I follow right behind him and then hover over her as he unbuckles her just inside the front door.
“Is she okay? Did she cry? Did Jana try to kill you?”
“No, Jana wasn’t there. She said she couldn’t do it. Leah did the hand-off.”
My heart hurts for his sister. “When do you think she’ll come around?” I look up at the man I love with concern.
“I don’t know when, but eventually she will. I know she will.”
He goes back out into the cold, and I stare at Cassie. She stares back, blinking occasionally. Her little hat covers everything but her eyes, nose, mouth, and huge cheeks.
“Do you want to come out of that seat?” I ask, trying not to cry.
She kicks her feet very enthusiastically.
I unbuckle her and gently lift her free. She melds into me, and then I do cry. I’m swaying back and forth with her when Jeremy comes back inside.
“Everything okay?” he asks me, staring at us.
I nod. “Everything’s perfect. Just perfect.”
He smiles, puts her things on the ground, and walks over to us. He kisses us both on the head and then wraps his arms around us.
Cassie looks up, first at him and then at me.
“Happy family,” he says.
“Sure feels like it,” I add.
He leans in and kisses me on the lips. “Wanna marry me?”
I blush. “We have one more thing we have to do first, before I decide.”
“Oh really?” he asks, suddenly very interested. “Is it what I think it is?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
“Maybe.” I can’t look at him anymore. Instead, I give Cassie an Eskimo kiss, rubbing our noses together.
“We’ll discuss that later,” he says, pinching my butt.
“Ow!” I try to scowl at him. “Stop that!”
I hear a growl and then Jeremy yelps.
“Ouch! Dammit, Jaws! Stop biting me!”
I start laughing and then Cassie joins me. She and I are both cracking up. When Jeremy starts running around the room with the dog chomping at his heels, Cassie gets hysterical.
Jeremy and Jaws stop only for the two seconds it takes them to realize they are her entertainment, and then they go again. Around and around the room they chase one another as Cassie’s peals of laughter bounce off the walls. I swear I can see a ghostly presence in the corner of the room laughing with us.
Chapter Forty-One
CASSIE IS FINALLY ASLEEP. THE energy that we built up waiting for her and then enjoying her first day with us kept her awake well beyond her normal bedtime. I look at my watch. It’s 10:00pm and I still have laundry to do. I wonder if Jeremy is going to try and grab it from me again and insist I’m not allowed to lift dirty clothes.
“What are you doing?” he asks, standing in the entrance to my bedroom.
“Sorting laundry for the wash.”
“You know you’re not supposed to lift heavy things.”
I smile to myself. “Two shirts and a pair of jeans aren’t heavy.”
He’s at my side now. “Still, I don’t mind doing it. We need to be careful while your eyes are healing.”
I look up at him, the glasses finally gone now that my eyeballs aren’t horrible anymore. “You know you can’t keep acting like my servant, right?”
He smiles. “Sure I can.”
I shake my head. “You’re crazy.”
His hand comes up and his fingers trace the outline of my jaw. “Crazy about you.”
“Corny,” I say, laughing.
“Sexy,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.
My laugh falls away as I recognize the look in his eyes. I know what he’s thinking; it’s the same thing that’s been going through my mind all day. Seeing him be a father to Cassie has awakened a fire within me. He could not possibly be sexier to me now.
His hand drifts down, his finger lightly sliding along the skin of my neck and then my collar bone.
“You’re so pretty,” he says softly. “I love your red hair.”
“Kids used to call me penny head.” I always considered my hair a curse, but Jeremy’s been playing with it regularly since I moved in here and telling me how many pretty shades of copper he sees in it, so I believe him when he says he likes it. I’m even starting to like looking at it in the mirror. Something about Jeremy’s constant compliments have boosted my confidence; I actually feel as beautiful as he claims me to be.