Do you take this rebel - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,54
how her mother found her, still leaning against the door, sobbing as if her heart would break.
“What on earth?” Edna said, hurrying to her daughter’s side. “Cassie, what happened? Is it Jake? Is he hurt?”
Only the very real panic in her mother’s voice snapped her out of her desolation. “No, no, Mom. Jake is fine. Mildred is baking cookies, and he’s over there hoping for samples.”
Her mother pressed a hand to her chest. “Thank goodness. You had me scared for a minute. Now come on over here and sit down and tell me what has you so upset. I woke up from my nap and heard you in here crying.”
Cassie followed her mother to the sofa, but when she was seated she couldn’t seem to make herself explain what had happened. Her mother would blame herself that it had come to this, and she didn’t need the stress.
“Cassie?”
“I just saw Cole,” she said finally.
“He’s back, then. How is he?”
“Still furious.”
“That was to be expected. He’ll calm down soon enough, and then you two can deal with this rationally.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” Cassie said ruefully.
Her mother’s gaze narrowed. “Oh?”
“He expects me to marry him.”
Even her mother gasped at that. “Now? After all that’s happened?” Her expression brightened just a little. “Has he forgiven you, then?”
“Hardly. He says it’s that or a custody fight.” She sighed. “Not exactly the proposal of a lifetime, is it?”
“What is he thinking? That’s absurd. He can’t make you do that.”
“Can’t he?”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I would give him an answer on Sunday.”
“You’re not seriously considering this, are you? I know you still have feelings for him, and I honestly believe he has feelings for you, but the timing couldn’t be worse. You need to work through your differences before you even consider getting married.”
“I don’t think Cole is interested in working through anything,” Cassie said honestly. “He wants his son. This is his way of getting him. I just happen to be part of the package. He’s willing to put up with me.”
“I don’t believe that. The man loves you. He can’t admit it to himself right now, but he will forgive you. He just needs some time.”
“If I believed that, then it wouldn’t be so hard to say yes, but, Mom, what if you’re wrong? What if he really does hate me? What if he can’t forgive me? How can we possibly live under the same roof?”
“You can’t and that’s that,” her mother said grimly. “You’ll just have to stall him until you can figure out how he really feels.”
“I don’t think Cole is in any mood for my stalling tactics. He pretty much said I either do this his way or I take my chances in court.”
“Have you talked to Emma? She’s in town, isn’t she?”
Cassie nodded. Emma had come back to take a controversial case that no lawyer in town would touch. Just last week Cassie had gotten the impression that no matter how that case went, Emma might be back to stay.
“I’ll call her first thing in the morning,” she said.
“Call her now,” her mother urged. “It’s not that late, and you won’t sleep a wink if you don’t get some answers tonight.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, and went into the kitchen to call.
Emma sounded wide awake when she answered. “Cassie? What’s wrong? You sound like you’ve been crying.”
“It’s been a difficult evening,” she said, putting it mildly. “Do you have a few minutes?”
“For you? Of course. What’s this about?”
“Custody of Jake.”
“I’m coming over,” Emma said at once.
“You don’t have to…” Cassie began, but she was wasting her breath.
“I’m on my way,” Emma said, then hung up before Cassie could argue.
Cassie looked up to meet her mother’s worried frown. “She’s on her way.”
“Good. I’m sure she’ll have sensible advice.”
“I don’t need sensible,” Cassie said. “I need the advice of a legal shark who takes no prisoners.”
Her mother managed a faint grin. “Then you’ve called the right person. Our Emma didn’t earn her reputation in Denver by being anybody’s patsy.”
Cassie was startled by the observation. “How do you know so much about her reputation in Denver?”
“Ever since she took that case here, the paper’s been running stories about how tough she is. I have to admit I was surprised. When you were girls, you gave her an awful lot of grief, and she took it without so much as a whimper.”
“Maybe that’s what toughened her up,” Cassie said.
She was beginning to feel the first little hint of optimism by the