“They don’t need my testimony anymore. Apparently her lawyer has worked out some kind of plea deal. My lawyer is there to speak on my behalf, in case they need anything from me, which I highly doubt they will.”
“And Jefe?” she demanded, staring me down.
I looked down, stacking the papers. “He’ll know where to find me.”
“And Kandy?” Her voice was firmer this time.
I was about to staple the papers, but her name was more than enough to stop me. I stared down, avoiding my sister’s eyes. “I can’t do anything about her, Lora. She already told me she needed space at the hospital, and I haven’t heard from her in weeks. I’ve tried calling, but get her voicemail constantly, and she’s clearly been ignoring my texts. I don’t want to show up and make matters worse for her or her family.” I finally looked up. “If she wants to move on, who am I to stop her?”
“You’re Quinton fucking Cane, that’s who!” she yelled, dropping her arms. “When have you ever backed away from something you wanted?”
I scoffed and shook my head, stapling the papers together. My eyes roamed to the letter to the right. On it was Kandy’s name, written in my ledger. I’d written it last night, right here at this desk, while sipping on too much scotch. I couldn’t sleep worth a damn, and she was constantly on my mind. The rapid move was making me feel all sorts of things, but most importantly, knowing that I would no longer be a short ride away bothered me. I was going to be in a completely different city, but I couldn’t leave without letting her know how I felt first. After reading over it this morning, though, I felt like a fool for writing it. She didn’t want me…but I still wanted her. So fucking much.
I set the stapled packet down and picked up the letter with a sigh. I suppose at this point I didn’t have much else to lose.
Walking around the desk, I met up to Lora, focusing on Kandy’s name on the envelope in bold blue ink. “I need you to take this to her before you drive down. Let her know I’m leaving tonight.”
She frowned down at it. “You want me to take it today?”
I met her eyes. “If possible.”
She took it away from me. “What does it say?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just go by her house, ask for her, even if her parents are there. It’s better if she sees you.”
She frowned. “Why me? Why not just do it yourself?”
“You know damn well if they see my face they won’t open that door.”
She exhaled, and her pale hair shifted with the blow. It was no longer a deep, pastel blue. It’d turned into a faded color with more blonde showing than anything. “Fine. Any other requests?”
“Yeah, I need you to stick around for as long as you can tomorrow, and if Kandy calls you by ten the next morning, I want you to answer, then I want you to pick her up and bring her to Charlotte with you.”
“What?” she gasped. “Why would I do that? What makes you think she’ll even want to go there?”
“If she calls, it means she does.” I scratched the top of my head. “I’m letting her know that I haven’t given up—that there are choices and that I’m here. If she calls you, it means there’s still a fighting chance for us.”
“Ahh.” She grinned, pressing the letter to her heart. “A second-chance love letter. Actually, it’s more like a third-chance thing. Okay, fine, whatever! I’ll take it over, but if I do, you have to let me choose the apartment I want later. I’m tired of you getting to decide where I get to stay.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
She cheered. “Good. Text me her address!” She turned on her heels and trotted toward the door. Before she left, she said, “And for the record, I think she’ll want to come.”
I watched her leave then huffed a laugh.
For once in my fucking life, I hoped my sister was right.
Chapter Nine
KANDY
The last thing I expected was the knock on the front door to be someone coming for me. It was shortly after my check up with Dr. Bhandari, who’d confirmed that my wound had healed nicely. He told me to allow three more weeks for my body to adjust before performing any sexual activity or taking birth control…but I was sure sex wasn’t going to be a problem anytime soon.
When I walked downstairs and saw the pale blonde hair and circular sunglasses with yellow lenses covering her eyes, I couldn’t contain my smile.
Lora stood on the other side of the door, and when she spotted me, she took off the sunglasses and rushed into the house, reeling me in for a hug.
“Hey, little munchkin,” she cooed while Mom closed the door.
I hugged her back, holding on tight. “Lora! What are you doing here?”
“I came to drop something off.” She looked over at Mom, who was looking between us with a mask of confusion, still trying to figure out who she was.
“Oh—Mom, this is Lora, Cane’s sister.”
“Oh! Wow.” Mom put on a smile, extending her arm. Lora accepted it and shook her hand. “It’s nice to finally see the face of the mysterious Lora.”
Lora laughed. “What? Does my brother talk about me to you guys like some sad loser?”
Mom laughed with her. “He’s mentioned you quite a few times. Would you like something to drink or anything?”
“Oh, no, thank you.” Lora waved her hands as kindly and dismissively as she could. “I’m only here for a few minutes, and then I have to finish packing.”
“Packing?” I asked, brows pulling together.
“Yeah. I’m leaving tomorrow.” She met my eyes. “Which is why I’m here.”
I looked back at Mom, who’d taken a few steps to the side. “It’ll only be a few minutes,” I told her.
“Yeah! Go ahead.”
I walked to the door, pulling it open and walking out. Lora trailed behind me, closing the door with her. She dug into the inside pocket of her jacket, pulling out an envelope and offering it to me. “Q told me to give this to you.”
I took it, spotting my name on it in his jagged script. “What does it say?”
