Blake Pierce - Almost Lost

During the short ride home they all did their best to misdirect each other. By the time they reached their stop, Cassie’s stomach felt sore from laughing and she was warm with happiness that the day had been a success.

As they unlocked the front door, her cell phone buzzed. It was a message from Ryan, telling her he’d be bringing pizzas home, and were there any toppings she didn’t like?

She typed back, “I’m easy, thanks,” and then realized the connotations as she was about to press Send.

Her face felt hot as she erased the words and replaced them with, “Any toppings are good. Thank you.”

A minute later her phone buzzed again and she grabbed it, eager for Ryan’s next message.

This text wasn’t from him. It was from Renee, one of her old school friends from back home.

“Hey, Cassie, someone was looking for you this morning. A woman, calling from France. She was trying to find you but she wouldn’t say more. Can I give her your number?”

Cassie reread the message and suddenly the village didn’t feel remote or safe anymore.

With her ex-employer’s trial upcoming in Paris, and the defense team searching for more witnesses, she was terrified that the net was closing.

As she helped the children with their evening routine of bath time and pajamas, Cassie couldn’t get the disturbing message out of her mind. She tried to convince herself that Pierre Dubois’s legal team could have called her directly, without needing to track down an old school friend, but the fact remained that someone was looking for her.

She urgently needed to find out who that person was.

After she’d tidied the bathroom, she messaged Renee back.

“Do you have a number for the lady? Did she give you her name?”

Leaving her phone behind, she headed through to the kitchen and helped Madison set the table with all the extras that accompanied pizza—salt and pepper, crushed garlic, Tabasco sauce, and mayonnaise.

“Dylan likes the mayo,” she explained. “I think it’s yuck.”

“I do, too,” Cassie confessed, and her heart leaped as she heard the front door open.

Madison rushed out of the kitchen, with Cassie close behind.

“Pizza delivery!” Ryan called, handing Madison the pile of boxes. “It’s good to be indoors. It was getting icy out there, and dark, too.”

He saw Cassie and just as she’d hoped, his face broke into that wickedly attractive grin.

“Hello, Cassie! You’re looking beautiful. I see you have some color in your cheeks after all our seaside air. I can’t wait to hear about your day.”

Cassie smiled back at him, grateful that he’d assumed her flushed face was caused by the fresh air, and not by the fact that she’d started feeling excited and strangely self-conscious as soon as he’d walked in.

As she took the boxes from him, she told herself it would be a good thing when this crush on her boss calmed down.

A few minutes later, Ryan joined them in the kitchen, and Cassie saw he was holding a brown paper bag.

“I bought gifts for everyone,” he announced.

“What did you get me?” Madison asked.

“Patience, sweetheart. Let’s all sit down first.”

When the children were seated at the table, he opened the bag.

“Maddie, I bought you this.”

It was a black, fitted top with a pink glittery slogan that was written upside down.

“This is my Handstand Shirt,” the slogan read.

“Oh, that’s so pretty. I can’t wait to wear it to gym,” Madison said, beaming in delight as she turned the shirt, watching the light catch the sparkles.

“For you, Dylan, this.”

His gift was a neon yellow, long-sleeved cycling top.

“Cool, Dad. Thanks.”

“I hope it keeps you safe, now that the mornings are getting so dark. And for you, Cassie, I bought these.”

To Cassie’s amazement, Ryan took a pair of elegant, warm gloves from the bag. Her eyes widened as she realized they were almost identical to the ones she’d tried on in town.

“Oh, they’re absolutely beautiful, and they will be so useful.”

To her consternation, Cassie realized she was in the throes of her crush once again and was imagining herself wearing them while sitting outside and sipping wine with him.

“I hope they’re the right size. I tried my best to picture your hands while I was buying them,” Ryan said.

For a moment Cassie couldn’t breathe as she wondered if he was thinking the same way she was.

“So, did you enjoy yourselves today?” Ryan asked.

“We had such fun. There was a magician in town. He gave me a snowman, and he tricked Dylan and took five pounds off him, but then Cassie guessed where the card was and won the card, although no money.”

“What card did she win?” Ryan asked his daughter.

“The queen of hearts, so the magician said love is coming her way.”

Cassie took a drink of orange juice because she didn’t know where to look and was shy about meeting Ryan’s gaze.

“Well, I think Cassie deserves that card and all it brings,” Ryan said, and she nearly spilled her juice as she put the glass down.

“What did you do after that?” he asked.

“We started talking all about misdirection on the way to the bus, and Cassie misdirected me and stole my toffee apple!”

The words burst out of Madison, and although Dylan was too busy eating pizza to say much, he nodded enthusiastically.

“We bought you something as well,” Cassie said, and shyly handed over the cashew nuts.

“My favorite! I have a busy day tomorrow and I’m going to take these with me and have them for lunch. What a treat. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift.”

As he said the last words, he looked directly at Cassie and his blue gaze held hers for several moments.

After the pizzas had been devoured—Cassie hadn’t had much of an appetite but the others had made up for it and finished every slice—she took the children through to the family room for their allotted TV time, and after watching a talent show they all enjoyed, she put them to bed.

Madison was still excited by the day’s adventures and by the talent show, which had featured two groups of school gymnasts.

“I think I want to be a gymnast one day,” she said.

“It takes hard work, but if it’s your dream, you must follow it,” Cassie advised.

“I feel like I can’t sleep.”

“Do you want to talk some more? Or should I read you a story?”

Cassie tried not to feel impatient at the thought of Ryan, sitting outside with his wine, waiting for her. Or perhaps he wouldn’t wait, but would have an early night instead. In which case, she’d miss the opportunity to tell him about Dylan’s shoplifting.

The memory jolted her. In her happiness over the thoughtful gift, and the chatter at the dinner table, she’d forgotten about that unpleasant incident. It was her duty to tell Ryan, even if it ended up spoiling what had been a wonderful day.

“I’d like to read for a while.”

Madison scrambled out from between the sheets, headed for the shelf, and selected a book she had obviously read many times, because its spine was creased and its pages dog-eared.

“This is the story of an ordinary girl who becomes a ballet dancer. I really enjoy it, it’s exciting. Every time I read it, it’s exciting. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“No, not at all. The best stories always make you feel that way,” Cassie said.

“Cassie, do you think they teach gymnastics at boarding school?”

That mention of boarding again. Cassie paused.

“Yes, especially since boarding schools are usually bigger schools. They’ll have lots of sports facilities there I should think.”