Page 27 of The Dating Charade

Despite Star’s attempts to calm her sister, Kennedy was clearly terrified. She had a 101.6-degree fever. She didn’t like or understand anything about her current situation—including Cassie. The child wouldn’t even look at her, and Cassie felt helpless in her own home. And so she kept cooking.

Two hours ago had been the heavy lifting. Cassie pushed a desk to the corner of the “office” she never utilized. Nearly decapitating herself in the process, she folded up the treadmill in the “gym room” she hadn’t touched since her short-lived New Year’s resolution of 2016. She dragged cardboard boxes of childhood keepsakes off the guest mattress.

Not that any of her work was very useful. In the end, Deidre and Kennedy deserted the beds Cassie made with soft, rose-colored quilts, covered with her own beloved stuffed animals from her own childhood. Cassie had followed a sneaky trail of water from the laundry room to Star’s bed, where she found Deidre and Kennedy snuggled up with their sister. Kennedy clutched the sopping wet dog, Tinker Bell, she had stolen from the wash.

At least it was cleaned.

That was more than could be said for the girls, as with the night they’d already had, Cassie hadn’t had the heart to try.

So after all were in bed, Cassie busied herself cleaning all the nonliving things around the house—as in things that wouldn’t scream violently whenever she touched them. It was 1:05 a.m. when she finally caught Jett’s text and was brought back to her former world.

Four minutes of deliberating passed before she wrote the short, playfully committed text and pressed Send. Cassie waited on her bed, knees bent to her chin, mildly aware of her own bated breath.

His reply was instant. Whoa, now. Didn’t realize I was signing up for dating a night owl.

The corners of Cassie’s lips twitched as she began to type. A turnoff? Tucked yourself in early?

When his reply didn’t come immediately, she picked up the cup of hot tea. She wasn’t worried.

Still, communicating without the ability to catch his facial cues or tone was enough to build up a little doubt. Perhaps she had annoyed him. Perhaps her message had woken him up and he was being serious.

She held the cup closely to her lips, focusing all her energy on watching the little tea grains floating in the tawny water. More specific, she was not focusing on his reaction. She was not focusing on potentially passive-aggressive responses or the growing feeling of regret.

Could she help it she was too excited to wait until the morning?

Finally, the phone beeped.

Nope. Still wide awake. Just tucking in all the kids.

Cassie exhaled, grinning at his joke.

Naturally. I almost forgot about the secret wife and kiddos.

She put her cup back on the bedside table and rubbed her eyes. The adrenaline of the day was wearing off like a drip pulled from her arm, and before she could get to the point of being too lazy to get up at all, she moved to the bathroom and took out her contacts. Her phone beeped as she spit toothpaste into the running water.

What about you? Night on the town? Or were you busy tucking in all your kids too?

If he only knew.

She rubbed her mouth on the hand towel and replied the only way he wouldn’t take her seriously. The truth.

Just hanging out in potential meth labs. Washing the kids’ clothes. Moving treadmills.

Your usual, then.

She grinned. Naturally. Off to bed now.

Night-night.

Cassie set her phone on the stand and switched off the light. She heard one of the youngest cough down the hall.

The image of two diverging roads sprawled across the back of her eyelids, and with quickening breath she opened her eyes, staring up at the blank ceiling.

This was going to be fine.

This wasn’t going to be an issue at all.

Cassie adjusted the feathery pillow beneath her head.