Caden

by Tl Reeve

  Keeley rolled her eyes. “Shut up. I trust you. I trust how you feel about them. On these two girls, I will follow your lead.”

  Whatever passed between her and Caden outside Mrs. Martin’s yesterday, really caused havoc in every facet of her life. She bit Jace’s head off the minute she walked through the door. Threw a book at the wall while she’d been reading later that night and, to top it all off, she was miserable physically. Those stupid aches she experienced every full moon since the birth of Nicolas hadn’t dissipated. The more she thought about it, the more she believed her sister. She’d been tapping into negative energy. She relished those emotions. It gave her the strength to get through the day when she physically didn’t think she could. Now, after she allowed in the good in, she felt...amazing. It lightened her soul, gave her a bit of warmth to chase away the chill.

  “I think we can trust them. Besides, if she is the daughter to Jackson Winters, he’s doing his best to right wrongs committed against us and others around the world.”

  “Did she say what she wanted to do?” Keeley read from Marie’s resume. “This says she was a member of the Pilot Club, Student Body Secretary, and a member of the Navajo High Marching Falcons... Impressive. It also said that she’s worked for her parents’ restaurant as a waitress since middle school and helps her uncle Orileo with his ‘shop’ books.”

  Danielle arched a brow. “Interesting.”

  Keeley laughed. “Very.” She tapped the papers. “They are complete opposites. One has every political activity a student activist can do, while the other tends tables and works with numbers. Both want to help us with the orphans, which is totally out of their wheelhouse.”

  “Hey, Danielle,” Bodhi called out, breaking their conversation. “You got them cookies Aiden likes?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t say it as a question.” He hopped up on one of the desks that would eventually become a workstation. “I can come by later and watch the rugrats for two of them cookies and maybe some milk.”

  Her lips twitched. “And why would you be coming by to watch the rugrats?”

  “So you can go see Caden.” He gave her a duh look, as if she missed his whole point.

  “Uh...” She looked to Keeley for assistance.

  “Don’t look at me.” Her sister held her hands up.

  “Look, you’re supposed to at least talk to him. Nic’s his kid. You gonna do to him what Jace did to me?”

  Ouch. “Bodhi, it’s not the sa—”

  “It is though, Danielle. You’re hurting. He’s hurting. You’re both brooding. Can you please try? If not for yourself, but for Nic and Aiden. Me too?” He clasped his hands in front of him in a pleading manner.

  She sighed. How did she explain the complexities of her and Caden? The boy couldn’t grasp everything that transpired between them nor could he understand what happened when Nic had been conceived or the way he utterly ripped her heart out the minute Simon opened his mouth and spewed his acidic lies.

  “What have I told you about meddling,” Keeley said.

  Bodhi grumbled. “Not to do it. If Danielle and Caden were going to fix themselves, they had to do it because they wanted to not because we want them to do it.”

  “Exactly.” Keeley ruffled his hair. “Besides, you’re helping me with the twins tonight, so I can shower after putting all this crap together.” She glanced at Danielle. “I think we have our first employees. Since you’re going home alone, why don’t you call them?”

  Great.

  “Henry! Tate! You made it. Come on in!” Bodhi motioned for the two boys standing at the door leading to the back room. “Aunt Keeley and Aunt Danielle, I’d like you to meet Henry and Tate. They came here with Rapier and Mac. They’re orphans too, only Rapier claims them as his.” He cupped his hand around his mouth, and said in a hushed tone, like the two boys couldn’t hear him, “They’re not really his. Their parents passed away.”

  Danielle stared at the boys who stood a little taller and puffed out their chests. They were absolutely adorable. The boy on the left, Henry, had sandy blond hair styled in a small mohawk and smelled of lion. He stood about three inches taller than Tate and had brilliant blue eyes—the color of the sky after a rainstorm. Tate, on the other hand, had dark-brown hair and golden eyes. He took in his surroundings with an inquisitive hesitation. She couldn’t blame him. Being in a town where they didn’t know anyone could throw them for a loop. It was quite obvious to Danielle she missed something momentously important while hiding from everyone.

