“Lasagna. It’s my mother’s recipe.”
Cassie smiled, and then stilled. “Your mother’s recipe?”
She’d met Harmony’s parents once and they were both throwbacks to the hippie era. Sweet as could be but a little too organic/free range/grown-with-love for her to completely understand. She couldn’t imagine what would go into that lasagna.
Harmony chuckled as she rinsed her hands in the sink. “I know what you’re thinking. No tofu, I promise. The only thing that’s a little different about this recipe is that it uses goat cheese instead of ricotta.”
“Ooh, goat cheese is delicious. I had some at a farm in Northern Italy once. Sat right in the courtyard with the bleating goats while we ate.”
“You went to a farm?”
“I went all over Europe, Harmony. And not just the nightclubs and shops.”
“I’d love to go to Europe. I’ve rarely been out of Florida my whole life.”
“Hey, I’ve been everywhere my whole life and look how I turned out.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Put yourself down. You’re you, Cassie. We love you, no matter what made you the way you are.”
Cassie couldn’t argue, not staring straight into Harmony’s genuine gaze. She glanced out the French doors toward the backyard. “And what way am I?
“Gun shy, I’d say. A little hesitant to join in. But sweet and kind and funny.”
Yes, she supposed she was gun shy and standoffish, but Harmony hadn’t said it like she thought Cassie was a bitch. Not like some of the girls in her circle had said time and again.
Cassie looked back at her sister-in-law. “Really? That’s how you see me?”
“I know you don’t see it, but having you here has been so nice for Rick. He really missed you.”
“I missed him, too. And Jake. I don’t want to think about leaving.”
“Why would you leave?”
Cassie opened her mouth to give a reason but couldn’t come up with one just then. “I have to figure things out. Maybe if my job works out Jake will let me stay on.”
Harmony grinned and Cassie didn’t have the heart to burst her happy little bubble. She really didn’t think there would ever be a permanent place for her anywhere, especially Cypress Corners.
Harmony snapped her fingers. “Oh, you have mail on the table in the front hall.”
“Mail? I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten mail.”
Harmony scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m totally serious. I never had an address long enough and who was going to write me anyway?” She walked back into the foyer and picked up the thick white envelope, turning it over to read the return address. “Hmm. It’s from my bank up in Boston. I haven’t touched that account in years.”
“How did you live?” Harmony teased.
“I just used credit cards Bill took out for me. Hey, I’m not proud of it but that was just the way we Chapmans do things. Or did them, anyway.”
Cassie opened the envelope and found a bank statement folded inside. It didn’t show much of a total but she had just over twelve hundred dollars in the balance. The dates of the deposits were all from this past month and from the Cypress Development Company.
“Rick must have set up my direct deposit,” she mused aloud.
“That’s Rick. He always thinks of the things that need to be done.”
Cassie nodded as she looked at the entries. She’d actually earned this money. She’d worked and gotten paid a wage and had taxes taken out and had her own money.
“It’s not much but it’s mine,” she said.
“What’s that?” Harmony asked.
“Nothing.” Smiling, Cassie tucked the statement back in the envelope and stuck it in her big bag. She walked back toward the kitchen. “Let me help you make the salad or something.”
“I’m not going to say no,” Harmony said, waving a hand toward the fridge. “Have at it.”
After dinner she sat with Nick and watched some Star Wars Lego thing. This domestic family stuff was really nice and she could get used to the love she felt in this house. And from Jake and Claire, too.
“Okay, I have news,” Rick said, his voice tight.
Cassie’s nerves tingled and she looked at her big brother. Had the photos resurfaced? Was there more evidence of her stupidity pinging around the atmosphere?
“Spill it, Rick.”
He looked evenly at her. “Bill’s here.”
Cassie’s stomach dropped to her toes. “What? When?”
“I told you he was coming, sis.”
“Forewarned is forearmed,” Harmony put in, coming close to Rick to cuddle in tight. “Promise me we don’t have to go to dinner with him.”
Cassie could see how much Harmony hated their father. Or at least how much she hated how he treated Rick.
“What does he want?” Cassie asked.
“He wants to sit down with you, me and Jake. Dinner at the Clubhouse and no, Harmony, you don’t have to come.”
“Thank you, honey.” She slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t like being around that negativity. Call me all touchy-feeling like my mom but it’s not a good time.”
“Imagine what your mother would say about Bill’s aura?” Rick said, adding a needed touch of levity.
“I suppose he’s calling me home.” Cassie folded her arms. “Like some kind of pet. Maybe a Chihuahua.”
“I don’t think so. He just said he wanted to talk to all three of us.”
Harmony stiffened. “Tell me Tiffany isn’t here, too?”
Cassie watched Rick’s face darken. “He didn’t mention her, and he usually does. Like she’s an actual part of the family.”
“That’s something, then,” Cassie said.
Tiffany was their father’s fourth wife and a total bitch. Not a standoffish, hesitant kind of misunderstood bitch but one who would flirt with her stepsons, deride her stepdaughter and call anyone who was a little bit different a freak.
