Needs A Little TLC (Spinning Hills Romance 2) (21 page)

“I know I should be over it. We were both young and stupid kids and my mind knows it.” She looked away. “Maybe if what had happened with my father hadn’t happened . . . but it did. And I don’t want to forget what it feels like to be punched hard in the gut by people I love. It’s a reminder that I need to protect myself so it never happens again. It feels like as long as I let that pain linger, I’ll know to be careful.”

“It’s safer to not allow yourself to get lost in anyone else. I get that.” Sam shook his head, as if clearing a bad memory.

“You feel that way too?”

“I did for a while. So did Heather. She was once hurt badly too and it made us get married for all the wrong reasons. But Jake changed us. Loving him helped us move on. It still does. He makes me see that everything that happened brought him to me. And everything that happened also brought you here again, like this. Older, wiser, more complete.”

Cassie breathed in and out, over and over again. The knot in her chest loosened until it was tolerable, until she could think past it and go back, not just to that day, but to their entire lives.

Somewhere inside, in that place where the memory of the pain of everyone’s betrayal still hovered, it felt stupid to believe she should move on. But Sam’s words and actions, the events of that day, and the past few weeks . . . it felt as if a veil was slowly being pulled away from her eyes and she was seeing everything in a whole new light.

She put her head on his shoulder. His body relaxed. “Do you forgive me?” he asked, his breath tickling her ear.

“I think I do. Why did you forgive me so easily? I hurt you, too.”

“You won’t believe me.”

She looked into his eyes and saw so much affection, it startled her. “I will.”

“Your freckles.”

Cassie gave him a playful swat. “Be serious,” she commanded, while playing with the buttons on his shirt so she wouldn’t have to look into his eyes again.

Sam brushed his knuckles against her nose and cheeks. “I’m serious. Your freckles and sweet smile have driven me nuts since I was six. The girl behind them could drive the people around her batty with her impulsive ways, but she had the kindest soul and always meant well. I loved you too much to let anger take over.”

Cassie’s breathing picked up. She wanted to cry again, but she couldn’t. Everything she felt was bundled up in a watery lump in her chest and she had to swallow hard a few times to keep it down. “And that’s what I loved about you.”

“What?” he asked after a while, his breath mingling with hers.

Cassie put her head to his heart. Its steady rhythm calmed her own down and soon she could breathe again. “You rarely opened up, but when you did, you had the best things to say.”

He pressed his lips to her forehead and smoothed her hair down her back, hugging her closer, his warmth seeping into her skin. His hard body felt so good and he felt so familiar. Not because of their shared past, but because of the unnamable connection between them. “Why didn’t you tell me about your parents? I would’ve seen you through it.”

Cassie sighed and settled into his arms. “Loyalty. I was my father’s princess, after all. Never mind that I never wanted to be one, but I wanted to be something to both of them. I wanted to be worthy. I couldn’t give them poise or perfection, no matter how hard I tried, but I could give them loyalty.”

“You’re worthy of the world, Cass. I always felt safe with you. Understood, without having to say much,” he said, while tracing slow, lazy circles under her sweater with his thumbs. “Your parents probably feel the same way, and they may not know it, but they need it more than anyone.”

The heat in her core spread. Feeling half-frightened and half-drugged, she brought her eyes to his. He was a skilled man, so good with his hands. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and his lips followed in a searching, melting, openmouthed kiss.

Everything that emanated from him turned the blood in her veins to liquid heat, and she opened up to him, kissing him back, slowly, her hands traveling over his body now, too.

“Cassie, wait,” he said after a while, his voice strangled. “That girl, the one”—breathing hard, he tried to break free of her lips and look into her eyes, his own heavy-hooded and nearly glazed over—“the one you saw me kissing—”

“Is the last person I want to talk about!” she said, hovering angrily over his mouth, half-tempted to get up and walk away in a huff, but feeling too far gone to break free and stay mad for long. Her heart was thundering, their hot breaths were mingling, and their eyes were looking beyond what was right in front of them.

Sam grabbed her shirt and pulled her into a mad, hungry kiss.

They slid down the wall and Cassie straddled him, so they were touching in all the right places, and she felt both unbearable heat and a sweet, relieved sensation.

Soon they were lying on the floor, Sam was moving slowly and purposefully on top of her, and nothing existed outside his breath, his mouth, his hands, his body, and everything they made her feel.

