by Moxie North
Connie’s heart broke a little at that. “Well, I can’t lie, I’m seriously partial to my boys. Cash is just as good as one of my sons. That boy is as straight and true as they come. Even better, he never says anything he doesn’t mean. His heart is made of solid gold.”
“Hmm, he’s pricey then,” Cassie remarked.
“No…” Connie pondered. “He’s that kinda of valuable that only can be measured by those that have the privilege of knowing him. If he wanted to be friends with you, then honey you couldn’t get a better one. Effie is a great girlfriend, but it never hurts to have a big strong man on your side too.”
Cassie thought about that. She’d never had a guy friend before. Boyfriends sure. Lovers even. Oh who was she kidding, she’d never had a lover in her life. Fuck buddies yes, not lovers.
“I think I’m ready to hobble into the light,” Cassie declared.
Connie helped her up, and she made it to the couch. It was a huge oversized worn brown leather sofa. The cushions so wide, she could have easily used it as a bed. While she settled in, Edward came out of her bedroom with an armful of pillows.
“Gonna make sure you’re so comfy that you won’t want to abandon us today. After so many years, Connie and I don’t have one thing to talk about anymore,” he groused. Edward started arranging pillows around Cassie and under her legs.
“Hah, you just don’t like my topics of conversation. Usually, I’m bitching at him,” Connie said to Cass with a wink.
Edward gave a snort. “Fucking true.”
Cassie laughed at the two. She couldn’t imagine being together as long as they had and still getting along. She’d never had visits with her grandparents where she baked cookies and they read her stories and told her about the good old days. The Rochon babies were lucky.
Connie came over once Cassie was settled and handed her a plate full of fluffy pancakes and a big glass of orange juice. “You don’t have to eat it all, but I want to see that juice glass empty young lady. You need the vitamins.”
“Yes ma’am,” Cassie said, her eyes big on the plate of enormous pancakes. There were three, and they were golden fluffy and drenched in syrup. They were starting to get to know her, she mused.
Tucking into her food, she enjoyed watching them putter around the kitchen. Edward would give his wife’s butt a tap as he walked by, or Connie would just tip her head to the side to get a kiss on the cheek or better on her neck that made her squeal. When Edward’s back was turned, Connie would slide glances at him, a twinkle in her eye.
They were still in love, Cassie realized with astonishment. Like truly, madly, deeply, in love. Amazing.
Cass finished her breakfast, well not finished it exactly. She’d only made a dent about halfway into the plate. This would have been an impressive fete for even a sumo wrestler, there had been so much food piled on it. She was still sipping her juice when Edward retrieved her plate.
Leaning back against the pillows, she felt her eyes drift closed then it was quiet. A little while later she cracked an eye open and saw someone had put a blanket over her. Her meds were on the table by her orange juice. She took stock of her pain level and decided it was manageable. She fell back into a comfy slumber.
Chapter 13
She slowly became aware of quiet voices. Cassie peeled her eyes open and saw the back of someone’s head talking to Connie. She figured they were trying to be quiet since they thought she was asleep.
Tossing off the blanket, she drew their attention. “I’m up, I’m up,” she called out.
The pretty woman talking to Connie whipped around, and Cassie sucked in a breath at the amazing golden eyes the woman had. She’d been just as struck by Kenzi Rochon’s eyes the first time they met. They weren’t brown; they were almost a golden yellow. Shockingly beautiful.
“Sorry, did we wake you?” the beautiful woman asked. Cassie shook her head, but she was still a little tongue-tied. The woman was a golden tan with long blond hair, not typical in Washington unless you frequented a tanning salon.
“No, my cat naps are pretty short now,” Cassie replied. But she didn’t miss the lip smirk that Kenzi sent her way at the word cat nap. Cass realized what she said and remembered she was supposed to be secret squirrel about shifters. Huh, wonder if there are weresquirrels, she thought.
“Well, I’m glad you are up. I brought you a present,” Kenzi said clapping her hands. Cassie took in her tight patterned leggings that were tucked into ridiculously furry trimmed boots. She had on a long sleeve tunic that came down to her butt and a perfectly layered scarf around her neck. She looked like she’d just stepped out of an LL Bean catalog. It was exactly what someone from California would think Washingtonians would wear in the winter.
