Page 82 of Free to Dream
Hmm…well, maybe if we give her something to hold onto?
How about this, Mrs. Marshall? The photo man hands Mommy a red balloon. Riley gets excited and starts crying MINE! MINE! MINE!
Mommy’s long, dark hair falls over Riley’s face as she ties the balloon to her wrist. It smells good. Just like the wildflowers in the back of the house.
Is that better, baby girl?
Riley’s face lights up. Mommy laughs and so do I. Even though having a little sister is a pain, she sure is cute. Maybe next time Mommy and Daddy would have a boy.
The photo man takes the shot.
I’m jerked from my memories of the day the picture was taken and look at the painting. The one Cassidy thought was a famous piece of art she happened to remember.
The one I am now almost one hundred percent certain my sister just sat under.
I set the photo on the desk and sit down.
My hands are shaking.
What am I supposed to do?
Should I tell Caleb what I’m almost certain of now?
I put my head in my hands and grip the back of my neck. After the wedding. That’s soon enough.
33
Cassidy
It’s finally here, the day of the Lockwood-Dalton wedding.
I didn’t get much rest last night, despite Caleb’s best attempts at loving me to sleep. My mind wouldn’t shut down. It felt like a teleprompter perpetually scrolling, running through the lists of things we needed to do. I was up well before my 6:30 alarm and slapping away my love’s hands as he tried to pull me back down into my bed.
Standing in the shower, I feel grateful that Em had convinced me we should have a stylist do our hair for this wedding. We would have very limited time to do it ourselves with the schedule we were having to keep. There were other things I needed my team focused on other than worrying about fitting in stylistically with the Greenwich elite.
Lost in my own musings, I don’t hear the shower door open. I give a little bit of a shriek when I feel Caleb’s arms slide around my wet body before I start giggling.
“You don’t have to be up for hours!” I laugh at him.
“Hmm. This is much better than sleeping. Besides, I want to go with you today.”
“Seriously? You know I’m going to be in complete work mode, right? I’ll be able to spend, like, maybe twenty-minutes total with you before the ceremony starts.”
He nips my neck. “And you know how you in work mode turns me on.”
Oh, well, there is that.
“Besides, I know the estate like the back of my hand. Consider me a living map.”
And a living guard? The thought creeps into my mind as I turn in his arms. “Are you worried about Mildred?”
“Yes.” No lies. No hesitation.
I frame his face with both my hands and lean up to kiss him. “Okay then. I can always use a living map and an extra set of hands.”
Relief flickers across his face before humor sets in. “So, what’s the deal? Not washing your hair?”
“Nope. Em has someone coming in to style it later. All the Freeman women are being given the special treatment today since the grooms are so low-maintenance,” I snicker. This wedding is anything but low-maintenance.
