Cabin Fever(87)

 

Jana turns her glare on me. “You.”

 

I sit down quietly, trying to meet her eyes if for no other reason than because I respect her and I respect Jeremy. She has every right to hate me right now; I probably would feel the same way if I were in her shoes. And if there has to be a bad guy, I want it to be me, not Jeremy. Not the man I have come to love so much it hurts to imagine being without him.

 

“This is all your fault,” she says.

 

“That’s enough,” Jeremy says, getting angry. “This has nothing to do with her.”

 

Jana turns her hateful gaze on him. “You were fine to stay gone before you met her. Why the sudden interest in your family, huh? Is it something she said? Something she did? What has she promised you?”

 

Now I’m confused. But Jeremy is really angry. His voice comes out very calm, but I know that expression on his face; it’s very similar to the one he had when he realized I’d dumped all his booze out into the snow.

 

“You need to check yourself, Jana. Don’t say another word that you’re going to regret.” Jeremy stands, letting his napkin fall to the floor from his lap. “I am going to petition the court to let me have Cassie back, and I really hope you’re going to support me in that. And then she’s going to move back in here and I’m going to be her father. Forever. Not for just a little while… forever. You are not her mother. You’re an amazing, selfless, loving aunt, and I will never forget what you did for us when I was too sick and sad to be her father, but that does not change the fact that this is who I am. I am Cassie’s dad. It’s my right to raise her in my home.”

 

Jana slaps Robinson on the shoulder, startling him. “Don’t ever talk to me again.” She leaves the room without another word.

 

Everyone looks at James. He sighs and puts his napkin on the table. “That went well.”

 

Robinson leans towards him. “Talk to her. She can’t block this. It’s not going to work, and she’ll just make everything really bad for Cassie.”

 

James nods. “I will.” He looks to his brother. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

 

Jeremy nods.

 

“Okay then. I’m behind you all the way.”

 

I have to tip my head down and hold my face in my hands. All this pressure is making my eyeballs ache and I can’t stop crying.

 

Jeremy comes up behind me and takes me by the shoulders. “Come on, babe. You need to go to bed. Face down.”

 

“I hate that thing!” I whine as he leads me away.

 

“Shhhhh, it’s better for you. You won’t have to use it for much longer, I promise.”

 

We leave the room, and I fall asleep fully dressed with no idea how everything turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Forty

 

 

 

 

 

JAWS AND I PACE THE living room together as we wait for the car to pull into the driveway. Jeremy is due back from the courthouse at any second. He already texted me to tell me what happened.

 

She’s coming. Cassie. To live here with us. I’m going to be her mother figure and Jeremy is going to be her father. Finally, he’s going to show her the family she should have had.

 

Jana isn’t speaking to us, but neither of us blame her for that. During the past two weeks of visitation with Cassie, stumbling our way through a half-celebrated, half-teary-eyed Christmas, we’ve learned how deeply a person can fall in love with a little baby girl whose mother died way too young. She’s already walking, the little skunk. I can’t wait to take her for a walk in the park.

 

Jaws looks up at me and whines.

 

“Come here, baby. It’s okay.” I pick him up and stroke his fur, leaning over so I can rest my nose against his back. It makes me remember our first night together. “You’ll always be my first baby, okay? I won’t leave you off to the side. And I’ll make sure Cassie isn’t mean to you.”

 

A honk out in the driveway alerts me to the fact that my life is about to change completely. I put Jaws down and run to the door.

 

Jeremy is out in the driveway, opening the sliding door of the new mini-van he bought. I go out into the cold to help him with Cassie’s luggage.

 

“Get back inside! It’s freezing out here! I can do this!”

 

“Give her to me,” I say, taking the carseat from his hand. It pulls my arm down way more than I was expecting. “Oh my, you’re heavy.”

 

Jeremy takes her seat back. “No. You’re not supposed to lift anything heavy. Go back inside.”