“Oh, that woman.” Harmony waved her hands in a move probably meant to clear the air. “Let’s not borrow trouble.”
Cassie agreed. “So when is this dinner, dare I ask?”
“Tomorrow night. Around six.”
“I don’t suppose I could tell him I’m busy?” she asked.
Rick just laughed softly and threw his arm around her. “No way. You’ve been able to skate out of these dinners for years, Cassie. It’s time you join us.”
“Misery loves company,” Harmony quipped.
Cassie found a smile. “That it does.”
***
Saturday morning Ty picked Riley up at Hank’s. He’d been worried that the guy would decide to renege but apparently there was a gun show up in Orlando again and Hank was busting a gut to go there. He wanted to ask if Hank made sure to lock up all his firearms but he knew when to shut up. He didn’t want to poke the bear.
So today they would have Riley until three o’clock. It wasn’t much but they’d make due. It was Memorial Day Weekend and he was looking down the business end of a three-day weekend for once. No tours on Monday. Sales Center and Cypress Institute closed. Only the restaurants, shops and recreation would be open for visitors and residents.
As he drove back into Cypress, Riley chattering on to the Minnie doll he’d brought for her, he saw all the Americana decorations leading up to the town square. The streetlamps were hung with red, white and blue bunting and flags flew from every available space. It was really kind of pretty, but he barely noticed. He was too busy thinking about the week he’d had with hardly any Cassie in it.
Sure, the sex their one night together had blown his mind. Holding her after for as long as he wanted was really good, too. He couldn’t help but feel like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, though. There was an end date to her time in Cypress, even if she hadn’t set one. It was like she had one foot out the door.
Hank’s words last Saturday night still
echoed in his head, too. Ty himself didn’t give a shit about whatever had gone down with the tabloids and those racy pictures. Giving into temptation one night he’d googled them and they weren’t all that bad. A lot of skin but nothing like some girls got away with in her situation. More stuff did come up about the kind of people she ran around with but he wouldn’t guilt her by association. Hank sure as hell would, though. Just how determined was he to use Cassie’s so-called reputation against Ty and his mother?
“Lousy piece of—” He bit off the rest of his sentence and threw a smile over his shoulder at Riley. “Hey, sweetie. Want to go to the water fountains today? It’s nice and warm outside.”
“Ooh, yes! I love the fountains!”
The lakeshore across from Rick and Harmony’s neighborhood had the most-developed recreation area. In addition to hiking paths and boat rentals there were fishing docks and playground equipment and a water feature that boasted dancing fountains and kid-friendly squirt stations. It was just right for a kid Riley’s age, and Ty got a kick out of it when she squealed and ran around like a demon. It had been some time since he’d taken her to a place like that. St. Cloud had a large water park near Hank’s house but Ty hadn’t seen her play in the water since September. But now that Ty lived in Cypress and the fountains were right here? He’d take advantage of them. The outing would do his mother a lot of good, too.
She’d been more tired lately, and he knew it was because she was trying to do too much. On days she went into the town center and hung out with Lettie, she was bright and relaxed in the evenings. But the other days, when she spent her time cooped up in the house and cleaning, she looked worn out when he stopped by the house.
“Let’s get Grandma to come with us, Riley,” Ty said. “What do you think?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Laughing, he pulled into the garage and put his mother on the task of getting the little girl dressed in her bathing suit and slathered up with sunblock. He pulled on board shorts and a T-shirt and slid into flip-flops. He knew Riley would need minding and he didn’t want his mother to have to worry about chasing her through the water jets.
Armed with beach towels, hats and more sunblock for later, the three of them got out of the Camry and hurried toward the fountains.
“Ty, this was a lovely idea,” his mother said, a big smile on her face. “I might just join Riley in the water jets.”
“Mom, I would pay to see that,” Ty teased.
He found a couple of lounges set beneath a sprawling live oak and set their stuff down. His mother got settled and waved him away.
“I’ll watch this stuff, Ty. Go. Take our little sprite into the jets before she bursts.”
Riley looked so excited she was practically spinning. “Come on, Uncle Ty!”
He didn’t really have to go under the jets with her but he stripped his shirt off and kicked the flip flops under the lounger. “Okay, sweetie. Okay.”
The waters were dancing as they made their way onto the large, round rubberized surface. There were several kids running in and out of the vertical pillars of water, yelling and whooping and having a blast. Ty held onto Riley’s hand and tugged her toward the smaller bubblers set around the perimeter.
“Look at this one, Riley.”
He put his foot over it and the water spread to spray Riley’s legs and belly. She laughed and squealed and began to pinwheel her arms as she ran around in small circles.
“That’s it.” He stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Go, girl!”
One of the large water pillars chose that second to shoot up right in front of him, soaking him head to toe. He pulled back and bumped into another wet body, this one taller than one of the kids’. Turning, he saw it was Cassie. She grinned up at him. Her hands were on her hips and she was wearing some smoking hot bikini she must have bought in Paris or someplace he’d never been. It was purple and small and clung to every sweet curve on her body.
“Hey, Ty.” She tilted her head and her wet ponytail fell over one shoulder. “Great minds.”
