Picture Perfect Family, page 14
She placed her hand on his cheek. “It isn’t just because of Kaden?”
“No, but it’s only better because of Kaden,” he said honestly.
She glanced down, as though thinking about his words and their past and whether or not she believed everything he truly meant. Then blessedly, she looked back up at him and smiled. “Then, okay.”
Chapter Twelve
The Cutter farm was ten miles from Claremont, about halfway to Stockville and surrounded by an evergreen forest. A split rail fence bordered the lengthy dirt road leading to the log cabin, and a pond even larger than the fishing hole held a formidable spot on the left side of the property. An abundance of white cows and one big black bull grazed in one of the fields, while donkeys and horses meandered around the edge of another, their baying and neighing filling the air as Mandy slowly drove toward the house. Large round hay bales dotted the entire span of the property as far as Mandy could see, and Lookout Mountain created a backdrop that made the whole scene photo-ready. She itched to have her camera in hand. The setting was a photographer’s dream.
Parking near the house, she exited her car to find Casey Cutter standing on the front porch. He waved and grinned broadly, comfortable in his surroundings and blending perfectly in a dark green Western shirt, blue jeans, boots and cowboy hat. This look suited him much better than the baseball uniform he’d worn to her gallery, and she was glad that John suggested the farm for his senior photos.
“Hey, Miss Mandy,” he said, one side of his mouth crooking up as he stepped from the porch and walked toward her car. “Can I help you carry something?”
“No, I have everything I need right here,” she said, patting the camera bag. She took another glance around. “This place is amazing.”
He grinned, shrugged broad shoulders. “We like it out here, even if it does take a lot of work.”
“You do it all yourselves? You and John?” she asked, thinking the place looked too large and way too neat to be maintained by a teen in high school and his big brother. The log cabin was similar to the wilderness lodge she’d built with Kaden, the barn lined with stalls that appeared to house several horses, the fields covered well over a hundred acres and everything looked picture-perfect.
“John’s not here a whole lot anymore,” Casey said, and his smile slipped a tad with the statement. “He’s working nearly all day every day with every job he can find.” He looked away from Mandy, toward the mountains. “The farm holds its own, but John’s got plans for me to go to college and has been trying to get the money together. That’s why he’s working so many extra jobs.” He emitted a barely audible sigh. “I’d be content to stay here and work the farm like I do now, but John didn’t get to go to college and says he doesn’t want me to miss out.”
Mandy was impressed on several levels. One, that John was giving everything he had to take care of his younger brother. And two, that a teen who was involved in school, baseball and church could also take care of a place this size.
This was what family—a real family—did for each other, and this was what she wanted to do for Kaden always. Provide for him and make sure that he had what he needed. Would she work three jobs if necessary to make that happen, like John was doing? It didn’t take but a moment to have the answer. Sure she would. But then again, she wouldn’t be raising Kaden alone. She had Daniel…
“So, you ready to take some pictures?” Casey asked. “I didn’t really think I needed any, but John kind of makes his mind up about something and there’s no arguing with him.”
“Well, I think it’s great that he’s making sure your pictures are done,” she said, trying to decide where they should begin. “There’s so many great backgrounds to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start.”
“Well, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to get Sam in at least one of them.”
“Sam?”
“Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Casey started walking toward the barn with Mandy following close behind. They entered the wide entrance, and she inhaled a combination of hay, alfalfa and sweet feed. Her grandparents had given Mandy and Mia riding lessons when they were little to entertain them during the summer. Mandy couldn’t remember the location of the farm where they’d taken lessons, but she remembered the smells. And she remembered how happy she’d been riding the horse named Pepper.
“I need to bring Kaden out here,” she said, wishing now that she’d have brought him along instead of leaving him with Daniel. She’d thought he’d be bored, but now she realized that he’d be anything but.
“You can bring him out any time you want,” Casey said, grabbing some molasses treats from the feed room and dropping them in his shirt pocket. “I met him this morning at church. Cute kid.”
“You met Kaden?”
“Yeah, he came to our classroom to see his uncle after he got done in his class, and Nadia introduced him to everyone. He was all excited about everything he learned and Mr. Brantley let him tell us about it.” Casey grinned. “He really liked his class.”
“Yes, he does.” Mandy continued following Casey through the barn, but her mind drifted to this morning when Kaden and Daniel left for church. She’d thought they looked so nice all dressed up and ready to go, and she tried to make herself feel good about the fact that they were going together and were both so happy about it.
But she’d seen an expression on Daniel’s face when they waved goodbye that could only be described as sad. He didn’t have to say a word and Mandy still knew how badly he wanted her to go, as well. And now, hearing how excited Kaden had been after class and how he shared that excitement with Daniel’s class, she kind of wished she’d have been there.
But not because she needed church or forgave God for letting everything go so wrong over the past few years. So going back to church right now wouldn’t be right. She couldn’t, no matter how badly Daniel wanted her to or how much she missed the two of them when they were gone.
