Melt Your Heart

It wasn't my intention to leave it so long without updating, especially as it feels like I wrote sections of this chapter months ago.

It's a long one though, to make up for the delay! I hope you enjoy it and thanks for sticking with this story.

Now...how much trouble can Sam and Abigail get into when left to their own devices?

Chapter 21: The Very Last Thing She Wanted

Despite staging a serious protest, Abigail Pershing was resting. She had been released from the hospital after an overnight stay with recommendations to rest and reduce the stress levels in her life. She had shared a smile with Cassie over that. It seemed like things were working out the way they were supposed without her interference, so she could hold off on the helping for now (or at least hold back).

She felt better. Much better. But even her natural, and supernatural, powers of persuasion were not up to the challenge of fighting not only Cassie and Sam (why did have to be a doctor?) but the twins as well. And, if she was truly honest with herself, she could use the break. The sheer amount of magic she had been (man)handling over the past few weeks had depleted all of her energy. Sleeping for a week didn't seem like such a bad plan, and that was so not Abigail's style.

She had even handed over the reins (and keys) of her beloved flower shop to Cassie.

But she had faith that her cousin would manage – Cassie was just as much of a force to be reckoned with as Abigail, just in a different way.

Cassie was enjoying having something different to do, and was grateful that Abigail had been given a clean bill of health. Better still, no one suspected that the cause of her cousin's episode had been magically induced.

Well, almost everyone.

She hadn't liked having to conceal some of the truth from Sam, but she had a feeling that he understood a lot more than he let on. He'd known Abigail for a long time, so of course he'd realise that the Merriwicks weren't exactly normal.

She found herself starting another list of questions for her cousin, namely how much did Sam know?

All she had wanted to do after Sam woke her when they arrived back at Grey House was to fall back asleep again – okay, kiss her kids first, and then sleep.

Possibly forever.

Or at least until midday.

She wanted Sam to know how grateful she was for it all – for their beautiful day at the pumpkin festival, and for being her knight in shining blue scrubs when Abigail was taken ill. She felt like she knew him better now, having spent time with him outside of Middleton and on his own turf at Hillcrest.

She really had fallen for a pretty damn amazing man.

And apparently so had her children.

As she rearranged the wreath of gold and yellow blooms for the seventh time that hour, she couldn't help but think about Abigail. Beneath her brusque and forthright exterior, the younger woman was clearly desperate for family and connection. So desperate in fact that she had put her own health at risk.

She paused mid-thought, looking up as something across the street caught her eye. She blinked, but there was nothing there, just Middleton's Main Street looking resplendent in the autumn sunshine. And yet… Something about the building on the opposite side of the street, four doors down, was…calling to her? These days she knew to trust her intuition, knew it was something more than just a gut feeling. When she closed up the shop for her lunch hour maybe she'd go over and investigate just what had set her Merriwick sense tingling.

Less than twenty four hour after he'd last left it, Sam was back at Hillcrest once more. And, for one troubling moment, he realised he wished he was anywhere else. The thought jolted him back to reality, throwing him clean off his axis. He knew he could put it down to the rollercoaster of the last day or so, and the resulting fatigue, but he also knew that the cause of this…this feeling was not medical.

Yes, he'd been toying with the idea of maybe changing his career path in some way, but he'd never actively wanted to be somewhere else…with someone else. His ex had never cared about the odd and unsociable hours that he worked – just as long as his work hadn't interfered with the spectacle that had been their wedding day – because it gave her all the time she needed to work on her next career move.

And her next man, apparently.

Work was escape, it was purpose, and damn it, he felt like it was his duty.

But now.

Now he was building a life he didn't want to keep running away from.

