How Cassie Got Her Grind Back (18 page)

“Hon, you can only help as much as they will allow.”

Trying to see the bright side, Cassie said, “Well, at least he walked in and out of the coffee shop on his own steam, instead of driving into it.” Then she told her about Dad’s other bright idea—that she should take Bill back.

Emma snorted. “I’m speaking as your friend and not your doctor when I say, if you do take that jerk back, I will band with Grace, Charity, Lily, Leah, Lucy, and all the others in kicking your butt.”

“Don’t worry. It’s bad enough I have him in my life on an all-too-regular basis because of the kids. I’d never let him move back into my house or my personal life. Cheating bastard.” She glanced up and down the hall, hoping nobody had heard her use such language.

“Good girl. And you know, hon…it’s none of my business how you and he make the whole family dynamic work, but with the kids out of the house and, for all intents and purposes, grown and gone, you don’t need to allow him access to your life anymore.”

Emma’s words brought the key he still had in his possession to mind, and Cassie thought maybe it was time she’d done something about it. He could keep the key. She’d just have all the locks changed.

“Let her rest for tonight and in the morning talk with her about moving in with you if you’re seriously considering that option. I think it might help Delicia’s stress level to have company and to feel as if she’s contributing, as long as it won’t interfere with your personal life.” Emma stopped speaking and looked her straight in the eye.

“What?”

“You know
what
. Just because you have aging parents doesn’t mean you’re not entitled to getting your needs met. A little birdie told me a pair of sexy, silver twin woobies are a-courting you. Is that true?”

“‘Courting’?” she asked with a giggle. “Woobies? You must’ve talked to Grace. But yeah, I guess you could say that. Samson and Ivan and I knew each other in high school, when I dated Samson. We recently reconnected.”

“Do they have any potential for the future?”

Cassie chuckled. “We keep trying to work out the answer to that question.”

Emma nodded. “Well, if you have any questions, my experience as the center in a totally hot geek sandwich is at your disposal.” She waggled her eyebrows, and the two of them both broke into laughter. “Seriously, if you need answers, I’m happy to help.”

Cassie beckoned her closer and whispered, “Just one question.”

Emma leaned forward, her face totally deadpan. “Hmm?”

“Don’t they wear you out with their libidos? All I can think is how exhausting it would be. I mean no one is complaining of their vaginas wearing out or…”

Emma started cackling and couldn’t stop except to gasp and say, “Or falling out? No, not hardly. They’re very careful with me, and I get the impression they’d change the way we do things if they got the idea it was too much for me. You know, take it easy on me. Not that I want them to.”

Cassie pointed at herself. “Middle-aged, here.”

Emma smirked. “Middle-aged, my ass. You’re a renaissance woman.”

“Funny, one of the guys used that very expression.”

“Hon, don’t buy into the stereotypes. Lots of women maintain vibrant sex lives late into life. You’re in excellent physical shape. Your hormones are well balanced. I’d just invest in some good lubricants and let your freak flag fly.”

“Thank you!” Cassie said as she returned Emma’s hug. “I’m surrounded by happy ménage “middles” but just wasn’t sure how to ask about that. Of course, they all want to see me happy and settled again, but…”

“Hey, you’ve got to decide what’s right for you. And just because you get involved in a relationship doesn’t mean it’s your responsibility to do all their laundry and cook all the meals. Let them take care of you, too. I want to meet these men some time.”

“Okay.”

After Emma departed, Cassie peeked in on her mom, who was asleep, and then slipped down the hall to the empty waiting room and dialed the shop’s phone number.

“Thank you for calling Divine Drip today. How may I help you?” the distinct voice said over the line.

“Grandma Kate?”

“This is Kate Benedict. Is this Cassie?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How’s your mama, honey?”

“Dr. Rivers said it was an anxiety attack. She’s sleeping now.”

“Oh, bless her heart!”

“Thanks. How are things at the shop?”

“Couldn’t be better! Marissa and Tilly have been absolute sweethearts to work with. You have good workers, honey. The time flew right by, and we’re just cleaning up now that the rush is over with. Samson left about an hour ago, and Ivan is working on your cake. That man has a fair hand with cake decorating.”

“I imagine he does. Could I talk to him?”

“Sure thing, honey. Hold the line for me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cassie said, unable to keep from smiling, despite the circumstances. If it hadn’t been for Grandma Kate and her gang, and the guys, she would’ve had to shut down the shop right at her busiest time of day, and that wasn’t the kind of headline she wanted for her business.

* * * *

Ivan put the phone to his ear after Grandma Kate told him who was calling and said, “Ivan’s House of Buttercream Baddassery.”

Her giggle-snorting was music to his ears. “
What
?”

“Hey, if Hermione Jones can name her restaurant after herself in the non-possessive form, I can call my cake decorating business any damned thing I want, right?”

“Can I hire you?”

Ivan chuckled. “That depends. What’s the benefits package like?”

The line went quiet, and he was afraid she’d been cut off, but then she started giggling again. The sound made him smile, and if her sense of humor was intact, then things must not be too bad with her mom.

“Is your mom okay?”

“Yes.” After filling in the details, she said, “How’s the cake?”

“Just about finished. It’s almost three. Want me to come and get you?”

“No, I can walk to the shop from the hospital.”

“Not in this wind, you’re not. I’ll come and get you. If you’d like, we can finish the cake together, and then I can take you for supper.”

“I have absolutely no appetite after this afternoon at the hospital. I don’t mind walking over there. I could use the exercise.”

“No. Stay there, and I’ll come get you.”