“Miss Mandy, this is Sam. Sam, this is Miss Mandy,” Casey said, pulling her attention back to the here and now. He’d made it to the other end of the barn, where a tall red horse had obviously seen him coming and galloped in from the field. The horse nudged Casey’s head and then immediately sniffed Casey’s shirt pocket. “You are one spoiled girl,” Casey said, grinning as he fished a treat out of the pocket and gave it to the horse.
“Her name is Sam?” Mandy asked, already lifting her camera and snapping pictures of the horse with Casey. The sun slipped low in the distance and put the horse and master in an exquisite silhouette.
“Short for Samantha,” Casey said. “My dad bought her for Landon, and Landon was a little sad she wasn’t a stallion. So she became Sam.”
“Landon?”
“Our oldest brother. He’s serving in Afghanistan,” Casey said. “Been there since everything happened with Mom. Well, not always in Afghanistan, but in the Army, you know.”
Of course. Mandy remembered Landon, but she’d practically forgotten about the oldest Cutter son. He had already joined the Army by the time she started high school, but she’d seen him around town growing up and, naturally, at church. Plus, now that Casey mentioned him, she also recalled a few trophies and plaques at the high school that bore his name. “He played football, right?”
“All County, All State,” Casey said. “All pretty much everything,” he added with a grin, while Sam received another treat.
For the next hour they worked their way around the farm, with the fields, mountains, animals and setting sun all providing stunning backdrops for Casey’s senior portraits. Mandy suspected that the pictures she’d taken today would be some of her best yet.
“Okay, I think I’ve got plenty of good ones,” she said, after they took a few final shots of Casey on the porch with John’s old hound dog Lightning dozing near his boots.
“I’m sure that’ll make John happy,” Casey replied.
“John already gave me his contact information so we should be all set. Nadia will email the proofs when they’re ready, and you can let me know which ones you decide on.”
“Maybe I could come in and pick them out at your store,” Casey said hopefully, undoubtedly wanting to find a way to spend a little more time with Nadia.
Mandy grinned. “That’d be even better.”
“Nadia works there every day after school, right?” he asked.
“Yes, she does,” Mandy said, noticing the way his amber eyes lit up when he said her name. Young love was so sweet. “You like Nadia, huh?”
“Yeah, I like her,” he said, his voice dropping off a little toward the end as though he wanted to say more.
“But?” Mandy prompted, unable to stop herself from wanting to know why he was having such a hard time simply asking Nadia out on a date. He’d made a weak effort by asking the pretty girl if he could give her a ride home, but Nadia was sixteen and old enough to date. What was holding Casey back?
When he didn’t readily answer, Mandy asked again, “But what, Casey?”
He gave her that one-shoulder shrug. “But she’s really, well, good.”
Mandy felt like she was looking in a mirror. Casey didn’t think he was right for Nadia because she was a good girl. Mandy had often questioned whether she was right for Daniel, because he was so amazingly good. But she now believed she was exactly right for him, and she also believed Casey could be exactly right for Nadia. “And you aren’t good?” she asked.
“I’m…trying,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting into a half smile.
Loud music and a roaring engine broke through the peaceful sounds of the farm and caused Mandy to forget whatever she’d been about to say next. Instead, she followed Casey’s gaze toward the dirt road, which was becoming a long cloud of dust as a black sports car buzzed toward the house.
“Goodness,” Mandy said, and she looked at Casey to see he’d tossed his cowboy hat on a nearby chair and untucked his shirt. He shook his head then slung his hair to one side, while the car jerked to a stop a few feet from Mandy’s car and sent an even bigger dirt cloud up toward the porch.
Mandy squinted past the temporarily gritty air then blinked a couple of times while the smoke cleared.
“These are my friends,” Casey said, his words low enough for only Mandy to hear. “I’m, uh, going out with them for a while. We’re done here, right?”
His tone had changed. His smile had turned kind of cocky. And the sweet teen she’d seen merely minutes ago, photographed for an entire hour, essentially disappeared as he nodded a curt greeting to the other guys waving him toward the car.
“Hey, man, you coming or what?” the driver called.
Then another teen in the passenger seat grinned at Mandy. “Hey, you can come, too, if you want. Gonna be a good time.” He raised his brows suggestively, and Mandy felt her skin grow cold.
“No, thank you,” she said, then she turned away from the car and looked at Casey, who’d already started locking up the house and readying to leave. “You sure you want to go out with them?” she asked, whispering her words. But that probably didn’t matter, since the kids in the car had already cranked the music back up to a fever pitch.
“They’re my friends,” Casey repeated. Then he sighed, looked at Mandy and added, “Thanks for coming out to take the pictures.”
“You’re welcome,” she answered, watching him head toward the car and climb inside. She stood there on the porch while the carful of kids tore out of sight and she wondered what she’d do one day if Kaden, her beautiful little Kaden, had friends like those guys.
Trouble. That’s what she’d seen when she saw those guys in the car. And when she’d seen Casey earlier, chatted with him throughout the photo shoot, she’d seen a good boy. A boy who worked hard and was respectful and deserved a good girl like Nadia. The problem was, when he climbed in that car and waved goodbye, the good boy had all but disappeared.
