One More Time

“Did you find the bathroom okay, dear?” she asked.

I was confused for a second, until I realized she was talking to Casey. I turned, and Casey looked at me, mouth agape.

“Uh yes, I did,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Over here,” Adam said, waving at Casey. He smirked. “I saved you a seat.”

Casey shot me a sideways glance as she joined my half-brother at the table, having little choice but to sit next to him. She was his date for the night, after all. Just like the other night, I had one seating option left – which was beside Danielle. I took my seat but tried to keep as much physical distance between us as possible.

“Adam, introduce us to your friend, please,” Dad said.

“This is Casey. Casey, meet the Cranes,” he grumbled. “You've already met my darling half-brother, Malcolm. But, I'm not sure that you met his girlfriend, Danielle.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” I said.

Adam rolled his eyes and sighed. “Sorry, his ex-girlfriend,” he said. “Or, maybe I should say, your baby mama?”

“Stop that, Adam,” Mom scolded. “I don't know why you must always be so foul.”

Adam glared at her, but then continued. “And that is Cynthia Crane,” he said. “I guess you could say she's my stepmother, but I'm not sure how it works since I'm just a bastard child anyway.”

“Adam.” This came from dad, his tone colder than the Arctic tundra.

“And finally, my father,” he said. “This is my father, Malcolm Crane the elder.”

Casey shrunk down in her seat, staring at everyone with wide eyes, but tried to give them all a pleasant smile. I couldn't even begin to imagine how overwhelming this all must have been for her. I could see how uncomfortable she was and wanted to jump in and save her from all of it.

I wanted to whisk her away from my family, but I couldn't save her now. She'd decided to weasel her way in, and now maybe she'd see why I'd kept her away for so long. I just hoped the price she was going to pay for it wouldn't be too steep.

She surprised me though, by sitting up straight and clearing her throat. I saw that look of steely, feisty determination in her eyes and in the defiant little lift in her chin. She wasn't about to let anybody, not even the Cranes, bully her or make her feel uncomfortable. I loved that about her.

“It's nice to meet everyone,” she said, her voice full of confidence. “I've heard so much about you.”

“Have you, dear? I'm sure Adam has some interesting stories to tell,” Mom said dryly.

She took a sip of her wine and looked at her. There was pity in her eyes, though, I couldn't tell if she felt sorry for Casey because she was with Adam or because she'd been thrust into the middle of a family soap opera that was more dramatic than anything you'd see on TV.

Hell, probably a bit of both.

Before Casey could elaborate on what she'd heard though, Danielle piped up from her spot beside me.

“Casey, right?” she asked. “You're not the same Casey that Adam talked about the other day, are you?”

I took a long swallow from my wine. That was when I noticed Casey didn't have a wineglass in front of her or anything to drink at all, aside from water, for that matter.

“Uhh, well, I don't know,” she said, glancing over at me. “I'm not sure what Adam said, so I can't be sure it was me.”

“Oh, just that he'd seen you leaving Malcolm's office the other day,” she chirped. “He also said you looked a little disheveled as you left?”

Casey froze, and I saw the flash of fear in her eyes. She cut a quick glance at me, as if she wasn't sure what to say and didn't want to step in it.

Trying to change the subject, I said, “Alba, could get you Casey some wine, please?”

Alba brought over a glass for Casey, setting it down in front of her. Casey leaned into Alba and said something in Spanish that I couldn't understand. Alba smiled and ran into the kitchen. Casey caught me staring, and I turned back to Danielle.

“Adam didn't see anything, Danielle,” I said. “Thought we'd already cleared that up the other night.”

Casey's eyes narrowed as she looked at me, just as Alba came back from the kitchen with a second glass in hand. She placed it in front of Casey and removed the wine glass. Oh yeah, that's right. Casey didn't drink. To think, I hadn't believed her when she'd mentioned it during the interview. I had her sign a document and everything, promising me she wouldn't drink, and it had briefly been a point of contention between us.