“Bobby couldn’t wait to come today. He woke us up begging for us to bring him,” a woman with vibrant red hair told another mom.
“Lexie did the same. She read three books this week all by herself. Her teacher says her reading has improved dramatically in the last month,” the other mom said, keeping an eye on a little blond girl with pigtails.
“Cassie has been such a blessing to this town,” the first mom said. “I still can’t figure out why she moved here.”
“Maybe she’s thinking about starting a family.” Her voice dropped even lower. “She did bring a man here today.”
Jack could barely see them in his periphery, but he knew they were both looking at him. He pretended to be enthralled with a mystery novel on the shelf in front of him.
“Lawson isn’t going to be very happy about that,” the first mom said. “He’s been wanting to ask out Cassie since she first got here.”
Cassie clapped her hands to signal that she was about to begin the story. The kids all bounced excitedly on their bottoms.
“Are you guys ready for this?” she asked with a wide smile.
They all clapped and screamed. It was amazing to see how excited they were to be there, staring up at Cassie with adoring eyes. As she began reading, they watched her with rapt attention. Some of them appeared to be as mesmerized by her as Jack was. One of them even got up and climbed into her lap. She barely paused her reading as she easily scooped the girl up. Cassie was a natural with the kids.
When she was done, the kids had reached the limits of their attention span. Their energy was bubbling over as they bounced around the library. Jack noticed a small park in the center of the square and volunteered to take the kids outside to run around while the parents finished catching up and checking out stacks of books. He was surprised at how quickly the parents agreed to trust a stranger with their kids, especially a man. But Cassie’s seal of approval was apparently all they needed.
“Thank you,” Cassie said, kissing his cheek. Two of the kids started giggling loudly. “Please don’t lose any of the kids.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence.” He turned to the kids. “Um, maybe you all should pair up- find a buddy.”
As soon as they stepped outside, Jack regretted his decision. There were eight kids in total and only one of them would listen to him at any given time. The fact that they all survived the twenty minutes it took for their parents to finally collect them was nothing short of a miracle. Jack was sweaty and out of breath after chasing them around non-stop.
“I had no idea you were a kid-person,” Cassie said, laughing at his flustered expression. She reached up and smoothed down his hair. “What exactly have you been doing?”
“Lexie said she could make my hair bouncy,” he explained. “Are you saying it didn’t work?”
“Your hair has never looked better.” She pushed up on her toes to kiss him softly. “Let’s get out of here. I’m tired of sharing you with other girls.”
In a bit of perfect timing, Lexie ran forward and threw her arms around Jack’s waist. “Can we play together tomorrow, Jack?”
“I have to go home tomorrow,” he said, stooping down to meet her at eye level. “But we can play together soon.”
“Next weekend?” she asked hopefully.
“Maybe.” He tugged gently on a pigtail and she giggled. “You better get going, your mom is waiting.”
This time she hugged him around the neck before skipping away.
“Should I be worried?” Cassie asked, unsuccessfully holding back a smile.
“Never.” He draped an arm across her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I’m going home with you, darling.”
They took their time walking home, enjoying the beautiful weather and each other’s company. Cassie rested her head on his shoulder as they walked and asked him questions about his childhood. Jack had grown up in a small town very similar to Dayton. In a lot of ways, he felt right at home there.
“How did you get your scar, Jack?” Cassie asked as she tightened her arm around his waist.
He had forgotten that he had shown her the scar in the shower. At the time, he had just been trying to make her feel less self-conscious about her own scars. It hadn’t occurred to him that he might have to open up about a part of his life that he would prefer to forget.
“I was in a car accident,” he said.
“When?”
“I was thirteen.”
She glanced at him. “Was it bad?”
“I died.” He wasn’t surprised when she pulled up abruptly. “It was only for a minute. The paramedics brought me back on the way to the hospital.”
“You died?” She gaped at him. “Who was in the car with you? Did they survive?”
“My dad was driving.” He heard the hard edge surrounding his words. “He was drunk.”
A wave of understanding washed over her face. Cassie knew that Jack had a troubled relationship with his father. Now she knew why. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”
“It was a long time ago.” He started walking again and she reluctantly shuffled forward. “I don’t like to get hung up on the past.”
He immediately regretted those words knowing it would make Cassie feel guilty for her struggles with her own past.
“I understand,” she said quietly. “Let’s go home.”
Home. It was no longer a place for Jack. Home was wherever Cassie happened to be. She was his home.
Jack’s phone rang as she let herself inside the house. He stayed outside to answer it. After ignoring his phone for hours, he had finally turned it on when he saw the news report about the newly murdered woman. He knew it was only a matter of time before he heard from his boss. This wasn’t the kind of call that could be ignored.
“Stone!” Jack held the phone away from his ear as Captain Suza barked his name. Under the best of circumstances, Suza wasn’t a calm man. Having a serial killer on the loose certainly hadn’t helped in that regard. “Where the fuck are you?”
“Out of the office.” For five years, Jack had worked under Suza and he was used to the foul language and hot temper. He had learned it was best to treat his boss like a wild animal, never showing fear. “You may have heard of it, it’s called a weekend. They happen after every fifth day.”