“Oh, I like presents,” Cassie said warmly. Maneuvering off the couch, she grabbed for her crutches. “Little girls room first, if you don’t mind.”
“We’ll be waiting for you,” Connie called. “You hungry?” She already had her head in the fridge.
“No thanks, still digesting fourteen pounds of pancakes,” Cassie called back before she shut the door. She freshened up a bit and looked at her complexion. Porcelain white skin, which sure some people thought was all the rage. But on her it made her look sick. She wasn’t sick. She was temporarily injured. She needed to start getting that into her head.
Nothing that was wrong with her that wouldn’t heal. This was not a permanent state of being for her. Not like a chronic illness that she had to battle to overcome. She just needed to get better from this. First things first, she reached for her bathroom bag and dug through it finding her make-up bag.
Dumping it out onto the counter, she made quick work of dusting on some mineral powder, giving herself a quick cat eye liner on both of her lids, (she’d become a ninja level expert at them) and swiped on some mascara.
Looking at herself again she didn’t look like the old Cassie, but she also didn’t look like she was on death’s door anymore.
Cleaning up her mess, she opened the door and made it back to the couch in one piece.
“My, don’t you look pretty, dear,” Connie said. Her eyes noting the change immediately.
“Yes, well my skin was getting too much fresh air. Didn’t want it to forget what a pound of make-up felt like. Might start getting all uppity and liking the natural look, which is so not me,” Cassie stated.
“Then I brought the perfect gift,” Kenzi said, sitting next to Cassie once she’d fallen back onto the couch. Kenzi dropped a cute shiny bag on her lap with a well-known cosmetics store name on the front.
Peering inside, Cassie saw about a half dozen bottles of dye along with a full kit of bleaching products.
Looking up from the bag, she saw Kenzi had a huge grin on her face. “You look beautiful with the blonde hair, but it’s just not Cassie. You know? So I brought you a number of options. There is fire engine red, indigo blue, purple haze, magenta, and green with envy. I thought if you weren’t ready for a full color, maybe you’ll let me play stylist and just do the tips? Cheer you up a bit?” Kenzi asked hopefully.
Yesterday, Cassie wouldn’t have cared if her hair turned gray and fell out. Today…today it seemed like a good idea to pull a little of the old Cassie back.
“I like that idea. I was orange last time, so I don’t think I want to do that again. How about we re-bleach my hair, then do pink tips?” Cassie said, starting to get excited.
“Yeah!” Kenzi said, clapping her hands. “Wanna get started?”
Cassie nodded, reaching for her crutches.
“I’ll get the chair,” Connie said, grabbing the chair she’d used to blow dry her hair earlier. Luckily, the bathroom was big enough that they could all comfortably squeeze in. Connie opened the window in preparation for the extreme odor of the hair dye.
The three woman chatted as Kenzi went to work on the dye. Within an hour, Cassie’s blonde hair was back to an almost white shade. They started with the magenta on the tips, checking the color frequently. They’d a
ll agreed a lighter shade of pink was a good start; the fluorescent pink could come later.
Cassie found herself giggling and commenting on the stories Kenzi and Connie were telling about the boys and the crazy messes they would get into. Cassie couldn’t imagine being so close to every family member like the Rochons were.
Once they were done, Cassie took in her appearance. Her hair was spiky all over her head, kinda haphazard that can only come from a lot of work to look casual. The tips were a soft pink, and the light hair made her black kohl’d eyes pop. She almost looked pretty again. Minus the scar. She’d forgotten about it for a while as she was having fun. Now her eyes were drawn to it again.
Connie caught Cass’s gaze as her eyes hit it and immediately went into action. “All right, it’s way past lunch time. You girls start cleaning up, and I’ll get some food on,” she said handing Cassie her crutches.
The change in the room’s energy happened so fast that Cassie grabbed for the crutches that were almost thrown at her and just made it to her feet as the chair that she was sitting on was whisked away.
