A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel (31 page)

“Hey, I thought you would have come up for kisses and
prayers,” Trent said, as he joined her.

She swallowed the ball of panic that rose in her
throat. “Oh, Trent, I lost it.”

“Lost what?”

“Your application.”

“It’s not lost. I put it in the drawer by the front
door. I figured it was safer there. That darn thing took me almost
three hours to fill out.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried about it.”

“Go kiss our son goodnight. He’s waiting for
you.”

“Our?” She cocked her head and stared at Trent.

“If you’re my wife, that makes him our son.”

She smiled and gave Trent a quick peck on the
check.

Shawn was sleeping in his bed with
his old stuffed dinosaur tucked under one arm. A small nightlight
glowed from an outlet, casting a greenish light through the room.
The child never stirred when she sat on the edge of the bed.
Precious baby.
She ran
one finger over his soft cheek and then leaned over and kissed
him.

Trent was right, it all had happened so quickly. She
didn’t care if life never handed her more than what she had: a good
job, a pretty house, a handsome man, and a son. She had everything
anyone could ever want. Quietly she descended the staircase, only
to discover Trent had music playing in the living room.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

Seeing him standing there with his arm in a sling
caused her to giggle. “You’ll do anything won’t you?”

“I like to dance.” He held his hand out to her.

She took it as the last few bars of the song were
played. “See even the music knows I can’t dance.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Can’t dance? Impossible.”

“No, really. I can’t. All those years of ballet
lessons were wasted on me.”

“I doubt that.”

He snuggled her against his side as he softly swayed
to the music. He took a step. She followed, and then he took
another and another until they were dancing. When the music slowed,
he nibbled on her ear. His soft moan told her it was having the
same effect on him as it was having on her. He touched his tongue
to the shell of her ear, following its curves. His tongue slid down
her neck. He nipped and nibbled on it.

He gently rocked to the music. Her body rubbed
against his and with each pass, his erection grew. The feeling was
slow and unhurried, yet intense. She savored the slow burn he had
produced deep inside her.

“Think we need to take this dance upstairs?” she
whispered.

“Oh, yeah,” he breathed into her ear.

He checked the doors as she got the lights, and when
they entered their bedroom, she locked that door.

“No more wild sex in the living room,” Cassie said
with a grin.

“It’s called having a family.” With difficulty, he
pulled her shirt over her head.

“It’s much easier if I do the undressing, being
you’re one handed.”

“But I like undressing you.”

“I’ll save something for you.”

She helped him out of his clothes and ran her hands
over his body. Downy soft blond hair covered his forearms and legs,
but it was the soft hair that spread across his chest that evoked
something very primitive in her. She loved the way it tickled and
tantalized her breasts.

Slowly she removed her clothes, all but her tiny
underpants. “I guess you’re going to have to finish the job.”

A grin spread across his face and he hooked the
fingers of his good hand into the tiny waistband and slid the
panties down. His fingers toyed with the set of beads that hung
from her labia, triggering a pulsing deep within her.

When he kneeled in front of her and touched his
tongue to her folds, her body shuddered. Her hands grabbed for his
head to steady her quaking knees. Warm, wet, and probing, his
tongue electrified every nerve in her body. She breathed through
her teeth, and with one more thrust of his tongue, her knees
buckled as white light flashed through her closed eyelids.

“Stop!” she squeaked.

“Mmm, a little too much?”

It was a question that needed no reply. His warm hand
caressed her thigh, buttocks, and back. Her vaginal walls still
trembled as he stood in front of her. Her hands slid down his chest
and she gripped his waist as he pulled her to him.

His fingers were now at the nape of her neck,
massaging and caressing as she pressed her cheek to his chest. His
heart drummed in her ear. The steady rhythm soothed her, but the
fire he had lit still burned.

~~33~~

Trent dropped his son off at the hospital and then
went to his mom’s house. He stood at the front door and wondered if
he should knock or just open the door. He decided to open it.

