by Ali Vali
“Hayden, I know being a month shy of twelve isn’t exactly adulthood, but I want you to understand that sometimes opportunities come and you have to take them.”
His full lips turned to a frown, and Cain could see he was about to get angry. Sometimes it was a plus to have a kid who acted just like her in almost every way, down to the mood triggers that his face gave off. “Since you got here, have you seen anything that didn’t make sense to you?”
“What, a cow with five legs?”
“Kid, maybe you’re spending too much time with me. You’re turning into a smart-ass. Come on, I’m being serious here. Nothing made you scratch the side of your head and ask ‘I wonder why?’”
Hayden shook his head and stared at the ground as if the dead grass would give him the answer. Then he snapped his fingers. “That first morning after I finished my run and was heading downstairs after my shower. I saw a black sedan leave the yard and turn back onto the highway. I asked Emma about it, but she didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Cain moved closer to him, not taking any chances of tipping her hand to anyone but her son. “Think, buddy. Who drives around in black sedans in the middle of farm country? Hell, we had to wait for them to find something other than a truck at the rental counter when we got here.”
“Cops.”
She put her hands on the sides of his face so only she could see his lips move when the reality of the situation obviously hit him between the eyes. “My father was right. Those Casey genes do float to the top. You’re going to be something else with those looks and the brains to go with them.” She moved one hand to the back of his neck and pulled him in for a hug. “Kyle’s here, buddy, so watch what you say in the bunkhouse. You don’t know a whole lot, but I don’t want this to blow up in my face and they take me in and have you somewhere where I can’t get to you.”
“Why would Kyle be here? Who would have…” The rest of the question never made it out as the realization of what Emma had done hit him even harder. His birth mother had set them up, or at least Cain, to take a fall, leaving her as the concerned mother to pick up the pieces--the pieces being him. “That bitch.”
“Hey now, don’t blame her just yet, kiddo. Let’s see how this plays out and what game’s in motion before we rush out with guns blazing. I realize you think your mom just up and left you, but Emma’s never done something like this unless the situation or someone drove her. Can you do something for me, Hayden?”
“Mom, you don’t ever have to ask.”
Cain still held him close and spoke into his ear. “When we get back, don’t let your anger win out. I’m going to make an example out of Kyle and whoever helped him so he won’t bother us anymore. Do you think you can do that? You don’t have to play the forgiving lost son, but try and work on your relationship with Emma and see where it leads. That’ll give me time to deal with Kyle and his goons.”
From the trees, one of the agents had climbed up with the wand to see if he could get a better line and hear what Cain was talking to her son about. “Man, Kyle’s going to shit a brick if we go back with nothing. I don’t get it. There’s nothing out here between them and us.”
“Just go up a little higher and try a more downward angle. Maybe this thing’s so used to hearing background noise it doesn’t know what to do with only the occasional bird noise. Never mind. Pack it up. They’re heading back.”
After a few stretches the pair stopped talking and started back in the direction of the bunkhouse.
The two men watching them froze, as both sets of blue eyes seemed to zero in on them when mother and son ran past, but they knew it was impossible.
Chapter Ten
Ross watched from the porch as the two dots on the horizon started to take shape and become more recognizable. Cain and Hayden had the same stride, and watching them run made him think back to his own high school track days. He had never been as comfortable when he ran as the two people he was watching. The door closing behind him didn’t make Ross turn around and take his eyes off his grandson and his mother. He brought the coffee cup to his lips again and figured if Emma wanted to talk, she would eventually say something.
“Think they’re leaving today?” Emma’s voice cracked a little at the end of her question so Ross figured she’d been crying again.
“I don’t know, baby. Maybe you should ask them when they get back. Those two must have gotten up pretty early to beat me out of bed.”
“Hayden’s a lot like Cain, I guess. She’d get up, run, and be home in bed after a shower before I woke up.” She felt the heat of her blush when she realized what she had just shared with her father. But she remembered how Cain had moved her run up an hour when she’d complained about waking up alone and hearing the shower. She had fixed it so she was there and holding Emma when she woke up every morning they’d shared together. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I don’t know why I said that.”
“Because you love her, and no matter how much time you spend here hiding from the fact that you do, you won’t stop loving her. Though now, with all this, you may’ve killed any hope of getting her to feel that way about you again.” Ross put his cup down and turned to face his only child in hope of getting through to her before the world started to crumble around her feet. He didn’t want to have to stand by helplessly and watch.
“Honey, I don’t know Cain as well as you, and you probably don’t know her as well as Hayden does, but I’m guessing the one thing she’s got going for her is smarts. She won’t go down without a fight, and when she starts shooting back, do you really want to be standing on the other side hoping some other white knight comes charging in to save you?”
He took his hat off and scratched the top of his head before he glanced toward the barn. “I’m just a farmer and may not know a whole lot about a whole lot, but I’m thinking they don’t send this many people to snare someone who goes around with their thumb up their butt.”
