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I’m lost in my thoughts when my phone rings.
“Cass, did you hear that he’s back in town?” Mags, my best friend, asks, when I answer the phone.
“Who’s back in town?” I inquire.
“Cade.”
“Um, no, didn’t hear that little tidbit today while working.” Guess the gossips only like talking about me, not to me. Go figure. Bunch of nattering old biddies anyhow!
“He’s apparently divorced now and came home to help Jared take over his dad’s law firm,” she says.
“He’s back to help his dad run the firm? Can he be a lawyer in this state? I thought he was some hot shot out west somewhere?”
Well, fuck me running, I sure didn’t see that one coming. Well, I guess I did in a way, the whole Knox clan are lawyers and if the rumor mill is true, Cade had been a very successful attorney out west somewhere. Didn’t matter where because as far as I was concerned, he was a lying, hideous snake of a man. Gee, that makes me sound a bit bitter, doesn’t it? Well, maybe I am. After all, less than six months after he left, he was married. To someone else, not me. Glad I held onto that V-card because obviously my love meant nothing.
Of course, I still have the damn thing, but that has more to do with the fact I’m beyond leery where the opposite sex is concerned. Who can blame me?
“I guess so, otherwise, he wouldn’t be working there, right?”
“How the hell should I know?” I retort.
“Down, Tiger, it’s not me you’re mad at, remember? You gonna see him?” she asks.
“Why? That ship sailed a long time ago, Mags.”
It sailed, then ran into an iceberg, burst into flames and sank into the depths. Any bit of love I thought I had for one Cade Knox died the day I heard he got married. I was supposed to be his one and only. Guess the allure of money and status meant more to him than me. Although… living in a small town, it’s probable that we’ll eventually run into one another, so it’s a good thing Mags is warning me. I can shore up my defenses, so to speak, for that inevitable confrontation.
“He’s single again, Cass,” she states.
“Again, that ship sailed the minute he said ‘I do’ to someone else. You know this.”
“There aren’t many other options.” This, unfortunately, is true. I love this small town, gossips notwithstanding, but the ratio of single men to women is dismal. I’m definitely not one of those new age women either, who swipes left or right on a match.
“So, I’m supposed to suck up to an ex because the pickings are slim here? Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take out stock in the battery company and order what I need online before I’ll ever go down that road. Besides, he’s used to the fancier things in life nowadays and I’m just me.”
“Oh, Cass, you’re more than that, my friend. You’re smart, funny and beautiful. Any man would be tickled to have you as their one and only.”
“From your mouth to God’s ear,” I mutter somewhat sarcastically.
“What?” she questions, not having heard me.
“Never mind, I gotta run. We’re seeing the attorney in the morning. The settlement check has finally come in.”
“Hallefuckinluyah!” she screams into the phone.
“And… now that I’m deaf, I’m gonna let you go.”
“Love you, Cass. Chin up, better days are ahead.”
“Ditto, Mags. Talk to you tomorrow, yeah?” I miss her but the internship she got meant a move nearly one thousand miles away. She’ll be done soon, though, and coming back here to come work for our local vet.
* * *
I look at the sign on the building and cringe inside. Knox, Knox, Knox, and Martin, Attorneys at Law, is on one of those nice, bronze plaques next to the door. Taking a deep breath, I smile at Mom and say, “C’mon, let’s go see what they’ve got for you to sign.”
“Oh, honey, this is it, I can feel it in my bones,” Mom replies, walking alongside me.
I can see the weight of all we’ve been through practically dissolve the closer we get to the door. Hopefully, she’s not disappointed with the amount because I know it’ll cause her to spiral into an ugly depression.
