A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Twenty Six
Around five thirty, Reva arrives at the farm with Rusty, Hawk and Josh. Billy had arrived about ten minutes earlier. He was going back to Sam's house after dinner to finish up on some things before tomorrow. The boys are in the yard, playing with their soccer balls when Reva pulls up. "Grandpa Hawk." RJ yells, stopping when they hear some one pull up. He runs across the yard.
When the care stops, he opens the door as Will comes up. "Here are my boys." Hawk says, getting out of the car as RJ steps back. He hugs RJ and then turns to Will. "How are you Will?"
"I'm good, Sir." Will replies, watching him.
"You probably don't remember me, but you can call me Grandpa Hawk."
"Yes sir." Will says, as Hawk reaches for him. Will walks over to him and they hug. "I remember you. You came to stay with us after Daddy went away before."
"Yes, I did. I wanted to make sure your mom was okay." Hawk says, turning towards the house.
"She's great now? Dad's back." RJ says.
"Are you glad he's back?" Hawk asks, looking at RJ.
"Of course, we're glad, aren't we RJ." Will replies, looking at his brother.
"Yes, I'm glad. Mom's happy again, but I wish Tammy was here, she'd be super excited that Dad's back."
"I know she would." Hawk says, ruffling RJ's hair. "So what were you guys doing when we pulled up?"
"We're practicing for our game this weekend." RJ replies.
"You're going to come, aren't you?" Will asks, looking up at Hawk.
"Of course, I'll come." He says, as they walk towards the house.
"Do you want to watch us practice?" He asks.
"Let me say hello to your Mom and Dad. I'll watch you later."
"Okay." They reply, going back to the yard.
They walk up the steps to the house as Richard opens the door. He hugs Reva and then shakes Josh, Rusty and Hawk's hand, shaking Hawks a little more firmly than he did Josh's or Rusty's. "Welcome, it's good to see you." Richard says, stepping back and letting them in as Cassie comes out of the kitchen.
"It's good to see you too." Hawk says, shaking Richard's hand. "We're glad you're okay and a little surprised that you survived the accident."
"Even more surprised that that Jeffrey O'Neill guy knew you were alive and didn't say anything until now." Rusty says.
"He wasn't able to without jeopardizing the investigation into the accident. He didn't want to tip off Camille until they were able to get her into custody."
"He could have at least told Cassie and maybe if she would have known this last year wouldn't've happened." Rusty says.
"I understand why Jeffrey didn't tell Cassie. He had to think about the case."
"Well, at least now everything is back to normal and will stay that way." Rusty says, looking at Cassie and Josh.
"Rusty, we're here to celebrate the wedding and that Richard survived accident, please don't bring up what happened before." Reva says, walking over to Cassie.
"She…."
"I slept with Josh and I'm sorry I did. It shouldn't've happened, but it did…."
"And it wasn't totally her fault, I was there too." Josh says.
"I am sure this is not the reason Cassie asked us to dinner, so let it go Rusty. They've all worked this out." Hawk says, nodding to Reva, Josh and Cassie. "And Richard seems to have accepted and forgiven her for what happened." He finishes, holding up this hand to stop Rusty from saying more as he walks over to Cassie and they hug.
"Thank you." She whispers, hugging him. "Richard did you get the wine?" She asks, stepping back after a few moments.
"Yes." He says, going over to the refrigerator.
Getting the wine out, he goes over to the counter. Getting a cork screw, he opens the bottle. Pouring them all a glass except for Cassie and Billy, he hand them each a glass as Reva turns to Cassie. "Do you need any help?" She asks, after taking a sip of wine.
"No, I've got everything about finished."
"Grandpa Hawk, can you come watch us now?" RJ asks, from the door.
"Sure." Hawks says, following him out of the house.
The rest of the guys follow Richard into the living room. "Richard I was watching the news about San Cristobel. What do you think will happen?" Rusty asks.
"I'm sure that the people of San Cristobel will make the right decision." He replies sitting down on the couch with everyone else finding places to sit.
"If they restore the Presidency, will you run again?" Josh asks.
"No, my life is in Springfield with the boys and Cassie."
"Have you talked to William?" Billy asks.
"No, not since he was here for Jeffrey's wedding."
"How are things going without Jeffrey being here?" Josh says, as Reva walks in.
"I'm sure it's fine." Reva says, looking at Josh.
"You know Richard, you should consider running for mayor during the next election." Josh says, watching Reva.
"Maybe Jeffrey will run for reelection. And I for one think Jeffrey's doing a fine job as mayor. Besides the next election isn't for a while and I think it's a little too soon to be discussing whether Richard should run our not. He may not want to do that, but if he does it will be because he chooses too, not because of your influence."
