Well, that was embarrassing. Cassie truly did try to think before speaking, but some days she was more successful than others. What had she been thinking, accusing him of following her? It had been months since the accident; she needed to stop jumping at shadows.
“Mommy, look what Miss Jillian helped me make!” Cassie’s daughter, Emma, came bounding down the stairs of the picturesque inn with the energy and volume befitting a marching band, not a four-year-old. “I made Valentine’s cards!”
Behind, at a more sedate pace, came Cassie’s best friend and employee, Jillian Caruso. With her mass of black curls and pale skin, she looked like a princess out of a fairy tale, despite her casual jeans and sweater. Right now she also looked a tad guilty. “Before you say anything, this wasn’t my fault. I told her I would help her make some, but all the ideas were hers.”
Cassie arched an eyebrow, but let it go. She was just grateful Jillian had been willing to entertain Emma. Normally her mom watched Emma after her preschool let out, but today there had been a schedule conflict. Emma was much happier playing at the inn than being stuck with Cassie at the clinic yet again. “Hi, sunshine. I missed you.” She swept her up in a hug, letting go of the tension that had dogged her all day. This was why she worked so hard. This little girl was the most important thing in her world and worth all the long hours and missed sleep of the past few months. “Are you having fun?”
“She should be,” Jillian broke in. “She’s been here less than an hour and we’ve already played on the playground, looked for seashells on the beach and made brownies.”
“Are you a policeman? Did my mommy do something bad?”
Cassie had almost forgotten the deputy behind her. Blushing, she set Emma back down and turned to find him a few feet away, smiling as if she hadn’t just bitten his head off.
“Hello, sweetie. I’m Alex. What’s your name?”
“I’m Emma. Are you going to take someone to jail?”
“Not today. Unless there are any bad guys here?” His dimples showed when he smiled. Cops should not have dimples.
“Nope, just me and Miss Jillian and Mr. Nic. And Murphy. He’s their dog. And a bunch of people for the meeting. But they’re going to help kids, so they can’t be bad, right?” Her little brows furrowed as she thought.
“Probably not. Helping kids is a good thing. Are you going to help?”
Emma’s curls bounced as she nodded. “Yup, I get to help with the decorations. Mommy said so. And I get to come to the big Valentine’s Day dance. I’m going to wear a red dress.”
“A red dress? Sounds like a great party.” He raised his gaze to the third member of the group.
“Hi, I’m Jillian. Welcome to the Sandpiper Inn.” She offered her hand to the handsome deputy.
“Nice to meet you. Alex Santiago. Thanks for offering to host the meeting here.”
Jillian smiled, her face lighting up. “We’re happy to do it. I grew up in foster care myself—I know how hard it can be. Even the best foster families often can’t always give the kids as much attention as they need. It will be great if we can get a real mentor program started.”
If Alex was surprised by Jillian’s casual mention of her childhood, he didn’t show it. He just nodded and held out the box he’d picked up at the bakery. “I brought cookies, if you have somewhere I can put them. I figured at least a few people might not have had a chance to grab dinner yet.”
Oh, boy. Shame heated Cassie’s cheeks. She’d been stereotyping him with the old cops-and-doughnuts line when he’d actually been buying refreshments to share with others—at a charity event, no less.
The sight of the uniform might set her teeth on edge, but that was no reason to be openly rude to him. The car accident that had injured her father so badly had been caused by a single out-of-control deputy, but she couldn’t blame the man in front of her just because they both wore the same badge.
“Ooh, can I have a cookie?” Emma looked up at Alex, practically batting her eyelashes. “I’ve been very good.”
He laughed, and the lines around his eyes softened. “That’s up to your mom, princess.”
Emma turned pleading eyes to Cassie, whose heart melted. “Since you’ve been good, yes, one. But just one. Jillian said you’ve already had a brownie, and I don’t want you bouncing off the walls on a sugar high.” She nodded a thank you to Alex for letting her make the decision. “Now, let’s see those valentines you were telling me about.” She brushed off the niggling bit of envy that she hadn’t been the one making valentines with her daughter. Maybe that was why Jillian looked concerned about them?
“Cassie, maybe you should wait and read those later?” Jillian cautioned, nodding toward Alex.
Cassie darted a glance at the cop still standing on the stairs with them. He shrugged, then moved past them. “I’ll just go find a place to set these down. See you inside.”
Why was Jillian acting so tense over this? They were just paper hearts and glitter, not a manifesto. Taking them from Emma’s slightly grubby fist, she continued up to the massive front door of the Sandpiper.
The first card boasted a crudely drawn bouquet of flowers, and the words MOM and LOVE circled by pink and purple hearts. “Thank you, sweetie, I love it.” She shuffled that one to the back and opened the next one. This time there were happy faces covering the pink paper, and Jillian’s name, misspelled, at the center. “Beautiful!” Smiling, she opened the last heart-shaped card and then froze, almost stumbling as her daughter pushed past her into the warmth of the lobby. The words on the page had instantly imprinted on her brain, but she read them again anyway.
To Daddy. Painstakingly spelled out in red and gold sequins.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Jillian’s eyes were wide with sympathy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I told her I’d help her make valentines, but I had no idea...”
Cassie straightened her spine. She’d talk to Emma about it. Make her understand, somehow, that this particular valentine was going to remain unsent. Her head began to throb.
“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault,” Cassie told Jillian.
It’s mine.
* * *
Alex kept an eye on the door as he mingled and shook hands in the spacious lobby. Observation was second nature at this point, and he wanted to see how that little scene out front played out. What was the big deal about a couple of valentines? Maybe it was nothing, but an overactive sense of curiosity came with the job.
He was munching on a tiny crustless sandwich when Cassie entered the room. Her daughter and friend followed, but she was the one that drew him, made him want to know more. There was something about the fiery redhead that made her impossible to ignore. Yes, she was pretty in a girl-next-door way, with a petite build and freckled complexion. But it was more than that. Her quick temper should have been off-putting. Instead, her transparency put him at ease. Every emotion showed on her face—there was no hidden agenda. In his line of work, he spent most of his time trying to figure out what someone wasn’t saying, but this woman was an open book.
And right now, she looked like she needed a friend. Her pale skin was flushed, and she had a tight look around her eyes, as if she was fighting off a headache. Moving toward her, drawn by instinct more than conscious thought, he offered her a drink. “Water?”
“Hmm?” She looked down at the unopened bottle he held in his hand. “Yes, thank you.” Taking a tentative sip, she screwed the cap back on. “Listen, about the coffee shop. I’m sorry I was rude. It was a dumb joke. I just...well, it wasn’t about you, specifically.”
“Not a fan of cops, are you?”
She winced. “That obvious?”
“Let’s