Melt Your Heart
Sorry, it's been a while - which wasn't my intention. This chapter just kept growing & growing and I eventually just had to settle on where I could cut it off so there'd finally be an update after 2 months! I have a rough plan for the rest of this, and there's a lot more written than needs to be edited. I've decided, against my better judgement really, to do NaNoWriMo this year, so I won't be writing Good Witch fic during November, but you should still get some fic from me as there's more of this story and of Wanderlust to come.
If you're still out there reading this story, I appreciate you. I have a lot of fun writing it, so if you're enjoying too, that's even better!
Happy Halloween for Sunday!
Chapter 22: When the Party's Over
Abigail Pershing never doubted herself.
Except when she did.
Like, right now.
She watched Cassie stop, her cousin's shoulders so stiff with tension that they were practically level with her ears. Her gaze moved to Sam and she could see, as well as sense, that he was getting the same vibe from Cassie as she was.
But then her cousin seemed to unfreeze and stepped forward, a smile on her face, to greet her guests.
Abigail exhaled, but she thought she might pay for this later – after all, Cassie wasn't always as calm as she outwardly appeared. Her cousin had been granted a front row seat to the crash course in this very subject.
She moved away, letting Cassie absorb the attention – watching as her cousin was well and truly enveloped in the arms of the town. How she had become a part of it – the heart of it – in such a short space of time would have amazed Abigail if she wasn't already under Cassie's spell. Merriwick though Abigail was, she had never possessed this kind of power.
Stephanie placing a glass of cool wine in her hand broke Abigail free from her reverie. There was a sparkle in the blonde's eyes – technically Abigail wasn't supposed to be drinking alcohol so soon after her hospital stay but, for now, her doctor seemed otherwise occupied.
God, she hoped he wasn't in too much trouble.
"When you came out and saw us all, well, me in particular, I really thought that we'd messed this up," Sam admitted later, the two of them sat around a small patio table.
"No, no, of course not," Cassie assured him, although this was the polar opposite of the quiet birthday she had wanted…or thought she'd wanted. "I just, well, if you didn't have to work today, I would rather have spent the day with you."
"Yeah?" Sam asked, surprised.
Cassie nodded. "I had this whole fantasy where we went to a cosy little restaurant somewhere and picked something fancy from the wine list, and you were holding my hand across the table..."
It was so simple, but so romantic, and it caught Sam off guard for just a second.
"Oh, really?" he asked, reaching for her hand now and holding her chilled fingers in his. "Sounds pretty tame for a fantasy."
A surprised giggle bubbled out of her.
"It's a good thing you're not a mind reader then, isn't it Doctor Radford?"
Sam laughed now too.
"I think that's probably a very good thing," he agreed, rubbing his thumb in circles over the soft skin of her palm.
It was the gentle, teasing kind of touch that had her wondering how good that same ministration would feel in other, more intimate places.
Oh, yeah, she was lucky he couldn't read her thoughts right now.
"But how about you Ms Nightingale, what am I thinking about?"
Cassie screwed her face up in thought. It was an expression that could have made her look dorky, but to Sam she managed to be the perfect combination of cute and sexy.
"You're thinking about how desperately you want…" she paused, daring herself to meet his eyes. "That last slice of Stephanie's apple pie."
Sam laughed again, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Guilty as charged, Your Honour."
"Thank you, for all of this, though," she said, turning serious as she gestured at the barbecue. "We talked about this one time, and you made it for me on your day off."
Sam shook his head.
"I kind of made it for me, too. It would be rude of you to have a barbecue now and not invite me," he teased.
"You're always welcome here," she told him seriously.
He reached for her hand again, squeezing it gently.
"Even when you conspire with Abigail on something I told both of you I didn't want," she continued.
Sam looked sheepish, but he didn't back down.
"Cassie, you're part of this town now, like it or not, things like this will keep happening."
Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please. I can't imagine anyone was brave enough to throw a surprise party for you!"
"The first anniversary of my moving to Middleton," he stated simply. "Stephanie made my favourite yellow cake with chocolate frosting, so that helped."
"I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that," Cassie replied with a laugh.
"Things nearly got ugly for a second there," he agreed. "I really do hate surprises though."
But then he looked at her. Cassie, and the way he felt about her, had both come as a bolt from the blue, but he very much did not hate her.
In fact, it was the exact opposite.
By the time the final guests were leaving, Cassie was exhausted. So much for Sunday being a day of rest. At least the party had wrapped up earlier than it might have done on a Friday or a Saturday night.
