Saving Cassie (Fairfield Corners) (9 page)

I am sitting on the couch
in shock.  I still can’t believe this is happening. Logan comes over and sits
next to me, “How are you holding up?  I can tell you I am having a hard time
believing all this is real. How do I protect you from a ghost?”

I kick off my shoes.  “Sorry
about the picnic.  Maybe we can do it tomorrow?  We need to figure out what to
do.  Maybe I can find some information on this Reverend Jake guy online.”  I
get up and go over to my laptop and turn it on.

“I’ve got a file on him.  I
put it in the desk, I hope you don’t mind.”  He says as he moves to get it out
of the drawer.

I look up and see Princess
running past me with one of my shoes in her mouth.  “Princess, come back here
with that!  Logan, stop her!”  I start running after her.  Logan goes the other
way through the dining room.  I turn the corner and run right into Logan.  He
reaches out and grabs my arms to keep me from falling.  I look into his eyes
and I am lost. “Highly trained?  Yeah, right!”  He grins at me and bends down and
presses his lips to mine and gently nips at my bottom lip.  I feel it all the
way to my toes!  I open my mouth to gasp and he deepens the kiss, using his
tongue.  My knees get weak, and I moan his name.  He lifts his head and looks
into my eyes, “are you sure about this Cassie?”

I start unbuttoning his
shirt, “God yes!” and I pull his shirt off his shoulders.  Finally, I can get
my hands on his chest.  Nicely muscled with just a sprinkling of hair, very
manly!  I run my hands up and down his chest, loving how my touch makes his
nipples tighten into nubs.  God, I can’t wait and start to unbutton his pants
and I realize my shirt is gone and my jeans are around my ankles.  I step out
of my jeans and put my legs around his waist, pressing my sex against his.  I
can feel the beat of his heart, beating out of control in synch with mine.  Suddenly
I am up against the wall and there is nothing between our two bodies.  He looks
into my eyes and it feels like he can see all the way into my soul!

“Last chance to back out, Darlin’,
fair warning.”

“If you don’t take me now,
I think I’m going to explode… please,” I whimper.

He plunges into me and I
shatter, “Oh! My! God!”  I match him thrust for thrust, and feel him find his
release seconds later.  He leans up against me, his chest heaving.  I can feel
his pulse galloping in tandem with mine.

“Are you OK?” he asks, “I
really wanted to make it to a bed, any bed.  Hell, the couch would have worked.
 I normally don’t treat ladies like this.”

“Can I just say, wow!  I
wouldn’t change a thing.”  I realize we are in the dining room with its huge
windows, “you can put me down now, Logan.”

“No way, I like having you
in my arms!”

He does move us to the
couch, where he lays me down and drinks in the sight of me all naked and
flushed from our lovemaking.  He bends down and lays another one of his kisses
on me.

“I can’t think when you do
that, stop it!” I start to come back to myself and realize what we have just
done. “Don’t think this changes anything, it was a momentary lapse in judgment
on my part. Can you get me my clothes please?”

“Sure Darlin’, but you
won’t be able to resist me for long,” he says as he picks up our clothes.

By now, I am starting to
turn red with embarrassment.  I have never done this before, not this soon.  My
god, we haven’t even had a date yet!  I grab my clothes and head for the
stairs.

“We will do this again Darlin’,
you can bet on it.” he declares.  “Next time will be even better.”

I run up the stairs to
Logan’s laughter, “Not in this lifetime, Mr. Deputy.  And don’t call me Darlin’!”

I turn away from the sight
of Cassie and Logan.  Good, this will distract them from me.  It gives me time
to gather my strength before the night. Oh the night of my salvation, the night
that Cassie needs to die.  The years in limbo have been long, and lonely.  Do
you know I’m coming for you, Cassie?  Kiss your deputy goodbye; you will be
leaving him and your entire life soon.  Time is ticking away.

