Following Your Heart (Love Conquers All) (8 page)

Cassie nodded, “Alright then.  We better go, before the food gets cold.”

“Hey Seth, I'll take your coat.”  Seth handed Courtney his jacket and then followed Cassie into the dining room where everyone was seated.

Cassie's mother looked up and smiled.  “I'll go grab another bowl.  Seth, you can sit down right next to Cassie.”  Cassie could feel her face turn red and to add even more confusion he pulled out her seat.

“Thank you,” she replied quietly as she sat down.

“Old habits die hard,” he whispered. 

When everyone was back seated, they grabbed hands and her Father said the prayer.  Cassie bit her lower lip hard, hoping that she wouldn't draw blood.  She could feel the heat from his grasp creep up her arm.  It was as if 10 years hadn't passed and the fact was she was thankful when the prayer was over.  Her heart was beating a little faster than before as the family held polite conversation and she tried her hardest to keep her eyes off of him.  Time had definitely been good to him.  “So Seth, what brings you to Avery?”  She asked hoping he didn't sense her nervousness.

“I decided I could use a few days away.”

“How's the Bed and Breakfast doing?”  Cassie asked quietly, keeping her eyes focused on eating and not the man beside her.

“It's doing well; there have been a lot of changes.  Megan is looking after it this week.  It's been a challenge, but...it's been worth it.”

Cassie looked at him, his expression was kind and he didn't seem to have any hard feelings towards her.  “Did Rebecca come with you?”  Cassie heard her father's voice and was thankful that someone had finally asked the question.

Seth and Cassie's stare broke and he turned to look at her Dad.  “Uh...no...She couldn't get away.” 

Cassie shot him a glance;
she hoped he wouldn't regret eating supper over there after bringing up Rebecca's name.  He didn't appear to want to flee the situation, so that was a good sign.  “What does Rebecca do in Dallas?”  Cassie asked looking down at her soup as if it was going to do something entertaining.

“She's a teacher.”  He replied quietly and Cassie could sense he was getting uncomfortable.  “So, Courtney where's Brad tonight?”

“He had a meeting for work, he's coming over afterward.”

“Tell him I said hello.”

“I will.”

He took the last bite of his chili and then looked at Cassie's mother.  “The chili was great, thanks.”

“You're welcome, but I can't take the credit for it.  Cassie made the supper.”

He turned to Cassie and smiled, “Well then, thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I probably should get going.  Where should I put the dirty dishes?”

“Don't be silly Seth, I'll get them.”  Cassie replied quietly, confused why the sudden urge to leave.  Was he that uncomfortable about talking about his fiancée in front of her?  “I'll walk you out.”

“You don't have to do that,” he spoke as he reached out and touched her hand.  She looked down at their hands and he quickly pulled away.  “I know my way.”

“It's no problem at all.”  She got up, despite his urgent expression telling her not to.

He waved goodbye and they walked in silence to the door.  When he opened the door she followed him onto the porch.  “I wanted to tell you, but I didn't get a chance to at the jewelry store.  I like the new look.”

“What?”  Cassie asked surprised by his remark.

“The color and style.  I haven't seen it on you before and I just wanted you to know that I think you look nice.”

“Thanks Seth,” she didn't know how to feel about that.  Chad didn't even mention the makeover and for Seth to notice and mention it after 10 years, just proved what an observant guy he was.

“You're welcome and thanks again for supper.”

“I'm glad you could stay.”  He turned away from her and began to walk towards the driveway.  “Seth, wait!”  He stopped for a moment and she waited for him to look at her.  “You don't have to be quiet about Rebecca.  I'm happy that you moved on.  I mean after all I...”

He nodded, “I know...Chad.”

“Oh,” she looked away when she saw the pain behind his eyes and suddenly she didn't know what to think.  “I didn't...I mean, I didn't know that you knew about him.”

He laughed;
“I'm not stupid Cass, this is a small town.”

“I didn't say you were stupid Seth.  We're going to be family soon, with Brad marrying Courtney and you marrying Rebecca, Brad's sister.”

“Courtney told you?  I promise I wasn't meddling when I got them together, I...”

“Seth,
its fine.  The point is we're all happy, and that's what matters.  However, if it's uncomfortable to be around me...I would understand if you wouldn't want to go out together.”

“Cass, there's nothing I would like better.  Actually, if I'm being honest with myself...I haven't been able to stop thinking about seeing you again at the jewelry store last night.”

Cassie blushed, “I know what you mean.  It's been too long.”

“It sure has;
so how about Friday night?”

“Okay, that sounds good to me.”

“Okay...pick you up at 6:30?”

“I'll see you then.”  As she started to turn away, she saw that he wasn't moving.  “Is there something else?”

