A Forever Family: Their Doorstep Delivery

Cassie, too, gave her usual response. “It was my pleasure.”

She set the book down on the coffee table, then touched her lips to her friend’s soft, wrinkled cheek.

Irene waved her away, uncomfortable with the display of affection.

“What about me?” Jerry said, tapping his cheek with an arthritic finger. “I’d never wave off a kiss from a pretty girl.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Irene muttered under her breath.

Cassie kissed his cheek, too. “Good night, Mr. Riordan. I’ll see you on Friday, Irene.”

“There’s a trip to Noah’s Landing on Friday,” her friend said. “We’re not scheduled to be back until dinnertime.”

“Then I’ll come Friday night,” Cassie offered.

“That’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Jerry protested. “You can’t ask a beautiful young woman to spend her Friday night hanging out with a bunch of grumpy old folks.”

“I didn’t ask, Cassandra offered,” Irene pointed out. “And she comes to visit me, not any other grumpy old folks who decide to wander into my room uninvited.”

“Well, I’m sure Cassandra has better things to do on a Friday night,” he said, glancing at Cassie expectantly.

“Actually, I don’t have any plans,” she admitted.

He scowled. “You don’t have a date?”

She shook her head.

“What’s wrong with the young men in this town?” Jerry wondered.

“They’re as shortsighted and thickheaded now as they were fifty years ago,” Irene told him.

“And on that note,” Cassie said, inching toward the door.

“I’ll see you in a few days,” Irene said.

“Don’t come on Friday,” Jerry called out to her. “I’m going to keep Irene busy at the cribbage board.”

“I have cataracts,” she protested.

“And I have a deck of cards with large print numbers.”

Cassie left them bickering, happy to know that her friend had a new beau to fill some of her quiet hours. And eager to believe that if romance was in the air for Irene, maybe it wasn’t too late for her, either.

Of course, if she wanted to fall in love, she’d have to be willing to open up her heart again, and that was a step she wasn’t sure she was ready to take. Because what she’d told Braden about her struggles with chemistry was only partly true. About half of her experiments had fizzled into nothingness—the other half had flared so bright and hot, she’d ended up getting burned. And she simply wasn’t willing to play with fire again.

While Braden wouldn’t trade his baby girl for anything in the world, there were times when he would willingly sacrifice a limb for eight consecutive hours of sleep.

“Come on, Saige,” he said wearily. “It’s two a.m. That’s not play time—it’s sleep time.”

“Wound an’ wound,” she said, clapping her hands.

He reached into her crib for her favorite toy—a stuffed sock monkey that had been a gift from her birth mother—and gave it to Saige. “Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.”

She immediately grabbed the monkey’s arm and cuddled it close. Then she tipped her head back to look at him, and when she smiled, he gave in with a sigh. “You know just how to wrap me around your finger, don’t you?”

“Da-da,” she said.

He touched his lips to the top of her head, breathing in the familiar scent of her baby shampoo.

She was the baby he and Dana had been wanting for most of their six-year marriage, the child they’d almost given up hope of ever having. In the last few weeks leading up to her birth, they’d finally, cautiously, started to transform one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery. They’d hung a mobile over the crib, put tiny little onesies and sleepers in the dresser, and stocked up on diapers and formula.

At the same time, they’d both been a little hesitant to believe that this time, finally, their dream of having a child would come true. Because they were aware that the birth mother could decide, at the last minute, to keep her baby. And they knew that, if she did, they couldn’t blame her.

But Lindsay Benson had been adamant. She wanted a better life for her baby than to be raised by a single mother who hadn’t yet graduated from college. She wanted her daughter to have a real family with two parents who would care for her and love her and who could afford to give her not just the necessities of life but some extras, too.

Within a few weeks, Braden had begun to suspect that he and Dana wouldn’t be that family. For some reason that he couldn’t begin to fathom—or maybe didn’t want to admit—his wife wasn’t able to bond with the baby. Every time Saige cried, Dana pushed the baby at him, claiming that she had a headache. Every time Saige needed a bottle or diaper change, Dana was busy doing something else. Every time Saige woke up in the middle of the night, Dana pretended not to hear her.

