"You saw the entertainment news, then," he stated in a flat voice.
"Yep you two looked very good. It's probably great you tanned your ass."
"It was not..." He stopped talking when she started the car.
"See you later, Jensen. I really have to go. No telling what emotion will bust free next."
"Let's go for a walk." He leaned back into the seat and looked straight out the front windshield. "Come on. I dare you to do something crazy."
"Crazy? I think I've got that covered." Cassie couldn't help peeking at her reflection in the side view mirror. "I don't want to go for a walk. That's cr..."
"Crazy?"
"All right, fine." She opened the door and walked around her clunker. "Where are we going?" Back hunched, she knew her face was tear streaked and her hair a mess. At the moment she didn't care. He was dating Vanessa Morgan, multi-million dollar a film actress who always looked like a magazine ad.
Her attention was captivated when he stuck a long leg out, dusty boot first and straightened to full height. Sunglasses in place, she could not tell where he looked so she turned to study the roadside. "Which way?"
"Come on." He turned toward Adam's house. "How about a quick stroll through the woods?"
It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that most of the trees had been chopped down thanks to the film production, but instead she caught up with him. "I'm not in a good mood. I don't want to argue."
"Is that what you think will happen?" He continued past the house through the sparse trees. "Its already been established you don't like me. What can we possibly argue about?"
Instead of replying she looked around and noticed that the leaves were beginning to change. Why had she not noticed it before? Too preoccupied with all the stuff of life, she'd missed the changing of seasons. Her favorite time of year approached. She slid a gaze to Jensen. He didn't have the normal worries, of course. Everything was taken care of for him. There was no way a mega star like Jensen Ford could relate with what she dealt with. Fine, so he tried to take her mind off her near nervous breakdown, and although it was a nice gesture, it was only a matter of time before he'd say or do something stupid and hurt her feelings again.
There was also the added fact that he was one of the reasons she'd lost her composure back at the house. Cassie let out a sigh. "So, you and Vanessa, huh?"
He turned to her and lifted a shoulder. "Yeah."
Her stomach tumbled and she couldn't help letting out a breath. "It seems like it happens a lot. Costars hooking up."
"Tell me about it." Jensen stopped and looked up at a tree where an owl sat on a branch studying him in return. "Check that out."
Cassie studied the man instead. Wearing his usual black t-shirt and jeans, he was perfect. Tussled hair, aviators and muscular. With his hands on his hips, he seemed to be posing for a glamour shot. He and the owl stared at each other and Jensen laughed. "He is really interested in us."
"Don't you think it's sort of creepy?" Cassie looked to the other trees to ensure there weren't more, gathering to attack.
"Nah. He's kinda cute." Jensen made hooting sounds and the owl remained silent. "I think he likes me."
"Well, why wouldn't he? Everyone loves you."
He lowered his glasses and the clear green eyes met hers. "You don't. Which I'm sure is a mistake, deep down inside you find me irresistible. You got that single woman repression going on."
"You're a pompous ass." Cassie headed back to her car. "I don't know why I fall for it every time." She growled when he took her arm and turned her to him.
"I was kidding. Why are you wound so tight?"
If only he didn't stand so close. "I told you, I'm not in a good mood."
"You definitely are in a state. Wanna go eat ice cream? There's some in Adam's house. Isn't that what women do when it's that time?"
This time she couldn't help a giggle. "You really can't help it, can you?"
"What?" He frowned down at her.
"Saying the dumbest things. I need to go to town. Got cupcakes to bake."
Jensen walked alongside seeming relaxed. "What about the ice cream?"
"When woman eat the ice cream, in this state." She made quotation marks with her fingers. "they eat it alone in the dark in front of the television wearing fat clothes and messy hair. We prefer to be bundled up in a blanket with a cat and don't want any witnesses to the sloppy mess we've become."
"Oh."
"Thanks for the offer, anyway."
They walked back until in front of the movie trailers and parted ways, he to Adam's house and she back to the car, which of course didn't start when she turned the key in the ignition. "Just kill me." Too mentally exhausted to get out of the car, Cassie slumped forward and dialed Tesha's number.
