allmyheart3

all my heart
by unique
chapter 3

    Kevin woke up the next morning with the feeling that he was being watched. He opened his
    eyes slowly and found Tyler standing beside his bed… just watching him. Kevin smiled
    slightly and the little boy continued to stare.
    “Hey Tyler… good morning.” Kevin said softly, not wanting to scare him. “Where’s your Mama?”

    Tyler glanced around the room before looking back to Kevin and answering. “Sleeping.”
    Kevin nodded. He remembered helping Cassie put Tyler to bed in one of the guest rooms, then
    Cassie had decided to sleep too. She slept with her son, of course. Kevin knew that, as
    much as he wanted to be, Cassie didn’t want him back in her life. She had made that clear
    enough by ignoring him for the rest of the night. Kevin sighed tiredly and sat up.
    “Are you hungry Tyler?” Kevin asked the little boy.
    Hesitantly, Tyler nodded. Kevin smiled and got out of bed, stretching a little. He made
    his way to the washroom and stopped when he saw Tyler still standing beside his bed.
    “Do you want to watch your Dad shave?” Kevin asked Tyler.
    Tyler frowned slightly. “What’s that?”
    Kevin blinked. Then he smiled. “Well… come on and find out.”
    Tyler slowly made his way to the washroom with Kevin. Kevin picked him up and sat him on
    the counter. Tyler watched avidly as Kevin brushed his teeth, washed his face, then
    slathered shaving cream on his chin. Tyler even laughed when Kevin blotted some cream onto
    his little nose. Kevin felt his heart warm at the sight of his son’s smile. It was
    radiant… just like Cassie’s. Wondering why Cassie had suddenly decided to bring Tyler to
    him, Kevin started shaving, telling Tyler step by step how to do it right. Tyler listened
    patiently and nodded when he felt he needed to. Kevin continued to smile at his little boy…
    but his mind was really on Tyler’s mother…
    ~ *********** ~
    Cassandra opened her eyes slowly, realizing what had woken her up. Tyler was gone from the
    bed. She sat up slowly and glanced at her watch. Seven-thirty. She groaned slightly and
    lay back down. It was too early to have to start the day… but she knew that Tyler was
    probably hungry. Plus, he didn’t know Kevin’s house really, so she should help him out a
    little. Before he broke something and woke Kevin up.
    With those thoughts in mind, Cassandra got out of bed and made her way to the washroom.
    After washing up and brushing her teeth, she moved quietly down the hall towards the
    stairs. She stopped when she saw Kevin’s bedroom door open. Tyler wouldn’t have gone in
    there… would he? She moved closer to the door and listened. She could hear Kevin’s deep
    voice from the washroom. He was talking to someone about… shaving? Cassandra peeked inside
    and saw Tyler sitting on the counter in front of his dad.
    Cassandra smiled and couldn’t stop the small tears that gathered in the corners of her
    eyes. They looked so cute together… father and son. Like it should have been from the
    start, Cassandra thought sadly. Kevin had lost six years of Tyler’s life, not including the
    year she spent in pregnancy. Lord, but she had been terrified… but she made it through.
    She and Tyler were happy… but it was time to give that same joy to his father. Kevin
    deserved it… and so did Tyler.
    Looking at Tyler now, Cassandra saw that Tyler had been missing a Male Role Model in his
    life. That was her fault and she knew that. She smiled as she heard Tyler’s light laughter
    mingling with Kevin’s chuckle. She wiped at a tear that had slid down her cheek. Those two
    were her family… for now anyway. She sighed deeply. She was glad that Tyler had a Daddy
    now… she just hoped that they would be happy together. That was all she had ever wanted for
    both of them.
    Turning away from the tender scene, Cassandra made her way downstairs. She got to the
    kitchen and studied Kevin’s refrigerator and its contents. Pulling some things out, she
    decided to make pancakes. Tyler loved pancakes, but she rarely ever had time to make them.
    Now was the time, she decided. Working quickly, she mixed the necessary ingredients, then
    searched Kevin’s cupboards for a griddle.
    “Hmm… looks like Mama's trying to cook, huh?” Kevin’s voice startled Cassandra and she
    dropped the pan she had been holding.
    “Oh!” Cassandra turned quickly and looked at Kevin, slightly embarrassed. “You scared me…”
    Kevin grinned. “Sorry… we didn’t mean to.”
    Cassandra saw that Tyler was holding Kevin’s hand. She smiled at her little boy. “I’m
    making your favorite, baby…”
    Tyler’s eyes lit up. “Pancakes! Yummy!”
    Cassandra laughed as Tyler began to do a little dance, still holding onto his Father’s
