by K. C. Crowne
Teddy chuckled. “You’re sure going through a lot of trouble to keep the gossip down.”
If only he knew the real reasons, but Teddy wouldn’t let me work through my plan. And without evidence to get the guy at the top, I would only be in more danger. We didn’t have enough evidence yet, and Hank was good at keeping himself hidden.
“The people in this town can be damned cruel,” I commented.
“I guess, but most of that’s died down since we caught the real bad guys, right?”
“People still talk, Teddy.”
“Listen, I know you’re just trying to do what’s best for your son and Cassie. I can tell you really love them,” he said, glancing at me. “It’ll get easier. People in this town will see that you’re not the person they thought you were, and soon, you can raise your family in peace.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so,” he continued. “And Madison and I are here to help, you know.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Of course. We’re family now.”
It was hard to believe that at one time, Teddy had been the bane of my existence. My whole family hated him, though we weren’t right to do so. He was the sheriff, the law in this town and my family was caught up in some shady stuff. I wasn’t an angel myself, but I was young and dumb, just trying to survive and to take care of my sister.
But now, things were different. My mom was clean. She hadn’t had a drink or any other illegal substances since well before my dad died. She was even holding down a job. Part-time for now, but she was answering phones for an insurance company in town and doing better than I’d ever seen her.
And, of course, Madison was married to the same sheriff that had once caused us all trouble. They had a beautiful daughter, a nice, large home, and a quiet life. She was finishing her degree and focused on becoming a therapist. I was proud of her.
I also wanted what she and Teddy had – stability. I wanted to get on the right track, to have a family and a house I could be proud of. I wanted to provide for Cassie and Owen the way Teddy provided for Madison and Zoey. I wanted to be on the right side of the law one day.
Teddy glanced back in the rear-view mirror and frowned.
“What?” I asked, trying to see behind us without being seen myself.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” he muttered.
“What did you see?”
“Just a car sitting awfully close to my bumper. Like they were following us, but they turned off.”
“Did you recognize the car?” I asked.
“No, the plates were from Tennessee.”
Tennessee? Hadn’t the guy who’d shown up in the alley at the handoff had a bit of a southern accent? Maybe I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t be sure it was a coincidence.
“Where should I drop you off?” Teddy asked.
“In town. Maybe behind the bar. I can walk home from there.”
“Alright, sounds like a plan,” Teddy said, turning down the road toward the bar.
It was Sunday. No bars were open on Sunday in Utah. Especially not at five in the morning. As he pulled into the gravel driveway, I sat up and peered out the windows. Not a car in sight.
As Teddy dropped me off, he hesitated before driving away. Winding down the window, he called out, “Take care of yourself, Jack.”
“I’ll try.” But my first priority was taking care of my son and his mother. They would always come first.
Cassie
“Zoey, meet your baby cousin,” Madison cooed, holding her daughter so she could look down at Owen in my arms.
Zoey grinned and reached her tiny hands out. She was only about ten months older than Owen but compared to how small he was, she looked so big. It was hard to believe that one day, my little boy would be as big as she was - and learning to walk and babble on and on like her, too.
“It’s going to be so cute watching them grow up together,” Madison said.
My heart dropped. “Madison, I don’t know if we’re going to stay in Liberty,” I murmured, averting my gaze and focusing on Owen’s tiny hand in mine instead.
“What? Why not?”
I couldn’t tell her all the reasons, all my doubts. Most of them were about our safety. Jack promised to do what he could to keep us safe, but there was no guarantee that he’d fix everything. And I couldn’t keep living like this, staying at her house and mooching off her for the rest of our lives.
“I just don’t know if I can build a life here,” I confessed.
Madison sat down beside me on the couch, Zoey on her lap. She was fascinated with Owen, staring at him and grinning, as if she was trying to figure out what he was.
“You know, I used to think the same thing,” she said. “And look at me.”
“Yeah, but you have Teddy,” I countered. “I can’t keep living with the two of you. I need to get out on my own, and I'm not sure I can do that in Liberty.”
“You have Jack,” Madison argued. “I know things are tough right now, but he wants to be there for you.”
“I know that, but—”
“But what?”
“I can’t really explain, Madison. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Jack, and I still have to finish law school. I need to make sure I can stand on my own two feet and care for my son.”
“Jack will be there for you,” Madison repeated.
“I know he wants to be, and I trust him,” I said. “But I can’t rely on him fully. I need to be self-sufficient too.”
“I understand, but I think you can do that here.”
Unlike Madison, I’d always dreamt of raising a family in Liberty one day. I left for school, but only because I got into one of the best law schools in the country. I left with the goal of one day returning to the area. This was my home, where I felt I needed to be.
But I no longer felt safe there.
And I wanted to believe she was right – that I could have everything I wanted with Jack. The idea of having a home together, raising our son together, was a dream I’d had ever since I found out I was pregnant. Even though I knew Jack had the best of intentions, I wasn’t sure what he was caught up in or who was after him. And without knowing more, it was hard to feel safe.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table, thankfully pulling me from the conversation.
“Ooh, it’s Isabelle,” I said. “Can you get it for me?”
