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“Please come inside for some lemonade before you leave. It’s mighty hot out here,” Maylene suggested, her face lit up with a warm smile.
“No, Ma’am. Thanks for the offer, but I’ve been away from the Sheriff’s Office for a while now. I need to get back and check on things.” Tate’s firm tone brooked no argument.
“Thanks for the rescue. And the ride.” Cassidy forced herself to smile, despite the lead weight lodged in her gut. He was leaving! She wanted him to stay, to come into the house and sip lemonade with her family. More than anything, she wanted him to smile at her again, to joke with her about trivial matters and tell her his innermost thoughts. A strong force tugged at her. She wanted things to be the way they used to be.
Tate nodded curtly, his expression unreadable as he turned and walked away, his stride full of purpose.
He can’t get out of here fast enough! Her heart sank as the realization kicked in. Tate was rushing away as if his pants were on fire. Any illusions she’d been harboring about him wanting to spend time with her vanished as she watched him speed away. What did she expect? A kind deed and a few civil words didn’t change Tate’s feelings toward her. She’d seen it all in his eyes—the mistrust, the pain, the regret.
As Regina rushed ahead to open up the house, her father linked her mother’s hand with his and began walking toward the door with her. Cassidy positioned herself on her mother’s right side, supporting her as she walked up the steps and onto the porch. Cassidy cast a glance backward, only to see the squad car turn off the lane and zoom out of sight.
Once inside Regina began running around fluffing up pillows, bringing bottled water and a stack of magazines to read. Cassidy watched Regina flit around the house with an ease that she envied. She battled a rising sense of irritation as her cousin played the role of doting daughter while she stood on the sidelines.
Lord, please help me to deal with these feelings of resentment. I shouldn’t be jealous of my cousin’s closeness to my parents. I should be grateful that she’s cared for them in my absence.
Gratitude was the last thing she felt as Regina clapped her hands together and cried out, “Why don’t we do one of our puzzles, Aunt Mylie? I can run to your sitting room and bring down a few.”
Her father gently pulled his niece aside and began talking to her in hushed tones, his expression earnest. Regina’s eyes widened and a look of dismay came over her face. Cassidy heard her cousin murmur, “I... Oh, of course. I really just stopped by to see how Aunt Mylie was doing. I’m sure you want to spend some quality time together.”
Regina spun around and grabbed her purse off the end table. “I’m going to go do a food run,” she said briskly. She looked at her watch. “I should get going before the shops close.”
“I’ll walk you to the door, sweetheart,” Maylene said as she patted Regina reassuringly on the back.
Regina walked over to Cassidy, wrapping her arms around her once she’d reached her side. Cassidy felt her body relax as she gave in to the rush of warm feelings. This was home. “I forgot to say welcome back, Cassidy,” Regina whispered. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” Cassidy said in an earnest voice. And she had missed her. Terribly.
Although her relationship with her cousin wasn’t perfect, it was based on deep love and abiding family values. Reconnecting with Regina while she was back in town was at the top of her to-do list.
“I’ll come by later with dinner,” Regina called out as she breezed out of the room.
As soon as they were alone in the living room, her father turned toward her, his eyes inscrutable as he gave her the once-over. With his salt-and-pepper hair, slate gray eyes and tall thin frame, he cut an imposing figure. Ever since she was a little girl, Cassidy had been both in awe of and afraid of her father. At twenty-six years old, she found that nothing had changed in that regard—her knees were shaking and her palms were slick with moisture.
Lord, help me bridge this gap between us. We’re miles apart and every day the gap gets wider.
“Cassidy. It’s been a while,” her father said stiffly, his arms lying helpless
ly at his sides. Just this once she wanted him to wrap those long arms around her, to take away all the pain and fear filling up her insides. “It’s good to see you back home.”
“It’s good to see you too, Daddy.”
She threw herself against her father’s chest, giving in to a wild desire to hug the man who’d given her life. It had been so long since she’d been embraced by him. She inhaled deeply, savoring the woodsy natural scent that took her all the way back to childhood. She wrapped her arms around her father’s waist, waiting to feel his loving embrace, his tender show of affection. Before she was ready to let go, she found herself being gently pushed away from him.
“You look well, Cass. I’m happy you came back to help your mother,” he said gruffly, his expression blank. “She needs you.”
“There’s no place I’d rather be,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much I missed West Falls until I got here.”
“And your work? I hear your gallery is doing well.”
“Yes, quite well,” she said proudly. “You remember my assistant, Anna? She’s agreed to run the gallery for me so I can stay here for the summer. Longer, if Mom needs me.”
“And that young man we met the last time we were in Phoenix? Roger, wasn’t it?”
Her heart sank. “We broke up a few months ago. I wasn’t ready for anything serious.”
Her father opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. For a moment she could see a glimmer of emotion in his eyes. As quickly as she noticed it, the look was gone, replaced by a shuttered expression.
“Well, I’d better go write my sermon for Sunday’s service. Time waits for no man. And these days the congregation needs inspiration more than ever.”
