Chapter Three
A few days later
Cassie left the grocery store. Her trolley was completely full of groceries, and she may have gone a little overkill on some of the bargains. Oh well, she could bake up a storm to take to the care home, or the diner. There were plenty of people at her old trailer park that would appreciate the food that she made.
She loved cooking. The biggest problem was she couldn’t eat it all. This was another reason she had hoped to have a huge family someday. Her love of cooking and baking would come in pretty handy. As it was, that didn’t look like it was going to be anytime soon.
Pulling her cell phone out, she started to scroll through her contacts until she found a cab company to come and take her home.
“What are you doing?” Slade asked. He stood in front of her, a small brown bag in his arms.
“I’m calling a cab to take me home.”
“I’m right here. I can take you home.”
It had been a few days since their little encounter in her backyard, and everything seemed to be going smoothly between them. His asshole comments had diminished to almost nothing. Of course, when women came into work wanting to speak to him, she had to listen to him very politely explain his situation. He didn’t date … ever.
There was a time she’d felt bad for them until she heard from Jessica that Slade was known for being very upfront. He offered a good time, and nothing else. It was the women determined to change his mind that seemed to be the biggest problem. This only served to make her feel like the worst human being in the world for judging him. She hadn’t known anything else, and instantly assumed the worst of him.
Still, she found it sad, but then she knew why Slade was going through it. After what happened with Andrew, she wouldn’t believe or trust anyone else with her heart. Yet, she didn’t have much choice in the matter, not really. She’d love to have an experience where there was no risk of falling in love. Was it possible to just have fun? To find a guy and to literally fuck?
“Are you okay? You look all lost in thought?”
Pulling out of her own arousal, she smiled. “A ride would be great, thank you.”
She pushed the trolley toward his car, and was surprised as he took control, placing her bags in the trunk of his car.
When the trolley was empty, she moved it back into one of the bays, and then climbed in the front of his car. This was the first time she had been in his car, and it was kind of strange to her, and yet completely intimate.
“So, how have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been good. You?”
“Great, really great. Did you walk to the store?”
“Yep. I enjoy the walk. Especially as it felt like it was going to be a really nice day.” She lowered the window to allow some air in the car. He pulled out, and they were heading back to their own home. She waved at a couple of people as they passed. “I saw a couple of women stop by your place yesterday. Why were they going to trash your car?”
She’d held the phone in her hand, when she saw one of the women begin to kick his tire. It was kind of scary, the evil look in their eyes.
“They didn’t take kindly to me turning them down.”
“Ah, I can understand that.”
“You can?”
“No woman wants to be turned down.”
“I didn’t the first time, but I’m always clear. It’s sex, and nothing else. I’m not a bad guy in this.”
“I didn’t say you were, Slade. Ugh, okay, I thought you were, but I was wrong, and I’m sorry. Yes, I’m getting to eat humble pie, and I can see from that look on your face you’re very happy with all of this.”
“Totally. It’s nice to hear a woman admit when she’s wrong about someone.”
“I’ve heard that you’re a very open and honest kind of guy. Some women just want to be the one that changes your mind.”
“You ever done that?” Slade asked.
“What? Changed someone’s mind? Nah, nor would I want to. That’s up to someone else.”
“So you don’t do relationships?” he asked.
“Nope.” She hadn’t done one for a long time.
He pulled up onto his drive, and they climbed out.
Cassie waited for him to open the trunk of his car, and when he paused, seeming frozen in time, she looked at him. He was staring at her.
“What?”
“You know about the whole neighbors to lovers thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think it started with a car ride?”
Cassie burst out laughing. “Nah, I think it started out as a hell of a lot more. Maybe there were some car rides, and then spending time together, being with each other every single day, decorating. Before long there’s no dates appearing, and then bam, they’re the ones having sex. I wouldn’t worry, Slade. I do not for a second think that one car ride home, and we’re heading down the aisle.”
He started laughing as well. She grabbed several bags, and as she went for a third, Slade waved her off.
“I’ll bring them in.”
“Excellent, thanks.”
She entered her home and went straight to the kitchen. The natural light was something she loved about the house. Opening the back doors to let more fresh air in, she placed the bags on the counter, and began to empty them out.
“Are you expecting a party or something?”
“I know. I’m a sucker for a bargain, and all of this cost me like half the price.” She was used to growing up with nothing, so she had a thing now that she made sure there was enough to eat in the house. “It’ll be fine.”
“If you need any help eating your way through this, give me a holler. I’m an expert eater, and I love food.”
She giggled. “I may hold you to that.”
“Right, I better get my own steaks in the fridge.” He was just leaving, pulling open a door when the handle snapped off. “Well, shit,” he said.
She winced. “Yeah, that’s been wobbly for some time. I have to say repairing door handles is not my forte.”
