Breathless (Seven Brides Seven Brothers Pelican Bay Book 1)

by Belle Calhoune

“Enough!” Parker said in a raised voice. “Stop acting like two-year old’s having a tantrum.” Everyone stared at him with wide eyes. He lowered his voice. “We haven’t even heard them out or tried to empathize with their situation. That’s not the Donahue way. Our family has always come first, and we owe it to our parents to listen and show compassion. It may be too early for understanding, but we’re going to do our best to try.”

  His father nodded in his direction. “Thank you, Parker. This isn’t easy for us. We’ve been struggling with this issue for years. Somehow in raising the eight of you children, we lost sight of who we were as a couple.”

  “We lost us,” Penelope said, gazing down the table at her husband. Looking at the two of them caused a wealth of feeling to rise up inside Parker. Although he knew that it was important for him to stay strong for his younger siblings, a big part of him wanted to crack wide open. This was all he’d ever known. This abiding love. These two people who had endured hardships in order to raise their brood of children and give them the best of everything. How had things fallen apart so disastrously when none of them had been paying attention?

  “We lost sight of each other as a couple,” Jude said, running his hand across his face. His father looked weary, Parker realized. As if he’d been fighting a fierce battle. And maybe he had been. Perhaps his parents had both been fighting to keep their marriage alive. Now, the stress and strain of it all was rising to the surface. All he knew was he didn’t want either of them to live in pain. Not after all they’d given their children.

  “What about the Silver Spoon?” Heath asked, his brows furrowed with worry.

  “We’re still going to run the diner as we always have, no matter where the future takes us,” Jude said in a calm voice.

  No matter where the future takes us. Parker winced at the statement. He knew it was a subtle reference to the worst part of a separation—the very real possibility of divorce.

  “We’ll still be a family,” Penelope assured them. “Please don’t worry.”

  “What about the house? Will you both still be living here?” Daniel asked. Leave it to Daniel to ask a practical question, Parker thought. He was all about the bottom line, sometimes to the detriment of his emotions and feelings. Parker knew his brother cared deeply, but his delivery was sometimes off.

  Shayla broke down in tears, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed. Parker felt as if his heart was breaking at the sight of her. The one thing he couldn’t bear were Shayla’s tears. He’d felt this way since she was a newborn. A sad, teary Shayla was his Kryptonite. Parker stood up from his chair and moved toward his sister’s seat. By the time he’d gotten there, his father had beat him to it. Jude Donahue was cradling his daughter as if she was a little baby. Parker stood back watching with his heart lodged in his throat. Shayla had a habit of making little hiccupping sounds when she was very upset and crying.

  Caleb had moved over toward their mother’s seat. He was rubbing her shoulder and talking to her in a low tone. Penelope was dabbing at her eyes with her napkin.

  “I guess I ruined dinner,” Penelope said. “I should have waited until after we’d eaten, but…it’s been weighing heavily on my heart.”

  “Shh. It’s okay, Mom,” Caleb said in a gentle voice.

  “It’s fine, Mom. We’re all going to be fine,” Parker said, wishing he was as sure of it as he sounded. Would they be all right? If their parents couldn’t hold their marriage together, what hope did the rest of them have of ever finding their happily ever after? It was so depressing, but he knew he had to be the bigger person in this moment in order to support them. There would be plenty of time later to mourn the loss of his parents’ marriage.

  “Why don’t we eat?” Jason asked. “There’s nothing we can’t get through together and with a hearty dose of Mom’s meat loaf.”

  Parker chuckled, along with a few others at the table. Although their mother was a fabulous cook, meat loaf was her Achilles’ heel. It was tasteless and chewy. But no matter how many times she failed at making it, Penelope kept trying to get it right, much to her family’s chagrin.

  “I didn’t make meat loaf,” Penelope said, the corners of her mouth twitching with mirth. “I made brisket.”

  “Now that’s good news,” Micah teased.

