by JoAnn Durgin
“Then we’re even since I definitely won’t be looking for you tomorrow. You can come find me.”
“Arrogant man.” She clutched her keys against her chest and fought the strong urge to grin.
“Pushy woman.” He stepped closer, his eyes searching her face, making her heart pound.
“Say good night, Mitch.” Somewhere in the background, she heard the sound of metal hitting the pavement.
“You dropped your keys.”
“Don’t care.” She couldn’t tear her gaze from his if she tried.
He chuckled and skimmed his thumb over her cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Cassie.”
“I thought you weren’t planning on kissing anyone on Valentine’s Day. Guess you’re not a man of your word.”
“Correction. I’m not kissing just anyone. I’m kissing a very incredible someone. We’ve shared a lot today. Try and keep me away.” Slipping his arms around her, he tightened his hold as if he’d never let her go.
“Insufferable,” she whispered.
“Beautiful.” Mitch lowered his lips to hers once more.
Oh, she was in trouble all right. The best kind of trouble.
Chapter 18
Cassie fidgeted. . .and then fidgeted some more. What was she, ten? Finally, she sat on her hands. She’d lost count of how many solos she’d performed since her arrival in Houston eight years ago. The thought of singing with Mitch in the congregation made her antsy. Why, she had no idea because he made her feel at ease under normal circumstances. To be fair, standing and singing in front of more than seven hundred people would make most people a little queasy. And doing such a thing didn’t exactly qualify as an everyday occurrence.
Mitch nudged her arm. “Everything okay over there?”
She swallowed. “Think so.”
“Anything I should know?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Sounds ominous.”
“Let’s hope not,” she mumbled. Lowering her head, she prayed and remained on the pew when he rose to his feet for a hymn. He started to drop back down on the pew, but she waved her hand. Don’t worry about me, she mouthed. Trying to calm her nerves, she tapped her foot, thankful it was a rousing hymn, and glanced down the long row of her friends. Kevin had taken the week off from his youth and music ministry so he could attend, and he shared a hymnal with Rebekah. Natalie, Marc, Gayle and Marta were on the row behind them. Sam caught her eye and gave her an encouraging smile. Cassie nodded, taking a deep breath. How happy Papa Bear must be to have so many of his TeamWork crew worshipping together.
On Cassie’s right, Amy put her arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. “Lexa told me you’re singing this morning,” she whispered. “You’ll do great.”
Cassie leaned her head on Amy’s shoulder for a brief moment. “Thanks.”
Mitch shot them both a curious glance.
When the pastor began the prayer for the offering, she hopped up from the pew and tried to scoot past Mitch. Kind of hard to do when his masculinity—when he—filled all the available space. She tugged on his arm and motioned to the aisle. With a concerned expression, he stepped aside to allow her to pass. Closing her eyes and whispering a prayer under her breath, Cassie walked to the front where the worship leader handed her the microphone.
The pianist struck the first chord of the song they’d practiced before Sunday school. Lord, use me as Your instrument. May my song touch someone’s heart today.
“I’d like to dedicate this song to all the men and women who’ve served our country, some of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice. Someone else paid the ultimate sacrifice for you and for me, and His name is Jesus.” She took a deep breath as she listened to the opening prelude, avoiding looking at Mitch. Slowly, quietly, infusing the lyrics with feeling, Cassie closed her eyes and began to sing. A few bars into the song—as always—the Holy Spirit began to take over, easing her nerves and soothing her.
A friend had written the tune, and she’d penned the lyrics about a young soldier who’d gone off to fight in the war—a song full of poignancy and heartfelt sentiments about family, love, and binding ties. The type of song to wrap itself around your heart, hold on tight and never let go in all the best ways. While she hadn’t enjoyed the benefits of professional voice training, she sang from the deepest part of her soul. As she began the chorus, Cassie dared to glance at Mitch. He nodded his head in time with the song, and she could tell Sam was tapping his foot.
Barely registering the reaction of the congregation as she finished, she made her way back to the pew and dropped into the space beside Mitch.
