The Cane Series: Complete 4-Book Box Set

by Williams, Shanora

  I exhaled. “It’s…a long story.”

  “I’ve got nothing but time, brother.” He sat back, still looking at me. “I thought she was a pretty cool girl. She was patient with you. Seemed like you guys had fun at the beach. What happened between then and now?”

  I shrugged. “Apparently spending five days with me made her realize that we may not be a good fit for each other. She said I’m too distant because I don’t want to open up to her about my past.” I swallowed before speaking again. “She also thinks I’m hiding something from her…but I can’t let her know too much about my past, D. There’s—there’s too much. You know all about the shit I went through. I just don’t like reliving it. I feel like she knows enough.”

  “Well, if you love her, you’ll have to tell her one day. Just like you told me to tell Mindy about my situation with the shooting, you have to tell Kelly yours, no matter how hard it might be to relive. You can’t keep that shit from her forever.”

  I shook my head. “That’s the thing. I don’t really love her. Like? Yeah. But I don’t love her. Not like that. I wasn’t head over heels for Kelly like she was for me, and she sensed that, but she stuck around anyway.”

  “Well, if you feel that way, why string her along? Why bring her to the beach and share a room with her for almost a week?”

  “She begged to go, Derek. It’s not like I asked her to. She insisted—said it would be good for us, and a way for us to really get to know each other. Well, she got to know me, and I guess she didn’t like what she got.”

  He sighed with a smile. “You’re a complicated man, Cane. Even I know that. You’re already difficult as a friend. I can’t imagine having to be in her shoes and trying to understand you as a lover.”

  I shrugged. I wasn’t about to tell him the real reason why she didn’t want to deal with me anymore. What I told him was only part of it.

  Our server arrived, and we both ordered hot turkey sandwiches and french fries. Derek’s phone chimed and he pulled it out to check. When he did, he sighed agitatedly.

  “What’s up?”

  He tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Mindy,” he mumbled. “Wants me to pick up dinner tonight since she’ll be working late.”

  “Oh.”

  “She’s been working late all week, trying to catch up after our vacation. Get this, I went to visit her at the office to bring her some coffee and donuts yesterday, and I saw this guy in her fucking office.”

  I narrowed my brows. “Who was he?”

  “Her fucking boss. He’s laughing with her and shit, giving her compliments about her work and leaning all over her fucking desk. It annoyed the hell out of me, so when she got home, I told her I didn’t like the way her boss was all in her face. She insisted that it was harmless, but fuck that. I know men, and I also know Mindy. She’s too damn nice sometimes and always wants everyone to be satisfied, especially about her work.”

  I laughed. “I highly doubt she wants anything from him, man. Maybe another promotion, but you know her. She loves you too much.”

  “I know, I know. I just didn’t like the way he was acting around her. Something about him irked me. And then he sized me up when I kissed her, like I couldn’t see him through the corner of my eye. He wants her, but if he lays a finger on her, I’ll arrest his ass for assault and break his arm while doing it.” He rubbed his forehead. “We got into a heated debate about it last night. She went to work upset this morning. I’ll have to make up for it somehow.”

  I chuckled. “Picking dinner up will be a start.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Kinda glad we’ll have some time alone soon. We haven’t had time to ourselves in months. Our anniversary is coming up in a few weeks. Going to Paris for the first time.”

  “That’s good for you guys and a great getaway. You’ll love it there, D. There’s a completely different vibe in that city. And it’s so diverse. That’s what I love most about it.”

  “Yeah. I hear a lot of great things about it.” He finished off his sandwich and then took a few gulps of coffee. As he chewed and swallowed, the walkie-talkie on his shoulder crackled and a voice came through. It was low enough for only the two of us to hear.

