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Cassie glanced at her smartphone as she finished her first appointment of the day. She had a note to pop in at Thomson Construction unannounced. It was a tactic she used to observe the everyday operations of any new contractors with whom she began working. It was a good way to become aware of how they handled unexpected situations and who took care of the nuts and bolts of the day to day workload. It was exactly what she had just pulled on Bruce Jenson and he had done fairly well answering her questions. She liked Bruce. His firm was much smaller than Thomson Construction, so the projects they usually took on were also a bit diminutive compared to an AeroMetz sized project. But based on how well he had done on their last couple of projects, she had determined that they would work together in the future.
Her overanalyzing mind caused her to pause. Stopping in at Thomson could look like she wanted to see...someone. After her conversation with his mother and that other woman, they might think she did have a personal interest in Trent.
“Or maybe,” she mocked her reflection in the mirror, “like you are doing your job!”
She wouldn’t treat Thomson Construction any differently than she did her other contractors. She needed this project to go well, because it was the type of deal that would allow her to quit taking on a lot of smaller projects and focus on just one or two large ones a year. If she brought this one home as the client wished, it would open all the right doors for her.
Stiffening her back she turned the car in the direction of the large complex that housed Thomson Construction. As she drove, she tried to work mental lists and figure out what else she needed to accomplish before the weekend. They had a baseball game tomorrow, and she had volunteered to supply snacks so she had to stop and pick those up on the way home. She planned to stop down at the attorney’s to file some estate paperwork that was required yearly for the children’s trusts. She wanted to also make one other call, on a potential future client, to drop off a portfolio package and references. She preferred to do those calls in person rather than by mail. Making direct contact left a better impression.
Successfully keeping her mind occupied on anything but the task ahead of her, she pulled into a visitor’s parking space, took a steadying breath of courage and walked to the front door. As she entered, she looked down, digging in her messenger bag to ensure she had the Thomson/AeroMetz file and plowed right into somebody. Big hands shot out to prevent her from falling.
“Oh dear! I am so...”
Her eyes travelled from the cowboy boots, up two long legs clad in jeans, past the white polo shirt and stopped when they met Trent’s amused expression. She felt the heat creep up her neck and suffuse her cheeks.
“Cassie.” Her name sounded like a caress and she flushed again, realizing that he was still holding her steady. His eyes darkened and she realized that his breathing was rapid and shallow, just as hers was. He was looking at her strangely. No one had ever looked at her that way and she trembled slightly
The man of action side of Trent finally won over, and he let his hands drop as he stepped back from her.
“Did you have an appointment with Quentin?”
“No. I...I was just stopping in for an impromptu status report.”
“Oh...good...I mean...he’s at a job site. I thought maybe he forgot...”
“Okay, well I will catch him next week sometime,” she said turning to go.
She hadn’t gone five steps when his hand snaked out and stopped her again.
“Actually, I’m glad you came by. Can we talk a minute?”
For just a second she considered telling him she was too busy, but instead she turned and faced him like she faced every challenge she came up against, head on.
***
Trent had weathered a tough morning, and by the time his mother had called to tell him to invite Cassie and the kids to Sunday dinner he hadn’t the patience left to argue. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted his mother to find out about Cassie and her passel of children. His mother was a fixer and Cassie’s family needed all the fixing it could get. She would absorb the children into the family, and wear Trent thin with her matchmaking. On the other hand, his conscience had troubled him all day about the possibility of lying to her. Cassie and her kids deserved a support network, and based on the conversations they had over the course of the last month they didn’t have that luxury.
“Ms. Bell, I’m going to be meeting with Cassie in my office. Please hold my calls,” he said as he ushered her down the hall and into his office. Cassie hadn’t said a word, and he wondered what was going on in that brain of hers.
Once inside the office, Cassie just stood, her head uncharacteristically low. He closed the door, and studied her for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“You told me we need to talk remember?” she said rising her head and meeting his eyes warily. It surprised him. She was usually so self-assured, but she looked like a child waiting for punishment. And it bothered him to realize that she thought he was angry with her.
“Cassie,” he sighed. “Okay, you and I are both straight shooters so let’s just put this out on the table.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s start with last night.”
Cassie said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
“My mother loves her boys. We are her entire world. So she wants to see us happy, and like mothers do sometimes, she has a funny way of showing it. In my case, she sets me up with every woman she finds. Seriously, I could tell you stories. Sarah was one such setup, and in an effort to appease her I took her out last weekend. Nothing happened,” he said stopping to allow her a chance to question or comment.
“What was wrong with her?”
