Chasing Cassidy (28 page)

“In my own way, I was fighting
for
you, sweet girl. Knowing my son would hate me was worth the risk because I knew deep in my heart that if he knew why I was doing it, that I was saving you, he could never truly hate me. Of course, there’s no denying I was worried about your dad smearing the Stafford name. He’s the reason why my assaults against you became almost relentless. Not just because I knew he could ruin us but because he could ruin you. I wanted you to get far away from him and never come back. I’ve considered you my daughter for a very long time, Cassidy Pope, and I hope one day you can forgive me. That
all
of you can forgive me.”

Cassidy and Rylee are crying and my dad is hugging my mom something fierce. How could we all have been so oblivious to everything? All these years my mom was hurting almost as much as Cassidy and we never noticed. My dad loves her more than life and he was never able to get it out of her because she was afraid she was going to lose him.

Suddenly, Cassidy stands and marches the ten feet or so to my mother. My dad lets her go and my mother rises to accept her wrath from Cassidy. She squares her shoulders and meets Cassidy’s glare with one of her own.

“Priscilla, you don’t need my forgiveness because there is nothing to forgive you for. You did what you thought was best for us all. That’s all a mother can do. It’s more than my mother ever did. All you need to do is forgive yourself.” And with those words Cassidy pulls her into the biggest hug I think I’ve ever seen. A sob escapes my mother’s mouth and soon she’s crying, too.

I watch as my dad blinks back his tears and I finally feel a bit of relief. Looking to Rylee, she nods her head, understanding my unspoken words and we both stand and go to our mom. Cassidy releases her and Rylee hugs her next.

“Next time you
have
to talk to us, Mom. We just always thought you were going through early menopause or something and that’s why you could be so nasty.” Leave it to Ry to make this situation lighter.

When they break apart, my mom looks at me hesitantly. The last time I saw her, I said a lot of hurtful things. “Zachary,” she begins to speak as I pull her into my embrace.

“It’s okay, Mom, I get it. I don’t like it, but I understand and I forgive you.” My dad takes us all in from the couch and smiles. He’ll forgive her, too. I know he will. As I release her, she looks at us all with trepidation.

“There’s one more thing we need to discuss,” she says, taking her seat next to my dad and his arm goes around her immediately. This time, we all pile onto the couch next to them, waiting for her to speak.

“After your father left, I did something I should have done a long time ago but wasn’t in the position to do. Something I’ve felt guilty about for too many years.”

My dad squeezes her shoulder, encouraging her to continue.

“I called my friend, the police chief, and asked for a favor. He was kind enough to send me two of his best officers and we marched down to your house together. They banged on the door until your father opened it up and promptly detained him while I went and found your mother.”

Cassidy gasps and curls her feet up under her, waiting for the rest of the story.

“When I was eleven, I was helpless to save Judy and Patty from what they went through. I’m no longer helpless. Far from it, in fact. So I dragged your mother out of bed, got her into the shower, had her put on some clean clothes, and brewed two extra strong pots of coffee.”

“Seriously, Mom?” exclaims Ry.

“Completely. Then I told your mother my story and told her she’d spent too many years neglecting her life and her daughter. I offered to pay her stay in rehab and to give her a million dollars when she gets out to start her life over. The only contingency is while she’s in rehab, she has to divorce your father.”

“What did she say?” Cassidy asks breathlessly.

“She asked if I would give her a few minutes to pack her bags. She didn’t even need to think about it. About twenty minutes later, we were on our way to rehab and the police escorted us there. Your father just told her ‘good riddance’ when she left. The entire way to rehab, she asked questions about you, my dear.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I don’t know if this will work for her, or if the two of you will ever be able to fix what is broken between you, but this could be the fresh start you both need.”

“I… thank you for helping her. She desperately needs it. I’m not sure if I could ever have a relationship with her or not. Out of everyone, she’s hurt me the most.”

They all seem shocked but this is something Cassidy and I have discussed before.

“My dad had his own issues which is why he did what he did to me. I don’t understand them, but I know he wasn’t always like this. He never once hurt my mom, but she never once tried to help me. How can you sit back and watch someone do that to your child? To your flesh and blood?”

“The only person who knows the answer to that particular question is your mother, Cassidy. Now that she’s finally getting the help she so desperately needs, maybe you’ll get the chance to ask her that yourself one day soon,” my father replies kindly.

“Maybe I will.”

“Well, your mother and I are going to stay on the island for the next week. We are going to enjoy a much needed vacation and work on putting our marriage back on track.”

The smile my mom gives him is priceless I have a feeling their marriage is going to be stronger than ever after all of this.

We spent the rest of the day and all evening with my parents and Rylee. For the first time in a long time, each one of us was completely relaxed. There were a few times I thought something was wrong with Cassidy but she assured me she was fine.

We even finally left the house and had dinner with my parents at the hotel. Thanks to Pete’s connections, the paparazzi never even knew Cassidy and I were there. It was after midnight by the time we got home and crawled into bed. I still couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong with Cassidy but when she asked me to make love to her, after the day we had, there was nothing else I wanted to do more.

Now she’s lying in my arms, but she’s still stressed; her entire body is tense. Something is eating away at her.

“You’ll feel better if you talk about it,” I tell her and she stiffens even more in my arms. Lifting her chin up with my finger, the fear in her eyes is evident. Whatever it is she’s holding back, she’s terrified to tell me.

“Why can’t you tell me, Cassidy? There is nothing you could say to me that would make me love you any less.”