“Stone’s a comedian, huh? You won’t be making so many jokes if I bench you.” Suza coughed loudly, phlegm rattle from his throat through the phone. “I don’t suppose you’ve been watching the news?”
“I saw.” Jack couldn’t think of any reason to lie about that.
“Carver strikes again.” The detectives had taken to calling Cassie’s abductor Carver because of his proclivity for carving up his victims before he murdered them. Jack found the nickname abhorrent and had never used it himself.
“Like I said, I saw.” Now he regretted answering the phone. All he wanted to do was go inside and be with Cassie.
Suza scoffed. “You saw? What should bother you is what you didn’t see.”
“Spit it out, Captain. I don’t have time for games.”
“We found one dead girl last night, and another girl went missing this morning.” Suza cleared his throat. “I don’t have to tell you what today is, do I?”
“No, you don’t.” Today was exactly one year since Cassie had been taken. It wasn’t a day that he was likely to ever forget.
“You ever hear from her?” As far as Suza knew, Cassie had taken off three months ago never to be heard from again. He certainly didn’t know that Jack was there with her right now.
He wasn’t ready to face that firing squad yet. “Tell me about the missing girl.”
“Same as the others.” A short pause as Suza consulted the file. “Jenny Mavis. 28. Pretty. Grabbed when she went out for a run this morning.”
“I take it there were no witnesses?”
“No, Stone. Actually, someone saw the whole thing. Recorded it on their phone. Put it on the internet. Perfect ID of Carver, we just haven’t bothered
to save the girl yet.” Suza had absolutely no sense of humor, but his sarcasm was unparalleled. “Stop being stupid and get your ass into the station.”
“Can’t, bossman. I’m not in the city.” Jack hurried on before Suza could start barking more orders. “I’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”
A loud, disgruntled sigh hissed through the phone. “Fine.”
Click.
Two days ago, Jack would have been reaching for the nearest whiskey bottle. Dealing with Suza’s temper-tantrums while sober would have been a convenient trigger. But now he had Cassie, and she was all he would ever need.
“Everything okay?” she asked when he found her on the couch.
“Yeah.” He settled next to her, throwing an arm around Cassie. He twisted a strand of her soft hair through his fingers while deciding whether to tell her about the missing girl. She had a right to know. “Suza just called.”
“I take it he doesn’t know you are here?” Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not exactly.” They both knew their relationship was forbidden. If even a whiff of it his Suza’s desk, Jack would be suspended immediately. “He was checking to see if I had heard about the most recent victim.”
“The dead girl?” Cassie said the words without emotion, her face an indecipherable mask that gave nothing away.
When he didn’t answer right away, she poked him in the ribs. “Out with it, Stone.”
“There is another girl. She’s missing.” He glanced at Cassie’s face and saw her eyes darken. “She was taken this morning.”
“Missing? They’re sure it was Him?”
Cassie always referred to her abductor as Him, with a capital H.
“Yes.” Jack felt a familiar knot twist in his stomach. The same knot had only ever been lubricated by excessive amounts of alcohol. “I have to head back first thing in the morning.”
Cassie nodded absently, her mind a million miles away. After a minute, she blinked and turned to him with a faint smile. “I guess we’ll just have to make the most of tonight then.”
It was the kind of night they used to have in Chicago when there were still just platonic friends. Dinner was a cheap pizza delivered by a pimple-faced teenager. Their entertainment was a bad romantic comedy that had been in theaters over twenty years ago. The one big difference this time was that they no longer had to cover for the awkward sexual tension between them. Instead, they made out like teenagers with a house to themselves for the first time.
“You are very good at this,” Cassie said, nibbling lightly at his ear. She lay on top of him, her body pressed against his from head to toe. They were both still fully clothed, though shirts had been untucked and pants had been unbuttoned.
“I was about to say the same thing to you.” He held back a groan as she rubbed her body against his in just the right way. They had kept everything at PG-13 level so far. Jack marveled at how every part of his body felt like it was on fire, yet he was also perfectly calm and content. That was the effect that Cassie had on him, giving him life while also anchoring him in place.
Cassie lifted her head and studied him thoughtfully. “One year ago today was the worst day of my life. I can’t believe how much has changed in the last year.”
“I can’t believe how much has changed in the last day,” Jack said. They had only been together for a day. “I feel like you were mine long before I ever met you.”
Cassie rested her chin on his chest and looked at him with shimmering eyes. “What happens tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, I make you breakfast.” His smile was strained.
“You live in the city,” she said sadly. Her index finger tapped a steady rhythm on his collarbone. “I live here. Your job forbids us from being together. That doesn’t bode well for our future.”
Jack frowned. He would have liked to live in their perfect fantasy a little while longer. “You worry too much, Cass. We’ll find a way to make this work.”
Cassie’s body heaved against his as she sighed. “I’m no good for you, Jack. You saw it today at the diner. I’m too messed up. If you had any sense at all, you’d leave tomorrow and never come back.”