The question surprised him.
“She’s a bit self-absorbed. I never got a word in edgewise all evening...and frankly, I don’t find her the least bit attractive.”
“That woman is a size two, with all the assets men are supposed to want. Have you ever considered the fact that you might be gay?”
“What the hell...no! I’m not gay. I’m just way too old for high maintenance...all plastic Barbie doll types. You did not just ask me if I was gay.” His sudden burst of laughter caught her off guard.
“Sorry. In case you haven’t notice I don’t have great personal interaction skills, and sometimes I just say the first thing that pops into my head.”
“I’ve noticed. It’s actually good by me...at least I don’t ever wonder what you are thinking. So, now on to the next issue. My mother wants your whole family to come to dinner Sunday.”
“No. Thank you, but no.”
“I didn’t finish.”
“Let me guess. You do a big family dinner, with all your brothers and their families and she thought we could just join right in.” Her voice sounded panicky and he frowned at the reaction.
“Cassie, it’s really no big deal. I think she felt bad about last night, and just wanted...”
“No.” She cut him off again. “I really need to go.”
She turned as if to make her escape, and he grabbed her hand.
“Cassie, talk to me. Why not?”
“I don’t...don’t...can’t do family...no. Please I have lunch and other errands.”
“You can’t leave out of here like this.”
She was completely flushed, eyes welling with unshed tears. He reached out and removed her messenger bag from her shoulder, and purse from her hand and put them on the desk behind him. She didn’t even fight him, it was as if she had climbed into herself and was no longer with him. His brothers were so much better with the women than he was. Where were they when he needed them?
“Cassie you need to breathe. And tell me what is wrong?”
“I can’t do a big family dinner. I...I don’t know how to.” She said the words so softly that he had to lean forward to hear her. And since he was that close, he simply drew her against his chest and gently folded his arms around her.
“It’s very simple, Cassie. You come. We eat. Pretty straight forward,” he said softly. “Didn’t you have family dinners growing up?”
Complete silence. Time hung suspended but he felt she needed a moment to process. He felt his heart thudding in his chest as he took in her clean scent and felt her slender frame pressed against him.
“I never had a family growing up.”
He pulled back a little, putting a finger under her chin to raise her head so he could look at her.
“I don’t...”
“Jason told me for years he didn’t have any family either. It was only after he left and I ran into him a couple years later at a restaurant with his mom, dad, sisters and new wife’s family that he told me that I was damaged goods and he had been too embarrassed to tell them about me. They had lots of money. Looking back, I think he used the kids as an excuse to leave...but in the end I think he would have left me anyway. His wife was perfect, and came from one of those families you see on TV. You know...money, class, 1.5 kids and the perfect house in the suburbs. You know...the kind of family you have.”
“Honey, believe me, we are messy, loud and anything but the picture perfect family. I’m sorry you were engaged to a...horrible excuse of a man. Did you ever have a heart to heart with him about it?”
“Yes. That night. He came outside when he saw how upset I was, and apologized. He said we were so different, and the kids...he didn’t want to have to raise someone else’s kids but especially with someone who was cold and broken inside.”
“That is bull...sorry. That man is a jack o butt and not worth your time.” He led her to a chair and settled her into it before pulling another one over and sitting directly in front of her.
“He’s the only man who ever noticed me, Trent. And he was right. When Megan found me, I was a mess. I didn’t even know I had a sister and there she was, offering me a home. She and Bruce just took me in and made me part of their family. They saved my life. And now the kids...well, they are my life. I want them to have all the love and security I never had as a child. It...it’s too late for me, and I don’t want to get things all tangled up and give them hope for those Sunday dinners with family. That seems unfair because they will lose it in the end.”
She was twisting her hands together so tightly that the knuckles were white. He reached out and covered her hands with one large one.
“Cassie. Please. Let me understand,” he said. “You said Megan came and got you. I thought she was your sister?”
“We...we didn’t know about each other at first. She was taken away from our parents at six and bounced around foster care until she was 18. At some point, she got hold of her file and realized that she had a younger sister and that I was in care. She and Bruce found me when I was twelve. The case worker helped her get custody.”
“Wow,” Trent sat back and rubbed his hand over his eyes. Pieces of the puzzle he had been working on all seemed to start falling into place. Her odd reactions to social situations. Her belief that she would never marry. Her unconditional love of those children. Even her tough no-nonsense demeanor on the job.
“Have you ever talked to anyone else about this?”
