Chapter 2

Cassidy

Somehow, I make it to work with ten minutes to spare. Placing my purse and keys in my locker, I grab my smock, put it on, then head to the time clock to clock in, my mind still a jumbled mess.

He wants to take me out for coffee!The girl I was is beside herself; me, on the other hand, is leery of getting involved with any Knox man again. Cade really fucked my head up with regard to relationships, that's for sure.

My trust factor is at zero and as I walk to my assigned register, I have to remind myself that Jared has always treated me with respect. Hell, until Cade and I ended, he was one of my closest friends, always willing to go see animated movies with me. As I log into the register and open my line, my mind drifts back ten years.

"Cassidy? You got a minute?" Jared asks, walking up to where I'm sitting outside eating lunch. I usually eat with Mags but she's sick today and I have no one else I can talk to about why I haven't heard from Cade lately. Four unanswered letters, ten voicemails, and too many texts to count - all ignored. Well, not exactly. He's read them, but not responded, and I'm hurt. Kind of pissed off too if I think about it!

"Hey, Jared. Sure, have a seat," I reply, motioning to the ground next to me. I take a good look at him and smile. He's got darker hair than Cade, and his build indicates that he's going to be a big man once he grows into himself. Cade is a bit shorter than him, blond, and more wiry than muscular. But Jared plays football, wrestles, and runs cross country, so he's bulkier. Not fat, just more muscular.

"Um, so, I wanted to tell you something before you hear it through the grapevine," he says. His voice is hesitant, and I see a look of sorrow in his eyes.

"Is it Cade? Is he okay?" I fire question after question at him, my emotions welling up at the thought that Cade might be hurt. Maybe that's why he hasn't contacted me! Hope springs up in my chest only to be crushed at his next words.

"Yeah, it's about Cade. Cassidy, I don't… I don't know how to tell you this, but he apparently eloped a week ago. Some girl he met at college or something." He's running his hand through his hair and my first thought is to console him.

When his words finally sink in, I feel my heart shatter in a million pieces. "Cade… Cade got married?" I whisper.

How? Why? What about me? I scream in my head, as tears steadily begin dripping down my face.

"Yeah, honey, he did. I'm so sorry."

My first thought is about prom. Stupid, huh?

"But he was supposed to come back and take me to the senior prom! I bought my dress already!" I know, shallow of me, but hell, I'm a teenage girl and right now, I can't process the bigger ramifications of what he's told me.

Jared clears his throat and gently touches my arm. "Cass, I'd be honored to take you to the prom." While he's a year older than me, because of how our birthdays fall, we're both seniors this year.

"I can't ask you to do that, Jared," I mumble.

I was so excited to be going to the prom; Mom, Mags, and I had shopped until we found the perfect dress. Looks like it'll just hang in my closet. I'm completely unaware of the tears that are streaming down my face until I feel Jared pull me close and wrap his arms around me.

"Go ahead and cry, Cass. I'm sorry, so fucking sorry, that he did this to you." I can hear the remorse in his voice, and I glance up to see a mixture of emotions cross his face. Anger, regret, sorrow — all because of how his brother treated me. He gently wipes my face off with a handkerchief that he pulls from his pocket, and I hide a grin. All of the Knox boys seem to carry them, a byproduct of their upbringing, I suppose.

"Thanks, Jared," I murmur. My voice is husky from crying and right now, I can't fathom going back to class. Somehow, I know that everyone knows what I've just found out.

"You want to get out of here?" he asks. When I nod, he stands and helps me up, then we bypass going back inside and head to the parking lot where he helps me into his truck to take me home.

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear one of my favorite customers ask, "You okay, Cassidy?" Glancing up, I see Mrs. Walsh standing there, holding out her stack of coupons.

"I am, yes. How are you today, Mrs. Walsh?" I question, putting her coupons next to the register as I begin ringing up her purchases. She comes in every Wednesday, like clockwork, and takes advantage of our weekly sales, as well as the fact that senior citizens get an additional ten percent off of their total bill. I love seeing how much she manages to save each week. She apparently donates a lot of what she gets to the local food pantry since she's a widow now. I find that admirable and wonder if she buys so much because she knows my mom and I have been going there to supplement what I'm able to buy grocery-wise.

"Oh, I can't complain, dear," she replies, before handing the bag boy her recyclable bags. "Did you hear the news?" She's not what I would call a busybody, but she does somehow manage to know all that's going on in our small town.

"I'm not sure," I reply. It could be anything from the fact that a new store is going in, to an outsider moving into town. With her, it's a crapshoot, but I love her to pieces, so whatever she has to tell me, I'll listen.

"Cade Knox has apparently moved back home," she says.

"Ah yeah, I heard that," I reply.

Trust me, I would move, but where? Besides, this is more my home now than his since he's been gone longer than ten years. Still, his family is embedded in this community.

But so is ours! My inner self is screaming at me to remember that fact and I find myself nodding. Shit, now I'm going crazy!

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, dear, but I always felt he was the wrong Knox boy for you," Mrs. Walsh leans in and whispers.

I know I look shocked as I ask, "W-what do you mean?"

"He always had aspirations that went far beyond this little town. You're a sweet girl, well, actually, you're a woman now, and I think if you and he had stayed the course, he would have chewed you up and spit you out. Stay strong, Cassidy, and know that there's someone out there who deserves you."

"Mrs. Walsh, I don't exactly have men lining up, but trust me, he's the last person I'd go out with again. Ever." I know my reply is a bit vehement, but I mean every single word. Cade Knox destroyed me, and it took a lot of soul-searching before I realized that it was him, not me.

