She’d tried to sound off-hand but wasn’t sure she pulled it off.
“Not very. She’s been at the Institute for some time, though.”
“You’ve never had her out to the tent-cabin?”
His eyes widened. “Nope.”
Just that one word put her fears to rest. What was she thinking, anyway?
“Look, I have no right to ask you about your dating habits, Ty.”
He shrugged one of those big shoulders of his. “Like I told you, I’m no choirboy. I’m also not a man whore, either.”
She laughed. “Good to know.”
“And a damn shame,” Lettie said to their right.
The woman was watching them, a small smile on her patrician features. Cassie felt her cheeks flame but she held herself steady.
“Good morning, Lettie,” she said.
“Good morning, Cassie dear.” Lettie’s eyes ran over Ty. “And Tyler Walsh, you’re looking mighty fine this morning.”
“Good to see you, Mrs. Fairfax.”
She laughed, a throaty easy sound. Cassie found herself smiling.
“Oh, Ty! You don’t have to be so formal with me. You forget I’m close friends with your mama.”
“Know all my secrets, do you?” he teased.
Lettie’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, I know lots of secrets. Everyone knows I pride myself on being the soul of discretion, however.”
Despite the woman’s words, Cassie wasn’t going to divulge a thing to her. Not about Ty and not about her own mess she’d left behind when she’d run here.
“Well, I have to get back to the Institute,” she said. “Have a good one.”
“You too, dear.” Again, Lettie eyed Ty. “You too.”
Ty chuckled as they made their way back to the Institute. “Lettie’s a character. She is a good friend to my mom, though.”
“She keeps things interesting,” Cassie offered. “That’s for sure.”
Ty once more let her take the lead as they entered the Institute. At the sight of her desk, her heart sank a little bit. Then she stepped around and saw that everything was neat and tidy. Her sister-in-law wasn’t to be found, though.
Taking Harmony’s drink from Ty, she placed it and hers on the desk. “Harmony?”
Harmony popped in from just down the hall. “I forwarded the calls to my desk and straightened up. I hope you don’t mind.”
Cassie could have kissed her. “Not in the least.”
Harmony bit her lip, and then smiled. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day, Cassie? Becky will be back tomorrow and we have a light day today.”
Cassie exchanged a knowing look with Ty, and then slid Harmony a smirk. “And you don’t need to fix and straighten again, is that it?”
“Sorry, sweetie.” Harmony took her coffee cup and breathed in. “Mmm, thanks for the coffee. Now, go. Go home and take it easy.”
Cassie’s heart sank all the way to her toes this time. “I always take it easy.”
“What?” Harmony asked.
Cassie beamed a smile at her. “Nothing. Thanks, Harmony. For everything. I think I’ll take the afternoon to figure out my next job.”
“Rick wants you to come by the Sales Center tomorrow.”
Cassie nodded. “I know. I should take the tour today.”
“That’s a great idea,” Harmony said.
“I’ll walk you over,” Ty said.
“And give Lettie more ammo? I don’t think so.”
Ty frowned a little, and then shrugged. “Anything the lady wants. After all, I’m a gentleman.”
His words reminded her of last night in his bed. He’d given control over to her and she’d played with him to her heart’s content. She wanted to be in his company for just a little while longer. She could admit that to herself. It was a bummer that she had to admit that in front of Harmony, though.
“Oh, okay. I can’t say no to a gentleman.”
Ty smiled and they left the Institute.
“You can’t say no, huh?” he teased, his voice low.
“Never mind.” She sipped at her coffee. “Just so you know, saying no has never been my problem.”
He arched a brow and she waved her free hand. “Not like that!” she rushed out. “Jeez, you’re going to think I’m as easy to make as a sandwich.”
“No, Cassie.” He wore that intense expression she’d seen last night. “I don’t think that.”
She met his gaze and the sidewalk tilted a little bit beneath her. He was so tempting. She hadn’t been lying, though. Saying no was never her problem. Saying no to more drinks, no to off-the-hook parties and no to bad boys she just should have ignored had never been the usual for her. Those were things she’d agreed to in a heartbeat, to her regret now. Ty, though? He was in a completely different class.
