“Nope, no bull,” Emily says. “Honestly, my entire life since puberty’s been a story of looking for love in all the wrong places, or maybe the right places but always finding the wrong guy. I did the whole bad boy that I thought I could fix thing for a while and that never works, so I went the other direction. I somehow found the only church-going male librarian who was also the worst two-timing sleaze ball ever. He fooled me for way too long.” I can’t help it. I chuckle darkly. “Okay, I admit that’s some bad luck there.” “I just . . .I’d like a real guy. Someone sweet and nice, who treats me well,” Emily says wistfully. “No more bad boys with six-packs.” She says it with commitment but then smirks. “Although if my nice guy were built like Thor, I certainly wouldn’t complain. That’d just be rude.” “Thor? Or Chris Hemsworth? ‘Cause that I can get with,” I say, smiling.
Right about then, Zach wakes up, and Emily goes back to take care of him. After she leaves, my black mood comes back, and I sigh, reminding myself chin up. I just have to get through today and not track down Caleb at Sportscar Blondie’s house tonight. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. Again.
With a slight smile at the idea of being the jealous revenge chick on the news, I drain my coffee and curl back up on the couch. I don’t get a chance to get into the TV, as the kids are out soon enough, and at Emily’s suggestion, I start helping out. It’s distracting and again pleasant and fun to play with them, especially the baby, who’s just about the most adorable creature set on this green earth.
It’s a couple of hours later, after lunch, when Oliver comes in with a smile. “How are you doing?”
I try not to hate him on sight, smiling happily, but I can’t help but have it in for all penis-bearing members of the human race right now. So instead of replying, I growl slightly. Emily, who’s reading with two of the kids, laughs.
“You’re not gonna get much more right now,” she says. “What brings you home early?”
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Caleb and I had a talk. He said he’s been calling and texting you but you’re not answering.”
“I’ve just been trying to keep a civil head,” I growl. “What’s he want?”
Oliver’s got a little smirk on his face, like he’s got something going on. “He needs you to come by the house. It’s done and you need to do a walk-through before I get it listed and release the last payment for his work.”
“What? How could he be done?” I ask. I’d rather do anything right now. “I mean, can you do it for me? Please?”
He looks thoughtful for a moment, then shakes his head with finality. “Nope, this one’s all yours. Start to finish, remember? You started it. Now go finish it.”
Fire burns in the pit of my stomach, and I’m not sure if it’s anger or fear, but I have no choice. With another growl, I climb off the couch, not even bothering to change out of my jeans or fix the half-tugged-out ponytail that I’ve been wearing since Leah decided playing tug-of-war with my hair is a ‘game’.
Fuck Caleb. I’m not dressing up for his sorry ass. He sends Oliver to be a messenger to get me to the house. He wants to get paid . . . fine. I’ll just go get this over with. My breath hitches, and I wipe away a stray tear. I’ll be alone tonight and he’ll be out on a date with another woman.
“Oh, Cassie?” Oliver says as I get to the front door.
“Yeah?” I say without turning around.
“Can you take this to him as well?” Oliver asks. I wipe my eyes again and turn, anger burning deep in my heart as I see Oliver, still with that same half-assed grin on his face, holding out an envelope.
I look at him for a moment, lost in anger. This is probably Caleb’s check for the work he’s done. I know I’m wrong and the man deserves to be paid, but it just rubs me the wrong way.
“Do your job, Cassie,” Oliver says, his voice becoming a little stern. “It’s tough, but you can do it.”
I take a deep breath and stare at him for a second. I want to tell him to take his envelope and shove it up his ass. I want to tell him that I quit, that this is the straw that breaks this particular camel’s back. But I don’t. Maybe there’s a lesson in this, something Oliver’s trying to teach me. Whatever it is, I can’t see it right now, so it’s better that I keep my mouth shut and leave. As the screen door slams, Emily calls out.
“Hey!” she calls. “Next time, let’s watch Dancing With The Stars together!”
