How Cassie Got Her Grind Back (28 page)

Antonio glanced at him and frowned at the endearment and then squinted. “Son of a bitch. Cutter? You have no business here.”

Cassie stuck her index finger in her uncle’s face as his wife tried to shush him. Cassie whispered, “Stop it. I’m no longer seventeen, and neither is he, and whatever you have to say about him being here is unnecessary. I’m a grown woman, damn it.”

Taken aback, Antonio pulled back from her finger in his face and looked between the two of them. “Fine. What do we do about your dad?”

Cassie shrugged. “Take him home. There’s a limit to how many flaming batons I can juggle. Make an appointment for him with his doctor. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on Mom. You should go home, too, Uncle Antonio. The wind is gusty today, and you know how it makes your ears hurt.”

Her aunt whapped Antonio on the chest. “
See
? I told you it was too windy to be getting out today. You should’ve listened to me but
nooooo
! You had to do the bidding of your brother, the
pendejo
!”

Antonio looked between his wife and Cassie and then a slight grin tipped up one corner of his stern mouth. “You’re a bad influence on the women in this family, Cassandra.”

Cassie snorted and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Maybe the Villalobos women have finally had enough of macho, pigheaded Villalobos men, hmm? If you take him home and make a doctor’s appointment, I’ll check in with you later. But, Uncle Antonio, you know I can’t take him in. I won’t be treated like I was when I was growing up. Not ever again. We may need to talk about assisted living.”

Antonio grunted, and Samson watched him walk away. It seemed nothing had changed. The Villalobos men still ruled the family.

Cassie turned to him and pressed her face against his chest and whispered. “I felt so good, so contented when I woke up with you and Ivan this morning. Now it’s all ruined.”

Samson stroked her cheek and then wrapped his arms around her. “Not ruined. Not by a long shot. No one is running me off, or keeping us from seeing each other this time. And you have two men to rely on who couldn’t care less what the men in your family think about them.”

Her eyes were misty as she gazed up at him. “Even if it means my mother comes to live with me?”

He caressed her chin. “I recall your mom being a pleasant person to be around. Provided she’s doing all right with the gambling problem, I don’t see why she would be a problem, as long as she’s okay with seeing me and Ivan on a regular basis at your house.”

“A regular basis, huh?”

“Regular like all the time. Like a family.” She blinked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights, and he chuckled. “What? Did you think once we finally got together we’d keep it casual? I don’t do casual, Cassie, any more than I think you do.”

One of the other female family members approached and got her attention, and he remembered this was hardly the time or place for that conversation, but soon. Soon.

Cassie took a couple of slow, deep breaths, letting them out and reaching for calm as she walked back into her mother’s hospital room. Emma was sitting on the side of the bed, taking Delicia’s blood pressure.

Her mom looked at ease with Doctor Emma, which was just one more reason to appreciate her doctor friend.

Her mom had suffered with anxiety issues since before returning home from her time in the state penitentiary. She was the same warm caring woman she’d always been, but certain situations set her anxiety off so easily. Like the confrontation Cassie had narrowly averted from entering the room.

“What was all the noise outside,
mi hija
?”

“Oh, just some visitors who were arguing about something,” she said as she sat and took her mother’s other hand.

“
Mi hija
, I could hear your father and one of his brother’s voices. I’d know his imperious tone anywhere,” she said, a faraway look in her eyes. Her lips pressed together, she looked down at Cassie’s hand grasping hers and patted it. “He thinks I would ever go back to him?”

Not even bothering to deny it, Cassie said, “We’ll work it all out,
Mami
. Don’t worry.”

Her mother gazed at her with the same mahogany brown eyes she saw when she looked in the mirror, only Delicia’s were hooded and lined with age. “He can’t tell me what to do anymore. Let him rage and shoot off his mouth all he wants.”

Emma smiled at her words and glanced at Cassie and whispered, “Your mom’s a badass. That’s the official diagnosis.”

They chuckled softly, and then Cassie turned to the doctor. “What were the lab results?”

Emma removed the earpieces of the stethoscope from her ears and hung the apparatus around her neck. “The blood tests indicate your mom is in reasonably good health, considering her age and circumstances. Her blood pressure reads consistently low, but the records indicate that may be a typical for her. Her heartbeat is strong and regular, although it was fairly elevated when your dad was outside raising Cain. Let’s see how you do over the next couple of weeks, Delicia. If anything out of the ordinary crops up, let me know right away. I may refer you to a specialist. In the meantime, I want you to get a little light exercise every day and regular time in the sunshine. Your Vitamin D levels were below what I’d like to see for you. A walk on pretty mornings would be fine. No sunbathing, though.”

“What about working?” her mother asked with concern in her tone. “Cassie needs me, you know?”

“Absolutely, you should work, but try for mornings only, and I want you to have a stool in the kitchen at Divine Drip. Take regular water breaks to keep hydrated.” She patted the fragile hand in hers and turned to Cassie. “I wish people understood how important staying hydrated is, even in the milder months. I think it played a role in her episode yesterday.”

Cassie’s mother twisted her mouth as though she knew Emma was right.

Emma looked back at her and said, “But I know your anxiety is also an issue. When you felt the panic attack beginning yesterday, did you try doing your breathing exercises like we talked about since you don’t like to take medication?”

“Yes. I mean no. Doctor, he showed up out of the blue and began ranting at my daughter,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “His voice, the way he speaks to his family. I never even thought of the deep breathing exercises. I wanted to confront him and stop him, but I…I couldn’t face him. My heart was pounding so hard, but I couldn’t face him. I hid…I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered to Cassie. “I’m so sorry.”

