Chapter 26
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Cassie doesn't trust me. I already knew as much but hearing her say it hurt like a hot knife to the heart. They started out talking about pancakes and breakfast. If only they’d stopped there instead of diving right into what was going on with us.
I wish I hadn’t heard it, but I can’t erase the words from my memory. Eavesdropping isn’t the best practice, but I felt frozen in place, listening in through the kitchen door. Quinn invited me to breakfast, but it’s not like I was there on purpose.
I wait a moment on the stoop between the garage and the main house to get myself together. What was I expecting—that I would come clean about what I did with Phineas, and we'd patch up the whole Thornton nightmare, and she would fall into my arms? I'd propose, and we'd have a house with a white picket fence and five kids.
I guess I have a bit of learning to do myself. Earning Cassie's trust again, and even Quinn's, will take some time. But I’m willing to put in the effort. No matter what it takes.
There were ways I could have done things differently, and looking back, it should have been my priority. But instead, I tried to handle things on my own. That’s going to change. I’m going to trust people around me from now on as much as I can.
I take a deep breath and open the door between the garage and the house, putting on my best smile. No need to let them know how lousy things feel at the moment.
Both Cassie and Quinn turn toward me. Cassie's mouth is full, and a bit of syrup is stuck in the corner of her mouth. She's adorable as she hurries to swallow and wipe it away before I notice.
"Man, it smells amazing in here. Did you guys save any for me?" My voice is bright and cheerful, even though my heart still stings.
"Yep, for you and Tommy," Quinn says.
I chuckle."Tommy? Is he a part of this breakfast thing?"
"You're going to have to get used to it sooner or later. I think he's the one for me," Quinn states, spearing more pancake triangles and stuffing them into her mouth.
"In that case, I suppose I better get used to it." I resign. "It might be nice having another guy in the group. That way, the two of you can't keep ganging up on me."
"Ganging up on you?" Quinn shakes her head as if I'm a ridiculous child. "No one here is ganging up on anyone. "
"You could have fooled me." I sit down beside Cassie and reach for the syrup, my hand brushing hers as I do. She pulls back, an alarmed look on her face, her cheeks blushing bright red.
She's probably wondering if I overheard what they were talking about. Would it change anything if she knew I heard?
I’m not about to let on what I heard. Not yet. I need time to come up with a plan. It won’t be as easy as putting everything on the table and moving on like nothing happened. They say trust is harder to gain back than it is to get the first time. I’ve never heard a more accurate saying. Things will take time, but I'm not about to give up, not on our little team or Cassie and me.
Someone rings the front doorbell, and Quinn shoots out of her seat, nearly tripping over herself as she races to get it. She comes back with Tommy beside her. He’s wearing a turtleneck, which makes him look a little pretentious, but his friendly smile makes up for it just a bit.
Quinn grabs him a plate and pancakes as he sets a big jug of orange juice and a box of donuts in the center of the island.
"I thought I’d bring a little something to go with breakfast,” he says, his eyes only on Quinn. They’re so head over heels for each other. I guess it’s cute.
“Never mind about what I said earlier.” Cassie reaches for a donut covered in coconut flakes. “Tommy, consider yourself an official member of the group.”
Tommy laughs.
“Wait, that’s all it takes to get in?” I shake my head, putting on my best disappointed look.
“Yup. Bring me some coconut-covered donuts, and you can be on the team on the same day.” Cassie closes her eyes as she takes a big bite. “So good.”
“I’m glad you like it. They’re from my favorite bakery.” Tommy grins, grabbing one of the other flavors and putting it on the plate with his pancakes.
“Nothing like pure sugar to start the day.” I shake my head as I down another three pancakes. It might be the unhealthiest thing I’ve had first thing in the morning in a while, but totally worth it.
“So, when is Alex going to call?” Cassie’s question puts a damper on the conversion. We’re all wondering the same thing.
“He said he’d call as soon as he could this morning. It’s only eight fifty-three, so it could be anywhere between now and noon.”
“If he takes till noon, I’m not going to be able to take it.” She groans and buries her head in her hands for a second. “Do you think we went overboard with our ideas? Maybe we shouldn’t have bogged him down with so many options.”
“Don’t overthink it. I’m sure he chose which plans we gave him to present to his superiors. Surprisingly, he seems like the perfect fit for this sort of project.”
