Love With A Stranger (20 page)

“Absolutely and I’m glad I could be of service. If you want or need help with your redecorating, I know a wonderful lady who did mine.”

“Thanks, I’ll phone you if I run into any problems in that area. To be honest, I want to do as much of it as possible myself because I didn’t get to assist with it the first time. The house was a surprise from Tom, and it was already finished inside and out when I saw it. When Linda gets time off between jobs, she’s going shoping with me. We became friends while she was taking care of me, so that’s another thing I’m grateful for.”

Jason’s gaze drifted over her lustrous brown hair whose long waves and soft curls were cut into several different layers, the last one ending below her shoulders. He wondered if she realized how beautiful and alluring she was. “The best way you can repay me is by keeping me company at times: go to the ballet, theater, or movies with me, maybe take that Emerald Princess cruise I told you about, and share a few dinners like this one. It gets mighty boring and lonely to go places alone or to sit home, and mighty difficult to search for diversions and compatible companions. Dating can be a real drag at our age, can’t it?”

“I imagine it’s gets harder every year as society and dating rules change. I remember it was difficult several years ago between my divorce and remarriage.”

“So, does that mean you’ll be my companion when it’s possible? I promise you that my parents reared a perfect southern gentleman.”

Cass waited to respond until the violinist who was strolling around and serenading couples left their table for the next one. “I can promise you that my parents tried to rear a perfect lady and I do need diversions, so the answer is yes, I’ll be delighted to enjoy a pleasant evening with a friend.”

“Friend?” I hope that isn’t all you want from me, woman!
Yet, he couldn’t forget what the gynecologist had told him
last Sunday and he couldn’t forget the hints Cass dropped unintentionally about a perhaps troubled marriage. Even if it was selfish and wrong, he almost hoped that was true, though his heart was touched by any sufferings that reality caused her. He knew from experience with Brenda that infidelity and other problems aided a faster emotional recovery from a spouse’s loss. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have married that deceitful stranger because he hadn’t loved her enough or known her well and long enough to do so. In a period of vulnerability, anguish, and loneliness after Joan’s tragic death, he’d made a terrible mistake. Not normally impulsive or foolish, he had fallen prey to those brief weaknesses, and to Brenda’s seductive charms. He should have heeded his children’s warnings, those of his conscience, and those of well-meaning friends. He somehow knew it wouldn’t be the same with Cassandra Grantham, who was nothing like Brenda in looks, character, or personality. He was certain his twins would like and approve of Cass, and he was eager for them to meet.

Their dinner plates were removed and desserts, almost sinfully rich, were placed before them, and decaffeinated coffee was poured into their china cups.

“Surely this delicious fare has seven million calories,” she jested to lighten the serious aura that had settled around them.

“Mine, too, but it’s scrumptious. Want to sample it?” Jason asked, holding out a tempting forkful of warm blueberry crumb pie.

“Only if you taste mine,” Cass leaned forward and her mouth enclosed the bite as her chocolate gaze fused with his captivating blue one. Her heart beat at a fast pace and breathing seemed difficult.

“M-m-m-m, oh, my, wonderful. Here,” she offered, extending a spoonful of raspberry sour cream cheesecake with orange sauce. She watched Jason’s full lips engulf the treat and almost tease it off the spoon in a sensuous manner that caused her whole body to tingle. Her susceptible senses were aware
of everything about him. It was a struggle not to stare at him, not to flirt with him, not to forget where they were and who she was.

“Absolutely sinful,” he said with a grin and chuckle,
and perhaps my thoughts are.
He was elated by how she was looking at him: with a potent desire she was attempting to conceal it. If they weren’t careful, his mind warned, everyone present could detect their mutual attraction, which could elicit unwanted and damaging gossip.

After Jason escorted Cass to her back entrance via the stone walkway, he waited while she turned off the alarm system and unlocked the door. He knew Peter was away on business, so the sorry bastard couldn’t spy on or join them and spoil the short remainder of their evening.

Cass turned and smiled. “I had a lovely time tonight. The dinner was delicious and the company enjoyable. I would invite you in, but it’s late and might not look appropriate to the neighbors or anyone passing by.”

“I understand and agree. I had a wonderful time, too, more fun than I’ve had in ages. I hope we can do this again very soon.” He didn’t want to pressure her by asking for a specific date to get together again, and he knew Peter was returning home tomorrow. If the truth about the past was revealed, he worried, Peter Grantham was the one person who could cause enough conflict to put a wrench in their relationship. “When it’s convenient for you, please give me a call, even if it’s on short notice.”

