Letting Go of Us (Anchored Hearts Vol. 3) (33 page)

The cat made no qualms
about letting Cassidy pick it up. “Friend of yours?”

She turned to me with the
most beautiful smile on her face. “I can’t believe you found her!”
Walking toward her she filled me in on the fact that the cat was
hers. “She ran away the day of the accident. I can’t believe she’s
back.” She walked in the front door and set the cat down who ran
off somewhere toward the kitchen. She looked to me and said, “I
have to feed her and make sure she remembers where her litter box
is.”

I nodded and waited for her
to return from the laundry room. “So, do you want to join
me?”

“
For a ride? Are you
sure?” I nodded. “Yes! Give me five minutes.”

She ran in the door and I
went to the garage and pulled down the other helmet. I was an
idiot. Why had it not occurred to me that I had two helmets for a
reason? Of course the second one must have been hers. I wasn’t
waiting long and I wasn’t disappointed when she walked out the
door. Her tight jeans hugged every curve just right. She wore a
grey shirt and had her hair pulled back in a low pony.

She walked over, the
excitement radiating off of her. Handing her the helmet, I watched
as she slid it over her head. I straddled the bike and turned the
engine over. Revving it for optimum effect, I motioned her to climb
on.
Preferably my lap.
I shook the thought away as she braced herself on my shoulder
and swung her leg behind me. She latched her arms around my torso
without reserve and I peeled out of the drive.

We rode out of town and
came across a small festival and I decided to check it out. They
had a beer tent with live music and you could smell the funnel
cakes in the air. Not really sure if she was hungry, but assuming
she was, I found somewhere to park.

“
Want to check it
out?”

“
Sure. I could go for an
elephant ear or two, too.”

We walked toward the music,
stopping to check out a few vendors who were set up in tents,
before they closed up for the day. I told Cassidy that we should
make plans to come back the next day to check out the other tents
that had already closed for the day. She happily agreed. We stopped
and each ordered some food. She opted for a corn dog, an elephant
ear—as she called it—and a lemonade. We ate as we walked and made
our way toward the bright lights of the Ferris wheel and arcade
games that were going on.

“
Want to go for a
ride?”

She cringed and said, “I
don’t know. Last time I rode one, well, let’s just say I left my
lunch on the pavement.”

I laughed, “Seriously. It’s
a Ferris wheel.” She just shrugged her shoulders as I continued to
rib her. “Alright, Benedict. I’ll ride the Ferris wheel with you on
one condition,” she looked around and pointed at one of the arcade
booths, “I want one of those! The big one.”

I followed her finger to
see stuffed animals of all sizes. I couldn’t even tell from our
distance what kind of animals they were. “Deal. This will be easy
enough.” I pulled out my wallet and she gawked at the wad of
twenties I pulled out.

“
No! That’s cheating. You
have to win it, you can’t buy it, big shot.” Huffing, I shoved the
money back in my wallet, grumbling the whole way over. “And I’m
pretty sure you have to win like three times before you can trade
in the smaller ones for the big one.”

“
Why did I agree to
this?”

She just laughed and as we
got closer I realized it wasn’t even a game of skill. It was the
stupid water gun on the bulls-eye game. This would be easy enough.
I paid my money and she sat down next to me. She was going to
compete against me. She was rotten and I was going to thoroughly
enjoy wiping that smile of hers off her face when I won.

She won the first game, me
the second, then some tween in baggy pants won the third game. His
girlfriend squealed like a banshee and I had a hard time hiding my
disgust. Looking to Cassidy, she was smiling from ear to ear. She
had a great smile.

“
Ready. Just you and me.
Hurry up and pay the man.” Her spunky side was
contagious.

“
Yeah, yeah. Prepare for
my wrath woman.”

She turned her blue gaze to
me and winked, “Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,
James.”

