by Bliss Carter
“First of all, we aren’t chickens. We’re more like sweet baby goats, cute as hell until you get within range. Then we’ll bite at what we can get to”, Birdie softly warned. Cade could see the battle cry coming off her in waves. “Second, you legit look a good bit like that Chris dude who plays Thor. I’d cash in on that if I were you.”
Cade snorted and let out a small laugh, but got serious quickly, thinking about why they were at his house. “Listen, I’m not here to argue with Red’s sisters and friend in any way. But that woman upstairs is mine. And she knows it, so don’t go thinking you’re going to snitch on my alpha male tendencies when it involves her. My job is to protect her and keep stress away from her, even from her tribe. She doesn’t remember anything from last night. Not even seeing me at the club. So, all I’m saying is, give her room to breathe. But show her love because that’s what she needs most.”
“Tell me this, how come you know our sister so well after so little time with her?”, Gertie softly asked. Cade could see the question was said from a deep, emotional place and was more curiosity than being nosy or belittling.
Cade took a deep breath and stated, “when that one person comes along that you know is meant for you, the recognition is there. I won’t pretend to know everything about your sister or to know what her needs are all the time. I’m a man. I screw up. I can be a dumb ass sometimes. But that woman upstairs is my moon and stars. I know that without a single ounce of doubt. So, I can take one look at her and just know what she needs from me. It’s my honor to be her anchor.”
As Cade expressed his emotions to the women, he reached out to enfold Gertie into a loose embrace. “It’s okay, Gert. I’m not gonna break your sister. I’m going to take good care of her because that’s what she needs. She’s tried to be such a rock for all of you these many years, I’m now here to handle her burden instead. So that means y’all can count on me to be your rock as well.” He could see Gertie struggling with his words, as if the thought of unloading her burdens on someone else was unthinkable.
“Seriously, no brothers in your family? Not even a cousin or something?”, Francie jokingly asked to lighten the mood.
Gertie gave Cade a small smile and pat on the chest as if to thank him. Cade took a deep breath and motioned for the women to follow him up the stairs. “Grace, I hope that coffee you’re carrying is for Kresley. She’s going to need it. Birdie, stopped staring at my ass please.”
Birdie snorted at the ass comment, but kept silent.
“Yep, her version of a super sweet, super milky coffee. I didn’t bring any donuts because I didn’t think you’d feel like cleaning up more vomit”, Grace sarcastically stated.
Cade looked back at Grace and smiled, nodding his head in agreement. She winked at him and said, “Has anyone told you that you have an amazing ass that could drop panties with a sway of your hips? Well, not MY panties mind you. You’re not my type, no offense Big Sexy.”
“Yeah? So, what’s your type Gracie? Maybe someone with the word BOOM in his name?”, Cade asked with a lilt in his deep voice, head turned away from the women.
“Shut up, Sasquatch, with your killer blue eyes and kiss me smile”, Grace growled behind him. Francie and Birdie hooted.
“Target acquired and destroyed”, Francie said, laughter in her voice.
“Don’t start with me Francine. I saw you checking that hot firefighter, Ash, out last night before we left the club. So, don’t go there with me”, Grace stated. She made a fanning motion with her hand in front of her face, then cut her eyes back at Francie, mimicking Francie swooning.
“Yeah, well....whatever. Let’s go see our sister, okay?”, Francie begged, a dark blush on her cheeks and neck. The other women cut eyes towards each other, but kept quiet. They knew not to push Francie or she’d clam up for the next year, hot firefighter or not.
Cade silently asked them to wait outside the sliding barn door to his bedroom. He peeked inside and saw Kresley laying in his bed, the covers over most of her except her red hair. “Be easy going in. Her head is still killing her.”
Cade watched all four women head inside, and then he turned to go back downstairs to the kitchen to start making breakfast for everyone. Lord those women were something else. He would need to definitely monitor any guy interested in any of the women and give them vital info before pursuing them. Especially anyone after Birdie.
Kresley was gently woken up by several soft female bodies, snuggled around her, hands gently stroking her hair and legs under the covers.
