A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel (34 page)

"You're putting him in private school? That's
expensive."

He shrugged. "Her dad offered to cover the bill. Cas
seems to think that Shawn will do better there than in a regular
kindergarten. She says he's way ahead of most children his age. She
swears he'll be bored in public school."

"So that's my fault for teaching him to read?"

"Not at all. Apparently, it's common with children
who have been ill during most of their childhood. Parents teach
them to read to keep them from being bored. Willingham Academy is
better able to accommodate his needs." He picked up his glass and
drained it. "They have smaller classrooms. Cas is going to take him
over for testing next week, so they can place him accordingly." He
refilled his glass with tea.

"You're going to go through with it?"

He turned and stared at his mom. "With what?"

"Marriage."

"Yes, Mom. We're getting married."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "You've left me no
choice. I'm being forced to move in with you because I can't keep
this place up by myself. I can't climb up on a ladder to clean the
rain gutters and I can't afford those new fancy ones with leaf
guards. Those Mourning Doves have built another nest in the one by
your old bedroom."

He leaned over and kissed his mother's cheek. "You're
going to love living in the Cobblestone neighborhood. And you're
going to love being that close to Shawn."

"I miss him."

Trent took his seat. "Did you go over those figures
Amanda gave of the housing market?"

"I'm not certain I want to rent. Being a landlord is
more responsibility. And what if the renters make a huge mess?"

Trent nodded. "I have an idea. There's a guy where I
work whose wife is pregnant. I know they were looking for another
place to rent. You could rent to them with an option to buy. I'd
make bets they'd be thrilled."

***

Cassie sat in the waiting room working on her
computer while Shawn finished his therapy. She checked the time and
knew traffic might make her late for her appointment with Brad
Shoemaker. She ran a quick text message to him and prayed that
Shawn wouldn't be late getting out of therapy. She wondered how
other families managed. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to it,
but she knew other mothers didn't get to flex their time the way
she could. When Shawn emerged from his therapy, she was ready for
him. His little, pink cheeks seemed extra bright, and his hair was
damp.

"What did you do to get so hot and sweaty?"

Shawn laughed. "I was on the treadmill."

"You were?"

His therapist followed him. "He did great. The doctor
would like to meet with his father next week. Tell Mr. Callahan to
call to make the appointment"

~~36~~

Cassie pulled open the door of the city's finance and
budget department.

"Dr. Jones?" a woman inquired. "You're here to see
Mr. Shoemaker?

Cassie nodded.

"Go back out and up two more doors to the City
Manager's office.

Cold rippled through her veins and she swallowed.
"Hugh Fitzgerald’s office?"

"Oh, it's not his office anymore." The woman smiled.
"Did you read the announcement on the intranet?"

Cassie frowned.
Garbage, total garbage. As if I need to read a
motivation paragraph every morning. I don't have time for such
drivel.
"No I haven't. Why?"

"Mr. Shoemaker has been appointed acting city manager
until the City Council approves him."

"Oh." She attempted to process that information and
wondered how it would affect her job. "Thanks."

She left that office and headed
down the hall.
Brad got lucky. That's a
plum job.
She knocked on the door and
opened it. A young secretary greeted Cassie. "I'm here to see Brad
Shoemaker."

"Please have a seat. Is he expecting you? Your name
please."

"Thank you. Yes. Dr. Jones."

The young gal sat a little straighter in her seat as
she picked up the phone and announced, "Sir, Dr. Jones is here to
see you." The woman smiled and turned to Cassie. "This way
please."

Cassie tried to hold back her
giggle. People seemed to always react to the title of
doctor.
Yesterday Brad was a peon counting
beans. Today he's become the city manager.
"Hi, Brad. Moving up?"

He closed the door behind her. "Bruno Giovanni called
me into his office yesterday. It's not really a secret, but it's
also not public knowledge, but Bruno tucked me under his wing years
ago."

