9. Cassie

CHAPTER 9

CASSIE

“You really think I’m fierce?”

He’s holding my hand and letting his fingers caress my wrist. “Yes. I do. I also think that you have my dad wrapped around your finger.”

I smile as I think about his dad. He has been one of the highlights in my life since I’ve moved back to Whiskey Run. “I love your dad.”

He nods in approval. “He’s the best.”

I frown as I think about something that has been worrying me. I’m probably betraying my mom by saying this, but I don’t hold back. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Baker tilts his head to the side. “How do you mean?”

I avoid his eyes because I feel guilty. If my mom hurts his dad, he’s going to blame me somehow. “I don’t know what you know about my mom, but this is her fifth marriage.” I blow out a breath and don’t know how to explain it. “I’m not saying that my mom doesn’t love your dad, but…”

He just watches me, no pressure to continue, just lets me form my thoughts. “From my experience, if my mom loves someone, it’s not always a good thing. She loves on her own terms.”

He clears his throat, and it’s obvious he doesn’t want to offend me. “I can see that about her.” He’s tracing my fingers, and goosebumps form on my arms. “What about you, Cass? How does she love you?”

I laugh. “Yeah, well, I think you witnessed that when you walked into the kitchen. She doesn’t like it if she doesn’t get her way.”

He scoots closer to me. “Is that what that was? She was unhappy that you told Roger you didn’t want to date him?”

I nod. “Yeah, she wants me to move out. She thinks I’m sponging off her and your dad.”

He pushes a piece of hair off my face. “Anyone that knows you knows that’s not true.”

I look at Baker in awe. It amazes me that he seems to know me better than my own mother. “Does it bother you to talk about your mom?”

He leans in, and I can feel the heat from his body envelop me. “No. What do you want to know?”

“What were your mom and dad like together?”

He reaches up and rubs the scruff on his chin. “They loved each other.”

At my blank stare, he continues. “I mean, they argued but never over anything big. They were completely devoted to each other. They were best friends, but they were more. I never questioned if they loved each other. They did. But they loved me too. I’ve always known that no matter what, they would have my back.”

I nod and try not to let the jealousy settle in. I would give anything to have parents like that. Or to just have someone on my side like he’s saying. My sister is probably the closest thing I have to that.

“What about you? I mean, I know your mom. What about your dad?”

I laugh. “Well, he’s nothing like yours. He was a drunk. He left when I was twelve, but he made sure to stay in town until I was fifteen. I mean, I never saw him or anything, but he kept the townspeople up in arms with all his drunk shenanigans, so that was fun. But yeah, I haven’t seen him since he left.”

“I’m sorry, Cass. He’s the one missing out.”

I nod. “Yeah, I know. It’s fine. Trust me, I’ve had a long time to get over it.”

There’s a brief silence, and I hate it. I’m feeling all the feels as I think about my dad and all that, so I plead with him, “Can we change the subject? Let’s talk about something else.”

He nods and doesn’t even have to think about it. “Let’s talk about Roger.”

I scrunch my nose up and shake my head. “Do we have to?”

His hand goes to my shoulder. I’ve never met a man like him before, but he’s definitely touchy-feely. It seems that he just wants to have his hands on me at all times. His fingers trail across my collarbone. “He’s seen you. I mean, seen you seen you.”

I roll my eyes. “He is my doctor.”

He nods. “Yeah, and he wants to date you.”

I laugh and snort at the same time. I cover my face up, embarrassed, as he laughs with me. “I love that… I love when you laugh and don’t hold anything back.”

I roll my eyes. “You mean snort.”

He pulls my hand from my face. “I love it. Don’t cover your face from me.”

I nod in agreement. “Yeah, he’s seen my hoo-haa, and he wants to date me. That’s weird, right?”

He shrugs. “I don’t like it.”

I open my mouth, but he interrupts me. “Hear me out. I don’t like the idea of any man seeing you.” He holds his hand up when I start to talk. “But I know… he’s your doctor. But it’s different knowing he’s attracted to you.”

I nod. “I agree.”

He searches my face. “So I think that if you want to keep the doctor, I’ll go with you to your next appointment.”

I bark out a laugh. “You want to go to my gynecologist appointment with me?”

“If you’re going to him, yes, I do.”

I can’t help but laugh, but he doesn’t join in. He’s serious. I should probably hate that he’s so protective of me, but it actually gives me a warm gooey feeling inside. “Well, we have almost a year before my next appointment, so we’ve got time to figure it out.”

He seems satisfied with that answer by the way he leans back against the couch. I scoot back and pull my hand from his. “We should probably talk, Baker.”

He tenses. He sits up straighter, pulls his shoulders back, and looks at me with curious eyes. “We can talk about anything.”

I nod and try to figure out what I need to say. “So… what are we doing here? What is this?”

He starts to reach for me and then stops himself. “I think you know what this is, Cass.”

When I get nervous, I ramble, and it seems today isn’t any different. “Honestly, I wish things were different. I wish we could get to know each other and not have to worry about my mom, your dad, my sister, our families. It’s just too much, and it adds too much pressure.” I jump up from my seat and move across the room to pace. “Maybe we should just talk about the carnival. That’s what we came here to do, right? Let’s just do that. I need to figure out what my class booth is going to be. I was thinking maybe a fishing booth or something. You know where they put a magnet on the end—”

“Cassie. Stop. Breathe.”

I stop pacing and take a deep breath.

He stands up and comes for me. He’s walking slowly and deliberately, and I tense up the closer he gets. I already know that I’m weak when it comes to Baker. We are not a good idea. I know we’re not, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to resist him. Or if I really want to.

He stops in front of me, toe to toe. I lean my head back to look up at him, and he’s searching my face. I’m almost scared of what I see in his eyes. He’s bringing out all my emotions, and I’m not sure what to do with them.