27. Chapter 27
Chapter twenty-seven
“Just you and me riding off into the sunset.”
Wes and Cassandra cleaned up in the hose and headed for the house. Cassandra tucked her arm through his. “You’re limping more.”
“I’m a little sore, but it was totally worth it.”
“Is your mom going to hate me?”
“Hate you? No.”
“But she knows who I am?”
“I told her we were working together. It’s fine.”
“I really don’t want her to hate me.”
“She doesn’t. Never did. I didn’t give her details back then. All she knows is that we broke up, and I was miserable for a while.”
“Well, I’m very anxious to meet the woman who raised such good sons.”
They went in the front door, and Wes called out, “Mom!”
Allie came out of the kitchen with Kai in her arms. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“It’s a long, ugly story, Mom. I really don’t want to get into it right now.” Wes smiled at Kai when he held out his arms. Wes set his cane aside and took the boy from Allie. “Hey there, little man.”
Allie turned to Cassandra. “Hi. I’m Allie.”
Wes glanced at them. “Oh, right. This is Cassandra.”
After a slight hesitation, Allie offered her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well.” Cassandra put a hand on Kai’s back. “Who is this handsome boy?”
Kai kicked his feet, and Wes put him down. “This is Kai, Abe’s son.”
Kai ran to a basket of toys and started digging through it, and Allie cocked her head at Wes. “Where are your crutches?”
“I’ve graduated to a cane.”
“Hmm. I still say you should’ve gone to the doctor.”
“We were hoping to raid your refrigerator.”
“Nonsense. I’ll make you something.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Give me about thirty minutes. Your father is in the garage. Go say hi to him.”
“Should I tell him to come in for lunch?”
“We stopped to see your brothers and have some pizza while we were in town. Poor Kai didn’t want to leave Abe and Maggie.”
Cassandra watched Kai for a moment. “He is so cute.”
“Other than the hair, he looks just like Abe at that age.” She pointed at Wes. “Now, he had the curly hair. Not blond, but beautiful curly hair.”
Wes scowled. “We’re going to go say hi to Dad.”
They left the house, and Cassandra took his hand. “You still have beautiful hair.”
“I suppose any hair that is still on my head is beautiful at this stage of my life.”
Cassandra stopped walking. “Would you stop acting like you’re ancient?”
“Sorry.”
“Because if you’re ancient, I am too.”
He put his arm around her. “You’ll never be ancient. Even when you’re eighty.”
“You think I’ll be a well-preserved octogenarian?”
“Absolutely.”
“And you will be a silver fox.”
Wes laughed. “But in the meantime, I have a question for you.”
“Okay.”
“You lit right up at the sight of Kai.”
“I love babies, and he is a cute one.”
“Yeah. He is that.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t like babies?”
He sighed. “No. Of course not.” They started walking again. “Would you…have you ever…” She raised an eyebrow, and he added, “You know.”
“Are you asking if I would have another child?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Hmm. Well, do you want a child?”
“I asked you first.”
She smiled. “My daughter is almost eighteen. Starting over with a newborn is not really something I’ve ever thought about doing. But if you…”
“No. I don’t. Not at all.”
She stopped walking and put a hand on his chest. “So, we’re on the same page about that?”
“Yes.” He glanced at the house, then kissed her. “Just you and me riding off into the sunset, and some swinging retirement home where all the men will be jealous of me for having such a hot wife.”
“Is there a swinging retirement home in Bridgeport?”
“Um…not currently. But there might be in thirty years.”
They started walking again. John was lying under a truck up on ramps, cursing, when they came into the garage.
“Dad?”
“Hold on. This damn oil filter won’t budge.” With a grunt and the sound of oil draining into a pan, John rolled out from under the old truck. Spotting Cassandra, he got to his feet and wiped his hands on a shop rag. “Sorry, Miss. I didn’t know Wes brought a friend.”
“Dad, this is Cassandra. This is my father, John.”
John looked at his hands, then held them up. “We’ll forgo the handshake. Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you.”
John looked at Wes. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I’m on leave.”
“Why?”
