"Okay, then. There"s nothing to worry about. You"re not going to be swayed by a few harmless little kisses, then, are you?"
There had been nothing harmless about those kisses. They had been devastating, Ca.s.sie admitted to herself. She could deny it to her friend from now till doomsday and it wouldn"t change the truth. She sighed. Everything was so blasted complicated.
"Let"s forget about Cole," she said.
"Okay by me."
"I want to hear about you. Who is that handsome man you were with over the weekend? I"ve never seen him before. Is he a friend from New York?"
Gina suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I have no idea who you mean."
"The man who was following you around like he"d never met such an exotic creature before."
"Oh, him," Gina said, then shrugged. "He"s a nuisance. Nothing more. He"s probably gone by now."
"I don"t think so," Ca.s.sie said, glancing pointedly outside, where the very man under discussion was lurking on the sidewalk.
Gina followed the direction of her gaze, then sighed heavily, her expression miserable. "Well, h.e.l.l," she muttered under her breath.
Ca.s.sie studied her intently, saw the genuine worry in her friend"s eyes. "Gina, what"s really going on? Who is he?"
"n.o.body important," her friend said staunchly, but she slid out of the booth. She gave Ca.s.sie a hug. "See you later. If you ask me, you ought to consider what Cole"s offering."
The comment was enough to throw Ca.s.sie and keep her from asking all the other questions on the tip of her tongue as Gina left Stella"s. She watched idly as Gina marched up to the man, appeared to exchange words with him, then took off alone in the direction of her car. Another example of true love not running smoothly, perhaps?
And speaking of that, what the heck had Gina meant with that comment about taking what Cole was offering? As far as Ca.s.sie could see, he wasn"t offering a blessed thing. A few stolen kisses didn"t add up to anything...except maybe trouble. And frankly she had more of that in her life these days than she could possibly cope with.
Dismissing that and Gina"s odd behavior, she went back to work. Stella"s was as busy as ever at lunchtime. Ca.s.sie was on the run until almost two.
"Go," Stella said, taking her last order from her. "I know you have to get your mother to the hospital. And I don"t want to see you anywhere near here in the morning. I can manage. You stay right there until she"s out of surgery and you know how she"s doing."
"Thank you, Stella. You"re an angel."
"Good heavens, don"t be spreading that around," the older woman pleaded. "The only way I keep my customers in line is having them think I"m a tyrant."
Ca.s.sie laughed. "I hate to tell you this, but you don"t have anyone in town fooled."
Stella looked genuinely disappointed. "Well, shucks. I guess I"m just going to have to work a little harder at it. Now, scoot."
"Hey, how about getting that burger over here before I starve to death?" Hank Folsom hollered.
"Keep your britches on, Hank," Stella shouted right back. "If you don"t like the service in here, you can just march right through the door and get your lunch someplace else." She winked at Ca.s.sie. "How was that?"
"Tough as nails," Ca.s.sie a.s.sured her. "Unfortunately, it"s an idle threat. There is no place else in town to get a burger."
"I know," Stella said with satisfaction. "Works out real nice, don"t you think?"
Ca.s.sie was still chuckling over that when she got home and found her mother sitting on the sofa in her best dress, her suitcase sitting beside her. Jake hovered nearby, looking worried. They had told him about the surgery the night before, talking about it only in the most upbeat and positive way, but it had clearly rattled him.
"I"m going to the hospital with you," Jake said, shooting a defiant look at Ca.s.sie.
"I made arrangements for you to stay next door."
"Well, I"m not going to."
"Let him come," her mother said. "He"ll just worry if he stays here with Mildred, and he"ll be company for you."
Ca.s.sie finally relented. "Okay, give me two seconds to change and we"ll head on up to Laramie to the hospital."
The screen door banged open just then. "She"s not going to Laramie," Cole said. "I"ve made arrangements for her to go to University Hospital down in Denver. The doctor there has consulted with her doctor. Her records were sent to him yesterday once your mother okayed it."