“Mom?” he called.

“In the kitchen, ironing.”

“Hi. Mind if I grab a cup of coffee?”

“Not at all. Have you decided to move back home?”

“No.” He filled a mug. “I brought some papers for
you, and I need a few things that I left behind. I want you to
reconsider moving.”

“This is my home.”

He could feel the hair on his arms rising with
frustration, and he needed to control it if he was going to
converse with his mom and not get into an argument. “Mom, you’ve
been here all of my life. Maybe it’s time for a change.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She never looked up at
him.

“No one is forcing you out of the house. Amanda
McGuire gave me these papers to give to you. They are some sort of
market comparison on rentals.” He sat at the kitchen table

“I’m not renting my home.”

“Will you at least come look at what we have?”

“We?” She hung a blouse on a hanger and sorted
through the basket of clothes for another one.

“Yes. We. I’m going to marry her.”

“Oh, right.” The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

“Father Theo is marrying some friends of ours on
Saturday. We’re hoping to have a word with him after the wedding.”
He took a sip of his coffee and watched his mom iron another
blouse. “Haven’t set a date, but I did propose.”

“That was a mistake, especially since she’s been in
the arms of another man.”

He chuckled. “I’ll admit, you had me going for a
while. Of all the men in the world, I’d rather know it was Berto
comforting my wife.” He took another sip of coffee. “You shouldn’t
take things out of context. You saw something and assumed. That’s
wrong.”

“I know what I saw.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Yes, you saw Berto hug Cas.
Mom, really it’s not what you think. Berto is marrying Amy
Schulster on Saturday, and I know for a fact that she’s a virgin
bride.”

“Not in this day and age.”

“Yes, virgin. The women talk.” He ran his fingertip
around the rim of the cup. “So do the men. She’s a virgin.”

“I knew she was marrying some Mexican.”

“He’s a U.S. citizen, and he's very proud of that
fact.” He took another swallow of his coffee. “Mom, I didn’t come
here to talk about Berto. I want you to at least come look at our
house.”

“There you go again. Where did you get the money to
buy a house?”

“I didn’t. Cas did. My name is on the deed with right
of survivorship. The mortgage is slightly less than what she was
paying in rent over at Sweet Grandview.”

“She lived there? They want outrageous rents on that
place.”

“She makes good money. She’s a PhD.”

“So what does someone like that want in you?”

His gut clenched. “Knock it off. I don’t need you
tearing me down. I’m going to college this fall.”

“How are you going to do something like that? You
have a child to take care of.”

“You’re right. I do. And working at River City
Manufacturing means I’m never going to make a fortune, but as an
architect, I’ll be better able to provide for Shawn. Going to
school is not going to be easy. I know that.”

He watched his mom hang the finished blouse and pull
another from the pile.

He sighed. “Mom, I need you. Shawn needs you. Cas and
I have talked about this at length. She really likes you. If she
didn’t, she wouldn’t have picked out a house where we can all live
together.”

“You just need a babysitter.”

“No, Shawn needs his grandmother, and I can’t keep up
with two houses. The way our house is set up, you’ll have freedom
that you’ve never had before.”

She turned her iron off and set it on the counter.
“Fine. Drive me over there and show me whatever you want. I’m not
going to settle into some little room and give up everything I
have.”

A half hour later, Trent pulled into his
driveway.

“I don’t have the key to your front door on me, so
you’ll have to come into the house through our side.” He stuck the
key in the lock and opened the door. “This is our portion and
everything is far from perfect. We’ve got plenty to do on your side
before it’s ready for you.”

“This house is huge.”

“I know. Come take a look upstairs. Wait ’til you see
Shawn’s room. Dallas Nixon painted it for him.”

“What did that cost?”

“Apparently nothing. Cas is friends with Dallas.”

His mom walked up the stairs and then gasped when she
saw Shawn’s room.

“Told you.”

“He must be in heaven!”

“He is. I didn’t think I’d get him settled down that
first night he was here.”