“About Rebecca...”

Cassie stared at him, worried about what he was trying to say.  “What about Rebecca?”  At that moment she noticed Brad's car pull up into the driveway.  When he got out and headed their way he gave an awkward glance towards Seth.  “Hi Brad,” Cassie replied trying to ignore the look Brad was giving Seth.

“Hey Cassie...Seth, how are you doing this evening.”

“Hey Brad, I'm doing well.  Thanks.  I was just leaving.”

“Brad, everyone's inside.  We have leftover chili, help yourself to a bowl.”

“Thanks Cassie.”  He then turned back to Seth, “I'll see you later Seth.”  The words were dry, and Seth just nodded.

“What was that all about?”  Cassie asked once Brad had disappeared.

“Nothing. 
I better get going.  Thanks again for tonight.”  He headed to his truck, bringing Cassie back to the moment.

“Wait a minute Seth.”  She rushed to the truck, just as he got in.  “You were going to say something about Rebecca?”

“You know...never-mind...we'll talk Friday.  I'll see you then.”  He started the truck and drove away, leaving Cassie to stare after him.  It was a bazaar turn of events, but Cassie just shrugged it off and headed back into the house.”

The dishes were already cleared and everyone had gone about doing what they wanted, all except her mother who was looking at her.  “It almost seemed like no time had passed by.”

“What?”  Cassie asked, almost not hearing her mother speak.

“I don't know Seth just seems to click with this family.”

Cassie looked at her mom and tried to smile.  “Well, soon he will be a part of this family.”

“Cassie, it's not the same and you know it.”

“Mom, what do you want me to say?  I've moved on, he's moved on...too much time has passed.”

“Has it?”

“What?”  Cassie stared at her mom, wondering where this was coming from.

“If things were going so smoothly between Rebecca and Seth, would he be here?  Would he leave his
fiancée home alone?”

“Mom, keep your voice down. 
Where are Courtney and Brad?  Remember, you're talking about Brad's sister, after all.”

“They're up in Courtney's room.  He can't hear us.”

“Alone?  Mom, you're softening.”  Cassie laughed trying to change the subject.

“They're getting married and I know they sometimes need alone time.  Don't try to get me off topic.  The point is...Rebecca's not here and you are.  Maybe he needed time away from her, ever think of that?”

“Couples are allowed to take separate vacations, look at Chad and myself.”

“Exactly.  Think about it.”  Cassie watched her mom pass her and go up the stairs.  Her mom was wrong, she was sure of it.  Seth came back to Avery because he had time off.  There was no reason to believe he wasn't anything less than happy.  She looked up the stairs, where her mother had disappeared.  Right?

Cassie stared at her reflection in the mirror, she had been in that same position for an hour now and she didn't even know what she was hoping to accomplish.  “This is stupid, we're just friends.”  She spoke to herself.

“What are you doing?” 

Cassie looked over and saw Courtney staring at her, a hint of a smile was present on her face.  “Nothing, I'm just getting ready for tonight.  I always put makeup on when I go out.”

“Do you always talk to yourself in the mirror too?”   Cassie gave her a dirty look and Courtney laughed.  “Cassie, I think it's cute.  After all these years you still want to make a good impression with him.”

“You always were the hopeless romantic Courtney.  You're wrong in this case; just because I don't want to be a slob...it doesn't mean I have high hopes for us.  I'm realistic, not stupid.  Besides, I have done some thinking since we planned this...” she paused for a moment she didn't know what she really wanted to call it.

“Date...” Courtney finished for her and Cassie could feel her face flush.

“Friendly get together is more like it.”  Courtney rolled her eyes and Cassie continued.  “Anyway, I have thought about it and I've come to the conclusion that we're not the same two people that we were in high school.  Time has changed both of us and to go back would be dumb, even if we were both single.  So, I am going to say it is what it is and just enjoy his friendship.  Maybe when I go back to New York City we can truly continue being friends, something that I wish we would have done all that time ago.”

“Why didn't you?”

Cassie shrugged, truthfully she didn't know.  “I guess things just got away from us and neither one of us were willing to work at it.”

“That's not exactly true, now is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Cass, I know what happened when you came back to Texas after your graduation.”

“Oh...I didn't realize you were a spy and sneak too.  How did you find out?”

“The day after graduation, you had just gotten back into town.  You seemed off and I was worried about you.  I remember you asked me how Seth was doing and back then things were tense between him and the family.  I feel he was still missing you, even though 4 years had passed.  So, when you left the house...I followed you.”

“All the way to Dallas?”

