by Bella Andre
Surprisingly, he soon found himself caught up in the movie. Though he’d written the twists and turns, the director and actors were so good at their craft that Flynn was almost surprised by the plot a couple of times.
But what surprised him far more than the tense, dramatic beats of the movie was the fact that the hero of the film really was a hero. Beaten and bruised, he still managed to rise up from defeat and beat back the villain and his own fears and insecurities.
There were tears in Cassie’s eyes when the credits rolled. “I loved it.” She wiped the wetness from her cheeks as she said, “I mean, it was terrifying. But so empowering. I swear, I feel like I could vanquish all the bad guys now.”
He drew her onto his lap. “Don’t you know? You already have.”
Their lips met in a kiss that was so much more than attraction, that went so much deeper than desire. And as they tumbled together into ecstasy, it was love—and the sweetest possible joy—at the heart of every caress and every sigh of pleasure.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Cassie was sleeping soundly when Flynn slipped out of bed several hours later. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating her face. Even in sleep, her lips curved up at the corners. Whether because of their lovemaking—or because of her big win—he didn’t know. All that mattered was that she was happy. He vowed to spend the rest of his life making sure of it.
After her win tonight, he had no doubt that her career was going to grow like crazy. He planned to stand beside her and help out in whatever way he could during the climb.
Flynn had lived through his own dizzying career climb, only to find himself facing the unknown, a future he could no longer clearly define. He’d been so certain his thrillers weren’t worth watching, only to belatedly realize he’d imbued them with more meaning than he’d been willing to face all these years. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t impossible to think of writing another.
But for now, there was a project he wanted to pour his heart and soul into.
Carrying the antique typewriter over to the dining table where he could still see Cassie sleeping soundly, but where he wouldn’t wake her with the pounding of the keys, he slid in a fresh piece of paper and let the words spill from his heart onto the page.
After dinner at Cassie’s house, Joe’s belly isn’t the only thing that’s full. He’s never been around a dinner table where everyone is talking at once, where the dad isn’t drunk or high, where the mom laughs just as much as the kids. It’s been the greatest night of his life—the greatest day, full stop—but somehow that only makes knowing he has to go home worse.
“Are you ready to meet Ellie the elephant?” Cassie is bouncing up and down on her toes, she’s so excited.
He already looked in the backyard and didn’t see any elephants, especially ones with polka dots. But even if Cassie really does have an elephant hiding somewhere, it’s too late for Joe to see it now.
“It’s almost dark. I’ve got to get home.” His sister will be hungry. And probably scared too, wondering where he is.
His stomach hurts. He should never have been so selfish as to come to Cassie’s house. What if something happened to his sister while he wasn’t there to protect her?
“You could sleep over,” Cassie offered. “I already asked, and Mom and Dad said that would be awesome.”
“I can’t.” They’re the hardest words he’s ever spoken, when spending the night in this happy home is literally his biggest dream. He’s heading for the front door, planning to sprint all the way home, when Cassie’s mom stops him.
“Is everything okay? Do you want to spend the night here with us?”
“You’ve been so nice.” His lips wobble again. “I wish I could stay,” he admits to Cassie’s mom. He feels he can tell her anything and she won’t yell at him. “But I can’t.”
“Joe.” She puts her hand on his shoulder, the most tender touch he’s ever felt from a grown-up’s hand. “If there’s anything you need help with, anything you need to talk about, I’m here and happy to help. So is Cassie’s dad.”
He wants so badly to tell her everything, about being hungry and dirty and cold and worried all the time. But all that comes out is, “My little sister gets scared without me.”
“How lovely that you have a sister. What’s her name?”
“Sarah.”
“What a pretty name. I’d love to meet her.” Her eyes widen as though an idea has just come to her. “Why don’t I drive you home?”
“No.” He spits out the word. He can’t stand the thought of Cassie’s mom seeing where he lives. “I can walk.”
