I move from Cade and sit in the chair next to him, “Thanks for telling me Jake, but don’t worry about it. I think it must have been Nick trying to find me. He wants to talk to me; we’ve arranged to meet later today in Jackson.”
“You’re going to meet the bastard?” he says to me.
“Dad, you’re not letting her go alone are you?” Jake asks getting pretty steamed.
“No, he isn’t, your father will be with me, but in the background.”
Standing up to put his cup in the dishwasher, “What time do we leave?”
Stunned, “We’re meeting at one inside the Silver Dollar.... you’re coming too?”
“Sure am.”
Chapter 6
~~ Cade ~~
Heading into town, I can’t help but feel on edge. The woman I’m in love with is on her way to meet her ex. She has a lot more history with this guy than she has with me, which makes me feel as though a rock is lodged in my stomach.
She insisted on sitting in the back of the car, so as Jake is driving, I turn around to look at her, “Rona, are you okay?”
She looks back at me looking really pale, “I will be when this is over. I really don’t want to have to do this, because it just drags the whole thing out.” Sighing, “As far as I’m concerned I’ve moved on, I just wish he would too.”
Parking one block over to the hotel, I start to climb out of the car to help Rona, “Can you just give us a minute Jake?”
With a wry smile, “Yeah.”
I stand to the side of the car with my hands on Rona’s shoulders, “I just want you to know that I’m here for you, anytime during your discussion, if you want rescuing just wave over to me.” Smoothing my hands up her neck to her face, I lower my head to kiss her, “Okay?”
She returns my kiss, “I promise. I feel better knowing you and Jake will be close by.”
After a quick hug, she turns to head towards the hotel. Jake walks around the car and stands next to me, watching her walk away, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I sigh – heavily. “I don’t know, but unless she does this the guy said he won’t stop with the constant messages, so I guess, providing he keeps his promise, then she should be able to switch her phone on without it beeping every two minutes.” Moving away from the car, “Come on, we better make a move.”
After a minute or two, I notice Jake keeps passing sly glances over to me out of the corner of his eye, “What’s wrong Jake? I know that look; you have something on your mind.”
“Yes, I do.... kind of,” laughing slightly. “You really have fallen for her haven’t you?”
“Jake….”
Holding his hand out to stop what I’m going to say, “Dad, its okay.”
I have already guessed that maybe Jake isn’t too bothered about me being attracted to Rona, but hearing him say it, has me feeling choked up.
I have to ask him though; clearing my throat, “Are you okay with that?”
“It was really weird at first when I suspected there was something between you both, not just because of your ages, but because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen you with a woman. You don’t date, at least not at home.”
I look at Jake, “I’ve never been in love before, lust yes, but never love.... until Rona.” I laugh, “Shit, I can’t believe I just admitted that to my son.”
“It’s okay, Dad, I’ve seen how Rona lights up when she’s with you, and she seems to be a good person. As long as you don’t expect me to call her ‘mom’, I’m okay with you being together.”
Relieved, “I think that can be arranged.” After a pause, “How do you think Anna and Beth will feel?”
Opening the door of the hotel, “I have no idea; you’re on your own with them two. I don’t envy you.” He chuckles.
Entering the grill, I spot Rona taking a seat opposite a blond haired guy. He seems polite enough, holding the chair out for her. He certainly has the looks, but he has a gleam in his eye and what I would call an evil smile. Taking her seat Rona doesn’t notice and by the time she looks back at him, the smile is pleasant. The bastard, he’s up to something and my radar is now on full alert.
Seemingly lost for words, “Did you see that?” Jake asks me.
“Yes, I did.”
~~ Rona ~~
Sitting down with Nick at the table in the grill, confirmed that I really do feel nothing for him. I told Cade that I had no feelings anymore for Nick, but until this moment I hadn’t realized they were completely gone, and all that was left was the feeling that perhaps he had used me. If it wasn’t for Nick I would never actually have met Cade, so I’m trying not to be too mad.
“You look good Rona; Jackson Hole must be good for you.” Taking a drink of his beer, I just stay quiet staring at him, waiting, “I was stupid doing what I did back in Ireland.”
Unbelievable.
“Stupid as in arranging a wedding or stupid cancelling an hour before?” I glare at him.
“Now Rona, don’t be like that. We had some good times during the six months we were together.” Sitting forward he places his elbows on the table, “I think we can have them again.... I want you back babe, I miss you.”
Crap, I didn’t see that one coming.
Sitting back, while taking a sip of coffee, I take a good look at him. He seems the same as usual, although a bit rumpled and there’s something I can’t put my finger on.