“That, I don’t know, but he did tell me to let you know that he’s leaving tonight.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “Him too? Why tonight?”
She shrugged. “I guess he’s ready for a fresh start? Most of his things have been moved already. The new house is really nice. You’d love it.” Her smile was faint. “Look, Kandy. I’m only here to deliver his message, but I’m sure his letter explains more.” She took a step closer to me, looking me all over. “I know it’s scary. It’s scary as fuck being around a Cane, honestly. Our minds can be corrupt as fuck sometimes, and we have so many flaws, but one thing I can say is that when our hearts have been taken, there is no getting them back, and you have his heart. You’ll have it for the rest of your life.”
My vision blurred, but I looked away, blinking quickly to fan the tears away. “And he wants me to make a decision by tomorrow?”
“Doesn’t have to be tomorrow…but I think a fresh start would be good for both of you.” She leaned in and pressed her forehead to mine, then she grabbed my hand, stuffing something into my palm. She wrapped my fingers up around it. “If it feels like the right thing to do, do it. But if it feels wrong, stay. He’ll understand.”
She pulled back and stepped off the porch. I watched her walk to her car, waving once before jumping into it and riding off. When she was gone, I looked down at my hand. She’d stuffed a wad of cash into it. What the hell?
I looked at the white envelope in my other hand next. For some reason it felt heavier, like I could feel all the weight he’d been carrying in the single form of a letter.
Walking to the rocking chairs in the corner and sitting, I sucked in a sharp breath before ripping it open. My heart thundered in my chest, and my hands shook violently as I focused on the words.
Kandy,
I know this isn’t the best way to express myself. Showing up would have been so much easier, but I played each scenario over and over again i
n my head and knew there wouldn’t have been a way for me to see you without your parents interfering, or your father tossing my ass on the street. (By the way, I caved and called your mom to check in on you. She told me about the nightmares, and I’m so fucking sorry. God, I wish I was there to hold you.)
Forgive me, because I’ve been drinking tonight, and my guilt is really fucking me up. I have to let you know that I’m leaving tomorrow. My whole house was packed up days ago, my cars are being driven down, and the new house is waiting for me. The kitchen will still have a TV in it, and there is a pool at this one too. I know how much you loved the pool. There is a room upstairs that is just for you. I want to fill it with notebooks, pens, and books, and even a desk because I know you love reading and writing.
Look, I may be a dumb, drunk man right now, but I’m not afraid to tell you that I want you there with me. As a matter of fact, I’m begging you to come.
I plan on making a new start, but it won’t feel fresh without you. You’ve been on my mind constantly, Kandy. I haven’t been able to sleep because all I can remember is your blood on my hands, stained in my clothes, and even my bedroom floor. All I can think about is how bad I feel, and how you didn’t deserve what she did to you. I should have been the one to get hurt that day, not you. You did nothing wrong, and all of this happened because Karma knew what made me vulnerable, and you are it.
I know you are hurting. I know you are scared. I know I’ve fucked up your trust way too many times, and God knows I don’t deserve you, but if you come with me, things will be different. It’s selfish of me to even bother asking, but if there is a sliver of trust inside of you for me, I want you to dwell on it, and I want you to really think about the option of coming.
Tomorrow, Lora will be leaving and meeting me in Charlotte. She’s scheduled to leave at ten in the morning. If you feel in your heart that you can still be with me, then call her before that time and have her pick you up, or text her and ask for the address if you want to leave sooner. If you have already made up your mind and think it’s best to move on, then I understand that, too, and I will let you move on. I won’t push or budge. I’ll let you live a normal life—one without all of my fucked-up flaws and past mistakes, and sins coming to bite me in the ass, but I’m begging you right now to please, please think about it.
Whatever you decide, just know that I love you so much, and I would have regretted not letting you know that I am still here for you.
You are my girl. My world. My sweet, sweet Kandy. You mean everything to me, and there is nothing that will ever be able to change that. If walking away is what makes you happiest though, I get it—and I will respect your decision. Just know that I will never love another woman as much as I love you.
If I see you again soon, I’ll hug and kiss the hell out of you until you can’t stand it anymore, but if I don’t…maybe I’ll see you again some other day.
You have my heart,
Cane
I dropped the letter in my lap, sniffling hard. I swiped the back of my arm over my face, and then looked at the back of the second paper. Sure enough, Lora’s address was written there. There was something else inside the envelope, too. It was another address, this one for Charlotte. I assumed this was his new one.
A car door shut and I looked up, spotting Dad in the driveway, climbing out of his work truck. I stuffed the letter back into the envelope and then folded it, tucking it into the pocket of my hoodie.
“Hey, baby girl!” Dad bellowed. “You’re outside! That’s a first.” He came toward me, dropping a kiss on top of my head.
“Yeah.” I forced a smile. “Needed some fresh air.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” He looked toward the door. “Where’s your mom?”
“Inside. I think she’s getting dinner ready.”