    hand. Kevin laughed too, then his eyes met Cassandra’s. They stared at each other for a
    while, letting old feelings rush between them. Cassandra felt her heart squeeze at the
    sight of Kevin after so many years. She would never get used to how handsome he was. She
    was sure that he was every girl’s fantasy… Knowing her thoughts were turning mushy, she
    turned away.
    “I hope you don’t mind?” Cassandra said softly, picking the pan up off the floor and taking
    it to the sink to rinse it off.
    “Mind?” Kevin laughed softly. “Why would I mind a home-cooked meal? Go right ahead, Cassie…
    I remember how much you loved to cook.”
    Cassandra smiled slightly. Yeah… she had enjoyed cooking… for Kevin. H had always praised
    her meals and sometimes, they hadn’t gotten around to eating. Too bad those days were in
    the past. Cassandra missed them terribly…
    “Mama! I’m hungry! Are you almost done?” Tyler piped up.
    Cassandra broke out of her reverie and placed the pan onto the stove. She smiled at Tyler,
    then got to cooking those pancakes. She could feel Kevin’s eyes on her back, watching her
    like he did all those years ago. She wished he wouldn’t watch her because it made her
    nervous, but she supposed it couldn’t be helped. This was Kevin’s house, and he had already
    done so much just by letting her and Tyler stay with him. Then she heard Kevin and Tyler
    start to strike up a conversation, so she half-listened while she cooked.
    “Dad… can we go out today?” Tyler asked.
    “Where did you want to go?” Kevin asked with a small grin.
    “Well… Mama took me to the store yesterday, and I saw this wicked remote-control plane
    there, but she said I couldn’t get it.” Tyler frowned. “I didn’t want her to buy it cuz I
    know that we don’t have too much money… but the guy at the store said I could try it… that’s
    all I want to do.”
    Kevin chuckled. “Just try it, huh?” He glanced over at Cassie who was pretending she didn’t
    hear the conversation.
    Tyler nodded vigorously. “Yeah… I just wanna try it.”
    Kevin was thoughtful. “Well… how about we go to that store and buy that airplane for you,
    huh? Then you can fly it here all you want.”
    Tyler’s eyes widened. “Really? Can we really?”
    “Tyler…” Cassie spoke up softly and both Kevin and Tyler looked at her questioningly.
    Kevin smiled reassuringly. “I want to, Cass… it’s okay.”
    Cassandra felt confused, but she knew that this was bound to happen. Kevin had money to
    shower Tyler with gifts… as much as she hated to admit it, she didn’t. She sighed softly
    and nodded, turning back to her pancakes. She flipped them over carefully and went back to
    listening.
    “Wow! I get my own plane!” Tyler laughed happily. “You’re the best Dad!”
    Kevin beamed. “You’re not so bad yourself, champ.”
    Tyler smiled at Kevin. “So Dad are me and Mama going to live with you from now on?”
    Kevin’s smile faded. He didn’t know how to reply to that one. He wanted to be in Tyler’s
    life… but is that what Cassie wanted? Kevin glanced at Cassie again and saw that she was
    watching him. He looked back to Tyler who was waiting patiently for the answer.
    “Well… Tyler…” Kevin started slowly.
    “You love Mama, don’t you?” Tyler asked, frowning suddenly.
    Kevin blinked. Well… did he? Kevin hesitated to answer, not really sure of what to say.
    Suddenly, Cassie let out a small shout of pain and Tyler and Kevin turned to see what
    happened. The pan clattered to the ground, knocking the bowl of pancake mix to the ground
    with it. Batter spilt everywhere and Kevin got up immediately, telling Tyler to stay put.
    “Cassie, what happened?” Kevin asked in concern.
    “I burnt my hand… I wasn’t watching… and…” Cassie looked up at him with teary eyes. “I’m
    sorry, Kevin…”
    Kevin stared into her eyes and found himself getting lost in them. Did he still love her
    even after all this time and pain? The question ran through his mind as he guided Cassie to
    the sink and ran cold water over her hand. She looked as confused as he felt. Tyler’s
    innocent question had brought up a lot of questions. Kevin sighed.
    “I sh-should clean up…” Cassie said stiltedly as Kevin massaged her hand gently underneath
    the stream of cold water.
    Kevin stared at her for the longest time before replying, “Just sit down… I’ll clean up.”
    Cassie stared at him. He still held her hand. Slowly, he leaned over and turned off the
    tap. Looking down at her hand he saw that it was turning red and starting to blister.
    Without thinking, he took a dish towel, dried off her fingers, then kissed them gently.
    Cassie’s breathing became hitched and Kevin knew that he was playing with fire… but he
    couldn’t help himself. What was it about Cassandra James that made him lose his mind… and
    his heart?