From Ashes (From Ashes 1)

“I don’t know what happens between y’all that you feel the need to sleep out here sometimes, but it’s not right. He’s the guy so he should be out here, not the other way around.” Besides, I loved seeing her in my bed. This was the fifth time in the last month since they moved in that I’d found her on the couch at night. That didn’t include the mornings I would be leaving for my run and find her then.

“Well, I don’t come out here so you’ll take my place. If you keep doing this I’ll just start sleeping in the tub. Now, get up.” She was already stepping away from the couch and folding the blanket she had bought for her nights out here.

I took the blanket from her and put it in the closet before heading to my room to get ready for a run. When I took my phone off the charger I caught a glimpse of the date and practically jogged out to the kitchen. She was getting the coffee ready and had her back to me, so I wrapped my arms around her and leaned in close. “Happy birthday, Cassidy.”

It wasn’t weird for me to hug her anymore; every morning one of us got the coffee ready, and she came in for her “morning hug,” as she called it. I thought it was adorable, and I lived for it. It was the one time Tyler didn’t give me crap for being near her, mostly because he wasn’t there to see it. But this morning she didn’t hug me back, she just continued to get the coffeepot ready, even with my arms wrapped around her. I almost cursed out loud when I realized what else today was.

Spinning her around so she was facing me, I cupped her cheeks and bent down so I was closer to her eye level. “You gonna be okay today, darlin’?”

She nodded and gave me a sad smile, her arms lightly wrapping around my waist. “I’m fine, it’s just hard. I wish he was here.”

“I know you do.” I heard Tyler moving around so I let her go and pressed start on the coffeepot. “So what do you have planned for today? Tattoos, buying cigarettes, voting?” I winked and nudged her shoulder.

“You’re so dumb. No, to all of the above. I don’t have many plans; I need to go to the bank though. Now that I’m eighteen, the bank accounts are in my name and I can use them.”

“Bank accounts?”

“Yeah, before he died, my dad started a savings account and a college account in both our names. But I wasn’t allowed to touch them until I turned eighteen. I wish I already had some of my own money, but when I turned sixteen and said I was going to get a job, Mom . . . well . . . let’s just say I wasn’t allowed.”

I ground my teeth and forced my hands not to ball into fists. “You need a ride? I mean, you can wait for Ty if you want, but I don’t have any classes today, so I’ll take you if you want to get it done early.”

“That’d be great, thanks, Gage.” She set about pouring the coffee into two mugs for us, and a travel mug for Tyler.

Just as she finished, Tyler walked out and grabbed her hand, taking her to their room. I was glad they weren’t in there for more than two minutes; not much they could have done in that time.

“What’s up, man?” Tyler shouldered past me as he grabbed his cup. “Take care of my woman this morning for me, okay?”

I knew Cassidy must not have come back in with him if he was being all possessive. “Sure thing. Gonna go for a run, then I’ll take her to the bank to get all that stuff taken care of.” I looked around to the hall, then back to him. “We still taking her out tonight?”

“Yep, you call everyone?”

“Yeah, most of them are coming. Jackie, Dana, and Lanie for sure; Adam, Ethan, Grant, and some of the other guys will be there.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you later this afternoon.”

“Later.”

I sat at the table and started drinking my coffee, waiting for Cassidy to come join me like she did every morning, but she ran into the kitchen, gave me a small smile, and ran back to the room with her mug in her hand. Couple minutes later I heard the shower turn on so I put my mug in the sink and left to run.

When I got back she was sitting on the kitchen counter holding a bottled water for me. I gave her knee a light squeeze and downed the bottle. I kept catching her staring at me and tried not to smile. At this point, I honestly had no idea what was going on between her and Tyler. If they were actually dating, they were one odd couple. She always wanted to be near him, but he never talked about their being a couple unless she wasn’t around. And even then, it seemed like he was just trying to remind me that she wasn’t available. Most days we slipped into comfortable banter, and our mornings alone usually resulted in subtle flirting, but there were still the days when she’d look at me like I’d hurt her and shut off. Today wasn’t either of those days. She was quiet and looked crushed, but I knew it had nothing to do with me.

