He and Dan found some seats at the edge of the crowd. “You don’t have to baby-sit me, you know,” Jack said.
“Hey, you trying to get rid of me already?” Dan laughed as he settled himself in the chair. “Everybody else has already heard all my stories at least ten times. I don’t have anyone left to talk to.”
“Okay.” Jack took a sip of his beer. “I’m glad to help you out. I just don’t want you stuck on my account.”
“Naw, I’m fine.” He took a healthy pull on his can. “Besides, if we can’t think of anything else, we can always talk about your football career.”
“Not much there,” Jack said. “They’d give me the ball, I’d run, and then some really big guys would come and knock me down.”
“You made yourself a good career out of that,” Dan said. “For a few years, at least.”
Jack shrugged. “Injuries are part of the game. If you expect them, you won’t be disappointed.”
“Isn’t that a description of life?” Dan asked. “Things are bound to go wrong once in a while. Accept that and you can spend the rest of the time being happy.”
Jack let his eyes stray across the room while the other man’s words sank into his thoughts. Was all that with Daphne just something “going wrong”? Was he being foolish in seeing it— and everything—as a challenge to his pride? His gaze rested on Cassie. Was there happiness waiting for him there if he just had the guts to try for it?
“We always called her our little warrior,” Dan said. “The only time she really seemed comfortable was when she was saving some creature or other.”
“Big dogs like Ollie?” Jack asked.
“Everything,” Dan replied with a laugh. “If it looked the slightest bit in need, she was going to rescue it.”
Jack frowned. What did that mean in relation to him? Did she see some vulnerability in him and was that why she took care of him at times? But he wasn’t needy or vulnerable. He watched as Fiona opened a big box. Towels. She went into raptures over them while Alex made some wisecrack that had those close to them laughing.
“Cassie ever tell you about the swans?” Dan asked.
Jack turned to the older man. “No, she hasn’t.”
“The summer before the adoption was final, we sent them to a day camp,” Dan said. “Cassie was nine. And these two swans lived on the lake there. Romeo and Juliet. Or still live there, for that matter. Cassie said that swans can live for thirty years or more, and they mate for life.”
“A little more faithful than us humans,” Jack said, Daphne once more creeping into his thoughts.
“Well, one day Cassie notices that the male is the only one hanging around. She figures something’s got to be wrong, so she and her sisters go looking for Juliet and find that she’s got her foot caught in one of those plastic rings that hold pop cans together. Cassie decides that they have to rescue her.”
“That can be dangerous,” Jack observed. “Swans are big birds.”
“And they can be mean,” Dan added. “But they leave Samaantha to watch the birds, run back to camp and get a pair of scissors, run back to the lake, and Cassie cuts the swan free. The girls told us about it years later.”
“Gutsy.” Jack looked toward Cassie again. She was laughing at something Fiona had opened. Cassie was so beautiful. So very much alive, like she held the sun in her hand and doled out joy to the world. “And lucky.”
“A warrior,” Dan said.
Jack continued watching her. Somehow all the pieces seemed to fit together. No wonder they seemed so right together at times. They were so alike, wanting the world to be fair and just and kind. Wanting to trust, to find someone they could be safe with, but knowing all too well how rare that trustworthiness was.
He began to see Cassie in a new light. A trusting light. A light that beckoned his heart closer. What if it wasn’t his conscience bothering him about his debts, but his soul telling him that she was the one person he could trust with his heart?
“Here,” Jack said. “Let me take that.”
“I can carry a bag of empty pop cans,” Cassie insisted, wishing he’d go into another room. It was too much—having him here, acting like they were a couple. “It’s about as heavy as a box of toothpicks.”
“I’m supposed to be helping,” he said.
“I told you that you didn’t have to stay,” she said. “Didn’t I?”
He just looked at her as if he could see past all her objections and pretenses and subterfuges, and look straight into her soul. Like he could read her fears and knew the answer to each and every one of them. An answer that was found in his arms. Or was that her own crazy heart telling her where to go?
She deposited the bag just outside the back door. “We’ve been cleaning up after parties and picnics ever since we were kids,” she said. “We’ve got the routine down pat.”
“I can see that,” he said. “But another body can’t help but make things go faster.”
“It’s not that simple.”
What wasn’t so simple was her feelings, Cassie thought, and picked up a sponge. Jack was a nice guy, a great guy. Just standing near him made her heart race and her thoughts get all jumbled up like tangled spaghetti. He deserved better than her, she told herself. She should send him on his way—not just tonight, but completely. Trouble was, she was just too damn weak.
“Here, let me wipe down these counters.”
Turning completely spineless, Cassie let him take the sponge from her grasp. She looked into his blue eyes and decided that was all she was giving up.
Fortunately for her, he applied himself to cleaning the countertops, saving her from the need to fight for her principles—not something she was up to doing at this hour of the night. Not when she was starting to doubt their value.
“Boy, Cassie.” Her father laughed as he stepped into the kitchen. “You’re a real slave driver.”
“I didn’t tell him to stay.”