Was she flirting with me?
The buzzer sounded and I missed the start. “Dammit. You’re
cheating!” She just laughed as she squeezed the trigger. The bell
chimed and she threw her hands up in the air, boasting her victory.
I just shook my head as she pointed to me and made an ‘L’ with her
finger and mouthed the word loser. “You’re vile!”

“
Ha! You love it!” The
attendant handed her another animal and she thanked him. “You ready
to go again or you had enough?”

Shrugging a shoulder I
quipped, “I think I’m done.”

“
Well, I’m glad that
you’re comfortable enough in your manhood to accept defeat by a
girl.” She was teasing me and I could dish it out too.

“
Alright big talker.” I
handed the attendant enough money for two games. Looking to Cassidy
I said, “Double or nothing.”

She seemed confused. “I
already have two and you have one.”

“
Yup. And I just gave him
enough money for two games, but we’re only playing one. Double or
nothing. If I win the prizes are all mine AND you ride the Ferris
wheel. If you win you get your big stupid stuffed animal and you
don’t have to ride the Ferris wheel.” She looked at me and agreed
before I added, “Though, I’m not sure you’ll have a ride home if
you win.”

She just shook her head as
we waited for the bell to sound. I won and wondered for a moment if
she’d let me win, but it didn’t matter. I turned in my three small
animals and picked the exact one she’d wanted. I made sure she knew
that it was mine as I started walking toward the Ferris
wheel.

“
Who’s boasting
now?”

C
hapter
20
~
T
ension

~ JAMES ~

As we walked, me with my
huge prize and her with her two smaller ones, we came across two
parents and a small child. The little girl was running in a small
circle near us and when she ran into my leg, she let go of her
balloon. I tried to snag it but it was gone before I could stop it.
She started crying and I felt horrible. Her parents tried consoling
her as I apologized.

“
It’s not your fault.” The
mother looked at her daughter and said, “We have more balloons at
home. But you need to watch where you’re going next time,
ok?”

“
Yes, Mommy.”

As Cassidy and I started to
walk away, I knew what I had to do. “Hang on.” Cassidy stood back
and watched as I approached the family. “Hey,” the little girl and
her parents turned to me, “I have this big stuffed animal and he
needs a good home. Maybe if it’s ok with your mom and dad he can go
home with you.”

The little girl gasped and
looked to her parents, “Please, please, Mommy and Daddy.” They both
laughed and said that it was fine with them.

“
Remember to take good
care of him.”

“
Oh, I will, I will. I
promise.” I handed over the stuffed animal that was almost as big
as the little girl was.

I turned and headed back
toward Cassidy. She was smiling from ear to ear when I rejoined
her. “Now you’re just showing off.”

I feigned being offended as
I asked, “Who, me? Never.”

“
Mister.” The little girl
was tugging on my pant leg and I turned and bent down to her level,
caught off guard when she threw her tiny arms around my neck.
“Thank you, mister.” I looked to her parents who were both smiling.
She kissed my cheek and then skipped back toward her parents as I
stood back up.

“
Looks like I have a
little competition.” I stood back up and scoffed at Cassidy’s
remark. “She’s cute and she has game. I’ll give her that
much.”

Without thinking about it,
I grabbed Cassidy’s hand as we walked toward the Ferris wheel. I
made a detour and headed toward the tent with the music. She looked
at me and I just said, “I have no desire to deal with you puking.
No offense.”

“
None taken. Here.” She
handed me her second prize and said, “All’s fair in love and
war.”

I smiled at her and enjoyed
the feel of my hand holding on to hers. I entwined our fingers and
tried ignoring the surge of energy that ran through my fingertips.
Leading her through the tent, I quickly took in our surroundings.
The band was taking a break and a slow song was playing. Couples
littered the dance floor and I caught her gaze as she watched them.
I remembered her saying that we used to dance and wondered if I
should ask her.