"I need to borrow your truck."
That night she sat in front of the television watching a Lifetime movie. Her ice cream of choice was caramel swirl and she washed it down with a water glass half filled with merlot. The doorbell rang and she didn't bother moving. Whoever it was would hopefully go away.
She'd told Tesha she'd lock herself in and would be fine. After texting Kevin and telling him she was not going to be home, she was sure he'd not drive out. Now she stared at the door and held her breath praying he'd not ignored her request.
"Cassie? Why didn't you open the door? Had me worried for a minute." Mrs. Miller, the hardware store owner and dear friend, came in through the back door. "Thank God I have a key."
The older woman took the ice cream and spoon from her hands and tasted it. "Pretty good stuff." Then she walked away with it and her wine. "But what you need is some good soup."
Cassie's mouth fell open. "No, I'm pretty sure I want the ice cream."
"What you want and need are not always the same." Mrs. Miller called out from the kitchen. "I brought my famous orzo spinach soup." She returned with a tray. On it two bowls of hearty soup, two chunks of bread and bottle of sparkling water.
It smelled delicious. "I wish you were my mother." Cassie sat up and pulled an oversized book on her lap to rest the bowl on. "You take the tray."
They ate in silence for a bit watching a movie with a predictable ending. Finally Mrs. Miller spoke. "Tesha called me. She was worried about you. Told me you had a prize-winning hissy fit. What bothers you the most, honey?"
"I'm not sure. Everything is battling for first place," Cassie admitted. "Between the shop barely making it, my car issues and helping Kyland get all he needs for college, it’s overwhelming." She hated that tears sprung to her eyes. "Its silly, really. God has been so good, I got the job with the movie company working at Tesha's, and one of the movie exec's has set me up to cater cupcakes to a party his wife is throwing in Nashville next month."
"I understand." Mrs. Miller studied her. "You are all work and no play. It's too much, and although you are strong, right now, you have a lot on your plate. You deserve a night of this." She pointed to her pajamas and the television.
The movie credits ended and she turned it to the entertainment channel. "You know what? You're right. After the movie stuff is over, I'm going to treat myself to a week of vacation. Maybe go to the beach."
"Now you're talking." Mrs. Miller put her feet up next to hers on the coffee table. "Maybe you'll meet Mr. Cassie."
They laughed and Cassie couldn't help wondering what Jensen would do if he spent a week at the beach. Being he lived in Los Angeles, he probably didn't think much about it. "I'd like to meet someone nice."
"Adam's brothers are all single." Mrs. Miller wagged her eyebrows. "And that cameraman, the one that looks like Bruce Willis, is also unattached. He told Debbie he was looking for a good woman."
Mrs. Miller and her two lady friends, Debbie and Carol, helped at Tesha's in the afternoons and were forever stalking the actors and crew.
"He does look like Bruce Willis, doesn't he?" Cassie avoided remarking on the Ford brothers. "I thought he was seeing Vanessa, but it looks like she and Jensen are an item."
<
br /> "Oh, I doubt that. Those boys wouldn't dare bring that floozy around their momma."
"Mrs. Miller!" Cassie had to laugh at the woman's comment. "I'm sure as good looking as the Ford brothers are, they've dated plenty of those types."
"Dated. But never married or brought them home." Mrs. Miller gave her a firm nod as if she knew it to be true. "Miriam Ford will send a floozy like that Vanessa packing."
"Well let's just admit that all of the Ford men are way out of my league." Cassie sipped her water and watched as actresses walked a red carpet turning this way and that for the paparazzi. "That, there, is their league."
"Sticks in glittery dresses." Mrs. Miller huffed and stood with the bowls in her hands. "Besides, the way Jensen Ford watches you, I'm surprised he's not asked you out yet."
He'd offered her more than she dared admit to Mrs. Miller, but the actor would not stoop so low as to be seen in public on a date with her. "Yeah well, I think he likes to find creative ways to annoy me."
"Boys do that when they like girls."
Cassie snorted. "But it all changes after elementary school."