Thinking back to our time together it dawns on me that the majority of the time he let me pay, whether it was dinner out, going to the cinema or even the holiday we went on, there was always an excuse. I even let him talk me into paying for the SUV he’s been driving around in. He talked me into it by saying how much better it would hold up in an accident and that it would be safer to put the kids in.
What an idiot, I bet he’d known about my inheritance before I even told him, after he proposed.
God, I could kick myself.
Narrowing my eyes, “Are you sure there isn’t another reason why you want me back?”
He looks me in the eyes, “Isn’t that enough?”
Taking a minute to catch my breath and to keep my temper in check, I look around and spot Cade and Jake sat over by the window, both appear to be glaring at Nick.
Ha! If only Nick knew.
“No way will I ever get back with you. Look, I’m not stupid; or rather I’m not stupid anymore. It’s come to my notice; today actually, as we are talking that I can’t remember the last time I saw your wallet.” I look back at him. He looks shocked. “Whenever we went anywhere, I always paid. I paid for your car. I even gave you rent money a couple of times.” I’m really on a roll now. “So tell me, is it really me you miss or my money?”
Spluttering, “Now babe, you know I was saving up for a house in Dublin. They aren’t exactly cheap.” On a sigh, “I wanted you to have something special.”
Really annoyed now, “You are totally full of crap. We both know that I have enough money to buy more than one house in the centre of Dublin. What’s really going on Nick? The truth this time?”
“I’ve already told you the truth.” He sits back in his chair.
I’ve had enough now and don’t really give a shit if he sees me with Cade and Jake. So pushing back my chair, I wave them both over.
“I’m leaving now Nick and I hope you will keep your promise to me about the messages. I hope this will be the last time we meet. I also think you should know that cancelling the wedding was the best thing you ever did, as I’m happier now than I ever have been.”
“Rona, you okay?” Cade asks, coming up on my right as Jake stands to my left.
“Yes, I’m good to go.”
“Well, it looks like you didn’t waste any time in replacing me,” Nick looks at Jake.
As I turn towards Cade, Nick grabs my arm, pulling me back, “This isn’t over.”
Cade puts his arm around my waist, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He removes Nick’s hand from my arm. “And this is over.”
&
nbsp; “Come on; let’s go before I break this guy’s nose!” Jake glares at my ex.
“Jake don’t, he’s not worth it.”
Grabbing hold of Jake’s arm, we head towards the doors.
~~ Cade ~~
Exiting the hotel, Jake decides to visit the Outdoor shop across from the hotel. At a guess I’d say that he’s trying to give us a moment together.
After Jake crosses the road, I take hold of Rona’s hand and we walk quietly down the sidewalk.
Before climbing into the car, Rona turns to me. I open my arms; she walks straight into them, burrowing inside my coat, wrapping her arms around my waist. It feels totally amazing. I place a kiss on her forehead, holding her tight.
Placing a kiss on my chest she pulls away, “Thanks for that, it’s just what I needed.”
I kiss her softly on her lips, “Anytime. Are you okay now?”
“Yes, I think I am. Knowing you and Jake were close helped.”
I help Rona back into the car, just as Jake appears and climbs into the driver’s seat.
Rona is really quiet looking through the window on the way back to the house. Taking her hand brings her attention back towards me.
Squeezing my hand, Rona starts talking. “I need to tell you something about Nick,” she hesitates, “he says he misses me and wants me back.”
I look at her with my heart in my throat, “And?”
She smiles. “I told him no way would I ever go back to him.” She kisses my hand. “I figured out the only reason why he was with me was because of my money.” Pausing, she continues, “My grandmother was rather wealthy and as I was her only living relative, she left everything to me, plus when I turned twenty-one, I came into my inheritance left by my parents. I only told him about the money after he proposed, when we were planning the wedding, but he knew before that. Everything seemed to click into place.”
“Wow. What a bastard. I really wish I’d punched him now. It would have made me feel good!”
“Thanks Jake, I wouldn’t have minded. I felt like punching him myself. He sure isn’t worth getting in trouble with the Sheriff over.”
After a long silence we arrive back at the house with Rona looking exhausted. I pull her close as she exits the car, “Why don’t you rest until dinner?”
“That would be good, I’m really tired.”
~~ Rona ~~
Back in my room, I throw my purse, coat and scarf on the sofa and collapse on my bed. What a day. I can’t get over Nick. I trusted him and all along he played me. At least Cade’s not like that. I actually feel exhausted, but I want to be close to Cade, so after having a soak in the tub with the cinnamon bath crystals, I pull on my jazz pants, t-shirt with my thick socks and head downstairs.
Walking into the lounge area, Cade is sitting on the sofa watching me, “I thought you were going to have a rest.”
I walk over to him, “I thought that maybe I could rest with you.”
After a pause, Cade stretches out on the sofa. “Come here love.” With no hesitation, I climb on top of him and settle down with my head on his chest, his arms go around me and our legs tangle.
