Chapter Five
T
he following days flew by. Cassie learned her route to the schools and the shopping center. White-knuckled at first. then with more ease each day.
To her amazement, Blake left the country on her tenth day in L.A., briefly explaining that the two-week business trip couldn’t be avoided or postponed. She had expected him to be around during this transition time, knowing it wouldn’t be easy for the two families to meld. The Matthews boys, who’d been settling down—a little—resumed their obnoxious behavior, escalating their antics, since they knew she had no one to turn to for support.
Still, she insisted they sit down to eat dinner each evening, refusing to relinquish the family hour. Although they kept up their sarcastic comments, she noticed they were eating more of her cooking.
Mark and Todd were easier to deal with than Kevin, especially when their older brother wasn’t around. It wasn’t difficult to uncover the twins’ likes and dislikes. And although they tried repeatedly to fool her about who was Mark and who was Todd, she had been able to tell them apart since the second day. She couldn’t have explained how she knew, but it was something in the eyes, and their expressions. They were disappointed that the switching act didn’t work. Apparently, they’d used it successfully on past housekeepers. Yet she had a sneaking suspicion that they were secretly pleased that she paid enough attention to them to tell them apart. Despite their swaggering bravado, they were still only nine years old and in desperate need of attention.
The relationship between Jimmy Ray and Kevin was a difficult one. A year older than the more sophisticated Kevin, Jimmy Ray resented the other boy’s superior attitude. And Kevin enjoyed needling Jimmy Ray, reminding him at every opportunity that he was a hick. Because Cassie had asked him to keep the peace, Jimmy Ray chose to retreat to the computer Blake had assured him was his, rather than fight. But Cassie knew her oldest son was about to blow if Kevin kept up his taunts.
Katherine Ann was the only one who was able to get along with them all. Treating the twins much as she did David John, she regarded them as little more than a nuisance—tike the bane of one’s existence that was any younger brother. And, oddly, Kevin didn’t treat Katherine Ann the same way he did Jimmy Ray. While he wasn’t overly friendly, he didn’t go out of his way to torment her.
Reflecting on all this one afternoon, Cassie stirred a bowl of cookie dough, adding more chocolate chips. It was still too early to tell whether they could all get along peaceably. One thing continued to amaze her. Even though he was half a world away, Blake had called only once to check on his children, and then he’d sounded distracted.
Frowning into the mixing bowl, Cassie added more nuts, as well. True, she had Blake’s itinerary, but she had thought he would want more contact with his children. Beneath their tough attitudes, she sensed, they were crying out for attention. Not ready yet to take that attention from her, the boys clung to their rebellious ways.
Hearing the back door open, Cassie smiled at David John and the twins. Though certainly not yet friends, the three had come to an uneasy alliance. Since the older kids got home later, they tolerated one another in the early afternoons.
“Whatcha making, Mama?” David John asked, climbing on a tall bar stool to watch.
“Cookies... chocolate chip.”
The twins edged a bit closer. She knew it was their favorite. She’d also discovered that they usually filled up on candy and chips. By stocking up on fruit, yogurt and healthier snacks, she was trying to subtly change their habits.
“Make you guys a deal. Do your homework at the table in here, and when you’re finished we’ll have hot cookies.”
Todd licked his lips in anticipation, but Mark frowned. “I’m hungry
now
.”
She tossed him an apple. “That should hold you.”
He still looked disgruntled, but in a moment she noticed that he was biting into the fruit. While she knew David John would complete his homework, whether in the kitchen or in his room, the twins weren’t as dependable. Left to their own devices, they would watch TV in their rooms and then mumble evasively about their homework.
Backpacks hit the breakfast room table, and the top was quickly covered with books and papers as they settled in to work. And in a short while, they were busily finishing homework, spurred on by the aroma of fragrant cookies filling the air.
The twins might be sophisticated city kids, but a chocolate chip cookie was a pretty effective equalizer. They all munched contentedly, matching milk mustaches decorating their upper lips.
Cassie had been horrified to learn that the Matthews children drank soda instead of milk. She wondered why all their teeth hadn’t fallen out. There had been plenty of grumbling at first, but nothing washed down a freshly baked cookie like a glass of milk.
“I’m making Chinese food tonight,” Cassie told the boys as they finished the snack. “It’s a special recipe.”
“We have frozen egg rolls,” Mark told her.
Cassie put another tray of cookies into the oven. “They aren’t quite the same as homemade.”
Todd shrugged. “And China Platter delivers.”
David John grinned at her. “Wait’ll they taste yours. They won’t want any more dumb frozen stuff.”
Cassie rumpled his white-blond hair. “Thanks, pal.”
By evening, the house simmered with the delicate scent of wonton soup and chow mein. Deciding to be festive, Cassie donned a silk blouse that dipped over her shoulders, one she’d purchased on her first shopping excursion in the city. She brushed her long hair into a smooth wave and disregarded her usual barrette.
A refreshing breeze lifted the curtains at the window, sending in the sweet smell of orange blossoms. Cassie hummed as she checked the table, leaning over to light the candles.
The humming masked the sound of the door opening and Blake’s startled exclamation when he saw her.
The flare of the match illuminated her flawless skin, casting her delicate features in pleasing relief. As she bent over, the low neckline of her blouse revealed intriguing curves Blake hadn’t known she possessed. His gaze roamed over her, taking in the effect of the blouse that skimmed over her shoulders, baring just enough skin to make him want to see more.
Her hair was different somehow, too. In the candlelight, it resembled burnished wheat as it swung unhindered over her shoulder. Long eyelashes shadowed her cheeks as she studied the table, straightening the silverware, then rearranging two of the platters. Had she changed that much? Or had he simply failed to see her before?