Hours later, Cassie awoke to Sam’s soft snores against her hair. Outside, it was dark and still pouring. The room was pitch-black. She was snuggled up against his chest and the way she fit against him, the way he sounded, their mingled scents, everything felt true.

It hadn’t been that way when they were younger. Something had been missing. There’d been a sense that they belonged together, but that they had some growing up to do apart, first. They hadn’t yet become the people they were meant to be. It had always been there between them, he must’ve felt it, too, but they’d both ignored it.

Now everything felt right. Everything about Sam soothed her soul. She loved him. Loved the father, the brother, the friend, and the man he’d become. But her head held warnings, and she’d grown up enough to slow down and listen to both sides.

She and Sam had a lot going on in their lives. Sam had just gotten divorced and he had a son, and now Cassie had parents who needed her. She wouldn’t allow their problems to pull her under again, but she’d always stand by the people she loved.

With effort and reluctance, Cassie carefully unraveled herself from his arms. He snored once and turned over, still asleep, and Cassie smiled sadly. Sam had been working hard and keeping his troubles to himself.

She reached around for her phone, got up, and felt her way across the room until she was far away enough from Sam not to wake him up.

She checked her phone. It was past midnight, officially Monday, and she only had three recent messages. No doubt her friends knew she needed time and space. One message was from her father, saying he wanted to check in and see how she was doing and asking her to please go and be with her mom, who was still staying at the hotel in Dayton.

Cassie took a few deep breaths. She knew he was being sincere, that in his own way, he loved both Sandy and Cassie as much as he could. Yet it was hard to reconcile the different versions of her dad.

The other two messages were from her mom, both pleading and demanding in turn. Dread began to take over, but Cassie fought back for control.

If she went back to Sam, she’d fall asleep again and start the new week as unprepared as she’d ended the last one. A shower and a few hours of rest would get her ready enough to face the challenges ahead.

She found her bag and sweats, got dressed, stashed the clothes Emily had lent her, left a note for Sam letting him know that she was okay and just needed to get an early start to the week, and left. Moonlight filtered through slowly moving clouds and a chill wind swept her hair across her face, making everything seem real again.

Along the way, she dialed both her parents, but neither picked up. With a reluctant sigh, Cassie decided it would be best to pick up a few pressed pantsuits from her place before heading back to the hotel. It would take her at least two hours, but it was necessary. As she zipped down the lonely highway, the idea of getting some rest was forgotten.

A while later, Sandy finally answered her phone, her tone grateful instead of demanding. Relieved, Cassie told her she’d be there as soon as she could.

But at 1:30 a.m., her mother opened the hotel room door, looking angry. “Have you spoken to your father?” she asked.

“Yes, and I told him I’d let him know if he should meet me here, with you, or if I’ll go to him in a little while,” Cassie said, stepping into the by-now-familiar room.

Her mother closed her eyes, breathing in and out once before opening them again and saying, “We held the meeting here and your father ended up taking a room here, too, since so far the staff has been discreet. Our homes in Columbus and DC are swarming with reporters. He can come here, if it’s easier for you. It’s late, and you look tired—and you are our main priority, after all.”

It took all Cassie had not to explode at those words. Both her parents’ actions told a completely different story. Words were so easy to say. She sent her dad a quick text as her mother took a step toward her and cupped her cheek. “How—how did the meeting go?” she asked her mom. Recriminations were a waste of time. The few she’d ever uttered had been vacuumed up into a void, where they didn’t have to be addressed or acknowledged because in her parents’ world, wrongdoings that couldn’t be covered up were simply denied.

Sandy sank down on a chair and put her hands between her knees. “Our main difficulty is how hard we’ve sold our perfect marriage and partnership. Everything that worked for us is now working against us because it all looks like one big fat lie. Jim thinks we should start by releasing a joint statement going into a few details about how we privately worked hard to weather this storm ten years ago and to gauge how the public reacts before moving forward. I don’t think anyone will believe I knew, though, or that they’ll respect me if they do. The timeline for when I found out is clear. Your father was running for reelection, and there’s so much footage of us acting like the perfect couple. I feel that strategy will backfire.” A moment later, she was sobbing and Cassidy was by her side. “What will we do?”

A knock on the door kept Cassie from answering her mother’s question, and she went to let her father into the room.

Her dad gave her a big, strong hug and Cassie hugged him back hard. Loving her parents was easy. Accepting them as they were was the hard part.

Her mom didn’t look up. “I’m asking Cassie what she thinks we should do. This affects her, too,” her mom said. The look in her eyes told why she really wanted her dad to meet Cassie there. There were recriminations and punishments for her dad still left in Sandy.

