“It’s admirable that you want to protect the boy,” Lois said carefully. “But you need to put away that mama bear energy.This isn’t about your feelings, or even your cousin’s. This is about Cody and what he wants. He’s a young man now, and he should be allowed to make his own decision about meeting his father.”
“Oh,” Bella said again, slumping back down in her chair.
She hated the idea, of course. Because she knew that her vulnerable nephew, who was finally starting to get used to his new life, was definitely going to want to meet his father.
And Cash was definitely going to charm him and disappear, leaving Cody more broken than ever.
But there was no point arguing about it, because Lois was one hundred percent right.
“It’s Cody’s choice,” Bella echoed softly, nodding and trying to steel herself against everything that was about to come next.
7
CASH
After the girl ran off, Cash finished gathering the books in the horrified silence.
Once he was done, he straightened up and headed in the direction she’d gone, trying to imagine what he could possibly say to gain her trust.
At first, he’d thought the stunned look on her face was only because she was starstruck. Plenty of women, young and old, had gazed at him in wonder, and it wasn’t even the first time one of them had dropped something. According to the magazines, he was supposed to have some kind ofheartbreaker smile.
He couldn’t see it himself. It was the same goofy grin he’d had ever since he was a kid, and it hadn’t seemed to do him much good until he started playing with a band in high school.
He was pretty sure what girls really liked about him was the music. Cash himself was just a way for them to personify the thing they loved so much, and it madethem act a little silly sometimes. He had come to accept that simple truth, and he tried not to take advantage.
At least not anymore…
He reached the little office in the corner where she must have run to. He could hear that she was in there talking with someone, but what he had to say was important. Before he had a chance to knock, someone grabbed his elbow.
“Charles Cash,” a quavery voice declared.
He turned to see Judy Bunting, the elementary school secretary from when he was a little boy.
“Mrs. Bunting,” he said automatically.
“Hello, there,” she replied with a big smile. “Come with me.”
She slipped her hand into his arm, and he let himself be led away, just past the music section, to a room with big glass windows.
“We always keep treats in the conference room,” Mrs. Bunting confided once they were in the room.
Sure enough, there was an old-fashioned Corelle platter with a foil-wrapped loaf on top. A stack of matching dessert plates and a knife had been laid out beside it.
“Come on,” she said. “Sit, sit, sit. I’ll just fix you some of Lois’s cranberry bread.”
“Thank you,” Cash said, sitting down obediently.
He knew better than to say no to any of the matriarchs in town. Women like Mrs. Bunting ran Sugarville Grove. His own mom would never let him hear the end of it if he did anything to upset one of the kindhearted older ladies.
And it wasn’t like he was going anywhere. He might as well enjoy a homemade treat. Plus, he already knew it would be good. Mrs. Abraham used to drop off a basket at the farm every Christmas, and the cranberry bread was always the first thing to go.
“You sit tight,” Mrs. Bunting said sternly as she cut off a thick slice and slid it onto a plate for him. “I’m going to go fix you some of the good coffee to go with it.”
“Thank you,” he told her as she headed out of the room.
The moment he was alone, his mind flashed back to that poor girl dropping her books.
Bella Wood, the children’s librarian…