“Good.” He rubbed his belly. “Starving.” He rubbed the top of my head, like he used to do when I was younger, then walked to the door. He smiled back at me once before going inside and shutting the door behind him. I stayed in the chair, watching cars drive through the neighborhood. After a while, I read over the letter again. And again. And another time. I read his letter a total of eight times, absorbing his words. His anguish. His guilt and regrets. The drunken script and how he stretched some of his r’s and e’s.
Before I knew it, dinner was ready, and I ate. I smiled at Dad’s corny work stories, and even shared dessert with Mom, who was surprised by all of it. She looked at me suspiciously, but it wouldn’t have been like her not to wonder what was going on. She knew when something was up with me, so when I went up to my room, and she came in several minutes later, I prepared myself for her questions.
“What did Lora stop by for?” she asked, sitting beside me.
I refused to lie to her. “She gave me a letter from Cane.”
“Oh?” She blinked twice. “What did it say?”
“Just…stuff. How he misses me. Also that he’s leaving tomorrow to move to Charlotte.”
“Oh.”
I looked down. She did the thing I did, running her thumbnail over her cuticle. “Are you thinking about going with him again?”
Sighing, I said, “I don’t know, honestly. Even if I wanted to, I’m too afraid.”
She laughed softly.
“What?” I asked, looking at her.
“Nothing—nothing. It’s just…well, that sounds familiar.”
“Familiar how?”
“Well, your father asked me to move here, to his hometown, right after I graduated. It was so sudden, and I had just finished law school, so of course I didn’t have a good job. Your Nana insisted that I shouldn’t do it, but of course I didn’t listen. Still, I was terrified. I mean, we were dead broke, and when we moved here, your dad had to work at this crappy restaurant at first, just to pay the bills. He was still in training to become a cop. We stayed in this horrible box-looking apartment on the other side of town. It was just awful.” She looked up, eyes shimmering. “But we were happy, and no one could tell us otherwise. We had each other, and to me that’s all that mattered. Not the piled up bills. Not what my mother was telling me. Just us, and eventually we proved everyone wrong.”
“That’s good.” I focused on my lap. “Cane mentioned in the letter that he called you.”
“He did. I updated him about your recovery, told him you’d been waking up in the middle of the night because of nightmares.”
“Did you tell him about what the doctor said?”
“No,” she responded quickly.
“Good.” I swallowed thickly. “I’d rather tell him myself…when I’m ready.”
She pressed her lips together and bobbed her head. She then leaned in to kiss my temple before wrapping an arm around me and holding me. “Think wisely, Kandy. I don’t want what happened last time to happen to you again.”
“I know,” I murmured, and honestly, it really wasn’t Mom I was worried about. It was Dad.
Last time I left, he refused to accept it. After what had happened, I was convinced that he was never, ever going to accept me leaving to be with Cane again, no matter how much I loved him and he loved me. I had to think wisely about this one. I loved Cane so, so much, but was he the right choice for me? Did I want to make the same mistake twice? What if the outcome was worse than last time?
I held my mother for a while, and when Dad called for her, I finally let go. She kissed my forehead before leaving, and when I heard her going down the stairs, I pulled the letter out again, reading it over and over.
I fell asleep with it clutched to my chest, and when I woke up at 4:00 a.m., my decision had been made.
Chapter Ten
CANE
I’d been eager all day, hoping that I’d receive a text from Lora saying she was on the way with Kandy, but knowing Lora, she wouldn’t have told me upfront. She liked having a surprise to throw at me, something to catch me off guard. It was well past ten, and I still hadn’t heard from her.
I sat in my new office on a teleconferen
ce, hardly listening to Mr. Tribble go on about how he wanted Tempt to sponsor one of Charlotte’s local events. I kept eyeing my cell phone while his dull voice droned in the background.
“I’m sorry, Tribble. Can I call you back tomorrow? I have an important call to make right now.”
“Oh, uh—yeah, sure, Mr. Cane. I’ll be looking forward to the call.”
I hung up and then snatched up my cell. One of the perks of my new office was that there was a door that led out to the rooftop. The roof wasn’t furnished yet. There was only a lounge chair out, one Cora had insisted I get since she knew I’d take the majority of my calls out there. From the roof, I could see most of the city. Cars whizzed by, and the people looked like bugs scattering about. Charlotte was a beautiful city and was growing by the year.
I dialed Lora, but of course she didn’t answer.
“Fuck,” I grumbled. I wasn’t in the mood for her games. I needed to know if Kandy was with her or not. I tried again, still no answer. Eventually, I was left with no choice but to go back to work, but I hardly got shit done. I was too damn distracted, so I decided to leave.
“Going home to work,” I grumbled to Cora on my way out of the office.
“Do you want me to reschedule the call with Mr. Val?” she asked.
“Please,” I responded, pushing the button for the elevator. I waited for it to come up, but noticed Cora was still looking at me. “Something on your mind, Mao?”
“Actually, yes.” Cora stood from her chair and sighed, fiddling with the pen in her hand. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you this, but I received a call yesterday morning.”
“From who?”
“A Mrs. Hugo. She said she was Kelly Hugo’s mother.”
That made me frown. “Her mother?” The elevator chimed but I ignored it, walking toward my assistant. “What did she want?”
Loving Mr. Cane: Cane Series #3 Page 6