  “It’s good to meet both of you,” Danielle said, with a small smile.

  “Did Bodhi con you into coming to work for him?” Keeley arched a brow.

  Both boys shook their head.

  “Do you talk?” Her sister inquired.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Henry murmured.

  “They’re quiet,” Bodhi added. “We’ll get them out of the habit. Won’t we?”

  Keeley laughed. “Well, since you’re here to help, come on. We have an hour till lunch, then we’ll grab something at the diner.” The boys ambled over to where they were standing, and her sister gave Danielle a look. “Well, I guess this is the start of it all.”

  “I guess so.”

  * * * *

  Caden sat at his desk, reading over the last of the night shift’s incident reports. He took a sip of his coffee then grunted. At least his eye stopped twitching at the sight of them. He didn’t know if he should consider it a good thing or if he should be worried. He glanced out the window overlooking the parking lot of the Sheriff’s Department. The days were getting longer. The air warmer. Those who left for the winter would be returning and soon, and they’d be starting to prepare for another Strawberry Festival.

  He shook his head.

  Last year had been so different. He fell in love with a pretty blonde who knocked his socks off with her kindness and her compression. He fell deeper when she slowly undressed in front of him the first time, exposing every scar. Every mark to his gaze. The places where the skin appeared thinner than others, because she’d repaired herself there too many times. He saw the lingering bruises she couldn’t heal because she’d spent more time taking care of her sister and Aiden than herself.

  Fuck, I’m so stupid. How could I ever believe that asshole?

  Though Aiden interrupted their evening, he’d meant to fully mate her when she returned from giving Aiden a bottle and changing his diaper, but she was so tired. She’d lain down beside Caden and fallen asleep within minutes of cuddling into his side. By the next day, they returned to town, almost as though he imagined that one fantastic moment of ecstasy in her arms. He’d meant to stay longer at the cabin as well, give them time to bond more, but it’d been interrupted by the activities in town.

  Then...Simon.

  Could it be Simon knew about his past? Used what happened to him as a catalyst to separate him from Danielle? But, how would he have found out about Marjorie? No one, with the exception being Kalkin, knew the extent of the truth. Mr. Martin went to his grave with only partial truths. Had Simon gone to Raymond? Marjorie? Had Quincy sold him out?

  He clenched his hands in tight fists, turning his knuckles white with strain and frustration. Simon got into his head. Caden allowed him to twist his thoughts, use the guilt and disgust festering deep down to cloud his reality. Allowed him to believe a lie so fucked up, Caden couldn’t decipher what was the truth any longer. Even when he questioned how any of it made sense, it all led back to Danielle being pregnant. With the small seeds of deception planted within his subconscious, he... Shit, he plunged right into the trap and into the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. Alcohol had become his best friend for far too long. He left Danielle to take care of his pups without any of his support, and, what’s worse, he done nothing since waking up from his alcohol-infused guilt trip.

  How the fuck did we get here, pumpkin? How did I screw up so fucking bad to lose you? You, you’re my everything, and I destroyed you.

  “Hey, jackass
!” Rapier slammed his hand on the desk, bringing Caden out of his thoughts.

  “What do you want?” The hackles on the back of Caden’s neck rose, as the acidic bite of jealousy churned in his belly. For the last few months, Rapier had grown way too friendly with Danielle. Even after his proclamation at the build site, Rapier had taken liberties. He hated the fact the lion brushed his lips across Danielle’s temple in greeting. Hated the way she leaned into him instead of Caden.

  “You know, I was told to be patient with you. You’d come to me when you got your head out of your ass. But, your stubbornness outweighs my patience.” Rapier threw himself into the seat across from where Caden sat.

  “I still don’t understand why you’re here,” he replied, tightening the reins on the wolf pushing towards the surface. The beast howled in outrage.

  “You have some plan according to Kalkin and you need help. So, speak now or forever be a fuck-head, loser.”

