Quickie:
SassyLostie - Mm...yeah she might be a little old to be asking. But then again, like you said, she doesn't have any older siblings to teach her. And not that Cassidy hasn't taught her but...well you know what, it's just the way she wound up being written. xD P.S. - Remember it's Sawyer who said the Bunny ears was 'pansy', not me. Bunny ears are...kidney cute. :)
sivan8 - No such thing as a too long review. Just ask Sassy up there. Hehe.
bonboni - Again. No such thing as too long!
xox-emily-xox - Hmm. Who are you? Are you a new reviewer? Nyah nyah.
Well, now that you guys are all wondering what the heck Kate has to tell Cassidy, even if some of you may have an idea of what it is, I'm sorry to inform you that this chapter won't give you the satisfaction of finding out. I know. I'm horrible. I'm terrible. How could I do such a thing!? Don't worry. You'll find out, I promise. For now, ENJOY!
Chapter 43
Kate and Cassidy reentered the living room a few minutes later. Kate gave Clementine her juice and sat next to Sawyer on the arm of the couch.
"How's it goin', you two?" Cassidy asked.
"Good," Clementine answered. "He's gonna play tea party with me."
Sawyer hung his head, sparing a glance at Kate – she was repressing a grin. Damn her, he thought. She was always getting the last laugh…
"That so?"
"Uh-huh."
"And just when were you plannin' on havin' this party?"
"I don't know yet." She swung her feet. "Look! He tied my shoe!"
"Well that was nice of him," she smiled at Sawyer.
He shrugged.
"But he did it differently than you, mommy. He said you did it like a pansy."
She glanced at him, glaringly. Kate elbowed his back, teasingly, and he grinned at the floor.
"What's a pansy, mommy?"
"Nothin' you need to know about yet."
"But he said you'd know."
"Oh he did, did he?" she asked, staring at him.
"She asked!" he argued.
"Well, I'm glad you two could get to know each other better."
There was a long awkward silence between them all.
"How come you live here, daddy?" Clementine said, finally.
Both Cassidy and Sawyer grew uneasy, and Kate immediately noticed Sawyer tense.
"'Cause…this is my house."
"Why don't you wanna live in our house?"
Sawyer pondered the question, trying to figure out how exactly to tell her. But he had no idea. He looked to Cassidy for help. She seemed about as thrilled as he was to hear the question.
"Well, daddy lives here, baby. With Kate."
"Who's Kate?"
Kate smiled. "That would be me."
"But why can't he come live with us?"
"And leave Kate all alone here?"
Clementine nodded, carelessly.
"That's just the way it is, Clemmy. You'll understand when you're older."
"Will I still see daddy then?"
"Of course you will." After a pause, she added, "In fact, how would you like to stay here a short while - a couple of weeks?"
"Are you gonna stay too?"
"Me? Why would I stay? Don't you wanna spend time with Daddy? Get to know him better?"
She crawled higher up on her mother's lap. "I don't want you to go."
Cassidy looked to Sawyer, but all he did was shrug. What did she expect him to do anyway? He couldn't make her stay if she didn't want to.
"You'll have fun here, Clemmy. I'm sure he's got all sorts of things for you. And what about your tea party?"
Clementine frowned, and her lips began to quiver as she shook her head.
"You don't have to stay if you don't wanna," Sawyer spoke up.
Cassidy looked up, peering at him. He challenged her stare, however.
"I don't."
"Are you sure?" Cassidy asked.
"I want you to stay."
"I can't stay here."
"Why not?"
She exhaled, trying to think of how to reason with her daughter.
"Because mommy has stuff to do."
"You're lying," Clementine said, folding her arms.
Sawyer sat back, repressing a laugh. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he thought. She sure had a lot of spunk, reminding him slightly of himself.
"Why don't you just give it a try, okay?"
"I'm not staying," Clementine replied, as a matter of fact.
"James, can't you persuade her?"
"She doesn't wanna stay," he reasoned. "I'm not gonna force her."
"So you're gonna take her side?"