She stepped back inside Grey House, grateful for the peace and quiet, until she was the kitchen. She looked around at it – her usually immaculate-in-spite-of-two-young-children, gleaming to a sparkle kitchen – in horror. There wasn't an inch of clear space on any of the counters, instead they were covered in partly eaten platters of food, discarded paper plates, and empty glasses.
Tired and emotional, Carrie fumed.
She hadn't even wanted this party and now, somehow, she had been landed with the fallout.
It would have to wait until the morning.
She didn't even know if she had the energy left to undress and brush her teeth – the situation in the kitchen seemed insurmountable in comparison.
On her way to bed, Cassie looked in on the twins. They had gone to bed hours ago, burned out by the busy day and their sugar come-down.
Stephanie had really outdone herself with the food.
And the cake?
Well.
But it had been a lot. And, though she knew it was ungrateful, too much.
She would have been happy with her day out with Abigail and the twins, followed by pizza and ice cream back at Grey House.
And maybe a visit from a certain friendly neighbourhood doctor.
Autumn sunlight streamed in through the front windows of Grey House, rousing Cassie from what felt like a month of sleep. She rolled over, reaching for her cell phone but it wasn't in its usual place on her nightstand. She sat up in bed, the sheets tangled around her legs, and pushed her hair out of her eyes.
Oh.
No.
Cassie scrambled out of bed and raced down the stairs, almost sliding on the hardwood floor in her haste.
"Mornin' cousin," Abigail greeted her, sitting at the kitchen island with a teapot in front of her. "Sleep well?"
Cassie blinked at her cousin several times.
"The twins?" she finally asked.
"Safely packed off to school, with some of the party leftovers in their lunch bags."
"Thank you," Cassie said, sighing with relief as she leaned against the counter.
"You're welcome," Abigail replied, pouring out a cup of tea for each of them.
Cassie accepted her cup gratefully, blowing across the surface and taking a restorative sip.
"Oh my gosh, the kitchen!" she finally exclaimed.
"You didn't think we were going to make you clean up after your own party, did you?" Abigail asked, her smirk making itself known. "Especially a party that you didn't even want."
"Abigail," Cassie began to protest, but her cousin cut her off.
"I know you wanted something simple, something low key, but everyone here cares about Cassie, they wanted to celebrate with you," she explained.
Cassie sighed. "I know. And I'm grateful. I just…it's hard going through these milestones without Jake."
God, it was still hard to say his name without her voice cracking under the weight of her grief. Some days she felt as raw as if it had just happened.
Abigail squeezed her hand, not knowing what to say. But for Cassie her silent show of support was more meaningful than anything she could have said.
After a few moments had passed, Abigail drained her cup.
"I need to get to the flower shop," she told her. "I thought perhaps you could use a day to relax here, pamper yourself a bit, and enjoy the peace and quiet?"
Cassie smiled. That did sound kind of perfect, but she wasn't sure she did want to be alone right now.
"Or if that doesn't sound tempting," she continued, the smirk back in place and a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "I don't think Sam is working till later…"
After Abigail had sauntered out of the kitchen, Cassie poured herself another cup of tea and took it upstairs to the bathroom with her. She did want to see Sam, but first she had something else she needed to take care of.
"Well, Cassie, this is quite the surprise…"
Showered, dressed, and feeling much more like herself, Cassie had stepped into the realtor's office and asked to see Mr Elliott. The receptionist had hesitated but Ryan had been stepping out of his own office and waved Cassie back, an expression of bewildered delight on his face.
She hoped he didn't she was there just to see him, but she knew better. Of course he hoped she was there just for him.
The fact that she had danced in Sam's arms in front of him at her birthday party the previous evening appeared to do nothing to douse Ryan's ardour in cold water.
Still, it might work to her advantage.
Or blow up in her face.
Who said small town life was boring?
"Thank you for coming last night," she said, sliding her purse off her shoulder and setting it down next to her as she made herself comfortable in the chair facing Ryan's desk. "I hope you had a good time."
It was rhetorical, but Ryan chose to answer anyway.
"Oh yes, it was lovely. And many happy returns, by the way. You certainly kept that quiet."
Had he just winked at her?
"I didn't want a fuss," she stated, with her mysterious smile.
"Ah," Ryan said with a chuckle, sitting down in his chair and swivelling until he could look directly at Cassie. If his heart rate had increased, he could blame it on the coffee he'd not long finished, but he knew that wasn't the case. Not at all. "Abigail is quite the force to be reckoned with."
