Bad Boy Secrets (12 page)

             
“That wouldn’t have gone well for either of them.  They would have mixed about as well as oil and water--oh.  Oh, my god.”

             
Reed knew then that the realization of what she’d just said had struck.  “Surely, you don’t think--- I know Crystal is nuts, maybe even obsessed... but I--”

             
“I’m calling the sheriff, now.  I’ll have them pick her up for questioning and we’ll just see where it goes.  We can’t get ahead of ourselves here.”

             
He sounded so reasonable, she thought.  Her whole life was falling apart.  Her mother was dead, her father had been dead for more than a decade and had spent the better part of his life in prison for killing the father of the man she was currently sleeping with--who also happened to be her boss.  She needed a break.  She needed normal, and for Cass, normal meant one thing.  Alone.  “After you contact the sheriff, I want you to leave,” she said. 

             
“Cass--”

             
“You lied to me.  You kept things from me intentionally, and right now, I just can’t think clearly enough to know what I want to do about that... so, I need you to leave.  At least for now.”

             
Reed saw that she was completely resolute.  The set of her jaw, the total lack of emotion on her face. “I will go, but I’m not going to leave you alone.  I’ll call Evie to come over and when she arrives, I’ll go home.”

             
“Do whatever the hell you want, Reed.  You always do,” she said, and walked past him, heading out into the living room and veering toward the back porch. 

             
Reed watched her go, and though it went against everything he wanted, he didn’t follow her.  Cass was stubborn and she was hurting, her heart and her pride. Taking his phone from his pocket he called Evie, and knew that within minutes, the other woman would arrive.  Afterward he made the call to the sheriff and gave him what little bit of information he had.  With that, he went into the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine, pouring a glass for himself and one for Cass.  He went out onto the sleeping porch, where she lay on the bed, curled on her side.  The air had grown cool and he knew there wouldn’t be many more opportunities for them to enjoy nights outside.  She sat up in bed and he passed her the wine. 

             
“Evie’s on her way... Look, I know I should have told you about Parker Remington.  I kept it to myself because I knew that it would create problems for you.  It didn’t change my feelings for you, Cass.  Not at all.”

             
She whirled on him then, her eyes wide and brimming with tears she wouldn’t shed in front of him or anyone else.  “The man murdered your father!  Not intentionally, but through complete and utter recklessness... how can that not change your feelings for me?”

             
“Because his recklessness also left you in that damn trailer park, fighting off Rowena’s boyfriend du jour.  You think I don’t remember all the times you hid in the bushes outside?  The times when dirty old men would--”, he stopped, unable to formulate even coherent thoughts about that.  Taking a deep breath, he said, “Yes, Parker Remington got drunk, got behind the wheel of his car and ended my father’s life.  The truth is, Cass, that even when my father was alive, he was never home.  He always worked, and on the weekends when he didn’t work, he was at the bar.  He and my mother hated one another.  But you were Remington’s daughter, and he and his only damn family were certain enough of it for you to be one of the heirs.... and they never acknowledged you and that makes me angrier than anything else.”

             
Cass shook her head.  “I haven’t even gotten to the point of processing that... I am still wondering if it’s actually true or if Rowena just convinced them of it.”

             
“We can get a DNA test if you want.”

             
“I do want one.  But I don’t want the money.  I don’t want a penny from them now or ever.  There was a time in my life when that kind of support would have made a world of difference for me, but not now.  I’d rather make it on my own.”

             
He reached for her hand, pulling it to his chest.  “You don’t have to be on your own, Cass.  Don’t shut me out.”

             
She tugged her hand away.  “I have to... for a while anyway.  I have to figure this all out, Reed... and you mess up my head.  A hell of a lot more than I ever wanted to admit.  I just need to catch my breath.”

             
He felt like he was losing her.  Part of him wanted to reach out and grab her, to take hold of her and show her exactly how much she belonged with him--and to him.  Yes, he had dominant tendencies, but he’d never willfully violated a woman’s trust before and it scared the hell out of him that he was even considering it.  The rational part of his brain urged him to walk away, to give her the space she was asking for.   When things were going well, he could push Cass, he could prod and dare her into just about anything, but now, with the chips down, if he pushed too hard, he’d lose her forever.  Taking a deep breath, he said, “I’m coming over tomorrow.  I’ll take you to the funeral home to make the arrangements.”

             
“Evie can--”

             
“No, she can’t.  I’m taking you, Cass.  I’m walking out of her tonight even though it’s the last thing in the world I want to do.  So just shut the fuck up and deal with it.”

             
He’d never cursed at her before, at least not outside the bedroom.  On the one hand, Cass felt insulted, but on the other hand, she knew she must have him frustrated beyond end if he’d do that.  It wasn’t necessarily that she wanted him to be miserable, but it did make the playing field feel a little more even.  “Fine.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

             
Reed walked back into the living room and gathered up his things just as the door opened.  Evie walked inside, took one look at his face, and offered, “Jackson’s over at Tiny’s having a few beers and watching the game.”

             
Reed jerked his tie off and slipped his jacket over his shoulders.  He wasn’t going to the office.  “Then you’ll know where to find me.”

             
Cass was on the back porch still when Evie came looking for her.  She lay in the iron bed that had belonged to her grandmother.  It was the closest thing to a family heirloom that she owned.  She glanced up at Evie’s heavy sigh.  “What’s that for?”

             
“That’s for not knowing what to say to make any of it any better.”