She wanted to say yes to Ty. Over and over again.
Chapter 7
By the end of the week, Ty felt like he was about to crawl out of his skin. After leaving Cassie in her brother’s capable hands at the Sales Center, he’d gone hiking in the wilder parts of Cypress to lose himself. And work off his frustration. Just being near her made his blood heat. After about an hour he couldn’t hide any longer but at least she was no longer at the Institute to drive him crazy when he’d gone back there.
He’d smelled her scent, though. That flowery sweet smell of her that had lingered on his sheets after she’d left that first night. When Becky had taken up her post again on Wednesday, he’d been relieved and not just because he would be sure to get his messages.
He’d caught glimpses of Cassie a couple of times, though. Coming or going from the Sales Center. Dressed and polished and looking like a female version of Rick. He liked her mussed and rumpled much better, though. Maybe he should suggest to Rick that she take one of the eco-tours with him. That would mess her up a little bit. She looked so unapproachable when she was pressed and starched.
Now it was Friday afternoon and he’d already checked in with Dr. Robbins before heading home. As he stepped out of the Institute he heard someone call his name. Glancing over at Lettie’s favorite table, he saw his mother sat there as well. She was wearing a big smile he couldn’t help but return as he made his way along the walk toward them.
“Hi, Mom. Mrs. Fairfax.”
Lettie nodded and his mother clasped her hands in obvious delight. “We’re getting Riley overnight, Ty!”
His mouth dropped open. “That’s terrific. Why?”
She frowned at him. “Why? I don’t know why. I didn’t ask.”
Ty turned a free chair around and straddled it, facing the two women. He knew his mother confided in Lettie and had no qualms about discussing Riley in front of her.
“There has to be a reason Hank is suddenly being magnanimous.”
“I’m taking it for the gift it is, son. We’ll have our little girl from tomorrow morning until you bring her back on Sunday.”
“What time?”
Ty knew Hank never left things open-ended. Not where Tracy’s family was concerned. His mother fiddled with her napkin.
“Mom?”
“You have to pick her up at ten o’clock tomorrow morning and bring her back at five o’clock on Sunday afternoon.”
He thought for a minute. Hank had to have something lined up for Saturday night. Something loud and rowdy that would call his friends on the police force to come out and quickly dismiss.
“Linda must be going out of town,” he guessed out loud.
“I guess so,” his mother said. “She takes such good care of Riley, though.”
Ty couldn’t argue with that. Hank’s long-suffering wife was very good with Riley if a little cold. He couldn’t really blame her, though. She’d raised his kids to adulthood and then her husband brings home the child of his barely-legal late girlfriend? It had to be a lot to take.
“Then we have to make sure we give Riley a good time,” he said.
His mother beamed at him. “Maybe we can have a picnic out by the lake.”
>
Ty shook his head. “That might be too much, Mom. Let’s just play it by ear?”
“Did I hear someone mention a picnic?” Harmony called as she approached the table.
Ty smiled at Rick’s wife. “We have Riley this weekend.”
Harmony smiled. “Oh, your sister’s little girl! Then that settles it. You’re coming to the barbeque we’re having on Sunday. You will have her on Sunday, won’t you?”
“All afternoon,” his mother answered. “And we would love to come. What can we bring?”
“Just yourselves and that sweet little girl. I don’t think I’ve seen her but once. Rick will be pleased you’ve finally relented about coming to our house on a Sunday.”
He acknowledged to himself that he’d avoided going to Rick’s house for their frequent Sunday get-togethers every time they’d asked him. He had his reasons, though. Most Sundays his mother was tired from trying to make their time with Riley the best ever. And just as often, he’d been so pissed and guilty that he’d had to take the little girl home to Hank yet again.