Madison reached for the phone and answered, putting it on speaker.
“Hey, sis,” I said.
“Hey, Cass. I hope you don’t mind. I’m on my way over to visit. I have some things for Owen.”
I looked at Madison. “Is it okay?”
“Of course it is!” Madison exclaimed. “Your sister is welcome here any time.”
“Thank you,” I said softly. “Hey, Izzy. It’s fine; we’d love to have you.”
“Good, because I’m pulling into the driveway now. See you in a few!”
She hung up the phone and, laughing, Madison went to let her in.
Isabelle had visited nearly every day in the hospital. She’d been one of the people who helped me get through this. I wasn’t sure what I’d have done without her or Madison at my side.
Isabelle followed Madison into the living room, her arms full of bags.
“Wow,” I said, laughing. “Looks like someone went shopping.”
“I can’t help it,” Isabelle said, placing the bags near me before leaning down for a hug. “Everything is just so cute, and I can’t stop. I wanna spoil that little angel so much.” She grinned at Owen.
“Want to hold him?”
She hadn’t really had a chance to hold him in the hospital. I was the only one who got to do that, and even that had been limited at first.
Isabelle’s eyes lit up. “Uh, yeah. Of course.”
I passed Owen to her, and she started cooing and talking in baby talk. Pretty much all I heard was, “He’s so stinking cute,” and “Oh my God, I love him so much.”
She sat down on the cou
ch next to me, carefully cradling Owen in her arms. He was wiggling around a bit, staring at her, but not fussing.
“He’s such a good baby,” Madison said. “Zoey didn’t let anyone but me hold her for the longest time. She was a total mama’s girl. Even Teddy got jealous.”
“I think it’s because he was around so many nurses and stuff at the hospital.”
“Or maybe,” Madison said, sitting down on the other side of me, “he’s just a calm baby.”
There was so much love in that room that my heart felt like it would explode. Madison took my hand and gave it a squeeze. Isabelle finally calmed down and started talking like a normal adult, but the first words out of her mouth filled me with dread.
“Mom has asked to see Owen and would like you to come over for dinner tonight,” she announced. “Dad says he wants to talk to you. I think he might be ready to apologize.”
I groaned and closed my eyes. “Really? Now?”
“I think they’re sad because they’re missing part of Owen’s life,” Isabelle said. “Mom especially.”
Mom had mostly stood by me, even visited me in the hospital often. Dad didn’t join her, but I’d made it known he wasn’t welcome - and the nurses and staff hadn’t let him visit because I said no. They were protective and only allowed guests when I said it was okay, something I was truly thankful for.
“He seems sorry, Cassie. Not that I think you should forgive him completely, that’s up to you,” she told me quickly. “But maybe you should talk to him.”
I didn’t want Owen to never spend time with his grandparents. I hoped we could work through this and be a happy family one day. The only way we’d get anywhere was by talking. And I also didn’t want to punish my mother; she wanted to know her grandson. I didn’t want to keep Owen from her.
“Alright, I’ll do it,” I decided. “Tonight?”
“Hopefully, that’s not too short of notice?”
“No, not like I really have much else going on,” I said with a laugh. “Tell them we’ll be there, I guess.”
“Will do, but I’m not ready to leave just yet,” she said. She returned to the baby talk, holding Owen’s tiny hands in hers and remarking at how tiny everything was, including his fingernails.
Madison had been quiet through all of this, so I turned to her. “What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About me going over to see my family?”
“It’s your choice, Cassie,” she said with a shrug. “But I think it’s a good idea to try and mend fences whenever possible. Especially with family. But I know first-hand that it can be hard, and you need to be ready. Don’t let anyone force it on you.”
I didn’t feel forced. I would listen to my father, but he wasn’t going to boss me around anymore. I would also speak my mind and tell him how it was going to be. It would be up to him if he had a relationship with Owen or not. While I’d like us to get along, my son and his well-being would always come first.
“Oh my gosh, he’s so perfect,” Mom gushed as soon as we entered the house. “Look at his little feet!”
Of course she wanted to hold him. Everyone who saw Owen wanted to hold him, and I couldn’t blame them – he was adorable. And I might be biased, but I thought he was easily one of the most beautiful babies I’d ever seen. From the way my mother was gushing all over him, she obviously agreed.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked Isabelle, speaking quietly.
“He’s out back grilling some steaks,” she said.
“What kind of mood is he in?”
“Quiet. He hasn’t said much all day, not since I told him you were coming by.”
“I thought you said he wanted to talk?”
“Well…”
“Izzy?” I said, elongating her name in warning.
She and my mom shared a look, and finally, Isabelle blurted, “He does want to talk, but he just—well, he doesn’t know how to talk about it, as ironic as that may be.”
“Has he actually said anything about apologizing?”
Isabelle looked over at mom, who said, “He is sorry.”
“Has he actually said that, or are you putting words in his mouth?”
“I—” Before she could finish, the back door opened and slammed shut.
“Steaks are done,” Dad’s voice called out. “Where’s the potato salad?”