“Cassie.” Fiona had followed along after their father. “Jack’s such a gentleman. Why do you have to be mean to him?”
Because she couldn’t afford not to be. Her defenses were so weak; the only way to keep him at a distance was to take the offensive.
“Here.” Fiona stepped forward and took the sponge from Jack. “Let me do that.”
“Am I fired already?” Jack exclaimed. “What did I do wrong?”
“You’re not doing anything wrong,” Fiona replied as she wiped the cabinets. “Guys just never wipe counters right.”
Jack frowned. “Not only am I a failure, but so is my whole gender.”
“Cassie,” Samantha hissed.
“I didn’t fire him and I didn’t insult him,” Cassie retorted, glaring at her sister. “Fiona did.”
“Well, you know how fussy Fiona is,” Samantha said. “You should have stopped her.”
I didn’t tell him to stay! Cassie wanted to scream out, wanting to fling the words until they bounced off her sisters’ heads, but they stayed buried in her throat. And that was just as well. Because they would have been a lie. She did want him to stay. Not just here to help, but at her side. A crazy, dangerous thought.
She was tired, that was all. She would think more clearly in the morning.
“Looks like everything’s under control here,” Cassie said. “I think I’ll head for the barn.”
“You should have let me drive you,” Jack said, suddenly at her side again. “Then you wouldn’t be driving home alone.”
“That’s okay,” she replied. That would have been all she needed, cooped up with him in a car. She would never start thinking clearly. “I had to come earlier than you. But thanks anyway.”
Her brother Bobby had just come in, his hands all greasy, and she handed him a paper towel. Somebody must be having a problem with their car.
“I’ll follow you home,” Jack said.
Right. And then, once they got there, he would have to walk her to her door. Where they would talk and she would be in Jack’s arms in about two sec
onds flat.
“There’s no need for that,” Cassie told him. “We’re even.”
“It would be a challenge to find another route,” Jack said. “And we aren’t even.”
“No, thank you. And we are.”
“You never heard of interest?” He frowned at her. “Actually, I have to follow you. I get lost real easy. Especially when I’m driving around in a new town in the dark.”
“Ask one of my brothers for directions,” Cassie snapped. “They know these streets better than I do.”
The skin grew tight around his eyes for a moment and Cassie felt sorry about her sharp words. But damn it, this was for the best. She had her life the way she wanted it and she wasn’t looking for any changes. No matter what her silly heart wanted her to believe.
They shared a long silence; Jack’s blue eyes slowly faded to black. She wanted to look away but wouldn’t be the first one to do it.
“Why don’t I walk you to your truck?” he suggested quietly.
“Sure,” she said. What would be the harm in that? It would be rude to refuse all his offers. Turning to her siblings, Cassie said, “Good night, all.”
“Boy, is it that late?”
“We have to get going.”
“Yeah, we promised the baby-sitter we’d be home early.”
“Good night, Dad.”
Cassie frowned at her brothers and sisters. They usually dribbled out when leaving an affair. And it wasn’t all that late— only about ten o’clock.
“Isn’t there some cleaning up to do yet?” Cassie asked. “I could stay and help.”
“Oh, no,” Samantha insisted. “There’re just a few things,”
“Are you sure?” Cassie asked.
“Yes,” her sister said firmly. “Now go. All of you.”
Once they stepped out into the hall, Jack took her arm and the rest of the tribe trooped out after them, down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk.
As they reached her truck, Cassie slowly withdrew her arm. It took more effort than she’d expected but then that was the way things sometimes went. Especially on a warm Indiana night in June, when the sky was dark with the promise of rain and the humid air was soft like velvet.
Cassie stopped for a split second and fought the inclination to run, screaming, down the street. What was wrong with her? She’d never been poetic in her life. She hated poetry.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Jack said.
Cassie couldn’t help laughing. She never was too good at pretending that things were different than they actually were.
“All right,” he said. “Samantha invited me. But you agreed.”
“Yes, I did.” She could feel her face fall into a soft smile. “And I’m glad you came.”
“Even if I wasn’t needed?”
“You helped,” she said. “And your willingness to help more counted a lot.”
They were drawing closer and closer. Her heart was starting to race and her breath was ragged. Where were all those principles she’d been protecting? She couldn’t find them, and didn’t care. She was so tired of being lonely, so tired of fighting to be strong. So tired of telling her heart not to care. She leaned—
Something was wrong. Cassie pulled away from Jack and discovered that everybody was still hanging around. They should have been in their cars by now. Even Sam and Dad had stepped out onto the porch. What the hell were they doing?
“I have to go.” Cassie’s voice was brusque and her movements quick. She was inside her truck in one flash of a bunny’s tail, slamming the door and rolling down the window. “I’ll see you Tuesday evening for the twins’ swimming lesson.”
He waved and stepped back.
Cassie turned on her lights, put the key in the ignition, and turned it.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath. Now what? She leaned out her window. “Bobby!”
