Scene of the Crime: Black Creek

by Carla Cassidy

  The last thing Cassie wanted was a week off to think, to reflect, she thought as she got into her car to head to her apartment. The very last thing she wanted was seven whole days to wonder if she’d made a mistake where Mick was concerned.

  When she reached her apartment she amped up the air conditioner and immediately went into the bathroom, wanting nothing more than a long hot shower to wash away the feel of Alex Perry straddling her, the sick scent of his madness that she imagined lingered on her skin.

  She didn’t even unpack her suitcases before heading to that shower. She stood beneath needles of the hottest water she could stand, scrubbing her skin with a bath sponge and vanilla scented shower gel.

  She wished it were as easy to wash all thoughts of Mick out of her head as it was to wash all traces of Alex Perry off her skin. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the fluffy towels that awaited on a brass stand nearby.

  A place for everything and everything in its place, she thought. No clutter, no chaos…no life. She frowned as she dried off and put on a clean pair of shorts and a button-up short-sleeved tailored blouse.

  It took her only a few minutes to unpack, start a load of laundry and then head into the kitchen to make some much-needed coffee.

  When the coffee had brewed she poured herself a cup and sank down at the table. The silence surrounded her and screamed with loneliness. Funny, she’d never felt lonely before Mick. He had ushered into her life a kind of loneliness she’d never known before, the kind that asked questions, that whispered regrets, and that called her a fool.

  She got up from the table and carried her coffee cup with her into the living room where the throw pillows on the sofa were neatly aligned, the bookcases held paperbacks that were sorted by genre and the two remote controls she used for her television rested side by side on the end table next to the sofa.

  A place for everything and everything in its place, but for the first time she felt as if there was no place for her. Where did she fit into this neat, orderly world she’d created?

  Stop it, she commanded herself. This was her life, and it had always been fine before. It would be fine again. All she needed was a little time to transition back into it all.

  Despite the fact that she knew there was no reason for Mick to contact her, she was vaguely disappointed as the day wore on and he didn’t call her. But why should he? she asked herself. He’d held out his heart to her and she’d rejected it, she’d rejected him. Why would he call her now? The assignment was over, loose ends taken care of, and there was nothing left to be said between them.

  She went to bed early, exhausted by all the events that had transpired since the time she and Mick had been handed the assignment and Perry’s death. Thankfully, she slept without dreams.

  The morning sun streaming through the window awakened her. Normally she jumped right out of bed to start the coffee and get the day going. Today she broke her usual habit. She picked up a paperback book from her nightstand and spent the next hour reading, surprised to discover she felt okay about the break from her usual routine.

  She even considered ordering a pizza for breakfast but, realizing she was trying to prove a point to herself, she opted for bacon and eggs instead. Still, just to prove a point she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and stayed in her pajamas while she ate breakfast, dusted the furniture and listened to the tumble of the clothes dryer.

  She knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to force herself to be the kind of woman who would make Mick happy, a woman who could throw away routine, discard any kind of structure and just embrace life as it came.

  She would never be that woman, no matter how hard she tried, and she couldn’t help but remember that when Glen had broken up with her, he’d told her she was just too screwed up to be loved.

  And he’d been a jerk, she told herself as she folded the freshly laundered clothes. He’d been a jerk who hadn’t known the finesse of lovemaking, a jerk who hadn’t known how to be supportive in any way.

  She had just finished folding the last pair of panties when a knock sounded on her door. Instantly, nerves jangled inside her. Nobody ever came to visit her.

  A peek out the front window showed her Mick, standing at her door in a pair of frayed denim shorts and a blue-flowered tourist shirt that instantly brought a smile to her lips.

  The smile lasted only a moment. What was he doing here? The very sight of him made her heart ache in a way she’d never felt before. As he knocked again she hurried to open the door, wondering if maybe there was some loose end of their assignment that he needed to clear up.

  “Nice look,” he said when she opened the door to greet him. She suddenly realized she was still clad in her lightweight light pink pajamas.

  “I could say the same about you. Hopping on a plane to some tropical island?”

  He grinned, and in that gesture Cassie’s heart broke all over again. “Can I come in, or are we going to entertain your neighbors?”

  “Of course.” She flushed with heat and stepped aside to allow him to enter the apartment. She closed the door behind him and watched as he looked around.

  She tried not to smell the familiar scent of him that called to her, that made her want to fall into his arms. “What’s up?” she asked, pleased that her tone sounded normal rather than radiating with the stress she felt at the moment.

  He walked around the living room, obviously taking in her space. “Pretty much the way I imagined it would be.” He turned and looked at her, his eyes the welcome green of spring grass. “What I didn’t expect was to find you in your pajamas at this time of the day.”