  A snicker turned to a cough from where Loraine sat. Damn woman was listening in. Caden would deal with her later. “Why should I believe you want to help me?”

  “Because we share a mutual interest.”

  “We, don’t share anything. Danielle is mine.” His lip curl as the growl he’d tried to contain built in his chest.

  “Funny, she still can’t stand you.” Rapier folded his arms across his chest and kicked back in his chair.

  Caden wanted to knock the smug look off Rapier’s face. The bastard just couldn’t help needling him. Pushing Caden until he couldn’t take any more and he...what? So far, all he’d been doing was posturing. He hadn’t helped Danielle. He hadn’t seen his boys. He hadn’t even sent her any money to make sure the boys were taken care of. He let out a rough sigh and hung his head.

  “I don’t want to fight,” Caden muttered. “What do you want?”

  Rapier’s chair creaked as he sat forward. “For you to pull on your big-boy undies and fix this shit. You’re hurting. Danielle’s hurting and so are those boys. I figured by goading you, you’d have acted by now. Obviously, you’re still stuck. You’re a fucking mule. I’d lead you to the damn water, but I’m afraid you’d kick me for trying to help salvage your life.”

  Damn. Rapier hit the nail on the head. He’d gone from being a drunken, self-loathing idiot to a sober, self-deprecating asshole. He hadn’t changed a bit. Instead of allaying Danielle’s feelings, he’d only compounded the anguish he’d caused her. What the fuck is wrong with me? “I’m trying.” Caden winced. Even those words sounded flat to him. He wasn’t trying. He was pissing on a fence post and calling the whole area his, without making an effort.

  Rapier made a divisive sound. “No, man. You’re not. When you saw Dani the other day, did you look at her? Actually see her, not what she wanted you to see?”

  Had he? When he glanced up at Rapier, the answer became clear, no, he didn’t. “No.”

  Rapier snarled. “She’s lost weight. She’s frail. She’s got bags under her eyes the size of the Grand Canyon, and Aiden, a fucking toddler, has to tell her to eat or else she doesn’t.”

  Each word the lion spoke had been a lash of a whip to Caden’s back, flaying him open without compunction. “Shit.”

  “Exactly. Kalkin told me you had an idea and here I sit, waiting for you to explain, so, like a dumbass, I can help you win back your mate—even if I don’t think you deserve her.”

  “Thanks, I think,” Caden muttered.

  He retrieved the small outline he’d added to little by little over the last few days. When he’d gone to Danielle, he’d thought the best way to get her to listen to him would have been to show her his plans. Get her input and begin the process of healing them. Instead, he fucked up again. Nicolas had been screaming. Aiden watched him like a hawk. The scent of her tears, the ones she’d never let him see since the day he asked her if she’d willingly let Simon or the Paranormal Bounty Hunters experiment on the child she carried, slid down her cheeks. She kept her answers short, clipped, and when she did look at him, he hadn’t seen an ounce of the vibrant, trusting woman he met the night she and Keeley moved to town.

  “This is what I want to do.” Caden placed the crude drawings and lists of things to be done in front of Rapier. “Keeley and Danielle have been so concerned with the orphan shifter children, they haven’t given a second thought to those children who are psychic or like Jace, psychic and shifters. I thought, they could add a place where those children can hone their skills without fear of someone seeing them, or without fear of hurting someone because they lost control.”

  Rapier picked up the drafts of Caden’s idea. He studied them for a moment before looking at Caden. “We’ll need more land. There’s a plot of desert behind the house, it’s easement, about a half an acre. Do you know the realty agent who sold Keeley the land?”

  Caden nodded. “I can talk to her this afternoon.”

  “Good. I can do this on one condition though.”

  Caden quirked a brow. “What?”

  “You’re going to fix this shit with Danielle. Stop beating around the damn bush with her. You know she’s your mate, prove it to her. Atone for your mistakes. Make her remember all the good.” He folded the papers in half then slipped them into his shirt pocket. “For fuck sakes, also let her shower on her own without having to worry about which kid is going to wake up and need her.”

  Caden nodded. “I can do that.”