But for all her smiles and laughter and delicious cooking, Cassie’s mom is no pushover. “I insist. Honey?” She calls over to her husband, who is standing in the kitchen doorway watching their conversation. “Why don’t we take Joe home?”
“I want to come too,” Cassie says.
Cassie’s mother and father share a look. “Perfect,” her mom says a beat later, “we’ll need your voice for harmony in the car.”
“Why is there harmony in your car?” Joe asks.
Cassie’s mom winks at him. “You’ll see.”
Joe slides into the backseat of the nicest-smelling, cleanest car he’s ever been in. There’s a doll, a baseball, and some socks on the floor, but there are no smears of dirt, no packages of half-eaten fast food that have been rotting for weeks, no cigarette butts.
Cassie’s dad starts the engine, and a song starts playing. One that everyone knows well enough that they all sing along, something about having twenty thingamabobs.
“Do you know this song?” Cassie asks. “It’s from The Little Mermaid.”
Joe shakes his head.
“Oh, I can’t wait to show you! You’re going to love it! It’s about this mermaid who wants to see what it’s like to live on land, and all these amazingly cool things happen to her. It’s Ellie’s favorite movie.”
“Your elephant?”
Cassie nods like it’s the most normal thing in the world for an elephant to have a favorite movie, not to mention being covered in polka dots and living somewhere in her house.
Before he can express his doubt, they’re heading into the woods.
“I’ve never been here before,” Cassie says.
Her mother smiles at them over her shoulder, but Joe is so attuned to adult moods that he can see the concern behind her upturned lips. His stomach clenches tighter and tighter the closer they get to his house.
Too soon, they’re parked outside the ramshackle building. Half the roof is covered with a tarp, while the shingles on the other half are rotting.
He’s horribly embarrassed. And also afraid of what’s going to happen next.
His father stumbles out on the porch and bellows, “Who the hell is trespassing on my property?” His beer belly hangs over the waistband of his dirty jeans, and his shirt doesn’t cover all of it.
“Stay in the car for now, kids,” Cassie’s dad says, then he and Cassie’s mom get out.
But Joe can’t stand the thought of his dad hurting them. No one has ever been so nice to him. They don’t deserve to suffer at his father’s hands.
Joe throws himself out of the car. “It’s my fault,” he calls out to his father. “I got lost on the way home from school, and they offered to drive me home.” He hates lying in front of Cassie and her parents, but telling this lie is the only way he knows to keep them safe.
“Lost?” His father sneers at him, but when he starts forward, he stumbles and has to reach out a hand to steady himself on the side of the house. “You really are dumb as a rock if you’re getting lost coming to your own house.”
“He’s not dumb!” Cassie calls out. “Joe is smart and fun, and I like him.”
Joe’s father tries to focus on Cassie. “Who the hell are you?” His words are getting more slurred by the second.
Cassie’s mom is standing between Cassie and Joe now, putting one arm around each of them. It’s the first time Joe has ever f
elt even the slightest bit safe around his father.
“Joe is going to be spending the night at our house,” she informs his father. “We’re here to pick up Sarah too.”
Joe’s mother stumbles out then, half dressed, with mottled bruises in different stages up and down her legs and arms. There’s one on her neck too, and seeing it makes Joe shudder. “Who are they?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Joe’s father gestures to him. “Get the hell in here, boy. We’re hungry, and you need to get cooking.”
But Cassie’s dad is already pushing past Joe’s parents to get into the house and get Joe’s sister out. When Joe’s dad tries to stop him, Joe races past.
“Sarah, where are you?” he calls. She’ll tell him once she hears his voice. Joe finds her hiding in the closet, their usual hiding place when their parents are drunk and on a rampage. “It’s okay, we don’t have to stay here tonight. Cassie’s parents asked us to sleep over at their house.”
“Who’s Cassie?”
Sarah is little for her age, looking closer to five than eight. But she trusts Joe. She still believes that he has the power to make everything better. He never wants to let her down.