  Her cheeks warmed with her blush. “It was sort of an experiment.” One of his dark brows rose quizzically. “I just decided to do something a little different today and hang out a little longer than usual in my pajamas. You have a problem with that?”

  He smiled in obvious amusement. “I don’t have a problem with anything about you.” His smile fell away and suddenly his eyes smoldered with a dark light she’d never seen there before.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets, a muscle jumping in his lower jaw. “Last night was a long night. I’ve had a lot of time to think. I know you said you didn’t want to date when our assignment was over and I don’t want you to think I’m some stalker kind of guy, but I can’t help but think if you’d just give us a chance you might be surprised.”

  He pulled his hands from his pockets. “I have to be honest with you, Cassie. You completely take my breath away. I love you more than any other man on the face of this earth will ever love you. You make me want to be a better man. Be my partner, not just at work, but in my life.”

  There was none of the cocky sureness in him. He looked nervous, almost afraid of what she was going to say. She was afraid of what she was about to say.

  In the space of seconds she flashed back to the time she’d spent with him, remembered each and every touch, each and every burst of laughter that they’d shared. Flash forward and she saw herself alone because she’d been too afraid to let down her guard, to trust another human being with her heart, her very soul.

  There was no question that her childhood, her parents, had done a number on her, but at what point did she allow them to keep winning? At what point did she let go of the past and allow herself a real life?

  “Cassie,” he whispered softly. “The moment I saw you on that bed with Alex Perry straddling you I realized I didn’t want to live without you. I can live with rules, I can live with structure, but I’m just not sure I can live without you.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, geez,” Mick said helplessly. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you cry. I shouldn’t have come here. It was stupid idea.”

  “I almost ordered a pizza for breakfast this morning,” she said as she swiped at her eyes. Once again he looked at her questioningly. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could break a few rules, ignore my usual routine. It’s almost noon and I’m still in my pajamas and the world hasn�
�t come to an end and I don’t want to live without you, either. I love you, Mick, and I…”

  Whatever she was about to say was stolen away as his lips took hers in a kiss that lit her up from her head to her toes. It was a kiss of such love, of such promise, that she knew this was the man to take her on adventures, this was the man who would finally break down the shell she’d built around herself.

  Epilogue

  “He’s late.” Patsy paced the small confines of the ladies’ room inside the small church. Her bright blue bridesmaid dress swished around her shapely legs.

  “I knew he would be,” Cassie replied. “He’s always late.”

  “I’m going to wring his neck when I get hold of him,” Lynnette said. “Imagine being late for your own wedding.”

  Cassie smiled serenely. “Throttling him will officially be my job after today.”

  “I’m going out front to see if he’s here yet.” Lynnette left the room.

  Eileen, Mick’s third sister, reached out to hug Cassie, careful not to crunch the silk-and-lace gown that Mick had helped her pick out. “I can’t believe he got so lucky to find you, and I can’t believe he was smart enough to grab you up.”

  “I can’t believe I’m so lucky.” Cassie turned to look in the mirror and thought about the past six months. Theirs had been a whirlwind romance. Six months of working together, laughing and loving. Two months ago they had moved into a house they’d bought, a nice ranch with a fenced backyard that would make a perfect place for children to play.

  They were planning on two children, and Cassie couldn’t wait to give Mick a child. A baby would never replace the one that had been lost, but she knew how badly he wanted to be a dad.

  She’d learned to relax a bit and he picked up his clothes every morning. She still liked to know the agenda for each day and he still ran late for everything in their lives.

  Compromise and communication had been the key to the wonderful, magical love that had blossomed more strongly with each day that passed together.

  Cassie couldn’t imagine her life without him, and after today she wouldn’t have to. She was about to become Mrs. Cassie McCane, and she would have the family she’d always wanted. She adored Mick’s sisters and had bonded with them instantly.

  She checked her dainty gold watch. The ceremony was supposed to have started five minutes ago. The church pews were filled with coworkers and friends. All that was missing was the groom.

  They were leaving in the morning for a honeymoon in Hawaii. Five glorious days of sunshine, beach and Mick. Neither of them had considered the small town in Arkansas as a honeymoon destination.

  A shiver of anticipation swept through her at the thought of cold fruity drinks and hot nights with her new husband. There would be surprises…and delays and she would not only survive, but thrive amidst it all.

  “He’s here,” Lynnette said as she reentered. “He’s at the altar and they’re ready to play the music. Are you ready?”

