CHAPTER FOUR
Cassandra
“I’M SORRY THAT happened, Mr. Hayes. I realize that isn’t the way the school handles drop off and I will be sure he follows the rules in the future.”
I hung up with the principal and rubbed my temples to ease the headache that was forming. Halfway through the day and already I was dealing with a multitude of problems. The latest being my husband throwing a temper tantrum at the school. I was really starting to question if this had been a good idea.
My lunch break was coming up, so I decided to go over to Jackson Walker Construction and have a little chat with my husband. I tried to think the whole way there of the proper way to handle this situation. I didn’t think that yelling at him would help, and strangling him would only defeat the purpose of marrying him. The good thing was that James was on time to school and I had to remember that Ryan got him there safely and in one piece. It was the little things that counted.
I had been to his office many times before, so I checked in with the receptionist and headed back to his office. When I got to his door, Ryan was sitting on the floor and Logan was leaning over him.
“Is everything okay, Ryan?” I asked as I ran into his office. My mothering skills took over and I ran a hand over his forehead. He felt a little clammy, but not warm. I didn’t see any blood or any other injuries, so my heart calmed slightly. He stood quickly and stumbled a little, but quickly righted himself.
“Everything’s fine. Good. Good. We’re all good.” He was rambling and his eyes looked shifty as if he was trying to hide something.
“Why are you holding a paper bag? It looked like you were using it for breathing.”
“Uh..Cece has panic attacks and she had a pretty bad one last night, so I was showing Logan how he could help her.” He was speaking very fast and stumbling over his words. He started pulling at his neckline and pushing his sleeves up his arms. His eyes were twitching faster with every word he said. “You know, make sure your clothes are loose around the neck, bend over and take deep breaths, breathe into a paper bag.” He held up the bag in front of me with a quick smile.
“I didn’t know Cece had panic attacks. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” Logan interjected.
“What did she have a panic attack about?”
They answered at the same time, but completely different answers.
“Archer choked on a chicken bone,” Ryan said.
“Archer almost drowned in the tub,” Logan said.
They looked at each other and I could swear they were having some weird conversation.
“Which is it? He choked on a chicken bone or he almost drowned in the tub?”
They looked at each other again and then Logan glared at Ryan and responded. “Both. I was taking care of him and I gave him a piece of chicken to eat in the tub. So..” He cleared his throat and continued. “He almost choked on a chicken bone and then drowned in the tub.”
“That’s..horrible.” Why did I feel like this was all one big lie? “Isn’t Archer only nine months old?”
“Yeah.” Logan rubbed a hand over his jaw as if he was trying to figure out where I was taking this.
“Isn’t that a little young to give a child a piece of chicken still on the bone? I mean, it’s been a while for me, obviously, but I don’t think pediatrician’s recommend giving children that young food with bones still attached.”
Logan did his best to look dejected. “Yeah. Cece said that I’m not allowed to bathe him anymore. She’s really mad at me.”
I narrowed my eyes at Logan and pursed my lips, trying to get him to break. He just stared back at me, but I could see the little beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I should go call her and see how the little guy is doing.”
“Did you take him to the hospital last night?” I called to him as he walked toward the door.
“No, I gave him the heimlich and the chicken bone popped right out.”
Gotcha! “Really? I thought you were only supposed to slap a child on the back when something was stuck in his throat at that age?”
“I..uh.. Yeah. That’s what I did.”
He started rubbing his palms on his pants and I could see sweat beginning to form in the armpits of his shirt. I could see Ryan waving his arms at Logan, trying to communicate something, out of the corner of my eye. I pretended like I hadn’t seen and continued my interrogation of Logan.
“So, tell me. How did he manage to almost drown in the tub while eating this piece of chicken?”
Ryan was signaling a phone to Logan and then making the choking sign.
“I stepped into the hall because I thought I heard the phone ring.” His eyes kept shifting back to Ryan and I saw him shoot daggers at him, though he was trying to hide it.
“You left your child, that was holding a chicken bone, in the tub alone so you could get the phone?”
“I thought it could be an emergency,” He said, wiping his forehead.
“And Archer wouldn’t be sitting up that well in a tub of slippery water, so that was quite a risk to take.”