Chapter Thirteen
“Chad and Jessica asked if Kaden could go home with them tonight after T-ball practice and play with Nathan for a while.” Daniel stood in Mandy’s kitchen while they waited for Kaden to get his baseball bag from his room.
“Is that your way of asking for a date?” They hadn’t had any alone time since Saturday, so Mandy was glad for Chad and Jessica’s offer. She’d missed being in Daniel’s arms, had yearned to be close to him again. And she’d replayed that kiss continually in her thoughts ever since they’d left the fishing hole.
“I suppose you can count it as a date,” he said with a smile, “since we’re starting with dinner.” His throat pulsed as he swallowed thickly, and Mandy sensed a hint of nervousness in his tone.
An excited little ripple worked through her skin. What was he planning tonight? And did she dare hope that he was ready to make this relationship more serious? As in…more permanent, maybe? She couldn’t control her grin. “So, what’s after dinner, then?” She imagined him taking her to Hydrangea Park, telling her he couldn’t stop thinking about the two of them together from now on, loving each other and loving Kaden. Her smile was practically uncontainable now.
“The thing is, I’m not sure how you’ll feel about what I was thinking for tonight, but it’d mean a lot to me if you’d trust in me enough to give it a try.”
Okay, that didn’t seem like the way he’d ask her to a romantic night by the heart-shaped pond and gazebos at Hydrangea Park. “What would mean a lot to you?” she asked, then added, “Give what a try?”
“I’m ready to go!” Kaden yelled, running into the kitchen wearing every bit of his baseball gear, from the batting helmet on his head to the glove on his hand to the cleats on his feet.
Mandy laughed. “Kaden, the reason we got you that new equipment bag at Mr. Bowers’s shop is so you can carry everything to the field easily. Was there anything left to put in the bag?”
The bag dangled limply at his side. “Yeah, my water bottle.”
Daniel smiled. “He got you there, Mandy.”
“So let’s go!” Kaden stood by the door bouncing back and forth from one cleat to the other. “Come on! We can’t be late!”
“No, that probably wouldn’t be good, since I’m the coach,” Daniel agreed with a laugh.
Mandy glanced down at her outfit, Daniel’s old Rangers jersey and cutoff jeans. Not exactly what she planned to be wearing if Daniel were taking her out for a romantic dinner. But he’d said he wanted her to give something a try. What was it? “Should I change? Or bring different clothes for later?”
“Nah, you’re fine. I’m wearing these,” he said, indicating his coaching shirt and shorts.
“So what are we doing after dinner exactly?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her as they followed Kaden to the truck.
“I’ll tell you later,” he said, glancing toward Kaden, maneuvering his head to the side while attempting to get the helmet through the door.
Mandy really wanted to know what he’d planned, but obviously Daniel didn’t want Kaden privy to it. She didn’t know whether to be excited or concerned about that fact.
T-ball practice lasted just over an hour, and Chad and Jessica were already waiting for them at the truck when they finished. “My practice was earlier,” Nathan said to Kaden, “so we got to come over and watch you hitting some. Did you see us watching?”
“No, I was just listening to Uncle Daniel and watching the ball. That’s what I’m supposed to do at practice.”
“Wow, sounds like you’ve got your coaching game all set,” Chad said to Daniel.
“He’s still so excited about playing that he listens to every word I say,” Daniel explained with a grin.
“Hey, I listen to what you say, too,” Nathan said to his dad.
Chad squeezed his son’s shoulder. “Yeah, you do.” He looked at Kaden. “So you want to go with us for some pizza and then come over and play awhile with Nathan?”
“Sure do!” Kaden hugged Daniel and Mandy, and they waved as he piled into the SUV with Chad, Jessica, Nathan and Lainey.
Mandy waited until they’d left, then she turned toward Daniel, leaning against the side of his truck. “Okay,” she said, “what have you got planned, or is it a surprise?”
“I’m thinking it’d be best if I didn’t surprise you with this,” he said.
Mandy didn’t like the way that sounded. “With what?”
“Chad called me earlier today and reminded me about the support group that meets tonight at Stockville Community College. He asked if you and I wanted to give it a try, and he offered to take care of Kaden while we go.”
Mandy hadn’t realized how high her hopes had been until they plummeted. “You want me to go to a support group for people who’ve lost someone to drunk driving?” Her head involuntarily shook, even though she still hadn’t voiced her refusal. Then she told him, “You know I can’t go.”
He audibly exhaled. “Why can’t you, Mandy?” The concern in his voice touched her heart, but it didn’t change her mind.
“Because that group’s goal is to get me to move beyond Mia’s death, to help me somehow forgive—forget—or whatever. I’ve read about support groups like that online. I’ve also gotten all of their pamphlets from whoever keeps mailing them my way. But I don’t need a support group. I know I can’t forget. I won’t ever forget. And the drunk that hit Mia and Jacob died on the way to the hospital. It isn’t like he’s asked for my forgiveness.”