  Shayla still seemed inconsolable, her face awash in tears. The tip of her nose was pink and her cheeks were red. Ever since she was a toddler, Shayla had been extremely expressive when she was crying or upset. Although things had changed a bit as she grew older, Shayla still was overly sensitive.

  “Chin up,” Jude said, cupping Shayla’s chin in his fingers and pushing it slightly upwards.

  She blinked back tears. “Chin up,” she murmured.

  “Why don’t we join hands and pray over the food,” Jason suggested, holding out his hands on either side of him. Everyone joined hands. Parker bowed his head and listened as Jason blessed the food.

  “Lord, please bless this food that was so lovingly prepared by our parents. Please watch over our family, Lord, as we navigate our way through this new chapter of our lives. May we strengthen the ties that bind us together and treat each other with compassion and love. Amen.”

  A chorus of Amens could be heard ringing out around the table. Parker nodded at Jason and shot him a look of appreciation. Prayer for the Donahue family was what they needed more than anything right now. Jason had spoken from the heart and touched upon everything Parker was feeling.

  Dinner was a pretty solemn affair. Parker didn’t know what to do to ease the mood. As the eldest, he’d always considered it his duty to cheer up his siblings. Tonight it didn’t seem to be working, but he knew in the weeks and months ahead he would be there for them to shoulder them through the worst of their emotions. The dissolution of a marriage felt like a death, and he knew he and his siblings, along with their parents, would be in mourning.

  But they were together tonight as a family, and despite the circumstances, it always felt good to be part of this amazing family dynamic. And he was a realist, but he also knew prayer was a powerful tool. He would pray for reconciliation between his parents. Even though they seemed resigned to the inevitable, there was no way he wasn’t going to pray for them to find their way back to one another.

  After a delicious dessert of blackberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream, they all settled down in the living room. One by one they began to drift away to their separate residences. Parker had the feeling each of his siblings wanted to be alone so they could lick their emotional wounds. When it was time to leave, Parker made sure he hugged his mother for an extended period of time. He could see the pain lurking in her eyes. He didn’t want either of his parents to think they had let him down. Life wasn’t ever simple. He had learned that lesson three years ago when Cadence had walked out of his life. And his faith had taught him not to judge.

  “Night, Dad,” he said, clinging to his father a little more tightly than usual.

  “Night, son. Thanks for your wisdom and grace,” Jude said with a nod. Parker had seen his father cry on very few occasions. At the moment tears pooled in his eyes.

  “I learned those things from you,” Parker said, tightly gripping his dad’s hand.

  Parker left the house with Nash quietly trailing behind him.

  Nash—always the silent Donahue—hadn’t uttered a word throughout dinner or his parents’ announcement about their crumbling marriage. Parker knew with one look he was far from being all right. His eyes always revealed his truths. He was dealing with things as he always did. On the inside.

  “Nash. Are you all right?” Parker asked.

  Nash shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “It’s pretty shocking news. If it’s freaking you out, it’s all right, Nash. We’re all reeling from it.”

  Nash nodded. “I know. I just need some time to let it marinate. Night, Parker.” With a wave of his hand, he headed toward his car. For the gazillionth time, Parker found himself wishing his brother would open up to him. But he also
knew that the wounds of Nash’s past still tormented him. As much as he loved him, there wasn’t a single thing he could do to change it. The early years before he had been adopted by Jude and Penelope had left a lot of emotional scars. And he kept a lot of stuff buried inside of him.

  Who was he to talk? With the exception of Jason and his father, Parker hadn’t exactly opened up to his family when Cadence had ripped his heart into shreds. Parker had kept most of his feelings bottled up inside. He’d been so afraid of totally losing every ounce of control he possessed. So he’d stuffed those feelings down.

  Parker turned around and called out to his brother. Sometimes Nash’s silences worried him. “Nash! Call me if you need anything.”

  Nash nodded. He flashed Parker a thumbs-up sign. “I will. Take it easy, Parker.”