His heart is pounding like crazy as he tells her, “Cassie is my friend.”
It’s the bravest thing he’s ever done, daring to claim someone as wonderful as Cassie as a friend. But he knows it’s true. Knows that even though they’ve only just met, she’ll always be there for him. Knows that even on the rainiest day, her smile will be brighter than the sun.
“Can I bring my puppy?” Sarah whispers.
When Joe nods, she gets the stuffed dog out of its hiding place beneath one of the floorboards in the closet. It’s the only toy their parents haven’t completely destroyed or gotten rid of in a rage.
“Let’s go.” He holds out his hand, and when his sister takes it, he can’t stop himself from hugging her. He would never want to leave without her, can’t imagine how horrible it would be to leave her behind.
“What’s Cassie’s house like?” she asks.
“It’s the best place in the whole world,” he tells her.
When they get out to the porch, they find Cassie’s father holding theirs against the wall, one hand on his chest, the other trapping his hands behind his back. Though Joe’s dad is trying to fight him off, Cassie’s dad is barely breaking a sweat keeping him in place.
“You leave, boy, and you ain’t ever coming back!” Joe’s father is furious. “Same goes for you, girl. We ain’t ever spending another penny on you.”
Joe swallows hard. This place, this life, is all he’s ever known. He wants to leave, but still, it’s hard. Hard to step into the unknown. Hard to go someplace new, where he’s worried he’ll disappoint everyone the same way his parents say he disappoints them.
That’s when Cassie comes to take his hand. “You’re so brave, Joe. You can do anything you want to do.” She smiles at Sarah. “So are you. I’m Cassie.”
His sister gives Cassie a shy smile. “I’m Sarah.” And then, “Do you really think I’m brave?”
“So brave!” She takes Sarah’s hand and tugs them both toward the car. “Let’s go so that I can introduce you to Ellie before lights-out.”
“Who’s Ellie?” Sarah is remarkably resilient, cowering in the closet one moment and chatting with Cassie the next.
“My elephant.”
Sarah’s eyes are huge. “You have an elephant?”
“I do,” Cassie says with a smile. “And she can’t wait to meet you both.”
Joe is still reeling from the confrontation with his father. But focusing on Cassie’s smile, and the warmth of her hand in his, makes him feel a million times better.
When they get back to Cassie’s house, Sarah wolfs down some leftovers from dinner, takes a bath, dresses in a pair of jammies that belong to Cassie’s younger sister, then joins Cassie and Joe in a fort they’ve made out of couch pillows and bed sheets in the living room.
Sarah’s eyes are big as she takes it in. “This really is the best place in the whole world.”
“It gets even better!” Cassie promises. She gives them each a flashlight and tells them to turn it on before crawling out of the fort on her hands and knees. A few seconds later, the lights go out. They hear her giggling as she comes back across the room. “Mom made cookies!” she announces, and Sarah doesn’t hesitate to dive on the plate full of chocolate chip cookies.
But Joe’s stomach is too full of butterflies to eat right now. Being with Cassie is like every dream he never thought would come true. She’s funny and pretty, and she isn’t scared of anything. Not even his dad. He’s never going to forget the way she defended him and said he was smart.
“Are you ready to meet Ellie the elephant?” Cassie’s eyes are bright, and she looks so excited.
Sarah nods, looking so full of joyful anticipation that Joe’s chest feels tight inside. “I am!”
With great flair, Cassie reaches under one wall of their fort and slides a cardboard box inside. Looking into the open top, Joe can see that it’s decorated with the wild grasses of Africa. That is, if the grasses were every color of the rainbow.
Standing in the middle of the box is a stuffed elephant. It has pink and purple polka dots all over it—and Joe can’t help but grin as he looks at it.
“Hello, I’m Ellie.” Cassie has changed her voice so that it sounds like an animated character instead of her, making Sarah laugh. She’s also lifted up the elephant so that it looks like it’s walking on air. “I’ve been waiting to meet you guys. Want to go on an adventure with me and my friend Cassie?”