The song ended and another
slow one started. I recognized
Pink
singing and didn’t
bother asking, instead I weaved us through the throngs of couples
and then faced her. She only hesitated for a moment as I pulled her
close. Her body stiffened slightly, but I was almost positive that
it was from nerves, not discomfort.

“
Relax.”

“
You’re not making it very
easy.”

I looked to her, “What do
you mean?”

She shook her head and
smiled, “Never mind.”

Before I could ask anything
more, she turned her face into the crook of my neck and I felt her
inhale and her body relaxed as she then exhaled. The hand that held
her lower back pulled her a little closer as feelings I didn’t
recognize stirred inside me. I suddenly felt very protective and
possessive of her. I let go of her hand as my arms came together to
encircle her. It was like I couldn’t get her close enough. That
hand of hers I had released ran down my back and I felt her nails
gently dig in as she held on tight.

I tried to focus on the
lyrics of the song, ignoring the throbbing my body began doing. I
had to try to take things to the next level with Cassidy. Not since
Cora—my biggest mistake—had I felt emotions remotely close to what
I was feeling. But unlike Cora, Cassidy was mine, my wife. If I
wanted her I could have her. What the hell was I waiting for? The
song was right. We could learn to love again, or maybe it was only
me who needed to learn again.

Lifting my head I whispered
her name, “Cassidy?”

She raised her own and met
my eyes. My hand pushed some of her hair behind her ear as I took
in the features of her face. She looked so vulnerable and I
couldn’t wait any longer. I leaned in and watched as she closed her
eyes, awaiting my kiss. I could smell the mint from her gum and
realized she was holding her breath, though her lips were slightly
parted.

“
Cassidy! Cassidy
Charles!”

Her eyes bolted open as my
lips pulled back and my ears were assaulted by whomever was calling
her name. A brunette I didn’t recognize came running up to us and I
could feel the tension begin to pour off of Cassidy. Whoever the
chick was, Cassidy was not happy to see her.

“
I knew it! I told Carl
here that it was you. We were all the way over there.” She pointed
to the other side of the tent as the guy she was with took a swig
of his beer, though he clearly didn’t need anymore. “Aren’t you
going to introduce me?”

“
Right, sorry. Umm, James
this is Kim. We went to school together.”

She thrust her hand into
mine, she knew exactly who I was and her next statement proved it.
“The famous JB3! Cassidy, how’d you manage to snag this one?”
Cassidy smiled nervously as Kim continued jabbering on. “Cassidy
and I were practically best friends growing up, she’s just being
modest.”

“
Um…”

“
Really! Wow. Is that so?”
Kim was visibly excited that I believed her bullshit and Cassidy
had already picked up on the fact that I was playing along. “Best
friends, huh. You must know
everything
about her.”

“
Yup, yes sir.
Everything!”

“
What’s her middle name?”
Kim smiled and laughed nervously as I added, “What about her
favorite color, favorite food, or favorite boy band?” I was aware
of Cassidy standing next to me, staring on in disbelief. Kim tried
to make excuse after excuse and I cut her off. “See, I’m going to
take a gander that
your
favorite color is green.” Her eyes bulged and her
mouth dropped open. “Arianna, purple, pizza and Backstreet Boys.
And Arianna was her grandmother’s name.” I took Cassidy’s hand and
we left Kim and the festival.

We were practically jogging
back to my bike when I realized she was calling my name. We were
secluded, away from prying eyes as I stopped and looked around
us.

“
James, that was. Wow.
Thank you. I couldn’t stand that girl. We were friends in
elementary school, but it didn’t last.” She kept talking on and on.
Did she ever stop talking? I mean, I enjoyed talking with her—it’s
the only reason I knew those things about her—but that wasn’t what
I wanted her mouth doing at that moment.

I turned to face her and
when her eyes met mine she went quiet. I took a step toward her and
she took one back. I took another two and she took a second. I was
enjoying our new game. Moving forward again, she backed up and met
the wall behind her. Smiling, I reached out my hand and when she
looked at it I took her by surprise.