Melt Your Heart
Chapter 37: Family Traditions
"You look happier," Joanne commented when her brother returned. She placed the novel she had been trying to read next to her on the couch; the words had all started to blur into one and she was glad to have Sam to focus on instead.
"I am," he admitted, taking off his jacket and sitting down in the chair opposite her. "You, however, look exhausted." It frightened him a little to see how she had deteriorated so quickly in the time he had been at Grey House. She had practically been buzzing with happiness from Cassie's visit when he'd returned from work.
"But not so exhausted that I don't want to hear about whatever has put the spring back in your step," she replied, not denying that she was already struggling to stay awake and it was only a little past eight in the evening. Sam noticed this too, but he knew better than to mention it.
"Well, long story short: Cassie has agreed to our trip to pick out a Christmas tree with the twins. We're going next Saturday."
Joanne's face relaxed into a smile; it even lit up her tired eyes.
"That's great, Sam. I'm so pleased she changed her mind," she said, putting up a hand to stop him before he could intervene. "And no, I promise, I didn't even mention it to her this afternoon."
"I know," Sam replied softly. Gratefully. "And I appreciate that."
"Does this mean she's letting you loose with the twins, or is she coming with you?" Joanne asked, barely able to suppress her grin now.
"She's coming too," Sam replied, and found that his sister's smile was infectious.
"I'm so excited for you. You'd better tell me every little detail," she warned him.
"You could come, too." Sam suggested.
But Joanne was already shaking her head. "Oh, no. Don't worry about me. I'll enjoy the peace and quiet, and I'm sure there's plenty of Middleton I haven't explored yet."
"Well, the offer is there if you change your mind…" Sam told her, watching with concern in his eyes as she slowly folded the blanket that had been draped over her knees and started to get ready to head upstairs to his guestroom.
Joanne nodded, but she had absolutely no intention of crashing her brother's family day out.
Cassie had worried a little about presenting the idea of Sam taking the three of them to go pick out a Christmas tree, but she needn't have done. Both of her children already adored Sam, so the thought of spending a whole Saturday with him and their mom went down so well that Cassie had had to read them an extra story to help them settle for bed.
By Friday night they were both too excited to sleep, and Cassie was extremely grateful for the lavender pillow spray she had brewed herself. It worked like a charm on the twins, but she found that sleep eluded her completely.
Was it nerves, was it excitement? Cassie couldn't be sure, and could have used some words of wisdom from her cousin but Abigail was nowhere to be found.
Cassie rolled over in bed for the umpteenth time, sighing as the dragged the blankets with her. It seemed that as soon as she ironed out one problem, another was simmering in the background, just waiting for her attention. She and Sam had finally found a way to co-exist, even if they both knew that what did exist between them was and always would be more than just friendship, but now there was Joanne and her illness to tackle. Abigail, who had become so much less isolated since the arrival of Cassie and the twins, had retreated back into herself lately, and Cassie didn't know how to reach her.
At least the twins were happy.
That was all she wanted, and exactly why she had come to Middleton in the first place.
Giving up on the pretence of even trying to sleep, Cassie climbed out of bed and put on her slippers, wrapping a robe around her shoulders as she peered out of the window. Sam's light was still on, and she wondered what was keeping him up. Her cheeks flushed a deep pink – even in the sanctity of her own bedroom – because she suddenly had a very good idea what was occupying her neighbour-slash-friend.
For a moment, she was wracked with a bolt of envy that almost took her breath away, until she stopped thinking and started feeling.
She shouldn't have been relieved to realise that he was alone; the only other person in the Radford property being Joanne.
But, still, she was.
This was ridiculous, she admonished herself, stepping out of her bedroom and softly closing the door behind her. Walking quietly along the landing, not wanting to disturb the handful of guests who had extended their stays after Thanksgiving, Cassie headed for the attic. Although she had been brewing and preparing her lotions, candles, and teas in preparation for whenever she could open her shop, Cassie had spent very little time researching her Merriwick roots. She knew she could talk to Abigail about it, but something always held her back, and she supposed it made sense to wait until the third mystery cousin arrived in Middleton.
Now that she really thought about it, Cassie realised that she hadn't heard Abigail mention that for a while either.
She definitely needed to make spending quality time with Abigail a priority, but when the twins were in bed or otherwise occupied because they were at the age where they overheard everything. Maybe that was why they hadn't been surprised in the slightest when Cassie had suggested the tree-buying excursion; or maybe they just knew things too, like their mom and Cousin Abigail.