Cassie didn't have time to leave the flower shop at lunch time – in fact, when Stephanie had turned up just before two with a steaming pot of chicken noodle soup and a flask of tea, Cassie could have kissed her. Business had steadily increased during the day, and Cassie wasn't sure whether that was due to people being genuinely curious about how she would run the shop without Abigail's beady eye watching over her (she had worked in the shop on numerous occasions since arriving in Middleton, but only for a few hours at a time without her cousin's supervision) or because her cousin was no longer manipulating events with her magic.

It was crazy how quickly Cassie had just accepted that this was her reality now. Maybe because it just made sense, it just fit. After her parents had died, she had spent years trying to find herself and she'd travelled all over the world to do it. She thought she'd found what she was looking for in Jake and the twins, but then he and their life together had also been ripped away.

Had it all be leading her to Middleton?

And, dare she even acknowledge it, to Sam?

She scribbled down yet another order in Abigail's planner, surprised that her cousin still preferred the large bound notebook over a tablet or a laptop. She flipped to the page for Saturday and one of Abigail's handwritten notes leapt out at her.

Cassie bday bouquet for Sam – collect 6pm

She smiled.

So he had remembered.

She was quite happy for her birthday to slip by unnoticed now. Her priority was making sure that Abigail was fighting fit and back to her usual self again. That was all she wanted.

But getting a bouquet from the man she was dating?

Yeah, she was woman enough to admit that it gave her a little thrill.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Sam whispered, his breathing into her ear as he pulled her body closer to his.

"You're here every single day," she laughed, but she didn't resist his embrace.

And it was true. He had swung by Grey House every day since Abigail had been discharged from the hospital. It was also true that they hadn't had more than a few moments alone together since they'd come back from the pumpkin festival in Blairsville.

"Okay," he agreed. "I feel like I haven't got any time alone with you in forever."

The deepening of his voice and the roughness of his tone had Cassie's shivering in his arms, despite her thick sweater and the warmth of him.

"Well, you have me alone now," she said, trying to match his sultry tone.

"Mm, yeah, I do," he grinned, lowering his face to hers and brushing her lips gently with his own.

It took every remaining shred of his self-control to keep the kiss light when what he really wanted was to claim her mouth. He wanted to show her – to make her feel – all of the pent up desire he had stored away for her, but they were taking it slow. Hell, he was the one who had put that boundary in place (even if sometimes he wondered why). Okay, no, he knew why but that didn't always make it easier. Especially not when she smelled this good and when he could feel her tongue pressing against the seam of his lips, wanting to deepen the kiss.

They'd backed up against the kitchen counter – he wasn't sure if that was his doing or hers – and in one swift movement he had lifted her onto the surface. She gasped a little against his mouth, her eyes widening a fraction with the heady mix of surprise and desire. Widening her thighs so Sam could step between them, she wrapped her legs around him, her heels resting on the curve of his ass.

He kissed her with purpose now, one hand cupping her cheek and the other resting on her thigh. Cassie could feel the heat of his palm through the fabric of her jeans, and it made all the more desperate to feel him.

Still experimenting with, and testing the limits of her newly discovered gifts, Cassie quickly learned that when her senses (and yes, okay, her hormones) were overwhelmed with something, she wasn't quite as perceptive.

So Abigail's cough caught them both by surprise.

Sam sprang back from Cassie, extricating himself from her embrace. His heart was pounding and he felt like a horny teenager caught by his mother, not a man in his forties kissing his woman in her own kitchen. He looked at Cassie, her cheeks were flushed too. Unfortunately that did nothing to ease his current, uncomfortable predicament.

"Don't let me interrupt you," Abigail said, grinning impishly. She had not offered her help in any way, beyond the practical running of her shop and the B&B, and she was seeing again that perhaps the two of them actually had things under control now. "I just wanted a glass of water."

Cassie stared at her. Abigail might not be purposefully using her magic to manipulate events, but their gifts weren't something that could be switched on and off as required. Her cousin would still have been able to sense that not only was Cassie not alone, that she was also extremely unlikely to want to be interrupted right now.

"I should probably go," Sam said, and his voice was still a little strained.