There was a longer pause on the line, but he heard the smile in her voice as she said, “You know, I’m not used to being told what to do anymore.”

“Maybe not, baby. But you’re also not used to having someone around who enjoys taking care of you. Wait in the main entry, and I’ll be there in just a few minutes. Then we can come back here and play in the leftover frosting.”

“Okay.” Her reply was a chuckle with a slightly suggestive edge, and it was his turn to blink and be silent.

“Woman, I’m going to enjoy learning all your facets. I’ll call Samson so he knows what our plan is.”

“Okay. See you in a few. Don’t rush on my account though.”

Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, baby.

The wind buffeted his truck as he rounded the circular drive a few minutes later and pulled up to the automatic doors. Cassie was right there waiting, with a big smile on her face. She stepped back into the vestibule when a nurse came through the doorway, pushing an empty wheelchair. By the time she made it to his vehicle, he was out and had her door open and waiting.

“Wow. Curb service,” she said softly. Instead of climbing into the vehicle, she turned and leaned against him when he opened his arms for her.

“Hey, now. She’s all right, right? She’s gonna be okay?”

“Yes. I was worried it was her heart.”

“She’s in good hands here.” He helped her into the truck and closed her door and then came around on the other side and got buckled in. As he turned the key in the ignition, he said, “What do you need right now? Food? Something to drink? They should be finished at the shop by now.” She was the type who took care of everyone else, and the urge to take care of her for once was strong.

“Let’s stop by there. I need to get my car, and I want to thank everyone.”

“Sure. Kate, Veronica, and Travis stayed while Hank went on to work after you left and Samson stayed through the lunch rush before taking off for Morehead. Marissa and Tilly were great. By the time the crowd died down, the customers were asking Grandma Kate if she was going to be working there regularly. I think she had a lot of fun manning the drive-thru.”

Cassie laughed, and some of the tension seemed to drain out of her. At the shop, she thanked them all and marveled out loud that the coffee shop had worked like a well-oiled machine in her absence.

“Take it as a sign you’ve done a good job training your employees, honey,” Grandma said as she folded her kerchief and slipped it in her purse and then patted at her white curls. “Oh, and will you pass on my thanks to your mama for the
carnitas
this afternoon? They were marvelous.”

“I will.”

Marissa and Tilly reported all she might need to know, and her shoulders slumped wearily as she locked the door with just the two of them inside.

“Show me the cake?”

He took her hand and led her back to the walk-in refrigerator and did the unveiling.

“It’s perfect!’ she exclaimed as she leaned in and scrutinized each layer under their protective wrappings. “Violet is sure to love this! You’re amazing,” she said as she turned and kissed him.

Not so easily satisfied, Ivan leaned in for another longer kiss, stroking her jaw and her throat until gooseflesh broke out on her skin and she shivered. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had a dazed, sleepy quality to their brown depths as she blinked.

“You were the one who laid a scrumptious foundation. I have to admit to eating a couple of your roses. I like that teeny-tiny pinch of ground cardamom you added to the frosting,” he said, smiling as he recalled sitting there letting the confection melt in his mouth while trying to place the subtle hint of exotic spice.

“You picked up on that, huh?” she said with delight sparkling in her eyes. “Everyone likes that recipe and always comments on it, but no one has ever identified my secret ingredient besides you.”

“It’s elusive. The only decorating left to complete is the two extra layers. I can finish them up if you have paperwork or anything you need to handle.”

“I do need to look at the receipts for today and count the money. Can you handle it?”

“Yes, if you’ll agree to go out to supper with me tonight when we get done?”

She hesitated in the doorway and turned back to him. “What about if we ate at my house? Once we’re done here, I’m going to want my fuzzy slippers and yoga pants.”

“Mmmm, I’d like to see that,” he said, adding a soft growl at the thought of her deliciously rounded derriere in formfitting pants. “But only if I get to do the cooking.”

“Sure! I visited the grocery store recently so I have a fully stocked kitchen.”

“It’s a date then.”

Before leaving him to his task, Cassie inspected the prep and cooking areas for cleanliness, a quality he admired very much. Satisfied, she went to her office and left him at the worktable with the two large round cakes, which were frosted and ready to be decorated. Some people might think he was crazy, but that afternoon, taking care of people, feeding them, and getting to help her with the cake, had all been very enjoyable for him and a departure from the work he was accustomed to doing. It made him feel somehow connected to his roots in Divine, as strange as it seemed, considering Divine had been an anathema for thirty years. Cassie had a lot to do with it, too.

“Cassie?” he called a little while later as he closed the cooler and made sure it sealed tight, the finished cake enclosed inside.

“Huh?” she called from her office.

“You like crawfish, don’t you?”

“I love crawfish! Remember? I could eat your mom’s crawfish étouffée by the bucket-full! I haven’t had crawfish in years.”

“That’s what I was thinking about making for you,” he said as he rounded the worktable and peeked into her small office.

Her face fell. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any crawfish at home.”

“Easily remedied.”

She tapped her pencil against her lips and then smiled at him. “I need to drop this deposit at the bank before they close. Batson’s is just down the block from there, and I could stop by and pick up a pound from their seafood department. In the meantime, why don’t you drive over to my house and get started. There are peppers and onions, and everything you need to get started is in my panty—I mean my pantry!”

Ivan chuckled at her slip and said, “I think you have more on your mind than me getting into your pantry.”

Cassie sat back in her chair and laughed with him. “I can’t believe I said that!”

“Well, hold that thought, why don’t you? We’re getting an early start to the night,” he said, all trace of hilarity gone.

Sounding a little breathless, Cassie stuttered. “I-I w-well…umm.”