Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“Mother Ashby,” Cass said softly. He had to call out to her one more time to get her attention. She turned in her chair. It took her several long seconds to recognize him. “Cassius?”
“It’s me, Mother Ashby. I came to sit with you again for a while.”
“Oh, my word,” the old woman said as she tried to stand.
He dropped my hand and rushed to her. “Don’t get up, Mother Ashby.” Cass embraced her gently as he eased her back down into the chair.
“You came home safe,” she said as she began to cry. “I thought I’d never see my little rose again.”
When he crouched next to her so they were at eye level, I used the opportunity to study Cass’s grandmother. She looked exactly like how he had described her. Dirty nightgown, disheveled hair, slurred speech, and obvious disorientation.
“Honey,” I called loudly. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” I pasted a fake smile on my face. Cass took the hint and stood. He rubbed his hand over his grandmother’s shoulder before coming up to me and linking his fingers with mine. I made sure I was pressed up against his side as we came to a stop in front of his grandmother.
“Mother Ashby, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. JJ Ferguson, this is my grandmother, Patricia Ashby. Mother Ashby, this is JJ.”
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mother Ashby,” I said as I extended my free hand. I’d purposefully used the title Cass used even though it was disrespectful. I had to force myself to remember that I was here as a former cop, not Cass’s lover. I had to distance my emotions from everyone, even if it meant behaving inappropriately.
Mrs. Ashby’s eyes fell to my hand and then she turned her head to look at Cass. There was no recognition in her eyes as she shifted them back and forth between me and him.
“Did you make a new friend at school today?” she asked Cass.
Renly chose that moment to interrupt the conversation by rolling a cart with several items on it up to the table. Cass invited me to choose whatever seat I wanted. I sat directly across from his grandmother. She looked at me for a fraction of a second before turning her eyes to stare at the garden again.
Once we all had cups of tea before us, Renly rolled the cart away from the table, but he didn’t go far. He stood about a dozen steps behind Cass and Mrs. Ashby, moving his body so he was between them and had a perfect view of me.
“Mother Ashby, would you like some milk or sugar for your tea?” I asked as I reached for the cup of milk between us. Renly had already added several things to her tea to make it to her liking, but it was easy enough to act like the nervous partner who was meeting his boyfriend’s family for the first time. Mrs. Ashby didn’t respond to me. Her eyes were focused on the garden outside.
“I’ve already taken care of it, Mr. Ferguson,” Renly said sharply.
I looked up at him and then shifted my eyes back to Cass’s grandmother. She hadn’t reacted verbally in any kind of way to my question or Renly’s response, but after his declaration, she did lift the delicate teacup to take a sip of the tea. When her eyes met mine, I reached for my own cup and took a sip, holding her gaze the whole time. The old woman stiffened before lowering the cup back onto the spotless saucer.
I kept my eyes on Cass’s grandmother as I said to Renly, “Of course, Renly. Please forgive me. I was… I was injured a couple of years ago while in the line of duty and my thoughts get jumbled sometimes.” I shifted my eyes to Cass and then reached for his hand. He automatically took it. “A lot of times,” I said softly.
Cass and I gazed into each other’s eyes like lovesick teenagers. Renly coughed loudly to remind of us his presence.
“Sorry, Renly,” Cass said. He played his part and pulled my hand up to his lips so he could place a soft kiss on the back of it. “Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves.”
Instead of shifting his eyes to Cass, Renly’s impenetrable gaze stayed on me. “Yes, Mr. Ferguson, bad business all that,” he said with a small wave of his hand. There was no genuine concern for the injury I’d alluded to. “It was my understanding that you have no memory of that unfortunate incident.”
“It’s true, he doesn’t remember anything from that night—” Cass began.
“Yet,” I added quickly, sending Cass a hopeful smile.
He managed to keep his own smile on his face, but I could see the anger in his eyes. When we’d left the houseboat, our plan had been for me to play the role of the shy, quiet boyfriend who was clueless as to the true impact of the injury he’d suffered. Remaining quiet and letting Cass do all the talking was supposed to give me the time and freedom I needed to observe without needing to interact. At most, Cass had only wanted information that we’d been seen together to get leaked. Like my brother, he’d been adamant that we stick to the plan that I still had no memory of the shooting. That was actually the truth, but the point had been to make sure that was still widely known.