Cassie's Hope (Riders Up) (33 page)
Read Cassie's Hope (Riders Up) Online
Authors: Adriana Kraft
Moments later,
Clint asked, “Cassie, did you ever show the kids your Bears night-shirt?”
“That old thing? Goodness,
no,” Cassie said scowling. “Why in the world do you ask that?”
“Oh, just
wondering.”
Surprised but not
disappointed, Cassie felt Clint’s cock harden once again. She squeezed him,
letting him know she was still there, still wanting. They might not get any
sleep tonight, but there would be many more nights for that.
Late on Thursday,
Cassie’s spirits surged wildly. She sat alongside Clint in his pickup. They
were pulling into his ranch driveway. His recent purchases were in the trailer
they hauled behind them, and her horses were being vanned to Chicago.
Clint brought the
rig to a stop. Lester tugged at the passenger door handle. Sammy stood by him
with arms held wide waiting for a hug. Happily, Cassie jumped down to hug both
of them.
Her
children. She held nothing back. They’d share a lot of joys
and a lot of pains. At times she’d mess up, but even that would be okay. They
would all learn to grow together, and she knew the entire family would be there
to help her.
Silver Hawk stepped
closer. Cassie rose to greet the woman with a warm embrace.
“Welcome back,
Cass,” Silver Hawk said. “I knew you wouldn’t let my idiot brother screw things
up for good. But it sure has taken some time.”
Cassie could not
contain her smile. “Well, we both contributed to making it look pretty bleak
there for awhile, and we both worked hard to get it back together.”
“No matter.” Silver
Hawk shrugged. “You’re here, and that’s what counts.”
“When’s the
wedding?” Lester asked, pulling on Cassie’s hand to get her attention.
“You, young man,”
Cassie chided, “are going to have to have more patience with women. But then
your father took years to learn such patience,” she quipped as Clint joined his
family. “I guess there’s hope for you. Yes, we have discussed the wedding.”
“Hurrah!” both
children screamed.
Behind the
children, Silver Hawk nodded her head, beaming brightly.
“We’d like it to be
in December,” Cassie said. “Lester, would you mind if we don’t do it in
Chicago? If we get married there, I don’t think Grandmother Littlefield would
be able to come. We really think she needs to be there.”
“Me too. She’s got
to be there,” Lester agreed. “But can your father come out?”
Cassie put an arm
around the boy, appreciating his concern. “Yes, we’ll fly him out along with my
three girlfriends. He’s doing much better now than when you last saw him. And
the girls will take good care of him.”
“Then where will
the wedding be?” Lester persisted.
“Probably in Salt
Lake City. Then we can all make a holiday of it.” She winked at Clint. She didn’t
need to go into all the details of their planning. Clint didn’t particularly
want to get married in the church where he’d wedded his first wife, so they’d
decided on Salt Lake.
- o -
Later that
afternoon, Clint took his family by his mother’s house to share their news. He
was not at all surprised to see the matriarch of the family, his grandmother,
sitting at the kitchen table when they entered.
His mother greeted
Cassie by clasping her hands between her own. “Welcome, Ms. O’Hanlon. It is good
to see you.”
“Oh, thank you so
much,” Cassie cried out, seemingly unable to stop grinning. “It’s great to be
here.”
“So you two finally
found each other,” Mrs. Littlefield said. “It’s about time. I’m not getting any
younger.”
“Grandmother,”
Clint admonished.
“No, you are all
here,” the old woman said. “That can only mean one thing. And your marriage
makes me very happy.”
Clint cleared his
throat to speak.
“No,” Mrs.
Littlefield said, holding up her hand, “I am not finished.” She looked around
at all the smiling faces, and her eyes sparkled. “You all sometimes think I’m a
little touched in the head. Now don’t shake your heads. I know so. But it don’t
matter. It’s a gift of age.
“Fire Woman, I
bring a present for you. Wear it on your wedding day. It would please this old
woman much.” Reaching down the front of her dress, Mrs. Littlefield brought
forth a carefully tissue wrapped object.
The old woman held
in her hands the most beautiful blue sapphire and silver necklace Cassie had
ever seen. Her eyes blurred with tears of awe and joy.
“It was handmade
generations ago by my great-grandfather,” the elder woman said with pride,
handing the gift to Cassie. “I knew it was yours when I first saw you. She who
wears this will be charmed through the years with a loving family who will walk
with her though pain and much joy.”
EPILOGUE
Cassidy O’Hanlon
Travers sat beside her husband at their wedding reception table surrounded by
family and friends. At least for the moment, all was perfect with the world.
It’d been the kind
of wedding she’d hoped for. The pastor had been thrilled to plan a wedding
ceremony with them. Turned out he was an avid horse racing fan and was very
pleased when he opened the envelope Clint had pressed in his hand to find not
only his fee but also two season passes to the following summer’s races at
Wyoming Downs. His lovely wife had played Cassie’s favorite wedding music on
the organ.
The church’s small
chapel, decorated for the Christmas season, turned out to be a charming,
inspirational setting for the wedding. Just the right size for their small
gathering.
Looking around the
table, fingering the blue sapphire hanging on its silver chain about her neck,
Cassie treasured the feel of family. Her dad had come, along with Ashton, Traci
and Susan. Clint’s mother, grandmother and sister were there as well as several
cousins, aunts and uncles she’d just met. And of course, Lester sat on his dad’s
left and Sammy sat next to her. A toasty comforting warmth infused her body. She
smiled at her father, who stood and lifted his wine glass for the umpteenth
toast of the evening.
“We’ve toasted the
bride and groom and everybody present,” began her father, “but I want to
propose a toast to one who isn’t here. You see, all of this started with a
little chestnut filly named Cassie’s Hope. I propose a toast to Cassie’s Hope,
who never gave up when the going got tough.”
“Hear, hear,” was
the response as each person raised a glass.
“And,” Cassie
added, “here’s to dreams that refuse to die.”
All present
cheered loudly and clapped their hands.
- o -
The End
About the Author
Adriana Kraft is the pen name for a
husband/wife team writing
Erotic Romance for Two, Three or More.
The
award-winning pair has published over thirty erotic romance novels and novellas
to outstanding reviews.
Long
and Short Reviews
:
“scorching hot…refreshing...something to read when
you want straight up hotness.”
Romance
Junkies
:
“filled with warmth, blazing hot sex, well-developed
characters…not for the faint of heart.”
Romantic pairings include straight
m/f, lesbian, bisexual, ménage and polyamory, in both contemporary and
paranormal settings.
We hope you enjoyed
Cassie’s Hope
and
we love hearing from readers! You can find us on line at these links:
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