"You don't need a whole lot of them lining up, Cassidy. Just one and I think I know who that's going to be," she responds, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh really?" I finish with the last of her items then start taking off her coupons. Wednesdays are also triple coupon days and any coupon up to fifty cents is automatically tripled.

"That young man who took you to the prom has been making no secret that he's interested," she says.

"Jared?" Her response is so shocking that I momentarily stop what I'm doing and stare at her. "Surely you're mistaken. We were good friends a long time ago and that's why he took me to the prom."

She shakes her head and smiles at me. "I've always known, Cassidy. You mark my words, young lady, I believe that he's going to make his intentions known."

I laugh at her words because they're so out of character for the young man I remember that there's no way she's right about Jared.

"Well, Mrs. Walsh, are you ready for your total this week?" I ask, finally getting through the mountain of coupons and then taking off the ten percent.

"Yes, dear," she sweetly replies, giving me a little wink. I grin and hit the total button then gasp.

"M-Mrs. Walsh, I think this is the best you've ever done on a Wednesday," I announce. "Your total today is fourteen dollars and sixteen cents."

I stare in amazement at the bags that are piled high in her cart. She took advantage of a lot of our buy one, get one free deals, plus the manager's meat specials that our store manager does every week for our senior citizens.

"Oh, that's fantastic!" she exclaims, handing me a twenty. I hand over her change and then nod to the bag boy to help her out to her car. "I'll see you next week, Cassidy. Remember what I told you!"

I smile at her words; since he asked me for coffee, Jared's been at the forefront of my thoughts. My day continues until around five thirty, when my manager, Darice, comes over and says, "Go ahead and clock out, Cassidy. Your replacement is on her way, and I know you've got something to get ready to do." I look at her and she grins. "Girl, the whole town is talking about the fact that Jared Knox is taking you out for coffee."

"Are you kidding me?" I whisper.

Jesus, this is bad, really bad. I don't know how to feel about the fact that ‘everyone' is talking about me. About us. Although technically, there's really not an ‘us', is there? Isn't it bad enough that I've been fodder for the gossip mill for the past decade?

"Nope," she replies. "So, you need to head home and get gussied up."

"Darice, I don't think anyone uses that word," I state, handing her my cash drawer after I run my reports.

"Well, they should. It's a good word," she says, taking the drawer and stack of coupons from me. "Now, go on and have fun. Remember, he's nothing like his brother." I shrug because from my memory, Jared is the polar opposite of Cade.

* * *

Once home, I quickly take another shower, making sure that my hair is piled on my head so it doesn't get wet. I don't have a lot of choices clothes-wise, so I quickly dress in a new legging set I got from Mags, who sells it. I think I'm her best customer, but the clothes are comfortable, cute, and affordable. I restyle my hair, choosing to leave it down, then spritz myself with my favorite perfume. I don't understand why I've got butterflies; this is Jared and we've gone places hundreds of times. Well, we did when we were teenagers. Still, we were friends then, so I don't like that I'm nervous.

"Cass? Jared's here, dear," Mom calls out. I grimace at myself in the mirror, take a deep breath and grab my purse.

"Coming," I reply as I head down the short hallway and into the living room. "Hey, Jared," I rasp out.

While he wasn't in a suit and what-not when we were at the office, he obviously went home and changed because he's in well-worn jeans, a pair of cowboy boots, and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Damn, he's filled out nicely since we were teenagers! I think I even see the hint of a tattoo.

"Hey yourself, Cass," he replies. His voice washes over me and I barely contain the urge to shiver at what it's doing to my insides. I walk over to him and turn to face my mom, who has an ear-splitting grin.

"See you later, Mom," I state. Her eyes twinkle and I fight the urge to roll mine. She always felt that I chose the wrong Knox brother based on mine and Jared's friendship and I'm reminded of that when she gives me a wink.

"You kids have fun now. I'm going to check out a few houses I found online."

"Sounds like a good plan, Mrs. Smith," Jared says. "Just don't buy anything until I get one of my friends to check into it for y'all."

"That's really sweet of you, Jared," she gushes.

Gushes!My mother is gushing at him, and I feel the heat rise on my face. He just grins at her, grabs my hand and walks me through the front door and out to his truck.

"You still have it?" I question as he opens my door and helps me up.

"Absolutely! Best thing I ever got from my grandpa, other than the money to go to college, that is. Besides, my best friend helped me rebuild her, remember?" he responds, glancing at me before he closes my door and goes around to the driver"s side.

"I just figured that you would have upgraded once you got out of school and started your career," I state. I know that they're a busy firm, so he's likely got the money to purchase whatever he wants by now. Honestly, I'm happy for him; I suspect he took a lot of shit as Cade's younger brother, but the reality is, next to Mags, he was my best friend.

"I've got another truck with all the bells and whistles, as well as an SUV, but I always gravitate back to this one," he says, backing up so he can turn around and pull out of our driveway. "Got a lot of good memories in this old girl, Cass, and you're a part of each one."

Okay, now he's not playing fair! My mind drifts back to all the times we took Hazel, the name we finally decided on, out to the lake to fish, or to the show to see the latest movie. Come to think of it, I probably spent as much time with Jared as I did with Cade, only with Cade, it was always what he wanted to do.

"We sure had a lot of fun, didn't we?" I ask, my voice soft as I remember how excited he was the day his grandpa gave him the truck. She needed some work and also a paint job and we spent hours in his garage tinkering on her. Hell, he's the reason I've been able to keep my old car on the road; we learned everything there was to know about the inner workings of a car that year. Once she was mechanically sound, I donated my babysitting money to go with what he'd earned mowing lawns and we got her painted. "She runs well."

"My girl has never let me down," he replies, glancing at me.

Deciding a change of subject is overdue, I ask, "So, no Mrs. Knox, huh? Did you ever come close?"