“I think if you ask just about anyone who has ever known me, they’ll all agree that I lack good sense. I also really like things that are bad for me, especially if they are forbidden. And I’ll do a lot of stupid things just to have a shot with a beautiful woman. It’s that perfect storm that brought me here yesterday and will keep bringing me back to you forever.”
“Or maybe I’m the Bermuda Triangle, and no matter how hard you try to leave, I’ll keep sucking you back in.” Another perfect Cassie-smile that further melted his once icy heart.
“I’m okay with that.”
Cassie stretched until her face was even with his. Jack thought she was going to kiss him, but she moved to the side at the last moment and her lips brushed his ear. “I love you, Jack,” she said. “Whatever happens tomorrow and the next day, promise me you’ll remember that. Promise me you’ll remember this moment.”
She sounded so serious, so certain that these words needed to be said. It was like she believed that he could somehow forget this moment, a moment that was no doubt the greatest moment of Jack’s life. “I’ll promise you something even better. I promise that we’ll have a thousand more nights like this one, and every night you’ll say those same words to me, and I’ll say the same thing back- I love you, too, Cassie. Now and forever.”
CHAPTER SIX
Cassie
One hundred and seven minutes. That’s how long it took for them to say goodbye in the morning. Cassie stood in the driveway and watched until Jack’s car disappeared from sight. She had known it was going to be hard to see him go, but she hadn’t expected the overwhelming ache she felt deep in her body.
Just three months earlier, she had left Jack for the first time. It had hurt, but she had been able to move on with her life. Sure, she still thought about him every day. But she didn’t physically ache for him. This time, it was different.
She had to force herself to go through the motions of her day, starting with a shower. This time when she looked at her scars, they didn’t make her sick to her stomach. She remembered how it had felt to have Jack’s hands caress those scars. He had seen beauty even in her darkest parts. Now maybe she could, too.
After getting dressed, she walked into town. Dayton was a family-oriented town. People spent their Sunday mornings in church and Cassie wanted desperately to fit in, so she did the same. Sitting amongst primly dressed families and adorable old couples, Cassie eyed the empty seat next to her and wished that Jack had been able to stay. She would have liked to share this moment with him.
Mass ended and everyone scattered around the small courtyard. Cassie chatted with a few of the moms that had been at the library yesterday. All of them wanted to know more about the mystery man that had charmed their children.
“How long have you been dating?” Lexie’s mom, Tasha, asked.
“We met about a year ago,” Cassie said. “But we were friends for a while first.”
“Why haven’t we seen him around until now?” she pressed. Tasha was the closest thing that Cassie had to a friend in Dayton, so she didn’t mind sharing a few personal details.
“He’s been busy with work. Jack is a detective.” She helped herself to a cup of lemonade that some church ladies were filling.
Tasha’s eyes widened. “Handsome, charming, and a detective? That’s pretty sexy.”
“And dangerous,” Cassie said with a laugh. “Imagine saying no to man like that.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Tasha sighed longingly. She had been divorced for two years. “Have you told Lawson about Jack?”
“Lawson?” Cassie wrinkled her nose. One of the only single men in town her age, Lawson Green owned a local construction company. He came into the diner every morning for breakfast which was how he and Cassie had met. They occasionally saw each other at town events, but they hadn’t crossed into friendshi
p territory yet. “Why would I tell Lawson about Jack?”
She scoffed. “You’re kidding, right? Everyone knows that Lawson has a big old crush on you. He’s been fixin’ to ask you out since the first time he saw you.”
“Lawson?” Cassie was truly surprised. She hadn’t suspected his feelings at all. “I barely even know him.”
“I think the whole point is you would get to know each other better by dating,” Tasha teased. “But I guess that isn’t going to happen now.”
“Do me a favor?” Cassie said. “Find a way to subtly let Lawson know that I’m not available, okay? That’s a conversation I’d rather not have with him.”
Tasha’s eyes widened as she looked over Cassie’s shoulder. “I’m afraid that might not be an option anymore.”
Lawson was dressed in his Sunday-best. He tucked a hand into the pocket of his pressed khakis as he walked toward them. His blond hair was sharply contrasted by his tan skin from spending his days at construction sites.
“Cassie Miller!” he said in his booming voice. Lawson always called her by her full name for some reason. “We missed you at the fundraiser last night.”
“Sorry, I had other plans.” It was the perfect opportunity to mention Jack’s visit, but Cassie couldn’t bring herself to do it. If Tasha was right about his feelings, she didn’t want to be the one to hurt him. Lawson was a good guy. “I hope you all raised a lot of money for the new playground.”
“We did alright.” He flashed a smile that revealed perfect teeth. “We’ll be going over the plans next weekend if you want to join us.”
“Maybe.” Cassie gave what she hoped was a polite, not-too-friendly smile. “I need to be going now. It was nice running into you, Lawson. We’ll talk later, Tasha.”
“I’ll see you around, Cassie Miller,” he called after her.
Ten minutes later, Cassie stood in front of her home debating whether to go inside. Normally, she loved being in that house. It was a sanctuary from the rest of the world. But now she knew how that house felt with Jack in it and she couldn’t stand the thought of being in there alone. She knew she would just sit around missing him all day if she went inside. Cassie wasn’t ready to be that pathetic yet.
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