Ryan mimicked swimming and I almost started laughing because he really thought that I couldn’t see him.
“I was..swimming?” I quirked my eyebrow at him. “He was swimming?” Ryan continued to flash signs at Logan who was on the verge of losing it. “I was teaching him to swim!” Logan said triumphantly as he raised his fists over his head.
“You were teaching him to swim in a tub while eating a piece of chicken?”
Logan finally lost it and yelled at me. “Fine! I’m a horrible parent. Is that what you want to hear? I should never be around children ever again.”
He stormed off to his office and I heard his door slam. I couldn’t help but chuckle a little before I turned back and looked at Ryan. He was looking at the floor and running the toe of his shoe over the same spot over and over.
“So, I got an interesting call from the principal today. He said that you threw a temper tantrum at the drop off spot because the line was moving too slow?”
“Yeah, uh, I was running late for a meeting and the guard lady was talking to one of the parents and wouldn’t let the other cars move.”
“He said that you got out of the truck and made a scene.”
“Look, I admit it wasn’t my finest moment, but I had to get to work.”
“And did you get here on time?”
He looked sheepishly at me. “No. I was a half hour late because I got sent to the principal’s office.”
“Well, I’m sorry you were late because of me. I’ll make sure that in the future I’m able to drop him off at school.”
Feeling like maybe I’d let him suffer enough, I gave an awkward wave goodbye and headed for the door, just then remembering that I didn’t know what our plans were for tonight. As I turned back, I caught him staring at my ass just before he quickly raised his eyes to meet mine. There was no shame there, only appreciation.
“We haven’t discussed how we’re going to handle the move yet. Should James and I stay at our apartment for the rest of the week?”
He frowned. “I don’t think that would look very good. I can get off early today and help you pack. What time will you be done today?”
“I have to pick up James at three-thirty. Should we meet at my apartment at 4:15?”
“Sure. Do you need me to bring boxes or anything?”
“I think we can just pack a few bags until the weekend.”
He nodded and I gave a slight smile before leaving. This whole thing was just weird. We certainly weren’t acting like a married couple and anyone with eyes would catch on to our ruse soon enough if we didn’t get out of this funk. I made up my mind to talk with him about it later tonight. What was the point in having a fake marriage to keep custody of my son if I lost him anyway because it didn’t look real?
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“Just pack a bag with clothes for the rest of the week, James.”
“I don’t see why I have to pack anything. Why do we have to live with him? It’s not like he’s my real dad or anything.”
“He’s your step-father now, so you’ll treat him with respect,” I said as we walked into the apartment.
“He doesn’t even like me. I don’t think he even knows my name. He calls me ‘the kid’.”
“Look, Ryan is new to this whole parenting thing, so we have to give him a little leeway and allow him to figure it all out.”
“So, I should give him pointers?”
“Definitely. Just tell him what you need like you do with me.”
“I can do that.”
I swore I saw a glint of evil cross my son’s face, but I chose to ignore it. He wouldn’t do anything too bad, right? I went to my room and pulled out some bags to start putting stuff in. By the time I was done with my clothes, I had four large bags packed. I still had to pack shoes and my bathroom stuff. Pulling out my large suitcase, I packed as many shoes as I could fit in one side and then went to my bathroom and started packing that stuff. By the time Ryan showed up, I had all my bags sitting by the front door, along with James’s bags.
“Hey, little man. How was school today?”
James glared at Ryan and Ryan looked to me for help. I shrugged and went around collecting anything else I might need before the weekend.
“Fine,” James replied.
“I was thinking we’d just get a pizza for dinner tonight since we’re moving stuff tonight. How’s that sound?”
“That’s fine, but I’ll also need cheesy bread and wings.”
I smirked at his attempt to pull one over on Ryan, but Ryan didn’t seem fazed at all.
“And dessert too. I hear the chocolate lava cakes are awesome.”
Of course men bonded over food. Why would my son be any different?
“What do you like on your pizza?” Ryan asked.
“Everything, but Mom only likes pepperoni, onion, and black olives.”
“Well, I guess there’s only one solution then.” James hung his head in disappointment. No doubt Ryan would suggest we just get what I liked, which I really appreciated. “We’re just going to have to get two pizzas.”