“That was incredible,” he whispered. “I was right last night. You’ve got a great voice.”
Cassie enjoyed having Mitch sit beside her, but without trying, he was distracting. Overwhelmingly so, especially wearing that fabulous aftershave. Her knees felt weak, her insides were turning into mush. Everything in her reacted to this man she barely knew yet also knew better than most men in her life. Silly girl. What a disrespectful thought while sitting in church. At least the bulletin listed the scripture verses for the morning message so she wouldn’t come across like a complete idiot if Mitch wanted to discuss something about it later in the day.
Walking out of the church after the service, they shook hands with the pastor and exchanged pleasantries with other members. Sam was busy introducing the visiting TeamWork volunteers, and he motioned for Mitch, Amy and Landon to join them.
“You really like him, don’t you?”
Cassie turned to face Rebekah, unable to stop her smile.
“Yes, although I have no idea why I’m spending so much time with him since he’s going back to New York soon. He’s also made a vow never to fly again.”
“After what happened, I can understand why he’d feel that way,” Rebekah said. “Give him time, sweetie. I’m sure he’ll change his tune. Wait and see. If not, there’s other ways to travel between New York and Houston. Lots of people hate to fly.”
“Let me guess. You two must be talking about Mitch.” Marta joined them, draping her arms around their shoulders. “The man’s gorgeous, he’s got a solid career and he’s obviously not hurting financially. He’s the total package.” She winked at Cassie. “Glad to see you’re hitting it off so well with him, Cass.”
Marta always spoke her mind. Seeing Winnie nearby, Cassie excused herself. “Here. Let me help you,” she said, easing the diaper bag from her friend’s shoulder.
“Thanks. I’m like a walking nursery these days. I heard you helped Chloe take Gracie to her Sunday school class this morning. I appreciate it. I can’t imagine how Lexa does it with two kids the same age, but she is the most organized person on the planet.” Winnie smiled when Cassie pretended the bag weighted her down. “I promise I don’t have a bowling ball in there. Josh usually carries it for me, but he’s in a meeting.”
“Let me walk you to your van. Chloe, is that a new dress?”
“Uh huh.” She twirled in a circle, modeling it for her. “Mommy made it for me.”
“She did? Why, your mommy did a fantastic job. You look very pretty.” Winnie had found yet another creative outlet. Next to Lexa, Winnie had more energy than any woman she’d ever met. Sometimes she wondered if her two bosses ever slept.
Chloe tugged on the hem of her dress. “Mr. Mitch told me he likes you. He thinks you’re beautiful and likes your hair.”
Feeling her cheeks grow warm, Cassie waved as the little girl climbed inside the minivan.
Opening his palm, Luke offered her a handful of mushy, sticky cereal as Winnie strapped him into his car seat.
“Chloe, how’d your brother get cereal? He’s too young for that.” Pulling out a baby wipe from the diaper bag, Winnie cleaned his hand.
“I’m not a tattletale, but her name starts with G and ends in E. And she lives in Massa. . .however you say it.”
Cassie hid her smile and ruffled Luke’s blonde hair. It had grown long enough to curl on the ends now. What a d
oll. Both Chloe and her little brother would break a few hearts one day.
“Chloe’s right about Mitch, you know,” Winnie said, closing the door of the van. “Mitch is quite infatuated with you. If I’m not mistaken, the feeling is mutual.”
“We’ve become friends, if that’s what you mean.” Cassie turned her head and scanned the parking lot.
“Oh, I think it’s more than that. Be careful, sweetie.”
Cassie snapped her gaze back to Winnie. “I will.” She bit her tongue not to say more. Of all the TeamWork ladies, Winnie understood the lure and temptation of a powerful man. “So will Mitch.” Mitch was a different man than Josh Grant had been years ago—handsome but reckless.
A glimmer of something flittered through Winnie’s blue eyes. Cassie suspected she wanted to say more. “If you ever need to talk, I hope you know you can come to me,” she said. “Or Lexa. You’ve always been our friend, first and foremost.”