“Yes!” Sarah claps her hands. “Me and Joe love adventures.”
Joe and Sarah have always made up stories together. Disappearing into a pretend world, hiding out in the woods, pretending they are knights and princesses and pirates are their favorite things to do together.
Now that Cassie and her stuffed elephant are in the mix, it doesn’t feel like pretend anymore. And when the three of them make up a story about two girls named Sarah and Cassie and a boy named Joe, he can see the scenes in his head so clearly. He keeps his eyes closed as they each take turns making up parts of the adventure. It’s like watching a movie. At one point when Joe hears laughter, he’s surprised to realize it’s coming from him.
When the story comes to a conclusion that has all of them laughing so hard they’re rolling around holding their bellies, Joe knows that for the rest of his life, he’ll never forget this night. Because it has been the best one ever.
Though he doesn’t want to miss out on any new adventures, he has to go to the bathroom. He scoots out of the fort and is halfway across the living room when he hears Cassie’s parents talking in the kitchen.
“It was even worse than I thought.” From where he’s standing, he can see how sad her mother looks. “We can’t let them go back there.”
Her father looks sad too, but determined. “We won’t.”
Joe can hardly believe what he’s hearing. All day long, he’s been trying to soak up every great moment, because he knows nothing this good can possibly last.
Is it possible that Cassie’s parents might really want to keep them?
“No matter how hard we have to fight for Joe and Sarah,” her father says as if in answer to Joe’s silent question, “we’re not going to let them down.”
That’s when they see him eavesdropping. “I’m sorry,” he blurts, “I didn’t mean to be a snoop.”
“You weren’t snooping,” Cassie’s dad reassures him. They both get up and walk over to him. “We were just talking about how we want you and Sarah to come live with us permanently. Would you like to be a part of our family?”
Again, he’s afraid to admit how badly he wants that. If he gets his hopes up and then it doesn’t happen, of all the bad things he’s already lived through, it would be the worst.
He’s lied so many times to protect himself and his sister, that he’s about to lie again by telling them he doesn’t c
are.
But then he hears Sarah laughing in the fort with Cassie…and remembers Cassie saying how brave he is.
Can it be true? All these years, has he actually been brave?
Brave enough to shield his sister from the worst of it.
Brave enough to keep going when anyone else would have given up.
Brave enough to accept an invitation from Cassie to meet an elephant…and enter a world beyond his wildest imaginings.
And if all those things are true, then can it also be true that he doesn’t have to be brave all by himself anymore? That he can be a part of a real family and say how he really feels without being scared?
Joe takes a deep breath before looking up at Cassie’s mom and dad and taking the biggest risk of his life. “Yes, I want us to be part of your family.”
“I’m so happy,” Cassie’s mom says, and he can see the joy plainly written on her face. “Can I hug you?”
When he nods, she wraps her arms around him. It’s so nice. As nice as when Cassie was pushing him on the swing and he felt like he was flying. As nice as splashing in puddles beside his new friend. As nice as making up stories with Sarah and Cassie about Ellie the elephant.
But though Cassie’s mom says she’s happy, she’s also crying. He can tell by the way her shoulders are shaking.
“Don’t worry, honey,” she says before he can worry that he’s done something wrong. “These are happy tears.”
Happy tears seem as impossible as an elephant taking three kids on a great adventure in the living room. And yet, Joe was there, wasn’t he? On a breathless and exciting journey with Sarah and Cassie—and Ellie the elephant.
The adventure is still fresh in his mind’s eye when Joe finally understands what Cassie has known all along: Anything really is possible.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Neither Cassie nor Flynn could wait to get home to Ruby. So instead of lingering over breakfast in their suite the next day, they hit the road bright and early. The Sunday morning traffic was sparse enough for them to make it back to Bar Harbor in record time. As soon as Flynn parked the car in front of her parents’ house, they practically sprinted up the walkway.