“Oh.” That was her only comment as she dried her hands on a kitchen towel.
Garth returned to the house. “Is everyone ready to head out for the storage unit?” he asked.
“Ready,” Cassie assured him.
Karen and Garth rode in one car while Steve and Cassie followed behind in the truck.
As soon as they were alone, Steve asked, “Everything went okay with your sister?”
“Yes. It was fine.” It was about as good as she’d let herself hope for. Karen was being polite, if not particularly warm. She didn’t seem interested in recrimination. Or maybe that would come later. At least the two were talking. Cassie waited for a moment and then glanced over at Steve and watched a quirky smile come over him. “You aren’t going to tell me I told you so?” she asked.
“Do you want me to?”
“No … but thanks for the encouragement, I needed it.” She doubted he realized what a huge step meeting with her older sister had been. It was the first move toward reconciliation with her family. It came to her how badly she needed her sisters, how dreadfully she missed being with them. Standing in the middle of her sister’s kitchen, she had decided to do whatever was necessary to reconnect with her family. Apologize for past mistakes, swallow her pride, anything.
“Garth is a decent guy, easy to talk to,” Steve was saying.
“What did you talk about?”
Steve hesitated. “Man stuff.”
“In other words, nothing you want to tell me.”
His face blossomed into a huge grin. “You got it.”
“So be it. I won’t pry.”
They drove up to a storage facility close to the Spokane airport in an industrial neighborhood and parked out front. Garth had the key and paused before turning to look at Karen. “Did you put an additional lock on here?”
“Me?” Karen pressed her hand to her chest. “No.”
Garth straightened and spoke to Karen. “You did pay for two months in advance, didn’t you?”
Waiting outside the unit, Steve stood behind Cassie and placed his hands on her shoulders. His touch felt warm against her skin and a tingling sensation went down her arms. She wasn’t sure what to make of the gesture and told herself it probably meant nothing.
“Let me check with the office,” Garth grumbled. “I just hope someone’s available on a Saturday afternoon.”
“There should be,” Karen called after him. Garth hurried toward the front of the facility, walking at a clipped pace. Karen looked embarrassed and apologetic. “I have a feeling there’s been a misunderstanding. Garth recently took over the bill paying and we’ve had a few minor glitches.”
“It happens,” Steve said.
“Garth is generally responsible. I don’t think things are going well at the office … he wanted to take a load off my shoulders, but I’m not sure having him tackle the bill paying is working out the way I’d hoped.”
Garth returned within ten minutes with another man, who removed the lock. As soon as he left, Karen asked her husband, “What happened?”
“I assumed you’d paid this in advance.” He turned toward Cassie and Steve. “I’m sorry about this, but it’s all taken care of now.”
“I feel bad for causing you all this trouble. I realize I took far longer than I should have to come.”
“No problem,” Garth said. “The fault was mine.”
The unit wasn’t big enough for her to walk inside. Right away Steve and Garth started loading the contents of the unit into the truck. Thankfully, the truck had a lift, otherwise it would have been nearly impossible to get the piano inside.
When Steve rolled the upright Baldwin out of the unit, Cassie stepped forward and reverently ran her hand along the top. Right away tears gathered in her eyes, though she managed to swallow them down. The emotion she felt seeing the piano was almost as powerful as what she’d felt when she first saw Karen standing on the porch steps.
The Baldwin reminded her of the innocence she’d lost and the connection with family, especially her father. She’d left all that behind when she’d run away with Duke. Struggling to hold back the tears, Cassie pressed her hand over her mouth, embarrassed by the feelings that flooded through her.
“Cassie.” Right away Steve was at her side, concern in his voice.
Cassie said, “It’s … nothing.” She was grateful her sister was occupied elsewhere and didn’t see her eyes welling up.
Steve’s look told Cassie he didn’t believe her, but he went back to moving things into the truck.
Rather than take the time to sort through all the boxes, Cassie had Steve and Garth load up the contents of the entire unit. With the two men working together, it didn’t take long.
When they’d finished, Steve tucked his hands into his back jean pockets. “You ready to head back to Seattle?” he asked Cassie.
She’d already taken up his entire day, and she could tell he was anxious to get back on the road.
“I’m ready.” She looked to her sister and Garth. “I … appreciate this,” she whispered. Without giving thought to her actions, Cassie impulsively reached out and hugged her sister. “Thank you.”
At first Karen didn’t return the hug, but then she did, squeezing Cassie tight and close. “It was good to see you.”
Cassie nodded. “You, too.”
When they broke apart, she noticed that Steve was already in the truck. “I’d better go.” Leaving was far more difficult than she’d anticipated. A large part of her yearned to stay, to turn back the clock to the time she was a teenager. She’d give anything to step back through the years and be smart enough to trust her parents’ wisdom. Knowing what she did now, she’d gladly accept their help. Reliving the past wasn’t an option, though. Cassie could only continue down the path she’d chosen all those years ago and do the best she knew how. Like she’d said to Maureen weeks earlier, she would do the next right thing.
Steve rolled down the driver’s-side window. “Cassie, you ready?”
She nodded and then climbed inside the cab and waved to her sister and Garth. It took only a few minutes to reach the freeway on-ramp. Steve was silent, and Cassie was glad because normal conversation was beyond her. She kept her head turned away as she struggled to hide the tears that rained unchecked down her cheeks. As hard as she tried, she found she couldn’t restrain the feelings of regret. She’d lost so much and hurt her family and herself. Though they might be back on speaking terms, it didn’t seem like they would ever find it in their hearts to forgive her.
Steve must have sensed her anguish, because he gently patted her knee. Unable to stop crying, Cassie blindly reached for her purse and grabbed a tissue to blow her nose.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, mortified that he would see her openly weeping.
“Don’t apologize,” he whispered. “Cry, Cassie, let it out; there’s no need to hold it inside any longer.”
She broke then, doubling over. Cassie rested her face on her knees as she dissolved into deep, heart-wrenching sobs that echoed through the truck’s cab. After a moment, she felt Steve’s hand on her back, and then gently stroking her head, offering her comfort.
Cassie felt the truck veer to the right and looked up to notice that Steve had pulled into a rest area. He drove the truck to the far side of the parking lot generally reserved for truckers and came to a stop.
Her sobs had turned into shoulder-shaking hiccups as she tried her hardest to bring her emotions under control. She wasn’t having much success as she searched for another tissue.
“Cassie,” Steve whispered, and unbuckled his seat belt and reached for her, bringing her into his arms, holding her close. If he hadn’t been so gentle or so kind she might have been able to resist him. Steve whispered to her, but she didn’t hear a word, only the soothing sound of his voice breaking through the pain.
He tucked his finger under her chin, tilting her head back, and then he was kissing her. His mouth was warm and soft as he held her as close as possible in the front seat of the truck.
It was as if he wanted to absorb her body into his own and swallow the pain for her. Cassie looped her arms around his neck and even while the tears continued to rain down her cheeks, dripping onto her chin, she responded to him, opening her heart. Soon their kissing took on a more intense quality until they were both nearly panting and breathless. Reluctantly, Steve pulled away and braced his forehead against hers as he drew in several deep breaths.