Richard looks at Reva recognizing that tone as Cassie walks in. "Richard could you get the boys in. It's ready." She says, sensing the tension in the room.
They all walk into the dining room as Richard goes to get the boys and Hawk. When they come in he tells the boys. Go wash your hand, with soap, front and back."
"Yes sir." They reply going to the bathroom as Richard leads Hawk into the dining room.
When the boys come in, they all sit down. "Let's pray." Hawk says, taking Cassie and Reva's hand. They rest take hands as Hawk bows his head and begins to pray. When he's finished they begin passing dishes. Richard helps Will while Cassie helps RJ. Everyone starts to eat as Josh says. "Richard I heard you're working with a company in Chicago to build a plant on the lake."
"Yes, we're working on the final negotiations."
"What type of plant will they build?" Rusty asks.
"It's a manufacturing plant. They manufacture some of the parts for GM."
"That's not the only company you have coming in." Billy says.
"No, we've got several companies looking to build in Springfield."
"I think its good we've got so many companies interested in coming to Springfield." Reva says, taking a drink.
"As long as Springfield doesn't loose its small town feel." Cassie says.
An hour later, they've finished eating and the guys have gone back into the living room with the boys. "Boys, could you go upstairs?" Richard says, knowing that Cassie will want to start as soon as she finished in the kitchen.
"Yes sir." They reply, getting up. They go upstairs as Cassie and Reva walk into the living room.
Cassie sits down next to Richard. He takes her hand while everyone gets settled. "Now are you ready to tell us why you've asked us here?" Hawk asks, looking at Richard and Cassie.
"You're still getting married, right?" Rusty asks
"Yes, we're still getting married." Cassie says. "There's no simple way to say this so I'll come out and tell you why I asked you to come over. I've found my father… well my father has found me actually."
"You're father, what do you mean?"
"About a month ago a man approached me at the Beacon. He proposed using the Beacon as model to build hotels in Europe. He asked for a meeting to talk to me about it. At first I was very uneasy so I gave the meeting to Olivia." Cassie says, getting up. She walks over to the windows. She felt everyone eyes on her as she looks out over the farm. "Olivia knew him, knew who he was. And I had met him before when Richard and I was in Paris for a state trip right after we were married."
"You're talking about the man we saw at Towers." Reva asks.
"Yes, he's in the picture I showed you at Cross Creek. He's the man that Sarah had the affair with."
"You can't possibly…."
"I do believe it. He met Sarah when he was in Tulsa on business. He met her at Lewis's and they struck up a friendship. He would bring her home sometimes and he ate dinner with you, not you Hawk because you weren't there. But he ate dinner a few times with Sarah, Rusty and Reva. I'm not sure when they became lovers but they did until one day he came into town and they met. While they were together they went to a carnival. That was the picture I showed you." Cassie says, looking at Reva. "After they left the carnival they were together and he told her that he was leaving for Europe and he asked her to go with him and she refused, what she didn't realize was that she was pregnant with me. James left the States and he never came back. He's built and Empire in Europe, and hotel empire of all things." Cassie says, looking at each of them.
"What happened after he left?" Hawk asks, watching her.
"He went to Europe. He built his empire and he got married and he has two children." Cassie says, looking at Richard. "He didn't tell me that until the other day."
"You're basing this sole on his word and a picture."
"No." Cassie says. "We had a DNA test done. The results came back a last week."
"So why are you telling us this?"
"I'm telling you because I've invited him to the wedding." She says, looking at Hawk.
"You invited him to the wedding. The man that slept with my mother, you invited to your wedding. The wedding that my… our father will be at." Rusty says, pointing at Reva and himself.
"Yes. I invited him. He deserves to be there."
"How in the hell do you figure that?"
"He's my father."
"He abandoned you. He dishonored our mother and father." Rusty says, getting up.
"I knew you would not accept this Rusty." Cassie says, turning away from him. "You've never really accepted me in the first place." She says, before she looks at Hawk. "I don't want to hurt you. In fact, I don't want to hurt any of you." She says, looking at all of them. "I know it will be hard for you to see the man that Sarah had an affair with."
"So why did you invite him to the wedding?" Rusty asks.
"I want my father at my wedding. And Hawk, I still want you to walk me down the aisle. You've treated me like your daughter since the day I came into this family and I appreciate and love you for it. You're my father too."
"But you want him there." Hawk says, looking at her.
"Yes."
"I understand." He says, getting up and walking over to her. "And you deserve to have him there."
"Dad, he…."