He’d never had better friends than the Chapmans, but he and his mother had so little time with Riley that he hadn’t been able to show her off to his friends like he’d always wanted to. Ty wanted to decline this time, though. Not because he was stingy with the little girl’s company. No. Because Cassie would be there and how would she feel with him and his family horning in on them? And, worse, what if Rick and Harmony thought he only accepted this time because Cassie was there now?
“We’ll be happy to come, Harmony,” he said. “Thanks so much.”
“Terrific. Wait until I tell Rick!”
Harmony hurried over to the Sales Center and Ty knew it would soon be set in stone. He was going to the Chapmans’ house on Sunday and taking Riley with him.
“It’ll be good for Riley to be around their sweet boy, Nick,” Lettie said.
“Oh, yes,” his mother said. “I don’t think she’s around many children near her age.”
Ty fell silent. No, she wasn’t. Riley was kept in that big house with no one for company but a somber stepmother and a cantankerous redneck father.
“I’d better go home and get things ready,” his mother said.
Ty reached out to cover her hand with his. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. Just tell me what needs to be done and I’ll take care of it.”
His mother frowned at him. “Now Thomas Tyler, I don’t need you babying me.”
Lettie’s eyes lit with laughter Ty ignored. “I’m not.”
“Sharon, listen to the boy,” Lettie said. “You don’t want to be tired when that pretty little baby comes to visit, do you?”
Ty could have kissed Lettie right then and there.
“No.” His mother sighed. “Okay, Ty. Let’s go to the market and pick up a few things for our little angel.”
Ty nodded his thanks to Lettie as he and his mother left her at her table.
“So what should we make for dinner tomorrow night? Oh, we haven’t had Riley over for dinner in such a long time.”
“I’m thinking maybe mac and cheese?”
She eyed him, and then smiled. “Her Uncle Ty’s favorite, hmm? Okay, mac and cheese it is.”
Ty walked with his mother to the market to load up on goodies for Riley. It was good to focus on tomorrow since Sunday was still looming over his head. The barbeque at Rick and Harmony’s should be torture.
How was he going to be so close to Cassie without her family, and his mother, guessing just how much he wanted her?
***
Cassie’s breath whooshed from her lungs as the little body slammed down onto her.
“Aunt Cassie! Aunt Cassie!” Nick shouted. “Get up, Aunt Cassie!”
Cassie gently shoved him off of her and opened her eyes. “Hey there, Nick.”
The little boy beamed down at her, his face close to hers. She gazed into his hazel eyes, so like Harmony’s, and smiled. She was starting to feel more comfortable around the bundle of energy but, jeez, it was early.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re having a barbeque, Aunt Cassie. And a friend is coming over to play with me this time.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Nick hopped off the bed and she threw back the covers.
“Ty is bringing his little girl. Riley,” he said.
Cassie stilled, and then swung her legs off the side of the bed. “Ty has a daughter?”
“Not a daughter, Aunt Cassie. A little girl.”
She blinked, trying to process what Nick was telling her. If Ty had a daughter that would explain why he only stayed out at the tent-cabin a few days a week. Oh, man. Was it his own personal love shack?
A glance at her phone on the nightstand showed her it wasn’t quite eight o’clock. Sunlight slanted through the blinds against the windows and she stretched her arms toward the ceiling.
“Where’s your mom?”
“Mommy’s making breakfast. Mommy makes great pancakes.”
“I bet she does.”
“Aunt Claire is bringing treats later, too. Have you had Aunt Claire’s cookies?”
“I haven’t.” She ran a brush through her hair. “Pretty good, are they?”
“Yes. Mommy says they’re perfect and Uncle Jake says they’re just like Aunt Claire.”
Cassie smiled as she pictured her daredevil brother settled with someone like Claire. A woman who was sweet and smart and sharp who could keep Jake on his toes. Cassie was looking forward to spending the day with the family. Ty was coming? And he was bringing a child along? His child?
“So, do you play with Ty’s little girl a lot?” she asked Nick.
Nick shook his head and picked up Cassie’s brush. “No. She’s not here much.”
