Melt Your Heart
Chapter 11: Raincheck
Sorry it has taken ages to update this story! This chapter was saved on my laptop, which had kind of died but it's all OK now. Thank you for your patience & I hope you like this chapter - apologies in advance for the angst!
Sam Radford doubted himself.
It didn't happen very often, but when it did his thoughts haunted him. Maybe it was just nervous apprehension at having to give the presentation at the university, but he knew that wasn't just it. When he had left Grey House the night before he had been euphoric, he had felt like a teenage boy after his first kiss. Their kiss had been brief and sweet. You could almost have called it friendly if it hadn't been for all the sexual tension and chemistry simmering between the two of them.
In the cold light of day, Sam wondered if it had actually been a mistake. He wouldn't have changed a thing about the kiss itself, only the timing. He had promised himself that he wouldn't push anything with Cassie, that he would let things progress at their own pace. It seemed like his heart had other ideas on the matter, though.
The drive to the university was beautiful; the roads lined with trees showcasing their beautiful autumn colours and the sky a clear, bright blue. He rehearsed his presentation in his head, trying to prepare for the questions that the eager young students might have but he couldn't help his mind returning to Cassie time and again.
He hoped that she wasn't having any regrets about the kiss. Their relationship had progressed so far since she had first arrived in Middleton, it would be shame if this meant they were taking a step backward. He thought about calling her from the car, but he didn't want to put any more pressure on her. She was probably getting twins ready for school right about now anyway.
Sam couldn't believe he was seriously considering getting romantically entangled with someone who had not one child, but two. He had long ago accepted that fatherhood was off the table for him and was surprised that the fact that Cassie had two small children was not giving him any reservations about pursuing some kind of relationship with her. He'd kind of been won over by both of them already; James' seriousness and Catherine's sassiness had already started to melt his heart.
He pulled into a visitor's parking space at the university and collected his briefcase from behind his seat. He finished off the dregs of coffee in his travel mug and felt the caffeine singing in his veins. Maybe he should have asked Cassie for some more of her herbal tea. It really hadn't been as bad as he had been expecting and, despite being riled up from their all too brief kiss, he had slept soundly. Popping a breath mint into this mouth, Sam locked the car and headed for the reception desk.
When they broke for lunch, Sam turned his cell phone back on. The morning had gone well and he had been pleased with how his presentation had been received. The students were sharp and engaged, and he had enjoyed fielding their questions. He hoped he had been both encouraging and realistic about the challenges they would face if they pursued their careers in emergency or surgical medicine. Many of the challenges would be personal as well as professional. The burnt out shell of his marriage could attest to that.
As soon as his phone had woken up again, he saw that he had countless emails from the hospital; most he could ignore as they weren't relevant to him but that there was also a text message from Cassie.
So she had been thinking about him, too.
That was good. That meant that he hadn't pushed her too far or too soon.
The invitation to meet her at the Bistro for dinner was a welcome one. He didn't miss that she had requested they meet on neutral territory, but going out to eat made it feel more like a date than sharing a meal in either of their kitchens.
Tapping out a reply to her, Sam started his afternoon with a spring in his step.
Abigail had all too readily agreed to look after the twins for a couple of hours while Cassie had dinner with Sam. The two of them had already melted her heart, and although Abigail would never class herself as the maternal type, she enjoyed spending time with them. Her fondness for Cassie was growing too, and she was already a big fan of Sam's, so she was pleased the two of them were spending more time together. It took a lot of her self-control not to meddle any more than she already had, because even if they were oblivious to it, Abigail could see that the two of them were perfect for each other.
"Hey cousin, you look gorgeous," she smiled at Cassie when she walked into the kitchen.
"You don't think it's too fancy for the Bistro?"
"Maybe a little," she replied, but caught Cassie by the arm. "No, don't change. I think it's perfect. Sam's jaw might need rewiring, though."
Cassie felt a faint blush spreading through her whole body.
"That's it, I'm getting changed."
Abigail's reflexes weren't quick enough this time, and Cassie managed to escape back up to her bedroom.
She sat in front of her vanity, staring at her reflection. She was giving some serious thought to calling Sam and asking to reschedule, when her phone began to vibrate from the depths of her purse.
"Hi Sam," she answered, not even bothering to look at the caller display.
He sounded muffled, his voice almost drowned out by the background noise. She didn't need to be told to realise he was at the hospital.
"I'm so sorry to cancel, Cassie, but I've been called into the hospital for an emergency consult – I'm not going to make it back in time for our...dinner."
He had very nearly said date, but had thought better of it. They were still feeling their way through this.
"It's okay, I understand." and she did, she had been married to a police officer after all and she knew this kind of thing went with the territory. "We can arrange something else for another time."
"Raincheck?"
"Raincheck."
She wished him luck with the surgery and ended the call. The debate over her outfit was now null and void, so she changed into leggings and a comfy cardigan instead. As she went back downstairs to join Abigail and the twins, she wondered why instead of being disappointed, what she was feeling was...relief?
