How Cassie Got Her Grind Back (14 page)

“I know, but you raised us both to be independent and chart our own courses. Our home is not a brick and lumber dwelling, Mom. It’s
you
. It’s okay to let go of the past and take care of the present and future, maybe find a new place to make new memories. It wouldn’t bother me or Tam if you wanted to sell the house and find a smaller place so you didn’t have all the upkeep on a four-bedroom house.”

“Nonsense. This way you always have somewhere to bring your families for the holidays. And I’ll always have enough room for everyone.”

“Mom, we’ll come wherever you are for the holidays. Don’t worry about that. Can I ask you about something kind of personal?”

Raising her eyebrows, she leaned against the counter while the coffeemaker gurgled and hissed. Was he planning to ask her if she was already dating anyone? “Depends. What would you like to know?”

He sighed on the other end. “I talked to Dad last night.”

“What did he say?”
Do I even want to know?

“He gave me the impression the two of you were considering reconciliation.”

That bastard.
He’d called their son trying to enlist his help in whatever idiotic plot he was cooking up. At least she had confirmation it wasn’t her imagination. “
Cariño,
your father and I are not getting back together. I know it would probably make you and Tamara happy, but we had our reasons for splitting up.”
Me, for discovering he was a cheating bastard, and him for being idiotic enough to think having a hysterectomy meant I would lose my femininity.
She thought it, but she didn’t say it. They didn’t need all those details.

“Mom, I’m not four. I know there were problems, and probably knew all along. Tamara, too. If he’s dreaming and plotting, well…I love the man, he’s my dad, but I’m not pushing you at him. I want to see you both happy.”

She longed to hug him so hard. “I love you, baby. Thank you for understanding and caring so much about me. I’m not taking him back.”

“I liked that you allowed him so much access to us when we were still at home. I guess he’s thinking it would be easy to just get everyone on his side and coerce you into it?”

Well, it worked once before.
She shook her head, wishing she could erase the memory of how she’d given in to her father and uncles pushing her at Bill.

She poured a cup of coffee and said, “Should I start looking for an apartment for you?”

“Already have a lead on one near the shop. It’ll be available mid-December, which is perfect. And once I’m settled, I’ll start looking for a house. If you want, I can look for a nice, smaller house for you, too.”

“Not so fast,” she said with a chuckle.

He responded with an easy laugh. “I know. I’m putting the cart before the horse. Actually, my main reason for calling is to talk to you about the shop.”

“The shop? What about it?”

“Well, you’ve built a solid, profitable, and popular business in Divine. I want to talk to you about expanding and maybe exploring some new opportunities—and maybe interview with Divine Drip’s beautiful, smart CEO for the position of manager. I’d like to assist in taking Divine Drip to the next level.”

“Next level? Where do I go from coffee, kolaches, cupcakes, and breakfast tacos?”

He made a quiet yet gleeful sound she recalled from when he was younger. “You’ve made Divine Drip so much more than that, Mom. Under one roof, you’ve pulled together multicultural food services, a mainstream bakery, a coffee house, and don’t forget the wedding cake business. You, Mom, are a force to be reckoned with. But you only have twenty-four hours in your day—”

The only other male family member who’d ever affirmed her abilities had been her Uncle Rudy. Her voice grew husky as she said, “Whoa, honey! You’re making me tired just talking about it.”

“And now you’re getting to the point I wanted to make, Mom. On your own, you can only do so much: managing the shop, food prep, advertising, equipment issues. You do it all.”

“No, I have very good help.”

“Which shows your ability to manage people. Mom, let me help you take Divine Drip to the next level. And if you don’t like my methods or don’t understand, just say so. Question anything. I don’t want to take it away from you or make you feel like you’re not in the loop. You’ll be consulted on every decision, and we only go forward with changes if you agree. Best of all? I’ll make you
money
.”

The earnestness in his voice was heart-warming and made her so proud of the respectful and levelheaded man he’d grown into. “And you’re sure you want to waste your degree managing my little homegrown coffee shop?”

“You bet I do. And the idea is to make your job easier, let you do the parts of the business you enjoy most, and with easier hours, because you’ll have me.”

“
Mi hijo
, you make me so proud. Yes, let’s talk about it when you come for Thanksgiving. And you know…there are plenty of sweet, nice-looking girls in Divine. I could introduce you—”

“Mom, you’re killin’ me.”

Cassie laughed with him as she stirred sugar into her coffee. “I know, I know. But I need grandbabies to cherish if you’re going to put me out of a job.”

They finished sharing other bits of news, and the phone hadn’t even cooled off from ending the call before it rang again.

She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway. “Hello?”

“Hello, beautiful.” Ivan’s gruff baritone sent a thrill up her spine. “So, we’re a package deal, huh? Does that mean if we hadn’t gotten sidetracked last night, you might be considering us?”

“M-Maybe. I regretted leaving in such a rush, but I needed time to think…and cool off.”

“You’re sexy when you’re fiery. Did you get much thinking done?”

“Yes.”
No. Only the subconscious kind that happens during the wedding episode of
Outlander
.
“But I haven’t come to any conclusions. I…didn’t have enough information. I mean I know Samson goes to the club, but what he does there is a big black hole to me. Last night I got hung up on the mental image of Samson enjoying hurting someone I care about.”

“Before you say anything further, you should know I don’t know much about it and never cared to learn more, even after I discovered Samson was into…that. But we talked last night, in private, and he explained some of it to me. I’m more intrigued than repulsed.”

“Does that mean you want to…I mean, you’re twins and all. And you’re both so damned big and strong. I imagine the women, and, to be fair, probably men, line up to be spanked or...or tortured or whatever.”