Yes, he’d seen the signs, but he’d still been optimistic that she would come around. That she just needed some more time. She’d suffered so much disappointment over the years, he was certain it was her lingering fear of losing the child they’d wanted so much that was holding her back. He refused to consider that Dana might be unhappy because their adopted daughter was so obviously not their biological child.

Then, when Saige was six weeks old, Dana made her big announcement: she didn’t really want to be a mother or a wife. She told him that she’d found an apartment and would be moving out at the end of March. Oh, and she needed a check to cover first and last month’s rent.

And Braden, fool that he was, gave it to her. Because they’d been married for six years and he honestly hoped that the separation would only be a temporary measure, that after a few months—or hopefully even sooner—she would want to come home to her husband and daughter. Except that a few weeks later, she’d died when her car was T-boned by a semi that blew through a red light.

He hadn’t told anyone that Dana was planning to leave him. He’d been blindsided by the announcement, embarrassed that he hadn’t been able to hold his marriage together. As a result, while his family tried to be supportive, no one could possibly understand how complicated and convoluted his emotions were.

He did grieve—for the life he’d imagined they might have together, and for his daughter, who had lost another mother. But he was also grateful that he had Saige—her innocent smile and joyful laugh were the sunshine in his days.

If he had any regrets, it was that his little girl didn’t have a mother. Her own had given her up so that she could have a real family with two parents. That dream hadn’t even lasted three months. Now it was just the two of them.

“Well, the two of us and about a thousand other Garretts,” he said to his little girl. “And everyone loves you, so maybe I should stop worrying that you don’t have a Mommy.”

“Ma-ma,” Saige said.

And despite Braden’s recent assertion, he sighed. “You’ve been listening to your grandma, haven’t you?”

“Ga-ma.”

“You’ll see Grandma tomorrow—no,” he amended, glancing at his watch. “In just a few hours now.”

She smiled again.

“And I bet you’ll have another three-hour nap for her, won’t you?”

“Choo-choo.”

“After she takes you to the library to play with the trains,” he confirmed.

She clapped her hands together again, clearly thrilled with his responses to her questions.

Of course, thinking about the library made him think about Cassie. And thinking about Cassie made him want Cassie.

The physical attraction was unexpected but not unwelcome. If anything, his feelings for the librarian reassured him that, despite being a widower and single father, he was still a man with the usual wants and needs.

Unfortunately, Cassie didn’t seem like the kind of woman to indulge in a no-strings affair, and he wasn’t prepared to offer any more than that.

Cassie had updated the bulletin board in the children’s section to suggest Spring into a Good Book and was pinning cardboard flowers to the board when Stacey found her.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” her friend and coworker said.

“Is there a problem?”

“Nothing aside from the fact that I’m dying to hear all of the details about your hottie,” Stacey admitted.

“Who?”

“Don’t play that game with me,” the other woman chided. “Megan told me you went for coffee with a new guy yesterday.”

Cassie acknowledged that with a short nod. “Braden Garrett.”

“As in the Garrett Furniture Garretts?”

She nodded.

“Not just hot but rich,” Stacey noted. “Does this mean you’ve decided to end your dating hiatus?”

“Not with Braden Garrett,” she said firmly.

“Because hot and rich men aren’t your type?” her friend asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

“Because arrogant and insulting men aren’t my type,” Cassie clarified, as she added some fluffy white clouds to the blue sky.

“Which button of yours did he push?” Stacey asked, absently rubbing a hand over her pregnant belly.

“He asked if this was my real job.”

“Ouch. Okay, so he’s an idiot,” her coworker agreed. “But still—” she held out her hands as if balancing scales “—a hot and rich idiot.”

“And then he apologized,” she admitted.

“So points for that,” Stacey said.