“Woman is a master,” Kenzi mumbled.
“Huh?” Cassie asked, still trying to keep up.
“Nothing, let’s get your pretty butt back somewhere comfy,” Kenzi declared.
Cassie made it to the couch and realized she wasn’t as tired as she’d been before. Granted she did take a nap after breakfast. Still her outlook was at least fifteen percent brighter today. Kenzi was fun and helping her get a little of herself back with the hair dye endeared her to Cass forever.
“Here you go, leftover chicken and macaroni and cheese. Is that okay?” Connie asked bringing her a bowl. Connie had put the noodles on the bottom and shredded the chicken over the top. Yum.
“Uh, could I bug you for some ketchup?” Cass asked.
“Ketchup?” Connie said looking seriously confused.
“Sure, don’t you eat your mac-n-cheese with ketchup?” Cassie asked. Seriously, were these people raised in a barn? Mac-n-cheese with ketchup was like crack. Once you go ketchup, you don’t go back.
“That’s disgusting, but I like you, so I’ll bring you some,” Connie said this with a sniff, which made Kenzi burst out laughing.
“No joke, that’s nasty,” Kenzi said as she watched Cassie squirt ketchup over her bowl after Connie passed her the bottle with a look of disgust.
“Try it. I dare you,” Cass said, giving her eyebrows a wiggle.
Kenzi gave a delicate noise in her throat that said haughtily, “I grew up with three brothers, I know better than to accept dares.”
“Smart girl,” Connie said, taking a seat on Edward’s recliner.
Noticing he was missing from their morning fun, Cassie asked, “Where is Edward? Did we scare him off?”
“Oh, he had to head out. Something up with the site they are working on. Tanner and Cash are already out there, and Edward picked up Conner on his way out. I don’t bother asking anymore about what goes on up there. It’s all wood this and timber that,” Connie said, waving an elegant hand in the air.
At the mention of Cash’s name, Cassie perked up. She wondered if he was going to show up today. She wanted to talk to him again but was scared at seeing him. Anticipation was outweighing the nervousness currently. But that could always change.
“Hope everything is okay,” Cass offered.
“It will be fine; it always is. They get so dramatic about things. It’s not like they haven’t been doing this stuff for years,” Connie said, continuing to eat her lunch.
The girls chatted and laughed until Cassie couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore and was fighting her yawns. “I’m sorry to be such a party pooper.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get you into your room in case those noisy boys come back,” Connie suggested.
“Sounds like a plan, Stan,” Cassie said around a yawn.
The women helped Cass to her room and got her settled in. Before Kenzi could leave, Cass grabbed her hand.
Kenzi looked down at her. “Thanks for today, really,” Cassie said to her.
Kenzi gave her hand a squeeze then left the room. Cassie was asleep in minutes.
Chapter 14
Connie ran for the door at the frantic knocking. She didn’t know who would knock since most of the kids just barged in.
She swung the door open and saw a frazzled looking Jinger, her red hair flying out of her braid with a twin stuffed under each arm.
“Do you have milk?” she asked, hoisting one of the twins up on her hip. Both of the girls were trying to wiggle their way loose.
“Of course, dear. Did you get groceries yesterday?” Connie said, grabbing one of the twins from her.
“Yes, but what they didn’t drink, they spilled. Is it okay to come in? I know we don’t want to parade the kids around Cassie,” Jinger said. She knew that it was important to keep their secret from humans that didn’t need to know.
“She’s asleep. We should be good. Let me check the outside fridge,” Connie said, sitting the baby she was holding on the counter. She didn’t notice which one she had grabbed; now she saw it was Mallory. She gave the baby a tickle under the chin then waited for Jinger to position herself next to the counter.
Connie walked out to the garage where she had another fridge to keep the massive amounts of food organized in the house. Their giant professional fridge was for everyday things. Outside was for backup.
Jinger was keeping a hand on Maizy when she performed an acrobatic maneuver that had her slipping from her mother’s grasp. “Maizy!” Jinger quietly shouted. She didn’t want to wake up Cassie, but it was an emergency situation. “Connie!” she tried. She couldn’t let go of Mallory on the counter or she’d be off too.
