Page 45 of Ordered Home for the Holidays
When his mother saw the message, her face blanched. But she dutifully flipped it in Cass’s direction.
There was one word scrawled there.
DISGRACE
The chalk strokes were bold and angry. All capital letters so the intent could not be mistaken.
Cass struggled to maintain his composure.
It had been seven years and he was still alive. No thanks to the man lying across from him. He knew when he left with little more than the clothes on his back he’d have to use his wits to survive.
“I’m not a disgrace,” he protested as he tried not to feel like he’d been hauled in front of the schoolmaster. It had been a frequent occurrence in Cass’s youth because his mind wandered all the time. He’d never known what page of the primer he should be on, and was thoroughly discombobulated by long division.
He’d learned to embrace the chaos of his thoughts - the West was made for them with its cacophony of noise. He’d become an expert brawler, a lucid gambler, and a devoted, if unlucky, miner. He’d found peace in the steep climes of the Rocky Mountains he’d never experienced here.
“Not a disgrace,” he repeated. “I came to make amends - but it’s clear that’s not what you want. You’re just as determinedas you were before to mold me into something I’m not. Something I’ll never be.”
Cass ignored his mother’s protests and whirled on his heel. He made sure to slam the door behind him.
Perry and Dio were waiting at the foot of the stairs. Dio was frowning and Perry was wringing her hands.
“What happened?” She stalled him with a hand on his forearm.
“He’s just as judgmental as he was seven years ago. He sees me as nothing more than a recalcitrant schoolboy. I won’t stand for it.”
“You never told Archie and I why you left so suddenly.”
Cass laughed harshly. “He was trying to orchestrate my life. To make me nothing more than his little toddy. He presented me with an impossible choice and rather than suffer the consequences of it, I decided to make a new life for myself.”
“Did your choice have anything to do with Deirdre?” Perry’s question was tentative.
Cass grimaced. “Father didn’t approve of our relationship. He didn’t like the fact I was sweet on the Irish housekeeper’s daughter.”
“She’s a widow now.”
Dio’s remark caught Cass off guard. She’d moved on. Lain with someone else. Married someone else. He shrugged as if the information meant nothing to him. “We all must grow up. It’s the way of the world.”
“The two of you were inseparable once you stopped fighting.”
“We were. But Perry, you should know that first love is almost always just that. First love. It’s meant to be fleeting, not forever.”
Dio slipped his arm around her waist and hauled her close. “What if you’re just being stubborn? What if you can begin again?”
Cass shook his head. “It’s too late for us. But I’m glad it wasn’t too late for the two of you.”
“You should come over for supper and meet your nieces and nephews.”
“I don’t suppose you have a spare room?” Cass asked hopefully.
Perry laughed in disbelief. “Our brood of unruly children is swiftly outgrowing the space we have.”
“Whether or not you want to begin anew, your former sweetheart opened a boarding house about six months ago. It’s the only one in town.”
“Stop attempting to be sly, Dio. I see straight through it. I’d rather suffer here than explain my disappearance to her.”
“It was a long time ago, brother. Perhaps she’s forgiven you.”
Deirdre Flaherty had never been one to forget a grudge. And he’d left her without a word. He hadn’t written, or set foot in Willow Creek, in seven years. If she saw him in the street she’d probably spit on him or land a facer that sent him reeling.