  Take it easy. Parker wasn’t sure if it was possible for any of the Donahue siblings to rest easy tonight. Although it was his job as the eldest sibling to do his very best to hold things together as much as he could, Parker couldn’t deny his own sadness over his parents’ situation. Jude and Penelope Donahue were the very glue that held their family unit together. Suddenly, he felt afraid of what the future held, not just for his parents, but for all of them. If they couldn’t hold on to their love story, what hope did Parker have for himself?

  “We’re all human. And we need forgiveness almost as much as we need love.”

  Penelope Donahue

  Chapter Two

  By the time Parker reached home that evening, he was emotionally exhausted. The news about his parents’ separation had gutted him, but he’d held his emotions at bay. If he’d lost it, then it would have been like a Donahue domino effect with his siblings. He’d forced himself to be strong. But now he was feeling the full force of the announcement. Separation. And perhaps down the road a divorce. He winced at the idea of his family coming apart at the seams. It was something he never would have imagined in a million years.

  How had it all come to this? Parker felt like a failure for ignoring all the possible warning signs. Looking back, he knew there must have been a multitude of red flags. But even though there had been increased tension and squabbles between his folks, Parker had believed so fervently in their love, he hadn’t really ever questioned it. It had always seemed as solid as the Rocky Mountains.

  Parker stood for a moment and looked out at the ocean in the distance. He let out a sigh. Buying beach front property had been his number one goal when he had purchased his home. Although it had cost him a little more than he’d ever imagined, it had been a great investment. At the time he’d imagined having a wife and little kids running around the place. His chest tightened as images of Cadence flashed into his vision. Still, after all this time, it hurt to think of her. She’d been his whole world. Life had become really bleak after her departure from his world. He shut his eyes tightly and stuffed all memories of her into the deep black hole he’d created for the sole purpose of forgetting Cadence.

  He shook his head. So far, it had been a near impossible task to forget the woman he’d loved with every fiber of his being. Maybe he shouldn’t try too hard to achieve the impossible. Perhaps he would always carry a piece of her around with him no matter how hard he tried to erase her memory.

  A sudden noise behind him caused him to whirl around. As a PI, Parker knew to always be on his guard. To say he’d gained a few enemies over the years was an understatement. He swiveled around, poised to defend himself. His hand went to his pocket where his gun rested. A figure stepped out of the shadows. Suddenly, all the air left his lungs. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe. Dear Lord. He must be seeing things. His legs shook with the impact.

  “Hello, Parker.” Cadence’s soft, cultured voice felt like a shock to the system.

  Cadence. He hadn’t seen her for almost three years. And now, on one of the worst nights of his life, she’d shown up at his beach house looking like something the cat had dragged in. Although her beauty could never be denied, she looked far from her best. Dark shadows rested under her eyes. Her face looked tear-stained. Her hair was a wild riot of curls. He wasn’t certain, but it looked as if she hadn’t slept for days.

  “What are you doing here?” He spit the words out. His stomach felt sore as if he’d been sucker punched in the gut.

  “I-I didn’t have anyone else to turn to. I need you, Parker.”

  Parker raised an eyebrow. He made a scoffing sound.

  “You need me?” He shook his head. “That’s pretty hilarious.”

  “No it’s not,” Cadence said. Tears slid down her cheeks. She swiped them away. “There’s not a thing funny about my situation.” She took a deep breath. “I need you to help me find my son.”

  **

  The words came tumbling off of Cadence’s lips like an explosion. She immediately noticed the look on Parker’s face. Disbelief. Shock emanated from his soulful brown eyes. She would bet good money he didn’t even know she’d given birth to a child. After all, how could he? After marrying Mason Price, they had moved to his estate in Palm Beach. She’d kept a very low profile over the last few years, even though her marriage to Mason had made the society pages all over the country. For all intents and purposes, Cadence had been living in an ivory tower, unable to live a normal life with freedom or friends or independence. Mason had made sure she was hidden away like a prized trophy.

