Page 103 of Risky Move

Taking a deep breath, Cassie wiped her palms against her jeans and walked with Lauren toward the great-room. Her thoughts ranged from excitement over seeing the twins, to fear that Caryn would echo Andrew’s anger, to hesitation. Should she mention her reservations about Amelie?

Danny spied Cassie first. His face lit up, and he babbled “CaCa” while holding out his arms toward her. Cassie looked at Caryn. “May I?”

“Of course, Cassie. Absolutely.”

Cassie scooped Daniel into her arms. “Danny,” she choked as tears flooded her eyes. She laughed when Daniel grabbed her hair, then patted her cheeks. She felt Jenna using her legs as a climbing wall, so Cassie sat down so she could hug both. “I love you both so much,” she whispered.

Caryn knelt beside them so she could wrap her arms around Cassie. “Thank you so much for saving Danny,” she said in a whisper. “I can never adequately express my gratitude.”

“But I didn’t keep them safe.”

“Accidents happen, honey. You didn’t panic. You reacted perfectly.”

“Can you ever forgive me?”

Caryn smiled as she cupped Cassie’s face with her hands. “There’s nothing to forgive, Cassie. Please believe that. Donotblame yourself—it could have been me, and I would have had to wait for 911 to begin treatment.” She shook her head. “After the bye-week, I’m taking the same courses you did.”

Cassie brushed tears from her cheeks. “I didn’t notice the door was open. I let Danny get out to the pool.”

Caryn held up her hand. “And Drew should have had that fence installed weeks ago. I should have insisted he take care of it. All three of us could assign blame, but that accomplishes nothing. Daniel’s alive and healthy, the only thing that matters.”

“And his doctor okayed him to travel?”

“One hundred percent okay. We leave for Miami this evening.”

Cassie smiled. “That’s wonderful. I’m happy for you.”

Lauren pointed to Daniel and Jenna—each had fallen asleep leaning against Cassie. “Adorable.”

“I should get them home. Just one more thing, Cassie,” Caryn said. “I can’t apologize on Drew’s behalf. Whatever he said came from extreme stress, fear, and feeling helpless. I know that’s not an excuse, but please try to let it go. Before long, he’ll regret what he said and apologize.”

“He doesn’t need to apologize. I understood what he said and why. I wouldn’t want to trust me with your love bugs, either.”

“I have confidence in you, Cassie. In his heart, so does Drew.” Caryn paused a moment. “I hope by the end of next week he processes everything and understands that despite our best efforts, accidents can happen.”

Cassie shrugged. “I hope you can enjoy the All-Star festivities.”

“Drew has a friend he played with in Toronto. They have teenage daughters. We might ask them to babysit. Also, Amelie volunteered to travel with us.”

Cassie tried to maintain a neutral expression as she met Caryn’s eyes. “Keeping an eye of both these angels might get overwhelming…” She looked at Daniel, cuddled by her side. “Maybe Tom can get the weekend off.”

“I won’t accept Amelie’s offer. We’ll meet his friend’s daughters; everything will work out.”

56

Tom shook his head and tried to keep any frustration from his voice. “Cassie, unless you’ve changed your mind, we’ll head down the Gulf Coast to Fort Myers this evening or tomorrow morning, and we’ll spend the week on Sanibel Island.”

“How could I change my mind, Tom? A week with you—all to myself.”

“So, why are you encouraging me to go to the All-Star weekend first?”

Cassie hesitated. Tom read the indecision in her expression. “I feel…horrible about spoiling Caryn’s weekend. Now, she might not have the chance to attend all the activities.”

“I don’t think you need to worry. A friend of Andrew’s plays for the Panthers and has teenage daughters. I think they’ve already discussed babysitting.”

“She’s not considering Amelie, is she?”

“I think Amelie offered to help.”

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