actually, I was teased because I was too smart, and because I was overweight and wore glasses. And to add insult to injury, everyone else had parents and I just had my uncle, Jasper—who everyone in town considers rather eccentric.”
“I’m so sorry,” Cassie said, hearing the pain from his youth still radiating in his voice. “But eccentric is a relative term around here. My mother’s the town psychic, remember? And my aunt Louella is the town astrologer. So you have to go pretty far and wide to convince me someone else is eccentric,” she finished with a laugh.
Together, her mother and aunt could easily qualify as the town’s certifiable eccentrics.
“I guarantee Uncle Jasper definitely qualifies as eccentric as well,” Beau admitted with a chuckle. “And he’s also an amateur astronomer. Sofie told me she’s very interested in the solar system and the stars and planets.”
“Yes, she is. In Madison, our next-door neighbor was a retired professor and an amateur astronomer. She would invite Sofie over and show her how to look through her telescope, explaining everything Sofie saw. She’s the one who got Sofie interested in science and astronomy and the solar system to begin with.”
“Well, we actually have an observatory on our property.”
“You’re kidding?” The rambling old house on the edge of town had been little more than a curiosity piece—fodder for gossip for years. It was hard to believe that there was actually an observatory on the grounds. Or much else.
“Nope. Not kidding. In fact, I invited Sofie to dinner this evening so she could see for herself. I think we might be able to use Sofie’s interest in science to help her with this teasing problem.”
“Dinner?” Cassie repeated suspiciously and his eyes twinkled a moment before he threw back his head and laughed. “What,” she demanded. “What on earth are you laughing at?”
“You,” he said simply, stroking a finger down her cheek and almost making her jump out of her skin. He shook his head. “Cassie, I wish you didn’t act like I’d just invited you to dinner in the devil’s den,” he teased, making her flush. “Most people in town think I’m a pretty upstanding citizen,” he reminded her.
“Well, you said…dinner,” she stammered and he nodded.
“That’s right, I did.” Casually, he slipped his hands in his coat pockets and rocked back on his heels. “But I was thinking more along the lines of chocolate, peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches with milk, as opposed to say roses, candlelight and moonlight.” He shrugged. “It’s merely to help Sofie, Cass. Like I said, she’s going to need our help if she’s going to conquer this problem.” He cocked his head and looked at her. “So what do you say? Do you think you can give me the benefit of the doubt and have dinner at my house tonight? For Sofie’s sake, of course,” he added with a twinkle in his eye that only made her more suspicious.
“Just dinner?” she clarified and he nodded, raising his hand in the air as if taking an oath.
“Just dinner. Promise.”
Cassie rubbed her chilled arms. “Fine,” she all but snapped. “Dinner it is then.”
He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you both around…six?”
“Fine.” Having dinner with the town Romeo wasn’t nearly as bad as having her daughter’s feelings hurt so bad that she was contemplating running away.
Cassie glanced at Beau one last time before he headed out the door and her traitorous heart flipped over and fluttered, annoying her to no end.
She could handle this. And him, she told herself.
She hoped!
Chapter Two
By the time Cassie closed the salon for the night she was late. A last-minute walk-in had delayed her by almost an hour and a half.
It was dark now, and the weather had turned bitter and nasty. Snow was falling much harder, slicking the streets and coating the sidewalks, making both walking and driving hazardous. Luckily, she didn’t have too far to go, and Beau had picked up Sofie earlier because Cassie was running so late.
Cassie shut off the lights for the night, grabbed her purse and let herself out the front door, locking up behind her.
Standing on the sidewalk, blanketed by fast-falling snow, she couldn’t help but grin when she looked at the front of her shop, feeling an unexpected thrill.
She’d done it, she thought giddily, resisting the urge to hug herself as she headed toward her car. It had taken her six long, hard years to accomplish her dreams, she thought with a sigh as she brushed snow off her windshield, then unlocked the car and got in. But it had been worth it. Every terrifying moment. Safety and security for herself and her daughter, as well as her own hard-won independence, were what were important to her, what she’d worked so hard to gain.
While other women her age were living a carefree existence, out shopping for shoes, sipping lattes and partying at night while they patiently waited for Mr. Right to show up, she was struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
She’d learned firsthand how high the cost of trusting the wrong man could be. And she was determined not to make that kind of mistake—with any man—ever again.
Which was why Dr. Beau Bradford frightened her so much, she realized with a shiver. He reminded her far too much of Sofie’s selfish, irresponsible father. An immature young man who had used his good looks and charm to infiltrate her young life and take advantage of her inexperience and her youth. Then just as quickly he had used his parents’ money and power to extricate himself from her life once he’d learned they were going to be teenage parents.
In spite of all the hardships she’d endured in order to keep and raise her daughter, Cassie had never regretted her decision to become a single parent, not for one moment, because Sofie was worth more than life itself.
And things had been going fairly well until about a month ago, when a trip home to Cooper’s Cove for her aunt Louella’s wedding had changed their lives.
Trixie, the owner of the town beauty salon, had said she was retiring and looking for someone to take over the running and managing of the shop—someone who’d also be interested in buying it.
Afraid to get her hopes up, Cassie had spent three days negotiating with Trixie. On the third day, she’d finally signed the papers agreeing to manage the shop for five years with a percentage of the monthly profits going toward a buy-out. Within a week, she’d secured financing for a small-business loan to remodel and update the shop. And she was on her way. In five years the shop would be hers and hers alone. Bought and paid for with her own hands and hard work, she thought now, squinting to see through her snow-covered windshield as she slowly inched down Main Street.
She’d also accepted her mother’s offer to move back home. Now that Aunt Louella had married and moved out, her mother had been living all alone in that big house. Cassie had to admit that her mom wasn’t getting any younger and she worried about her being alone.
Cassie sighed again as she squinted harder in the darkness, trying to find the turnoff to Beau’s house.
Beau’s towering, crumbling house finally came into view, and Cassie let out a shaky breath as she slowly turned into the long driveway. She hated driving in the snow and ice, especially when it was so dark and cold.
The three-story stone house with the wide, straight driveway sat back at least a half mile from the road, making it difficult to see clearly through the snowy windshield. Snow was falling so hard now that visibility was nearly nil.
Lights were blazing inside and out and Cassie had to smile as she turned off her car. The house looked like one of those spooky old mansions in the campy horror flicks she used to love as a teen.
Grabbing her purse and gloves from the