Cassie swallowed and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Winnie. That means a lot.” She appreciated Winnie’s sentiments more than the other woman could know. Until moving to Houston, she’d never felt valued—truly accepted, understood and appreciated—by anyone other than a few select family members. Both Lexa and Winnie had given her so much more than a paycheck—they’d helped instill self-confidence and self-worth in a lost, hurting little girl from Alabama.
“Your song really impacted Charlie Robertson.” Winnie leaned against the passenger door. “He was sitting down the pew from us. While you were singing, he kept wiping his eyes. Soaked that hankie clean through. I think he served in the Persian Gulf, and the lyrics seemed to touch him in a special way. I’m sure he’s not the only one. Did you write the lyrics?”
“She nodded. “Yes, and Danica in the praise team wrote the music.”
“You make a good team. Have you thought any more about recording your songs?”
“You ask me that every time I sing a solo.”
“And you put me off every time.”
“I’m afraid recording them for the world’s consumption would rob me of some of the joy,” Cassie said with a shrug. “I can’t expect you to understand.”
“Oh, I do,” Winnie said. “But, approaching it from another angle, it would also give others a lot of joy.”
“As long as you’re not trying to kick me out of the catering business. I know I can’t cook a lick, but—”
Josh strolled toward them and gave Cassie a quick hug. “You don’t need to cook when you can sing like you do. Terrific song and you wowed them, as always. Are you and Mitch coming to Myerson’s for lunch?” He ushered his wife into the van and closed the door.
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
~~**~~
Mitch laughed at Marc and Josh’s teasing but he couldn’t stop his thoughts—and his eyes—from straying to Cassie. Sitting across the table from her was more distracting than having her seated right beside him. Her auburn hair was wavy and loose, flowing down her back. The pretty light blue dress and matching sweater she wore highlighted the color of her eyes. Rein it in, Jacobsen. Maybe he shouldn’t have kissed her last night, but he’d been powerless to resist her. He loved teasing her, sparring with her. . .matter of fact, there wasn’t anything he didn’t love or admire about her.
The group sat around a long, rectangular table and traded stories and reminisced while they ate lunch. In moments of quiet, as he listened to the others, he replayed her song, and especially the catchy chorus, in his head. After the service, he’d pulled Kevin aside and asked him to mail him a CD of the morning service, hoping it would include Cassie’s solo. When Winnie told him Cassie wrote the lyrics, he’d made her blush with his shower of compliments. Maybe he’d gone a little overboard, but she deserved every one of them.
“What do you say we find a park, camp out under a tree, read some poetry and feed each other grapes?” he said as they walked out of the restaurant together.
“A nap sounds good after that big meal.” She patted her stomach. “I can’t believe it’s so warm this weekend, but I’m glad. Saves some layers. You never know with Texas weather. There’s a nice park not too far from here. Want to try that?”
“Sure. Want to walk or drive?”
“Let’s walk,” she said, tucking her hand beneath his arm. “I have a blanket in my car. Let me grab it and take it along so we don’t stain our Sunday best.”
Mitch couldn’t stop his grin. How adorable was this woman? Sunday best indeed.
As they walked, he told her about Barbara’s latest call he’d taken before the church service. “Donald’s expected to be released in a day or two and he’s already started physical therapy. If he keeps up with it, he has a good chance of recovering full mobility in his arm.”
“Before you leave, I want to get her phone number so I can keep in touch.” Cassie slanted him a wry grin. “I also want to check on how Mercy and your good friend Eddie are getting along.”
He nodded but didn’t respond. All sixteen hundred miles of that long trip, he’d be thinking of Cassie, replaying the events of the long weekend in his mind. Earlier that morning, Sam had given him a road atlas and he’d mapped out his trip. He’d be going through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. From what he knew, Cassie grew up there. A germ of an idea planted itself in his brain when he’d noted that fact, but he didn’t want to bring it up with Cassie yet.