The doorbell rang and before she could stop her, Mrs. Miller opened the door to reveal a Kevin holding a bouquet of roses.
"Well, hello, young man. Come in out of the cold." She took the flowers from him. "Let me put these in water. I'm afraid Cassie is a bit under the weather. You may want to keep your distance."
Kevin looked to her and for once Cassie was glad for her messy hair and lack of make up. "Sorry, I should have called again, but my cell phone is dead. I need to go to the store tomorrow to get a replacement. I dropped it into the toilet."
"Oh dear. Sit down." Mrs. Miller placed a bottle of water into his hand. "I'm Tellulah Miller. A friend of Cassie's."
Kevin stuck out his hand. "Kevin Madison, Cassie's friend from Nashville. Came to check on my girl."
"Well, aren't you sweet. I'll be on my way then."
"Please stay." Cassie attempted to find a way to let the woman know she didn't want to be alone with him but Mrs. Miller had bustled into the kitchen and called out.
"Don't be silly. You can tell Kevin all about the movie." She stuck her head out and looked to Kevin. "Don't tire her, she needs to rest."
"Yes Ma'am." Kevin gave her his best-practiced smile. The smile that made prospective mother-in-laws and clients trust him. To this day, her mother swore Cassie overreacted at the wedding. Or imagined the entire thing.
After Mrs. Miller left, Cassie got up and poured a glass of wine, not offering Kevin any. She plopped back down on the couch. "What is so important, you had to tell me in person?"
For a long moment, he studied her face. "You are so beautiful. I can't believe I let you go."
Cassie fidgeted under his scrutiny. "Well it happened and we've moved on."
"I didn't."
Of all the times for him to come crawling back, this was the worst timing. Although she'd dreamed of this many times. Of how she'd look down her perfectly made up nose, a hand on her slender hip, because of course in her mind, she'd lost twenty pounds, while she'd tell him to take a hike. But for some reason instead of feeling satisfaction, she felt pity. "It's been years. Let's not even try to act as if you cared for me."
"I loved you in my own way. But I was so stupid. Such an idiot." He inhaled. "I'm just going to come out and say it."
Cassie swallowed and waited for him to tell her he wanted to work things out. She had a practiced speech, a stern but gentle way to let him down.
"I need your forgiveness for having wronged you in such a way. I ruined our wedding day. A day that should have been our happiest, I sullied the sacred occasion. For that and for hurting you, I ask that you please forgive me." His eyes were shiny and she wondered if he was about to cry.
"I've accepted it and although it was a horrible way to end things. I do forgive you. But you could have asked me over the phone. I would have told you I forgave you a long time ago."
"That not the only thing I want to ask of you."
"Kevin, please..." She took a long drink.
"Listen to me." Kevin moved to sit next to her on the couch. "It's important that you understand."
At his serious expression her stomach pitched. Something was wrong. "What is it?"
"I'm dying."
Chapter Ten
"Get your head out of the clouds, Jensen," the director called out. "That was crap!"
Through the fog of cold medication, he tried to get mad, but the guy was right. He'd woken up with a head cold, and although he'd powered through most of the morning, at this point, he could barely keep from puking. And, of course, today was the day they shot fight scenes and a confrontation with his arch nemesis.
He made eye contact with the older actor who in return gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry. Feel like shit."
"Power through it. I have a flight tomorrow I refuse to miss." The man lifted an eyebrow.
So much for sympathy.
"I need my mom," Jensen said into the phone that night as he lay bundled in his bed surrounded by medication, bottles of water and a box of tissues.
His mother's voice soothed in his ear. "I'm sorry you're sick, honey. Ask someone to make you some tea."
No one was around; every person in the crew, including his fake girlfriend, was giving him wide berth as most of them had other "pressing" engagements they didn't want to miss if they caught his cold.
"Yeah, I'll get the butler to bring it immediately."
His mother laughed. "What about Cassie? Is she nearby? Ask if she can bring you something?"
"Last time I saw her she was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Something about menstrual emotions."