Her giggle escaped. "You're ten years younger than
seventy percent of the city managers, and I'm twenty years younger
than most curators. I think Bruno's trying to stop the good-ol'-boy
network that apparently ran this city for years."

"There's no question about that. And those
good-ol'-boys still try to run this place."

She looked around the room. "I figured you'd be
loaded in everything Hughie left."

"This place was emptied. Every speck of paper he had
is being scrutinized and audited. You broke open a can of worms
that's bigger than sexual harassment."

She raised her eyebrows and listened.

"My job, now, is to get everything on the straight
and narrow. You're going to be watched like a hawk over every
penny, but I don't expect that is going to be a problem for you.
You're records are meticulous."

"I'll be sure to tell Mrs. Winston. I don't want to
see her retire anytime soon."

"Cassie, a word of caution. Be careful with the
general budget."

"You have no idea how happy I am to have a budget. I
promise it will not be abused."

"Good. How's Shawn?"

"Doing great. You'd never know that he's a few weeks
out of major heart surgery. He's running and playing for the first
time in his entire life."

"What about his grandmother?"

Cassie chomped on her bottom lip. "She's not happy
with us living together."

"So get married."

"We're going to do that this Thanksgiving, when I go
home to Boston."

"That's wonderful. Trent is a good guy. I've known
him his entire life."

Cassie smiled. "I think he's very special."

"Make him happy, Cassie."

"I'm doing my best. I'm also certain you didn't drag
me here to discuss the old neighborhood."

"No, I didn't. Let's talk about those
classrooms."

Cassie practically floated out of Brad's office, even
though it would be more work for her, and another financial drain
for her to cover. But when she walked through the door of her
house, she knew she had another surprise waiting for her.

***

Trent took one look at Cassie and
knew she had something special happen at work.
What's she got this time? The Mona Lisa or King Tut
himself?
"What's up?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Candles, and the
table is set for two. Something is going on here."

"You first."

"Brad Shoemaker has been made acting city manager.
And I'm getting the school program. I'm sure that's paling, next to
whatever caused you to do all this. And where is Shawn?"

"Would you believe that Dallas has borrowed him until
eight o'clock tonight? She promised she wouldn't return him a
minute earlier. She wanted to keep him until nine, but I said that
was past his bedtime." He wrapped his arms around Cassie as his
mouth slanted over hers. He reached up, removed two ornate pins
from her hair, and watched her blonde silk tumble over his hands.
"You're beautiful, and you're mine. How did I get so lucky?"

She giggled. "It's Colleen's fault. If she hadn't
gotten pregnant, you wouldn't have had Shawn, and you would not
have come to the museum to see dinosaurs. Remind me to light a
candle and say a prayer the next time we're in Church. I really owe
her."

"Well, at eighteen, I only had a high school
diploma." He forced a smile. "At twenty-three, I still only have a
high school, but at least I have a job." He fished in his pocket
until his fingers wrapped around the ring. His heart swelled as he
looked at Cassie. "This isn't much, but I think the world needs to
know that you are officially mine." He watched her face as he
pulled the ring from his pocket. "For my future bride."

Her mouth opened slightly, and her eyes grew wide as
she took the ring from him. "Trent, you can't afford this."

He chuckled. "Like it?"

"It's beautiful and way too expensive."

He shook his head. "The band is what cost the most.
It's CZ. Someday, I'll replace it with a real diamond, until then,
it's our secret."

She fell into giggles as she slipped the ring on her
finger. "I love it! Absolutely love it. I'll never breathe a
word."

She held her hand out in front of her and chewed on
her bottom lip. The way her eyes got crinkles next to them when she
smiled, warmed him to the core. "As long as you like it."

She nodded.

"Now, my darling fiancée, will you join me for
dinner?"

"You cooked a meal?"

"Not exactly. I ordered it from Stewarts and picked
it up."

"Oh, you are bad, and I love you for it."