Ca.s.sie"s mouth dropped open. "What right did you have to do that?" Ca.s.sie demanded finally. She looked at her mother. "You knew about this?"
"I knew it was a possibility," Edna said.
Cole regarded Ca.s.sie evenly. "I told you at the beginning that I was going to see that she had the best care possible. We"re going to Denver. I"ve got my plane all fueled up."
Jake"s eyes widened, oblivious to anything except Cole"s announcement. "We"re going in a real plane? One of those ones I saw at the airport on the way into town?"
Cole grinned at his enthusiasm. "That"s right. If you"re good, I"ll even let you take the controls for a minute."
"Over my dead body," Ca.s.sie said at once.
Before that could erupt into a full-fledged battle, her mother said quietly, "I think if Cole"s gone to all this trouble, then we should do as he says. We"re certainly not going to drive all that way."
Ca.s.sie stared at her. "Mom, you"ve always sworn you would never set foot in an airplane."
"This is different."
"How?"
"I"m sure Cole knows what he"s doing."
"He just told a nine-year-old he could operate the controls," Ca.s.sie pointed out.
"It"s not as if I"m going to nod off and take a nap while Jake flies us to Denver," Cole said mildly. "And I know you want your mother to have the very best chance she can have. The surgeon in Denver comes highly recommended."
"Why didn"t you say anything about this before?" Ca.s.sie asked.
"Because he didn"t have an opening in his schedule until yesterday. The minute he called me, I spoke to your mother and made the arrangements."
Ca.s.sie felt as if the entire situation, already terrifying enough, was spinning wildly out of control. It wasn"t just that the four of them would be stuck in close quarters in that tiny plane, it was the fact that Cole clearly intended to be right by her side all through her mother"s surgery. On the one hand the gesture was both generous and kind. On the other, it would inevitably tighten the bond between them. Worse, it would keep him and his son in close proximity for hours, if not days.
In the end, though, Ca.s.sie knew she had no choice. The only thing that mattered was getting her mother the finest treatment available. And while the doctor in Laramie was surely good, the one in Denver would have greater experience and perhaps a more experienced support staff, as well.
Swallowing her pride-and her fear-she finally nodded. "Let"s go, then."
In the plane Cole was true to his word. He allowed the awestruck Jake to take over the controls, if only for a few minutes. It was an experience Ca.s.sie knew her son would never forget. By the time they landed in Denver, his case of hero worship was stronger than ever.
They checked her mother into the hospital, then saw her settled into the private room Cole had arranged. When the surgeon came in to speak to her, Ca.s.sie was impressed with his warmth, his rea.s.surances and his detailed explanations about what her mother could expect in the morning. In his early fifties, he was clearly both experienced and compa.s.sionate. For the first time since she had learned of her mother"s diagnosis, Ca.s.sie could see hope in her mother"s eyes.
"He seemed like a nice man," her mother said, following the surgeon with her gaze as he left the room.
"We couldn"t have found a better doctor," Cole said.
"Nice-looking, too," Ca.s.sie teased her mother. "No wonder there"s a little color in your cheeks."
"Stop with that," her mother said, clearly fl.u.s.tered. The pink in her cheeks deepened. "All I care about is how good he is with that scalpel of his."
A few minutes later a nurse came in. "We"re going to give your mother a little something to help her relax and get a good night"s sleep."
"Then you all might as well run along," Edna said. "I"m in good hands." She reached for Cole"s hand. "And it"s all thanks to you. I don"t know how I"ll ever repay you."
He bent down and kissed her cheek. "All you need to do for me is get well and live a long and healthy life."
"I"m going to do my best." Her gaze locked on Cole"s. "Keep an eye on my girl for me, okay?"
Cole glanced Ca.s.sie"s way. "Always," he said softly.
Trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach caused by Cole"s promise, Ca.s.sie gave her mother a kiss. "See you in the morning, Mom. I love you."