Three days later and I
still am not allowed to stay in my own house by myself.  James needs to stop
thinking of me as being 12 years old. There have been no incidents the last
three days and I am feeling antsy to get out of this house.  Logan isn’t any
better, lurking around and popping up when I least expect it.  At least I have
been able to deny the temptation to allow him into my bed again.  I still can’t
believe what happened that day; I’m not that easy.  It was six months before
Matt and I did anything beyond kissing, although his kisses didn’t affect me
the way Logan’s do.  To be perfectly honest, all Logan has to do is look at me
in that way he has, as if he’s the cat and I’m the canary.  It’s been hell,
trying to avoid him in this house.  I always thought this house was huge but it
feels very small when there is one large deputy living here along with one huge
dog.  I love having Princess here, I have to admit Logan has done a wonderful
job training her.  Other than the drooling, she is perfect.  I have been
researching breeders around the area and I am hoping to have a puppy of my own
soon.

Logan has been needling me
about our date for the last three days, but he won’t tell me where we are
going.  It will be some honky-tonk and dancing, good thing I love a good
honky-tonk, although I would like something more romantic for a first and only
date.  I hope he realizes that once this situation is resolved, I’m going to go
back to my own life.  I don’t want or need romance.

Don called from New York
yesterday.  No leads on the Matt’s location.  It’s got both James and Logan on
edge, which in turn is driving me right up the wall!  I’m not even allowed to
go to my own bookstore.  Mel says they got all the graffiti cleaned up and
things are back to normal.  I have been doing what I can on my computer, trying
to set-up some book signings and book clubs.  The store does a good business
but there is always room for improvement.  I did give my part-time clerk,
Peggy, more hours - she is Mel’s cousin and between the two of them all the
hours are covered. Hopefully, I can talk these two overgrown kids who think I
need protecting into letting me live my life again soon.

This morning Logan decided
it was time that the lawn was mowed.  I was glued to the window for an hour,
gotta admit, he is one sexy deputy.  That’s why it’s been so hard to resist
him.  I made a vow and I am going to stick to it, no more complications or men
in my life.  I’ve had my fill of that.  James and Logan are both going to have
to realize that I can make my own happiness, don’t need them for that.

Logan is in the shower and
I am putting on my makeup.  I wonder where we are going tonight? At least the
weather is holding, I have decided to wear my favorite sundress and sandals.  Hopefully,
I won’t be over or under-dressed.  He is so annoying, not telling me where we
are going.  I’m just happy to be getting out of the house; the last three days
have been hell.

After finishing my makeup
and dressing, making sure I am wearing Gram’s ring, I make my way downstairs to
wait for Logan.  He comes downstairs about five minutes after I do, looking
very handsome in dark jeans and a button down shirt.  Good, looks like I won’t
be underdressed at least.

“So, are you going to give
me a hint?  Where are we going tonight?”

“Not yet, Darlin’, you’ll
find out soon enough,” he replies with a grin.  “Excited to be going out with
me tonight?”

“Just excited to be
getting out of the house.  You won’t even let me go to the grocery store down
the street.  Feels like I’ve been in prison for the last three days!”

“Now Darlin’, surely it
hasn’t been that bad.  I’ve brought you everything you’ve asked for.”

“Everything except my freedom.” 
I look at him with my anger at being cooped up for the last three days in my
eyes.  “James is so going to regret this.”

“Don’t be too hard on him,
Darlin’, he’s only doing it to protect you.”

“I know, I’ve just been
going stir crazy.  Let’s get this date started so I can get out of this house
for a while.”

Logan takes my hand and
leads me out the door.  Oh sweet freedom!  Too bad it’s a date with Dudley Do
Right.  I think that’s going to be my new name for him.  A girl’s gotta have
some fun.  He leads me to his Jeep and opens the passenger side door for me and
waits for me to get settled and buckled in, safety first with Dudley.  He
closes the car door and makes his way to the driver’s side of the car.  After he
gets in and starts the car he looks at me and says, “Ready to get started, Darlin’?”

I nod yes and he pulls out
of the driveway and heads toward the interstate.  At least it’s not dinner at
the diner, that’s in the other direction.

“Sit back and relax, we’ve
got a 30 minute drive.  Enjoy the ride.”