It’s the strangest thing that Phineas was the answer to our dilemma. I wonder how his wedding and honeymoon are going.Believing he ended up with Lorraine and away from the streets of Pinecrest still shocks me.
My phone rings, a shrill tone in the otherwise quiet room, and I pull it out.
Everyone's eyes snap to it as I answer, put it on speakerphone, and place it in the middle of the table. Even Tommy looks at it as if it is about to provide answers to the universe.
"Hello, Lincoln?" the voice on the other side asks. The room is so quiet that I’m pretty sure you’d hear a pin drop.
"Yes, it's me. Is this Alex? You’re on speaker." I lean closer to the phone so he can hear me.
Everyone in the room is holding their breath to hear what he will say next. It’s funny how invested we’ve gotten. It also makes sense, considering it’s the future of our town. Cassie grew up here, and I spent years here rebuilding my life. What happens to everyone after the truth comes to light matters to me.
"That's right, it's me, Alex. I'm sorry for taking so long to call; I just got off the phone with headquarters."
Headquarters. The people who are going to decide on whether what we want matters.
"Well, I would be lying if I didn't say we're all waiting a bit anxiously to know what they said." Cassie reaches over and puts her hand on my arm, squeezing it tightly. I know she has a lot riding on this, and whatever Alex says will affect her.
"So, the good news is that they've agreed to take down the Ponzi scheme and the Thorntons little by little. It won't happen overnight, though there will be immediate progress. They've taken a lot of your plans into consideration. They will implement some of them, such as negotiating with the Thorntons about what businesses could be transferred to someone else's name."
Relief makes my body sag. There’s hope. This can be fixed, or at least made less terrible for everyone.
All the faces around the kitchen island light up with smiles, but they stay quiet, waiting to hear the rest of what Alex has to say.
"It's really a shame we couldn't catch Phineas with this whole thing. But we'll take what we can get. Discovering the Ponzi scheme was... it's pretty amazing, not to mention all the evidence you've gathered. I don't think we've seen something like this so well-organized by civilians in years."
Alex sounds tickled pink, and I wonder if the Thornton case was much more impressive than he initially thought.
“My superiors were pretty happy with everything you’ve handed over, and it seems like Nathan will be more useful than I originally thought. I might even be in line for a promotion.” His excitement rushes through the phone.
He probably deserves it because I can only imagine what sort of circles Phineas has put him through. He’s probably stalled poor Alex’s career until now.
"Thank you for letting us know. We really appreciate all the work you're putting into this and saving this town." Not everyone would have been as open to hearing us out. Alex has been more than cooperative, more than I ever anticipated.
"No problem, I always go to bat for the little guy," Alex says. "I'll be reaching out to you soon with more details. Have a good day, Lincoln. It was nice to meet all of you. Thank you for everything."
“You too.”
I hang up the phone and turn to the others.“Looks like the town is saved!”
I wave my arms dramatically outward in a weird sort of half-bow. Cassie launches herself into my arms, hugging my neck. My mouth opens, and I have to blink a couple of times to make sure I’m not dreaming. My hands tighten around her waist, the softness of her silk blouse sending tingles up my arms.
She’s here, up against me, celebrating with me. I’m hugging her. She’s so close; just how I wish she was all the time.
"We did it!” she squeals, tears in her voice.“He's going to stand up for the town. I can't believe we did it!”
I hold her close for half a second before putting her down. As much as I’d like to keep on holding her, I can’t take advantage.
"Yes, we did it as a team, though I have to say you and Quinn deserve most of the credit. I think I mostly messed up this whole operation more than anything. We could have had Phineas.” Disappointment seeps through my tone. “He could have finished this whole mess behind bars if I hadn’t made that trade. Sure, I might have been in the cell next to his, but technically, I probably deserve to be.”
"That's not true,” Cassie says. “The one good thing about working with Phineas is that you convinced him to help us. Without his connection to Alex, I'm not sure this would have gone the same way."
I frown. It's nice of her to see it that way, but I don't think I will be able to work through my guilt any time soon. As much as I want her to forgive me, I’m not sure I can forgive myself. I let myself go too far. This was the time for me to stand up and accept the consequences of what I’d gotten involved in, even if it was in the past.