James whipped his head up and gave a big smile to Ryan. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I can put away a whole pizza by myself, so I don’t think it would be smart to get just one anyway.”
Ryan held out his fist and they did some kind of bump and then explosion. I rolled my eyes at their weird form of male bonding and continued to pack. Then I realized that I had no idea where Ryan lived. We had never been to his house.
“Ryan, I don’t even know where you live.”
“Just outside of town. I have a few acres with a log cabin at the back of the property.”
“Oh. I guess I didn’t figure you for a log cabin kind of guy. Are you sure there’s enough space?”
“I think we’ll manage,” he chuckled.
I didn’t know why that was funny. I wasn’t sure he had any idea how much space a child could take up, or a woman for that matter. When we packed this weekend, he’d see exactly how intrusive we were going to be.
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“You said cabin. This is not a cabin.”
“Yes it is,” Ryan said as he raised his eyebrow at me.
“No. A cabin is small and fits two people. This is a log mansion.”
I stared out the window at the monstrosity in front of us. It was gorgeous, but definitely not a cabin. It looked like there were three stories and the second story had a wrap around porch. The roof was some kind of green metal that wasn’t the most attractive, but seeing as how Ryan was in construction, there must have been some reason he chose that.
“No, it’s not. It just looks big.”
“Really? Because it looks like you could fit five families in there.”
He gave me a strange look. “Not even close. Our bedroom is on the second floor, which is the main level of the house. There are two bedrooms upstairs and three downstairs. You can choose any of them for James.”
“I think I would prefer him to be upstairs. I don’t like the idea of him being on the lower level alone.”
“Whatever you want is fine.”
He parked the truck and we all got out and grabbed a few bags. James was staring in awe at the house and all the outdoor space.
“What do you think, bud?” Ryan asked.
James closed his gaping mouth and shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”
Ryan shook his head in amusement and we all walked toward the back door. When Ryan opened it and stepped aside for us to enter, I felt like I’d entered another world. The foyer was easily the size of my living room and kitchen. Off to the right was the kitchen and off to the left was a staircase and then double doors beyond that. The most remarkable thing I saw was the view straight ahead. The living room was right in front with large windows that went all the way up to the third floor. There was a huge stone fireplace and leather sectionals placed around the large living room, along with some armchairs.
I walked straight ahead and looked out the large windows. The view was spectacular. Large trees were set back off the property line and there was a pond in the distance. I shook my head in disbelief that we would be living amongst all this beauty.
“So, you said you have a few acres. Where’s your property line?”
“Um, well, it’s past the trees.”
“Oh, like just inside the trees? I’d like to take a walk, but I don’t want to wander onto someone else’s property.”
He scratched the back of his head and squinted off into the distance. “Um, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“Well, I’d prefer to know. Just tell me approximately how far it is.”
He sighed and pointed off to the left. “The property line goes off about a half mile that way and and half mile the other way.”
“And how far back does it go?” This didn’t sound like the few acres he was talking about.
“About a mile.”
“That’s not a few acres.”
“No.”
“That’s…” I tried to calculate in my head how many acres that was, but I was having trouble doing the math.”
“Roughly six hundred and forty acres.”
My jaw dropped open. This man was insane. He made it sound like he lived in some modest house on a modest piece of land when he was really living like a king.
“How do you..I don’t understand. How can you afford all this?”
“Well, my grandparents left me a pretty good inheritance. When I started the company with Logan and we started growing, I decided that I wanted to build something for myself. This land was available. So Logan designed the house according to what I had in mind and I found this land. It was just perfect. I imagined having a family out here some day. I didn’t realize it would be quite so soon, but that was the idea behind it.”
I was shocked. I really didn’t know what to say about any of it. I shook my head to clear the amazement from my face. “Well, how about you show us where to put our bags and we’ll get settled in.”
“Sure. Follow me.” He led me back toward the staircase and turned to the right where the double doors were. “James, upstairs are two bedrooms. You can choose whichever one you want.”
