Under the Sunlight

Chapter 7

Max had stopped crying by the time that they'd reached the truck, though he still clung to his father.

"Who were they?" he finally asked as Jacob buckled him into his car seat. "Why were they yelling?"

Jacob sighed. "They were people Cassandra and I work with. They had a hard day too. I . . ." And he shook his head, deciding it was a good time for an example to be set. "I didn't tell them something really important, that I should have. They were a bit upset with me."

Max frowned. "Lyin' is bad, Daddy."

Stone, who had spent so much of his life lying, grimaced briefly and cast a look at Cassandra. He'd once thrown stones at her, something he regretted given his own sins. But he looked back at his son. "You're right, buddy. And Daddy is real sorry for it. So they're gonna come over and I'm gonna make it right."

"Even the one who stared at me?"

Cassandra chuckled softly. "That's just Flynn. He didn't mean to. He thought you were really interesting, like how you'd look at a plant or a bug."

"He didn't yell," Max said thoughtfully. "Plus I liked his eyes, they're like yours Andra, nice."

"They all are nice when they're not having bad days. But let's go home." Cassandra said, reaching past Jacob to kiss Max's cheek.

Stone decided not to comment on Cassandra's use of the word 'home.' Up until a few minutes ago, he'd been indulging himself in one of his all too frequent fantasies about life with her. These stolen moments when he could pretend he'd had everything he ever wanted and he'd never break her heart.

She hopped up into the passenger seat and Stone went around to the other side.

"I really didn't want them to find out like that. I should have told them," he sighed, starting the engine. "Go ahead, tell me I told you so. I know you're dyin' too."

"I'm not gonna do that. Though I really hoped it had gone better. Though I didn't expect that."

"They shouldn't have dragged you into this. This was my tale to tell and you kept my secret because I asked you. The very idea that you'd be Max's mother . . . ."

Cassandra felt strangely hurt by that comment, though she wasn't certain why. "That certainly was a weird conclusion to leap to, but it's been a weird day."

He glanced over at her quickly before concentrating on the traffic. After he'd merged safely onto the road he said, "well, I suppose that you're so good with him that it would be a honest mistake for strangers to make. But they should know that you'd never just move halfway across the country from your child. That really annoyed me, Cassie. They should know you better than that by now."

And Cassandra's heart suddenly swelled again and tears pricked her eyes. Luckily he couldn't see them. She just nodded. "You're right. But it's been a weird day. And you know how Ezekiel is. Conspiracy theories are his life."

Jacob just gave an annoyed grunt and went back to concentrating on traffic. On a red light before his place, he sighed. "I'm not lookin' forward to this. But I made my own bed. And I owe it to Max to face the music like a man."

"I'm pretty sure that's part of being a parent eventually." Cassandra said gently. She'd probably never know herself, the tumor in her head made that impossible. And it was the tumor that reminded her that she needed to step back from the Stones. She couldn't let them get too close, only to hurt them in the end. But her own selfishness kept her in their lives anyway.

Max had dosed off during the drive, exhausted by the outburst and crashing from the sugar. Cassandra had gotten a text from Baird saying they'd stopped off for a drink and would be a little bit longer than a half hour. That was fine with Jacob who'd been having a harder time than he expected getting Max settled.