Cassie wasn't sure she liked his tone, but she kept her smile in place anyway.
"So," Ryan said, steepling his fingers under his chin. "What I can do for you today, Miss Nightingale?"
"I'm interested in one of the properties you have advertised in the window," she told him, watching and waiting for his eyebrows to raise. She wasn't disappointed.
"Ah, which one?" he asked, reaching for the assortment of files piled up on his desk.
"The one on Main Street, opposite Abigail's flower shop," Cassie explained.
He nodded slowly, thumbing through the paperwork. For a moment, he had wondered if Cassie was looking for a home of her own, but the properties on Main Street were prime real estate and, if he was honest, he was surprised that the vacant lot hadn't been snapped up already.
"Would you like the grand tour?" he asked, once he'd located the correct folder, the keys attached to the inside flap.
Well, there was no time like the present, was there?"
When Cassie arrived back at Grey House, she was surprised to find a truck outside and a bewildered man standing beside a stack of parcels.
"Are you Mrs Russell?" The man asked, peering at the printed document on his clipboard.
It gave Cassie a start to hear herself being referred to by that name. She had her kept her maiden name – her chosen maiden name, anyway – while she had been married to Jake, but people still assumed that she had changed her last name to his when they got married. The twins used Russell as their last name too, so in general it made things less confusing…unless she wasn't expecting it.
Then, and only then, it made her want to bury her head in her hands and cry.
Instead, she confirmed that she was indeed Mrs Russell and signed for the parcels.
"Where would you like them?" The delivery man asked, looking up at Grey House with a wary expression, hoping that she wouldn't say the top floor.
"Just inside the front door will be fine," Cassie replied, pushing the door open and moving aside a pair of Abigail's kicked-off boots to make more space.
She waited patiently while the delivery driver loaded the boxes inside, unable to stop hoping that he'd get on with it so she could dig into the treasures. She knew that their contents would probably make her emotional, but she was still relieved to be reunited with her belongings. Especially as it would make Grey House – and Middleton by extension – feel even more like home.
Grateful for her bounty, Cassie offered the delivery driver a glass of iced tea and, though he looked intrigued at the possibility of entering further into the hallowed halls of Grey House, he refused her. It was probably for the best, she realised, glancing at her watch and noticing that it was nearly time to pick the twins up from school.
She had a feeling – a good feeling – that she needed to be ready to leave early to collect them…because she might just be about to run into her favourite neighbour.
"Hey, neighbour," she greeted softly, trying to hide the amusement as she watched Sam literally flinch while he pulled bills and pamphlets from the mailbox.
"Hey, yourself," he grinned back, his heart racing for a different reason now.
"I wanted to say 'thank you'…for last night, and for this morning," she said, wrapping her arms around her body against the chill autumn breeze.
"Careful," Sam replied, lowering his voice as a wicked glint twinkled in his bright blue eyes. "People might overhear and get the wrong idea."
"Sam!" she squealed, feeling a blush rush to her cheeks, cheeks that were already flushed from the frigid wind.
"You're welcome, though," he continued. "We couldn't let the birthday girl clean up after her own party, especially when it was a party she didn't even want to ask for."
"Well, I wanted you to know that I appreciated it," Cassie replied. "I have to go and get the twins from school now, but I'll see you around."
"Wait," Sam said before she'd turned away to walk back down his driveway. "Normally when you come to say thank you, there's usually some baked goods or a meal in it for me."
Cassie grinned. "Sorry, looks like I came empty handed today." She closed the distance between them, reaching up to place her hands on his shoulders. Leaning in, she kissed him softly, and sweetly, on the lips. "That's the best I can do today."
"It's not pumpkin curry, or cinnamon muffins, but it'll do," Sam smiled, squeezing her gently in his arms before regretfully letting her go again. "Can I see you later?"
Cassie shook her head. "Sorry," she said, finding herself apologising again. "I've got plans tonight. Call me, though?"
"Of course," Sam replied, giving her one last quick kiss. If they stayed in each other's arms like this for much longer, they'd really be the talk of the town.
He watched her walk away, a little afraid of how fast he was falling and how it didn't feel like she was falling quite so fast.
Patience, he reminded himself.
Patience.
"Looks like somebody has been busy on Amazon," Abigail commented, strolling into the kitchen a little after five o'clock.