James looked to me as if to ask if he could go. I nodded and he ran up the stairs to find his new room. “Cool!” I laughed and followed Ryan through the double doors to my new bedroom. It was amazing. A king size bed sat against the wall across from the doors, with a row of windows above. The right wall had double doors that led out to the porch, and there was a fireplace in the corner. The room was huge. It could have had my living room furniture in there and still been cozy.
To the left was a door that led into the bathroom. I walked in and practically wept with joy. There was a walk-in shower that didn’t have a door, but receded back into the wall. The lower half had a stone wall, while the upper half was glass. The vanity looked like an entryway table and on top were two big bowls with faucets attached. Off to the right was a giant garden tub that I could imagine soaking in every night. How did I end up with this man? This couldn’t be real.
“Right now I only have one dresser, but the closet is very large. How about we see how much space you need after you’ve filled the closet and then we can find dressers for the bedroom?”
“That sounds fine.”
“Mom! Mom! You’ve got to come see this.” James was jumping in the doorway of the bedroom, so I followed him upstairs to see his room. There was a cute loft that overlooked the backyard and a bedroom to the left of that. James was dragging me to the bedroom on the other side. There was a little living room set up outside his room where he could read. James loved to read, so this was perfect for him. His room was easily the size of our two bedrooms combined in our apartment. He showed me all the key features of the room and the view. Then he just stopped talking and started throwing his clothes in the dresser like he was afraid I would change my mind about staying.
I walked back downstairs to find Ryan in the kitchen staring out the window. “So, how are you holding up with all this?”
“Huh?” He turned to me with a questioning look. “Sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“Is this all too much for you? I know you said you built this for a family, but I’m guessing that you thought it would be your family and not a fake family.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you are my family. We’re married now and James is my son. Well, stepson. I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t a little weird, because it is, but we’ll make it work. We just need some time to adjust.”
He said it all very matter of fact and I had no doubt that he wanted to mean it, but something in his voice told me that he was just telling himself that in the hopes that if he said it enough, he would believe it. He was right though. We were married now and I would try to make the most of it and make sure he didn’t regret his decision to help us.
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I was ready to go to bed by nine o’clock. The bath was calling my name, but I was so tired and I didn’t want to just go jump in the tub my first night here. James was already upstairs and had gone to bed a half hour ago. He seemed to be slightly more relaxed around Ryan the rest of the night, so I took that as a good sign.
“I’m going to head to bed now. Do you have a certain side you sleep on?”
“No, whatever side you want is fine. I’m just going to lock up and then I’ll be in,” Ryan said.
He seemed a little distant, but I couldn’t blame him. This was a lot to take in.
“I just want you to know, if you change your mind about this, I won’t be upset with you. I know I told you that you couldn’t back out, but I want you to know that I understand how difficult this must be.”
He didn’t say anything, but nodded, so I went to the bedroom and got ready for bed. When I came out of the bathroom, Ryan was undressing in the bedroom. He had on his white t-shirt and his jeans were unzipped and sitting low on his hips. His eyes roamed my body and I started rethinking wearing just a t-shirt to bed.
His eyes narrowed in on my chest and a scowl appeared on his face. I looked down and then back up at him. “What? Is something wrong?”
“Army. I’m guessing that’s Michael’s shirt?”
I looked down at the wording and flushed. “Yes. He left it when he..” I didn’t finish my thought. “I just wear it as a night shirt.”
He walked over to me and stepped right into my space. I felt his fingers brush the hem of my shirt and start dragging it up. I almost pushed his hands away, but his eyes held me captive. I lifted my arms as he pulled the shirt up over my head and threw it in the corner. Then he reached behind him and pulled his shirt over his head by the neck. He slipped the shirt over my head and slid it in place. His eyes didn’t leave mine the entire time.
“As long as you’re my wife, you’ll never wear that fucker’s clothes again.”
I nodded slightly and parted my lips slightly. My nipples were pebbling under my shirt and my heart was racing. Part of me wanted to lean forward and kiss him, but the other part of me was worried about blurring the lines of our new relationship. His eyes dropped to my lips and he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“Goodnight, Cassandra.”
He walked into the bathroom and I heard the shower start. I didn’t waste another minute climbing into bed and burying myself in the covers. Ryan had always made me want more and now that I had him, I was worried that I would only get my heart broken.