“Think alike, yeah.” He brushed his wet hair back from his face. “It’s good to see you.”
“I can tell,” she teased.
He knew he wasn’t giving anything away in his baggy board shorts so he resisted the urge to glance down to make sure.
“Maybe you should come closer,” he teased right back.
“Cassie!” Riley yelled with obvious excitement.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” Cassie said.
Riley ran off, yelling again when she saw Rick and Harmony’s son Nick. The two of them started flapping their arms, looking like flying fish as they dodged and crashed through the water jets and bubblers.
“So how long do you have her today?” Cassie asked.
“Just until three.” He watched the two kids a little bit more. “We’re making the best of the day, though.”
“Nick begged me to take him here and I thought I’d give Rick and Harmony some alone time.”
Water shot up again, coming down to course over her skin to pool between her breasts. He struggled to keep his eyes on her beautiful face instead of her ridiculously hot body. It was tough, though.
“So what are you doing for dinner tonight?” he asked. And after, but that was for a later conversation when there weren’t so many pairs of little ears in the vicinity.
“Tonight? My brothers and I are having dinner with our father, believe it or not.”
She looked confused and worried but before Ty could say any words of encouragement Riley chose that exact moment to grab Cassie around her legs, sending her barreling into him. He caught her tight up against him and she felt so good. Hot skin, cool water, smooth and slick and just right against his chest. The two of them fought to stay upright as they got caught in a water pillar.
Laughing, they clung to each other and he braced his legs apart for better leverage. After staring down into her face he somehow fought the desire to kiss the hell out of her.
He leaned back. “You okay?”
She brushed a strand of wet hair out of her eyes and smiled. “Yeah.” Her hand settled over his heart. “Very okay.”
He was starting to get hard in his board shorts now and wouldn’t that just be fantastic right then? Setting her from him, he took a breath.
“Dinner with your father?”
“Yeah. I have no idea what I’m going to say to him. Or what he’s going to say to me, for that matter.” Her brows knit. “I’m a big girl. I can do this.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Your brothers will be there. They’ll have your back. They always do.”
She brightened a little. “You noticed that, did you?”
He nodded. “Call me tonight if you need to talk.”
“I think I’m going to need to drink, but okay.”
The moment stretched until he put a little bit more distance between them. They stepped back, side by side, and watched the kids having a blast. They looked so free and happy. Without a care in the world. He wanted that for once. To just let go and not worry about his mother’s health and his niece’s well-being. He was learning, though. Trying to take some time just for himself. And what did he want to do with that time?
Spend it with Cassie. For as long as she let him.
Chapter 19
Cassie sat in the passenger seat of Rick’s SUV. She’d dressed for the Clubhouse, in a wrap dress of deep burgundy with her hair brushed to one side. She wore black heels and was armed with her favorite studded leather clutch purse. Her heart had been beating double time since she’d gotten ready for this dinner, and she couldn’t seem to calm herself. The vehicle rolled swiftly toward the center of Cypress. And their imminent dinner with their father.
“What do you think he’s going to do to me?” she asked.
“What makes you think this trip is about you?” Jake asked from the backseat.
“I’m the one he banished here, Jake. I’m the big disappointment.”
; “This time,” Rick said, gripping the wheel. “We’ve all had our share of horrible dinners with Bill. At least Tiffany won’t be there.”
“Do you know that for sure?” Jake asked. “I’d like to think we can have a meal without stepmom groping me under the table.”
“Eww, she does that?” Cassie asked.
“Yep,” her brothers answered at the same time.
She gave a shudder. “I don’t know what I’m going to say. Or what he’s going to say. What if he sends me up to Boston? Or what if he decides I need to stay here?”
“It sounds like you don’t know which scenario would be worse,” Rick said.
“I don’t,” she admitted.
“You better decide, Cass,” Jake said. “Bill can’t make you do what you don’t want to. Whatever that turns out to be.”
She blew out a breath. “If you two are going to be rational, I can’t have this conversation with you.”
Jake leaned forward and tugged on her hair. “Easy, brat. We got this.”
She looked back at him, seeing the sincerity stamped on his face. She faced forward again. “Thanks, guys.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” Rick said as they pulled into the Clubhouse parking lot.
“Yeah. You never know how these things are going to go.”
She sighed. “Wonderful.”
Rick parked and the three of them went through the large entrance hall toward the hostess station.
“Good evening, Rick,” the hostess said with a smile. She nodded to Jake and Cassie. “Mr. Chapman is already seated.
The hostess escorted them to a table near the wide windows that framed the rolling hills of the golf course beyond. Her brothers bracketed her to the front and back as they headed for their father’s table.
“This is weird,” Jake said, bending down to Cassie’s ear.
“Why?” Cassie asked him.
“Bill usually prefers to be in the center of things,” Rick answered. “The guy everyone watches.”
If that were true, maybe she had a lot more to worry about than she already was. It wasn’t a secluded table but, set as it was a bit apart from the nearby tables, it would give him enough privacy to say whatever the hell he’d come to say tonight.
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