"Don't leave on my account," Abigail replied sweetly, causing Cassie to roll her eyes in a rather un-Cassie manner.

"I wouldn't," he replied, then looked her up and down. "You're looking better."

"I feel better," she confirmed, resting her hand on Sam's forearm for a second.

He knew her well enough to know how much she conveyed in that single touch.

"I actually feel better enough," she continued. "To walk you to the door."

Sam caught Cassie's eye and shrugged.

"I'll call you later," he told her, before letting Abigail hustle him towards the kitchen door.

Mystified, and wondering just what the heck her cousin was up to now, Cassie turned away and went to fill the kettle.

Some chamomile tea might help her pulse return to normal.

Okay, who was she kidding?

Even a Xanax would be no match for the way he kicked her nervous system into overdrive.

"No offence Abigail, but you're acting really strange, even by your standards," he said, waiting outside while Abigail wrapped her cardigan tighter around herself.

"I wanted to talk to you about Sunday."

"Sunday?"

It was Abigail's turn to roll her eyes. "Cassie's birthday."

He grinned. "I know, just checking that you remembered after your short trip into unconsciousness."

Abigail folded her arms across her chest, it was a little difficult to be as authoritative as she wanted to be when she was nearly shaking from the cold.

"Everything is under control," he continued. "Are you still going to be okay to keep Cassie out of the way for most of the day?"

"I'll figure something out," she assured him.

"Of course you will," he said with a wry smile, hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Now, get back inside before you catch your death."

"Yes, Doctor Radford," she replied with another roll of her eyes, but it was a friendly gesture this time.

Another week in Middleton slipped by, and Cassie was finding it hard to believe how long she had been a resident of the town. It had gone so quickly, yet she felt like it had been forever. Had she really finally found the home she had always been searching for?

On Friday afternoon, with the flower shop closed for the day and with some time to kill before she had to collect the twins from school, Cassie crossed the street and slowly wandered along the sidewalk. As she passed the different stores, stores where she now knew the names of all of the proprietors and their staff, Cassie could feel her senses getting more potent.

There was something here, even if she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

She stopped outside the shuttered building and tried to peer through the small gaps in the boarded up windows. She had a good, hopeful feeling about this place. It was foolish, though. She had more than enough on her plate trying to be a single parent to two children, helping Abigail in the flower shop and with the B&B, and maintaining a new relationship. Not to mention getting roped into Martha's Halloween plans. She really didn't have time for another project, especially not when she factored in all of the storage boxes she'd yet to have sent to Grey House. But as she gently rested her palm against the window pane, none of that seemed to matter.

She wanted to know more, but she knew that in a town the size of Middleton there would be only one realtor.

And it would mean a conversation with Ryan.

For the second Sunday in a row, Cassie found herself bundling her two children in the backseat of a car, with a picnic basket from Stephanie in the trunk. Abigail had insisted that she was well enough for a day out, and frankly Cassie was quite pleased to have something to do. The flower shop was always closed on Sundays and their only guests at the B&B had decided to go antiquing in Blairsville, so for once Cassie had some free time on her hands on a day where she really wanted to be occupied.

She hadn't cried when Sam had arrived the night before with a bouquet of flowers so large they had almost hidden him from view, or when the twins had given her their handmade birthday cards, but she was still feeling a little fragile and couldn't stop the slideshow of memories that kept playing in her head.

"Okay?" Abigail asked when Cassie finished fussing and finally climbed into the driver's seat.

She was picking up a whole truck load of emotions from Cassie today and, if she hadn't spent the past week with her feet up, Abigail would have felt a wrung out as her cousin looked. She drummed her fingers on her thighs as Cassie started the engine, wondering whether she should send Sam a text message and cancel the plans they had made. Cassie had said, with boring repetition, that she didn't want any kind of fuss for her birthday, but Abigail felt it was the least she could do.

And Sam had been more than keen to get involved.

She just hoped that Cassie liked what they had planned.