Cassie took the brush from him and ran it through his glossy black hair. “That’s too bad.”
Nick shrugged. “Mommy’s happy they’re bringing her today.” He squirmed away from the brush and grabbed her hand. “Come on, come on! Pancakes, Aunt Cassie. Pancakes!”
“You go. Let me brush my teeth and stuff and I’ll come in a minute.”
Nick nodded and dashed out of the room. Alone again, she began to worry about seeing Ty today. She hadn’t spoken with him since he’d brought her home after fooling around out at his little place on the far lakeshore. She’d seen him a couple of times that week, but only in passing. Maybe that was a good thing. Rick was trying his damnedest to get her on board in the Sales Center but even he couldn’t cram all that information into her head in only a couple of days. She’d never imagined there was so much to learn about the property.
The guest room had its own bathroom and she wondered about Ty and how he managed with his outhouse. Okay, it supposedly wasn’t an outhouse. Still, she couldn’t imagine going outside to pee and shower. No thanks.
Her bedroom at Rick and Harmony’s was very cozy, and decorated with the shabby chic vibe Ty had talked about on Monday night. Smoothing the pretty quilt as she made the bed, she wondered if the stuff here had been out at the tent-cabin. This bed wasn’t. She was sure of that. This bed was nice but that one out by the lake? That one was big and comfy and had Ty all over it.
She padded down to the kitchen to find Rick and Nick each digging into a stack of pancakes. Harmony waved the spatula at her as she deposited a few more on the platter in the center of the table.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning.” Cassie sniffed. “Nick wasn’t exaggerating. The pancakes smell delicious.”
“Dig in, sis.” Rick pulled out a chair for her. “Before Nick and I eat them all.”
Cassie laughed as she eyed the towering platter. “That would take some doing.”
“You haven’t seen these guys eat pancakes,” Harmony said.
Cassie walked over to the coffee maker and dropped in a pod. “I grew up with Rick and Jake, remember. Our mom was always making tons of food and I always had to fight to get my share.”
Harmony shook her
head. “I’m kind of hoping that Claire has a little girl.”
“Claire’s pregnant?” Cassie asked.
“No, no.” Harmony grabbed a coffee cup and handed it to her. “I just meant that when they have a baby it would be nice to balance the scales a little.”
Cassie poured and fixed her coffee then sat down at the table. “A little girl would be nice.” She took a pancake and began to cut it with the side of her fork. “Speaking of little girls, Nick said Ty has one?”
Harmony blinked at her, and then smiled. “Riley is his sister’s daughter. She's about three and a half now, I think. A little doll.”
“Is his sister coming today, too?” Cassie asked.
Harmony’s gaze slid toward Nick before she gave a little shake of her head. “No.”
Cassie sensed there was something more to the story. Was Ty estranged from his sister? She couldn’t imagine a guy who took care of his mother wouldn’t be close to his sister, too.
“Do you know her?” she asked.
Rick eyed their son, and then put down his fork. “Nick, could you grab the other syrup out of the fridge?” Nick nodded and hopped off his chair to run into the kitchen. Rick leaned forward. “Ty’s sister died about two years ago. Riley lives with her father’s family in St. Cloud.”
“Ty and his mother don’t get to see her more than once a week,” Harmony said.
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
“That’s the way it is,” Rick said. “Ty’s working on fixing it, though.”
Nick came back to the table so the adults dropped the subject. Cassie finished her breakfast and sipped her coffee as she puzzled over this new revelation about Ty. The guy had so much on his plate. His life was complicated and she was in the process of un-complicating her own. That realization was disheartening.
Harmony mentioned that everyone would be here by one, so that gave her time to figure out just how she was going to act around Ty and his family. It was bad enough that she had to hide the fact that she was so attracted to him she wanted to wrap herself around him every time he was near. Now she knew he had more to handle than alligators, and she didn’t know how she felt about that. He had a steadiness to him. Beneath that sparkling charm he had going. It was heady and addictive and now that she knew a little more about his life? He was so far out of her league.
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