Mom handed Owen to me and rushed to the kitchen, leaving me with Isabelle.
“I wish you’d been honest with me,” I complained.
“I was sis. At least I thought I was,” she said with a shrug. “Mom told me to ask you and tell you Dad wanted to talk. It wasn’t until later when I mentioned it to Dad, did she come clean. I think it’s really stressing her out not having you here and part of the family.”
“I understand, but if Dad isn’t ready, this isn’t going to go well.”
“Let’s hope it does. For Owen’s sake. He should know his grandparents, right?”
She motioned for me to follow her into the dining room, where Mom was setting the last of the dinner plates on the table. Growing up, she’d always wanted us to eat dinner as a family every chance we could. As Isabelle and I got into high school and extracurricular activities, it became hard. Dad kept pushing us to sign up for more, to do more, more, more in order to look good for our college applications. It had felt like we were hardly ever together in one spot back then, and looking back, I can’t say that was a bad thing. It allowed us to talk as a family the one time of day when we were together.
Mom had set up a bouncer seat we’d picked for Owen prior to his birth. It was next to my chair on the floor. I strapped my little guy into the seat and sat down beside him just as the rest of the family took their seats. Isabelle was across from me, and Mom was on the end next to Owen. Dad was on the other end of the table.
He still hadn’t spoken a word to me, so I decided to ease the tension. “Everything looks really good.”
My dad took great pride in his grilling and would sometimes get a little testy if we didn’t say anything. His pride was a fragile thing.
“Your dad got these steaks from a new butcher in Sunville last week, when he was there for a job,” Mom said, her voice light and cheery as if everything was normal.
“Oh yeah? Well, they look great,” I said.
My mom passed me her famous potato salad, and I put a dollop on my plate before passing it to my dad. Now that I’d said something nice to hopefully sweeten my dad up a bit, I decided to nip the issue in the bud.
“So, Mom said you wanted to talk to me.”
Dad scowled at Mom.
“You do, don’t you, dear?” she asked, piling green beans onto her plate. She cocked an eyebrow at my dad, and the look they shared between them said a lot.
“Fine,” he grouched. “If you want to talk here, we’ll talk here.”
“Better now than sitting through an awkward dinner, isn’t that what you always said?” I put some green beans on my plate and passed the dish. I tried to keep my voice as light as my mom’s, but I wasn’t nearly as good an actress as she was. I was never very good at hiding my emotions because I was more like my dad in that regard, just with a lot less temper.
He passed the green beans to Isabelle and then took a steak from the platter in the center of the table. He gave the first one to Izzy, then served Mom and me next. He took his seat and cut into the steak, taking a bite. We followed with bites of our own, and my mother complimented him on the quality of the meat. I thought maybe we’d continue with the silent treatment throughout dinner.
But once we were a few bites into the meal, Owen let out a small cry. His pacifier had fallen from his mouth. I popped it back into place with a, There you go, little guy.” He’d already eaten, and his diaper was still clean, so he quieted back down as his eyes grew heavy. I returned to my dinner.
“He’s just so precious,” my mother cooed. “Such a good baby, too.”
“That’s what Madison said. I thought it would be harder, but
he surprisingly sleeps a lot and doesn’t cry a whole lot.”
“Oh, trust me, it’s coming,” Mom chuckled. “I swear newborns often lull us into a false sense of peacefulness but give it time.”
Dad finally spoke. “Has Jack helped you any?”
“Actually, he came by yesterday and visited with us for a while. He fed him this morning and helped a lot.”
“Is that the first time he’s seen him?” my dad scoffed.
“Yes,” I admitted. “Things are complicated right now.”
Not like he had any right to condemn Jack for not visiting. He didn’t come by to see his grandson while he was in the hospital - not that I made it easy. Still, he could have talked to me and worked this out sooner had he wanted to.
“Of course they are,” Dad cackled, rolling his eyes. “That’s what you get when you pick a low-life as a father.”
“Dad!” Isabelle exclaimed, annoyance clear.
“Well, Izzy, it’s true.”
My fists were balled at my sides now, and I lost my appetite entirely. I suddenly had no desire to eat the meal he’d prepared for me; I just wanted to get the hell out of there. I wanted to take my son and go.
I rose from the table and began unbuckling Owen from the bouncy chair.
“Where are you going?” Mom asked.
“I’m leaving. I’m not sitting here just to be disrespected,” I said. “I no longer have to sit at this table and listen to his abuse.”
“Cassie, please,” Mom begged. “Charles, do something. Say you’re sorry.”
“I’m not sorry, though.”
I shook my head. “Unbelievable.”
“But I do want to tell you something, Cassie. Something important.”
I stood up with Owen in my arms, turning my attention to my father, my eyebrows lifted in question.
“If you need our help with anything, just ask. We’re here for you. We’re family.”
“I hear a but coming.” I knew my dad too well. His tone wasn’t friendly or kind, so there had to be an ultimatum.
“Yes, there is. If I’m to help you, and that includes paying for the rest of your law degree, then Jack will not be in the picture. If he can’t provide for his family and makes me pick up the slack for his mistake, then—”