He stepped closer, and she looked up, surprise filling her smoke-colored eyes. One hand flew to the delicate hollow of her throat. “I...I didn’t expect you.”
“I do live here,” he reminded her gently, watching the confusion play over her face. “And I decided to come home a day early.”
“The boys will be glad you’re back. And your timing’s perfect. We were about to sit down to dinner.”
She didn’t even stumble over the word, he noticed. Before, she’d always started to call the meal
supper
. Another change.
Gulliver’s toenails clicked over the tile floor as the dog rushed to greet him. While he hadn’t wanted them to bring the large animal, Blake had to admit that Gulliver was growing on him, especially after a two-week break from the dog.
“He likes you,” Cassie commented softly. “And he’s pretty picky.”
That was it. The softness. Whenever he thought of Cassie, it had been entwined with the image of steel, a backbone that wouldn’t buckle under a ton of pressure. It hadn’t occurred to him that she could be soft, too.
She glanced at him, with a curious look that unsettled him.
Reflexively he held up his briefcase and garment bag. “I’ll put these away and be ready in a few minutes.”
She nodded. “There’s no hurry. It’s not the kind of meal that’s timed down to the second. It’ll stay warm till you’re ready.”
“Uh-huh.” Backing up, he nearly toppled Katherine Ann as she came into the kitchen.
She smiled, in a shy imitation of her mother. “Hello, Mr. Matthews. I’m glad you’re home.”
“I am, too,” he replied, pushing open the swinging door.
It was jet lag, he decided. That accounted for the imagined changes in Cassie. He was sure that by the time he returned to the breakfast room, everything would be back to normal.
But it wasn’t. Not only were his children not close to gnawing each other to bits, but Cassie still looked different. While the kids were hardly acting like the Waltons, they were being civil. And apparently they had grudgingly accepted the dinner ritual.
Although the meal was delicious, he barely tasted it. Instead, he watched Cassie. How had he managed not to notice until now that she was a woman? He supposed that somewhere in his brain he’d cataloged that fact. After all, she couldn’t be a mother without being a woman.
But there were women. And there were women.
Somehow, while he was out of the country, she’d slipped from one category to the other.
The tight, pinched expression, along with the worry that had prompted it, was gone from her face, he realized, making her look younger, more vibrant. Now she certainly didn’t look old enough to have teenage children. Blake watched her quiet competence, the ease with which she presided over the meal, drawing out each of the children. Yet he wondered about the slight flush of her skin, the brightness of her eyes.
And the kids were cleaning their plates, he noticed. No requests for burgers or pizza this time. And they dug into the fruit-filled dessert with equal enthusiasm. Another one of Cassie’s transformations?
Cassie turned to Jimmy Ray. “I haven’t had a chance to ask you. How’d the computer project go?”
“Pretty good, Mama. It’s going to be in the science fair.”
Cassie clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful. And to think you were more than a year behind the other kids in the class!”
Blake thought it was nothing less than amazing. He wished his own executives possessed as much drive as this teenager.
Kevin snorted. “Yeah, but if you’re in the science fair, you have to waste a whole Saturday sitting around with a bunch of science geeks.”
Blake cleared his throat. This was treacherous territory. While he wanted to instill motivation in his kids, he didn’t want them to resent being compared to the Hawkins children. At the same time, he didn’t want Jimmy Ray’s accomplishment to be ridiculed. “What’s fascinating to one person can be boring to another. Jimmy Ray might not like spending a day at the beach. He might prefer something else....” Blake searched his mind. “Like a day at the museum.”
Both Kevin and Jimmy Ray looked at him as though he’d lost his mind.
“That was just an example,” Blake finished hurriedly, realizing he was sinking rapidly. Avoiding their stares, he made the mistake of looking at Cassie instead. And found himself feeling even more unsettled.
A tinge of pink still dusted Cassie’s cheeks, and her tongue flicked to one corner of her mouth. Why hadn’t he noticed before how full her lips were? Or their deep rose color, without benefit of lipstick?
She glanced up at him, and he saw the silver of her eyes deepen before she reached for the pitcher of tea, refilling glasses. He wondered what had prompted her sudden solicitousness. Competence, or nerves?
“Mr. Matthews is right. You boys both have things to be proud of. Kevin, did you tell your father what you made on your English assignment?”
Kevin mumbled something unintelligible.
Blake watched as Kevin uncharacteristically kept his gaze directed at his plate. This was his quick-comeback kid, without one shy bone in his body. “I didn’t hear you, Kevin.”
“I made a ‘B,’ okay?” he responded defiantly.
Considering that his average generally hovered between D and F, it was remarkable. More treacherous ground. Blake didn’t want to unseat his progress with too much false-sounding enthusiasm.
“Sounds good to me,” he replied mildly. “Is this unit something you’re interested in?”
“Sort of.”
Blake wondered if digging for gold was as difficult as this. “What was it?”
“A book report.”
Which usually earned Kevin a zero, since he hated to read.
“Must have been an interesting book,” Blake said carefully.
“It was okay. I’m done eating. I need to meet the guys.”
“What do you have planned for the evening?” Cassie asked Kevin as she spooned more fruit into the twins’ dishes.
“Just hanging out at Brian’s, videos and stuff.”
Blake watched in silent amazement as the exchange continued. Kevin never gave him any details. In fact, he was usually hard-pressed to get him to answer at all.
“Is all your homework done?” Cassie asked. “You have a math test Friday.”
“Yeah. It’s done.” Kevin was scooting his chair backward, scraping it against the tile floor. “I gotta go. The guys are waiting.”