He held her seat, then served the appetizer. He even
poured a suitable wine. Now he was glad he asked for help with
tonight's meal. Dallas and Tate had made several suggestions, so it
was simply a matter of following through with one of them.

As they ate their shrimp scampi, he decided he would
tell Cassie the rest of his news. "Do you remember when I talked to
my mom about moving in here last Saturday?"

Cassie nodded as she stuck another shrimp into her
mouth.

"Well, I checked with Bill at work, and yesterday at
lunch, he and his wife went over to Mom's and looked at the house.
They are taking the offer to rent for two years and then buy it.
They are going to sign the contract as soon as the lawyer draws it
up. They can't wait to move in."

"That's fabulous. She didn't even have to put it on
the market."

"I know. She got lucky." He ate another shrimp and
then continued, "A portion of their rent becomes part of the down
payment. Mom will get a slightly higher rent because of that. She
really is lucky. She'll move in here probably next weekend. I think
she's actually excited about it."

"That's good. Did you tell Shawn?"

He took a mouthful of his scampi and shook his head.
"I don't want to tell him until we've got the truck in her
driveway. I don't want anything to go wrong and have him be
disappointed."

"I don't blame you."

Trent cleared their empty plates and then brought out
the dessert, a tropical fruit mousse. "Hope you have room for
dessert."

She stuck the tip of her spoon into the fluffy,
pale-green concoction and tasted it. "Oh, this is divine."

"I have one more thing for you, but you might not be
as thrilled." He held his breath as he waited for her response.

"What?"

"Am I allowed to use any of the money your dad is
sending for the house?"

"What for?"

"A new bathroom for us. Groban's Supply Warehouse has
had a beautiful bathroom on display, and it's been there for almost
two years. The plumbing manufacturer is coming out with a different
model, and Groban intends to sell off what they have dirt-cheap. I
asked them to give me twenty-four hours, and they said they
would."

"Keep talking." She scrapped at the sides of the
bowl. "I was hoping to buy some things for our house."

He grinned. "Jacuzzi tub for two. Multi-jet, shower
stall. Comes with all the fancy faucets. We'll need to retile."

She rolled her eyes. "Depends on how much it is. I
might be able to put it on my credit card and not touch that
money."

"Want to see it?"

"No. I trust you. Seems to me that you would have
noticed that I'm not very good with things like that. I'm more at
home in the museum than I am in a house. I like nice things, but I
wouldn't know one tub from another, or if one set of curtains looks
better than another."

"I have noticed that about you." He poured coffee for
them. "I also feel as if I'm not financially contributing to our
relationship."

"O-o-oh that bit about my making more than you?"

He pressed his lips together for a moment as his gut
tightened. "Yeah."

She pushed her shoulders back and stared at the
ceiling for a moment. "What did you pay when you were home with
your mom?"

"Half of my paycheck went to her. I never asked what
she did with it."

"And if the mower needed a part, did you just buy
it?"

He nodded.

"Let's talk to Mac McGuire. Besides, we need to start
saving for Shawn's college and our own retirement. You're still
facing some heavy medical expenses with Shawn, right?"

"Only a handful of the bills have drifted in from his
surgery."

"And you have those funds that were raised."

"Yes, I have to submit the bills as I get them. I've
been doing that."

"We definitely need to talk to Mac."

***

Trent chased Shawn upstairs to get dressed about the
same time as Berto, Ari, and Rick came to the door.

"Hi, guys. Come on in and have a cup of coffee while
we wait for my mom to call me."

"She's not ready?" Berto asked.

Trent laughed. "She's probably removing some speck of
dust that she's found someplace. I think she was ready last night.
She keeps panicking over the silliest things."

"May I take a sneak peek?" Ari jerked his thumb
towards the apartment on the other side of the wall.

"Go right ahead."

Rick followed. Berto shrugged and went with them.

"This place looks great," Ari said. "You guys have
worked hard."