The men in the room all called out greetings, but the three women who hurried toward them were the people Cassidy focused on. She knew right away who they were, even without having to read their name tags.
The pretty redhead had to be Skylar. She’d heard a lot about the kindergarten teacher and could guess by the bright welcoming smile on her face that she was probably just as nice as Leo had said she was. The woman with the baby in her arms was Taylor, and the pregnant woman was Molly.
All three women seemed open and friendly, and it wasn’t hard to read the curiosity on their faces as well.
“Hi!” Skylar said as she approached. “I’m Skylar. And this is Taylor and Molly. It’s so good to meet you. Did you find everything in your apartment? Tiana said that you and Mario were settling in all right, but if there’s anything we didn’t get, we’re more than happy to go shopping with you.”
Taylor laughed. “Yeah, Skylar loves shopping.”
Molly smiled at them both, one hand on her belly, as if she couldn’t bear to let go of her unborn child.
Cassidy felt a little awkward, as she always did when meeting new people, but smiled and said, “Hi. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us.”
“You must be Mario,” Molly said as she smiled at Cassidy’s son.
He nodded.
She leaned close, as if she was going to tell him a secret. “I hear you like to dance.”
When he nodded again, Cassidy nudged him. “Words, Mario.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he dutifully answered.
“I have it on good authority that Mark is thinking about getting a Dance Dance Revolution video game for the basement. Would you like that?”
Mario looked up at Cassidy, then back at Molly. “I don’t know what that is, but if it involves dancing, I’m sure I would.”
“Oh man, you’re in for a treat,” Molly said excitedly. “You’re going to love it!”
“Smoke’s going to buy another game?” Leo asked with a groan, but Cassidy could tell he was teasing. “There’re already two pinball machines and Pac-Man down there. I’m not sure we need anything else.”
“Wrong,” Eagle said as he came up behind Taylor. He pulled her against his side, and Cassidy noted how Taylor immediately seemed to melt into him. “We’ve got more kids than ever hanging out here now, especially after school. We don’t want them to get bored. And I’m definitely okay if Smoke buys another machine for me to get the high score on,” he said with a smirk. “Besides, my kid’s gonna be the pinball champion of the world, so I need to make sure he or she has lots of machines to practice on.”
“You’re going to get the high score?” Taylor asked with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
Cassidy heard Leo groan again, then he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Don’t ever let those two talk you into playing. They’re both disgustingly good at pinball. I have no idea how they do it.”
“You play pinball, Mario?” Taylor asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“You can call me Taylor. And that’s good. I won’t have to unteach you bad habits. Later, if your mom says it’s okay, we’ll go down and I’ll show you all the tips and tricks.”
“You hungry, Mario?” Bull asked as he came forward and joined their huddle. “Archer made homemade mac and cheese. Trust me, it’s the cheesiest, gooiest, most awesome macaroni and cheese you’ve ever eaten.”
Mario looked up at her with such an expression of longing, Cassidy could only chuckle. “Go on, it’s fine.” They’d eaten lunch not too long ago, but Mario was small for his age, and it wouldn’t hurt him to fill out a little more.
The baby in Taylor’s arms began to fuss, and she wrinkled her nose. “Smells like I need to change him,” she told the group in general.
“I’ve got him,” Eagle said as he reached for his son.
Cassidy loved the look of devotion on his face. She was seeing a whole new side of Leo’s friends, and she liked it a hell of a lot. Living in Michael’s mansion, she hadn’t seen a whole lot of respect for women. And none of the men would’ve stooped to changing a diaper, not that there were any babies living there.
Eagle kissed Taylor, then cooed to his son as he carried him off down a hall.
“We’re very glad you’re here,” Taylor said softly. “I’m sure you’re overwhelmed with everything that’s happening, but rest assured that if you need anything, we’re here for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Cassidy said. She liked these women . . . and their husbands. Everyone had been friendly and welcoming, and while it was overwhelming, she could tell their concern for her and Mario was sincere.
“Come on, let me introduce you to the others,” Leo said. His fingertips rested on the small of her back, and a tingle went up Cassidy’s spine. Even that was different from what she was used to. If Lloyd or Martin or any of the other men in Michael’s house had wanted her to go somewhere, they’d simply grabbed her arm and hauled her around. There had been no gentleness. She hadn’t really thought much about it after so many years, but experiencing how accommodating and gentle Leo and his friends were just put a spotlight on how bad her situation truly had been.
Leo steered her over to the kitchen. A man with a very slight paunch and a huge smile greeted her.
“You’re Cassidy!” he boomed. Then he turned to look down at her son. “And you’re Mario! It’s so good to meet you!”
“Cassidy, this is Shawn Archer. He’s our resident cook. We hired him to help keep this place clean and to do the landscaping as well as cook, but we quickly realized where his true talent was. Here in the kitchen,” Leo explained.
Shawn was a little taller than her, with friendly brown eyes. His cheeks were flushed from the heat of the stove, and he had a bit of flour in his brown hair. He looked genuinely happy, which made Cassidy relax even more. The cooks in Michael’s house had always had scowls on their faces, and she’d quickly learned they didn’t like anyone in their kitchen. They had also been strict. If Mario had wanted a snack, he’d been out of luck; they hadn’t allowed anyone to pilfer food to tide themselves over between meals.
Shawn turned to Mario and motioned for him to come closer. After glancing at her to make sure it was okay, Mario slowly walked forward. Shawn put his arm around Mario’s shoulders and brought him to a closed door. He opened it and explained, “This is the pantry. I’ve got all the snacks on the lower shelves. So when you’re hungry, I can either make you something to eat, or you can find something on your own.”
Mario’s eyes got big as he took in the cornucopia of food on the shelves. Potato chips, pretzels, popcorn, pudding cups . . . it was a kids’ treasure trove.
“But it’s not good to only eat crap, of course. I’ve got fresh fruit and vegetables as well. You should probably balance out the junk food with some healthy stuff, too, okay?” Shawn prodded.
Mario nodded absently, still fascinated by the amount of food he was looking at.
Seeing his reaction made Cassidy overwhelmingly sad. He hadn’t had a chance to be a kid in any way, and that was on her shoulders too.