  He grabbed the walkie and pressed a button, responding to the call, then said, “Ahh, I gotta go. Some break-in downtown.” He slid out of the booth and dusted himself off before standing up straight. “Oh, uh, before I take off, I wanted to ask if Kandy could use your pool this summer? She’s been dying to take a swim since we got back from the beach. Claims she misses the pool and has been nagging that we need to have one built. She talks about it every damn day, and it’s driving me crazy. That girl is not going to be happy until my pockets are inside out , I swear.” I laughed when he did, but the mere mention of her name stirred my stomach, making it feel too small for the sandwich I’d just eaten.

  I played it cool. “You know you guys are always welcome, D. Tell her she can drop by anytime and to grab a key from security at the gate. I’ll add her to the entry list today.”

  “Cool, cool.” He looked me over twice, and for a moment I wondered if he could sense that I was hiding something. “You’re a great friend, man. You know that?” Relief. “Ever since I met you, we instantly connected. You remember that? The click was impossible to miss. Not sure what the hell I would do without you, Cane.”

  He clapped my shoulder, and I gave him a slight smile before he took off. Though I was glad he hadn’t sensed my deception and lies, his words still slayed me.

  Derek trusted me. Deep down to his core, I knew if anything were to ever happen to him, he would want me to take on the role of being Kandy’s father figure. He’d said it once, a long, long time ago.

  Taking on that role could never happen now. He’d have to find another candidate—a man who didn’t want to bend his daughter over and fuck her senseless.

  28

  KANDY

  “I’m so glad Mr. Cane is letting us use his pool!” Frankie was excited, but I think I beat that excitement by a million.

  I had begged Dad over and over again to get in touch with Cane to see if he’d let us swim in his pool. I mean, Cane had bragged about it over dinners at the beach so much that I wanted to experience myself. He wasn’t lying about the built in waterfall. It was beautiful.

  I knew if I had asked, Cane would have made an excuse, just so he wouldn’t have to be around me without them, but if Dad asked, he wouldn’t say no. Sure enough, it worked.

  Frankie picked me up from my house the morning after Dad told me, and drove us to his place first thing.

  “I’m glad too. You still volunteering at the camp this weekend?” I asked, rubbing sunscreen on my thighs.

  “Yeah. It’s like a big brother thing. The kids are all in foster care, and I kind of know how it is to feel abandoned, you know? It’ll be great to connect with them and let them know there’s hope.”

  “Aw, Frank. I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said!”

  “Yeah, maybe it is. But if you ever tell anyone about it I’ll cut you in half.”

  I laughed, placing the bottle of sunscreen down and turning over to lay on my belly. I placed one hand on top of the other, then rested my chin on top of my hands.

  “Are you and Mr. Cane still messing around?”

  “Meh. Not really. Not since the beach. He also hasn’t really been coming around much. Haven’t heard much of Kelly either. I saw them arguing the night we got back from Destin. I think she was mad at him about something.”

  “They probably broke up. Don’t get me wrong—Kelly is so pretty, but she is not a good match for him.”

  “That’s what I said!”

  “She’s way too nice for him, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s not that interested in her. Maybe he was in the beginning, but now it kind of seems like he’s just with her so other people won’t assume he’s gay.”

  “Oh my gosh, Frank. Shut up,” I laughed. “Trust me, he’s far from gay.”

  “After the way I sa
w his tongue going down your throat, yeah, I’d bet a million bucks that he isn’t.”

  My friend was a straight-up goof.

  We sunbathed and swam for about two hours before leaving. There was no sign of Cane.

  The next day, after doing some dorm room shopping with Mom, I figured another swim wouldn’t hurt, so I had her drop me off after we unloaded the car. She didn’t think anything of it. She also had to go into work for a meeting and was running late, so I told her I’d be okay waiting until she could pick me up again.

  I loved his pool. It was never too cold or too warm. The temperature was soothing, and I spent the day floating in the water, basking in the sun. The sun had drained me by the time I was ready to get out, so I started to collect my things, but when I stood up, someone was standing in front of the glass door.

  Cane.

  He stood there with his hands in his pockets, and it seemed he’d been standing there for a quite some time.

