The alarm must have been going off for quite a while. When it finally managed to make it's way through Mark's sleep-addled brain, he'd leapt out of bed, called a cab, and jammed everything he had back into his bags.
By the time he arrived at the airport, he was in such a foul mood, he did something he would normally never do. He yelled at one of the security guards. Bad idea. Suddenly, the big man was tapped for a random search. He took it in as much stride as he was able as the uniforms pawed through his hastily packed duffel but his eyes kept trailing up to the white faced clock on the wall. He was never going to make his flight. Never.
As it turned out, he was right. Mark skidded up to the gate just in time to see his plane taxiing away from the jet way. The big man let out a string of four letter words loud enough to make the people at the next gate flinch and made his way over to the desk.
The woman behind it was as nice as she could be considering the circumstances and did her very best to find him a spot…on standby. Mark gave her a tight smile and turned, falling into one of the plastic airport chairs.
Three hours later, he found himself folded into the last seat, in coach, on the next earliest flight heading back to Houston. Granted, he probably could have waited for something in business class to open up but with the way his luck was running, he wasn't willing to chance it and he didn't think his brain could take any more. All he could think about was Cassie.
"Oh thank friggin God." Mark grumbled as he rumbled up his driveway with an odd twisting in his gut. It'd been the day from Hell from the moment he woke up and realized he was late and he was about to come face to face with the object of his agonizing. Cassie would either be inside, or she wouldn't. And judging by the fact that he'd called his house well over a dozen times since leaving for the airport to no avail, he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
That rationale however, did not stop him from being hopeful.
"Cassie? Darlin? You in here?" He called opening his door and dropping his bag haphazardly on the floor. There was no answer. Mark swore under his breath and headed down the hallway to the guest room he'd set her up in before he left. "Damn it…" The room was immaculate. She'd made the bed and left no indication that she'd ever been there…at all.
Mark deflated as he turned and walked back down the hall toward the kitchen. She left. How could she leave? Sure, the circumstances were strange at best but he'd thought there was a connection. Hell, he was positive there was! Could he have been so very wrong about her actions? He didn't think so but suddenly he wasn't sure at all. Maybe she'd just been being polite about dinner.
Mark shook his head. No, she wasn't being cordial. She'd gone back into Denny's to apologize to him for being rude and then she'd sat and talked to him and laughed. "Stop reachin…" He admonished himself as he walked into the kitchen and slapped the play button on his answering machine. There was nothing there but his messages.
Disgusted, the big man stalked over and threw open his fridge grabbing a beer. Popping the top as he walked out onto his deck he was still running his day with Cassie through his head. Yeah, she'd been interested. She may have been tightlipped when it came to talking about herself but she was throwing out all the right signals. She'd even come back to his house!
"Like I gave her a choice…" He groaned and took a deep drink from his bottle. Suddenly, he was so disgusted with himself he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Sighing heavily, he leaned a hip against the redwood railing, downing the other half of his beer and gazed out over his property. It was a beautiful view but it was Sara that made the beauty of the place stand out to him. She'd been so in love with the land that she'd virtually begged for him to buy it. Like an idiot, he'd done it and now he was stuck paying the mortgage on a reminder of what his livelihood had done to his marriage. She couldn't stand being alone and he couldn't stop doing what he loved, even for her.
He rolled his eyes and pushed off with his hip, walking down the stairs and across the yard. What the hell was he doing? The girl blew him off and there he was, moping over a relationship gone bad years ago. God, the feisty little brunette had gotten further under his skin than he could have fathomed.
A glimmer of hope stirred in him as he pushed through the big barn doors. Cassie had really taken to the horses.
"Hello? Anybody home?" He called as he stepped inside. The only response was the anxious stamping and whinnying of his favorite animals. Smiling in spite of himself, he walked over to Thanatos and gave him a pat on his soft black nose. The horse nickered contentedly and pushed into his hand.
"You miss me boy?" Mark chuckled and reached up to scratch him behind the ears. "Yeah, I think you did."