"I know what he did. And believe me when I see him I will probably want to take him out behind the barn and give him a good Oklahoma ass whipping, but I won't, not until after the wedding at least." He says, looking at Cassie and grinning.
"I would appreciate it." She says, smiling too. Richard gets up and walks over to her.
"So, what else do you know about him?" Billy asks, taking a drink.
"Not that much, I'm still getting to know him myself. I know he's been married at least twice. He has a son and a daughter. His son is named after him and his daughter is named after Sarah and his aunt. He lives in London. He owes a string of luxury resort across Europe. Richard and I stayed in his resort in Paris while we were on the state trip. He really is quite…."
"That's it, just like that you're all going to accept this and go on like nothing has changed?" Rusty asks, looking at them.
"Rusty, she didn't go looking for this man. He came to her." Reva says, looking at her brother.
"I don't care who came to whom. You're letting the man that slept with our mother into our lives." Rusty says, looking at Reva and Hawk.
"What Sarah and this man did isn't Cassie's fault?" Richard says, looking at Rusty.
"The affair may not have been her fault, but if she's a part of this family she should want nothing to do with the man that abandoned her mother after he tricked her into doing the one thing a woman should never do."
"You're mother was alone and lonely. I left her for months on end. She had you and Reva to raise alone with no help."
"I don't care. You're letting the man that cold cuckolded you, be a part of our lives."
"Maybe I knew this day would come and I accepted it along time ago." Hawk says. "I'm not saying I don't want to knock the holy crap out of him. But Cassie deserves to know her father. And I know she loves me, just as she loves you."
"She has a funny way of showing how she loves…."
"You're not angry at Cassie. You're angry at Momma." Reva says.
"You're damn right I'm angry at Momma. She had no business doing what she did."
"You don't know what was going on with her, with me and your mother." Hawk says. "You both were just kids. I am partly responsible for what your mother did. I left her, alone, most of the time. I wanted to be married but I wanted my freedom too. And I believe it says a lot about the woman she was. She stood by me."
"Stood by you, she…."
"She sought comfort from someone who was there to give it to her. I'm not happy about it, but I understand why she did it. And I understand that Cassie isn't responsible for what happened between Sarah and I or Sarah and her father. Sarah could have run off. She could have taken you and your sister and went to Europe with him, but she didn't. She stayed and I'll always love her for that, no matter what she did. And this beautiful girl right here is a lot like her momma. She's loyal and she loving and she deserves everything that life is about." Hawk says, getting up to go to Cassie.
"Thank you." Cassie says, hugging him.
Rusty looks at them and then shaking his head, he gets up and walks out of the house. Reva gets up to follow him, but Hawk reaches out to stop her, shaking his head.
"Does anyone want some dessert?" Cassie asks. "I made a peach pie."
"Sure." Reva says, as everyone nods.
"I'll help you." Richard says, getting up as Reva starts to get up. He follows Cassie into the kitchen. When they're alone, he pulls her to him. Hugging her, before he softly kisses her. "I love you and I'm proud of you."
"I was scared."
"I know, but you handled it. And I told you that Hawk would understand. I'm a little surprised at Rusty's reaction."
"I'm not, he's been mad at me since Josh and I got together."
"I'm sorry."
"Why, you didn't do anything. That was our mistake."
"I know, but I know you want to be close to your family, all of it. Does James really have a son?"
"Yes, James Rockford Marshall the second and he spends his time going around Europe overseeing his hotel operations."
"James Rockford, that's…."
"It's stuffy and pompous and you know it. That's why they call him JR." Cassie says, taking out the pie and Richard goes to get the plates.
Cassie begins to cut the pie, while Richard watches her. After a few minutes he says. "Do you think we should tell them about the baby?"
Cassie stops cutting and looks at him. "I thought we weren't going to tell anyone until we're sure that nothing was going too happened."
"Maybe, we should tell them and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe not telling anyone is courting disaster." Richard says, looking at her.
"Are you sure you want to tell them?"
"Yes."
"Alright, if you think we should then we'll tell them. But if we tell them, we have to tell the boys too." Cassie says.
"Of course." Richard says, leaning in to kiss her. "Are you finished?"
"Yes." She says, leaning over to kiss him again. "I love you."
"I love you too." He says, smiling at her. Taking some plates he follows her into the living room.
Cassie stops when she sees Rusty standing by the fireplace. "I'm sorry I thought you were outside. I'll be right back." She says, handing the plates in her hand to Reva and Josh, while Richard hands Billy and Hawk his and then turns to follow her back into the kitchen. He gets the rest of the plates while she gets Rusty a slice of the pie and then he follows her back into the living room. Cassie hands Rusty is pie.