Maizy hit lightspeed once she got to the floor. She was scooting through the living room when Jinger grabbed Mallory and shot off after her wayward twin. Jinger had almost gotten to her when her diapered little butt slipped through the door that led to Cassie’s room.
“Shit, shit!” Jinger whispered. She looked at Mallory. “Momma said a bad word.” Mallory just giggled and clapped.
Connie was rushing around the corner, and Jinger all but threw Mallory at her when a blood-curdling scream came from the bedroom.
Jinger pushed the door open to see Maizy’s bear sitting with her stretchy pant covered butt and tiny t-shirt that said Here Comes Trouble staring at Cassie.
Cassie wasn’t breathing. She had just been woken up with a weight pressing down on her chest. The ability to breathe was constricted, and then she’d opened her eyes to a mouth full of teeth. That was when she screamed. The minute she’d stopped, the mouth of teeth had closed, and the head that was attached to that mouth turned and looked at her like it couldn’t believe she’d yelled.
Cassie breathed and took in the fact there was an animal sitting on her. An animal in stretchy pants and a t-shirt. It was a baby bear. Like a real, furry baby bear. Did it get in the house somehow?
Cassie heard voices outside the door and then heard another voice call from the doorway.
“Cassie? I’m Jinger. I’m coming in. Don’t scream again. I’ll get her off you.”
Cass didn’t look away from the bear. She could feel tiny claws against her chest where it was sitting. It wasn’t hurting her, but she’d already seen the sharp teeth.
“Is this your pet?” Cassie said on a breath.
“Erm, no. I’m gonna pick her up okay?”
“No! I don’t want it to scratch me! Or eat me, or I don’t know what bears do,” Cassie gasped.
“Cassie?” came a deep voice from the door.
Cassie took a deep breath. “Cash?” She didn’t look his way since the bear was still looking at her.
“Just let Jinger get the bear. I’ll stay right here with you, okay?” he said.
The assurance of his tone made her give a head nod. She saw a pair of woman’s hands come into her line of vision and wrap around the bear cub. The little animal gave an annoyed squa
wk but didn’t resist. The second the weight was lifted off her chest, she closed her eyes.
She heard Jinger and Connie talking to Cash. “It’s okay. I’ll handle it,” Cash was telling them.
“You sure?” This was from Connie.
“Yeah, give us some time,” Cash assured her. He’d been walking through the door with Cassie’s Mexican feast when he heard her scream. He made it to the door right after Connie and took in the situation. Letting the cub’s mom handle the pickup was the best bet.
When she screamed, Cash’s bear was in a panic. He wanted to burst through the door and attack whatever made her be that afraid. A tiny bear cub wasn’t what he was expecting.
Cassie still had her eyes closed; her breathing ragged like she was hyperventilating.
Cash came over and sat lightly on the bed next to her. The bed dipped under his weight. He leaned over and placed a hand lightly on Cassie’s chest. “Slow your breaths. The cub is gone,” Cash said softly. He couldn’t help but take in that soft cinnamon scent that he’d smelled before. It was delicate with a hint of bite.
The terrifying weight on her chest was replaced by a warm, comforting feeling. She could hear him breathing in and out. Cass matched her breathing to his until she was back to normal. She kept her eyes closed, though.
“The cub isn’t here. You can open your eyes,” he encouraged.
“No, I can’t,” she whispered.
“Why not?” His bear was beyond happy touching this small woman. His big hand stretched the length of her collarbone putting into stark relief their size difference. Cash took in the pink tips on her hair. They were sweet and reminded him of her candy scent.
“Cause, this wasn’t how we were supposed to meet. Me, terrified waking up with a wild animal on my chest. Which granted, I should be a lot more concerned about right now, but honestly you being here is trumping that.”
“Well, I was coming over to bring you your burritos. Which by the way, the unexpected delay may put into question the structural integrity of your snack. This would totally not be my fault,” he said, trying to tease her into opening her eyes.