Now that the time had come to leave, Jake looked shaken. He edged close to the bad. "I don"t want to go, Grandma."
She brushed the hair out of his eyes. "I"m going to be just fine," she rea.s.sured him. "Go with your mom and Cole. Get something good to eat and see the sights. This time tomorrow you can come back here and tell me all about them."
Jake still looked reluctant. Cole squeezed his shoulder. "Come along, son."
Even though he spoke casually, in a way men spoke to young boys all the time without it meaning a thing, Ca.s.sie froze. Hearing him call Jake son, son, no matter the context, made her tremble. How long? she wondered, exchanging a look with her mother. How long would it be before Cole realized that the boy he was addressing really was his son? no matter the context, made her tremble. How long? she wondered, exchanging a look with her mother. How long would it be before Cole realized that the boy he was addressing really was his son?
Cole did his best to relieve Ca.s.sie"s tension over a quick dinner in a fast-food restaurant. He enumerated all of the surgeon"s qualifications and cited all of the latest cancer recovery statistics. But nothing he said seemed to get through to her. She listened, she nodded, but her fingers continued to shred napkin after napkin until there was a pile of white fluff on the table in front of her.
Finally he reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. "Enough," he said gently. He glanced pointedly at the normally effusive Jake, who had grown increasingly silent as the meal went on, clearly picking up on her mood.
Ca.s.sie"s gaze flew to her son. "Sweetie, are you okay?"
He shook his head. "I"m scared," he admitted.
"You heard Cole. Grandma"s doctor is the best. She"s going to get well."
Jake regarded her hopefully. "You believe that?"
"With all my heart," she said fervently.
"Then how come you"re acting like you"re scared, too?" He pointed to the mound of shredded napkins.
Ca.s.sie stared at them, looking vaguely startled. "Oh, dear, I guess my mind was on all sorts of things."
"What things?" Jake promptly wanted to know.
She forced a grin. "Cabbages and kings."
"Mom!"
Cole wanted to protest, as well. He"d hoped Jake might get a straight answer out of her. He doubted he he could. If it wasn"t her mother that had her looking so worried, then what could it be? could. If it wasn"t her mother that had her looking so worried, then what could it be?
Only after they"d gone to the hotel near the hospital and settled Jake in bed did Cole get a chance to ask. He was pacing the suite"s living room when Ca.s.sie finally joined him. He hadn"t been at all sure that she would. He had the oddest feeling that he was the cause of her nervousness, though why that should be he couldn"t imagine. And surely that kiss they"d shared hadn"t rattled her so badly that she was scared to be in the same room with him. It wasn"t as if he was likely to try to ravish her on the eve of her mother"s surgery.
"Jake asleep?"
She nodded.
"How are you?"
"Scared, just like he said."
"About your mother?"
She shot him a startled look, then glanced away. "Of course," she said hurriedly. "What else?"
"That"s what I was wondering." He studied her intently. "You"re not scared of me, are you? Of being here in a hotel room with me overnight?"
A glimmer of a smile pa.s.sed across her face as she gestured around the suite. "It"s not as if we"re in cramped quarters, Cole. We won"t even be sleeping in the same room."
"More"s the pity," he murmured.
She frowned at him. "Why would you say that?"
"Because it"s true."
"Cole, we can"t go back."
"Then how about going forward?"
She shook her head without giving the notion a moment"s consideration. That grated on him more than he could say.
"You always were too blasted stubborn for your own good."
"Then I"m surprised you"d want to bother with me."
"Unfortunately, you"re still the only woman who"s ever fascinated me."
"Cole!"
The protest was only halfhearted, which he considered encouraging. "It"s true," he said, stepping closer until he could lift his hand to her cheek. Her skin was like cool satin, but it warmed beneath his touch as if he"d stirred a fire to life below the surface. He rubbed the pad of his thumb across her lips and felt her shudder.