Cass realized he had hesitated between his flattering remark and his final request, but couldn’t determine the delay’s meaning. She smiled again and said, “I will, I promise. Thank you, Jason, for everything you’ve done for me, and that’s been a great deal. Good night.”

A romantic setting engulfed them. They were standing close,
looking at each other. Moonlight played across their faces and danced within their eyes. The mingled sounds of her backyard fountain, the crashing waves of high tide, calls of nocturnal birds, and chirping crickets filled their ears.

“Good night, Cass, and you’re welcome.” Jason couldn’t seem to stop himself from slowly leaning forward to kiss her.

Cass realized what he was about to do, and a myriad of feelings and thoughts rushed through her. Should she allow this intimate contact to happen so soon? If she responded, could she trust herself to control her wayward emotions and rampant desires? Could she stop her passion after tasting only one tantalizing kiss?

Jason perceived her sudden uncertainty and tension. New anxiety was the last thing a still-vulnerable Cass needed, especially from him. He used great willpower to guide his mouth to her flushed cheek rather than to her parted lips. He made the kiss tender, light, and short. He leaned back and smiled. “Take good care of yourself, Cassandra, and I hope to hear from you very soon. Good night.”

“Good night, Jason,” she managed to get out before he left her side. As she listened to his retreating steps, she trembled from unfulfilled passion, disappointment, and joy. She had no doubt that was not the kind of kiss he had planned and wanted, but he had cared more for her feelings than for his own pleasure. He was such a special man with so many fascinating facets. His considerate nature increased her yearning for him, but she dared not encourage him, not this soon. How strange it was that Tom’s death and her life with him seemed so long ago when less than two months had passed. Perhaps it was sinful and selfish of her to be craving another man when her husband was barely cold in the grave, but she could not help herself.

Cass locked the door and set the alarm system. She went upstairs to prepare for bed, to sleep alone by necessary choice. As she put away her clothes, she recalled with pleasure certain moments during their evening. As she washed her face and brushed her teeth, she grinned at herself in the mirror for being so downright blessed after enduring many years of misfortune with men, but playfully scolded herself for being wonderfully wicked in thought and deed. It looked as if her bad luck had changed, but at a most unpredictable time.

He’s still a stranger in many ways, Cass, so don’t fall in love with him too quickly and easily. So far, you haven’t been able to hold a man’s interest and loyalty, so don’t risk another broken heart until you’re absolutely certain about his intentions and character. This time, you’ll chance losing far more if you’re wrong about Jason. You’ll be endangering a huge fortune and relinquishing your last chance at finding real love and having children.

As she climbed into bed, Cass remembered that Peter was returning tomorrow afternoon. She dreaded seeing him again, dreaded telling him about her two business appointments and about firing Inez and about seeing her doctor socially. She dreaded his reactions, though she could not allow him to rule her life as his father had done for years. She even resented the fact his nearby presence denied her of privacy.

Privacy for what, Cass, to have a torrid affair with your handsome doctor?
She asked herself. The answer came quickly.
Yes, if that’s what I want to do! And if it’s what Jason wants.

Yet, she didn’t want to mislead Jason by implying she would commit to him soon. She admitted she wanted to collect the huge estate she had inherited, but the money wasn’t the real issue; nor was she greedy. She could go back to work to support herself, or, if it worked out between them, Jason had more than enough assets to support them. Her stimulus was retribution, just payment due for Tom’s crimes against her and their marriage, and perhaps for revenge on her husband for his betrayals.
Besides, he shouldn’t have attached spiteful and selfish strings to it. Yet, Jason might not understand why she wanted and deserved Tom’s money since she couldn’t explain her motive and have Jason think some of Tom’s filth had rubbed off on her. Could she sacrifice a bonanza and justice to marry him?

Marry him? Aren’t I getting way ahead of myself?
Again the answer came quickly.
Yes, but I need to consider all angles before I get in over my head with him and drown myself.

Was Jason Burkman the kind of man who could be satisfied with a five- or ten-year love affair while waiting for her to collect her trust fund? Would he agree to living together out of wedlock? Could she, when that was not how she had been reared? That would mean having no children. In ten years, she would be forty five, past safe childbearing for her and the baby.

