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“I did, yes.”
“I always liked her for you, Jared. Cade wasn’t good enough for her. He’s too much like your uncle and not enough like your father. I don’t know where we went wrong. He thinks it’s okay to use and discard women like he does.”
“Mom, I have no clue, because neither me nor Lachlan would ever treat a woman the way he chooses to. I bet that’s why he got divorced.”
Man, when that news hit the household, I thought my mom would lose her ever-loving mind! Knox’s don’t divorce. Oh, sure, some of my family members are barely civil to one another, but they don’t divorce. Ever.
“Actually, he divorced her when he found out that she had an abortion, not a miscarriage all those years ago,” Mom replies. Her response is so surreal to me that I stop running and get off the treadmill, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from my face.
“Are you serious?” The girl he married six months after leaving for college was apparently pregnant which was why he married her. To hear that she had an abortion is devastating, because despite the circumstances and what it did to Cassidy, my folks were excited to become grandparents.
Mom nods. “Apparently, she decided that she wasn’t ‘mother’ material and that a baby would cramp her style. She had it done while he was at some conference, then when he called, she told him she’d had a miscarriage.”
“How on earth did he find out now after so many years?” I question. My heart hurts that none of us ever had a chance to get to know this child. I might despise my brother, but am not the kind of person who would take it out on an innocent child.
“He was packing for their move and came across some medical records. When he confronted her, she admitted to everything. While I know that no one in our family has ever gone through a divorce, when he talked to your father, they both decided that it would be for the best. He’s got issues, Jared, and I’m more aware of them than anyone, but he did do the right thing by her.”
“If he had remembered he was seeing someone none of it would have happened,” I remind her. “I mean, Cassidy was here waiting on him, remember?”
“Do you want my opinion? I think he knew you were interested in her and asked her out first so that you couldn’t. He’s always been jealous of you, Jared.”
I shake my head in puzzlement. “But why? We’re brothers.”
“Because the two of you had a lot more in common than he had with her.”
I think about her words and realize that she’s right. Cade hates movies and Cassidy didn’t like going by herself if Mags wasn’t available, so I would go with her. She loves being outdoors and he wouldn’t know how to bait a hook if his life depended on it, so she and I would go fishing. Hell, he doesn’t know how to change the oil in his fancy car, and for sure, he’d have never been interested in fixing up an old truck.
“I guess you’re right, Mom.”
“I’m always right, don’t you know that by now?” I laugh at her words because she’s telling the truth. “Anyhow, I know things are tense between you two, but I also know that you and Cassidy are starting something, so I’ll run interference any way possible.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I lean down and kiss her cheek. “I’m gonna go up and shower then hit the hay. Got court in the morning.”
“Good night, Jared. Just remember, he’s got issues,” she replies.
“As long as they don’t touch Cassidy, we’re good,” I state.
* * *
Freshly showered, I hit the bed and think about the day. Reconnecting with Cassidy took what was a shitty start and turned it around. I don’t care for my father’s receptionist, well, our receptionist, all that much. She’s always been a bitch, but he feels she’s good at what she does, so he won’t fire her. Just another reason for me to branch out on my own. As I drift off to sleep, I make a mental note to discuss that with my father; my new house is a county over and I wouldn’t mind being my own boss for a change.
Five
Jared
“Jared, I thought you liked working together,” my dad says. I can see the frustration on his face because up until Cade came back, I did enjoy working alongside my father. He’s a bit old-school and sometimes stuffy, but he and I have always gotten along well with one another.
I run my hand across my face while I try to come up with the words to explain how I’m feeling. “Dad, I just don’t think I can continue to work here in the same office as Cade. I’m sure that Mom filled you in on my date with Cassidy last night. We’re dating and that might be awkward for her if she comes into the office and runs into him, and he pulls what he did on me last night.”
“What do you mean?”
“He accused her of being his sloppy seconds, Dad,” I growl out. I swear, I don’t know who I am any more, but she brings out a side of me that I never knew existed.
“She’s a good girl. She’s always been a good girl. Wayne and Maureen raised her up right,” he replies. “Don’t know what your brother was thinking saying something like that unless he was just trying to rile you up.”
“Well, it worked. Not only that, but I genuinely don’t like Estella. She’s a bitch, Dad, and looks down at everyone who walks through our doors. We’ve never been pretentious, even though we’ve got money, yet she acts like everyone that comes in is out to steal our ‘fortune’ or something!”
He chuckles then says, “She’s good at what she does, Son, and she’s never overstepped. At least not where I can hear, anyhow. So, you want to go out on your own, huh? That might help me out more than you know. Got cases I’ve had to turn away because I simply don’t have the time, even with Cade coming back. You opening up your own office means that all those coming from that county would stay with you, you know?”