“A counselor that Megan took me to when I first went to live with her. She helped me get through a lot of the baggage.” She took a deep breath. “Your invitation just touched a raw spot. I’m sorry. I really do appreciate how nice your family is, the business relationship we have and everything, I just don’t want to mix it up any more than it already is. Can you understand that?”
Trent thought about all that she had told him. He knew it was quite a compliment that she had shared so much. He had to respect the fact that she had boundaries, but he believed that they had been constructed on mistruths. He could no more walk away from her than he could from a wounded animal. Besides, he had some insecurities himself.
“I’ve never dated anyone in my life for longer than six weeks.”
“So? You don’t want to get married so you cut them loose before they get too close. How does that compare with my situation?”
“But that’s not the reason. I actually tell people I don’t want to get married or have children, because I have never met anyone who made the idea seem appealing. I have parents who have been married over 30 years, and all my brothers seem to have met their soul mates. It just never happened for me.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I’ve never told anyone that, and outside of my family I have never...not once told a woman I loved her. It’s such sacred ground for my family. I just don’t want to make a mistake...let them down.”
She chuckled. “Not such a tough guy huh?”
“Nope, and something else you should know. You are mistaken if you think Jason was the only man that ever found you attractive. The night of baseball sign-ups I thought I was going to have to punch a few guys that couldn’t keep their eyes off your...assets,” he said after a pause.
“Right,” she said rolling her eyes. But he could see her visibly relaxing at their banter.
“So, Cassie,” he leaned forward again, “this is what I think we should do. I think we should agree to be friends. Just friends. I like you as a person. I respect you as a business associate. So...”
Cassie nodded. She liked him, too.
“Okay. So, I think you need to come to Sunday dinner, as my friend. We’re having more like a barbeque this week. We swim in the pool, have burgers and potato salad...and of course, eat pie.”
“Pie? I heard something about pie. Is that some sort of tradition?”
“Yeah, we love to keep track of the season by the pie this little bakery makes. I also think its Mom’s way of ensuring I’m coming, as I’m now in charge of bringing the pie each time.”
She was gnawing on her bottom lip, something she did when she was thinking hard about something. He had noticed the same tell during a couple previous conversations. He waited for her to work through her thoughts. He didn’t know why, but this seemed like something he had to make happen. Not just for her, but for him, too.
“I think the kids would love it...especially the pool and pie,” she said finally, hesitantly.
“Awesome. I will pick you up at noon and we can get the pie on the way.”
“I can drive. We won’t all fit in your truck.”
“Ok, how about this. I’ll pick up pie and get to your house around noon. Then to show how much I trust my new best friend, I’ll let her drive me to Sunday dinner.”
“Alright, that sounds like a plan.”
“Thanks Cassie. For trusting me.”
She stood, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“I’ll... uh...see you at the game tomorrow.”
As she reached the door she turned around to him, “Thanks Trent.”
“No problem.”
She opened the door and found herself face to face with Quentin.
“Hey heard you were looking for me,” he said.
“I was, but I’m running late I will try and catch up with you next week.”
“Sounds good,” he said and entered the office closing the door behind him. He had a slight frown on his face as he studied Trent’s face.
“What?” Trent demanded.
“Mom called Emily about coming out to support you and Wyatt tomorrow at the game. During the conversation she also let on that Cassie would be joining us Sunday for family dinner.” he put a hand in the air in a questioning manner. “What gives?”
“Mom promised she wouldn’t play matchmaker on this one. She just thought the kids would love the pool and hanging out with everyone. And I agreed.”
“I’m sorry? You agreed? Trent you realize this is crossing a major business and personal line.”
“I’m not going to date the woman. It’s dinner with everyone in the family. Do you really have an issue with this?”
“I guess not. But seriously man, this is weird. You have never brought anyone you dated to one of the family dinners, so it just...I don’t know.”
“Quint...she has no one. Those kids are it. I’m just trying to be a good guy. Truly she doesn’t want anything from me or from the family. I don’t see the issue. Has it impacted the business yet?”
“No, and that’s not my concern. My issue is when you finally figure out that you have feelings for her, and it scares the crap out of you. You have a track record for running. But this time, there are six kids who will be involved. So... just be careful.”
“We have agreed to just be friends.”
“You...agreed...” Quentin looked stunned.
It won’t be a problem.”
“Okay, bro.” He didn’t look convinced. “So you have time for lunch? I didn’t get to grab it earlier.”
“No, I have a couple things I still need to do.” The truth was he needed a few minutes to get his thoughts together. And he wanted to research new SUVs. As a coach he probably needed one and it would be suitable for the business, too, he reasoned with himself.
