Garrett smiled at Cass as he paid the check.  “Come on.”

 

“This was nice,” she said after a moment, reaching out to take his hand.

 

“It was.” Garrett said, leading her out to the parking lot.  But instead of going to the car, they went around the side of the building.

 

“Where are we going?” 

 

“You’ll see.” He said as a horse-drawn carriage pulled up.  “Get in.”

 

“Why do I even ask anymore?  You never tell me,” she teased as she got into the carriage and was slightly surprised when he put an arm around her and pulled her to him.

 

Garrett kissed her neck.  “Have you had an enjoyable evening?” Garrett asked her.

 

“Of course I have.  And something tells me you’re determined to make sure I enjoy the rest of it.”

 

“I have one more little surprise for you.  Close your eyes.”

 

Cassidy raised an eyebrow but did as she was asked.  She was fairly sure he hadn’t meant that how it sounded, but… this was Garrett, and it was hard to tell sometimes.

 

“That’s not how I meant it to sound.” He kissed her and pulled out a ring box, holding it out in front of her.  “Open.”

 

She opened her eyes and looked at the box.  “Garrett…?”

 

“Open it.” He told her, pulling her close.

 

She complied, cautiously taking the lid off the box.  She glanced at the ring it contained in a sort of daze.  Could it possibly really be for her?  Did this mean…?

 

“Will you marry me?” He whispered into her hair.  “Cassidy?”

 

“Yes.”  She sensed she was watering up but she didn’t even try to stop it.  “Yes, Garrett…”

 

Garrett kissed her.  “Don’t cry… this is happy.”

 

“This is wonderful,” she replied.  “I just… wasn’t expecting… this is amazing,” she said as he slid the ring onto her finger.

 

“You think I was going to never ask you? I love you Cass.”

 

“I love you too…”  She kissed him softly.  “I just… I don’t know, I know you love me but I guess I just supposed we’d just be lovers, or I’d wind up as your mistress… it was too perfect for us to actually get married…”

 

“There isn’t anyone I’d rather be with than you.  And I don’t know what you were planning…but the Spencer men don’t have mistresses or torrid affairs.”

 

“So you’ve decided to make us respectable.”

 

“Well I figure I’d better before mom starts badgering you about why you haven’t gotten me to ask yet.”

 

There was a moment’s pause.  “I understand.  Your mother’s making you do this.”

 

“No, Cassidy…you misunderstand…I don’t do anything I don’t want to, and am certainly not forced to do anything this important.  I love you and that’s why I asked you.”

 

“Do they know?  Your parents.  That you’re asking me this now?” 

 

“I told my father right before he left, and we’re going to tell mom when we get back.”

 

She kissed him firmly.  “I won’t be able to call her Mrs. Spencer anymore… that’s going to be me, too.”

 

“She’s going to insist you call her Mom. She already thinks of you as her daughter.”

 

Cassidy smiled a little bit.  A family… and best of all, Garrett.  “She’s going to heckle us for grandkids.”

 

Garrett simply nodded.  He kissed her on the forehead.  “We’ll have plenty of kids.”

 

She smiled, thinking of the opportunity to make sure her kids knew their parents loved them.  “I want kids… I’m just afraid I really don’t know how to be a mother.”

 

“Don’t worry…we’ll learn the tricks of parenting together.”

 

She curled up close to him.  “I love you…”

 

“I love you too, Cass.” Garrett replied, signaling for the driver to take them home.

 

They arrived shortly.  “We get to tell your mom now?”

 

“Anxious to get upstairs, Cass?” Garrett teased her.

 

“With you?  Pretty much always.”

 

“What’s going on?” Holly asked, coming into the foyer.

 

“Mom…I asked Cassidy to marry me tonight, and she accepted.” Garrett told his mother.

 

Holly let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeal, first hugging Cassidy and then Garrett.  “That’s wonderful!  I’m so happy for you two!  Why didn’t you *say* you were going to ask???”  She lightly smacked her son, then turned to Cassidy.  “We’ve got so much to plan… this is going to be *delightful,* I couldn’t be happier.”

 

“I don’t think she was this excited about *our* wedding.” Nathan said, walking past the group.

 

“Oh, hush, it’s just so long ago now you’ve forgotten it,” Holly said, then kissed her son’s cheek.  “Go on and get your fiancée upstairs, everyone’ll leave you two alone tonight.”

 

If this was meant to be kind and encouraging, Cassidy was certain it had backfired… but then she imagined Garrett wouldn’t want to discuss his sex life with his mother.  And at that thought, she was sure she was as red as her hair.