"Boss?" Mark turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Oh, hey boss. Didn't expect ya back so soon." Manny smiled as he walked through the back doors of the bar, wiping his hands on a scrap of towel.
"Hey Manny. What's up?"
"Nothing here boss." He shrugged. "Just finished running the boys here and was about to pack it in for the afternoon." Mark nodded and went over to say hello to Chronos as well. The Gray whinnied happily and nibbled at the handful of oats he offered him. Mark chuckled and gave him an affectionate pat on the neck before wiping his hands on the thighs of his jeans and turning back to Manny.
"You didn't happen to see that brunette I was with the other day did you?" He asked him. Manny shook his head.
"No, I didn't see anybody when I got here. I didn't come through the house though. I generally don't when you're not home. Why?"
Mark opened his mouth to explain then waved it off. "Don't worry bout it. I just haven't been able to get in touch with her. Uh…thanks again Manny. I'll see you later." The good-natured Mexican reached out and shook Mark's hand before grabbing a jacket off a peg in the wall and heading out the back.
Sighing heavily, Mark stood with his hands on his hips. What to do? He had no idea. Part of him rationalized that he should go back inside and make sure everything was where it was supposed to be but he wasn't ready to believe Cassie was a con artist or a thief. No, but he did need to talk to her.
Before he knew it, Mark had wandered back to the front of his property. He chuckled to himself as he walked over and threw his leg over his bike. They keys were still in the ignition. He'd been so preoccupied about finding Cassie that he'd just left them there. That was never good.
"Ah well, should've figured I'd be goin back out." He chuckled and started the bike again, tearing down his long driveway and back into the street.
Mark rode for a good hour before he found himself pulling onto a dirt and gravel driveway not terribly far from Denny's Place. Immediately, he felt guilty. He should not be there and he knew it but he had to see. He had to find out for sure…
As he rolled into a clearing and cut his engine he was taken aback by what he saw. There were piles of cardboard boxes everywhere around a small singlewide trailer. It looked like the place was just being moved into.
"This can't be right." He muttered to himself and hopped off his bike. His first instinct was to go over and knock on the door but…he wasn't even sure he was in the right place. Sure, Cassie had said she bought the place but how could he know she was telling him the truth? He didn't and it killed him. He was so sure about her.
Shaking off the oncoming malaise, he took a deep breath, opened the screen door, and pounded on the one beneath. Much to his surprise, it popped open. I'll be damned… He thought to himself and debated barging in. If it was Cassie, she'd probably be pretty pissed but he was confident he could talk himself out of it. If it wasn't….
"Fuck it." He grumbled and stepped inside. Immediately, he was knew he was in the right place. There wasn't much to be seen but strewn all over the floor were boxes of photos of Cassie with a man. Mark bent over and picked one up and felt an overwhelming but totally unfounded wave of jealousy. It was obvious that the man in the pictures was more than a friend. Mark hated the way he was looking at her in the photo and hated even more the way she was looking back.
He made a disapproving noise in his throat and moved to drop the picture. "Nope." He said to himself and tore it in half stashing the part with Cassie's image into his vest pocket. All of a sudden, he was terribly embarrassed. What the hell was he thinking taking her picture?
Too late now ya old pervert… He thought reproachfully and headed back out the door. It was obvious she hadn't been there; therefore there was no point in staying.
With a final sheepish look back, he got back on his bike and left.
"Denny's Place." Cassie said as she picked up the ringing phone. "Yep, open until two." She hung up the phone with a feeling of satisfaction. Taking the job at Denny's Place had been absolutely the correct decision. Since she'd opened the bar that morning, she'd felt like she had a real life again. It was something she'd assumed she'd never have again and she was loving it.
Smiling, she wiped her hands on the bar towel tucked in her belt and edged out from behind the bar to check on the tables. Cindy was still out with her son but Cassie didn't mind. Working alone never bothered her in the slightest. In fact, she preferred it.
"You guys doing alright?" She asked smiling sweetly at a table of grizzled old biker types.