"My boxes finally arrived from storage today," Cassie replied, turning away from the sauce that was bubbling on the stove for a few seconds to smile at her cousin.
"That's great," Abigail replied, taking a seat at the kitchen island. "They're not going to live in the doorway permanently though, right? We might be Merriwicks, but that doesn't exclude us from things like injury lawyers."
Cassie grimaced. "I was going to sort them out after dinner when the twins are in bed," she explained. "You can give me a hand, if you like."
Abigail paused. On one hand, it sounded like her personal idea of hell. But she also knew it would be a good bonding experience for her and Cassie. Plus, it probably wasn't something she should leave Cassie to do alone – it was bound to trigger memories that upset her, even if some of those memories were happy ones.
"Of course," she replied, reaching for one of the cookies on the rack in front of her and recoiling when she realised they were still steaming hot. Sometimes the need for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies overrode her magical sensibilities, but it didn't escape her notice that these were Sam's favourites. She doubted it was a coincidence. "But I get first dibs on anything you don't want."
Cassie smiled, turning her attention back to the marinara sauce. She had expected Abigail to refuse, but she really thought this would bring them closer.
It would also give her the opportunity to tell her cousin about her plans.
"So, aside from being a single mom to twins, albeit adorable twins, and working at the B&B, making dinners for the guests some nights, and dating Sam, you want to open your own business as well?" Abigail questioned, eyebrow cocked and her hand on her hip.
"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like a lot…" Cassie agreed.
"You need to take some time for you as well, you know…" Abigail continued tentatively. This was always a grey area for her, but it didn't really feel like Cassie was pushing herself. It was tempting to throw yourself into work and activities to escape your own feelings of longing or grief, but Abigail was concerned that Cassie was trying to bury herself.
"I can make this work," Cassie calmly assured her. "I am a witch, after all."
This didn't win the smile from Abigail that Cassie thought it would.
"And remember how well it worked out for me when I tried to use magic to control everything?" Abigail responded tartly, then sighed. "I just worry about you, Cassie. You haven't even been in Middleton that long, and I'm concerned you're trying to take on too much."
"I appreciate that Abigail, I really do," Cassie said as she pushed herself into a standing position, and winced when her knees cracked. Surely there was a kinder way for the universe to remind her that she'd just turned a year older. "But I've got this."
"Okay," Abigail agreed, knowing from experience that it was pointless to argue with a Merriwick who had made their mind up about something. Usually she was that Merriwick, so this was new territory for her. "But don't be afraid to ask for help. That's what people do around here."
Cassie nodded. "Thank you."
"You have some amazing things here, Cassie," Abigail said, eager for a subject change now they'd come to some kind of an agreement. "Combined with your homemade candles, soaps, and oils, I think you're going to do a great business on Main Street."
Cassie smiled. "I really hope so."
Abigail hesitated, hating that she was about to shake the tentative compromise they'd just arrived at.
"People might ask questions, make…assumptions, about you – and by extension, us – because of the things you'll make, and sell…" she said, trailing off when she saw Cassie's frown.
"Because I sell natural remedies, some of them from the world's oldest civilisations?" she questioned, trying not to sound as astounded as she was. "I use to make some of this stuff long before I even knew about you or Middleton, let alone that I was a witch."
Abigail shrugged. "Some people don't like things they can't explain. Even sensible, intelligent people like our dear next door neighbour are sceptical about these kinds of remedies."
"You mean Sam?" Cassie asked, surprised.
"Yup," Abigail confirmed. "I tried to get him to drink a herbal tea once when he had a headache, and he looked at me like I'd grown another head and muttered something about Tylenol being invented for a reason."
"Oh," Cassie replied, caught between bafflement and amusement. "He was pretty resistant the time I got him to try the tea I make that tastes like coffee. For a moment I think he thought I was trying to poison him." The memory made her smile, they had come along way since their frosty beginning.
"I'm not trying to put you off," Abigail continued once their smiles had faded. "And I do think the town will support you, I just want you to be prepared."
Cassie didn't think she'd ever be prepared to open her own business, but she had also thought she'd never be able to cope as a single parent. And yet, here she was thriving after uprooting her life and moving with her children to a small town she had never heard of before, much less visited.
So, yes. Opening her own business would be a challenge, but if anyone had proven that they were more than up for a challenge, it was Cassandra Nightingale.
Trying to keep all of the other areas of her life running smoothly, particularly her relationship with Sam, well, that might be a different story.