Chapter 29
Caleb
My heart’s pounding in my chest and my stomach clenches as I do everything I can to fight my nervousness, moving things a couple of inches just to move them back again. I’m hoping she’ll come, but Oli wasn’t sure if he could talk her into it. He promised not to give anything away. He said it was my right to tell Cassie on my own.
Listening to him this morning, I nearly threw up twice at how much I’d inadvertently hurt her. If I hadn’t had an empty stomach, I probably would have. Apparently, she stayed on their couch last night. That fact, I’ll admit, gave me so much relief Oli actually laughed out loud at the look on my face. He called it ‘puppy dog eyes’ and told me good luck. “Just remember,” he told me as he got in his Lexus to drive to the office, “when she gets here, talk to her inside.”
“Why?” I asked, making him laugh.
“So that when you grovel, you don’t get a bunch of dirt all over yourself,” Oli said, pulling away.
After showering and shaving, I wait with bated breath, hoping she’ll show up. I’m sitting on the newly installed porch swing, pushing myself back and forth with one toe, when I see her car. One glance, and I know this is going to be even harder than I thought it would be.
Cassie pulls in the driveway, and I stand, frozen on the porch. When she steps out of the car, she doesn’t even see me. I see her mouth fall open as she sees the tire swing I hung from the big tree out front, a big SUV tire that I suspended using nylon straps. It’s not an old rope, but it’ll last a lot longer, and I can see as she goes over and gives the tire a push that she’s enraptured by it.
She looks a mess, a sloppy half-snarled ponytail sort of sticking somewhere out the back quarter of her head with tendrils escaping down her neck and bare face. Her jeans are a little big, barely holding onto her hips, and the faded tank top hugs her breasts. And she’s never been more beautiful. No matter how angry she is, she’s going to hear the truth. I have to get her to listen.
I approach slowly, scared that if I startle her, she’ll run away. As I get close, I hear her whisper, “Perfect.” Tears are running silently down her cheeks, and as I crunch over a dead leaf, she turns, her face still showing a hint of pain but her eyes glowing. “You–you did a good job.”
I want to grab her in a hug, to tell her it’s all a big mistake and to never let her go. I don’t, though. I have to talk to her, heart to heart, first. “I wanted to make sure that this thing will be hanging up here for the next twenty years.”
“So you overbuilt the shit out of it,” Cassie says before giving me a weak, bitter laugh. “I wish I were this overbuilt.”
“Cassie—” I say, but she interrupts me.
“Here,” she says, reaching a hand into her purse and handing me an envelope. “Oliver said to give this to you.”
I grin. I can’t help it. Oliver, you sneaky bastard. “You sure? Open it.”
“Come on, Caleb, stop fucking around!” Cassie cries. “I just want to get the walk-through done so Oli can list it! Take the envelope.”
I take the envelope but keep my silence, trying to work past this bit of last-second fear. Finally, Cassie sighs and looks at the house. “I’ll let him know it’s done and that I gave you the check. The realtor comes by early next week to list it, so it’ll be on the market soon.”
I grin, feeling sheepish. “Yeah, um . . . I talked to Oliver about that. He canceled that appointment. The realtor isn’t coming by.”
Cassie looks shocked. “What? But he was just busting my chops half an hour ago telling me I had to
see this all the way through.”
I nod, reaching out to take her hand. “Cass, you said something when you were yelling at me the other day. You surprised me and confused the fuck out of me. You said you fell for me.”
“I did say that, but it was a mistake,” Cassie says, trying to pull back, but I won’t let her hand go.
“No, it wasn’t. Because I love you too. Here.” I hand her the envelope and then press the house keys into her hand, closing her fingers over it. She takes them with a confused look on her face, ping-ponging from the keys in her hand to my face.
“You love me? And . . . keys? What? And what’s with the envelope?”
I feel light, as if a giant tie-down that’s been wrapped around my chest were suddenly cut loose, and I take her hand again. “It’s yours, Cassie. This house is yours—if you want it, that is. It’s not a check in that envelope. It’s the contract. It’s the agreement I struck with Oliver. He and I worked it out this morning. He gets my house and your down payment, and the renovations I’ve done on his rental properties are free of charge for all the expenses he’s incurred.”
