Page 109 of Lyrical

He stepped inside and faced me, his expression hard. Of course. Stupid me. How would Cassie not have gotten to him first? So what if it’d only been one-sixth of a measly day? It could’ve been five minutes and she’d have sucked him out.

“Do what, Daniel?” I needed to hear what garbage she’d filled him with before I could rebut it. It was then that I remembered the gift still sitting by the side of the house. It was probably ticking away as we spoke.

“You know what. Cassie’s a mess right now. She hasn’t stopped crying. How do you think that makes me feel knowing my own mother did that to her?”

“I didn’t do anything to her. In fact—”

“No. She told me how mean you were to her. The nasty things you said. How she was no longer invited to the shower or welcome to the house ever again. I cannot believe you, Mom. I’ve never known you to be so cruel.”

“Daniel, please listen to me. Cassie is not who you think she is.”

“Don’t start talking trash about her again. And right to my face, besides? I know you’ve never liked her. You’ve never given her a fair chance. What’s the matter, Mom? Isn’t she old enough for you?”

What the fuck?I sat down on the couch. I knew this wouldn’t be a night in the park listening to music, but…. “You are not acting like yourself here.”

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us. You hurt Cassie. You hurt me.”

“She’s manipulating you, Daniel. She’s trying to come between Chase and me because—”

“Yes, I know all about that stupid picture. She was actually protecting you, and you had to treat her so horribly.”

I smacked the side of my head. Did I have frickin’ water in my ears? “Protecting me? I really need to hear this one.”

“You know what, never mind. Your mind is already made up about her. Nothing I say is going to change that.”

“I have to hear what she’s been telling you.” I got up and put my arms around him. “Please, please listen to me, okay? I’m not the only one who feels this way about her. There’s something not right—”

“Oh, I know, Mom.” He pushed away from me. Argh. I wanted to give him a damn timeout for interrupting and stick him in the corner. “I know you’re not the only one. The whole reason you’re acting like this is because of Chase.”

“Chase? What? No, I—”

“Save the excuses, please. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m not blindly accepting things you say just because you think they’re true.” My mouth dropped. She had fucking possessed him. I needed to call a priest. “Chase is not good for you, but you refuse to see that. I feel sorry for you, Mom.”

“You’ve got it the other way around here.”

“Cassie begged me to go easy on you. That’s the thoughtful person she is. She told me how flattered you must feel to have a younger man’s attention, and that’s why your judgment is clouded. But enough is enough. You’re better than this.”

How in the fuck was this turning all around? “Chase and I love each other, Daniel. My reasons for wanting Cassie away from you have nothing—”

“So you admit it, then?”

“Admit what?”

“You’re trying to turn me against Cassie. Get us to break up.”

“What I’m trying to do is get you to listen to me without interrupting. We’ve always had a great relationship. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Cassie told me how Chase is threatened by her because she knows too much about him.”

I whipped my head so quickly to the side I swore my eyeballs dislodged. “What the hell is this now?”Deep breath, Jillian.

“Despite how you treat her, Cassie cares about you. She knows you deserve better too. Yes, she had a tiny crush on him a while ago, but she barely knew him then. Now that she does, she knows he’s not right for you. Chase is going to do whatever he can to convince you that Cassie should be out of our lives.”

“Okay, Daniel, this is so far off base, I don’t even know where to begin.” It wasn’t even in the same fucking field anymore.

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Mom. Chase is bad news. Did he tell you anything about Stephen’s party?”

My chest squeezed. “No, we were too busy doing damage control on Cassie’s little stunt to have time to discuss anything else.”

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