I never want to move.
“Are you comfortable there?” I snuggle more into him, “Oh, Yeah.” He chuckles.
“Cade, will you tell me about your wife?” On what sounds like a groan, “What do you want to know?” I lift my head from his chest to look at him, caressing his face, “Whatever you want to tell me.”
Cade pushes me back down on his chest. “Okay.... you have to know that I love Jake, Anna and Beth, but I will always regret those three and a half years of my life. I was a lot different back then and obviously irresponsible.” Pausing. “I was nineteen, celebrating a friend’s birthday which left me intoxicated, and I passed out. The party was at Daniel’s place – his parents being on vacation. I don’t actually remember a great deal, but I do remember waking up in one of the guest rooms in bed with a girl, Janice. Having no recollection of what had happened in the room, I quickly dressed and left. Five months later, I bumped into her in Jackson, she was looking rather pregnant. Turns out it was me who got her that way.”
Cade went quiet, possibly reflecting what happened back then. “I assumed responsibility and insisted we date and eventually we decided to get married before the babies arrived. I was panicking inside, but it was really the only thing to do, because I wanted the babies to have my name. Janice actually told me that unless we got married the babies would have hers.”
Sighing. “Jake and Anna arrived and I loved them at first sight. It was tough. I was just a kid taking on a wife and two babies, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Janice and I didn’t have a marriage; we were more like roommates sharing the responsibility for the twins. Half the time it was as though she hated them and me, she was on anti-depressants which, on more than one occasion, she would mix with alcohol.”
On another sigh, “Are you sure you want to hear the rest?”
I kiss his chest, “Cade, no matter what you say I’m not going anywhere.”
“One night when the kids were about two years old, she told me that she would try and get better, that she needed my help. It would help if we tried to make the marriage work; she wanted to share my bed. So that night, being an idiot, I invited her into my room. She told me she was on birth control to regulate her period. The following day, instead of things starting to change she went back to being her distant self. Nine months later Beth arrived. Three weeks later she took off. Three months after that she died of a drug overdose. I have three kids with a woman I only had sex with twice. What are the chances of that?”
Sensing Cade needs comfort now, I lift my head and move further up his chest so that we’re face to face. “If it was me pregnant with your baby, I would consider myself the luckiest woman alive. I sure as hell would never leave you.” Caressing his face, “Thank you for telling me.”
Lowering my head, I place a kiss on his lips. “I love you.” Kissing him again, I lower myself back down and start talking about my life, giving him time to recover from reliving part of his past.
“I’m a native of Rhode Island. I was fourteen when my parents died in a plane crash in Alaska during a blizzard. My father was the pilot. Having no other relatives in the States, I went to live in Ireland with my maternal grandmother, who I became close to during the eight years we lived together. I have a Degree in Computer Science and Languages from Trinity College in Dublin, which made my grandmother proud. My grandmother died in her sleep two years ago, leaving me heartbroken, but with a fortune.”
Cade hugs me close while I continue. ”Her husband was a banker and invested, really very well. I met Nick just over six months ago and he charmed me right off my feet, to begin with.... very quickly we ended up engaged, arranging a wedding. I didn’t love him. I guess I loved the attention and the idea of being part of a family again. Nick has four sisters all with at least a couple of kids each. They all made me feel welcome.”
I lift my head up to look at Cade and grin at him, “So after the wedding was cancelled, I took a flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and fell head over heels in love with the sexiest guy I’ve ever met. Not only does he have a hot body, but a great personality and an amazing voice; I could listen to him talk all day, and now I’m going to place a hot kiss on his....” and before I can finish, Cade grabs hold of my head and brings me in for one very hot kiss. I end up wiggling all over him; his erection getting larger by the second against my stomach.
~~ Cade ~~
Still kissing Rona, I can’t get enough of her. In less than a week she has become to mean the world to me. How the hell am I going to let her go back to Ireland?
I pull away from the kiss, “Love, I need to tell you something. I have to leave for Denver in a few hours. I have a meeting with a client tomorrow morning at eight.” Rona is so still and silent I think perhaps she has fallen asleep. “Rona?”
“Sorry. Just tired.”
“I thought you had nodded off. I’
ll ring when I can tomorrow.... I even thought about taking you with me, but Anna and Beth have no idea about us and I really don’t want them finding out this way.”
“I don’t like the idea of you being away, but I’ll be okay and maybe catch up with some cleaning and I could do with washing some clothes.”
I feel Rona drift off to sleep. Holding her close for about thirty minutes, I extract myself from her, grabbing a blanket from the back of the sofa. I cover her up before heading to my room to shower and pack for my flight.
From This Moment (Jackson Hole) Page 6