  I waved, and he took a hand out of his pocket to wave back. I slid my bag over my shoulder and walked to the door. He opened it for me, and ushered me inside the cool house.

  “Had a good swim?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “It was just what I needed.”

  “Didn’t get enough in Destin, huh?”

  “Not by a long shot. If I could live there, I would. I loved that beach.”

  He smirked and took a step back. “Well, if you want to shower, I have a guest bathroom with everything in it. I’m assuming you’re hungry after being out there all day?”

  “Ugh. Yeah, I’m starving.”

  “Good. I ordered some Chinese.” He shrugged. “I feel like being a pig tonight. Go shower. Food should be here by the time you’re done.”

  I nodded, walking past him to get to the stairs. I looked over my shoulder, but he wasn’t watching like I’d expected him to be. Instead, he had turned and was making his way to the kitchen.

  * * *

  I don’t know why I was expecting dinner to be at his fancy dinner table in the dining room. Instead, Cane had taken out two folding trays, placed them in front of the couch in one of the dens, and then set his plate down on top of one of the trays, along with a glass of what I assumed was scotch.

  He was acting weird today, but I said nothing of it. Instead, I topped my plate with lo mein and chicken fried rice, grabbed two fortune cookies, and joined him in the den.

  He had the TV on and was watching a sports channel. This was definitely unlike him. The only time I saw Cane watch TV was if he was visiting my dad, who loved TV. He’d even told me once that he was too busy to sit around and watch a lot of shows, though he did try to catch a few games here and there if my dad told him it was a big one.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked. I couldn’t help remembering this was the den where everything between us started. Maybe he was thinking about that.

  “Yeah. I’m good.” He took a bite of his food.

  “What makes you want to watch TV?”

  He shrugged and placed his fork down, replacing it with his water. “I don’t know. Had a shitty day. One of my deals didn’t go through, and I can only blame myself. My head wasn’t in the game.” He huffed. “I just wanted to come home and forget about work for a while. Feel a little more human, and not so driven. You know?”

  I bobbed my head. “I get it.” I was quiet for a second, using the prongs of my fork to shift my food around. “Why wasn’t your head in the game?”

  “Just a lot of shit with my mom. Some stuff about Kelly, too.” He said his last sentence softer than the first. But to me, it rang the loudest.

  “What happened with Kelly? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

  He looked at me through the corner of his eye before focusing on the TV again. “We aren’t talking anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged for, like, the tenth time that night. Cane really sucked at pretending to be careless. “She got to know the real me in Destin, I guess.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked through a small laugh.

  He took a brief pause, squeezing the bridge of his nose and shutting his eyes. He swallowed hard after several seconds and then continued. “It started when we were at the beach. I’d had a little too much to drink and so did she.” He sighed. “We were in our room there. You guys were downstairs with music on, playing UNO. She was kissing me, trying to get me in the mood, but I was so damn drunk—” He stopped talking abruptly, staring me in the eyes. “I called her by your name, Kandy.”

  When he said that, my heart sped up a notch. I wasn’t expecting that at all. “W-What?”

  “Yeah.” A small smirk swept over his sculpted lips as he focused on the amber liquid in his glass. His eyes then flashed up to mine, and he took a long swallow before pulling his gaze away. “That’s how I know you’re fucking with my head, Bits.”

  What was I supposed to say to that? Oh, I apologize that the woman who was in the way of us, left you? If that was the case, I wasn’t sorry. Though I liked Kelly now, I was glad she was out of the picture—happier than I should have been about it, honestly. I was selfish with Cane. So very, very selfish, and he knew that. We both did.

  “She was drunk enough that she didn’t remember the name I’d called her the next day. I think all she remembers is that it was another woman’s…which is a good thing.”

  “A very good thing.” If Kelly would have heard him say my name, I was certain she would have gotten suspicious and figured things out. She had developed a bond with my mom, so I knew she would tell her first thing.

  Kelly was a Goody-Two-shoes kind of woman. Mom was all about justice. They liked honesty, which made them the perfect duo. Two good, honest, kind-hearted women.