“Kres, sweetie, we’re here. Time for playing possum is over”, Kresley’s baby sister softly stated near her ear. Birdie usually wasn’t that gentle. Kresley sighed softly and pushed back the comforter from her face, peering up into the four concerned faces of the most important women in her life.
“Hey y’all.” Kresley let out a huge yawn and stretched her arms high above her head. Cade’s bed was the most comfortable thing she’d slept on in a while.
“Hey you. Big Sexy went back downstairs so we could check on you. I think he’s cooking breakfast. That big piece of sex candy really needs to put on a shirt before being around us next time”, Francie stated, laughing. “Birdie compared him to Thor and asked where he was hiding his hammer.”
Kresley looked at Birdie, shook her head, then cleared her throat. “It’s a lot to take in all at once, right?”, Kresley softly asked with wide eyes. “He kind of just smothers you with sexy and sweet at the same time. I’m such a pool of hormones when I’m around him.” Kresley put her hand to her forehead, absently rubbing it, as if that would make the ache go away.
“Head still hurting? Cade mentioned you had a headache”, Gertie asked. She took over for Kres, rubbing her head, fingering her hair at her temples to help ease the ache. “I remember the headache I had lasting for a while”, she softly stated. The other women looked at each other with silent communication, saying without words to be cautious not to stir up stuff for Gertie that would set her back.
“Yeah, it’s still there. Cade said that this would be just like a bad hangover. I just didn’t have the good time before hand”, Kres tried to joke.
“Trust me, there’s nothing fun about being drugged up and losing out on time and memory”, Gertie stated quietly. All of the women became still and quiet, allowing Gertie to talk about her inner demons that she fought on a daily basis.
“Gert, I’m so sorry. I haven’t forgotten you and what you went through. I would never do that. I think I just don’t ever say it out loud and try not to think about it because you don’t like to discuss or think about it yourself”, Kresley stated quietly, looking back at her sister’s face, trying to figure out how upset Gertie was.
“Well, I guess maybe I’m figuring out that it’s time to start talking about it. I made that appointment with the counselor. It’s for next week.”
Kresley sat up and twisted to give Gertie a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. “Gertie I’m so proud of you. Such a huge step to take. We’ll be there for you, every step of the way. I just wish that douchebag could be found that hurt you.”
From the doorway, the women could hear Cade before they saw him. “Who the hell hurt you Gert, and where do I sign up to beat his ass?”
This was the first time that any of the women had seen Cade as anything but friendly, sweet, protective or sexy. This Cade, a 6’3” massive man whose face was locked in rage, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared and hands fisted at his sides was intimidating to say the least. This Cade was a sight to behold. And they all thanked God that he wasn’t angry with them. All eyes cut from Cade to Gertie, who had backed up off the bed and was standing by herself across the room, arms wrapped tightly around herself, shaking and looking around for a means of escape.
Cade immediately changed his demeanor and if he could have, he would have kicked his own ass. “Hey, Gertie, it’s okay sweetie. Come here. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just super aware of you girls since Kres is so important to me. I don’t like
the idea that anyone has hurt you.” Cade held out his hand to her, arm extended, and held his breath to see if Gertie would take the invitation. Why had he not seen this side of Gertie before when he had been around her? It should have been noticeable to him before now. Great police work detective. Detective dumbass is more like it. She had true signs of a victim and if he was a betting man, it was of sexual assault. Kresley had never mentioned anything about it. That irritated Cade, but he reminded himself that they were just getting to know each other and it was her sister’s story to tell, not hers.
Gertie warily eyed Cade across the room for a few more long moments, then inched her way across to him. She stood before him, looking like a lost child, fear and weariness deeply embedded in her soul. Cade stood there firmly, gaze never wavering from hers, silently asking her to trust him. He felt Kresley’s hand reach out and twine itself around his, showing Cade that she put her trust in him. He also knew it was a way of showing her sister that she could do the same. Gertie took a deep breath and laid her head against Cade’s chest, over his protector’s heart, loosely wrapping her arms around his waist. He then felt Kresley’s arms wrapped around him as well, including Gertie in her hug.