We must be headed to Fort
Wayne, nothing much else north of town that isn’t two hours away.  He turns on
the radio, finding the local country music station and they’re playing “God
Gave Me You”.  Great, hope it doesn’t give him any ideas.

We ride in silence until
we reach the outskirts of Fort Wayne.  “So Darlin’, are you hungry? I thought
we would start with dinner.  I hope you like Thai food, I know this great place
on the north side of town.”

I briefly consider lying,
but decide against it, “Sounds good to me, I love Thai food.”

“Thought so, plus I asked
James.  Didn’t want to take you out to a restaurant you were going to hate.  We
should be there in a couple minutes.”  We pull off of the interstate and pull
up to a strip mall.  Seriously, a restaurant in a strip mall?  I’m not holding
out much hope that it’s going to be any good.

We walk in and are seated
in the far corner.  Dudley obviously subscribes to that old law of west, don’t
have your back to the door.  Oh well, he is trying to keep me safe from some
maniac.

“Wow, everything sounds
really good.  Don’t know how I’m going to decide what to have.”

“Let me order for you, Darlin’.
 You do like it hot, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah, the hotter the
better,” I reply with a gleam in my eye, “I like things with some heat.”

Logan looks into my eyes,
and grins that lopsided, country-boy grin that makes me weak in the knees.  Good
thing I’m sitting down.  “Oh, don’t worry.  Things are going to get hot!”

I mentally fan myself and
quickly change the subject, “So, Logan, why did you decide to move to a little
town like Fairfield Corners?  Didn’t you come here from Atlanta?”

He hesitates, trying to
find the words to let me know the reason without telling me everything, “Yes, I
did. I guess I was just tired of the rat race. I went through a bad breakup and
decided on a change of scenery.”  He stops when the waitress brings our drinks,
continuing as she walks away.  

“I was seeing the
commander’s daughter and things didn’t end well. It made things very awkward at
the station.”  He looks away, as if he doesn’t want me to see into his eyes.  “I
heard from a friend about the job up here, and applied. The rest is history.”  He
takes my hand, rubbing his thumb over the back of it.  “I didn’t know that I
would be busier up here than down in Atlanta.  It seems there has been a crime
wave here lately, starting with your Gram getting killed.  I am sorry I never
got to meet her; from what James has told me, she was truly a great lady.”

I pull my hand out of his
and put it in my lap, “Yes, she was.  That is the hardest part about living in
that house.  I keep expecting to look out and see her puttering around in her
flowerbed or coming up the sidewalk after working at the bookstore.  I miss her
so much.  She was both Mom and Dad to me since my parents were killed.”  I dab
at my eyes with my napkin, hoping that the tears don’t fall.  “Do you really
think everything that’s happening could be related to my parents’ murder all
those years ago?”

“A lot of what I believed
has been challenged the last few days.  Finding that message from your Gram
written on the bathroom mirror threw me for a loop, especially when we found
the ring right where the message said it would be.”  He chuckles at the memory
of James reaction.  “I thought James was going to come unglued when he realized
the ring was no longer in the evidence locker.  He’s still trying to figure out
how that happened.  He obviously doesn’t believe in the paranormal.  I’ve
always thought it was real but had never had an experience before the other
day.”  Logan grabs my hand and holds it as he looks into my eyes.  “How are you
handling it?  You haven’t talked about it much.”

“I’ve always believed.  Sometimes
I can feel the presence of my parents; usually on the day before my birthday.  Maybe
it has something to do with it being the anniversary of their deaths.  All I
know is it makes me feel better.  Maybe someday I’ll be able to look forward to
my birthday, instead of dreading the day before it.”

“You were so young when it
happened.  Do you remember much about it?”

“No, for years I thought I
was here with my Gram when it happened.  I must have blocked it out.”

“Well, who can blame you?” 
His thumb lightly rubs the back of my hand again.  “That had to have been a
horrific experience.  Enough about the past, let’s talk about the future, our
future.”

“There is no ‘our’ future.
 I’m only going out with you to get you off my back.”  I pull my hand out of
his and put it back in my lap, “I told you, I’m nowhere near being ready for
another relationship.  I don’t think I’ll ever be ready after what I went
through.  I don’t want to talk about it anymore, especially with you.”