  “Well, if I can be honest for a second, I’m glad you two split up.”

  His smile was faint. “Of course you are, Bits.” He drew in a breath. “Shit like this usually doesn’t bother me, but I guess since she’d been around for so long that it feels weird when she doesn’t call, text, or visit.”

  “Yeah, I guess I can understand that.” It sucked to hear, but I was glad he was telling me.

  He placed a hand on my knee. “But I have you. I’ll always have you, right?”

  “Aren’t you usually trying to get rid of me?” I laughed.

  He ignored my joke. “I mean it, Bits. If all else fails, I know you’ll be there. It feels good to know there are people out here who care about me.” He held my gaze, and I felt a swirl in the pit of my belly. A clench between my thighs. He had no idea how badly I wanted to climb on top of him and kiss him, show him how much I really cared about him.

  I more than cared about Cane. I was in fucking love with the crazy man, and he was too blinded by lust and confusion to realize it.

  A knock sounded at the door, and I gasped while Cane jerked back. I had been leaning into him, ready to press my lips to his. I believe he was about to give in and let me. He stood from the sofa and glanced back at me once before stepping around the corner and going for the door.

  “Hi, Cane! I didn’t realize you’d be home so early!” It was Mom.

  I straightened up and busied myself with my food.

  They stepped around the corner and into the den. Mom smiled at me. “Did you get enough sun? You’re going to be burnt to a crisp if you keep it up,” she joked.

  Cane chuckled.

  I forced a laugh to keep the mood light.

  “Yeah, we can go. Let me just take my plate to the kitchen.”

  “Oh, Kandy. Don’t worry about that. I got it.” Cane took a step forward and grabbed my plate. “I’m sure your mother is tired. Maybe you should drive her home.”

  “Yeah, maybe you should,” she agreed. “I’m tired of being your chauffeur.”

  “Then get me a car.” I stuck my tongue out at her.

  She laughed, but nothing more. I was still waiting on the day they’d give me a car. Mom and Dad had well-paying jobs, Mom in particular, but I was still carless at e
ighteen. It didn’t make any sense to me why they weren’t spoiling me with a Maserati or a Tesla. Okay…that was a bit much, but still.

  I grabbed my bag and met up with Mom, who wrapped her arm around my shoulders and walked with me to the door. Cane followed us out, and when we got into the car, he told us goodnight.

  His eyes lingered on mine more than they should have. He backed away and stood on the cement walkway that led to his front door, while I pulled out of the driveway and away from the house. I glanced at him one more time before pulling off.

  “Cane is so good to us,” Mom exhaled. “Letting you use his pool and feeding you. He’s a busy man, and I’m sure he just wants to come to a quiet home and escape the madness. Have you thanked him for letting you use the pool and for being in his home while he’s away?”

  No, in fact, I hadn’t thanked him. But I would eventually. I lied anyway, just so she wouldn’t scold me. “Of course I thanked him. He is a nice person.”

  “Yes, he is. You know, your dad has had a lot of weird, dumb, selfish friends, but Cane is none of those things. He’s probably the only friend of your dad’s that I actually approve of and like being around. He’s very supportive and uplifting of everyone and always gives me a good vibe when he’s around. There’s never any negativity from Cane. He’s also great with your Dad when it comes to that crazy temper of his.”

  Great, Mom. Just great. Keep making me feel like shit for wanting him.

  She sighed. “To be honest, I still wonder why he sticks around so much. We don’t have much to offer him, other than our friendship. During the times he visits for dinners, he could be eating in a fancy restaurant or going on a date. I don’t know.” She shrugged and let out a short breath. “I guess it’s just nice to know his time spent with us is real and genuine. You know?”

  “Okay, Mom. You should probably stop. You’re being super sentimental right now.”

  Her laughter was a soft chime, filling the car. “God, I know, baby. I know. It’s just…me and your dad’s anniversary is coming up, and you’ll be in college soon. It’s all happening so fast, you know?”