Kresley understood the significance of this moment, even if Cade didn’t. This was the first time Gertie had touched a man in three years, had let a man hold her or support her. Kresley hoped Cade understood the importance of this to Gertie, but also to her. It was a turning point in Kresley’s acceptance of Cade in her life and the life of her sisters as well. Soon, Kresley felt the arms of her other two sisters and Grace wrap around the trio. It soon became a huge mass of Anderson love.
“Wow. Boomer would be so jealous of me right now”, Cade said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. His anxiety eased when he heard five female’s soft laughter and giggles echo around the room.
“So, Cade. Seriously. No brothers. At all? Are you sure Kresley’s the right Anderson?”, Birdie asked with a note of wistfulness in her voice, along with a heavy amount of sarcasm.
Kresley slapped the back of Birdie’s hand and stated words that echoed in Cade’s heart and made it speed up. “Mine. So back off”. The girls giggled again and then one by one left the mass hug to sit back on the bed.
Gertie cleared her throat and looked up at Cade. “I think I’m going to give Kresley permission to answer any questions you have and we can talk later on if you want. I have my first appointment with a counselor this week and maybe I will be able to open up after that.” When Cade gave a nod and squeezed her shoulders in agreement, Gertie’s shoulders slumped in relief and she excused herself from the room.
Cade looked around at the other beautiful women and counted himself very lucky to be someone they were learning they could lean on. What was that saying? Feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof. Yeah, that was him right now.
An hour later had Cade began rethinking that whole feeling ten feet tall thing. He had led the Anderson tribe downstairs and had cooked breakfast for them all, watching them eat and interact with each other as though he were taking notes on a science experiment. Kresley was definitely one of the older sisters by the way she treated the others, especially Birdie, her being the youngest. Red tended to take on the mother role, making sure everyone had what they needed. She and Francie shared that role, swapping out in what Cade saw as a good cop, bad cop scenario. It worked for the most part. Except with Birdie. She kept taking everyone’s bacon off their plates, forcing Cade to cook another pan full, just for her. Birdie thanked him with a hug that was purely innocent. Kresley’s snarl at her sister showed Cade that Red was indeed possessive like he was. Kres had just rolled her eyes and walked away at Cade’s big grin and wink.
Soon Cade shut the front door after the women, saying goodbye and see you later. He turned around and not seeing Kresley, went looking for her. He found Red sitting in his kitchen, sipping on a glass of orange juice and staring off into space. “Penny for your thoughts”, he stated as he sat down next to her.
Kresley continued to stare into her OJ like it held all of the answers, only smiling slightly and stated, “you don’t have enough coins for all of this”.
Cade could see Kres was sad, but also angry about something. He just hoped he wasn’t to do with him. “You can talk to me Red. About anything you want. I’m here to listen.”
Kresley turned in her chair to face Cade, who sat quietly beside her. Her long pale legs peeked out from under the huge tshirt she wore of his. Cade could see the freckles scattered over her thighs and calves. He put a hand on each knee and gave a light squeeze, as if to encourage her to begin talking.
Taking a deep breath, Kresley began to speak. “Gertie is not the same person she was three years ago. The woman you’ve met and talked with is half the person she used to be. Gertie was a lot like Birdie, outgoing, funny and sarcastic as hell. Then a night out in Atlanta with some old college friends of hers broke her. It broke my little sister. And in some ways broke me. Broke us all. That sick bastard thought he could hurt my sister. Every day I wish for his death.”
Cade stayed quiet, saying nothing and just squeezing Kresley’s hands, which he now held between his own. Inside he was boiling with rage, but he kept it in check for Kresley’s sake. He nodded his head when Kresley’s eyes silently asked if she should continue.
