Page 146 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“How real people vacation?” She grimaced. “What the hell does that mean? As opposed to what?”
“As opposed to how my family vacationed, of course," I said with a grin.
She gulped down the rest of her coffee and slammed the mug down on the table. “I'm probably going to regret asking this, but how did your family vacation?”
“Oh ya know. Vail, Aspen, the Hamptons, the French Riviera, Spain, Turkey, Greece, the usual.”
She shot me an incredulous look. “Geez, you poor kid. And you actually expect me to believe you’re excited to go on my dumpy trip and see things like the World's Only Corn Palace?”
“Hell yeah, I am. In fact, I've got everything ready to go, and I've even added a few stops to the itinerary. So come on.'' I stood and walked behind her, giving her ponytail a soft tug. Bad idea because then I could picture my hands wrapped around it as she rode my face. “Get your stuff packed up and let’s hit the road. Oh, and happy birthday.”
She sat there blinking slowly, and for a moment I really thought she was going to call the whole thing off. Finally, though, she stood, walked down the hallway and returned with two hot pink suitcases and a backpack.
“Good girl,'' I praised before I could stop myself. Clearing my throat, I added, “I'll get these loaded up. You make sure you have everything else you need.”
Polly
For better or worse, I’d done it. I’d gotten into Cas’s souped-up pickup truck and committed myself to spending the next two weeks with him. As we pulled out of the driveway of the house I’d grown up in, I felt like I was going to throw up. Unshed tears were pricking the corners of my eyelids, and my chest was so tight it felt hard to breathe.
The panic didn’t subside as we got out of the neighborhood, and Cas turned to go north instead of south.
“Hey! You’re going the wrong way!” I yelled, twisting my body to look behind us as he took the Vegas exit instead of heading down toward Arizona as my itinerary dictated.
“I'm going the right way, babygirl. I told you I’d added a few surprises.”
“Oh god.” I leaned forward, putting my head between my legs to keep myself from hyperventilating. “I knew this was a bad idea. Why can't you just stick to the plan? This isn’t your birthday trip! It’s mine.”
Cas just chuckled. “I know whose birthday it is, babygirl.”
“Stop calling me that!” I screeched, mostly because my stomach did a flip-flop every time he said it. I wanted to hate it, because where the hell had that even come from, but apparently I liked it. Too much.
“Okay… Polly.” Cas spoke slowly and deliberately. “I didn’t mean to upset you by changing the schedule. I just thought you might like to spend your twenty-first birthday in Vegas. It seems like an American rite of passage or something. So I booked us a two-room suite at a fancy hotel center strip and a nice dinner by the Bellagio fountains.”
Excitement bubbled in my belly, and I couldn’t believe he’d done something so thoughtful, but I wasn't ready to let go of my anger just yet. “American rite of passage?” I scoffed. “Let me guess. That’s how you spent your twenty-first?”
A vein in his neck throbbed and his jaw ticked as he seemed to grind his teeth together before answering. A long pause passed, and I wondered if he was going to admit it.
Finally, he spoke and the words he said were like a sucker punch to the gut. “No, actually, I’ve never been to Vegas, despite living only a couple hours away for the last eight years. And I spent my twenty-first birthday helping my best friend plan his parents’ funeral and figure out how he was going to upend his life so his little sister didn't have to upend hers.”
Ouch. I hadn’t realized, but I should have. All these years we’d gone to the cemetery on the anniversary of their deaths, then celebrated Cas’ birthday two days later.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be.” Cas reached over and patted my knee. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat. People are more important than dates on a calendar.” He waited a beat then added, “But I am excited to do the birthday in Vegas thing, even if it's not my birthday. And I did want to make sure you had a twenty-first birthday to remember. In a good way.”
“Thanks.” My smile was forced, but I hoped it looked genuine. It mostly was. “If I’d known we were going to Vegas, though, I’d have packed accordingly and like… done my nails or something.”
The smile Cas shot me was blinding. “Had a feeling you might say something like that. That's why I booked you a full spa treatment and got a prepaid Visa for you to go shopping for something special to wear. We have hours before dinner and then more time before the nightclubs open.”
My jaw dropped. He really had thought of everything, going above and beyond to make sure everything was special. I’d never have expected any of it and Jared would have never arranged all that. Maybe Savannah was right. Maybe Cas really did have Daddy qualities.
Oh grow up. Do not go melting and thinking this is something it’s not. He's Jared’s best friend, and he just feels sorry for the poor little orphan girl.
I burst my own bubble and quickly changed the subject to the first thing my brain settled on. “So… I don't think you've ever told me... what is Cas short for anyway?”
He continued staring straight ahead, his eyes glued to the road. “You're right. I've never told you and I never will.”
“Fine, then. I’ll just guess.”