“You might still love me but you’ll hate me, too. What I did was unforgivable.” My pulse races; there’s only one thing she could do that would be unforgivable.

“Did you cheat on me?” I ask, fearful of her answer.

“Never, Zack,” she denies vehemently. “Nor would I ever.”

“Then tell me because cheating on me would be the only thing I’d never be able to forgive you for.”

She pulls away from me and crawls up to the top of the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. It’s her defensive position.

“I wanted to do something for you. Well, that’s not exactly accurate. I
wanted
to do something for us to celebrate our wedding.”

This doesn’t sound bad. At least it doesn’t seem like she was doing something to
intentionally
hurt me.

“A few months ago, I stopped taking my birth control pills. My doctor said it was fine and probably a good idea because after you’ve been on them for a long time, sometimes it can take a while to get pregnant.”

Excitement is the only emotion I’m feeling right now. How could this turn into something that could possibly make me hate her? She’s finally talking about having a family.

“About a week before the wedding, I started feeling really sick so I went back to the doctor to see if it was possible I was pregnant.”

“Are you, Cassidy? Are you having our baby?”

With her eyes filled with tears, she nods her head. “Yes, Zack, I am. We’re going to have a baby.”

I waste no time pulling her on top of me until she’s straddling me. We’re still naked and my hands immediately go to her stomach.

We’re having a baby.

“We’re having a baby, Cassidy! Your stomach is filled with the blessing our love created. How on earth could I possibly hate you? I love you
so
fucking much.” Sitting up, I wrap my arms around her and cover her mouth with mine. She’s hesitant to open up to me but I’m insistent. Her tongue touches mine briefly, tentatively, and all I want to do is claim her. But when I feel her tears splash against my cheeks, I back off immediately.

“Don’t you get it, Zack?” she cries out, but I’m still at a complete loss. “I’m pregnant with our child and I ran! Bolted away from the church and our wedding without even telling you you’re going to be a father. What kind of person does that make me?”

This is why she thinks I’d be upset? I’ve had enough—this is going to stop now.

Flipping us over, I firmly grasp her wrists and hold them above her head. Once I’m nestled between her legs, my cock slides against her wetness. As I enter her, she gasps in pleasure and her legs instinctively wrap around me.

“You want to know what kind of person you are, vixen? I’ll tell you, but this time you’re going to listen to me.” I pull back, hovering outside of her sweet pussy and tease her nipple with my tongue. Slowly, I enter her again and bite down on her hardened nipple at the same time. When she moans in pleasure, my tongue soothes the bite as I suck her into my mouth.

“You’re the best person I’ve ever known. You’re forgiving, kind, loving, and the best friend anyone could ever have.” The more I speak, the wetter she gets around me but I pull out again, taking her mouth back into the passionate kiss I’ve wanted since she told me I’m going to be a father. This time she reciprocates and I slide my cock back inside her, slowing moving in and out, matching our kiss stroke for stroke.

“Zack,” she cries when I pull away, once again pulling out, leaving her wanting for more.

“We’ve established I’m not mad you ran. As a matter of fact, I think we even established I knew you would.” This time, as I enter her, I release her hands which immediately wrap around me, pulling me closer to her.

“We’ve never broken a promise to each other and we never will. I vowed to you a long time ago that I would always come after you. It can’t be considered running, Cassidy, when you know you’ll always be mine.” I punctuate each word with a deep stroke inside of her. With every thrust, she cries out in utter ecstasy.

“From now on, there will be no running. We’re going to be a family and families stick together. Marry me, Cassidy. Here, in our home, with just Ry, Nick, Pete, and my parents.” I’m barely holding on as I feel her walls starting to quiver around me.

“Nick comes in Monday morning. Let’s get married Monday evening, sunset, in our backyard. Cassidy Pope, will you do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes!” she screams out loudly. “Yes, Zack!” She comes around my cock so fucking perfectly, squeezing on and holding it tightly as her orgasmic juices flood over me.

“Fuck, vixen! So fucking good,” I cry out as I come, spilling every bit of myself inside of her.

“Please tell me that was a yes to my proposal and not just you being so turned on by my masterful cock that you couldn’t help yourself from screaming out in unadulterated pleasure.”

Her body shakes with laughter and it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve seen today. She rolls over and cups my face in her hands. “Zachary Stafford, I would be honored to marry you and finally become Mrs. Cassidy Stafford.”

Our next kiss is so passion-fueled, I’m surprised we didn’t set the sheets on fire. “Do you think the baby feels the tingles?”
Oh hell, I hope not.

“I think all this baby feels is love and that’s all he’s ever going to feel for the rest of his life.”

“He? You’ve already decided the baby is a boy?”

“Well, of course. Stafford’s always have boys first.”

“What if I told you I think it’s a girl?” Her tone is suddenly so soft, it washes all my cockiness away.

“Then I’d tell you there’s a good possibility we’re having twins.”

“I kind of like that idea,” she answers with a smile. “Just like you and Ry, they’d always have each other.”

“Me, too.” Although for Cassidy’s sake, I sort of hope she’s only pregnant with one this time. We’ll have plenty of time for more babies later but this time, with her being so scared of becoming a parent, I’d love for her to be able to really bond with the baby and get used to giving and receiving unconditional love.

“Can we tell Ry tomorrow?” I want my sister to be the first person to know.

“Absolutely. It’s killing me to keep it from her this long already. Everyone else after the wedding?”

“That sounds perfect.”

With Cassidy in my arms, we fall asleep, her front to mine. It feels like we’re already cocooning our little one between us.