allmyheart4

all my heart
by unique
chapter 4

    "Dad, Dad! Check this out..." Tyler shouted happily from a few feet away.
    Kevin looked to where his son pointed and spotted the remote control airplane he had just
    bought for him an hour ago. "That's great, Tyler!" He called back.
    Tyler waved and ran off, following his airplane. Kevin watched him closely, smiling to
    himself. Tyler was a great kid... and he was his kid! That was what amazed Kevin the
    most. This little boy was smart, funny, and adorably cute. Kevin could see himself easily
    in Tyler... but he could also see Tyler's mother in his son. Sometimes it was just in the
    way Tyler smiled. Cassie had that same little grin... the one that brought out the deep
    dimples and twinkling eyes. Kevin sighed softly as his mind wandered to thought of
    Cassandra.
    She was presently in his house. She claimed she didn't feel like going shopping, so she had
    stayed in to clean. Kevin had protested, but Cassie had been adamant. Kevin smiled.
    Cassandra had always loved to argue with him... even if she had been wrong. Kevin hadn't
    minded arguing with her from time to time because she looked beautiful when she defended
    herself. Her cheeks had flushed with color and her eyes had sparks... Kevin could still see
    her clearly in his mind all those times they had disagreed on something. But what he
    remembered the most was the way one of them would eventually give in... And they would kiss
    and make up. Kevin chuckled. Yeah... he remembered those times even better...
    "Dad! You should try this!" Tyler's voice broke into Kevin's thoughts.
    "Coming..." Kevin opened his eyes and saw Tyler holding his airplane in his arms, running
    towards him.
    "Come on, Dad, try it..." Tyler got to his dad first and handed him the toy. "You'll like
    it. Mama says you love airplanes."
    Kevin grinned. "She told you that, huh?"
    Tyler nodded vigorously. "Mama told me all about you..."
    Kevin's smile dimmed slightly. Cassie told Tyler all about him... but Kevin had had no clue
    that he had a son. He pushed that thought away and pulled Tyler into his lap, airplane and
    all.   "She told you all about me?"
    "Uh-huh." Tyler laughed. "Mama says that you love airplanes... that's why you travel so
    much. Well, that and you're big and famous!"
    Kevin chuckled. "Just a little..."
    Tyler looked at Kevin seriously. "No... Really famous. She said that was what you dreamed
    about for so long... so when it finally came, she had to leave. She said she loved you so
    much that she didn't want to take away your dream..."
    "So she left?" Kevin asked softly, realizing that Cassie had really meant what she said.
    She hadn't wanted to leave, but she had to. Kevin didn't know who to be angry at
    anymore... he wasn't even sure if he was still angry! All he regretted was missing so much
    out of little Tyler's life, and Cassie's.
    "Mama left..." Tyler repeated. "But she promised that she would never leave again."
    Kevin blinked. "She did?"
    Tyler looked up at Kevin. "Well... yeah... she promised that she would never leave me...
    that she would always be here for me."
    Kevin nodded. "I'm sure she will be, Tyler. Your Mama loves you very much."
    Tyler looked at Kevin solemnly. "I know."
    "And you love your Mama a whole bunch too, right?" Kevin smiled.
    "Yeah." Tyler replied. "Don't you?"
    Kevin's smile froze momentarily, and he knew Tyler needed an answer. The problem was that
    Kevin wasn't sure he had an answer. He looked into Tyler's light green eyes, so much like
    his own, and wondered what would happen if he did still love Cassie. He knew that there was
    still something between them, but he didn't know what to call it. He let out a deep breath
    and glanced away from Tyler before facing him again.
    "Dad," Tyler spoke softly, "Don't you love my Mama?"
    Kevin smiled slightly, his throat clogging over with emotion. He nodded slowly. "Yeah...
    Yeah, Tyler, I do..."
    ~ *********** ~
    Cassandra turned off the vacuum cleaner and brushed a few stray strands of hair away from
    her face. Kevin's house was sparkling clean now. She smiled. At least she had gotten done
    something done. She felt good again... for the first time in months. She sighed heavily as
    everything came rushing back to her. Sure she was happy now, but what would life be like a
    few months down the road? Cassandra put the vacuum away and dropped onto the couch.
    Staring blankly out the window, she fell back into the last few months that she had spent in
    a nightmare...
    "Mama! We're home!" Tyler called out.
    Cassandra heard the slam of the door and little footsteps running through the house. She
    also heard Kevin's footsteps and his light warning to Tyler about running through the house
    with his muddy shoes on. He reminded the little boy that his Mama had just cleaned the
    house and that it wasn't very nice to mess it all up again. Cassandra grinned as she heard
    her son move back to the front foyer and put his shoes away.
    "Okay... go find your Mama now." Kevin said with a laugh.
    Cassandra chuckled as she saw Tyler run into the room. She held out her arms and he tumbled
    into them, telling her all about where Kevin and he had been. She saw the airplane in his
    grasp and smiled. Tyler already loved his Daddy as much as she did. Of course, nothing
    could ever come of it. She knew that. She ignored the small pain in her heart and listened
    to Tyler's stories.
    "And then we went to the park and we flew my airplane! It was so cool, Mama! You should have
    seen how high it went!" Tyler laughed. "It was so high... it touched the sun!"
    "I don't think it was that high, Tyler." Kevin said with a grin as he joined them on the
    couch.
    Tyler shrugged. "Close enough, Dad. You have to come with us next time, Mama."
    Cassandra smiled. "I will, sweetheart. I was just... a little tired today." Actually, she
    had wanted Kevin and Tyler to get to know each other. She saw that they had become close
    already... and she was relieved. That would make everything so much easier...
    "You didn't make anything for supper, did you?" Kevin asked finally.
    Cassandra finally met his gaze and grinned. "No. Sorry... but I can -- "
    Kevin shook his head. "No, no... That’s okay. Actually, I was hoping you hadn't so I could
    take you and Tyler out."
    Cassandra looked at Tyler, then back at Kevin. "Well..."
    "Can we go, Mama? Please?" Tyler begged. "Dad said he'd take us to Denny's... where they
    have breakfast all day! I could have the pancakes that I was supposed to have this
    morning..."
    Cassandra remembered why they hadn't had pancakes. A funny feeling fluttered in her
    stomach, but she found herself nodding slowly. She smiled at Tyler. "Okay, honey... we can
    go to Denny's..."
    Kevin smiled and touched her hand gently. "Thank you..."
    Cassandra looked at him questioningly. "For what?"
    Kevin's eyes went to Tyler, then met hers again with a tiny glow. "For... everything."
    Cassandra felt the emotion building in her, but she was also very afraid of it. Kevin
    always knew just what to say or do to get her right in the heart. It didn't take much from
    Kevin to melt her heart in the first place. She pushed the emotion down deep and smiled at
    Kevin brightly. She didn't bother saying 'You're welcome' because they both knew that there
    was really nothing she had done that was so great. All she had done was love her two best
    guys with all her heart... and she always would, no matter what.