             
Cass patted the bed beside her.  “Then don’t say anything at all.  Just lay here beside me like we’re having one of our high school sleep overs.”

             
Evie stretched out on the bed.  “It was a lot easier to have these when I could sleep on my side or on my stomach.  Being pregnant is not nearly as fabulous as I had thought it would be.”

             
Cass chuckled.  “Nope.  It’s all swollen ankles, hot flashes and feeling a whole lot like John Hurt in Alien.”

             
Evie shuddered.  “Let’s not talk about that.  I have a tiny foot poking its way through my rib cage as we speak.... I’m getting the dress, by the way, the one from this morning and not the red one.”

             
Cass widened her eyes, “I thought you wanted to be scandalous?”

             
“I did, but Jackson talked me out of red.  He said that since I’ll look like I’m ready to pop, white is an even bigger slap in the face of tradition.”

             
“It’s true.  And red isn’t for you.  I know you like setting this town on its ear, but at heart, Evie my girl, you are a traditionalist.”

             
“I guess I am... Maybe that’s why I’ve been rooting so hard for my best friend and my soon to be husband’s best friend to work out all their issues and get their shit together.”

             
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”  Cass relayed the bombshell that Reed had dropped earlier about the identity of her father, and also about the pictures and Crystal’s potential role in her mother’s death. 

             
“So let me get this straight... Knowing that your biological father was the drunk driver that killed his own father, Reed never even batted an eye.  He wanted you so much that he could totally ignore that?”

             
“Do not try to spin this into some happily ever after bullshit.  That doesn’t happen in my world.”

             
Evie looked Cass dirently in the eye as she said, “It hasn’t happened, Cass.  That doesn’t mean that it won’t, or that it can’t.  But no one ever got happily ever after by kicking prince charming out the front door.”

             
Cass didn’t say anything, just rolled onto her back and looked up into the whirring blades of the ceiling fan.  Those blades, turning in a perpetual circle and never getting anywhere, mirrored her own thoughts to perfection. 

             
It was barely ten when Reed pulled up in front of Cass’ house the following day.  He had spoken with the judge that morning and had managed to get a continuation for the few cases he was representing in family court that week.  He knew that she didn’t expect him to rearrange his life for her, but it was important to him to do so.  There had been too many people in Cass’ life who had never bothered to make her a priority.  Whether it worked to his advantage or not, he felt like it was the right thing to do. 

             
Getting out of the car, he walked up the steps and knocked on the door.  Evie answered, looking less than well rested.  Her dark pony tail was askew and she had smudged make up beneath her eyes.  “Good morning, sunshine.”

             
“Fuck you,” she said, enunciating each word with crisp precision. 

             
He couldn’t help but chuckled.  “I see you’re still embracing your inner bad girl.”

             
“Cass is in the shower,” she said abruptly and stepped away from the door, leaving it wide open for him to follow. 

             
With the opportunity to ask without her overhearing, he said, “Is she okay?”

             
Evie settled into the couch, sipping from the steaming mug of tea that Cass had left for her.  “I don’t really know.  It’s Cass.  When things are bad she tends to play it close to her chest.   She’s been quiet... not saying a whole lot.  I don’t know how much of that is about you and how much is about Rowena, though.”

             
He didn’t know either.  “Look, Evie.  I know you and Cass are close, so I’m just going to say that it’s not my intent to hurt her.”

             
“That’s a damn good thing, too.  Otherwise, I’d already have your balls in a vice,” she responded. 

             
“I’m trying, Cass.  Doing the best I can, but there’s no road map for this.”

             
She must have taken pity on him at that point because her face softened and some of the tension evaporated from the room.  “I know that... and I know you’re a good guy, though apparently much kinkier than anyone had realized.  I’m half tempted to wonder if I didn’t go for the wrong bad boy... All kidding aside, you mean something to Cass, Reed.  Somehow you wormed your way into that place where she doesn’t let anyone go.  If you hurt her, even without meaning to, I don’t know how she’ll respond.”

             
They didn’t say anything further as they both heard the water turn off.  Changing the subject, Evie asked, “Have you heard anything from the sheriff about Crystal?”

             
“They’re looking for her.  Her parents are covering for her, but I don’t think they’ll hold much longer.”

             
Evie shook her head sadly.  “I’ve known her since she was a little bitty thing... used to help out in her Sunday School class.  You know that even then, there was never enough attention for her.  She craved it like no one I’ve ever seen.”

             
“I should have talked to you before I hired her,” he said. 

             
Evie chuckled, “Yes, but then you wouldn’t have had Cass walk in just as you needed a secretary.  Things happen for a reason, Reed.”

             
He shook his head, “And all of that led to Rowena’s death.  I feel like it’s my fault somehow, that by not recognizing how cracked that girl was, I set this whole thing in motion.”

             
“That is the dumbest damned thing I have ever heard,” Cass spoke up from the doorway.  Wearing nothing but a black satin robe that clung to her lush curves, her wet hair hung over her shoulders in thick, auburn ropes. 

             
Evie rose and reached for her purse.  “I’m going to go home now.  I’ll drive through town looking like this and both my mother’s and Jackson’s phones will be ringing inside of thirty seconds.”

             
Reed didn’t speak as she let herself out, but kept his gaze trained on Cass intently.  Her pale skin looked even more fragile in the light creeping in between the blinds.  Her eyes were slightly puffy and swollen.  She looked wounded in a way that he had never seen, not even when she’d been a child.