Chapter Five
Penny smiled and waved as Maggie and Polly walked into The Honey Bear and joined her.
“The tea and brownies are on the way.”
Polly tossed her gargantuan bag on the floor and sat with a happy sigh. “Good. How are you, sugar?”
“I’m doing well, Mrs. Chase. Hey, Maggie, looking great as always. Thanks so much for meeting me here.”
“An offer of blond brownies and planning for Cassie? What’s not to like about that?” Maggie grinned and took out a pad of paper and a pen.
“I was thinking of something like a welcome barbecue. We can invite folks to come and spend the day mixing. She could get to know people and feel like a part of something.” Penny sipped her tea.
“That’s a great idea. We can do it over Labor Day weekend. We were going to do something for my birthday but we can make it a combination thing. That way she’d have to come or risk insulting me.” Polly raised a smug eyebrow and the other two women laughed.
“It’s a good thing your powers are harnessed for good, Mom. She’s so shy sometimes that I agree she might turn down something that was just for her but if we link it to your birthday she’d come. Plus, Shane can have her for the whole day then.” Maggie bit into the just delivered brownie and groaned in delight.
“He’s shown up twice to bring her lunch this week. Just this afternoon he brought her flowers and escorted her like she was some precious object. She’s bowled over. He’s putting on the full court press with her. It’s impressive to watch,” Penny told them.
“I haven’t seen him this interested in a woman since before Sandra. He talks about Cassie all the time. I like her a lot. She’s a sweet girl and smart. I think she’s good for him because it makes him think about someone else. Not that he’s selfish but he’s never really put a woman first before. Whatever it is she’s hiding, it’s not anything she’s at fault for, I can tell that just from dealing with her. I worry for her but if anyone can help her, it’s my Shane.”
“Polly, I think it’s about her ex-husband. She hasn’t shared much but I think there was some bad stuff there. She’s nervous as a cat about men but she’s not a criminal. Hardworking. Kind.”
Polly sighed sadly. “I hate to think that any man would do something bad to his wife. But I’m glad she’s here and we’ll just have to show her that.”
They planned the party, deciding to have it at Penny’s house, right on the water with food and drinks and lots of fun. They’d invite enough people for Cassie to mix and get to know but not so many she’d feel overwhelmed.
* * *
Cassie’s thoughts were filled with Shane as she watched him approach her table at the Sunday Market. His jeans clung to his long, powerful-looking legs and his T-shirt fit snug over his upper body. His muscles positively rippled as he moved, blue-green eyes only for her. She loved the way his hair looked a bit messy but still soft and silky as it touched the top of his collar.
“Hi.” She waved as he stopped. She wished she had something more articulate to say but the man sapped her IQ as all her blood moved away from her brain to her nipples. Shifting and squeezing her thighs together to ease the ache his presence brought, she smiled up at him.
“You look beautiful today. Well, you always do. How’s business?” He reached out and touched the scarf she had around her neck. The scarf she used to hide the scars.
Still, it was a major victory for her that she’d stopped hiding so much of herself. Yes, she hid the physical reminders of her years with Terry, but she was opening up in ways she hadn’t in years. She’d had beer and burgers with Penny and Maggie and the others on Friday night after a really lovely lunch with Shane where he made her blush with his love of the necklace she’d made his mother. She’d beaten the Chase brothers at pool again and Shane walked to her to her car. The kiss had been on her lips, brief but still made her all shaky.
She’d gone into her growing feelings for Shane with her therapist and her brother. Cassie was beginning to feel normal again. She had a life with friends and grocery shopping and a paycheck. Normal was a gift and she’d agreed with her therapist and her brother that she needed to grab it with both hands and live it.
Starting with letting Shane Chase catch her if he wanted to. Or, at least let him take her on a date.
“I’m all right. Apparently your mother and Penny have got some big party planned to welcome me to Petal. They’re saying it’s for your mother’s birthday so I can’t refuse.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You’re right. They’ve got your number. Not that it matters, she’s got you on the ropes. You’re coming, right?”
She grinned. “Yes. I’ve been promised peach cobbler and lemon bars. You’re a terrible man to expose my weakness so it can be used against me.”
He’d never seen her so flirtatious. He liked it. Liked seeing her lighthearted and unafraid of him.
“Darlin’, you’ve been in Petal nearly six weeks now. By now, your brand of toothpaste isn’t a secret. That’s the price of living in a small town.”
She blushed and he decided to forge ahead. “Would you like to go to dinner with me? Dinner and maybe some dancing at The Tonk? Dinner would just be us two. Well, ’cause I want you all to myself. But dancing would be a group of folks. Kyle and Maggie, Matt and Marc will have dates, too, of course. Liv will be there with her new boyfriend, Brody.”
“Okay.”
He’d been readying his next line of attack when he realized she’d just agreed to a date. “Okay?”
“Yeah. When?”
“Tuesday? I have Wednesday and Thursday off this week.”
“All right. I have Wednesday off too.”
“Pick you up at seven then? Is Italian food okay with you?”
She nodded and he stood there grinning at her for several long moments.
“I’m gonna go now before I do something stupid and you change your mind. I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.”
Before she could argue, he turned and headed off with a wave. Still didn’t stop her from watching his ass as he left though.
* * *
As satisfied as she’d been with the profits from her Sunday Market, the best part was that she got to use her hands to create. Truth was, she ached to practice medicine again.
There had been very little in her life she’d been more passionate about than being a doctor. She loved it. Loved helping people, loved improving lives. She missed it and found herself thinking about starting again with a new practice specialty.
Oh, she knew she’d have to go back and get more training. That didn’t seem as daunting as it might have before. Before she’d decided on her surgical residency, she’d been fascinated by family medicine and one of her old mentors was a family practitioner in Orange County. The thought of taking care of entire families had a lot of appeal.
At the same time, it scared the hell out of her to imagine risking herself over something and losing it again. She couldn’t work at the bookstore forever but it was good for the immediate future and her creative side was nourished by the jewelry making.
At the close of the day, Cassie went to a movie with Penny and called Brian once she got home.
“So, the sheriff asked me out today again.”
“Yeah?” She could sense his grin.
“I said yes. We’re going to dinner and dancing afterward.”
“Well it’s about time. Go Sheriff Chase. Good for you, Cassie. I’m proud. So proud.”
“You know what? I’m proud too. It feels good not to live in fear. He’s a nice guy, Brian. I really like him. And his family, they’re like a dream come true. Every last one of them is adorably sweet.”
“They’d better be. You deserve it.”
They spoke for a long time after that, sharing their lives in a way she’d been unable to do since before the last years with Terry. She finally had part of herself back. Even better, she was sharing it with people who mattered to her. It was a kind of connection she’d missed so much. It felt so good she wondered when the other shoe would drop and something bad would happen to mess it all up.