  “And I shouldn’t have to tell you what to do either,” Rapier snapped. “These are things you should already be doing, not hearing it from me.”

  True. He had a point. Tonight, he’d fix it for the both of them. No matter what happened he’d start showing up. Eventually, he’d wear her down to where she couldn’t refuse him. A strong surge of rightness shot through him, like he finally figured everything out, which also pissed him off more. He’d wasted so much time. Wasted so many months hiding. Feeling sorry for himself. Well, no more.

  “Thanks. I appreciate this.” He stood when Rapier did. “I’ll let my brother know you came by, so he stays off your ass.”

  “That would be appreciated.”

  Rapier turned to leave, but when he got about halfway to the door, Caden called out, “Hey, why are you doing this for me? For us? What’s in it for you?”

  Rapier seemed to contemplate Caden’s question for a moment then answered, “Let’s just say, we all have done things we have second thoughts about or things we wish we’d done differently.”

  Caden wanted to press Rapier for more information, but like Kalkin, the asshole only said as much as he wanted then walked away. Well, at least he’s willing to help me. He should feel better than he did. Unfortunately, all of the anxiety he’d been experiencing over the last few months came back in a fresh wave of worry and guilt. What if he was only making this situation worse? What if Danielle honestly didn’t want him back? Then what? I guess, I just have to see what happens next.

  * * * *

  After Rapier left, Caden called Kalkin. If he was going to make amends, he had to start with his family. Jace and Royce deserved more than an apology. Tonight, he’d give it. Then tomorrow he’d begin to rebuild everything he broke. He pulled up to the house and parked next Kalkin’s sheriff’s car. Jace stood on the porch staring across the property. He’d seen his brother do it several times. He had this preternatural grace about him. Like he saw more than he ever told anyone about. Since his abduction and then return with Bodhi, Jace had, well, he couldn’t say he’d been more reserved, but perhaps more introspective. He also kept a good distance between himself and Bodhi.

  Caden stepped up onto the porch and cleared his throat. Jace slid his gaze toward him then resumed whatever he’d been doing. “Hey.” Caden stepped closer to his brother. “How’s it going?”

  Jace let out a breath. “It’s going. What do you want?”

  Everything he meant to say seemed to be insignificant at the moment. He stared at his brother. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sure, thanks.”

 
It was Caden’s turn to sigh. “No, I mean, I’m sorry. I fucked everything up here. I’ve been absolute shit to everyone, including you and Kal and Royce. I’ve been a real son of a bitch. A-a prick even and—”

  “Are you done rambling?” Jace finally faced him. “You’ve not hurt us as much as you have Danielle. We can handle ourselves. Her...not so much. What the fuck were you thinking?”

  He hadn’t been. “I have no excuse or reason. I’m pleading temporary insanity for the last year.”

  “And, what? You think saying, ‘temporary insanity’,” —Jace made air quotes— “is going to allay the heartache you caused?”

  Damn, if Caden didn’t know any better, he swore this was what his brother felt, as well. “No, I don’t. Not at all.” He hurried to qualify his statement then made a frustrated tsking sound. “I have to start somewhere, right? I have to make my amends. I’m starting here. With my brothers and my nephew. I hope someday you can accept my apology and know I will spend the rest of my life trying to earn your trust back.”

  Jace closed the distance between them. “You’re an asshole.” He wrapped his arms around Caden for the first time since he stumbled back into town with Bodhi and hugged him. “Kalkin’s inside. Keeley is with Danielle. Something about planning the orphanage and two new employees or something. Kalkin has the twins, and Royce is on duty.”

  Yeah. He knew. His nephew bypassed him every chance he got. “I’ll go in then. Say my piece.”

  Jace nodded. “Better do it quietly. Kal and Keeley are super strict about their naptime. Something about getting them into a routine now, instead of when they’re a pack of ravenous wolves.” Jace snorted. “Anyway, so you understand the drill.”

  “Got it,” Caden grunted before smacking Jace on the back of the shoulder. “Thank you.”