“Of course it affects her! Do you think I don’t know that? I’ve spent the last ten years beating myself up over the pain I caused—”

“Beating yourself up?” Sandy demanded. “You call that—”

“Enough!” Cassie held her head. She would not get caught in the middle again. “Do you two really want to know what I think you should do, or is asking me just another one of your stunts?”

Her parents stared at her, both looking as if they’d been slapped.

“I think you should accept it. Accept it all. Accept the shame that’s being handed down. Accept both your parts in the whole charade. Accept that your perfect image is gone and you can’t,
and shouldn’t
, get it back.” Her voice shook at that, but holding back was no longer an option if she was to keep her hard-won autonomy. “Accept it.”

But despite her best intentions, she wound up in the middle, as mediator, again. Over an hour later, her parents had decided to put out separate, but coordinated statements centered around acceptance of responsibility. Neither of them was being truthful, but they’d both latched on to Cassie’s idea.

Cassie left the room and, feeling ridiculous, went down to the front desk to find a room of her own. The three of them staying at the same hotel, none of them sharing a room or even a floor. A family of lonely, dysfunctional nuts, that’s what they were.

S
am slammed the office phone down.

Two steps forward, one step back. That was his life lately.

The Realtor for the couple who had put in the offer on Cassie’s listing had called to say they were backing out if Cassie was to remain as the listing agent. The couple and their friends had been staunch supporters of Max McGillicuddy and the news had blindsided them. They were appalled to learn Cassie had been the woman hamming it up on stage as “Dolly” while her parents’ scandal played out all over the news. They thought her actions made her seem as bad as her parents, and they couldn’t do business with her.

It saddened Sam, because Cassie had liked the young couple and their two little girls.

Sam was nothing if not loyal and had told the Realtor he also didn’t want to do business with the judgmental young couple. And in the space of two minutes, he was almost back to square one.

 

Cassie put on enough mascara to fake a bright-eyed look, threw on her favorite navy pantsuit, and slicked her hair back into a bun at the nape of her neck before heading to the office to face the day.

Her phone was again nearly out of battery because she’d left her charger at home. It made her feel out of control.

When she got to her office, she saw a known local reporter lurking around, so she drove past her office and straight to a place where she knew she’d be safe. She parked in an alley and ducked into the Gypsy Fortune Café and Bakery.

Rosa, Sherry, and Ruby greeted her with open arms and sad eyes. “Oh honey, we’re so sorry,” Sherry said.

“And so glad you came here. I’ll let everyone know. Just let one of those reporters try to get through our door.” Ruby enveloped her in a fierce, protective hug.

“I can give them some special treats that will send them to the bathroom for hours,” Rosa offered.

Weary as she was, Cassie smiled. “Tempting, but no. The last thing I want is for you three to have a lawsuit on your hands.”

“Oh, but we’ve done it before. The source is untraceable,” Ruby said, a little too seriously for Cassie’s comfort.

“Much like the source of that video yesterday,” Sherry said, looking angry. “When I find out who sent them—”

Cassie furrowed her brow. “Video? Yesterday?”

The three women looked at each other before looking back at Cassie. “She doesn’t know.” Ruby sighed.

Rosa dragged her to a stool. “Get some coffee and dessert for her. What would you like?”

“What don’t I know? What are you three talking about?” Cassie resisted being sat down.

The bell above the door jingled, and Cassie looked back to see Jessica, Emily, and Holly come in. “There you are. I’ve been hiding out at Holly’s shop. Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” Jessica asked.

“It’s almost out of battery, and I was going to the office anyway.”

“What kind of phone do you have?” Rosa asked. “One of us can lend you a charger.”

Rosa dug up a spare phone charger while Holly and Emily came over to say how sorry they were, and Ruby tried to figure out what dessert Cassie needed. The door jangled again, and Dan and Johnny walked in, Johnny thanking Rosa for letting them know she was there.

Cassie put her hands to her head and cried, “Will somebody please tell me what’s going on!”

Everyone paused to look at her. “She doesn’t know?” Dan asked. Rosa, Ruby, and Sherry all shook their heads.

Ruby stuck a piece of lemon meringue pie under her nose. “The tangy filling reminds your senses that sweet and sour go hand in hand, and the fluffy meringue swirl is for perspective.”

Cassie clenched her teeth, trying hard to remind her senses that everyone there had her best interest at heart . . . and that some were too old to be yelled at. The door jangled again and Cassie thought she’d lose it. She looked up to see Sam.

