Page 92 of Risky Move

“If that’s what you want. What about Cassie? You worried about leaving Jenna with her?”

“And why would you think that, Tom?”

Tom tried not to flinch at the sarcasm in his voice. “Have you talked with her?”

Andrew nodded. “I doubt she’ll be there when you get home.”

“Did you fire her?”

“I didn’t need to. Cassie knows how I feel—I’ll never trust her with my children again.”

“Did she explain how Danny got to the pool?”

“No.”

“Did you ask?” Tom prodded.

“What the fuck does that matter? He fell in the pool and nearly drowned. How or why isn’t relevant. That it happened should give you a clue why Jenna’s not at home.”

Caryn interrupted, her voice soft. “Drew, this was an accident. Cassie didn’t panic; shesavedDanny’s life.”

“And you’re willing to risk another ‘accident?’”

Tom saw resignation in her expression. “We’ll talk about this later after Daniel’s released.”

“We’ll see.”

Tom recognized the tone in Andrew’s voice.When hell freezes. Over my dead body. No fucking way.Rather than respond, Tom reached for unhappy Jenna.

“Call if you need anything,” he said.

50

Cassie turned off her phone and dropped it along with the clothes she shoved haphazardly into her travel bag. Lauren packed a suitcase more carefully than her niece.

“You know, you don’t need to take everything now. I can get the rest later,” Lauren said.

“I’m not putting you in the middle of this. You’re Caryn’s best friend. You’re like sisters. I don’t want to be the first thing that comes to her mind when she sees you.”

“Caryn will understand.”

“I doubt it. I certainly don’t.” Cassie grabbed another suitcase and emptied drawers. “I want nothing to remind them of me when they come home. Did you tell Dave not to bring dinner here?”

“Yes, but he’ll stop by to help us load everything into his truck.”

Cassie sat on the bed with a sigh. “Please don’t let this make either of you uncomfortable around Caryn or Andrew. I don’t fault them at all. I screwed up…Please just let it go.”

“We’ll be fine, Cass. Don’t worry about us. You know, with the All-Star Game and bye-week coming up, there’s plenty of time to get past this initial fear and anger. Knowing Caryn, she’s not blaming you. Andrew may see things differently when he has the time to process what happened. You saved Daniel’s life.”

Cassie didn’t reply as a sob lodged in her throat. Instead, she grabbed her backpack and tossed everything in the bathroom into it.I should check the pool area in case I left my iPad out there.After opening the French doors, Cassie scanned the tables. The only thing she saw was Amelie’s backpack.Not my problem.She again traced her steps to the spot where Danny fell into the pool. She felt the hitch in her heart as the vision of Daniel trying to touch the water flashed through her mind.Oh, Danny, I’m sorry I failed you.

She walked inside the great room and checked carefully in case she’d left something there. She followed her earlier steps, stopping in the nursery to tidy Jenna’s bed. She put her favorite teddy bear in the middle of the bed, then without thinking, turned on Daniel’s mobile.I’ll never hear “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” without thinking about Danny and Jenna.She stared at the stars and moon that circled his crib, remembering the many nights she and Caryn had rocked the twins while that song played.

She didn’t know how long she stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks. She startled when a hand gently gripped her shoulder.Dave. Thank God…I can’t look at anyone else right now.

“The truck’s loaded. Lauren will drive your car, kiddo. Let’s get out of here and head home.”

Cassie nodded and moved away from the cribs. Would she ever see the twins again? Hold her love bugs? Watch their next amazing milestone? As she left the nursery, she couldn’t quell the feeling that she’d never set foot in there again.

---