“I’ve got a spare. Let me go and grab one. I’ll fix the damage.”
“Okay. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”
By the time Slade got back with a little toolkit in hand, she had put everything away, and was making herself a salad.
“Do you want some lunch?” she asked. “I could grill up some shrimp, and make it something a bit more than some leaves of salad?”
“Absolutely. I’m starving.”
While he fixed her door handle, she finished up the tomato-mozzarella salad, with a basil dressing. She quickly cooked up some shrimp, and tossed it through the mixture adding some arugula to finish. She served them up just as Slade got done.
She placed their meals on a plate, with some iced tea, and they agreed to eat in the yard.
Cassie sat down, pushing her hair off one shoulder before reaching for her plate. “The only problem with the summer is keeping up with everything.” She had to mow her lawn and weed through her vegetable patch.
“What do you do with all your vegetables?” he asked. “There’s more there than you can use.”
“I can.” Her cheeks heated as she admitted to the old-fashioned skill.
“Really? Wow, you can. I thought that was still pretty outdated. You know we have stores all around with canned goods.”
She started laughing. “There is just something about homemade. Also, I’m kind of a doomsdayer at times. I worry that if I don’t learn that skill, one day soon, I’m going to need it. Besides, I enjoy it. On the last day of harvest, I gather my vegetables, and take it indoors, planning over the weekend how I’ll do it. It’s fun.” She tried not to cringe for a second time that day. Canning is fun? It’s like saying taking glass out of your foot is fun. Her hobbies were lame to the average person.
“You know what, I may have to see this in actual action.”
“You want to see me canning?”
“I’ll have to see it to believe it.”
“I could show you my pot, and my jars.” They were all in her pantry ready for the day.
They finished their lunch, and she took him inside, showing off the big canning pot, and then she moved a bit further down, for him to see some of the jars from last year’s canning event. “See, I told you. I’m kind of weird like this.”
He picked one up that read salsa. “This was made from all ingredients you’d grown?”
“Yep. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. It’s great with tortilla chips.”
“Can I take it?” he asked.
At first she was going to say no, but then she realized she was only being silly. “Sure. I hope you enjoy it.”
****
The salsa had been amazing with tortilla chips. He’d eaten the entire jar by the time Monday arrived, and he had to ask for more. Before heading into work though, he took a little detour toward the trailer park area. Slade had been around here a few times, and it didn’t seem real to him for Cassie to have grown up here.
She was always so neat, so tidy, so clean. He’d noticed that her house didn’t even have a speck of dust. Her pantry was the cleanest he’d ever seen. She was even better than his mother at organizing stuff.
“Is someone in trouble, deputy?”
He turned to see an older woman sitting in the shade, knitting something in her lap.
“No one is in trouble. Have you lived here long?” he asked, moving toward her.
“My entire life. You can have a seat. No one is afraid of you. It’s been a long time since we saw you out here, deputy.”
He took a seat opposite her, and stared out across the entire park. “Do you remember a Cassie Love?”
“The Love family. I do remember them. Her father was such a nice guy when he first moved here. His wife … not so much. I mean, everyone thought the wife was a sweetheart, but she wasn’t. She always had men over every single day, and on occasion Bill caught her.”
“Bill?”
“Bill Love. It’s Cassie’s father. Of course, they would scream, and rave. Her mother would throw stuff around, and Cassie would sit out on the grass over there as they fought. Bill would forgive, and then it would all happen again. Then one day, a car came. Something fancy, and I watched as Cassie’s mother took a bag, kissed her daughter on the head, and left without a backward glance. It was a really fancy car as well. She had left for a better life, not even taking her daughter.”
Slade wasn’t liking this little tale.
“Not long after that, Bill started to get drunk. He wasn’t physically mean, but sometimes we’d hear him rant and rave at Cassie. Saying it was all her fault. I never saw a man go downhill so fast. Cassie had to live with a lot.” The older woman tutted. “Then one summer before senior year, we saw a nice young man coming ‘round. He was treating her all good like. We knew Cassie was falling in love, and that she had it bad for this kid.”
Slade didn’t like the jealousy that sprang upon him at the thought that Cassie could love someone else.
“What happened?”
The older woman sighed. “He broke Cassie’s heart. Told her it was all part of some bet, and not only did he get to fuck the trailer trash, he got to pop her cherry. Ray made sure that boy didn’t come around again.” She pointed to another trailer, three down from hers. “Cassie still comes around. She’s always bringing us her baked goods.”
“What happened to her dad?”
“Don’t know. He skipped town when Cassie graduated. A couple of us went to see her. Me and Ray included. We saw her graduate, and it was a proud moment.”
Slade saw how proud she was. There was no hiding that look.
“Well, I think I’ve said everything that needs to be said. I need to go and take a nap.”
Before he could ask for any more information, she was gone.