“What have we here?” Mitch said as they approached the park. A small crowd numbering at least a hundred men and women gathered across the expansive grounds. Most of the men wore black and the women were dressed in white or pastel shades. Some were dressed in formal wear—tuxes and long gowns—and a few wore casual outfits. A number of the women carried bouquets and the buzz of excited activity filled the park.
Leaning close, he whispered in her ear. “Do you think we’ve stumbled upon a mass wedding ceremony?”
Cassie visibly shivered from his nearness, and that pleased him more than it should. “Either that or it’s a really big photo shoot.” Cassie smiled at a young girl who barely looked old enough to drive much less get married. What was the legal age in Texas, anyway? A quick glance around the park revealed couples of every age. Stepping aside, Cassie engaged her in a short conversation. “You’re right,” she told him a minute later. “It’s a Valentine’s Day weekend of mass wedding ceremonies—two yesterday and two today. Bilingual, different faiths, and apparently something for everyone.”
“And which kind is this?”
“English speaking and ecumenical.”
“Then I believe we’ve found our next adventure.”
Cassie’s expression was comical and adorably cute when she scrunched her nose. Her blue eyes widened and she stared at him. “I’m not crashing a wedding, Mitch. Mass weddings, that is.”
“Come on. It’ll be fun. It’s not really crashing since there are lots of bystanders and we’re outdoors. For public consumption, if you will.”
“I’m not sure about this.” She resisted when he tried to take her hand.
“Look,” he said, keeping his voice low, “it’s not like we’re getting married because I’m pretty certain you’d need a marriage license and be registered. Have a reservation or something.”
“I suppose.” She chewed on her lower lip.
He arched a brow. “Time’s a wasting. It’s not every day you stumble on something like this. We can observe the ceremony, shake some hands, congratulate a few happy couples and then be on our merry way. Haven’t you ever been curious about these things?”
“Can’t say I’ve ever thought about it,” she said. “Do you really believe God is pleased by”—she waved her hand around the gathered group—“this? En masse?” Lowering her voice, she stepped closer to him. “Somehow it seems. . .wrong. Too casual.”
“For you and me, maybe, but for some people, it makes sense. It probably doesn’t cost much, it’s quick and it’s in the beautiful outdoors. Didn’t Sam and Lexa elope?”
That made her frown. “Yes, if you want
to get technical about it. But—”
“We can’t judge their hearts, Cassie.”
A look of alarm passed over her face. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him aside at the same time as a large man plowed into his shoulder. Caught off-guard, Mitch stumbled and nearly fell. Recovering his balance, he stared at the guy and rubbed his shoulder. Considering he was built like a linebacker, he figured his shoulder might be sore in the morning.
“Whoa, buddy! What’s the hurry?”
His face was beet red and he clenched his fists like he was prepping to take a swing at him. Instead, he threw something on the ground at Mitch’s feet and spat on it. “I’m never asking another broad to marry me. I can’t believe Denise did this. Thought she was different. I’ll be single the rest of my life, and these women can—”
Mitch held up his hand, interrupting him. “No need to finish that sentence. I’m sorry if—Denise, is it?—stood you up, but maybe she had a legitimate emergency. Have you tried to call her?”
“Yeah,” the man snarled. “Her emergency was meeting some guy at a bar last week. Now she’s doing some thinking and says she’s not ready to commit and settle down. Some messenger dude showed up with her engagement ring.” He shook his head and tugged at what little bit of hair he had at the back of his head. “She didn’t have the common decency to do her dirty work herself.”
“Well, then, maybe it’s best you found out now,” Cassie said.
Mitch didn’t like the way the guy raked his dark eyes up and down Cassie as if seeing her for the first time. Maybe Denise had the right idea. At the moment, any female would probably garner his anger. And his leering stare. Cassie, however, appeared more irritated than intimidated.
Stepping closer to Cassie, Mitch wrapped his hand around hers. “Whatever,” the man said. “You women are all alike. No good, none of you.”
“That’s not fair,” Mitch said. “You can’t believe that. That’s the heat of the moment talking. Listen, we’ll pray for you to find—”