“I know what I’m doing, Daddy.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve said my piece. You go on and listen to your mother and that fella who’s come by to see you, and I’m sure he’ll ante up on all those promises he made. When the dust settles I’ll go back to tending my cows and working my land, and I can promise I won’t say a word about the outcome. I’ll go ahead and say it now. When it’s done, you’re going to be here with me alone because that big Irishwoman’s going to strip you and Kyle of everything you hold dear. And, Emma, I mean everything and everyone. When it happens, I’ll still love you and won’t throw you out for the world to finish beating you down, but I’ll spend my years trying to find it in my heart to feel sorry for you.”
Emma evidently wanted to lash out at him, but it wouldn’t change the way he felt. Ross Verde was a man of principle, and what his wife and daughter had conjured up didn’t smell right to him.
“You’re supposed to be on my side, Daddy.”
He laughed and put on his hat, ready to get to work. “If you can’t see I am, we don’t have another thing to talk about on the subject. You just remember what your old man said this morning and think hard on your future. What you want it to be and who you want to share it with depend on what you do starting right now.”
“Don’t you remember, you win here too, Daddy, if this all works out. I think Cain will relax enough out here to let her guard down around those baboons she surrounds herself with, and if that happens, you and I both win.”
Ross stopped his trek to the barn and turned around. “I didn’t sign those papers, Emma, and there isn’t a reason in the world you and your mother can come up with to make me do it, either. I’ve been in jams before and I’ll get myself out of them just like always, and this time it won’t be from taking favors from some idiot in a suit with a grudge.”
The idiot Ross was referring to was standing behind the barely opened front door, listening in on their conversation. Special Agent Barney Kyle had started his career in the FBI on the fast track by cracking a couple of drug rings and giving his superiors
the impression he would be a star in the Bureau. His success had landed him the Casey assignment.
The Bureau was tired of trying to get an indictment on Dalton, then his daughter, only to come away empty-handed. When Kyle took over, he expected the operation to last about a year before he had her in court. His plan ran into a roadblock by the name of Cain, so eight years later he found his star status had tarnished considerably, and he was about to be relocated somewhere not found on the average map. Because of that threat and Cain’s constant smugness under the unrelenting surveillance, Kyle had come to despise her. All he had to show for his efforts so far were pictures of her impressive wardrobe and smile.
Ross was right in a way. The thing between him and Cain had become personal to such a degree that he wanted the satisfaction of taking her down. The main fantasy that played in his head about that day now involved doing it at the end of his gun barrel. He lived for the day he could squelch all of her condescending laughter and snide remarks about him. So this phase of the operation was his last chance, and he didn’t care how many corners he had to cut to bring her down; he was going to do it.
“He isn’t going to spoil this for us, is he, Emma?” Barney Kyle opened the front door farther and watched Ross walk toward the barn. Cain and Hayden were still too far away to spot him, and his earpiece was on to alert him to any movement in the bunkhouse.
In Emma he had found Cain’s weakness, and even though it had taken only an hour to convince Carol, it had taken both of them months to get Emma on board with his plan. Cain was fighting a turf war over a major part of her business, so this trip came at a time when she couldn’t put her affairs aside for a week to watch Emma play nice with their kid. The mob boss would never suspect the level of sophisticated equipment Kyle had installed in the bunkhouse, which would only make it that much sweeter when she started talking and conducting business as usual.
“You shouldn’t be here, Agent Kyle.”
“I was just in the kitchen having coffee with your mother. Don’t worry. I watched Cain and Hayden leave this morning, and I’m positive no one saw me enter the house. I’m sure as hell no one will see me leave.”
Hayden and Cain slowed their run down to cool off, giving Emma a few more minutes alone with Kyle. “I take it Cain hasn’t started singing about her illegal activities yet?”
Knowing his subject, Kyle moved in for the kill. “No, all we have is her in a serious lip-lock with the pretty fluff piece parading as a bodyguard.”
“When was this?”
“Last night after they put the kid to bed. Don’t worry. It was just a little sexual innuendo, then off to separate beds. I don’t know, though. One more kiss like that and Casey might not be able to hold out.”
Kyle chuckled when Emma left the porch and headed to the bunkhouse, entering without knocking. Most of the guys were up and talking over coffee while Merrick and Mook moved around the kitchen fixing breakfast.
“Damn, I thought you two were in Canada by now, you’ve been gone so long,” teased Merrick, assuming it was Cain and Hayden.
“They’re on their way back, so I thought you might need a hand with breakfast.” Emma’s voice sounded slightly colder than the temperature outside.
All the men in the room watched as the minor turf war broke out, ready to jump in if it came to blows and Merrick tried to kill Emma.
“No, thank you, Ms. Verde. I’m more than familiar with what Cain and Hayden want and like.”
“It’s still Mrs. Casey. Try and remember that. And I’m sure you know a lot about what pleases Cain. But I’m not leaving ,so get used to it,” said Emma
“Get used to what?”
The deep voice made both women look at the door in time to see both Caseys strip off their jackets and shirts. Except for the breasts covered by a sports bra on one, the bodies were similar in build. Hayden had less muscle mass, but everyone could see that in the near future he would be as imposing as his mother.
“Get used to me coming over here in the morning for the next couple of days to help with breakfast.” Emma tried to tear her eyes off of Cain but couldn’t keep from staring. Every night she dreamed about her estranged lover.
