shining with excitement.
“Amy’s mom?”
“She saw photos of it. I can’t wait to go swimming. What if one of the little kids almost drowns and I have to save him?”
“Let’s hope that never happens.” Cassidy remembered the hot tub and felt herself flush to the roots of her hair. How strange was it going to be seeing kids splash around close to where she and Mason—
“Oh,” Lexie said. “I just remembered. Amy’s mom asked me to ask you if you can get them Super Bowl tickets. How come everybody keeps asking us for Super Bowl tickets?”
Ten minutes after the plane landed, Cassidy still couldn’t find gravity. She fumbled the carry-on luggage. Then she dropped her purse. The line to disembark was jammed with people, which made her even more overheated and anxious. One minute, she yearned to see Mason. The next, she shrank inside herself, overwhelmed by what would be expected of her. The whole thing made her wish she were sitting on her front porch, where everything was sane and calm and normal. Where the sycamores shed their leaves in her yard, and in the distance, she could hear dogs barking. Life wasn’t always easy in Cuervo, but at least you knew who your friends were.
After being cramped up inside that plane, the terminal felt enormous, all gleaming floors and glass walls and coffee shops. Lexie took her hand as they walked. Lexie wasn’t much of a hand-holder these days, so Cassidy was surprised.
The first time she’d come to Dallas, she felt like an imposter, like she didn’t really belong. With Lexie in tow, Cassidy knew exactly who she was: Lexie’s mom. It was a role she assumed far more naturally than that of Mason’s girlfriend.
When she spotted Mason by the exit doors, her pulse went from flatline to flare gun. He may have worn a ball cap and dark sunglasses, but there was no disguising his magnificent build. It made her dizzy, like maybe just looking at him had the power to do that to her now.
Mason saw her and a huge grin spread over his face. “Look at my two world travelers.”
He leaned down to kiss her, clearly intending to keep it casual in front of Lexie. Cassidy wanted to keep kissing but could feel Lexie’s eyes on her and gave a quick laugh. “In just the time it took us to get here, Lexie decided to become a pilot.”
“A pilot?” Mason moved them through the concourse and toward the exit doors. “Why not an astronaut?”
“There’s nothing to see up there but a bunch of stars and stuff,” Lexie said, re-shouldering her backpack. “You can’t fly to Yellowstone National Park if you’re in space.”
Cassidy explained about Lexie’s obsession with all the wildlife in Yellowstone while they emerged from the artificial climate of the terminal into the bright Dallas sunshine. She didn’t see the horde of paparazzi until they were surrounded.
Mason groaned, “God, no.”
“Mason, over here!” A man in a red T-shirt bobbed in front of them, camera in hand. Despite the outside glare, the flashbulbs were even more blinding.
With a cry, Lexie put both arms up, trying to shield herself. She froze, and Cassidy clasped her tightly while fifty voices shouted at once.
“Mason, who’s your new girlfriend?”
“What’s your name, honey?”
“Can you look up? Just look up here a minute.”
“Whose kid is that, Mason? She sure doesn’t look like you.”
“Can I get a shot of you three together? Tell the kid to put her hands down.”
“Oh, my God.” Cassidy gasped. Her whole body was shaking. Instinctively, she wedged Lexie between her and Mason, but Lexie was stumbling and crying and then she dropped her backpack. Mason snatched it up, his face contorted in rage.
“Blondie! What’s your name?” one of the paparazzi yelled to Cassidy. “Is it true you work at McDonald’s?”
“Is that little girl your sister? Up here, sweetie. Give us a smile.”
“Why can’t you do something?” Cassidy pleaded with Mason. “Please make them go away.”
“Follow me,” he said. “The car’s over there.”
Mason swept Lexie up in his arms and pushed his way through the crowd. Half-blind, Cassidy teetered after him, one hand dragging her carry-on, the other clutching his shirt. The paparazzi kept swarming and clicking and shouting even after Mason got the door to the SUV open and they were safely inside. In the backseat, Cassidy continued to shield Lexie with her body. Lexie clung to her and sobbed.
Mason powered the car out of his parking space and the paparazzi finally gave up. Cassidy watched them through the rear window to make sure nobody followed, but Mason kept the gas pedal to the floor. She could see him in the rearview mirror checking on her and Lexie, his expression alternating between fury and concern.
Cassidy couldn’t say anything. She was still too stunned and frightened. All she could do was stroke Lexie’s hair and
try to make her feel better.
But as long as she dated Mason, Cassidy knew that Lexie would never be safe. Not from these horrible people. Not from anyone. And the thought made her sick to her stomach.
* * * *
“Are you sure Little Bit’s going to be comfortable in the guest room?” Ruth asked Mason once they were back at the house. He’d never seen her so hen-like and mothering, right down to the nickname she’d given Lexie the instant she saw the child sniffling and shaken. “We could move her to the room in the south wing,” Ruth suggested. “It’s a little farther away, but she might like it because it’s warmer and there’s a window—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mason said, gently herding her out the kitchen door. “I think Cass has it taken care of.”
“The paparazzi. They’re just vermin.” Ruth wore an expression of injured virtue, as though the paps had gone after her personally. “They don’t care who gets hurt.”
Mason ran one hand wearily through his hair and took another swig of beer. The beer wasn’t helping. “I’ll call you if anything changes, okay? Lexie’s had one hell of a day. Best she just sleeps now.”
Ruth went down the steps to her car. Mason flipped on the light so she could see. He stood in the doorway for a moment, letting the night air slide over him. His rage hadn’t subsided much. He’d just tucked it in a drawer. But the feeling of dread and foreboding that began the minute those assholes showed up still hadn’t left him. In fact, the feeling had gotten way more intense.
Mason closed the kitchen door and crept down the hall toward Lexie’s room. Cassidy was in there putting Lexie to bed. He could hear them talking, Cassidy’s soft feminine voice and then Lexie’s higher one, and he wanted to go in and just fix everything. Goddammit, that’s what he did—fix shit that had gone totally fucking wrong.
What he really wanted to do was get an AK-47 and mow down the next paparazzi that ambushed him while he was with Cassidy and Lexie. It was bad enough that he had to put up with them, but to do that to a kid? It took every ounce of self-control he had not to put his fist through a wall.
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