Cassidy
Groaning, I rolled over in bed and winced at the bright light doing its best to blind me. I was in my house, but I didn’t remember getting here or much of anything after going to the grocery store yesterday.
“What time is it?” I moaned, rolling toward my nightstand.
Whimpering, I nearly wept when I saw it was already seven-thirty in the morning, and it was Thanksgiving Day. I was supposed to cook for my parents, and I hadn’t even started the pies yet.
I frowned at the pills and water sitting on my nightstand, but shoved them in my mouth gratefully and drank as much of the water as I could handle while my stomach roiled.
I really needed a quick remedy for this hangover. There was no time to feel sick when there was so much food to cook.
“The groceries,” I murmured, remembering how I shot out of the store yesterday without paying for my shopping cart or bringing the food home.
I was so screwed.
Tossing off the covers, I frowned as I looked down at my bare legs, wondering why the hell I removed my pants but not my sweater. Not that it mattered.
“Bathroom. Vomit, then brush teeth and shower.”
I walked myself through the steps, taking everything as slowly as possible while also rushing to get myself ready for the day.
There was so much to do, and I considered calling my parents and canceling right up until the moment I realized my groceries were on my counter, and the cold items were in the fridge.
“That’s weird,” I murmured, wondering when that had happened.
I hadn’t finished shopping yesterday, but almost everything I needed was here. I might have to modify a few dishes, but at least I wouldn’t have to run out for everything this morning.
I set to work on making pies, rushing to the sink every few minutes when the smell got to me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through this day. I felt absolutely miserable.
Glancing at the clock, I groaned when I saw it was already ten, and I still had to get the turkey going. I hustled to the fridge, pulling out the turkey and quickly patting it down. So much for letting it sit at room temperature.
I was elbow-deep in butter and olive oil when the phone rang. I would have ignored it, but it was my mother, and if there was any hope of getting this meal together in time, I was going to need her help.
Wiping my hands on a dishtowel, I quickly answered, grimacing at the grease streak I’d left on the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey! How’s everything going this morning?”
My mother’s cheery voice did nothing to help the pounding in my head. Glancing around the mess of my kitchen, I tried to be positive. “It could be better.”
“Oh, good. Good. I just wanted to let you know that I invited a few people along for dinner this afternoon.”
“You did what?” I gaped.
“I invited the Callahans. You know they’ve been dealing with a lot of hardships lately. What with the town attacking poor John for his part in his brother’s ordeal and his son getting all that flak for that business with Bailey…”
“Mom, you invited Austin to my house?”
“Honey, there is no proof he did anything to Bailey. That’s just town gossip, and you know how this town loves to spread rumors.”
“Yes, but—”
“Honey, I will not blame a man for something that happened without evidence that he actually did it!”
I appreciated that about my family, but in this case, I was pissed that she invited him over here without even talking to me.
I remembered hanging out with Austin when I was in school, dating Jeff.
He was always a little on the weird side, and as the years passed, his attitude only got stranger to the point that I was uncomfortable when he was around.
Now, she invited him for Thanksgiving dinner.
“I really wish you wouldn’t have invited him without talking to me. Things aren’t going well, and now I have more mouths to feed.”
“And everything will be fine. I’ll come over there and help you. How about that?”
Sighing, I knew she would have to if I had any hope of pulling this dinner off. “Alright. Can you pick up some things for me?”
“Honey, what have I always told you?”
I rolled my eyes, waiting for the inevitable lecture.
“Do your shopping a week in advance, and then get anything you still need the day before.”
“I did my shopping yesterday, but something came up.”
“Yes.” I could hear the judgment in her voice. “I heard all about what happened, and how you had to be carried out of The Beaver and Boot last night.”
Perfect. Just another thing for us to argue about when she came over.
I dearly loved my family, but my mother had a way of making her opinions known when they weren’t wanted.
And cooking with her wasn’t exactly a treat.
I always found her looking over my shoulder, waiting to tell me I wasn’t doing it right.
Still, it was Thanksgiving, and I loved spending time with them at the holidays. This would be good, even if I did have to put up with Austin Callahan.
“I’ll send you a list.”
“Perfect. And I’ll bring the wine.”