After my shower, I walked back into the kitchen to find her in the same spot and jumped up onto the counter next to her. I sat there silently until she leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. We sat there for a few minutes without speaking, and my arm kept twitching. I wanted to put it around her so bad, but I didn’t know if it would bother her, so I kept it at my side. When she sighed and sat straight up, I figured it was better that I hadn’t.

“You ready?”

She nodded and slid off the counter, looking at me expectantly.

“I promise we’ll make this a good day for you, okay?”

“I know.”

She remained silent until we were at the bank and the banking officer called her into his office. Cassidy grabbed my arm and pulled me in there with her; her whole body was shaking. I’d never done it before, but when we sat down I intertwined my fingers with hers and smiled in relief when she clutched my hand tighter, rather than removing it.

“Hmm . . . you said Cassidy Jameson?”

“That’s correct.”

“It looks like the primary account holder withdrew all the money last week.”

Cassidy blanched and instantly stopped shaking. “Th-that’s not possible. My dad was the primary on the accounts. He died twelve years ago.”

The banker looked at her with a scrunched brow, then began typing something into his computer. “Is your mother Karen Jameson Kross?”

“Yes.”

“She must have become the primary when he died.” He typed a few more things. “Yes, yes, she did. It shows here everything was transferred to her name, and she withdrew the money out of both accounts last Thursday.”

“Can you please tell me how much she took?” Cassidy asked through clenched teeth.

“Sure, just one second.” He went back to clicking and typing for another minute.

I kept my eyes on Cassidy; she looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

The banker printed out a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to us; he’d circled the total of the two accounts, just under one hundred grand.

All the air left Cassidy as if someone had punched her, and I kept my grip tight on her hand. “I’m sorry, sir,” I started, “but there’s been a mistake. That woman wasn’t supposed to be able to touch that money.”

“She’s your mother, right, Miss Jameson?”

Cassidy didn’t move; her eyes were huge and she was staring at the floor. “Mother is a very loose term for her,” I answered.

“Was she still the legal guardian?” The banker started to sweat and was reaching for his phone.

Cassidy jumped out of the seat. “Just let her have it,” she blurted out, and turned for the door.

I ran after her, catching her just before she hit the doors of the lobby. “Cass, look at me.”

She turned around and my heart sank when I saw her emotionless mask back on.

“Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say. She took it, that’s the end of it.”

“What can I do?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged out of my grasp and continued out to my truck. “I’m just going to get a job and get over it.”

I bit my tongue and held the door open for her before going to the driver’s side and sliding in. “Cassidy, you can talk to me. I know this upsets you, don’t act like it doesn’t.”

“What do you want me to say, Gage?!” she snapped as she struggled to get her seat belt buckled. I reached over and took it out of her hands, buckling it for her. She sat back with a huff and mashed her lips into a line.

After cranking the car and turning on the AC, I left the car in park and just watched her, hoping she’d finally let me in. We could talk for hours, but as soon as it got personal like this, she shut off and would run to Tyler. Every. Time. Her phone chimed and while she searched through her purse it chimed again. She read it, her jaw dropped, and she shakily started tapping on the screen, holding it to her ear. I saw her eyes fill with tears.

“Ty,” she choked out, “Ty, please call me back.” A line of tears fell down her left cheek as she ended the call. I’d never even seen her tear up before this.

“Cassidy.” The need to hold her was too much; I took off her seat belt and pulled her over to me. “Please talk to me, who texted you?”

Her shoulders shook as she clung to my arm, but she didn’t respond. Her phone was resting on her leg and I picked it up. Giving her the time to stop me, I opened up her texts and had to read them twice to make sure I was reading them correctly.

MOM

Just got a call saying you tried to withdraw money from the accounts. You really think you did anything to deserve that money? I had to put up with you for 18 years, someone needed to pay me for that.

MOM

OH! Almost forgot . . . Happy you-killed-your-father day.

I cursed and squeezed her tighter to me. “Cassidy, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve that.” I cupped her face and stared deep into her whiskey-colored eyes; my heart broke seeing this beautiful girl cry. “You’re amazing and perfect, and your mom is a worthless human being.”