Page 12 of Fall Into Me

It was too much—the kindness of this complete stranger—and he couldn’t speak to answer. Instead, he nodded weakly, shifted the car back into park, and unfastened his seat belt. Cass opened the door for him.

“Be careful here, it’s slick,” Cass warned.

Ash nodded again and cleared his throat. “Yeah, um, thanks,” he said. Then, carefully—because the last thing he wanted to do right now was embarrass himself even more by slipping on the ice—he pushed himself up to stand, holding the car door to steady himself. Almost immediately, however, his vision swam, and he groaned and let go of the door to reach up and cover his eyes.

And that was a mistake.

He gasped as his feet slipped, and he somehow found his face pressed up against Cass’s puffy black jacket, two strong arms wrapped around him. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“Whoa, now, I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” Cass murmured gently.

Ash couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. And he didn’t really want to. He stood there, leaning up against this total stranger in the middle of an intersection in Redding, California, shaking and dizzy, and he cried. He felt like an idiot. And the worst uncle in the world—after all, Bri was still screaming in the back seat of the car, still upset about something, still needing comfort. And he wasn’t doing a damn thing about it.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay. I’ve got you, and everything’s going to be okay. Really.”

No, it’s not! he wanted to shout. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. He just clung to the man and shook his head and willed the tears to stop. What seemed like several minutes later, when he could finally breathe again, he straightened up and wiped his face on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry. I’m . . . I’m having a really, really bad, um, month, actually, and I just . . .”

“It’s okay, really. I understand,” Cass said softly, and Ash wondered again where all this man’s kindness came from. “Here, we need to get you two somewhere warm and safe. Let me help you, okay?”

With a sniffle, Ash nodded. “Yeah, okay. Th-thank you, again. You don’t know how much all this means to me.”

He heard a quiet hmm from next to him, and when he glanced over at Cass, he saw more gentleness in the man’s eyes. “I’m happy to be able to help. Really. Here.” And Cass guided Ash to the rear driver’s side door, his hand on Ash’s elbow for support.

Dad (Thursday, December 9, 2021 – 11:04 a.m.): The power is out down the street but still on here. Everything’s a mess though, and I might have to go back to work later

Dad (11:06 a.m.): Your mom is still worried about you. Let me know your ETA so I can tell her. Be careful

Dad (11:07 a.m.): Love you

Chapter Six

Cass

Cass’s heart was doing some funny things in his chest and had been for the better part of the last fifteen minutes.

It had started the second Cass had locked eyes with the most captivating man he thought he’d ever seen—those deep blue eyes, the adorable mess of wavy dark hair that fell loosely over his forehead, the tiny hint of stubble along his jawline. The sensation had ripped through Cass, nearly pushing all the air out of his lungs as his heart had begun racing—really, really fast.

Then it had done some weird stuttering thing, skipping beats and such, when the man—Ash—had slipped on the ice and fallen right into Cass’s arms.

Then it had ached with an intensity Cass had never known before when Ash had started crying. Clinging to him and crying as though he had nothing left in the world. As though Cass was his only lifeline.

And now, the racing and the stuttering and the ache had all turned into some gentle, slow flutter as Cass listened unobtrusively to the man in the back seat, who murmured soft, sweet words of reassurance to his niece. The infant, who couldn’t have been more than three or four months old, responded with quiet coos and gurgles, her crying long forgotten.

Cass pursed his lips and blinked back whatever emotions were buzzing right underneath his skin, because now was certainly not the time to let himself be overwhelmed by these things. Then he carefully pulled Ash’s Rav-4 alongside a huge snowdrift at the edge of the parking lot outside his dad’s buddy’s hotel, where he hoped they’d have a nice, comfortable room for Ash and his niece.

He shifted the small SUV into park but left the engine running so the car would stay warm. Pasting a soft smile on his face, he twisted around until he could see Ash in the back seat. The man’s eyes seemed to be blinking back tears as he stared down at his niece, and there was a tightness in his jaw, even as the words he murmured were gentle and soothing.

“Here we are,” Cass said, keeping his voice quiet to avoid startling the baby.

Ash looked up at him briefly, and Cass’s heart nearly broke when he saw the redness rimming Ash’s eyes and the partly dried tear stains on his cheeks. Ash quickly blinked again and then glanced out the window toward the hotel’s entrance.

“My dad’s friend owns this hotel,” Cass continued. “How about I run in and check that they’ve got a room for you?”

His heart still ached as Ash’s eyes closed and Ash seemed to clear his throat with a low, rough cough.

“Yeah, um, that would be great. I-I can’t thank you enough,” Ash said, his words catching.