Fresh anger at her father swelled inside her. Her mother was a shadow of the woman she’d been before the tragic mistake that had broken her family. She’d been sweet, calm, confident, and enthusiastic about life. Now, she cowered just at the sound of his voice, which was the true tragedy, that he’d maintained such power over them, even though they no longer lived under the same roof.

“
Mami
,” Cassie said, stroking her mother’s forearm. “I think it would be good if you came to live with me. I know the apartment has worked for you so far, but I’d like to have you closer to home. Just in case.”

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

Emma nodded as she consulted the medical chart and made a note. “Mrs. Villalobos, I think it would be a smart move to make right now. Aging but otherwise healthy parents tend to do better when they live with a family member. More interaction, more meaningful activities than television and work would be good for you. If you were my mom, I’d want you to live with me, and not just because you’re a fabulous cook,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes. “Cooking for one person usually leads to cutting many corners and less healthful choices.”

Her mom looked decidedly guilty for a second, and Cassie thought it was because Emma had hit that nail on the head, too.

Cassie said, “Wouldn’t you prefer to move home now, rather than later when you may need more help?”

Samson picked that moment to poke his head in the door and say, “Knock-knock.”

“Come in,” Cassie called. “
Mami
, you remember Samson Cutter, don’t you?”

“I do. Samson, it’s good to see you again. Cassie surprised me when she told me you were visiting the coffee shop.”

He gave her mom an easy smile, and while he came forward to greet her, Emma rose from the bed, poked Cassie with her elbow, and waggled her eyebrows at her. “So this is the famous Mr. Cutter, huh?”

“One of them,” she whispered and then giggled.

Emma scribbled on her pad and then tore off the prescription, handed it to her, and murmured, “This is for the cream I told you about earlier. Fill it and keep it on hand because…yeah. Use it.” She winked and then greeted Samson and introduced herself. “I’ve heard wonderful things about you and your brother. Cassie and I are good friends. Maybe we’ll run into each other on a night when you and Ivan take Cassie out to the Dancing Pony.”

“I’d like that, Doctor Rivers,” he said as he shook her hand.

After Emma had taken her leave, Cassie’s mother said, “You’re going out with Ivan, too?” She looked a little confused. “Is Ivan with you now?”

Cassie cleared her throat and said, “He’s at work right now.
Mami
, we need to talk about that, too. But could you excuse us for a minute?”

In the hallway, Samson pulled her close for a hug and then tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes. He was big on direct eye contact, she’d noticed. “Cassie, you do whatever you need to do where your mom is concerned. You won’t hear a word of complaint from either me or Ivan. Being with you means being around your family, and we’re both fine with whatever you want to do.”

“But what about us?”

He didn’t look away or hesitate. “We let family dictate the course of our lives when we were teenagers. Both Ivan and I want to be a part of your life, and there’s very little which could change that, including your sweet, frail mom who obviously needs you. We can work out the logistics to our mutual satisfaction, I’m sure. Are you going to tell her?”

“That’s what I’m about to do. I’ll lay it all out for her. Samson, what you said…that’s what I want, too.”

He kept the kiss short, but that didn’t mean it was chaste or lacked heat. “I’ll be in the waiting room. Take your time,
chiquita
.”

Back in the room, she sat down on the side of the bed and took her mother’s hand in hers and said, “
Mami
, we need to talk about something. Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Now,
mi hija
, what could be so bad?”

A few minutes later, she’d hashed it all out for her mother. Finally looking into her eyes, Cassie waited for the questions, for the castigation. Her mom blinked, and merriment slowly crept into her gaze. “I wonder what Father Rodrigo will say.” Then she burst into giggles that were decidedly girlish.

“Damn, I was nervous for nothing.”

“
Querida
, do you think I don’t know about all the ménages in Divine? That I didn’t recognize the closeness between the three of you when you were together at the café yesterday, even more obvious than it was when you were teenagers?”

“We were obvious?”

Her mother flapped her hand. “Oh, I knew nothing was going on. Those Cutter boys were cut from high-quality material, but a mother knows.” She patted Cassie’s cheek. “It’s why I was reluctant to consider moving in with you. You need your space now that you are coming to life again.”

Cassie gathered her mom to her for a long hug and whispered, “
Mami
, maybe we’re both coming to life again. Come live with me. It’ll be fine.”

* * * *

It turned out to be a good opportunity for Samson and Ivan to meet some of her friends when they accompanied her to Violet, Josh, and Lucas Abbot’s wedding that weekend.

Violet had booked the Hourglass Inn, a Victorian bed and breakfast that had been gaining in popularity with tourists. The ceremony had taken place outdoors on the lovely terrace, and as the sun had set on the late autumn day, the guests had all come inside to eat, dance, and celebrate Violet’s binding ceremony to the two brothers she loved.

Everyone had raved about the beauty of the cake, which had confirmed Cassie’s trust in Ivan to complete the job for her, as well as the taste of it, which encouraged her and also earned her some more potential customers when guests asked if she had a business card. Samson and Ivan were also helping to promote her cake business.

Once her mother had been released from the hospital, they’d all put their heads together and decided to move her out of her efficiency apartment the following weekend. The word spread through the grapevine, and before Cassie knew it, she had so many volunteers to help pack, move, and set up that the chore would likely take less than a day to accomplish. For the weekend, however, her mom had packed a bag and was staying at Cassie’s house.

Cassie had been prepared to just set up the wedding cake, stay for the ceremony, and return home so her mother wouldn’t be lonely. But after her mother had reassured her numerous times that she’d be fine at her home alone, Cassie had gone ahead and attended the wedding and reception with Samson and Ivan as guests.