“Gertie was out at a club in Atlanta with other girlfriends of hers. She went to the bathroom with one of them, and they thought the others would stay at the table to watch purses and drinks. But the others obviously didn’t and they found them dancing away from their table. Because of that stupid mistake, Gertie finished her drink and found herself drugged about 20 minutes later, leaning over a trash can outside and vomiting. She doesn’t remember anything after that. We can only piece things together from the bouncer who was standing nearby and some other people waiting to go in. Apparently, a well-dressed man was standing nearby to Gertie and stated to the bouncer that she was his girlfriend and she had too much to drink. Everyone watched him walk off with a drugged-up Gertie, wobbling beside him. That was the last time anyone there saw her for the rest of the night. The girls she had gone to the club with hadn’t bothered to follow her outside. Selfish cows. They figured she was okay and that the bouncer would see to her. They stayed inside, dancing and flirting their asses off while my little sister was outside, puking her guts out and being made vulnerable for some asshat to come along and take advantage.” Kresley abruptly stood and began to pace the kitchen, back and forth, looking at everything and nothing at the same time. Her eyes were unfocused and cloudy with emotional pain.
“This asshole then took her to Centennial Park, to what we guess he thought was a secluded spot, and then he dared to rough up my sister. Gertie had bruises on almost all of her body, especially her breasts, butt and thighs. Even her neck had fingerprint marks where he held her down roughly. Gertie has no memory of fighting him, but it was apparent from the way she was found that she had tried to put up a fight until she became unconscious. The only thing that saved her from being raped fully was a couple strolling nearby and their voices or laughter must have spooked the guy from finishing things. He took off and they happened upon Gertie a minute or so later. I can’t get the description they gave of how they found her out of my mind, even three years later. Her dress half torn off her body, her underwear ripped. Her shoes no where to be found. Vomit covered the front of her and she was in the fetal position, moaning and crying, begging for him to stop, even though she was so out of it that they couldn’t ever get her to respond to anything. That bastard broke my little sister. Thank God he didn’t get to finish what he started, but he did enough damage to last her a life time. She doesn’t trust men, Cade. She doesn’t let them touch her, hold her, even hardly talk to her much. She hasn’t been on a date since the incident and she wouldn’t even think about going to counseling of any kind or even a group for rape victims so she could hear other people’s stories. And the really shitty thing is that Atlanta PD hasn’t caught the guy.
They have no clue who he is. They didn’t find any DNA on Gertie. No skin or anything under her nails, no semen, no saliva, nothing. The bouncer and other witnesses described him as an average looking guy, no outstanding features or birth marks. Dark hair, average height and weight. And no video of inside or outside the club. They had a maintenance company working on their system that week, so nothing recorded. So, my little sister lives her life every day, knowing that this douche is still out there and could be hurting other women. And now thanks to me and last night, she gets to relive every single emotion of being drugged three years ago, over again.” Kresley finished with a large inhale of breath. She slowly let it out and finally stopped pacing to look at Cade.
He sat there quietly, breathing heavily for what seemed like minutes. He kept a constant gaze on Kresley, letting her know he had heard her and wasn’t ignoring her. Gathering his thoughts together, Cade patted his thighs and held his hand out to Kresley, asking her silently to come to him. Kresley walked over and slid her legs over his, sitting sideways and resting her head and upper body along his chest. Cade pulled her more tightly to him, cradling her in his arms before beginning to speak.
“First of all, no matter how Gertie is feeling today, it is not your fault. You didn’t ask for someone to drug your drink last night and I know you would never willingly put yourself into a dangerous situation that would hurt you or your sisters or Grace. So, stop the guilty feelings. Now. Shut that shit down”, Cade stated in a hard voice, lifting Kresley’s face up to look at him. He needed to make sure she understood that he meant what he said. After she simply nodded without comment, Cade continued. “It hurts my heart so much to hear Gertie’s story. It also pisses me off. But my anger isn’t going to do anything to help her, help you or figure out both situations. Something has been working in the back of my mind for several days now and since hearing Gert’s story, it’s sounding off louder. I don’t think Drake was the main target of what happened at your place the other night. I think it was you. Drake was in the way of something else planned. And I find it hard to think its coincidence that two sisters, in the space of three years, were both drugged with GHB, both at a club. I don’t believe in coincidence.” As he stated all of this, he stroked Kresley’s side and hip, rocking her from side to side without thought.