Instead, I was willing to do some questionable things and even let a criminal walk free when I knew I shouldn't, all because I didn’t want my past to come to light.
"Thank you for saying that," I say out loud anyway.
Maybe later, when we can talk alone, I’ll tell her everything I’m thinking. Keeping secrets isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, and every fiber in my body is screaming at me to be honest. I just want to put everything out in the open and accept what comes my way. The very idea of it is freeing in a way.
"I think this requires a celebration, perhaps a toast with a bit of orange juice." Quinn pulls out some glasses and pours orange juice as she passes the cups around. She hasn’t smiled so big in… well, I don’t know how long. She deserves a win. We all do.
“Isn’t it strange that no one will ever know about this?” Cassie takes her glass, running a finger along the rim. “We worked so hard to protect everyone, and hopefully, they won’t know any better.”
“That’s the plan.” I chuckle. I lift my glass. The others follow my example, and we all raise our glasses to the middle of the table and clink them together.
"To new beginnings and... moving forward," Cassie says.
"I'll drink to that," I say with a laugh.
The orange juice is as refreshing as it looks, but not as refreshing as seeing my friends happy, laughing, and talking with one another as if they don't have a care in the world.
I hope everything will work itself out as well as Alex thinks. These things usually take time and are more complicated than they appear. It will be a while before we know how well our efforts worked out and how things turn out for everyone in Pinecrest .
I spare a glance in Cassie's direction. Now, I just need to get her alone to talk. There's so much I need to say to her, so much I want to tell her.
I polish off a couple more donuts before Tommy says it's time for him to go and offers Quinn a ride to her house.
"Thank you for the donuts, man," I say, making an effort to at least appear friendly. I can come off a bit hostile, or at least that's what Quinn's told me in the past. I don't want to get on her bad side by making her boyfriend uncomfortable.
"Of course, anytime," Tommy says. "I'll see you around, Cassie."
He waves to Cassie before throwing his arm over Quinn's shoulders and leading her out of the house. They’re a good couple. He is kind to her, seems normal, and looks consistent, at least so far. There’s not much to complain about, and it’s a relief after all of Quinn’s bad experiences.
"Well," Cassie says, surveying the kitchen, "it looks like I had better get started on this mess. Maybe I shouldn't have volunteered so quickly."
She gathers the dishes and takes them to the sink, then gets to work on the cooking mess, which involves over half a dozen bowls, spatulas, and skillets.
"Here, why don't I help you with the dishes?" I don’t want to go back to the garage just yet. Not only is it lonely—and a tad smelly—but it’s also been a while since I had her all to myself. It seems too good of an opportunity to pass up.
She plugs the sink and puts on the hot water, dousing one side of the sink with liquid dish soap. Most kids hated washing dishes, but I always loved it. There was something about the hot water and the suds that mesmerized me. That much hasn’t changed for me. "Do you want to soap up or rinse?"
"Soap up," she says with a laugh. "There's something more satisfying about it than rinsing."
"I happen to disagree," I say. "Rinsing is my favorite."
"Well, it works out perfectly then, doesn't it?" She laughs, and her eyes meet mine, caution lingering in her gaze. For a moment there, it was just like before, when we’d joke and tease each other without that underlying seriousness getting in the way.
I wish I could erase that little bit of doubt, erase everything I've done these past couple of weeks to make her think she can't trust me. She turns to me, folding her arms over her chest and leaning her hip into the side of the counter by the sink. I turn off the water and am about to put the dishes into the filled sink when she speaks.
"Why did you lie about everything, Lincoln? There really wasn't anything you couldn't have told me. I would have understood if you had just been honest upfront. Quinn and I could have helped you instead of you running around behind our backs."
Forget the dishes. I guess we’re really doing this, having this conversation here and now. I mimic her stance, leaning against the sink, resting one arm on the counter, and putting the other into my pocket.
“I’m still asking myself that.” I sigh.
I wish I could pull her into my arms, hold her, tell her how much I’ve missed her and how much I want to put everything right. I’m not even sure if that's possible anymore. There seems to be an invisible spiky wall between us.
This conversation is going to be complicated. I know that, but I’m willing to put it all on the line to face it with her, for her. I don’t know what will come of this talk or if I’m strong enough to shoulder it, but there’s no way around it, and I’m done running from Cassie Love.