Cassie spent the next two hours poring over the Merriwick family history and mementoes that had been gathering dust in the attic ever since, until her eyes wouldn't stay open any longer. Glancing at her watch in the flickering glow of the candlelight, she saw that she could manage at least a handful of hours sleep before she needed to be ready for Sam.
When she crept back into her bedroom, she saw that Sam's light was off now and she smiled.
At least someone was getting a decent night's sleep.
Sam woke up before his alarm, confused by the feeling of anticipation in the pit of his stomach. It had been a very long time since he'd been that excited about going to work, or about anything in general. As he pushed back the covers and headed for the bathroom, he remembered.
He was about to spend his whole Saturday with Cassie Nightingale.
That certainly explained the anticipation.
This would be the first time they had spent an extended amount time together as friends, and it was important to him that it went well. He'd had to accept that friendship was the most he could hope for from her for now, and he was okay with that. It certainly beat not having any kind of relationship with her, and it would be good for both her and twins to start some new Christmas family traditions.
And he did intend for this to be a family tradition.
On his way down the kitchen to brew coffee, he poked his head around the door of the spare bedroom and saw that Joanne was still sleeping peacefully. It struck him how much she looked like her old self while she dreamed, and he wished there was something he could do to fix her, to make her better. Being a world-renowned doctor and not being able to cure your own sister made him feel useless, impotent.
All he could do as support her, so he let her sleep.
He was very slowly learning that Doctor Sam Radford could not control every single variable, and sometimes the best thing you could do for a person you cared about was simply that: to care about them. He was trying it with Cassie, and now he was trying it with his sister.
He deserved a freakin' medal for his patience, he thought.
But he wasn't going to think about any of that today. No, today he was going to help two kids pick out a Christmas tree, and he was going to enjoy the heck out of it.
Cassie had been so preoccupied with getting the twins up and ready for their day out with Sam, that she only noticed that Abigail was missing after she'd finished setting up the dining room for the guests' breakfast. Their weekend guests usually walked to The Bistro for brunch, so catering with muffins and pastries was usually enough, but one or other of the Merriwicks was usually around to oversee.
Leaving James and Catherine to pick out their gloves and hats for their excursion, Cassie dashed up the stairs and quietly pushed open the door to Abigail's bedroom. Her instincts hadn't been wrong; her cousin's bed was still made up from the previous morning.
Oh, Abigail, Cassie thought as she headed back downstairs at a slower pace, her heart aching for her cousin.
While they waited for Sam, Cassie sent a quick text message to Abigail; that catch-up needed to happen sooner rather than later.
When Sam appeared at the front door, looking entirely too enticing for such an early hour of the morning, Cassie offered to drive them to the Christmas tree farm but he was having none of it.
"I offered to take the twins, so I'm doing the driving," he had reasoned and Cassie didn't want to start the day off on the wrong foot by arguing over something so trivial.
"Don't come crying to me when the twins have gotten mud all over your footmats," she told him, hoping for levity and feeling relieved when his blue eyes sparkled.
Except that made her want to kiss him. Again.
She was going to have to get used to fact that she was always going to want him, and then maybe she could stop thinking about it. Maybe if she tried to picture Ryan, that might help.
"You okay?" Sam asked quietly as he climbed into the front seat.
Cassie smiled, realising her face must have showed her distaste.
"Yes, thank you," she replied. "And thank you for doing this; the twins have been excited all week."
"Me too," he said, with a smile that could have melted all of the snow in the mid-west.
Cassie rolled her eyes a little as she settled back in her seat; she was determined to enjoy the day, to delight in her children's excitement, and to be grateful for the time she could to spend with this man who was beyond any of her wildest dreams or fantasies.
The man who still wanted to spend time with her and children even without the guarantee of ever again having a romantic relationship with her.
"I do have one condition, though," he said, interrupting Cassie's thoughts as they pulled out of the drive and onto the road.
Cassie jolted a little because for a second she had thought that he'd read her mind.
"What's that?" she asked cautiously.
"No Christmas music," he said firmly. "I don't care if it is December now, it's still too early."
Cassie laughed. "Deal."
He reached over to turn the radio up, and Cassie prayed that whatever they listened to, this time it wouldn't be Bruce Springsteen.