"Oh yeah darlin." The one closest to her said and patted her suggestively on the hip. She didn't pay any attention to it. Cassie knew it was all in fun. "Sure glad Denny decided to pretty up the place." The brunette chuckled and grabbed the empty pitcher from their table.
"Then I guess I'll just refill this won't I?" She grinned winking as she made her way back to the bar. Yeah, she did miss the camaraderie that came from working in bars. She'd been there less than two days and already the regulars knew her name and made sure she knew theirs too. Everyone that came in had a warm smile and at least one interesting story to tell. It was nice to be there and it was even nicer that she didn't catch herself dwelling on her problems.
Cassie took the pitcher back to the guys and hurried away to whistles and catcalls. She grinned ambiguously over her shoulder at them and went back to marrying bottles behind the bar.
"Hey Denny, I can't find…" Cassie's head shot up at the voice. "Cassie…" She was rendered totally immobile. What the hell was he doing there? Wasn't he supposed to be gone! Christ! This was the last thing she needed!
Judging from the look on his face, she was the last person he had expected to see as well. Good. It was a small victory but the sheer discomfort on his face made her just that much happier.
"Denny's not here." She said dryly and went back to the two bottles of vodka in front of her.
"What…what are you doin here little girl?" Did he sound relieved? What the hell…
"Den offered me a job. I took it." She snapped. Oh no, there was no way she was giving in to him again. To her surprise, Mark looked shaken.
"Well…where's Cindy?"
"She took some time off." Cassie glanced up at let her irritation show. Wisely, Mark just nodded.
For a long moment, he didn't say anything. In fact, he was quiet so long Cassie thought he'd left. She refused to look up at him. If she did, she knew what would happen. He'd lock those green eyes on her and she'd melt. Cassie did not want to melt. This man had definitely left out some important details about his life and she was not terribly forgiving about that. Too many times she'd let small things slide…
"I…thought you were stayin." He finally said with more than a little trepidation in his voice. Cassie heard a stool scrape on the ground and she cursed to herself. Apparently he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She didn't answer him. Instead, she slammed the empty bottle down into a crate at her side. The bottle exploded with a loud crash as she disappeared into the back room.
Mark stood staring dumbly as the double doors to the back swung and forth forlornly. She…was mad at…him? The big man couldn't seem to wrap his brain around it.
"What the fuck…" He whispered to himself. With each syllable he spoke, he got angrier. What had he done to deserve this? Not a god damned thing! He'd taken care of her bike, he'd taken care of her, and when she had nowhere to go, he'd given her a place to stay. His place! And SHE was angry? "Oh fuck this…"
Rolling his neck until it cracked, he took a deep breath and crashed through the doors himself.
"Now wait just a god damn minute!" Mark roared as the doors swung open behind her. Cassie jumped and nearly dropped the case of beer in her hands. "Where the fuck do you get off treating me like this after what I did for you?"
The brunette was too stunned to speak as he raged, red faced, in front of her.
"I thought we were at the very least friends and you don't even have the decency to leave a fuckin note? Not even a 'yeah fuck you, I got better digs'? Nothin?" He went on.
"I don't owe you anything." She finally managed to spit back when Mark stopped to catch his breath. "I never lied to you."
"Lied to me? No, you just used me for a place to crash and disappeared."
"Apparently I didn't go far enough! You found me!" Cassie screamed back. "After what I found out, you're the last fucking person I want to see!" Mark actually shook his head in disbelief.
"What? You got a problem with guns little Detroit girl?" He growled regaining his composure slightly. "Cause, as far as I can tell that's all I didn't tell you about!"
Cassie could not believe her ears. What the hell was he thinking? How could he forget a live in girlfriend? Then, realization set in. She must have been out of town. She wasn't supposed to be home at all.
"What? Cat got your fuckin tongue?" He went on as she thought. Cassie's eyes drifted maliciously back to his face and she couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out of her. She was so angry she wanted scream at him but all that would come out was a maniacal laughter she couldn't seem to stop. Frankly it made her nervous but that was another problem for another day. In the here and now, she had this gigantic redneck to deal with.