"Thank you." He says, not looking at her.
Richard hands her a plate before he takes his. "Before we eat there's something else that we need to tell you." Richard says, looking at them. "These last couple months have been nothing but miracles for all of us. It's a miracle I survived. It's a miracle that we have Will back. And we've been blessed with one more miracle." Richard says, reaching for Cassie's hand, squeezing it gently before he looks at everyone.
"What Richard is saying is that I'm pregnant." Cassie says, smiling as she looks over at him.
"Oh my god, Cassie!" Reva squeals, jumping up. They hug. "I'm so happy for you, oh my god, Richard." She says, hugging him too.
"Thank you." Cassie says smiling as Richard puts his arm around her waist drawing her too him.
Josh and Billy come over, followed by Hawk and Rusty. They all hug and once everyone's back at their seats Reva asks. "When, how did this happen? Dr. Sedgwick was certain you wouldn't be able to have anymore kids."
"We're not exactly sure what happened and this is going to be a hard pregnancy. I'm going to have to be very careful, as little stress as possible. And Dr. Sedgwick will be monitoring me closely. If I have even the slightest problem she wants me to call her immediately. We have a lot of hurdles to get over and the first will be in a few weeks when I go in to have some tests run to make sure this isn't an atopic pregnancy."
"Is there that possibility?" Josh asks.
"There are a lot of possibilities." Richard says. "We're trying not to focus on those. We're simply focusing in this miracle that's been given to us."
"How far along are you?" Hawk asks.
"Umm, about six weeks." Cassie says.
"That means you got pregnant right after you got back from San Cristobel."
"When did you find out?"
"A couple days before I got the results from the DNA test. Dr. Sedgwick's nurse called me and asked me to come in because Rick had showed her the results that Richard had asked him to run while we were having the DNA test done. I've been tired and nauseated as well as dizzy and I thought it was just stress from the wedding. It never entered my mind that I could be pregnant. So I went to see Dr. Sedgwick and she examined me. She did a pregnancy test and then we waited for the results and as you can imagine I was simply blown away when the pregnancy test came back positive. I was terrified too. I'm still scared." Cassie says, as Richard takes her hand.
"You're going to be fine." Reva says, getting up again. She walks over to Cassie and they hug. "This is absolutely wonderful. Have you told the boys yet?"
"No, we're going to do that later." Richard says, taking a bite of pie.
"Then maybe we should go." Reva says as she turns to Josh Rusty and Hawk.
"Yes, we'll go." Josh says, getting up, along with Hawk and Rusty.
"You don't have to leave right now." Cassie says.
"I need to get back to the site." Billy says, following the rest.
"How is that going?" Cassie asks.
"Good, we're close to having it finished, either totally or will at least have the office done by the time they get back."
"I'm sure they'll be surprised." Richard says, as they follow everyone to the door. "Maybe we should get the boys." He says, looking at Cassie.
"Yes, the boys. Where are they?"
"I sent them upstairs." Richard says, walking over to the staircase. "RJ, Will, could you come down here please, everyone's leaving." He calls.
"Yes sir." They call.
A few minutes later, they appear at the top of the stairs. "Go tell everyone good-bye." Richard says, as they come downstairs.
They all hug at the door, and Cassie takes and extra few minutes with Hawk. "Thank you." She says, looking up.
"You've got nothing to thank me for." He says, laying his hand on her shoulder.
"I appreciate your understanding."
"Of course I understand, and none of this is your fault."
"Thank you, but I appreciate it anyway. I know it's going to be hard for you to be there with him there."
"Yes, it will be. But I promise I'll be on my best behavior and I will make sure that Rusty is as well."
"Thank you."
"You take care of yourself and this new little one. Don't let anything get in the way of him or her."
"I won't, I promise."
"And don't let anyone come between you two either."
"We won't." Richard says, putting his arm around her waist. "I promise I won't make the same mistake that I made the last time."
"Good." He says nodding as he shakes Richard's hand then walks off the porch.
They are standing at the door with the boys, waving as everyone leaves. When Josh and Reva pull out onto the highway, Cassie turns to the boys. "You guys need to get in the bath. You've got school tomorrow and your dad and I need to talk to you, so off you go."
"You go as well. I'll take care of the boys." Richard says, following them into the house.
"There you go again, insinuating that I need to take a bath." She says, turning to him as they walk through the house.
"No, but it will help you relax." He says, leaning in to kiss her before they start up the stairs. "You go relax, I'll handle the boys."
"What about you?"
"I'll take a shower later, go." He says, pushing her gently towards their room.
"Alright." She says, smiling as she walks towards their room.