Courtney nodded, “I considered trying to get your attention, so that you knew you weren't in this alone.  Yet, every time I was going to make a move to flag you down something happened that caused me to change my mind.  When you got to the Bed and Breakfast, I saw you get out and head up to the door...that's when I left?”

“Why didn't you stay to see what happened?”

“It was your time and I really was praying that after you talked to him, you would realize that you two belonged together.  So, that didn't happen and you ended up getting home...not too long after I did.  So, what happened?”

“You know what happened...things didn't work out for us.  End of story.”

“Not quite.  What did you and Seth talk about?”

“We didn't.”  Cassie saw the shock on Courtney's face and she turned away.  “I was just about to open the door to the Bed and Breakfast when I heard Seth's voice.  I went to the edge of the building and saw him with a woman.  They were whispering and laughing with one another and so I left.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?”

Cassie shook her head, “No, but I wasn't going to stay to find out.  It was embarrassing enough and I didn't want to be humiliated by being discovered.”

“So, you left and their interaction could have been completely innocent?”

“I saw them, it wasn't.”

“Okay, so that's why you chose to move back to New York City, find a job, and buy a house?  If you would have gone to Seth and told him that you were still in love with him and he would have said he was in love with you, would you have stayed?”

Cassie bit her lip; she knew the answer to that question.  She had gone over that scenario multiple times in her head and the answer was clear.  She nodded her head slowly, “Courtney, I am glad that I went to school in New York and I am thankful for my job, but there is one thing I have discovered and that's that love is the most important thing.  So, when I saw that it wasn't going to work out between us I decided that I needed to focus on my career and let it happen naturally.  I truly felt that that's the way it happened with Chad.”

“I just don't want you to short change yourself.  What happened back then, it could have been a misunderstanding and to realize that you took off without knowing...it worries me.”

Cassie smiled, “Everything is fine and I am happy with the way my life has turned out.  So, don't you go worrying.”

“Cassie, there's something that I have to tell you...Brad just told me that...”

Cassie looked up when she heard a sound of the doorbell.  “He's here.  Can this wait?”

Courtney looked upset, but just nodded.  “Have a good time.”

Cassie grabbed her purse and ran down the stairs, she took a slow breath before she opened the door, and she didn't want to appear too eager.  “Hey Seth,” she replied.  Surprised at how calm she sounded.

“Hi, are you ready to go?”

“I am,” she replied with a smile as she closed the door and headed to his vehicle.  So far so good, Cassie just hoped that the evening wasn't a mistake and that afterward they could be friends again.

______________________

Seth had to keep telling himself that it wasn't a date.  Seeing her next to him in the passenger seat, he couldn't help but imagine that nothing had ever changed between them.  He had to fight the urge to hug her when he picked her up; she totally threw him by surprise at the jewelry store.  When she hugged him, he suddenly realized he longed for her arms around him.  Yet this wasn't a date, she was seriously involved with someone in New York and as far as she knew he was still seeing Rebecca.  Nothing was going to happen, but two friends getting caught up on each other’s lives.  “Are you cold?”  Seth asked when he saw Cassie pull her shawl tighter around her shoulders.  “I could turn the heater on?”

She looked at him and
smiled that smile that he would never forget.  He had to look away so she didn't see how much she still had a pull on his emotions.  “I'm fine, but if you're cold...”

“No, just concerned about you.”  She laughed and he gave her a confused look.  “What's so funny?”

“Seth, we haven't seen each other for 10 years, but we shouldn't make this difficult.  I mean, time doesn't change the fact that we used to be so natural with each other.  Please, let's try to be as carefree as we would have been all of those years ago.”

Seth didn't know if that would even be possible.  “We were so young back then.  I don't know that we can get back the time we lost.”

Cassie turned her head and faced the window; he thought he saw a tear glistening in her eye.  He instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand.  She shot him a look, causing him to pull away.  “Don't do that.”

“I...I'm sorry.”  He looked away, surprised at how sharp her words were.  He didn't realize that a simple touch would cause her to overreact, but he didn't want to press the issue.  The rest of the ride was quiet and Seth thought about trying to say something else, but he was worried that Cassie was going to get upset with him again.  It also made him question whether the night was going to be a good idea, but it was too late to worry about that. 

As the car turned into the parking lot of the restaurant he saw Cassie turn to him.  “We're eating here?”

He nodded, “Is that alright?”

She turned and looked out the window and he figured she was remembering the good times they enjoyed at Billy's Steak House.  “Sure, it's fine.”

When the car was parked, he was going to go around to open her door but she was quick to get to it first.  He lagged behind as Cassie seemed to quickly walk to the front door.  He wondered what had bothered her so
much; the fact that he touched her in the car...or maybe it was the whole agreeing to go out with him in the first place.  He stopped when he got inside the restaurant and was relieved to see it wasn't very busy.  “Two please.”  He spoke quietly and then turned to Cassie, she wasn't looking at him so he turned back to the waitress.  “Do you have an opening in the garden room?”