"WHERE'S YOUR FUCKING GIRLFRIEND TAKER?" She screamed once she was able. Mark was still yelling but she'd stopped listening. Frankly, all she wanted was him out of her bar so she could get back to work and forget the last couple of days had even happened.
Mark's voice dried up mid word. What? Girlfriend? What the hell was she talking about?
"What are you goin on about?" He managed. "Are you insane?" Where would she get an idea like that? The big man couldn't process it and trying to was drying up his anger. That would not do.
"Oh come on Mark! Didn't you think I'd find out?" Cassie was screaming. Silently, Mark berated himself. Damn she looked good when she was angry. "Was she supposed to be out of town? Was that it?"
"What?" He blurted. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Cassie seethed at his "ignorance". She knew better. She'd seen the woman! He was not getting out of this.
"Does Kristy ring a bell?" She all but shrieked. Mark's mouth snapped shut as he took a step backward.
"Kristy? This is about fucking Kristy?" He said sounding slightly more reasonable. Whatever, Cassie was not in the mood to be reasonable.
"She wasn't terribly happy to see me. Not that I could blame the woman! I wouldn't be terribly thrilled to see another woman in my house either!" She raged on. It did not have the effect she desired. As she opened her mouth to go on, she could see the corner of the big man's mouth twitching upwards. "What are you laughing at!"
"Kristy showed up?" He chuckled and immediately his body language changed. Mark went from hulking over her, hands in fists at his sides, to leaning against a crate full of beer bottles laughing. "That stupid bitch…" He was still laughing. "I told her to get her ass out."
Cassie sputtered. "That's the best you can do?"
"What? It's the truth. I shoulda known that bitch was gonna be trouble." He continued giggling. "Guess I shoulda changed the code on the gate too."
"I don't believe you." She fumed, her voice barely more than a whisper. Mark shrugged.
"Ask Denny. He'll tell ya. I threw her out a while ago. Seems she was more interested in the Undertaker than she was in me."
Cassie couldn't even speak. She glared at the big man and pushed past him back to the front of the bar. Broke up with her… RIGHT! That was one line she was not falling for. Sure, she was a bit younger than Mark but she was not born yesterday.
Shaking her head, she growled in her throat and slammed the case of beer down on the counter. Some of the patrons jumped but she didn't care. There was no way she was going to let this slide.
"Go on, call him if you don't believe me." Mark said appearing through the doors. Cassie turned and glared at him. "Go ahead. I'll even dial."
Before Cassie could manage another rant, he was dialing the phone and holding the receiver out to her. Reluctantly, she took it.
"Den?" She said when he answered. "I've got a really weird question for you…Yeah, who's Kristy?" There was a pause as she listened. "Oh…really…great….Okay…yeah see you then."
Mark was smiling as she slammed down the phone. "Told ya."
"Maybe he's lying for you." Cassie pouted crossing her arms over her chest. Mark shook his head and walked past her to pour himself a beer.
"Yeah, that's exactly it." He teased, his voice dripping with enough sarcasm to make her insane.
"Just…shut up would you?"
"Yeah, I think I will." He sighed and downed his beer, setting the mug in the sink. "I tell you what. You believe whatever you want to believe and when you get out of here call me if you wanna get something to eat and talk this shit out like normal adults." Cassie just stared angrily at him as he spoke walking around her and out from behind the bar. "Whichever way you want it." And then he was gone.
"Damn it…" Cassie muttered as she watched the door swing shut behind him. "God damn it…" So Kristy was a conniving bitch. How so unlike her not to see it. Then again, how often did something she actually wanted come along anymore? Not very often and it scared her. Kristy's presence had just given her the out she needed before she let herself get too close. Now that excuse had been conveniently removed from the table and Mark had tossed the ball back into her court.
Sighing, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the card Mark had given her. Her stomach tying itself in knots, her eyes drifted over his number over and over again. "Shit on me…" She whined and stuck it back where she'd found it. "I hate apologizing."