  Logan!! Her baby was missing. She didn’t know how she was even standing at the moment. Her son—the only thing she drew breath each morning for—had been ruthlessly taken from her. Cadence felt herself faltering. Her knees buckled and she felt herself falling toward the ground.

  Suddenly, Parker’s strong arms were around her and he was holding her up. He muttered a few words under his breath she couldn’t hear, but she sensed his fury. She couldn’t blame him. How else would one feel about greeting a ghost from the past? Before she knew what was happening, Parker had swept her up in his arms and they were at his front door. She wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he opened up the door with his keys without losing his grip on her as he carried her over the threshold. Once they were inside, he brought her into the living room and gently deposited her on a love seat. She put her face in her hands and gave in to the desire to cry her eyes out.

  Each and every time she thought she might stop, her son’s innocent little face popped into her mind. She felt incredibly helpless and scared to death.

  “Cadence, you’re going to have to stop crying.” Parker’s voice sounded gentle. That made her want to cry even more. She’d shown up on his doorstep after shattering his heart into a million little pieces three years ago. And he was actually sounding kind.

  “I-I’m sorry, but my son is missing. I’m frightened. And I can barely think straight,” she said, her lips trembling with emotion. “I can’t seem to stop crying.”

  “You came here to ask me for help. Why doesn’t your husband help you?” Parker asked, his voice now brimming with anger.

  “Because he’s the one who took him,” Cadence admitted with a sob. For the last twenty-four hours she’d been so strong. It had all become too much for her. She was dying inside, ready to crack into pieces at any moment. The thought of Mason hurting Logan filled her with dread. And she was powerless against such evil.

  Parker winced. “Sounds like a marital dispute.”

  “No,” Cadence said with a shake of her head. “It’s so much more than that. He’s doing this to hurt me. H-he’s not a stable person. And my son is in grave danger.”

  “There’s nothing I can do.” Parker’s voice was implacable. His features were as hard as granite. He appeared to be clenching his teeth. No doubt he was thinking about how she’d hurt him in the past. Why should he want to help her?

  He’d hardened over the past three years. This man standing before her didn’t seem like the Parker she’d known, the one who had gone the extra mile to help others. She’d come here simply because she had no one else to turn to and she knew Parker was as moral a man as one could
ever hope to find in this world. He would never turn down a request from a desperate mother. Or would he?

  She leaned forward in her chair. “Yes! There is something you can do. You can put aside the past and help me,” she begged. “I can pay you. I can get money. Please, Parker. If you ever cared for me, please do this.”

  As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Cadence wanted to reel them back in. It was a low blow to remind him of the way he’d loved her, but she was desperate. She would walk through fire to get Logan back. Any mother would do the same for their child.

  “I can’t believe you just said that,” Parker said with a shake of his head. His features were creased with anger. A vein in his forehead bulged.

  “I wish I could be sorry about it. Don’t you see how desperate I am? You have to help me. His life could be in danger.”

  “After everything that went down between us, give me one good reason why I should help you?” Their gazes were locked. There was an electric pulse vibrating in the air.

  Cadence knew this was the moment of truth. For almost three years she’d been wanting to tell Parker her truths. The day of reckoning had arrived. She knew she had no right to be angry at him, but all of a sudden she felt fury rising up inside her. For so long now she’d been doing the right thing for everybody but herself. It had brought her nothing but pain and isolation. She jumped up from her chair and faced him head-on. She folded her arms across her chest and prepared for battle.

  “He’s your son, Parker. Okay? Is that a good enough reason?” she asked in a raised voice.

  **

  There were certain moments in a person’s life when everything came into sharp, clear focus and everything else faded away into nothingness. Parker felt as if he was having a strange, out of body experience. He shook his head, immediately refuting Cadence’s statement. She was a desperate mother in search of her child. She would say anything. Do anything. She was tricking him so he would assist her. Although he couldn’t say he blamed her, Parker resented being jerked around by her. Been there, done that.