Their eyes met and held. An odd, full-body sensation traveled through her. She needed him.

The last thing she wanted was to need anyone. It added to her growing anxiety.

“Here, hon.” Jessica squeezed her arm and stuck a phone in front of her, above the pie, and Cassie tore her gaze away from Sam and focused on a video that was playing out on the screen.

Her eyes widened. A newscaster’s voice was speaking over a video of Cassie dressed up as Dolly Parton, having a jolly old time on stage. She shook her head and tried harder to focus on the perfectly coiffed anchor. “Viewers have been expressing their anger and disbelief that Senator and Sandy McGillicuddy’s daughter, Cassidy, was partying hard last night while . . .”

Blood swished in Cassie’s ears and she had to sit down. “Who . . . why . . .” she babbled.

“Hey, chin up, look around. You have the best crisis management team anywhere,” Jessica said, trying hard to sound upbeat.

“But who sent this to the press? Why?” Cassie asked again, looking up, unfocused.

“We don’t know,” Emily replied, looking as angry and betrayed as Cassie felt.

Holly kneeled beside her. “You’re surrounded by friends right now. And Jessica’s right. We’re also the best crisis management team ever because we care about you.”

Not knowing what to do, feel, or say, Cassie picked up the spoon Ruby had given her and took a bite of the lemon meringue pie. The tartness burst upon her first, followed by the soothing sweetness, and ending with the pillowy comfort of the meringue. Feeling a bit sturdier, Cassie looked over at Jessica again. “Have any clients called?”

Jessica looked everywhere but at her. “Just spit it out, Jess. I need to know,” Cassie said, clutching her stomach as discreetly as possible.

Jessica’s worry-filled gaze met hers. “The couple who made the offer on Sam’s house yesterday still wants the house . . . but they want a different agent.”

Cassie felt bile and anger rise. She’d worked so hard to build a separate life and identity for herself. “Why? Because my dad cheated on my mom with my babysitter ten years ago? How is that my fault?”

“N-no.” Jessica frowned. “It’s because they were at Huffy’s, and when they found out today that you were Dolly, well, they felt you were being insensitive.” She sighed. “And there’s more. A client in Columbus called to sever ties with us because she made the connection between you and your father and she has always heavily opposed your father’s politics.”

Cassie’s stomach dropped. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have believed she could separate herself from two national figures—who happened to be her parents? Sam knelt beside her and took her hand, cold and limp, in his. She didn’t look at him, but she clutched his large, warm hand, letting all the pent-up rage she didn’t know how to deal with out in her grip.

“Someone lock the door and swing our sign to closed,” Ruby ordered.

Sherry then sat down in front of her, speaking gently. “I think the first thing you need to do is put some sort of statement out there, something you feel comfortable with, but something truthful. People respond to the truth.”

“She’s right.” Emily began to pace. “People respond to heartfelt, honest statements, but we have to tailor it to address people’s perceptions.”

Rosa put her hands on Cassie’s shoulders. “Before we address the past, you should find out what your parents are saying first, to make sure your statement matches and shows your respect and support for them. Then you should explain how last night you were putting your own worries and problems aside in order to honor your adult commitments to others.”

Cassie looked at Rosa’s beautiful lined face, feeling more understood than she’d felt in years. “That’s exactly how I felt. Like I had to suck it up and shove it aside so I wouldn’t let others down. Every one of our associates works so hard. They have responsibilities and bills to pay and they shouldn’t suffer over any of this. It’s unfair.”

Rosa patted her shoulder. “We know, dear. We know. Now, Emily and I will go to the back office and compose a statement that doesn’t include the words
suck
or
shove
so you can look it over, make changes, and release it as soon as possible.”

Emily handed out assignments that ranged from getting Cassie’s phone charged to diverting the snooping reporter at her office and finding people who had been at Open Town and Huffy’s the day before to do interviews or release statements about how hard Cassie and her team had worked. With that, her very own crisis management team got to work. Maybe she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought.

Only Dan, Johnny, and Sam remained. “I’m so mad!” she finally raged. “How could I have been so naïve?” She turned to Sam. “And don’t you dare turn down that offer because they no longer want me as the listing agent.”

Sam looked at Cassie’s bright, angry eyes, not knowing what to say. There was no way he’d accept the offer, and no way he’d start an argument with Cassie now.