  Cassie nodded, unable to speak for a moment around the lump of happiness that filled her throat. This was it. For the first time in her adult life she was taking a giant leap of faith, and yet felt no fear. Rather, she only felt how right this moment was, how right she and Mick were together.

  The three sisters scurried from the room to take their places and Cassie closed her eyes for a moment and centered herself. Mick had offered up a friend to walk her down the aisle, but she’d insisted she wanted to walk it alone.

  She was coming to him with no family, and while she couldn’t erase her painful past she could move past it. He’d allowed her to see how strong she was and it felt only right that she walked the aisle alone.

  She stepped out of the bathroom and took her place, and as the music began to fill the church she started down the aisle. Mick stood at the end next to the minister. His tie was slightly crooked and his boutonniere was pinned on upside down. Chaos…the man was utter chaos, and she loved him with all her being.

  As she drew closer, he gave her a smile that threatened to steal all the breath from her body. His eyes were filled with a love she knew would last a lifetime.

  When she was halfway to where he stood an impulse struck her, a crazy impulse that under past circumstances she would have never considered.

  This time she did. She kicked off her high heels and ran the rest of the way down the aisle, leaping into his embrace as he laughed with surprise.

  “I do,” she whispered before the minister had a chance to say a word.

  “And so do I,” he whispered, and then kissed her as the room exploded with hoots and hollers. Cassie knew she had finally come home.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of Wrangled by B.J. Daniels!

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  Chapter One

  The knock at the door surprised Zane Chisholm. He’d just spent the warm summer day in the saddle rounding up cattle. All he wanted to do was kick off his boots and hit the hay early. The last thing he wanted was company.

  But whoever was knocking didn’t sound as if they were planning to go away anytime soon. Living at the end of a dirt road, he didn’t get uninvited company—other than one of his five brothers. So that narrows it down, he thought as he went to the window and peered out through the curtains.

  The car parked outside was a compact, lime-green with Montana State University plates. Definitely not one of his brothers, he thought with a grin. Chisholm men wouldn’t be caught dead driving such a “girlie” car. Especially a lime-green one.

  Even more odd was the young, willowy blonde pounding on his door. She must be lost and needing directions. Or she was selling something.

  His curiosity piqued, he went to answer her persistent knock. As the door swung open, he saw that her eyes were blue and set wide in a classically gorgeous face. She wore a slinky red dress that fell over her body like water. The woman was a stunner.

  She smiled warmly. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” He waited, wondering what she wanted, and enjoying the view in the meantime.

  Her smile slipped a little as she took in his worn jeans, his even more worn cowboy boots and the dirty Western shirt with a torn sleeve and a missing button.

  “I wasn’t expecting company,” he said when he saw her apparent disappointment in his attire.

  “Oh?” She looked confused now. “Did I get the night wrong? You’re Zane Chisholm and this is Friday, right?”

  “Right.” He frowned. “Did we have a date or something?” He knew he’d never seen this woman before. No red-blooded American male would forget a woman like this.

  She reached into her sparkly shoulder bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “Your last email,” she said, handing it to him.

  He took the paper, unfolded it and saw his email address. It appeared he had been corresponding with this woman for the past two days.

  “If you forgot—”

  “No,” he said quickly. “Please, come in and let’s see if we can sort this out.”

>   She stepped in but looked tentative, as if not so sure about him.

  “Why don’t you start with how we met,” he said as he offered her a seat.

  She sat on the edge of the couch. “The Evans rural internet dating service.”

  “Arlene’s matchmaking business?” he asked in surprise. Arlene Evans, who was now Arlene Monroe, had started the business a few years ago to bring rural couples together.

  “We’ve been visiting by email until you…”

  “Asked you out,” he finished for her.

  “Are you saying someone else has been using your email?”

  “It sure looks that way, since I never signed up with Arlene’s matchmaking service. But,” he added quickly when he saw how upset she was, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Arlene is behind this. It wouldn’t be the first time she took it upon herself to play matchmaker.” Either that or his brothers were behind it as a joke, though that seemed unlikely. This beautiful woman was no joke.

  She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I’m so embarrassed.” She quickly rose to her feet. “I should go.”

  “No, wait,” he said, unable to shake the feeling that maybe this had been fate and that he would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he let this woman walk out now.

  “You know, it wouldn’t take me long to jump in the shower and change if you’re still up for a date,” he said with a grin.

  She hesitated. “Really? I mean, you don’t have to—”

  “I want to. But you have the advantage over me. I don’t know your name.”

  She smiled shyly. “Courtney Baxter.” She held out her hand. As he shook it, Zane thought, This night could change my life.

  He had no idea how true that was going to be.

  ISBN: 9781459238510

  Copyright © 2012 by Carla Bracale

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