Change of Plans

Chapter 22

Everyone is good at something. Logan was good at being bossy, I observed as I looked on in silent amusement at the flurry of activity in the house in preparation for the night ahead.

Caitlyn gritted her teeth and her nostrils flared. She shot a glare in my direction before shooting daggers at Logan's back. Why she felt the need to glare at me, I didn't even want to know.

I held my breath while I waited for her outburst.

"Logan Mitchell," she seethed. "I swear to the heavens above that if you ever yell at me again I will chop you into little pieces and feed to my pet fish!"

He turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't have any pets Cait," he pointed out. "And you're wasting precious time with your useless argument."

"I will kill you," she calmly replied.

"Someone needs to collect the cake," he continued, ignoring her threat.

"I'll do it," Casey volunteered.

"I'll go with you," I offered in hopes of escaping another fight between those two.

"Take Bailey with you," Carter called from the living room.

"Why do we need cake?" Brianna, one of Caitlyn's friends asked as she poured herself a glass of soda.

"It's not a party without cake," Logan replied.

"It's not a party," Caitlyn muttered. "It's a movie night and I don't even know why they invited you."

Casey grabbed my wrist and pulled me along before another argument erupted. We collected Bailey on our way out the door and Carter flashed me a grateful smile.

The drive to the bakery was filled with Bailey chattering nonstop and me pretending to be interested. I adored the little girl but there were only so many minutes at a time that I could spend with her before wanting to play the quiet game. Growing up as an only child should've made me grateful to have a little sister but instead it made me long for solitude and a pair of headphones.

"Do you want to go get ice-cream?" Casey asked Bailey as we left the bakery.

She nodded eagerly and her grip on my hand tightened as she beamed at Casey. I bit back my smile and opened the car door for her. Casey was so much better at dealing with children than I'd ever hope to be. I climbed in beside Bailey before collecting the cake from her.

We drove the short distance to the Peach Pit in relative silence. Bailey skipped to the counter when we arrived, Casey following silently behind and I found us a place to sit. She had bags under her eyes that weren't there before and although she'd tried to cover it up with concealer and a bright smile, I still saw her sadness protruding its ugly head from underneath.

Caitlyn had dropped the bombshell that she'd invited Savannah earlier that morning and Casey had been quiet ever since. "I got you vanilla," she said interrupting my thoughts.

"Thanks," I mumbled, taking the ice-cream cone from her.

She nodded and took a seat beside me while Bailey positioned herself on the other side. "You okay?" I asked, even though I knew that she wasn't.

"I will be," she replied, giving me a timid smile. "Don't worry about it."

I frowned because I couldn't help but worry about it. I worried about her even more than I worried about Carter. It was going to be a pretty interesting night for sure with Savannah being there and we all expected her to bring Blake along, but if she had any sense at all she wouldn't.

"You're going to get wrinkles if you don't stop frowning," Casey said lightly.

I replaced my frown with a smile and then chuckled when she blew me a kiss.