Seeing no point in staying, he made his way back to the sheriff’s office. Daniel had promised him that he’d be sheriff as soon as Daniel was ready to retire. Of course, Daniel had also warned him that he needed to get the town to love him, and to want him for the position first. Slade had a lot of work to do to get where he wanted to be, but he loved the challenge. Slade had no intention of leaving, or finding a job elsewhere. He was content to be a deputy in a small town.
Entering the office, he saw Cassie was on the phone, so he gave her a smile, and headed back into Daniel’s office where he found his boss signing off on a few things.
“You had a productive morning,” Daniel said without even looking up. “Talking to some people in the trailer park.” He finished signing a sheet of paper before looking up.
Taking a seat, he stared at Daniel. “I was asking some questions is all.”
“What about?”
Gritting his teeth, Slade got up, and closed the door. “I was asking a few questions about Cassie. She’s my neighbor, and I was curious about her.”
Daniel tilted his head to the side. “Why didn’t you ask her?”
“I didn’t want any trouble.”
“You think talking about her behind her back won’t cause trouble?” Daniel leaned back in his chair. “You have no idea about women, do you?”
“I know a great deal I’ll have you know. What do we know about the asshole that hurt her?”
Daniel laughed, and Slade didn’t know why. As far as he was concerned, this wasn’t any laughing matter. He wanted to know what the fuck the bastard found funny.
“Wow, do you believe in that little curse that’s on your two houses?”
“No, I don’t. I wanted to know more about Cassie. She’s so uptight, and she doesn’t date. I just … can’t a guy have some curiosity?”
Daniel sighed. “I guess you’re right. The fucker’s name was Andrew. He doesn’t live around here anymore. His dad still does. They own one of the big factories.”
“They’re one of the rich families?”
“You got it.”
Slade sat back.
“And I don’t want Andrew back anytime soon. I saw what it did to Cassie after that bastard broke her heart. He used her for what he could get, which was points in a damn game. Last I heard, and from what I’ve seen, Cassie has never dated since.”
“I don’t like the fucker.” And Slade didn’t even know him.
“You don’t have to like him. You want to know why Cassie doesn’t get close to anyone, then I’d say Andrew is a pretty big reason. After being dumped, and your entire … experience gossiped about time and time again, I’d say you’d be very … careful next time.”
“What about her dad?” Slade asked. He wanted answers, and he wanted them fast.
Daniel leaned forward. “You want to tell me why you’re asking all these questions?”
“I told you. I want to know more about my neighbor.” There was no other reason.
“Right, okay. If you must know I tracked Bill down myself.”
Slade waited, curiosity eating away at him.
“He’s dead. I went and identified him myself. Got into a fight in the city, and it went ugly. Ended with a bottle being smashed, and jammed into his throat. It was an ugly way to die, but I had a feeling that Bill was making sure someone killed him.”
“She doesn’t know?”
“Nope. She doesn’t.”
Running a hand down his face, Slade couldn’t help the feelings that were rushing through him. He felt bad, and angry, also sad for her. She hadn’t lived a great life. In fact, from everything he’d been told, her life had been incredibly shit.
“Is this why you’re protective of her?”
Daniel shook his head. “I’m protective of her because behind all the bullshit you see, and the bitchy attitude, she’s a very kind woman. She gets hurt way too easily.”
The phone on Daniel’s desk started to ring.
Without being told to leave, Slade was already gone, closing the door behind him. Moving up toward the main desk, he saw Cassie eating some kind of pasta salad.
She was staring at her screen, and doing some typing.
“Mrs. O’Ryan called again. She said that aliens are attacking her field, and that if you don’t come soon, they’re going to impregnate her.” Cassie smiled over at him.
“Just another day in the office.”
“She went into a great deal of details. You’d have loved it.” Cassie held out her food. “Want some? It’s a Caprese pasta salad. Really good.”
He took the bowl and the fork from her hands, and took a bite. The flavors were amazing, and he leaned against the wall.
“So, I was wondering what you’re doing Friday night?” he asked.
“Me? I don’t know. Probably read or something.”
“Well, I know this really great movie that I picked up the other day. It’s supposed to be really good.”
Cassie turned to look at him. “You’re inviting me to watch a movie?”
“Why not? I’m being generous here. It could be a scary movie.”
“Very true.” She chuckled. “Fine, fine. I’ll grab some popcorn. When will you be playing it?”
“At around eight o’clock. You think you can make it for then?” he asked. Why was he doing this? Asking her out to watch a movie. It wasn’t a big deal. Not really. He could ask a woman out to watch a movie.
He’d intended to spend the night by himself, drinking a few beers, and just relaxing. There was nothing wrong with having a bit of company.
“I’ll be there.”
Slade handed her back the empty bowl. “I can’t wait.” What made it even worse for him, was the fact he really couldn’t wait.