One Summer Evening - One Summer Evening Part 75
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One Summer Evening Part 75

permission. I can't imagine what you were thinking."

James bowed his shoulders.

"I was waiting for that."

"Only because it's the truth. He's my son and my responsibility."

Wilma stood, her face pasty colored.

"Both of you stop it. Now. I won't have you airing our differences in

front of this nice gentleman."

"That's too bad. Mother," Cassie snapped.

"It's my son's well-being we're talking about here, maybe even his

life."

"I have to agree with your father," Wilma added, but in a much milder

tone.

"You're overreacting."

Cassie's eyes flashed.

"Really? So have the Sullivans called?"

"No, dammit, they haven't," Austin said, focusing his attention on the

officer.

"The boy could be in grave danger."

"That's just not so," James muttered.

Austin went on as if James hadn't spoken.

"Surely you can see why Ms. Sullivan's so concerned?"

"Yes, sir, I can, but even though they're divorced, Mr. Sullivan's still

the boy's father, and since Reverend Wortham here gave the youngster

permission to go, a crime wasn't committed, which pretty much ties our

hands."

Cassie wanted to give in to her mounting terror and frustration while yanking the detective's mustache out, one hair at a time. "No crime's been committed," James said to Malcolm "That's the pointwe've been trying to get across to our daughter."

Cassie almost choked on the words that threatened to pop out of her

mouth.

What was she going to do? With the exception of her and Austin, Lester had everyone snowed.

But Austin was not the answer she needed.

"All right," Cassie said, "if the law won't help me, I'll find him on my own." "Whoa, Cass," Austin said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked away and glowered at him.

"Don't touch me."

"Cassie, you have to get control of yourself." James crossed the room

and stood in front of her.

"Lester is not going to hurt Tyler. You have to believe him when he says he's a changed man."

"Well, I don't!"

"But you don't have anything to base that opinion on. He hasn't missed a

church service, and I told you, he's accepted the Lord as his Savior."

"Stop it. Daddy!"

"No, I won't stop it. You're going to hear me out. Lester is the boy's

father. He just wants to spend time with Tyler time that you won't give him."

Cassie shook her head, her eyes wild.

"You don't understand."

"I do understand." James turned his gaze on Austin.

"Help me out here, will you? Maybe she'll listen to you."

Austin shook his head.

"You know better than that."

"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here." "Cassie, Cassie," James said in a cajoling tone, "how can you fault the man for wanting to be with his son?"

Goaded beyond her limit of endurance, Cassie screamed in her daddy's

face, "Because Tyler is not Lester's son!"

FR1;Thirty-Five For a moment the air seemed to crackle like dry leaves burning.

What had she. done? What had she said? The truth. She had blurted out the naked truth for the world to i hear. Suddenly she wanted to cringe,to hide from the eyes that were staring at her as though she had goneoff the deep end.

Recoiling, Cassie lifted her hands to her flaming "I cheeks. Yet she was cold, chill bumps running rampant over her skin.

Any moment, she feared her teeth would start chattering.

The policeman was the first to break the shocked silence by clearing histhroat, then scraping one shoe across the floor.

"Er ... if you don't mind, I'll wait outside."

Cassie finally found her voice.

"Thank you. But please, don't leave."

"No, ma'am, I won't," the detective responded. Cassie knew Malcolmwished he could get the hell out of there and never return. And shedidn't blame him, she thought, watching as he walked out the door.

She took a shuddering breath, then turned toward her family once again,feeling as if she were facing a firing squad. Her daddy's mouth wasgaping.

Her mother's hand was on her heart.

What must he be thinking? She told herself not to look at him. But shecouldn't stop herself; her eyes shifted to him. He was standing so rigidthat it seemed as if his body were encased in a block of ice.

While his features had no color, it was his eyes that dealt the lethalblow to her heart. Dead. They looked dead.

He had figured out the truth: if Lester wasn't Tyler's father, then he was.

Cassie closed her own eyes for a moment, leaning forward, shouldersdrawn together as if she expected to be physically struck. She wouldn'tblame Austin if he chose to do just that. She would give anything if shecould snatch those words out of the air and bury them back deep insideher.

She blamed her daddy. If he hadn't pushed her past her limit, then oneof her most haunting nightmares wouldn't have turned into cold, starkreality.

"Cassie?"

She focused on James, who had spoken her name, but who appearedincapable of saying anything else as he leaned against the sofa. Hiseyes were narrowed to slits, and his Adam's apple bobbed like a cork inthe." water. If the situation hadn't been so fraught, she might havelaughed.

As it was, there was nothing to laugh about. Instead, hysteria bubbledclose to the surface. Her child was gone, and she might never see himagain.

Dear Lord, she prayed in anguished silence, please don't let anythinghappened to my baby. Punish me for my sins, but not Tyler.

"Cassie," James repeated, only louder, his voice sounding like acroaking bull frog.

"Sir?" she whispered, trying to shake off the numbness that was threatening to suck her under.

"You didn't mean what you just said, did you?"

Cassie's heart began to race as she faced her daddy. Lie! Now was her chance to retract those words. But she couldn't. Besides, the damage had been done. No one would believe her, especially Austin.