“I see. Well, we’re both starving, so I hope you’re up to the task. Hayden, go grab a shower, and save me some hot water.”
“Hayden, you can use the one in the house if you want,” said Emma, trying not to sound desperate.
He just grabbed the things he’d need for the bathroom and walked away. Mook had been nice enough to pack their belongings and move them out of the main house.
Merrick and Mook walked out of the kitchen when Cain stepped closer to Emma and started talking. “Don’t look so disappointed. He’s staying the rest of the week like he promised. I hope you spend the time trying to get to know him for who he is, and not for what you want him to be.
“You can’t change the past, Emma. Just try and get him to trust you a little bit and take it from there. Hayden’s a happy kid, and I’ve done my best to keep him that way, but I’ve always suspected a big part of him misses you. There’s only so much I can give him, but in the end he needs his mother in his life as an active participant.
“I’ll help you as much as I can, for his sake, but don’t try and get back in his good graces at my expense. You try and drive a wedge between us, and I’d like to think I know him well enough to guarantee he’ll cut you off and never give you another thought, no matter how much that’ll hurt him.” It was the only warning she would give Emma about Kyle or anything else she might have planned. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Emma turned back to the bowl of eggs she had been whipping. Cain didn’t sound threatening, but Emma couldn’t look at her anymore in her current state of undress. “Thank you. I’m sure you helped him change his mind about leaving early.”
While they ate breakfast in silence, Emma studied Hayden and Cain, trying to figure out a way to get her son to talk with her again. She wanted to kiss Cain when she asked him to take Emma for a walk after their meal. She and Hayden watched as Cain jumped a fence and started toward Ross, who was dumping feed into one of the bins he had placed throughout the pastures.
The coat Cain had on provided just enough buffer to the wind, and the snow that had fallen the night before had frozen, making a crunching noise as she walked through the grass. She had yet to see Carol, but Ross had gone out of his way to make friendly talk since she’d arrived the night before. They had always shared a good relationship, and Cain had missed their telephone conversations when he would call to see how Emma was doing.
“Morning,” Cain called out so as not to startle him.
“Morning, Cain. Enjoy your run?”
“Any more of this clean, fresh air and I might just keel over. I thought I’d come out here and help while Emma’s spending some time with Hayden.” She tipped her hat up and smiled at him. “Earn my keep, so to speak.”
Ross smiled back and patted the seat next to him. They rode around on the tractor, filling the bins and pushing cows out of the way so they could get the job done. Four hours later he pulled up in front of the barn and went to put the bags they hadn’t used back in storage. There weren’t many bags left, so he didn’t want them to spoil. After they were gone he’d have to use the hay he’d baled in the fall.
“You need to make a run to the feed store, Ross.” The bag over Cain’s shoulder joined the ones she’d already carried in and stacked neatly in the dry, dark room in the barn. Ross had been amazed when she hefted the eighty-pound sacks and hauled them into the barn without too much grunting.
“I don’t think that’ll be possible until spring.”
He looked so uncomfortable with the subject that Cain changed her tactics and moved to something else. “Is there a restaurant in town?”
“Just a little place that does simple stuff. Not anything you’re used to, I’m sure.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kind of a joint girl, given the opportunity. Let’s go get a bite.”<
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They were sitting in Mabel’s Diner fifteen minutes later, waiting for the waitress to take their order. Cain looked out at the guy on the corner, doing his best not to stick out on the small town street. The fact that he was freezing his ass off while keeping an eye on her brought its own perverse sense of satisfaction. Just watching him out there made her peruse the menu and plan to order every course she could squeeze out of the sparse number of selections.
“Cain, can I ask you a question?” Ross peeked at her over the top of his own menu but kept it near his face. Probably, Cain figured, to hide his face if she didn’t like his question.
“Shoot.”
“What is it you do?”
She looked at him and wondered if old Ross was a strand in Kyle’s webbing. “Can I ask you a question before I answer yours?”
He followed her line of sight out to the guy on the corner.
“Have you ever heard the expression the walls have ears?”
Ross just stared at her silently, as if waiting for her to finish.
“In this day and age they have ears, eyes, and brains. And they always seem to be plotting my demise. The other thing is, they aren’t confined to the walls, so I’m curious why you want to know what I do.”
Ross couldn’t take his eyes off the man on the corner leaning against one of the town’s only parking meters. “I’ve been watching my daughter for the past four years, trying to find what spooked her. Granted, I didn’t spend a lot of time getting to know you, but I saw how you felt about her. I could hear it in your voice when we used to talk.” He finally turned from the window and scrutinized his daughter’s ex-lover. “Why’s she here and not with you?”
“She asked to go and I let her. I’m not a monster, Ross. I wasn’t about to try and force her to stay somewhere she felt she didn’t belong any longer. What I wouldn’t allow, though—and if this makes me sound like a monster, then I’m sorry—was letting her leave with Hayden. He’s my son, and his place is with me. If Emma wants to have a relationship with him I’m all for that, but it’ll be limited to visitation rights. I’ll pull out every bit of power and influence at my disposal to keep it that way. Don’t ever doubt that.”