 

“Thanks…mom.” Garrett kissed his mother’s cheek before leading Cassidy upstairs.

 

 

 

 

“Clearly you enjoyed your dinner,” Gavin commented, smiling pleasantly.

 

“Of course.  It was food.  And I had some good company too.” Grace laughed slightly.

 

He leaned in to kiss her, but they were interrupted by male murmuring and a woman’s laughter on the stairs in the hall.  “Oh, *they’re* back.”

 

Grace’s door had been left open a crack and she got up to peer through.  She turned back to Gavin.  “Can I?” She pushed the door open a bit more.

 

“Go for it, beautiful.”

 

Grace stepped into the hallway as Garrett and Cassidy passed her room.  “No warm welcome for your sister, Cassidy?” Grace asked angrily.

 

“Like you really want to see me.  Listen, you wanna talk it’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow, okay?  I have… things to do tonight.”

 

Grace smirked.  “I’m sure you do.  But after tonight, I don’t plan on talking to you ever again.” Grace walked up and slapped Cassidy hard across the face.  “I hate you.  You killed our mother and then abandoned us.  I hope you die.” Grace said furiously.

 

“It was her or me, and the IMF would have had my head for doing it.  You’re the bitch that made her try to kill me!  If you could keep your mouth shut I would have left peacefully and she’d still be around to beat the shit out of Dylan in a few years!”

 

“You left us, Cassidy!  You are a fucking selfish bitch who doesn’t care about anything except living like a princess and blowing her boyfriend!”

 

“You stinky little – you don’t even *know* -“ Cassidy began, but Garrett had drawn his pistol.

 

“Get your filthy little ass back in your room.  Don’t you *dare* talk to Cass like that,” he said darkly.

 

Grace froze.  She hadn’t heard what Garrett had said after he drew the gun…if he said anything at all.  The sight of the gun pointed at her brought her back to the night David had died… right before…he was going to kill her…Grace backed up into Gavin, who had finally emerged from the room.

 

“What the hell’s the matter with you?!?” Gavin yelled.  “She talked to Dad, he cleared it – Grace, come in here…”

 

“Garrett, you need to put that away.  She won’t pay attention to whatever you’re saying as long as you’ve got a gun in your hand,” Cassidy said quietly.

 

Grace began to tremble and everything started to spin around her.  She leaned against the wall to prevent herself from falling.

 

“No one, and I don’t really give a fuck who it may be, but no one talks to my fiancée like that.” Garrett snarled, waving the gun.  “And if she’s afraid of guns…maybe she should leave.”

 

“The night our father – my father – was killed, he nearly shot her.  She finds herself on the business end of a gun and it’s all she can think of.  Put it away, baby,” Cassidy said by way of explanation.

 

“Oh no, no one could speak badly of your precious fiancée.  I guess this way you’ll really be able to do her whenever you want, right Garrett?”  Gavin snapped.

 

“Gavin, shut up before I shoot you.” Garrett retorted.  “Take your little slut and go back into the room and shut the door.”

 

Gavin would have told Garrett just what he could do with his gun and his threats, but a look at Grace convinced him not to.  He gently lifted her and carried her into the room, closing the door.

 

Once Gavin had picked her up, Grace clung to him in her daze, hoping he was some kind of life preserver.

 

Garrett hesitated and put the gun away.  “Come on.” He took her hand.

 

“It’s okay, you’re safe,” Gavin promised.

 

Cassidy squeezed his hand gently.  “That means a lot to me, you know.”

 

He nodded, “Yeah.  She has no right to even talk to you, nevermind what she pulled out there.”

 

Grace nodded, but didn’t let go.  “Thank you.”

 

“You’ve got to look out for Garrett.  He’s not a nice man,” Gavin said.

 

Cassidy shrugged.  Many people had done much worse in her lifetime.  “I guess I’ll just have to thank you when we get to your room,” she said, trying to lighten the mood once more.

 

Garrett kissed her firmly.  “I love you.”

 

“I figured when he started doing his impression of my stepfather.” Grace muttered.

 

“It’s okay now.  He’s dead, and you’re safe,” Gavin repeated.

 

“I love you too… how’d I get lucky enough to get you?”

 

“Just…just fate I guess.” Garrett replied.

 

Grace kissed him.  “I’m safe with you.”

 

“I guess.”  Cassidy laughed as Garrett picked her up.  “You practicing?”

 

“Of course, I’m going to make an honest woman out of you, after all.” Garrett smiled, kissing her again.

 

 

Next Chapter