“Maybe,” Cassie allowed. “He also told me he’s attracted to me.”

“Gotta love a guy who tells it like it is.”

“Maybe,” she said again.

Stacey frowned at her noncommittal response. “Are you not attracted to him?”

“A woman would have to be dead not to be attracted to him,” she acknowledged. “But he’s also a widower with a child.”

“And you love kids,” her friend noted.

“I do.” And it was her deepest desire to be a mother someday. “But I don’t want to get involved in another relationship with someone who might not actually be interested in me but is only looking for a substitute wife.”

“You’re not going to be any kind of wife if you don’t start dating again,” Stacey pointed out to her.

“I’m not opposed to dating,” she denied. “I’m just not going to date Braden Garrett.”

“How about my cute new neighbor?” her friend suggested. “He’s a manager at The Sleep Inn, recently transferred back to Charisma after working the last three years in San Diego.”

Cassie shook her head. “You know I don’t do blind dates.”

“In the past two years, you’ve hardly had any dates,” Stacey pointed out. “You need to move on with your life.”

She looked at her friend, at the enormous baby bump beneath her pale blue maternity top, and felt a familiar pang of longing. She was sincerely happy for Stacey and her husband who, after several years and numerous fertility treatments, were finally expecting a child, but she couldn’t deny that her friend’s pregnancy was a daily reminder that her own biological clock was ticking. “You’re right,” she finally agreed.

“So I can give your number to Darius?”

“Why not?” she decided, and left her friend grinning as she headed upstairs.

Toddler Time was scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. on Thursdays. By nine fifty, almost all of the usual group were assembled, but Saige wasn’t there yet. Cassie found herself watching the clock, wondering if she was going to show and, if she did, whether it would be her father or grandmother who showed up with her.

At nine fifty-seven, Ellen Garrett entered the room with the little girl. Cassie was happy to see the both of them—and maybe just a tiny bit disappointed, too.

The older woman’s jaw still looked a little swollen and bruised, but she insisted that she was feeling fine. They didn’t have time for more than that basic exchange of pleasantries before the class was scheduled to begin, and Cassie didn’t dare delay because she could tell the children were already growing impatient. When the half hour was up, she noticed that Ellen didn’t linger as she sometimes did. Instead, she hastily packed up her granddaughter’s belongings, said something about errands they needed to run, then disappeared out the door.

It was only after everyone had gone and Cassie was tidying up the room that she discovered Saige Garrett’s sock monkey under a table by the windows.

Chapter Five

Braden was just about to leave the office at the end of the day when his mother called.

“I need you to do me a favor,” Ellen said.

“Of course,” he agreed. Considering everything that his mother did for him, it never occurred to him to refuse her request.

“I can’t find Saige’s sock monkey. I think she might have left it at story time today.”

His daughter never released her viselike grip on her favorite stuffed toy, which made him suspect that Saige hadn’t accidentally left the monkey anywhere. “And you want me to go by the library to see if it’s there,” he guessed.

“Well, it is on your way from the office.”

“Not really,” he pointed out.

“If it’s too inconvenient, I can get it tomorrow,” Ellen said. “But you’ll be the one trying to get Saige to sleep without it tonight.”

Unfortunately, that was true. His daughter was rarely without the monkey—and she never went to sleep without it. Still, he could see what his mother was doing. She obviously liked Cassie MacKinnon and was trying to put the pretty librarian in his path as much as possible. And Braden didn’t have any objection, really, but he suspected that Cassie might not appreciate his mother’s maneuverings.

So he would stop by the library, per his mother’s request, and apologize to Cassie for the situation. He would admit that Ellen was probably attempting to do a little matchmaking and suggest that maybe they should have dinner sometime, just to appease her.

Cassie might try to refuse, but he knew she liked his mother and he wasn’t opposed to working that angle. In fact, he had the whole scenario worked out in his mind when he walked into the library just after five o’clock. He recognized the woman at the desk as the one who had nudged Cassie along to her coffee break. Megan, if he remembered correctly. He smiled at her. “Hi. I’m looking for Miss MacKinnon.”

