Briarwood Cottage Read Online Free

if she had a flaw, it was that she tended to over-analyze everything.
    “There’s something else.”
    “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
    “He’s called every week since then. The only time he missed was last month when he was deep in Taliban country and couldn’t pick up a cell signal. He finally ran into a SEAL team and used their satellite phone to check in.”
    “What?” Cassandra was stunned. “How could you have kept that huge a secret for so long?”
    “Believe me, it wasn’t easy. And my only excuse, as weak as it might sound right now, is that when you arrived back to the States from the Middle East, you were so emotionally fragile.”
    Cassandra couldn’t deny that. “I’ve gotten stronger. Yet you still kept your and Duncan’s subterfuge from me.”
    “It wasn’t exactly my choice, but every time I’ve tried to bring his name up, you’ve steadfastly refused to talk about him.”
    Another thing she couldn’t deny. Damn.
    She dragged her hand through her still unfamiliar short hair.
    A few weeks ago, after finally noticing her long, lank, unwashed hair in the mirror, Cass had impulsively whacked away at it with a pair of Sedona’s cooking shears. When her cousin had returned from selling cupcakes, instead of freaking out, she’d calmly called a stylist at the Cut Loose salon, who’d come over to the apartment and rescued the long strands from the bathroom wastebasket.
    “It’s so hard to find virgin hair these days,” the woman, whose own spiky hair was bright fluorescent blue, had said with a warm smile. “You’re going to make the people at Locks of Love very happy.”
    Then she’d gotten busy with her scissors and razor and ten minutes later, looking ever so pleased with herself, she’d declared the new short style a success.
    “You look just like Tinkerbell.”
    Cassandra hadn’t felt like Tinkerbell. Though, the prospect of going to Never Never land and never having to grow up, was admittedly appealing. Unfortunately, she was too late for that. “I want to be angry with you.”
    “I’d be angry and hurt if I were in your place, too,” Sedona said. “If it makes any difference, I’ve felt miserably guilty. But I promise that I haven’t broken any confidences about your life or anything you’ve shared with me. I’ve only reassured him that you’re doing better every day.”
    “In large part because of that therapist you nagged me into seeing,” Cassandra admitted. “Along with working on not blaming myself for what happened, Dr. Fletcher has me trying to live in the minute. And right now I’m going to focus on the fact that I’m fortunate to have a cousin who’s my best friend.”
    Sedona’s eyes glistened. “Ditto.”
    Cassandra blew out a breath. As they shared a hug, she realized how true that was.
    “Okay. So, now that we’re moving on, I’m going to go book a flight,” she said as they separated. “Then pack.”
    “Will you get mad at me if I say one more thing?” Sedona asked.
    “Could I stop you?” Cassandra’s smile took the accusation from her tone.
    “Probably not,” Sedona admitted. “Now that we’ve gotten my confession out of the way, I just want to state, on the record, that I realize people think I’m crazy to have a spreadsheet for men.”
    With boxes for the attributes the man that Sedona would accept to settle down with. Cassandra had seen the first sheet, created back when Sedona was still in high school. Over the years, she’d altered the criteria a bit, but the standards had only become more rigid. Perfection was one thing. Perfectionism was, after all, responsible for both her cousin’s success as a corporate accountant and her insistence on never scrimping on the very best ingredients that had made her bakery extremely profitable.
    But Cassandra had often thought that no mortal man could ever live up to Sedona’s exacting standards.
    “Not crazy,” she hedged now. “Perhaps a bit choosy.”
    “I’ve begun to consider