In these modern times, couples often cohabitated and had families without marrying, but that didn’t appeal to her, though she didn’t judge others who did so. A lengthy love affair while residing in separate homes was acceptable, but having a baby out of wedlock wasn’t, and probably wouldn’t be to a man like Jason. Somehow she must find a clever way to outwit Tom and his bedeviling stipulation. Perhaps a skilled lawyer was what she needed for that purpose, despite the fact Tom’s lawyer had assured her the will was iron-clad.

As Cass straightened the den on Saturday morning, she noticed the red light blinking on the answering machine. She pressed the message button and heard Kristy Stillman Franklin’s voice. She learned that Kristy had phoned while she was out last night and said she would call next week after she returned home, as her house had been rented this week to Master’s Golf Tournament visitors and the local schools—including the one where Kristy taught third grade—were closed for spring holidays during Augusta’s busiest traffic period. Kristy expressed disappointment in having missed reaching her twice and had
gotten Cass’s return message. Kristy related how much she had missed her and said they needed to talk soon and make plans to get together.

Cass was overjoyed by the prospect of renewing their friendship and looked forward to speaking with Kristy next week.

Cass admitted to herself that her affection and respect for Brad’s family was one of the main reasons she had married him, and was the only reason she hadn’t divulged the dirty truth about him to his parents, though Kristy was aware of her brother’s dual—probably more—infidelities. Brad had duped her about his love and good character, and she had duped herself about the depth of her feelings for him. After dating him for so long, it had seemed natural to marry him. She recalled how Brad had taken five years to finish college because of laziness and failed courses, and how he had taken a “much needed and deserved rest” for a month after he graduated, and how he had done nothing else for three months while taking a real estate course, then waited around for his license to arrive.

It was during his “last break” before employment that she had suffered a miscarriage, unaware she was pregnant by accident. Afterward, they had returned to their original plan of not having children until she finished college, they were established in their careers or jobs, and were financially secure. She had begun college in January, before turning twenty-four in June. She had worked hard and made excellent grades, and taken care of the apartment and errands by herself in between classes and studying.

In May, Brad, like Tom, had surprised her with a house he had purchased without her knowledge, a deal he said was too good to pass up. She had tried to get him to cancel the contract. She had told him they couldn’t afford it, that she feared the extra expense would force her to quit school. Yet, nothing she said had changed his mind as he argued he knew the housing and financing markets better than she did.

In June, heavy rains and flooding had attacked Augusta; and
they lost everything because they didn’t have flood insurance. They had moved to a small apartment, one that had bugs, bad lighting, and smelled. That was two months before she discovered Brad’s adultery when she overheard a phone conversation between him and a woman.

She had been a fool to accept his claims about it being a mistake, that he loved only her, and it would never happen again. He even convinced her she was partly to blame because she was too tired and busy for him. He also placed blame on job pressures, the trauma of the flood, the stress of having to continue paying for a house that was gone, and the beatings his ego and pride had taken from his mistakes.

She had been stupid to believe and forgive him! Yet, he had pretended to be very attentive to her, going so far as to help out around the apartment and with errands to give her more time and energy to spend on him, on their relationship.

Their split came that December when she returned home early from taking her last exam, having forgotten to tell him her test schedule had been changed. She would never forget the sights and sounds that greeted her after she reached the cramped apartment and found Brad in their bed with another woman.

She hadn’t kept her discovery a secret as she was compelled to do with Tom’s situation. She had walked to the bedroom door and asked in a cold and sarcastic tone, “Will you please finish screwing her in a hurry, Brad, so I can get packed and get out?”

Fortunately, she had found an inexpensive but clean apartment, received a school grant, divorced the snake, and finished two more quarters to complete her sophomore year. But the grant squeezed her budget too tightly, she was compelled to get a job during the day and go to night classes for the next three and a half years until graduation at age twenty-eight. Her degree and hard work were what earned her a promotion at
Smooth Rider to administrative assistant to the company’s top manager.

During the ensuing years, the men she dated were mainly interested in sex or in obtaining a compliant wife to replace a divorced spouse and to take care of them. A brief romance soured; her beloved parents were killed in that train wreck; and Thomas Ethan Grantham entered her life when she was thirty-two.