We finish our dinner and
manage to make small talk without any further mention of anything that’s
happened in the last few days or what happened to me six months ago.  I am so
ready to just get on with my life.

We walk out of the
restaurant which was excellent and get back in the car.  Night has fallen, but
the temperature has remained steady; we are definitely in Indian summer.  It’s
September but the weather feels like July.  Eventually, that will change and
the cold weather will arrive.

Logan opens and closes my
door for me again when we get back in the Jeep, someone made sure he knows how
to act like a gentleman on a date.  He turns out of the parking lot and heads
east.  I wonder where we are headed now.  Eventually we pull up at the local
small concert venue.  The marquee says “One Night Only – Adam Bricklin
unplugged.”  I look at Logan with surprise, “Really?  I can’t believe it!”
Logan looks at me and winks, “I do know people; you would be surprised.”

“You mean you arranged
this?  Got Adam Bricklin to come here to Fort Wayne?”

“Yes, he’s a friend of
mine.”  He smiles and I see he has a secret, “I was a roadie on his tour for a
couple of years right out of high school.”

Wow, where did that come
from?  Who knew?!  I can only look at him dumbfounded, there’s definitely more
to this deputy than meets the eye.  We walk in and the place is empty.  We are
the only ones here other than the employees and the roadies setting up the
stage.

I look at Logan with
thousands of questions in my eyes.  He answers these unspoken questions, “Do
you think that with everything going on that I would bring you to a concert
with no chance of keeping you safe?  I told you, Adam is a friend of mine.  He
agreed to do a special show for us tonight. There will be another show for the
public tomorrow night.”  He looks up and sees someone walking towards us, “There
he is.  I want to go say howdy and thank him again for doing this.”

I stand there probably
looking like a fish out of water.  “Hey, Darlin’, I want you to meet a good
friend of mine.  This is Adam Bricklin.  Adam, this is Cassie.”

“So, this is who you were
telling me about.  Pleased to meet you Cassie.  I hear you’re a fan.”

I nod my head yes,
clearing my throat.  “Wow, still can’t wrap my mind around that fact that
Dudley here knows you personally, and knows you well enough to set this up.”

Adam looks at me
quizzically, “Dudley?”

“Yeah, Dudley Do Right.  He’s
a little anal about doing things by the book.  I am very glad to meet you,
Adam.  You’ve been my favorite singer for quite a while.  I still can’t believe
this!”  I stand there with a giant grin on my face, wondering what Logan does
for a second date if this is his normal first date.

“It’s my pleasure to do
this for an old friend.  Let’s sit here and I can get started.  Logan, I took
the liberty of ordering some champagne; I hope that’s all right?”

“Sure, Adam; thanks for
that.”

A couple of hours later I
have completely forgotten all my troubles.  There is nothing like sitting and
talking and singing with your favorite singer.  Then Adam drops another bomb.  “OK
Cassie, now this is a very special song.  I bet Logan didn’t tell you that he
helped me out with some lyrics back when he was a roadie and I bet you’ll
recognize this song,” and he begins playing one of his best love songs
“Dreaming of You.”  Logan is blushing as he stands up and takes my hand, pulls
me up, and begins to dance with me.  This is the most magical night of my life,
dancing to Adam Bricklin, who is playing and singing especially for us.  Logan
begins singing along during the chorus, and my heart breaks.  He deserves so
much more than I can give to him, that’s why I have been fighting what I feel
for him.  A single tear runs down my cheek and Logan kisses it away.  At this
moment I think he is about the sweetest man God put on this Earth.  I don’t
want to break his heart, but it is inevitable.  I will have to tell him the
truth; I just don’t want to do it here in front of Adam.

Adam finishes the song and
Logan looks down into my eyes.  If he sees how I’m going to have to break his
heart, he doesn’t show it.  “So, how was that Darlin’?”

“This has been the most
incredible night.  I will never be able to thank you, Logan, and you Adam.  This
has been so special.”  I give them each a kiss and I turn and run to the ladies
room, overcome with emotion.  How am I going to be able to tell Logan the
truth?