Trent showed his mom the rest of the house. “Now,
come look at your side.”

He walked his mom through the laundry room and into
her kitchen.

“Remember, it needs work. I’ll make sure it is ready
for you.”

“There are less cabinets than what I have.”

“True, and I can add more. It’s still a decent
size.”

She shrugged and looked around. She opened the door
to the small patio and stepped onto it. The pirate ship in the
middle of the yard caught her attention.

“Berto and another friend built it for Shawn. The
backyard is quite nice.”

“There’s a lot more yard here. And plenty of
perennials.”

“And that garage is enormous.”

“I can see that.”

He opened the kitchen door. “You’ll have your own
space, except for the laundry room. That we share. It's much nicer
than going into the garage.”

She looked around the yard one more time and returned
inside.

“There’s no dining room. That’s the only thing that
is missing.” He waited for some sort of negative reaction, but
there was none.

His mom wandered into the living room. “This is much
bigger than what I have now.”

“Yes, and this is your bedroom.” He opened the door
to the spacious room. “There’s a nook that will be perfect for your
sewing machine, and a nice sized walk-in closet.” He waited for her
response.

“The place needs paint.”

“Yes, it does. You need to pick out the colors.” He
studied his mom and her expression as she walked back through the
rooms.

“I don’t like all this wall-to-wall carpeting. It’s
not healthy.”

“We’re certain there are hardwood floors under there,
but I have no idea what shape they are in.”

“And where would I put my dining room table and
hutch?”

“Why not in the kitchen? You’ve always said you loved
them and we never did use them.”

“They won’t look right in there.”

“I could redo the kitchen cabinets to match.” At
least she was considering, and he figured that was positive. “Mom,
I can’t keep up with two houses. You won’t have any expenses here.
No light bill or water to pay. You’ll have privacy, but you’ll be
here with Shawn and me. And renting your old house will give you
some additional income.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to pick
up Shawn.”

***

The church was packed with people for Amy and Berto’s
wedding. Colored light streamed through the modern stained glass
windows. Each windowsill had been decorated with ferns, white
roses, and sprigs of baby's breath. Amy was positively glowing in
her wedding gown. The full, bell skirt made her waist look even
smaller, and its sleeves puffed at the shoulders and narrowed into
tight lace down her forearms. Amy's lace veil draped almost to the
floor in front and flowed over her long train.

Berto looked as though tuxedos were designed just for
him. His broad shoulders and trim waist were emphasized with the
cut of the jacket. No man could have been prouder than Berto, and
he looked at his bride with total adoration. If there ever was a
perfect wedding, Amy and Berto had it.

Solemn, yet impassioned, they recited special vows to
each other, then the traditional vows of the Church. There was
barely a dry eye in the entire sanctuary.

Cassie sighed as she sat beside Trent and kept her
hand on his knee almost the entire time. Shawn was an angel through
the whole Mass, but once the wedding was over, Shawn discovered
several children his age, and they began to play on the church
grounds.

“Let him be,” Cassie whispered to Trent. “He’s
allowed to play. They’re just being children, and they’ve been
cooped up and on good behavior for over an hour.”

“I know.” A few minutes later, he whispered in her
ear, “Do you want a big wedding like this?”

She shook her head. “I’d like a wedding, but nothing
this big or formal, maybe something small with just a few friends.
Have you ever been in the old chapel?”

“Years ago.”

“It’s very tiny and very old fashioned. I think it
would be perfect. We'll invite just a handful of close
friends.”

Together, they greeted Berto and Amy, and were
introduced to Berto's family, who had flown up for the wedding.
Then Amy introduced Cassie to her parents. Trent knew the
Schulsters from the time he was old enough to traipse the
neighborhood yards.

“Bathroom?” Shawn asked as he ran up to his
father.

“Oh, you are a mess.” He looked at his son’s
shirttail hanging loose and then at the grass stains in his shirt
and pants. “What were you doing?”