He ambled over at the same rate of speed he’d used when their mother called him back to clean up after himself. Was it her or was her whole family developing an attitude?
“Yeah?” he asked.
“My car won’t start,” Cassie replied. “Nothing’s happening.”
“Your lights work, so the battery’s okay.”
Cassie nodded as she released the hood latch. Bobby was good, the best. He’d have her going in a matter of minutes.
“I don’t know.” He rubbed his chin. “Could be complicated.”
“Could be a lot of things,” she told him. “Why don’t you lift up the hood and look?”
“Too dark.”
There was a streetlight right in front of them. And she knew that among them all, they had enough flashlights to illuminate half of St. Joseph County.
“I remember you fixing cars by candlelight,” Cassie snapped. “Besides, I know that you guys all have flashlights in your cars.”
“Too much glare.”
“Aw, come off it, Bobby. Quit jerking me around and fix the damn thing.”
“I’ll look at it in the morning,” Bobby said. “Besides, I’ve got a feeling that I’ll need parts.”
“How can you tell?” she asked. “You didn’t even lay your hands on the hood.”
“Now don’t get testy, sister, dear. We’ll get you a ride home.”
Cassie threw herself back on her seat. She didn’t want a ride. She wanted to drive home herself—drive to her house, take Ollie for his walk, and plop into bed. She didn’t want to put up with another human being until morning at the earliest.
“Anybody got room for Cassie?” Bobby asked.
There was a rumble of words that she couldn’t make out but she certainly sensed their negative tone. What the heck was with them? She knew they had room in their vans or cars.
“I’ll be glad to take her home.”
It was a male voice, but not one of her brothers or her father.
“Hey, that’ll work.” Bobby leaned his elbow in her open window. “Jack will take you home, Cass.”
“How convenient.”
“Now, don’t be getting hostile here,” Bobby whispered to her out of the side of his mouth. “He’s a nice guy and the only one making the offer.”
“This whole thing feels very well rehearsed to me,” she hissed back.
Bobby shook his head before pushing off and opening her door. “She’s a little out of sorts, but don’t pay her no mind,” he murmured to Jack. “She gets really attached to her trucks.”
Damn it. Cassie kicked her door right into Bobby. “Oh, excuse me,” she said, trying to force sugar into her tones.
They were ganging up on her—not that it was the first time. She would have appealed to her father, but for all she knew he was involved in this charade, too. If it weren’t so dark and if she wasn’t so tired, she would have taken the time to find the wire that she was sure Bobby had pulled. Or would have walked home. It wasn’t all that far.
“You can leave your car right there, Cassie,” Sam said. “We’ll look out for it.”
“I’ll come by and look at it first thing in the morning,” Bobby assured her.
“Don’t forget to leave your keys with Bobby,” Fiona warned.
Cassie wished she were ten years old again, then she could scream and kick the stuffing out of her siblings. Being an adult wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
But this wasn’t the end of it. She would go home, rest and be ready to fight another day. Jerking the truck key off its chain, she slammed it into Bobby’s hand. She hoped it stung him as much as it did her. Then she turned and stalked toward Jack’s car, presuming he would follow.
Neither said a word as Jack opened the passenger door for her. Cassie climbed up into the minivan and sat in the passenger seat. Jack closed her door, then came around to the driver’s side, quietly getting in himself. Cassie leaned against the door as he pulled away, letting the farewells of her sappy siblings fade away behind them.
It w
as several blocks before Jack broke the silence. “Your family is very nice,” he said. “I enjoyed meeting them.”
“They’re sneaky, conniving, scheming twerps,” she declared. And nice.
Although Cassie wasn’t in any mood to admit it. But, yeah, they were nice. Nice, caring, and loving. They were all kinds of things, positive and negative, rolled up into one big, lumpy, asymmetrical ball.
“Kind of makes a person wish they’d come from a big family themselves.”
Surprised, Cassie realized for the first time that Jack might be lonely. She had never thought of him in that light. All she saw was his successful professional career, his beautiful children, and the fact that just about everyone in the world, or at least the male half, knew who he was and wanted to be his friend. The women just wanted him.
“Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” He flashed that little-boy grin of his. “Daddy always said to play the cards that were dealt you and don’t complain. Said the Lord doesn’t like whiners.”
They fell into another silence, broken only when he pulled up in front of her house and turned off the ignition.
“I like your house,” he said. “Have you lived here long?”
“About a year.”
Cassie’s inclination was to get out and run in, but Jack seemed to want to talk. She held herself still, figuring she needed to quit running from him. Or maybe it was more a case of running from herself. She sighed.
“I buy old houses and refurbish them while I live in them. This is the third house I’m doing, but I’m almost done with it.”
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a full life,” he said.
Cassie shrugged. Yeah, it was full—full of things, mostly. Although she did have her sisters, brothers, and father. There really was no need to complain. Fate had dealt her a more-thanreasonable hand.
“I should be getting in,” Cassie said. “Ollie’s been locked up for a while now.”
“Look, we really have to have dinner,” he said. “A real dinner that I pay for.”
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