The hostess nodded, “Right this way Mr. Callahan.”

He waited for Cassie to get in front of him and they followed the hostess down the aisles until they reached the small room.  Cassie turned to the hostess and shook her head.  “Could we please have another table?”

“But...” the lady looked at Seth and shrugged her shoulders.

“Its fine, thanks Veronica.”

She reluctantly laid the menus down and left them alone.  “Seth...”  Cassie began as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

“Cassie, you're the one that said we shouldn't make tonight awkward.  Why the change of heart?”

“I...it's just...” Cassie looked around the room and he noticed her smile lightly brushed across her lips.  “It's still here.”

He nodded as she walked over to the tree that they had planted in their sophomore years.  “What did you think; they would chop it down after we graduated?”

Cassie laughed, “I don't know, I guess I figured it would be forgotten about.  It meant a lot to us because it was our class project.”  She looked around the empty room.

“It's more private, we can talk without having to talk over people.”

“Okay, I guess you're right.”

He smiled to himself, relieved that Cassie didn't bolt as he went back to holding out the chair for her to take a seat.  He acted like he was looking in the menu, instead he was watching her.  He had eaten there many times that he didn't need to read a menu to know what he wanted to order.  When she looked up, her face turned red and he realized he had been caught staring at her.  “You ready?”  He asked as he quickly looked down.  She nodded as the waitress came to take their order. 

“Are you both ready to order?”

Seth nodded and pointed to Cassie, so that she could order first.  “I'll have the Cowboy Sirloin, well done with a baked potato.  I'll just drink water, thanks.”

“I'll have the same, thanks.”  Seth replied as the waitress grabbed the menus and left the table.  “Have you been back here since you left Avery?”

“No, so it's been awhile since I had one of their steaks.”

“They haven't changed any, Billy still works hard here and he makes sure the chefs all put their heart into this place.”

Cassie smiled, but then looked away.  He wondered if her nerves were settling in, because he was a little nervous himself.  “Thanks for bringing me here; I didn't realize how much I've missed seeing some of the familiar places.”

“It's my pleasure,” he had to take a drink to try to dissolve the knot in his throat.

“I'm sorry about earlier,” the words came out in a whisper and Seth nearly missed what she was saying.  She looked into his eyes and he saw the familiar person he fell in love with all those years.

“You don't have to apologize about anything Cassie.”

“Yes...yes, I do.  You see, I was telling you to be relaxed when yet I was far from it.  I shouldn't have snapped at you, you were only trying to practice what I preach.  So, for that, I apologize.”

“Apology not needed, but accepted. 
The truth is you were right.  I wanted to do tonight because I thought maybe we could have a little fun before you have to leave again.  All those years ago, we said we would remain friends and yet...”

“I know, I guess it was harder than I thought it would be.  I want that to change and I would like to make an effort to work on it.  If, it's what you want.”

Seth smiled, he was glad to hear Cassie say that she wanted to go back to being friends.  He missed just talking to her.  This would be a great start to repairing what they lost.  “It's a deal.”

Cassie smiled, “Good...so, what have you been up to?”

“I guess the big thing is remodeling the Bed and Breakfast.  We've done a lot of changes.  Some things that you probably wouldn't recognize, but it's all for the better.  The place is hopping with visitors and I think that Aunt Sally would be proud of its progress.”

“I would like to come see it before I leave, if that would be alright?”

“Of course.  Courtney and Bradley are coming out next week to look the place over for their wedding.  When I go back to Dallas next week you could come with me and they could take you back home.  Or, I could bring you back home...it's only two hours.”

“So, you're going back to Dallas soon?”

“My sister has been working hard, but it's time for me to go back.  I was planning on leaving today, but...”

“I'm glad you decided to stay a couple more days.  I just hope that Rebecca doesn't mind.”  Cassie surprised him by speaking those words. 

He closed his eyes, wishing she would stop bringing up Rebecca in their conversations.  “Rebecca's fine with it.”  He was glad to stay for her, but he didn't want to scare her off and tell her that.  “So, tell me about your life.” 

Cassie waited to speak as the waitress came back in and gave them their food.  When she left she took a long drink of water and he felt she was either biding time or really thirsty.  Finally she put the glass down and then smiled.  “Things are going well.  When I graduated I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I was offered a job at one of the top Advertising agencies in New York City.  I have been there almost 6 years and I love my job.  Last week I was offered a promotion, my boss is retiring and he gave me the job.”