"You're quiet today," Abigail commented when they'd driven along in silence for close to a quarter of an hour. Even the twins were silent in the backseat.

Merriwicks, Abigail thought.

"Just concentrating on the traffic," her cousin replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

Abigail nodded and leaned back in her seat. She wanted to say something – anything – to fill the silence, but everything that occurred to her was either inappropriate or insensitive. And yes, that wasn't exactly new for Abigail, but she was trying to be a little more considerate these days. Where Cassie, and the twins, were concerned anyway.

When they pulled out onto the road into Blairsville, the twins turned to look out of the left side window.

"Pumpkins!" James announced, his brown eyes dancing with excitement.

"This is where we went with Sam last weekend," Cassie explained as the kids giggled in the backseat. The sound was a balm to her soul. If, after everything they'd been through, her twins could be this happy, then Cassie was going to try her best to enjoy the day as well.

"Ah," Abigail smiled, closing her eyes and leaning back against the seat. "It's a shame he had to work today."

Cassie shrugged. She'd rather not see him at all today because he was working, than spend all day with him at the expense of Abigail burning herself out again.

Sam hadn't exactly lied to Cassie, but he had certainly participated in a campaign of half-truths. He knew she would forgive him, but he still wasn't quite sure how happy she would be with her surprise. He could empathise, he hated surprises too.

Unless they came in the form of bewitching brunettes and their charming children, apparently.

Abigail had been adamant that it was a good idea and, much like Martha Tinsdale, it was easier to just shut up and go with the flow.

So he had.

And if he had the opportunity to make Cassie happy, especially on her birthday, then he would take it. She probably wasn't even aware of it herself, but sometimes when he looked at her just she seemed so…sad. He knew that was to be expected; she was still grieving. She put on a brave face for the twins, and sometimes with him, but he had seen the wistful, nostalgic look on her face when she watched Catherine and James playing, and it broke him.

If this made her smile, just for a moment, then it was worth the risk.

He enjoyed the peace and quiet of the crisp October morning, though part of him still wished he was spending Cassie's birthday with her. But it was important that she had this time with her family. He knew she would be thinking about Jake today. Sam could never imagine how that must feel. He rarely spared a thought for his ex-wife from one month to the next, but he ached for Cassie and wondered if she held back from confiding in him about how much she missed her husband because of their own relationship.

It certainly gave him something to think about as he laid out his tools and set to work.

Cassie felt like she had been driving forever, a slight headache throbbing at her temple.

"Where are you even taking me?" she asked, her tone a little sharp. She hoped it might win something like a straight answer from Abigail, but she should have known better.

"It's a surprise," Abigail told her, shifting in her seat and pulling down the visor against the shaft of autumn sunlight.

"I hate surprises," Cassie muttered.

Abigail decided now wasn't the best moment to tell her she sounded just like a certain doctor they both knew.

"Next left!" she called.

"Abigail, are you sure?" Cassie queried. "This looks like a dead end."

She looked back over her shoulder at the twins but they seemed perfectly happy, so she sighed and followed her cousin's directions. She wasn't sure if orienteering was a Merriwick gift or not.

They bumped down the country road, which was really little more than a farm track, and Cassie said a silent prayer for the SUV's suspension. She really couldn't afford to get it fixed right now, especially not when she had her eye on that vacant property on Main Street.

The one she hadn't told anyone about yet.

"Okay, we're here," Abigail told her, somewhat triumphant and a fair bit smug.

"We are?" Cassie asked, arching an eyebrow.

'Here' appeared to be a field in the middle of, well, nowhere.

"Yup!" Abigail grinned, hopping out of the car with far too much enthusiasm for someone who'd been in the hospital a week ago, and opening the rear passenger door.

Catherine and James jumped out, looking around with less bewilderment than their mother, but not much.

"Are there pumpkins here?" James asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Not today," Abigail told him, taking his hand.