“But . . . but why?” Cassie asks. “Why did you do this?”
“Because someday, you’re gonna be the one to give this house the family it always deserved, although I think you and your mama were family enough for it. And if you don’t mind my being a bit presumptuous, I’d like to be the man to make that family with you.”
Cassie’s eyes are swimming with tears of shock, and her voice is a choked whisper when she can finally reply. “But what about Sportscar Blondie?”
I step back, rubbing at my neck and laughing. That had been the hardest part to understand, once I really calmed down and set my mind to it. “Yeah, it took me a bit to figure out what the hell you were talking about. The blonde you saw in the car . . . did you see her before you went postal?”
Cassie shakes her head. “No, but I heard you and her, and you had her lipstick all over your cheek.”
“Yeah, that’s Mrs. Barnes,” I reply, and Cassie blinks, realization starting to dawn on her once she hears the name. “I do work for her around her house sometimes. She’s got a little crush on me and tried to give me a thank-you peck—that I dodged—and she caught my cheek. You probably know her. She’s friends with Oliver’s mom.”
“Oli’s mom?”
I nod, blushing a little “Yeah, a really sweet lady who’s a bit lonely since her husband died and likes to flirt with me. She needs to have some work done at her place, and she makes the best lemonade and cookies I’ve ever had. I know you remember my telling you about that.”
Cassie steps back, and for a long, drawn out moment, there’s nothing but the trill of the cicadas until she leans back, laughing to the sky. It’s pure, joyful laughter, and as she continues, I can’t help but be drawn in by it until we’re both leaning on the tire, our guts aching with rib-splitting bellows. Finally, when it hurts so much that even my stomach is cramping, Cassie gasps out, “Are you kidding me right now?”
I wipe at my eyes, shaking my head. “No lie. You wanna go with me tonight? I have to stop by there. It’s a quick fix, just a leaky faucet. Maybe she’d knock it off a little bit if she met my girlfriend.”
At the word girlfriend, Cassie stops, grinning. Coming around the tire, she leans in, running a nail across my chest as she peeks up at me. “Is that what I am? Your girlfriend?”
I nod, offering her my hand. “I love you, Cassie. Come on, let me show you the inside of your new house before we go see Mrs. Barnes.”
She hesitates but takes my hand, pulling back slightly so that I look at her. “Caleb, I’m really sorry. I just . . . I was afraid. I thought you were like my mom’s boyfriends, and I jumped to conclusions.”
“You don’t need to—” I start, but Cassie holds up a hand.
“You’re nothing like them. I should’ve trusted you. You’d given me no reason not to, but it just felt so obvious at the time. I can blame my past, but the reality is that I blame myself. Really, I’m sorry.”
I pull Cassie close, hugging her tightly. “I’m sorry too. Because I know what you mean. I was the one who was acting weirded out, and I’m sorry. But it’s okay, and I love you.”
“I–I love you too,” Cassie says, trying on the words before smiling. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too,” I say as I nod my head once at her, pulling her up the porch. She smiles at the porch swing, glancing back at the yard, and I know she’s envisioning sitting here as her kids play on the tire. I hope that she’s seeing the same thing I am, that I’m sitting there next to her and that it’s our children out there.
We walk inside, and she freezes, her jaw dropping and her eyes lighting up. “Caleb, it’s beautiful. It’s everything I wanted it to be.”
I nod, showing her the floors and the way the light through the windows makes the walls glow. I lead her into the kitchen, and she gasps, running her fingers over the butcher block island and turning the faucet on and off again. “I already called the water company. Everything’s hooked up. You can start moving your stuff in tomorrow if you want.”
“How’d you get it finished so quickly?” Cassie asks. I give a tilt of my head, and she follows me to the hall bathroom, our eyes meeting for a moment in the mirror.
“I realized I’d hurt you, and I’m not the sort of man who can use fancy words to say what’s in my heart,” I tell her softly. “So I poured it into this house, with my hands and my sweat. It’s all here, my love in every board, every nail, every hour of work . . . for you. I love you, Cassie. I just don’t know how to say it any better than that.”
