| Chapter Twenty-Two It wasn�t until three days later that I found our where Kevin had gone the afternoon I saw him from my bedroom window. I was sitting on the back porch swing, my feet propped up per my sisters� orders and sipping a glass of iced tea when I heard the low rumbling of a delivery truck coming down the lane. At first I thought nothing of it, we had things delivered to the ranch all the time and I knew Frieda was expecting a delivery from the produce man. When the truck pulled up at the back porch and I saw the truck�s logo I began to get suspicious. Then, a moment later, when Kevin stepped out onto the porch and greeted the deliveryman and signed the paper attached to the clipboard, I knew something was up. �You can bring that stuff right through here,� Kevin said as he propped the screen door open. �Bring what stuff where?� I asked, my eyes glued to the truck and what was being moved out of it and into the yard. �The stuff I bought for our child,� he said and then calmly led the way inside, showing the movers where to put the things he�d just purchased. �Kevin!� My voice rose as I read the label on the first box. Jenny Lind. I knew then that he�d purchased the crib I�d wanted for the baby and I began to suspect that the other boxes contained other things that I had circled in my catalogue; the catalogue that had been missing for three days. �You called,� he said as he reappeared at the door. �You know I did,� I said from between my clenched jaw. I watched as he pushed the screen door opened and stepped outside. He moved towards me with a lithe grace that I envied. Gently, he took my arm and led me back to the swing. When he had me settled the way he wanted me; my feet stretched across the length of the seat and a pillow behind my back, he knelt in front of me. �I know what you said about me buying or spending; but here�s the thing. The child you�re carrying is as much mine as it is yours. That means I can buy or spend whatever, whenever I want. I didn�t do this to upset you. I did it because I wanted to see you happy. I found the catalogue on the table and when I saw all the things you had circled I got excited seeing all the things for the baby and decided to buy them. I know you�re probably mad, and that�s okay. I haven�t done much lately that�s made you happy and this probably won�t be one either, but try and understand. I love our child and I want to take care of him, just like I want to take care of you. Not because you�re the mother of my child, but because I really love you.� Tears pooled in my eyes and as hard as I tried to keep them from spilling over I just couldn�t. A sob caught in my throat and escaped, making my shoulders shake. He really did love me. I could see it in his eyes. �Ah babe! I didn�t mean to make you cry,� he whispered as he pulled me into his arms and held me close. �Please don�t cry Cassie, you�re breaking my heart,� he pleaded as his hands swept up and down my spine. �I�m not upset,� I sobbed. �It�s just that what you did� what you said� its the sweetest thing you�ve ever said to me. And you�re wrong, you did make me happy,� I said as I buried my head in the crook of his shoulder. �Then why the tears?� he asked as he gently pushed me off his shoulders and wiped the tears away with his thumbs. �Because you�ve made me happy, because you really do care and because I love you,� I answered him honestly, and I realized in that moment that all the denying I�d done was for nothing. I�d been in love with him from the beginning and my feelings in the past months had only grown stronger. �You do?� he asked, his face a mask of astonishment. I smiled through my tears and nodded helplessly as another gush of tears poured down my face. For the first time in months I felt free, freer than I ever had. It was as if someone had unlocked my heart and I could finally hear the music of life, of love, my love for him. And someone had, Kevin had. CCC Index Chapter Twenty-Three Main Page |