It had rained heavily overnight, turning the fallen leaves in their bright hues to mush on the sidewalks. Cassie had slept soundly though, not even waking when Sam had arrived home in the early hours of the morning. He had looked to see if her light was on, and had been disappointed to find that it wasn't. Normally when he came home from a tough surgery, even one where the outcome had been better than expected, he wanted to drink a beer or some whiskey, and go to sleep. He was starting to find that he wanted to talk to Cassie instead.
Sam was still sleeping when Cassie walked the twins to school. She had checked, but his bedroom curtains were still closed – which was unusual for him at this time of the day. She assumed that his surgery must have gone on late into the night.
It had started to drizzle again by the time Cassie arrived at the school, one twin either side of her and holding her hands. She had dressed them in their waterproof coats but, always putting their welfare ahead of her own, she was only wearing her favourite grey leather jacket.
After kissing both of her children goodbye, Cassie sketched a wave at the other parents and dashed to the Bistro for shelter. Abigail didn't require her at the flower shop today, so she had the day to herself until the twins finished school. There weren't even any guests due at Grey House, so there was little for Cassie to fill her day with. She wasn't about to advertise that fact, because she knew it would only lead her to being strong-armed into doing something else for Martha.
Perhaps Stephanie could give her some inspiration for what to cook for the first meeting of the Middleton Halloween committee.
It would distract her from thinking about Sam for a little while.
Thinking about Sam wasn't really the problem. She was more worried about why she had felt relieved when he had cancelled their dinner plans.
The kiss they had shared seemed to hang awkwardly in the air between them, and they hadn't had the chance to talk about it yet or what it meant. Cassie knew she was probably jumping too far ahead, but it had been a long time since she had been in this position and for a while she had wondered if this would ever happened to her again. Sometimes it felt like Jake had only just left them. Was she really ready to pursue something with Sam?
She chatted with Stephanie for a while, but as the morning progressed more and more customers entered the Bistro so she left Cassie alone with her thoughts and her green tea. She had taken out her notebook and was jotting down some meal planning ideas for the committee meeting when she was aware of someone standing over her table.
"Hi Ryan," she greeted, her ballpoint pen still skittering across the page.
"How did you…never mind," he grinned, pleased to find her alone and mostly unoccupied. "Hi."
When he didn't move away, Cassie slowly capped her pen and set it down, eventually raising her head to meet his eyes.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Cassie wasn't sure what it was about Ryan that made her uncomfortable. He seemed like a nice enough guy and no one had a bad word to say about him, although she had seen Abigail roll her eyes once or twice when his name had come up in conversation. It was hard to tell if that was a judgement of Ryan, or just part of Abigail's personality. She was still getting her head round Abigail's character, something which intrigued her.
Ryan frowned. This wasn't quite going the way he had intended.
"Would it be alright if I sat here?"
Cassie wasn't sure how she could refuse without seeming rude. She was still new here and didn't want to offend or insult someone who was an important part of the community. She wanted Middleton to be her home for the long term, something which might have been making her nervous about pursuing a romance with her neighbour, and she didn't want to create any bad blood when things had been going so well.
"Of course, take a seat," she smiled warmly, wondering why he didn't notice that it hadn't reached her eyes. She had a feeling that Ryan only saw what he wanted to see, and right now what he saw was a pretty, single woman, drinking tea on her own.
After the long, gruelling surgery, Sam woke late and pulled back his curtains. The rain that had pounded through the night had stopped now, and it looked like the perfect morning for a run. He hoped it would clear his head. He should be feeling pretty good about himself right now, but for some reason that he couldn't put his finger on, he wasn't.
He had saved a patient's life. He had completed a complicated, advanced surgery that only a handful of doctors in the country could have performed. He had kissed a beautiful, intriguing, intelligent, funny woman, and a date with her that he needed to rearrange. Yet Sam felt…
He wasn't sure about that either. But he thought he might feel better once he saw Cassie again. And he would definitely feel better once he had been for a run.
Sam jogged purposefully, increasingly his speed along the residential streets and slowing again as he reached the centre of town. He usually ran earlier in the morning when the roads were quiet and didn't want to cause an accident by running down a senior citizen doing their shopping on Main Street.
If he slowed his pace as he passed Abigail's flower shop to see if Cassie was there, nobody needed to know. Except Abigail apparently, who waved and gave him a sunny (and knowing) smile as he passed. Damn it, he could never sneak anything by that woman.
He carried on, intending to reach the far end of Main Street and then run back the way he had come. Something dragged his pace to a crawl again as he passed the Bistro, and it wasn't just the crowd of young mothers with strollers studying the specials board outside.
There she was, Cassie, looking radiant with the weak sunshine glinting off her long dark hair, reflecting in her deep brown eyes. He watched as she threw her head back in laughter, wondering who or what had amused her so much. He really loved that surprised little laugh she gave when a funny comment caught her off guard, especially when he had been the one to make said remark. He squinted through the tinted glass and felt his stomach plummet.
Cassie was laughing and joking, sharing what looked like brunch with none other than Middleton's primary realtor Ryan Elliott.