“I’m sorry, she isn’t here right now,” Megan told him.

“Oh.” He felt a surprisingly sharp pang of disappointment, as if he hadn’t realized how much he was looking forward to seeing her again until he was there and she wasn’t.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she offered.

“I hope so,” he said, because he did have a legitimate reason for this detour. “My daughter, Saige, was here for Toddler Time today and—”

“The sock monkey,” Megan realized.

He nodded.

She pulled a clear zipper-seal bag out from under the desk. Saige’s name had been written on the bag with black marker, and her favorite soft toy was inside.

“That’s it,” he confirmed. “Now we’ll both be able to get some sleep tonight.”

She smiled. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Can you tell me if Miss MacKinnon is working tomorrow?”

Megan shook her head. “I can’t give out that kind of information.” Then she sent him a conspiratorial wink. “But if you were to stop by around this time tomorrow, she might be able to tell you herself.”

Braden smiled. “Thanks, I just might do that.”

At first when Cassie put the phone to her ear and heard the deep masculine voice on the line, her pulse stuttered. When the caller identified himself as Darius Richmond, she experienced a twinge of regret followed by a brief moment of confusion as she tried to place the name.

“Stacey’s neighbor,” he clarified, and the conversation with her coworker immediately came back to her.

“Of course,” she said, mentally chastising herself for thinking—and hoping—that it might have been Braden calling.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to call,” he apologized. “Stacey gave me your number last week but I’ve been tied up in meetings with my staff.”

“Understandable,” she said. “Settling into a new job is always a challenge.”

“But I’m free tonight and I’d really like to have dinner with you.”

“Tonight,” she echoed, her brain scrambling for a valid reason to decline. Then she remembered why she’d agreed to let Stacey give him her number: because she was trying to move on with her life. Because she’d only been out on a handful of dates since breaking up with Joel, and staying home and thinking about Braden Garrett—who, judging by his absence from the library for the past eight days, obviously wasn’t thinking about her—wasn’t going to help her move on.

“I know it’s short notice,” he said.

“Actually, tonight is fine,” Cassie told him, determined not just to go out but to have a fabulous time.

“Seven o’clock at Valentino’s?” he suggested.

“Perfect,” she agreed, mentally giving him extra points for his restaurant selection. “I’ll see you then.”

Cassie disconnected the call and set her phone aside. As much as setups made her nervous, her friend and coworker was right: she wasn’t ever going to find her real-life happily-ever-after hanging out in the library.

She did have some lingering concerns about going out with one man when she couldn’t get a different one out of her mind, but since the day Braden had bought her coffee, she hadn’t heard a single word from him. She hadn’t seen Ellen or Saige this past week, either, but at least Ellen had called to let her know that they would be absent from Baby Talk and Toddler Time because Saige had a nasty cold and Ellen didn’t want her to share it with the other children.

And then, almost as if her thoughts had conjured the woman, Ellen was standing there.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” she asked. Then she smiled. “Forgive me for being nosy, but that sounded like you were making plans for a date.”

Cassie felt her cheeks flush. “I was. He’s the neighbor of a friend.”

“Oh,” she replied, obviously disappointed. “A blind date?”

Cassie nodded, then asked, “How’s Saige doing?”

“Much better,” the little girl’s grandmother said. “Though it’s been a rough week for both of them.”

“Both of them?”

“Braden was under the weather, too. Of course, that’s what happens when you take care of a sick child. In fact, today will be his first day back at work—he’s leaving Saige with me this afternoon and going into the office for a few hours.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear they’re both doing better—and that you managed to avoid whatever is going around. Because something is definitely going around,” she noted. “Even Megan, who never calls in sick, did so today—and we have three school groups coming in for tours and story time this afternoon.”

“In that case, I won’t keep you from your work any longer,” Ellen promised. “I really just wanted to check in to see if Braden stopped by last week to pick up Saige’s sock monkey.”