Pumpkins inadvertently made Cassie think of Sam again. She missed him. She felt sure that if he'd been the one planning her birthday day out they would be in a quiet, warm restaurant somewhere, looking at the wine list, his hand reaching across the table to take hers… She abruptly cancelled that train of thought, but already she could feel the flush working its way up her neck to her cheeks. Thankfully the cool wind whipping around them gave her an alibi, although it was hard to hide anything from a Merriwick.

"Have…have you brought me to a farmer's market?" Cassie asked incredulously once she'd had a chance to take in her surroundings.

"Not exactly," her cousin replied, her grin mysterious and all-the-way smug now.

Taking Catherine's hand, Cassie followed her cousin across the field, grateful that the weather had been dry recently. Cleaning mud off two tired six year olds was not how she envisioned her birthday ending.

All of Cassie's reservations melted away as they approached the set-up of tents, airstreams, and tables set up at the back of people's trucks and cars. Yes, it did look like some kind of farmers' market, but the scents wafting their way took Cassie back, back to her previous, pre-Middleton life.

When the twins were born, Cassie had become a stay-at-home mom. Trying to afford childcare for two babies instead of one on a cop's salary was out of the question, and Cassie had taken to motherhood so strongly that she didn't want to be apart from her babies. To make ends meet, she had picked up some of the skills and practices she had learned on her travels around the world, from back before she even knew Jake Russell existed.

She'd made candles, and teas, and healing balms from essentials oils. She'd helped her friends and neighbours, and even Jake when he'd let her even though he put more of his faith in over-the-counter medications than any of her new agey stuff.

His words, not hers.

Cassie smiled at the memory. It was strange to realise that Jake and Sam probably would have got on well together.

Shaking off the past, Cassie looked across at Abigail who was studying her carefully.

"Okay, this is not what I was expecting, but this is pretty awesome, Abigail."

Her cousin visibly relaxed and they started to make their way around the stalls and stands. It wasn't really Abigail's scene, even though she was a full-blooded Merriwick herself, but she did enjoy getting to meet people who had some of the same gifts and powers as she did.

It had been lonely being the only witch in Middleton.

Until Cassie arrived anyway.

Cassie smiled gratefully as she approached the familiar sights of Middleton, slowing the SUV as she approached the turn. It had been a good day - a long day - but just the kind of low key birthday she had wanted.

She hoped their was pizza, and maybe ice cream, in her future.

The real stuff, not vegan.

Pulling to a stop outside Grey House, she thought she could sense something…someone? Was Sam back already? But as she stifled a yawn, she realised it was probably tiredness and fresh air catching up with her. The kids had started dozing miles back.

Abigail opened her car door first and gently woke the twins, helping them out on their unsteady legs.

"I'll take them inside," she told Cassie. "I'll leave you to bring in our stuff."

Cassie nodded. If Abigail wanted to wrangle the two sleepy children then that was her prerogative. She took the tote bag out of the trunk and locked the car, listening to the familiar blip of the alarm engaging.

And then stopped.

Stock still.

Was that a laugh she'd heard, coming from the back of Grey House?

She waited a moment, her ears straining to hear anything other than her own breathing, her own heartbeat. She had almost given it up as some kind of paranoia, or the wind carrying the noise from somewhere else, when she heard it again.

Followed by a hiss as someone was encouraged to keep quiet.

She had a sinking feeling.

She didn't want this.

Determined, she walked up the drive and into Grey House, following the lighted candles through to the kitchen, and out through the back door.

"Surprise!"

The tote bag fell from her grasp, and she was sure she heard the clatter of breaking china.

She was bowled over by the sheer number of voices calling out at her from the garden, Abigail and the twins among them.

She blinked, not knowing whether she was going to laugh, or cry, or some hysterical combination of the two.

This was the very last thing she'd wanted.

Looking around, she took in the smiling faces of her neighbours, her friends, her family.

And at the centre of it all?

Sam.