Martha marched right over to the Bell, Book & Candle. The chimes above the door tinkled as she made her way inside, she looked around for Cassie but couldn't see her. "Oh Kate dear, is Cassie in today?" Martha asked.
"Yes, she's out the back doing some paperwork," Kate answered as she pointed to the door at the back of the store. Martha nodded and went to poke her head around the half open door. Cassie was sat at desk staring into space, the stack of paperwork in front of her forgotten. "Cassie," Martha called softly. When Cassie didn't acknowledge her Martha entered the tiny room and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Cassie," she said again. Cassie startled at the sudden presence in the room, then shook her head as if to clear it. "Martha, hi. Sorry I was..."
"A million miles away?" Martha finished for her as she sat down on the empty chair next to the desk.
"Yeah, I guess I was," Cassie replied.
"Are you alright? I just came from the Bistro and I ran into someone I never expected to see again. I can't imagine how you must be feeling."
Cassie took a deep breath, "Jake?" Martha nodded. "I'm not sure how I feel to be honest. I'm just so angry and I'm trying to find a way to deal with that anger."
"Did he say why he left the way he did?" Cassie told Martha everything that Jake had said that morning. She sat there and listened, open mouthed, until Cassie had finished talking. "Well, that's quite a story," Martha eventually said.
"Yeah," Cassie agreed, "But I keep thinking, there must have been another way. I'm not sure I can forgive the pain he caused us."
"Have you told Brandon, Lori and Grace yet?"
"Not yet, Grace is coming home for the holidays tomorrow so I thought I'd tell her in person. I don't know how she will take it."
"I'm sure she will just be happy to see her father again."
"I hope you are right," Cassie said sadly.
"This is a very unique situation, Cassie. You will figure out how to deal with it and you have Sam to help you."
"I do, he's been amazing. I know this must be pretty hard on him too."
"Well it's not everyday your wife's husband comes back from the dead," Martha said matter of factly.
"No, I guess it's not," Cassie sighed.
Martha placed her hand on Cassie's, "I'm sorry you went through all that pain, I know how devastated you were when Jake...well you know. If you need to talk, you know where I am."
"I do. Thank you, Martha."
Martha left and Cassie was once again alone with her thoughts.
Sam was sitting on a bench outside the hospital eating his lunch. He was so preoccupied thinking that he didn't realise Adam had sat down next to him, "Oh, hey Adam," Sam said sounding a bit dazed. "Hi," the chaplin greeted him. "You ok? You seemed deep in thought there."
Sam took a deep breath, "I'm just going to spit it out. Cassie's first husband Jake, who died ten years ago, turned up on our doorstep last night. Alive and well."
Adam stared at him, "Well that's one I haven't heard before. Wow, that's... Complicated."
"Tell me about it," Sam said before talking a large gulp of his coffee.
"Did he say why he left the way he did?"
"Something to do with investigating the wrong people and it going wrong. He was Middleton's chief of police. And so to protect Cassie and the kids he faked his death with the help of the FBI."
"It must have been pretty serious for him to leave his family like that. It can't have been easy for him," Adam said sympathetically.
"No I guess not," Sam said thoughtfully. "I never really thought about his feelings, just Cassie's. If it came down to it, I would do anything to protect Cassie, Nick and Grace."
"Most husband's and father's would."
Sam felt the pager in his pocket vibrate, he pulled it out and checked it. He downed the rest of his coffee, "I've got to go, but thank you for the talk."
"Anytime, see you later," Adam called after him as he headed for the ER.
It was lunchtime by the time Abigail made it to the Bell, Book & Candle to visit her cousin. Cassie was still in the office under the pretence of doing paperwork, she couldn't deal with a the pitying stares and comments that she knew would be coming. "Hey Cuz," Abigail greeted her as she entered the room, "I brought you lunch,I know how much you like Stephanie's chicken noodle soup."
Cassie smiled, "Hi, I do. Thank you."
"I didn't think you'd feel like going to the Bistro today. Everyone around town is talking."
Cassie grimaced, "Well, I suppose it's a shock for everybody. Jake was a big part of Middleton for a long time." Abigail unpacked the paper bags she was carrying and handed Cassie her soup and another container, "What's this?" Cassie asked.
"Chocolate cake, I figured you could do with a chocolate fix."
Cassie peeked in the box, "You know me so well, thanks for all this."
Abigail gave her a big smile before tucking into her salad, "I do, don't I?" she said thoughtfully.
"So, did you and Donovan speak to his mother yet?" Cassie asked, wanting to talk about anything other than Jake.
"Not yet, Donovan thinks we should go along with what she wants for our wedding," Abigail huffed.
"It's your wedding, you're allowed to have what you want."
"I know but Donovan just wants to keep the peace. I keep thinking that maybe we should just elope. I honestly just want to marry him, I don't want all the fuss." Cassie gave a small nod. "But, one thing I do what is a bachelorette party, that Dotty Davenport is not invited to. I was going to ask if you and Stephanie would organise it for me? "
"Yeah sure, that sounds like fun. And it would be a nice distraction from everything going on."
"Great and just to be clear, I want the tacky veil, lots of alcohol and a stripper."
Cassie laughed, "Really? You wouldn't want something a little classier?"
Abigail pretended to think about it for a minute, "I'm joking, Donovan would hate it if I had a stripper and I'm not sure Sam would like it either."
Cassie laughed again, "Sam has nothing to worry about."
Abigail looked at Cassie thoughtfully, "Maybe not."
Cassie didn't pay much attention to Abigail's comment, "I'm sure Stephanie and I can come up with a few ideas."
They continued to talk about Abigail's upcoming wedding and bachelorette party whist they ate. Cassie was grateful for something else to concentrate on other than Jake. By the time they had finished their lunch Cassie felt a lot calmer and a bit more like herself. "Thanks for lunch Abigail, it was just what I needed."
"No problem, what are amazing cousins for?" She answered sweetly. "So when are Grace and Nick getting home for the holidays?" I can't wait to see them both."
"Grace is coming home tomorrow actually and I think Nick is coming the day after." Cassie answered as she walked Abigail to the entrance of the store. "Well if you need me you know where I am," Abigail said as she left to head back to her flower shop.
The rest of the day went quickly, Cassie decided to stay at the front of the store to help customers. Hiding away in the office wasn't going to help anyone, least of all herself. Sometimes living in a small town like Middleton was both a blessing and a curse, news travelled fast. Cassie tried her best to smile and pretend that she was ok to her concerned friends and customers and deflect the questions they asked. But to anyone who knew Cassie well, they could tell she was struggling to deal with her current situation. After closing the store at the end of the day, Cassie walked the long way home through the park. She needed to figure out what she was going to say to Grace. Should she say anything? Maybe It was best to let Jake tell her and then answer any questions Grace might have.
Cassie felt anxious, as she continued her journey towards Grey House. What she needed in that moment was Sam. She needed the comfort that brought her, the security she felt when his arms were wrapped around her. At that moment Cassie's phone began to ring, she retrieved it from her purse and smiled at the caller ID.
"Hey, Sam. I was just thinking about you."
"You were?"
"Yeah, I'm just... Missing you," Cassie confessed.
"I was missing you too. I went to pick you up from the store but you'd already left," Sam said.
"Oh, I'm sorry I missed you. I'm just walking through the park towards home now. I''ll see you soon, I love you. "
"I love you, too," Sam answered as he hung up the phone.