There was silence for a moment. Yep, he'd done something anti-woman by her huff. "Being emotional is not a nervous breakdown, honey. She probably needed you to just hug her."
"I took her for a walk. Then she got mad again."
"It's a wonder you manage to date at all, Jensen. Sometimes I worry you'll never marry and end up a dirty old man. With dyed hair and a face lift, chasing twenty year olds."
"Ewww."
"Good night, honey. Get some tea."
He let the phone fall to the bed and decided to take his mother's advice. After two rings, Cassie surprised him by answering. He'd not seen her in the last three days. Instead of going to Tesha's bed and breakfast in the mornings, he'd stayed in Adam's house eating cereal and drinking coffee.
Filming was at a crucial place and he had a lot of lines to memorize.
"Hello?" Her voice brought him to the present. "Jensen?"
"Hi." He sneezed and tried again. "Hey how are you?"
"I'm....good."
He tried to remember why he called, the sound of her voice brought images of huge whiskey colored eyes and long waves of honey brown hair. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. I am great. You sound funny."
"I have a cold."
She was silent for a few minutes. "I'm sorry you don't feel well." Jensen wasn't sure how to respond to the soft sounds of her breathing. "It's hard to work while sick."
"It's not so bad." He sneezed and blew his nose. "Sorry."
The line went dead. She'd hung up on him. Great.
The bed dipped and Jensen opened his eyes to see Cassie hovering over him. "You look horrible."
"I feel worse." He coughed and waved her away. "You need to keep your distance. You don't want to catch this."
Cassie placed a cup of tea on the nightstand and grabbed his arms. "Sit up. I have a strong constitution, rarely get sick."
She put the cup in his hands and went to the window and lifted it open. Then she grabbed a trashcan and threw all the tissues away. "Why isn't anyone here? I can't believe they left you here alone."
"We're behind schedule. They are shooting around me until I don't look like death warmed over. They checked on me this morning and decided I needed to stay in bed." He coughed again. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in about a wee
k."
A slight frown marred her smooth brow. "Things are a bit complicated for me right now." She smiled a bit too cheerfully. "The good news is my brother has gone to college." The heaviness in the air made him wonder what the other complication was. From experience it usually mean a person of the opposite sex.
"I appreciate the tea, but you didn't have to."
"I know." She moved with brisk efficiency and left the room. A few moments later Cassie returned with a bowl of soup. "I can't take credit for this. I bought it at the diner. They make the best chicken and vegetable."
While he ate, she sat in a chair, chin in her hand looking absently out the window.
Jensen didn't want to know, but he asked anyway. "So what are the complications about?"
He wasn't sure what he saw in her gaze, something between longing and sadness. "Nothing that won't fix itself, just need to wait. Unfortunately, I'm not a patient person. Once the filming wraps up next week, I'll have more time to do other things. Take care of an ill friend and devote more time to my shop."
Before he could ask more questions, she jumped to her feet and took the bowl. She motioned to the nightstand with her chin. "Take those pills. If I ever get sick, it's the only thing that makes me get better."
He did while she watched.
"There now. I'll let you rest." She cocked her head to the side. "I do believe this is the first time we've been around each other without some sort of insult flying."
After she left he lifted his cell phone. A text from Caden buzzed. "Hey Bro. C U tonight."
What the heck was happening that night? He looked at the date, it didn't help. Finally he pushed the call button. "Hey," Caden answered. "You ready?"
"For what?" Jensen grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.
"Isn't the crew party tonight?" He could hear voices in the background. "Some of the guys want to come."
"Yeah, that's cool. I won't be there. I'm sick."
"Can I still go?"
Jensen hung up after assuring Caden that he and his cop friends were invited. He fell back onto the pillows and wondered if he should call Cassie and thank her. Or better yet, go to her house in person and thank her. Or maybe send flowers. He looked up and saw Mark leaning on the doorframe. "What the hell is up with all this sick shit. You need to get better by tomorrow. We need some candid shots of you and Vanessa. I tried to convince her to come over here, but she slammed the door in my face. Everyone has gone crazy around here."
The Last Hero: Fords of Nashville, Book 2 Page 7