“Off you go then,” I encouraged, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Cassie was calling Jake dad.
He seemed fine with it, and I had no issues. It wasn’t like it wasn’t true, but it would take some getting used to.
As Cassie got closer, Jake dropped to his knees and held out his arms for her to run into. A pang of jealousy raced through my body, and instantly, I hated myself. What sort of person is jealous of their own daughter spending time and getting attention from her father? Me, obviously.
Shaking my head, I kicked at the pebble beside my toe and watched as it bounced along the ground, trying to focus all my attention, energy, and emotions on it instead of the scene unfolding in front of me.
“Off you go, princess. Go with Mom, and I’ll be back up in a bit.”
“Are you going to eat the brownies with us?” Cassie asked, her small voice filled with worry.
“Absolutely,” Jake confirmed with a grin.
“Are you going to eat brownies with us, Grandma?” Cassie asked, turning to Shelley and silencing us all.
I watched as Shelley’s eyes went wide, she coughed, and pressed her perfectly manicured hand to her chest before squeezing her eyes closed and nodding. “That would be lovely,” she managed to choke out.
Knowing Shelley would need a moment, I called Cassie and reminded her that unless she started baking the brownies she was promising everyone, there weren’t going to be any to share.
“Bye!” she called out as she ran toward me, grabbed my hand, and practically dragged me out of the barn toward Jake’s place.
Half an hour later, Jake’s kitchen looked like a bomb had gone off. Cassie had insisted on mixing, which basically meant that half the ingredients covered the kitchen counter and Cassie. Jake hadn’t reappeared, and even though I was desperate to know what was said after we left, I took it as a good sign. Just because we’d come out for the weekend didn’t mean he could stop being Jake. And being Jake meant working and doing whatever needed doing when it needed doing.
“You have flour everywhere, munchkin,” I chided, trying to wipe Cassie’s sticky hands only for her to give me a wide grin.
“Are the brownies ready yet?” she asked, sticking the wooden spoon in her mouth.
“Not yet. We have to wait for them to bake,” I reminded her.
Complete with a dramatic eye roll, one that had me flashing forward to the teenage arguments that were in our future, Cassie whined, “It’s taking forever.”
“Well, why don’t you go have a bath and get cleaned up? By the time you’re out, they should be done,” I suggested, knowing my only hope of getting this child respectable again was stripping her off, hosing her down, and starting again.
“With a bath fizzer?” she asked excitedly.
“I don’t know if Jake has any bath fizzers,” I answered, knowing more than likely he wouldn’t. I couldn’t picture Jake as a bath fizzer kind of guy.
Anyone would think Cassie was a cat. Every day she had a bath. Every day she loved getting in and splashing around. Today, though, she was doing everything she could to avoid it. I’d managed to strip her off, then while I leaned in to turn the taps off, the little terror took off, running around the house singing and shaking her butt.
“Cassandra!” I practically growled after a couple of minutes of trying to coax her back into the bathroom.
Hearing her full name, something I didn't use very often, she froze and looked up at me with those big doe eyes that had the tough ranchers around here dropping to their knees and catering to her every whim. Shame I’d grown immune to them.
Eventually, I managed to wrangle her into the tub and remember to get the brownies from the oven before they burned. Grabbing a clean towel, I went back into the bathroom to find Cassie lying on her stomach pretending to swim. We’d been going to swimming lessons when I could— those things were not cheap—but it was an investment that was more than worth it. Swimming was a life skill I was determined to make sure Cassie had, even if that meant I had to forgo my favorite coffee.
Leaning against the sink, I looked at my chipped nails and sighed. I was a mess. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a manicure, got my hair done, or even had some ‘me’ time. It was definitely before Cassie was born and until now, it hadn’t bothered me. I’d had no one to impress. Now Jake was in my life, and as much as I hated that I cared, I did. I cared a lot. Probably too much. I wanted to be better than what I was. He was this tall, ripped guy with manners and a sexy ass, and I was… well, I was me.
“What’s going on here?” Jake asked, stepping into the bathroom.
While the bathroom was clean and comfortable, it most certainly wasn’t designed for a gathering. There was barely enough room to dry yourself when standing on the mat, let alone for the two of us to be standing there watching as Cassie splashed around.
“You don’t have any fizzers!” Cassie informed him.
“Don’t I?” Jake feigned shock, and I couldn’t help but snicker. I loved how he played with her. He played along and just went with the flow, not giving a shit how ridiculous he looked.
“Mom said you didn’t.”
“Mom’s right. I’ll have to get some for next time you stay, won’t I?” Jake offered.
