CHAPTER 22

Cassie handed Ani anothertissue, and she blew her nose loudly.

“I’m so sick of them, Cassie,” she said. And blew again.

Cassie waited patiently. She knew that Ani just needed to vent. How many times had they both been here over the years? Being a foster kid, tossed from home to home, it’s a difficult way to live. And even for a kid as positive as Ani, it gets to you. They hadn’t seen each other at all for the past two weeks. Mack and Lila had grounded Ani, and she’d been trapped with the Daugherty’s other two children—another foster and their own biological child—crammed together in the tiny home. Cassie knew, however, that worse than the living conditions or any of the punishments Ani received, it was the lack of love that cut deepest. At these times, Cassie wished with all her heart that Ani would let her give up school so that she could foster her. But Ani could be as stubborn as a mule.

“Please let me say something to Mark and Rachel,” Cassie said, already knowing what Ani would say.

She lifted her face, still damp with tears, her expression fierce. “No! I will not stop them from enjoying their family time just because I’m a little unhappy.” She looked down then and ran a hand over Angel’s head. The dog was curled up on Ani’s lap, trying to offer her own brand of comfort.

Cassie sighed. But she understood. Mark and Rachel had officially retired from fostering so they could spend more time visiting their out-of-state children. That travel had only increased with the birth of their first grandchild.

“I only have two more years, Cassie. Then I’ll be out and I can—”

There was a knock at the door.

Cassie got up and opened the door to a smiling Wade. She couldn’t resist smiling back, feeling her heart flutter as she did so. There was no denying that their relationship had deepened over the past several weeks. Somehow he’d managed to chink away even more of the wall she used to guard her heart. And while she always felt a thrill of excitement ripple through her at the sight of him, she still couldn’t quite bring herself to let him all the way in. To be completely vulnerable, give up control, and hand her heart over to him for safekeeping.

He looked incredible in khaki shorts and a snug-fitting black polo shirt, his tawny curls smoothed neatly back from his face. To top it off, he was looking at her in that way that always made her insides melt.

“I know we don’t officially have plans tonight,” he said, leaning against the doorframe, “but I wondered if you’d like to take a walk on the beach with me?”

For an instant, she completely forgot about Ani sitting on her loveseat until she heard, “Hi, Wade.”

“Oh.” Wade looked past Cassie in surprise. “Hi, Ani!” Then his face transformed into a picture of concern as he saw the box of tissues and Ani’s tear-stained face. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Cassie said, lightly placing her hand against his chest to prevent him from coming inside.

“It’s Mack and Lila,” Ani said, happy to vent to another person. “They grounded me for two weeks just because they found a stupid piece of lint on the carpet after I’d vacuumed it.”

Wade frowned, pushing gently past Cassie’s restraining hand to step inside. “That sounds like an excessive punishment. There are rules about this, Ani.”

“I know, right? Besides, how can you possibly keep a carpet spotless with two other kids living there?”

“Mack and Lila have three foster kids?” Wade sounded incredulous.

“Well, one is theirs, and then one other foster kid besides me.” Ani sniffed, reveling in Wade’s evident sympathy. “And it’s ridiculous how different they treat us fosters compared to their own kid.”

Wade’s frown deepened.

Cassie sighed. “Wade, please don’t worry about it. I’m here for her, and Ani will be fine.” She grabbed his upper arm and propelled him back toward the door. “Look, we can take a walk together another night, okay?”

He was still looking at Ani and appeared lost in thought. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he focused his hazel eyes on her. “Sorry, what?”

“We’ll take a walk another night, okay? I need to be here for Ani right now.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” he murmured. “I’ll see you later.”

She followed him through the door and out of Ani’s line of vision. “Hey!”

He turned back from the top of the steps.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a crooked smile and he stepped close to her. He smelled like fresh soap and a lake breeze as he bent his mouth to hers and kissed her breathless.

“Better and better,” she breathed against his lips.

“You can say that again,” he whispered back.

“I’m sorry about Ani,” she said.

He stepped back, the frown returning to his brow. “No, it’s okay. Besides, there’s something I need to do now. I’ll see you later.” And with that, he bounded down the steps and went to his car.

Cassie came back into the apartment and closed the door. She turned to face Ani, who seemed to have recovered completely and was now looking at her with a bemused expression.

“What?”

“You. And Wade.”

“What about us?”

Ani tipped her head and smirked. “You know.”

“Know what?”

Ani studied Cassie’s face for a moment, then rose. “You should go ahead and take that walk with him. I better get back home anyway. I don’t want to have to lose another two weeks of freedom for missing curfew or something.” She picked up her purse and stuffed the ball of used tissues into Cassie’s garbage on her way to the door.

“It’s too late. Wade said he has to do something now,” Cassie said. “And what exactly am I supposed to know?”

Ani was beside her now, hand on the doorknob.

“Cassie, for someone who is older and allegedly wiser than me, sometimes I’m shocked at how dense you can be.”

“What am I being dense about?

Ani’s dark eyes were serious as she faced her. “C’mon, Cass. It’s so obvious. You’re totally in love with Wade.” Then she stepped through the door.

Cassie heard it click softly behind Ani while she stood frozen in place, her mouth hanging open.