Cassie turns and puts her arms around my neck, drawing me in for a deep kiss. When we part, she’s looking up into my eyes, smiling. “You said it perfectly.”
We check out the bedrooms and the other bathroom, finally heading back to the living room. “Caleb, it’s amazing. Thank you. Truly. I hear you loud and clear in every detail. I’m surrounded by your love here. I want you to know I love you too. I didn’t expect it, but I fell for you a long time ago. I started thinking of you, ways to get under your skin, maybe get under you, even. But it was more than that. I’ve loved you long before I even admitted it to myself. But . . . I love you.”
Every time it rolls off her tongue, I feel my heart grow bigger, a knot that’s been there for years undoing itself in my chest, and I hug her again, feeling her tiny body pressed against mine and the growing realization that I want to feel her in my arms forever. “I’m glad you like it. If there’s anything you want changed or fixed, now’s the time.”
“No, it’s even better than I hoped. But I do have a question for you.”
“What’s that?” I ask as Cassie gives me a knowing grin.
“You told me you sold your place to Oli. And you just gave me the keys to this place. So where are you planning on staying?”
Caught, I grin sheepishly and pull her close. “Well, I was kinda hoping—”
Cassie smacks me on the butt, growling lightly and grinning. “Oh, is that how you planned on it being? Well, tell you what. Let me think about it as we drive out to Mrs. Barnes’s place. Maybe, just maybe, I might find an extra corner of a spare bedroom where I’ll let you put a blanket.”
“Is that how it’s gonna be? But I love you!” I mock-protest, and Cassie laughs.
“You don’t love me. You just love my doggy style. Now come on, before I’m too tempted by what I just said to let you get your work done.”
I grin and check my watch. “Hmm.”
“What?” Cassie asks, moaning when I reach out and grab her ponytail. “Your appointment . . .?”
“Gotta hurry or we’ll be late, but when you make comments like that, you’ve gotta back them up.”
Cassie gasps, reaching for the button on her jeans, grinning. “Yes, sir. So . . . are you carrying your protection?”
“I always have the right tools for the job.”
Chapter 30
Cassie
> I’m super-nervous as Caleb and I walk up to the front door of the small, neat house, but Caleb reaches out and takes my hand. “Hey.”
“Yeah?” I ask, biting my lip. I took a few minutes to at least fix my hair, but I know I still look like a five-foot-one-inch pile of schlep, and I hate it. I’m here as Caleb’s girlfriend. I’d rather be looking my best.
“You’re beautiful,” Caleb says, reading my mind. “Come on, let’s just have fun.”
Caleb rings the doorbell, and I have a quick half-second to tuck my shirt in before the door opens. I can tell Mrs. Barnes is surprised when she opens the door and sees me with Caleb, but she recovers quickly, going into hostess mode. “Caleb! I didn’t know you were bringing a friend over too. I would’ve been more prepared.”
Caleb gives me a little glance and a small smile as he adjusts his tool bag that he’s got in his other hand. I know what he’s smiling about. Mrs. Barnes is rather dressed up for a widow who needs to have her sink looked at. In fact, she looks like she’s about one set of five-inch heels from going out to a club to see if she can still work it low. “Sorry about that, Mrs. Barnes. I had plans with my girlfriend tonight and it’s too hot to wait in the truck. I hope you don’t mind.”
Mrs. Barnes looks a little surprised when Caleb says ‘girlfriend’, and the word makes me feel like jumping up and down and screaming, That’s ME! That’s ME! “Caleb has just raved and raved about how you make the best lemonade and cookies he’s ever had. Is it a secret recipe or would you be willing to share it?”
I have to give it to her. She recovers quickly, beaming at the compliment and ushering us into the kitchen. “Oh, no, I don’t mind at all! I’m Sue Barnes, by the way.”
“Cassie White,” I reply, shaking hands with her. “I know this must come as a surprise.”
“Only because I let myself be surprised,” Mrs. Barnes says, chuckling sadly. “Come on, I’ve got that cookie recipe around here somewhere. Now, the key is, you have to use real peanut butter, not that junk they sell in the supermarkets.”
Mr. Fixit Page 16