She dated Tom for a year before succumbing to his persistent and romantic pursuit. He had convinced her their union would work and he would make her blissfully happy. With only her job in her life and with all of her close friends married and blessed with children, she had felt lonely and unfulfilled. She had heard her body clock ticking loudly and was tired of the dating scene. She wanted a home and family, a baby. Tom wore down her resistance with his vows of love and many golden promises. She even signed that prenuptial agreement to prove she wasn’t marrying him for his money.

But life with him wasn’t what she had imagined. There was no real home during the first two years or even a future prospect of children; living with him was like being on a perpetual vacation, a fast and dizzying merry-go-around. As the hectic months rushed by, the fantasy faded and the golden promises tarnished, and she was forced to accept reality, but she still gave her best efforts to make the marriage work because she believed Tom loved her, and she believed she was fortunate to be his wife and she owed him loyalty. She had been a fool for a second time!

Again, she had fallen in love with and wed a man who turned out to be a stranger and betrayer. She was glad she didn’t have children, because she didn’t want either of those sorry bastards to be the father of them, didn’t want to have emotional ties to either one. She had turned a deaf ear to Brad’s pleas to return to him. Why hadn’t she been that strong with Tom? Why had she allowed him to dominate and manipulate her, to change
her? But she knew why: she desperately had wanted her second marriage to succeed.

Cass pushed aside those remembrances and returned to her chores where she allowed those tasks and the radio to distract her.

Shortly before noon, Peter phoned Cass to disclose he was being delayed by business and wouldn’t return home until Wednesday. “How are you doing and how are things going there?” he asked.

“Fine. I’m getting stronger and better every day, and I’ve had no setbacks. I don’t have to visit Doctor Burkman’s office until the end of the month, and he’s taken me off of all medication.”

“That’s wonderful, Cass, and I’m proud of you, but I was confident you could do it. Just make sure you don’t overdo or allow anything to stress you. Promise?”

She wondered if Peter possessed the same devious streak as his father had and if Peter also was duping her. She shrugged away the dark thought. “I promise, and thanks for your concern. I’m glad you feel that way, because I got rid of one major irritation: Inez. I fired her yesterday and I’ve already hired a new housekeeper to come in twice a week. That’s really all the help I need.”

She gave all the pertinent details about Mary Ellis and her family and revealed only that she was recommended by a “friend.”

“I thought Inez was a wonderful housekeeper. Why did you fire her?”

One by one Cass listed the many annoying reasons for Inez’s dismissal. “I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to continue working for you,” she ended. “She likes and respects you. I’m afraid Mary only had room in her schedule for one more job,
so she won’t be available to you. I hope my decision won’t inconvenience you, but I had to get rid of Inez.”

“I understand, Cass, and don’t worry about me. I can keep Inez on or use a cleaning service. The important thing is to keep you calm and happy. Did you give her proper notice and severence pay?” Peter asked as he realized he needed to phone the woman immediately to make sure Inez didn’t expose the secret they shared: the medication he had ordered slipped into Cass’s food and drink. If necessary, he would give the woman a large parting bonus for her help and loyalty and silence. Besides, he still needed a maid at least once a week.

“Severence pay, yes, but no, I didn’t give her any notice. She was too hateful when I gave her the bad news.”

“That’s a shame. She was always nice to me. If I had known there was a problem between you two, I would have tried to resolve your differences before they got out of control.”

“I doubt you could have, Peter, because I spoke to her several times about her sorry attitude and belligerence. In fact, I was totally blunt with her earlier this week; what I said went in one ear and out the other.”

“When you hired Mrs. Ellis, did you get her Social Security number and alert our accountant to the change in employees? If not, I can handle it later for you.”

“Mary told me she’s self-employed and pays her own taxes and Social Security. I’m to give her a weekly check. But I didn’t call Mr. Dredger; that never entered my mind.”

“I’ll phone Harry next week, so don’t worry about it. We need to make sure Mrs. Ellis pays her taxes or we can get into trouble with the government.”

“I’m sure Mary was being honest with me, but I understand you need to be careful; I’m sure she will, too.”

“So, what else have you been doing since I left?”

“A little redecorating and dealing with Tom’s possessions. It was just too painful to keep so many reminders of him around me all of the time. I have a lot of things I want you to go
through before I decide their fates: his clothes, items in his office, his portrait that hung in the den, things like that. I went shopping Wednesday after you left. I purchased a new bed and redid the bedroom decor. I hope that doesn’t upset you.”