“The angry father I told you about just filed a lawsuit.”
“And the school put you on leave?”
“Yeah.”
“Dammit. After all you’ve done for that school.”
“It’s fine, Dad. It’s temporary.”
“Whose idea was this?”
“The trustees.”
“Maybe I need to have a few words with Alex at the Rotary Club meeting next week.”
“Dad, no. Just let things play out. Please.”
John sighed. “Okay, but the offer stands.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Where are your crutches?”
Wes held up his cane. “It’s getting better.”
“Don’t rush it.”
“Can we take the ATV out after lunch?”
“Of course.”
“I want to show Cassandra the orchard.”
“It’s beautiful this time of year. The leaves will all be gone in a couple of weeks, though.”
“We’ll let you get back to work.”
“Enjoy your visit to the Buchanan Orchards, Cassandra.”
“Thank you.”
They left the garage to return to the house. “I shouldn’t have told him about the trustees.”
“He knows one of them?”
“He knows all four of them. Went to school with them. Sees them at church.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“I don’t need my dad fighting my battles for me.”
“Okay.”
He glanced at her. “Sorry. I just remembered how mad I was about all of this.”
“More paintball?”
“No. Lunch followed by a trip to the orchard will help.”
The orange, yellow, and red leaves fluttered above them against the backdrop of the bright blue sky. “Wow, this is awesome.”
Wes took Cassandra’s hand as he lay next to her on the blanket he’d brought. “When I was in high school, I used to come out here to study.” He lifted his head. “I’d sit under that tree right there, and if I got stuck on something or couldn’t find an answer, I’d lie down here and watch the leaves.”
“And the answer would come to you?”
“Most of the time, yes.”
“I could’ve used a spot like this when I was getting my doctorate.”
Wes rolled onto his side and rested his head in his hand. “It’s nice to share it with someone.”
She smiled. “You never brought a girl out here?”
“Nope.”
“I’m honored.”
“I want to share everything with you.”
She put a hand on his chest. “Then let me share the load of this stupid lawsuit with you.”
“How do I do that?”
“Let me know when it’s getting to you. Talk to me. Yell. Curse. Whatever you need to do to get through it.”
He kissed her. “I’d rather kiss you.”
“Distracting you works, too.”
“And it’s much more fun.”
“Seriously, though. You’re not alone in this.”
“I know.”
“What are you going to do with yourself while you’re on leave?”
“Work on my boat.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Boat? You have a boat?”
“I’m building a boat.”
“Where?”
“In my garage.”
Cassandra sat up. “Why haven’t I heard about it? Or seen it?”
He shrugged. “Last night was your first time at the house, and going to the garage wasn’t really something I was thinking about.”
“I want to see the boat.”
“We’ll go to my house when we leave here.”
She lay back down. “Why are you building a boat?”
“Why not?”
She laughed. “Why not?”
They spent another hour in the orchard, then went to say goodbye to John and Allie before driving to Wes’ house. The first thing Cassandra wanted to do was see the boat, so he opened the garage door.
“This is my boat.”
Glossy epoxy coated the cedar planking on the hull, highlighting the wood's contrasting light and dark tones. Cassandra ran her hand over the surface. “This is beautiful. It’s not what I pictured at all. You’re a master craftsman.”
“More of a learn as you go perfectionist. It’s taken me two years to get to this point.”
“It’s wonderful.”
“I’m starting the deck. It’ll probably take me a couple more years. Although I am getting faster than when I started out.”
“You’ve done it all yourself?”
“I occasionally have a brother or two helping with the sanding, but yeah. I’ve done the majority of it by myself. All hand tools. I cut every damn board with a handsaw.”
“I’m very impressed. Where are you going to take it for its maiden voyage?”
“I’d love to spend a couple of weeks on Coeur d’Alene Lake.”
“It’s so beautiful there.”
“Will you come with me?”
“Of course.” She put her arms around his neck. “I’ll go anywhere with you.”
“Now I’m very motivated to get the damn thing finished.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I can wait.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. “It’d make for a pretty cool honeymoon.”
She pulled back and looked at him. “I believe it would.”