My stomach rolled at the thought, but I thanked her and hung up, getting back to work before I got so far behind that we’d have a midnight feast.
Thank God Sam didn’t accept my invitation. He was right. We needed to keep things quiet between us. If he was here at the same time as Austin, I could only imagine the chaos that would ensue.
My hair was a hot mess by the time three o’clock rolled around. I’d been so busy getting dinner together and then getting the appetizers ready that I hadn’t had time to even make myself look presentable.
The doorbell rang just as I finished putting the cheese and crackers on the table. Mom brushed past me with a bowl of olives, beaming as she ran a hand over her perfectly coiffed hair.
“I think this dinner will be very nice.” She cast an eye over my ragged appearance and frowned. “Go get cleaned up. I’ll greet our guests.”
“Thank you.” I breathed a sigh of relief, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You’re a lifesaver.”
The fact that I didn’t have to see Austin for a further ten minutes was only a bonus.
I quickly picked out a different outfit, then rushed into the bathroom and fixed my face and tucked my hair up in a bun.
It wasn’t what I would have normally done for Thanksgiving, but at least my hair wasn’t a frizzy mess by the time I was done with it.
Opening the bedroom door, I gasped in surprise when I found Austin lurking on the other side.
“Oh, um…hello. Did you need something?”
His eyes scanned my body before settling on my bedroom. “Nope,” he answered, taking a step back. “Just headed to the bathroom. Wrong door.”
There was something about the way he was standing there, leering at me, that had me wishing I could slam the door and lock it in his face. But that was silly. Austin was creepy, but that didn’t mean I could abandon my family on Thanksgiving.
Even if he was staring at my breasts instead of my face.
Shivers skated down my spine, but I shoved it aside and pulled the door closed behind me as I directed him to the very open, very obvious door to the bathroom.
“Right in there.”
“Got it. You look good, Cassidy.”
I would have been glad for the compliment if it weren’t for the lecherous look in his eyes. There was just something about Austin that set me on edge, and even after all this time, when I hardly saw him anymore, I just couldn’t stand to be around him.
Quickly shoving past him, I made my way into the living room and smiled as I greeted my guests, feeling rather awkward since I never spent any time with them.
“John, it’s good to see you again. Thank you for getting the groceries over here.”
He smiled tiredly, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Any time. Thank you for having us over. I know our family isn’t exactly the most wanted in town right now.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but thankfully, Wyatt stepped in to save the day. “Don’t count on some happy meal. We’re not known for our family gatherings.”
I ignored the semi-hostile tone and tried to lighten the mood. “You don’t normally celebrate?”
He took a beer from my dad, shaking his head. “We’re not exactly the type of family that spends time together.”
The others drifted off, chatting about things around town, but Wyatt stuck close to me. I didn’t quite understand why until Austin came out of the bathroom and his eyes skated over me. At least, I hoped that was why he was sticking close.
Wyatt narrowed his gaze at his brother, stepping closer to me. “Is there a reason you decided to invite us here tonight?”
“W-what?” I asked, swallowing hard as he stepped into my space.
“A woman like you…haven’t seen you hang around with anyone like us since high school. Which begs the question, what could you possibly want with an outcast family like ours?”
I took a step back, uncomfortable with how close he was getting and that disturbing look in his eyes. I glanced over to my family, but they were all busy chatting, completely unaware that I was being cornered.
But I wasn’t usually scared this easily, and I wasn’t going to allow him to frighten me off now. Standing taller, I pushed into his space, making it clear that I wasn’t backing down.
“I didn’t invite you here. You have my mother to thank for that.”
“You could have told her no.”
“She had already invited you. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t step foot near anyone in your family ever again.”
I made it clear that his intimidation tactics weren’t going to work before I shoved away from him to finish up with the dinner. But even as I started working on the potatoes, a twinge of guilt washed over me. The only person I had a problem with in this family was Austin.
But I was beginning to think that would soon extend to Wyatt.
By the time dinner was ready, I had the table set with my best dishes.
Not that they were anything special, but since I didn’t normally decorate a table, I thought it looked pretty nice.
I brought over the turkey, grinning at how perfect it turned out, considering how late I got started on everything.