Luckily, Johnny came to his rescue. He put his hands on Cassie’s shoulders and said, “I don’t know how to deal with adults as much as I do with kids, and so I was remembering how you were when we were kids and it got me thinking about how lucky you were to have had thick eyebrows. Now you can shape them any way you want to. You look good, Cass. Hot.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Cassie narrowed her eyes at him. “What the hell are you talking about, Johnny?”

“When you were twelve, Samantha Burns made fun of your eyebrows in front of Garret Pearson, remember?”

Cassie remembered. He’d been her first real infatuation. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You told her you were lucky because you could shape them any way you wanted to and then you did. She tried to hurt you, but you turned it into a positive, and you’ll turn this into a positive, too.”

Cassie turned it around in her head, remembering other times when life had handed her lemons and she’d made lemon meringue. “Thank you,” she said with a half smile.

Johnny sighed. “I should start charging all of you.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Right. Now let’s go scare away that reporter and do some digging. I want to know who leaked the video.”

Dan and Johnny left, the café still had the CLOSED sign on the door, and Sam and Cassie were left alone. She rounded on him. “Take the offer, Sam. I mean it. Lisa or Craig can list it as theirs.”

Sam took a deep breath. “I already told the buyers that if they want to dictate who I use as a Realtor, they can find another house.”

“No! You need to think about your business. About Jake.”

“I
am
thinking about Jake. No matter what he decides to be when he grows up, he can’t let pricks push him around. I have to set the example.”

Cassie watched him with alarm. Risking his business over a listing agent was madness, but his whole body was stiff with determination. “There’s no talking you out of it, is there?”

“Not a chance.”

Cassie racked her brain, trying to think of a compromise. “Why don’t you talk to them, face-to-face, and explain how you’ve known me since I was six, and how the whole thing yesterday was about me not wanting to let you down. Despite their current feelings, I liked them. Maybe if you’ll explain, they’ll understand. I’d explain myself, but it’ll seem self-serving, even though it truly would not be.” She took his hand. “Don’t give up on people, Sam. If I’d let you explain what happened years ago, we might’ve at least saved our friendship.”

“I’m sorry, Cassie, but they’ve already proven what kind of people they are. Telling their Realtor that I won’t allow them to choose my listing agent is the one thing I can do before I head off to meet with my crews. In case you didn’t notice, I wasn’t assigned anything by the powers that be.”

Cassie smiled at that. “They’re a fearsome bunch. The snoops won’t know what hit them.”

“The jerk who leaked the video won’t know what hit him, either,” Sam said, looking fierce.

Cassie sighed. “How do we find them out, though? And does it really matter?”

“It matters. If it’s someone from town, I want to tell them what I think of them.” He tried to lighten the mood by saying, “I’m your small-town hero, remember?”

“You really read my blog?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Of course. I told you so the very first day.”

“I know . . . but people often just say things.”

Sam met her doubtful look with a firm one. “And sometimes people really do mean what they say.”

She blinked and focused on his nose, not wanting him to see the doubt in her eyes

Sam stood up. “I’ve got to get going if I’m going to get anything I’m talking about done.”

Cassie tilted her head, trying to access a memory that had been bothering her. “You know, there was a woman there last night, with long blond hair, who said something to me. She looked familiar, but I can’t place her. I’ve been thinking maybe she was a reporter.”

 

Sam froze. Cassie was talking about Heather. The perfect opening at the worst possible time.

He thought carefully about his next words. He wasn’t out to protect himself. That much he was certain about. “Cass, when this is all over, we need to sit down and really talk.”

“About last night?” Cassie looked up and smiled so prettily, he nearly forgot his worries. “It was so beautiful, Sam. I felt safe and understood. Like you said. But I’m not expecting us to define it. We have too much going on. You just got divorced, you have a son, your business needs attention, and I’m living in a fishbowl again. Right now, all I can think of is I don’t want to drown. In you, in my parents, in anything.”

“I don’t want you to, either. I just want to talk.” And tell her everything, including how he loved her all over again. For the quirky way her mind worked, for her gumption, and for that vulnerable place in her soul that spoke to his.

She said she’d felt safe and understood. Sam played with her fingers a moment. He’d felt her love and he’d felt understood, but if he were to be honest, he hadn’t felt safe. Not knowing what else to do or say, Sam gently brushed his lips against hers. He’d meant it to be a comforting gesture, but the moment his lips met her warm, moist mouth, he breathed her in, and craved more. The soft touch became slow, drawn-out strokes. He slipped a hand around her neck to angle her head and deepen the kiss, and someone coughed.