“He must have,” Cassie told her. “I left it under the desk in a bag with Saige’s name on it and it was gone when I got in the next morning.”

“So you weren’t here when he came in?” the other woman asked, sounding disappointed.

“No, I leave at two on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then I’m back at seven for Soc & Study,” she explained, referring to the teen study group that ran Monday through Friday nights.

Cassie was happy to supervise two nights a week and would have done more if required, because she understood how important it was for students to have a place to escape from the stress and drama of their homes. As a teen with three younger siblings and a short-tempered stepfather, she’d spent as much time as possible at the library. But of course she didn’t mention that to Ellen, because she never told anyone about her past, and especially not about Ray.

In an effort to shift the direction of her own thoughts, she said, “Is there anything I can help you find today?”

“I’m just here to pick up a few travel books for Mabel Strauss,” Ellen explained. “She hasn’t left her own home in more than three years, but she still seems to find joy in planning trips that she’s never going to take.”

“What’s her destination this time?” Cassie asked.

“Japan.”

She smiled. “Well, if you’re going to dream, dream big, right?”

“Absolutely,” Ellen agreed. “Although, in Mabel’s case, I think she’s just going alphabetically now. It was Italy last week and India the week before that.”

“Then you probably don’t need me to steer you in the right direction,” Cassie noted.

The older woman shook her head. “Thanks, but I know exactly where I’m going.”

Several hours later, Cassie wished she wasn’t going anywhere. After a busy day, she just wanted to go home, put her feet up and pet her cats. She considered canceling her plans with Darius, but she knew that she’d have to answer to Stacey if she did. She also knew that if she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone with her cats, she had to get out and meet new people. Specifically, new men.

Unbidden, an image of Braden Garrett formed in her mind. Okay—he was new and she’d met him without leaving the safe haven of the library, but a man who’d lost his first wife in a tragic accident wasn’t a good bet for a woman who’d vowed not to be anyone’s second choice ever again.

She hadn’t dated much since she’d given Joel back his ring. Her former fiancé hadn’t just broken her heart, he’d made her question her own judgment. She’d been so wrong about him. Or maybe just so desperate to become a wife and a mother that she’d failed to see the warning signs. She’d fallen for a man who was all wrong for her because she didn’t want to be alone.

That realization had taken her aback. For the first ten years of her life, her Army Ranger father had been away more than he’d been home, and her mother—unable to tolerate being alone—had frequently sought out other male companionship. Then her father had been killed overseas and her mother had dated several other men before she’d met and exchanged vows with Ray Houston.

Their marriage had been a volatile one. Naomi was a former beauty queen who basked in the adoration of others; Raymond was proud to show off his beautiful wife and prone to fits of jealousy if she went anywhere without him. Even as a kid, Cassie had decided she’d rather be alone than be anyone’s emotional—and sometimes physical—punching bag, and she’d vowed to herself that she wouldn’t ever be like her mother, so desperate for a man’s attention that she’d put up with his mercurial moods and fiery temper.

For the most part, she was happy on her own and with her life. She had a great job, wonderful friends, and she was content with her own company and the occasional affectionate cuddle with her cats. And then Braden Garrett had walked into the library with his daughter.

So really, it was Braden’s fault that she’d agreed to go out with Darius. Because he stirred up all kinds of feelings she’d thought were deeply buried, she’d decided those feelings were a sign that she was ready to start dating again. Because after more than two years on her own, she realized that she wasn’t ready to give up. She wanted to fall all the way in love. She wanted to get married and have a family. And while she wasn’t all starry-eyed and weak-kneed at the prospect of dinner with Stacey’s new neighbor, she wasn’t ready to write him off just yet, either.

So she brushed her hair, dabbed some gloss on her lips, spritzed on her perfume and headed out, determined to focus on Darius Richmond and forget about Braden Garrett.

Except that as soon as she walked through the front door of Valentino’s, she found herself face-to-face with the man she was trying to forget.