“Have a seat, I’ll bring it out. What’s this?” Cassie held up the bags.

“Oh just some casseroles and a cobbler. Peach. I hope you like peach cobbler.”

“Like it? I never had it before until I moved here and it’s solely responsible for two extra pounds. It wasn’t necessary for you to do this, you know.” Cassie began to put the pans in her freezer and the cobbler on the counter. She filled two glasses with ice and tea and brought them to Polly.

“It wasn’t necessary but it’s neighborly. You’re new to town and I got you into a car accident your very first day here. Lordy, I can’t believe I did that. I hope you don’t think worse of me.” Polly blushed furiously.

Cassie had of course but found herself unable to hold her anger now that she was face to face with Polly. “Everyone in this town adores you, Mrs. Chase. I appreciate you coming by, I really do. And no, I don’t think worse of you. Accidents happen.” Especially if you’re Polly Chase apparently.

Polly laughed and drank her tea. “Not bad for a Northerner.” She winked.

“Northerner? I’m from Los Angeles.”

“Exactly. If you’re not a Southerner, what are you then?” Polly waved it away and Cassie just laughed and tried not to stare at how high Polly Chase’s hair was. It was like an engineering marvel.

In the end, Polly stayed for an hour and wrangled a promise that Cassie would come to dinner sometime within the next month.

Bowled over, Cassie watched her whip away from the curb and nearly hit an oncoming car. The capper was the g*y wave she sent to her near-victim as she drove away.

Chapter Four

As the days passed, Cassie began to truly live her new life. No one knew about her past and it was like a weight lifted from her. Most days she even forgot about Carly until some odd thing would remind her that a year ago she’d been someone else.

Three days a week Cassie worked at the bookstore, spending her spare time making jewelry. She’d spoken with Dee and would begin to sell her stuff at the Sunday Market that coming weekend. The detailed work took time and attention and she found it really good physical therapy for her fine motor skills. She wouldn’t do surgery again, but she was able to hold the tools without shaking and manage all the finish work.

Her friendship with Penny had continued to deepen and damn if it didn’t feel good to have a girlfriend again. Terry had never allowed her to go out with friends, wanting all her free time to be spent with him. He was always jealous of friends and family. Over time she’d pushed them all away rather than get into continual fights with him over it. In any case, her friends had all been pretty smart cookies, they’d seen his behavior, commenting on it and it was just easier to not have to deal with the embarrassment.

She’d even begun to see a therapist twice a week and found that talking about her time with Terry had started to help. Began to understand how it all happened and also that she wasn’t a bad person. Still the guilt and shame were hard to part with.

Petal began to be home to her. Her residents like an extended family. Cassie got to know her neighbors in the fourplex, most especially Matt Chase. She certainly had no plans to complain that because of Matt she saw Shane Chase nearly as often. It seemed like he was at Matt’s all the time. Truth was, she was beginning to like him too. He knew she was skittish and respected her space. He never rushed up on her or surprised her. For a big man, he was surprisingly gentle with her each time their paths crossed. There was something disarming about the way he treated her. Not so much like he felt sorry for her or pitied her but he was careful, respectful of her.

As a whole, every Chase family member she met she’d taken a liking to. Polly, as predicted, was impossible not to like. There was something irresistible about her. Maybe it was that Polly just sort of accepted Cassie, warts and nerves and all and didn’t seem to notice. It just felt so normal. And normal felt good.

Three weeks after Cassie had started at the store, she and Penny were closing up when Maggie came in.

“Hiya, Penny. Hey, Cassie, I saw you had some pretty flowers on your front porch. Looks nice. Kyle was impressed when we stopped over at Matt’s on the weekend.”

Cassie just smiled. It wasn’t like she could get a word in edgewise with Maggie Chase if she tried. But as it turned out, Maggie, like the rest of the Chase clan was simply a nice person and fun to be around.

“It looked so forlorn, I wanted to make it more colorful. Just trying to make it a home, you know? What are you up to?”

“Well, I have an ulterior motive for being here. You and I haven’t really hung out much and I’m on my way to The Pumphouse for some beer and staring at some Chase brothers. Tonight is their pool game and really, we just gossip and watch tight butts in faded jeans. Sounds good doesn’t it? What do you say? You and Penny should come and hang out.”

How long had it been since she’d gone out with girlfriends for beer and burgers? And pool? “Pool?” Cassie grinned. “Really?” She loved pool. Before marrying Terry, she’d played several times a week at the tavern near the medical school. After they’d gotten married, he’d bought a table for the house. Of course he couldn’t deal with losing so eventually she refused to play with him.

But as Brian was so fond of telling her, she had to start living her life again and who cared what Terry did or didn’t do? He was long gone.

“From that slightly scary look in your face I take it you play? Those boys play every Friday night. I’m sure they’d love for you to join them.”