“If you’re asking if I’m a secret sadist, the answer is no. But I understand better why he gets off on it. And you’re right, although not in the way you imagine it. He said members of the club request time with him, and if that’s so, then it must be because they trust him. He couldn’t go into personal detail, but he told me about a masochist in a high-level, high-pressure position and what Samson does for her is her stress outlet. It’s therapeutic.”

“Did you ask if there was sex between them? Does he have sex there in the club with everyone watching?” Her mental images were going from bad to worse.

“No. I specifically asked him because that would be crossing a line that can’t be uncrossed. Total deal breaker for me.”

Well, that was a relief to hear. “But he beats on her, right? Or what?” A shiver ran up her spine.

“He said she prefers he use a whip.”

“A whip?”
That doesn’t sound like a good thing…or romantic…or anything besides painful.

“He marks her back but never cuts her. The pain takes her to a different place. Lots of endorphins. He says she feels better afterward, and she asks for him several times a year.”

“Well, I’m glad she likes her warm fuzzies enough to ask for a repeat.”

“He made it clear they don’t have any kind of romantic relationship, and I believe him. It might not be as bad as I’ve assumed all this time. I mean
really
, does Samson strike you as anything but a reasonable man, capable of loving someone and being loved?”

“Well, of course he is.”

“Could we give him the benefit of the doubt?” he asked in that velvety, cajoling tone of voice his brother also possessed.

“Yes, but I’m still very cautious. I know he’s a sweetheart—”

Ivan scoffed. “I wouldn’t go
that
far. Now me?
I’m
a sweetheart—”

“You hush,” she butted in with a soft giggle. “But if he lays a hand on me, to cause pain so he can get his jollies, I pity the fool.”

Ivan chuckled. “I like it when you take that fierce tone. You’re a hot little Latina badass when you cuss in Spanish. So does this mean we can come over and woo you some more?”

“
Woo
me?”

“Mmm-hmm, baby. I want to kiss you again. And again.”

Memories of his kiss the night before made her instantly wet, as did his sensual tone. “Unfortunately, no. Violet’s wedding is next weekend, and I’m making her cake. She’s ordered a traditional cake with hundreds of sugar roses. I’m making them today since I’ll be too busy during the week. I prefer to make them all at one sitting.”

“I could help.”

“While Samson sits and twiddles his thumbs?”

“No, while he watches the football game.”

Cassie laughed and replied, “Nope. My entire married life I had to listen to football, basketball, or some other sport on television every Sunday and every Monday night. I like my music or my shows on while I work in a calm, quiet house. It’s one of the perks of being single.”

He butted in, in a quiet, slightly frustrated tone, as if she wouldn’t listen to him. “Cassie, honey—”

“Do you want some cheese with your whine? And you know darned well my hands would shake the whole time I’m working while you ply me with more of those kisses.”

“Okay, that part is true. What about later tonight?”

“I’m going to bed early after finishing my
Outlander
marathon.”

“
Outlander
? What’s that?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’s
that
?’? I’m sorry,” she said through her laughter. “I can’t have anything to do with you anymore. It’s only the most romantic series on television, based on the greatest hero and heroine who ever graced fiction. It’s
sacred
.”

“Is there sex in it?”

“Yes.
Hot
sex, too.”

“I’ll watch it with you. Samson likes sex, too. I’ll bet he’d watch it.”

“Yes, and ask questions throughout every episode.”
Irritating the ever-living shit out of me.

“How many episodes are we talking?”

“Not nearly enough…
ever
. And even if I let you come over, the show would only get you excited, and then you’d want sex.”

“Well,
yeah
. Isn’t that the point?”

Cassie sighed and then giggled.
Men
. “Well…
no
.”

“But I bet it excites you, doesn’t it? Wait. If we weren’t there, and you watched your show…What’s it called?”

“
Outlander
.”

“And then you climbed into bed all hot and bothered, you’d maybe touch yourself, wouldn’t you?”

She paused, unwilling to reveal so much but also not wanting to lie.

His deep chuckle reverberated on the other end, sending a wave of heat through her. “You are
so sexy
, Cassie. Are you blushing?”

“Yes, damn it. I love my show. And I don’t want to explain or justify everything in it while I watch it. Is that so hard to understand? We had one television, and I hardly ever got to watch what I wanted while I was married. Sundays are my day now.”

“And it’s kind of sacred, I get it.”

“Speaking of sacred, I need to get in the shower so I can go to early church.”

“Okay. Do you still go to Our Lady?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about today. Are you free for lunch tomorrow? I could fix a special lunch for the two of you at the shop. I know it means coming all the way to Divine—Wait, no. You have work, don’t you?”

“Yep,” he said reluctantly. “Lunch and supper. The week is pretty full. I’m off on Thursday, though. Would that work for you?”

“Sure. Just show up around noon, and Mom and I will cook for you.”

“Your mom works with you?”

Cassie smiled. “Yes. She’s head of the breakfast taco division of Divine Drip. She stays in the back and is pretty shy about being seen, which I can respect. She’s happy doing her thing, and it keeps her occupied.”

“She okay?”

“Yes. She has a Gambler’s Anonymous sponsor, and they stay in touch and go to meetings together. She suffered with so much guilt over the court seizing the land she tried to sell to pay her gambling debt years ago. She felt like she’d robbed me of my inheritance because of her addiction. So when my grandmother died a few years ago, leaving my mother the large tract of land her family’s ranch was located on, Mom had my name added to the deed to protect the inheritance for Joseph and Tamara. She did that so she wouldn’t be tempted to make the same mistake twice. Life is more peaceful for her, and I believe she’s overcome the urge to gamble. She just shuns attention.”