"Well she's my kid, ain't she?" he retorted.
Cassidy sighed, frustrated, then turned back to Clementine.
"Why don't you just stay for at least a week? And if you don't like it, I'll come right back to pick you up?"
"No."
"What if he took you to the zoo?"
Sawyer saw Clementine's eyes light up and she turned her head sharply around to face her mother. His shoulders slumped.
"Really?"
Cassidy and Clementine looked at Sawyer, and he shook his head, sighing.
"That ain't fair."
"Oh, you wanna talk about fair, do you?" Cassidy challenged.
"Don't start, Cassidy. Not in front of…" he nodded toward Clementine.
"Start what in front of me?" Clementine chimed in.
"Nothin'," he told her.
"So what about it, James? You gonna take her to the zoo, or what?"
"You're gonna bribe her to stay when she clearly doesn't wanna?"
"It's not a bribe, it's…just…" she trailed.
"A bribe," he laughed.
"What's a bribe?" Clementine said.
"A bribe's when someone gets you to do something by giving you what you want."
"And don't you know that well enough," Cassidy muttered.
"You wanna talk about this right now, Cassidy? 'Cause I sure as hell don't have a problem with it. We can talk all you want."
Clementine gasped. "You said a bad word!"
"What, hell?"
"You're not supposed to say that! One of the boys in my class used to say it, and he got in trouble."
"That's 'cause he was dumb enough to say it around the teacher."
"James!" Cassidy warned.
"What?"
"Clementine, why don't we go and find Mackenzie?" Kate suggested. "Your mom and dad need to talk by themselves."
"You don't need to – "
"James," Kate said quietly warning him.
He sighed, and kept quiet until she and Clementine were up the stairs. Cassidy sat back, aggravated.
"So you'll listen to her, but not me."
"What?"
"Kate," she explained. "I tell you to stop – nothing. But then when she tells you to stop..."
"Whatever."
"She knows how to work you, I'll give her that."
"Leave her outta this."
"Oh, I'm sorry. God forbid…"
"You see the door?" he pointed to the front door. "Anytime you're ready."
"What's wrong with you, James? You said the agreement was fine, and now you're gonna back out?"
"I'm not backing out. She doesn't wanna stay. I'm not gonna force her."
"That's not the way our deal goes."
"Well maybe you shoulda figured in her feelings. You can't just toss her around like she's nothin'. She's got a say in it too."
Cassidy stared at him, stunned. "Who are you?!"
"What? I'm just lookin' out for my kid. Ain't that what you wanted?"
She shook her head. "It's not that. When did you suddenly start to care?"
"What's it to you?"
"It's just not what I expected."
"Well I'm tickled that you're proud, or…whatever. Really, I am. But can we get back to the point?"
"What point?"
"Clementine doesn't wanna stay here."
"Well she's going to have to. You can't know her in just one meeting."
"Then we'll meet again some other time."
"Oh please. You say that now…"
"And you think I don't mean it?"
"Because you don't."
"That ain't true."
"Oh really?"
"Why don't we leave the decision up to her?"
"So you can get a free ride? I don't think so."
"It ain't about that. It's about her, remember?"
"I'm not gonna let her just choose."
"Some mother you are."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"Don't you dare criticize my mothering habits. I have been raising her on my own for six years now. And she is just fine."
"Then how come she's turned out to be less like you?"
"I can't stop genetics, James."
"We leave the decision up to her, or I back outta the agreement."
"Fine," she agreed, reluctantly.
"Fine."
After a long silence, Cassidy sighed.
"I know it was you," she said finally.
"What was me?"
"The money."
He glanced away, unwilling to admit it. She rolled her eyes, figuring he wasn't fully understanding her words.
"The account in Clementine's name?"
"What're you talkin' – "
"They wouldn't tell me who it was from. But I know it was you. I mean, who else would it be, right?"
He scoffed. "I didn't do no such thing."
"Fine. You can deny it all you want."
She swallowed, and refused to look at him.
"Thank you."