Page 40 of Finding English

Chapter 16

Cassie hated waking up to a cold empty bed; it was crazy how quickly she’d become used to sleeping beside Henry. The note had barely been legible but clear enough that she knew something had happened to call him away.

Her gut said it had to do with Bunce. He was controlling their lives in the worst way, but she was determined to enjoy the weekend with her daughter. The complexities of the drug she was trying to determine at work were giving her a headache both literally and figuratively.

As she showered and dressed, she heard Mic outside the bedroom door, her knock loud. Cassie grinned as she opened it wide as Mic came in, walking straight to the bed and clambering up with her dinosaur tucked under her arm. Her little legs were dangling off the edge, swinging.

“Good morning, little miss. Did you sleep well?”

“Yep, and you promised we could help Gram make cookies and then go feed Majestic.”

Cassie sat beside her child, pulling her body toward her into a hug that made everything right with her world. “I certainly did, but first we need to get you dressed and get some breakfast in us.”

“Can I have a fly up like Henry?”

Cassie laughed, “You mean a fry-up?”

“Dats what I said.”

Cassie didn’t correct her. “Yes, honey, as long as you eat it all.”

Mic jumped down and raced for the door as Cass followed. “I will, cos I’m gonna be big like Henry one day and ride a horse.”

“Is that so?”

Cass spent the ten minutes helping her daughter dress and trying to wrangle her curls into a ponytail which was all she would wear since her new obsession with horses began. Her smile lit up when they walked down the stairs to see Henry and Jerry walking in from outside.

Henry immediately moved to them, lifting Mic into his arms as he dropped a kiss on Cassie’s lips that was a fraction longer than it should have been, causing Michaela to giggle and pull their faces apart.

“Don’t eat Mommy.”

Cass saw the wicked look on Henry’s face and turned her face away to hide her smile.

“Sorry, munchkin. You ready for a fry-up?”

“Yes, I’m ready, and then we’re gonna make cookies.”

“You are? Can you save me some?”

“Uh huh.”

Cass greeted everyone in the large kitchen as Henry set Michaela down. Her little girl ran to Nate, telling him all about her plans for the day. Despite his size, Nate Jones was a softy, especially with Michaela and seemed to have a natural affinity with her. Cassie had no doubt he could be as deadly as his colleagues, but he’d been the right choice to watch them when Henry couldn’t. Perhaps it was because he had small kids at home or maybe it was just who he was.

“Morning, Nate.”

“Morning, Cassie.”

“Babe, I need to take a quick shower then after breakfast can we get a few minutes to talk?”

Cassie assessed Henry and knew she wouldn’t like what he was going to tell her but nodded anyway. “Yes, of course.”

He kissed her slowly and then backed away as the kitchen became full of the Eidolon and Fortis team as well as Jerry and Josie. Cassie let the noise and the chatter of her child holding court distract her. She’d always been good a reading moods, and she was picking up an undercurrent of tension.

“Are you okay, Cassie love? You haven’t touched your eggs.”

Josie looked at her with concern and a warm motherly eye that Cass had come to love about the woman. The sense of being cared for by a parent gone too soon from her. Having it back was a gift she cherished.

Painting a smile on her face, she lifted her head to the concerned eyes. “Just not very hungry this morning.” Hiding behind the coffee cup, she saw Jack and Nate exchange a glance that held a thousand truths.