"Silly hair." Kadey echoed Sky's words and then yawned and dropped her head onto Sky's shoulder. "I'm tired, Momma."
Sky pressed her lips to Kadey's forehead. "I know baby. We can take a nap."
"After Dora." Kadey yawned and nestled closer to Sky.
"Sure honey, after Dora." Kadey would most likely be asleep before the program even started. Sky sniffed away the lingering effects of her sobs.
"Is it dusty?"
"It sure is." It had been "dusty" since her cousin called and told her that he'd struck out on the CODIS match. That had been her last hope. Ever since it had been so… damn… dusty.
Sky juggled Kadey and her purse to insert the key into her deadbolt. It was a familiar dance. She hip-checked the door sending the stubborn, solid oak slab inward.
"Dora?" Kadey whispered as Sky laid her down on the couch.
"Sure." She grabbed the remote and turned on the television. There was no need to change the channel; it was always on the one that played Kadey's favorites. Sky grabbed a chenille throw off the back of the couch and draped it over Kadey. "I'm going to go get us a snack."
"I'm not hungry." Kadey's eyes tracked the little cartoon girl on the television.
"Five bites?"
"Two." Kadey smiled up at her mom.
The negotiation tactic was new, but she'd go with it. "Four and I'll let you take a bath in the big bathtub."
"With bubbles?"
"Yup."
"Okay, four."
Sky would tempt Kadey to eat more than four bites with some cinnamon granola and yogurt, her favorite. She bent over and kissed Kadey again before she headed into the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder checking one last time before she turned the corner to the kitchen. The house was old and didn't have an open floor plan. She'd love to be able to keep a constant eye on Kadey, but she'd learned to adapt.
Sky turned the light on in the kitchen. "Oh God!" She grabbed her chest and fell back against the corner of the door. Kaeden Lang leaned against the counter in her kitchen. He'd changed. He was broader and heavier, but still very much the man she thought she'd loved.
"I understand you need me?"
Sky quickly glanced over her shoulder making sure the shocked gasp she'd let out hadn't startled Kadey. Turning her eyes back to the man in her kitchen, she narrowed them and held his steady gaze as she tried to breathe. She stared at the man, mute, as her mind raced to formulate some type of response, instead of launching into a thousand questions.
"Sky?"
She shook her head slowly. With pinpoint, laser focus, she aimed all the helpless anger and desperation she'd accumulated over five years at Kaeden.If that was his name. "Do I need you? Me…" She jabbed her forefinger at the middle of her chest. "…need you? No, Ineeded you five years ago. I needed you when I spent twenty-seven hours in labor delivering your daughter and going through an emergency C-section. I needed you when I was a single mother with postpartum depression. I needed you when my mom died of cancer. I needed you every time I woke up alone in that fucking hotel in Davis." Sky stopped and drew a deep breath before she continued, "I no longer need you, Kaeden, but your baby girl? She needs you." Sky whisper-hissed the words.
"Why didn't you tell me about her?"
His question floored her. "Why didn't I… What? Would knowing you'd fathered a child have made you suddenly appear in our lives? I'm many things when it comes to you, Kaeden, but stupid isn't one of them. You would never have stayed." She glared at him, daring him to deny the truth.
"I'm here now." Kaeden crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes held hers without flinching from the rage that gripped her.
Sky grabbed at the first full thought that flashed through her brain. "How did you know I was looking for you?"
"My people reached out to me." He shrugged as if it was nothing.
"Your people?" Sky's head popped back. What the! "You have people?
"Yes."
Kaeden's facial features didn't change, not one iota, and the statue impersonation pissed her off even more. Sky almost hated him at that moment, and still, her traitorous body found everything about the stoic man sexy as hell. No! That was not happening again! Ever. Sky shook, trying to discipline her wayward thoughts and with a feral determination pointed the conversation back to him. "You're going to have to be a little more forthcoming than that. Are you in a flipping gang or the mother-trucking mafia? And for goodness sake, could you please tell me your real name?"
A small chuff of laughter floated across the room toward her. "Flipping? Mother Trucking?" A crack in his steel façade, finally. The sexy bastard.
"I have a daughter who is a parrot. Don't you change the freaking subject! Who the heck are you?" She wasn't letting him off so easily.
The man before her shrugged. "You know who I am. I don't belong to a gang, and I'm not in the Mafia. I'm… I work overseas for… a security agency."
She heard Kadey cough, and as much as she wanted answers, Sky's attention whipped to her daughter in the front room. She glanced over her shoulder before she glared at him and pointed her finger at his chest. "I never knew you, don't pretend like I did. Stay right there. Don't you dare disappear. Again." She tiptoed out of the kitchen and down the short hall to the living room to check on Kadey.
"How sick is she?"
Kaeden's whisper came from right behind her. She jumped and spun around almost clipping him with her shoulder. Sky stepped away from him and pulled her hands through her hair. Kadey was sound asleep on the couch. She looked down at her baby and the surge of love she always felt cascaded through her once again. "She needs an operation to fix a valve in her heart. The doctors are guarded when they talk about time. She could stay like this for months, but then again, her valve's ability function could be compromised at any time." Sky put her hand on her neck and rubbed the tension that built there. "According to them, the operation is relatively simple. She also has a small ASD… a defect in her heart that the surgeons will repair when they operate. If they can operate. Her blood is rare."
Kaeden walked over to the couch and crouched down beside it. His eyes traveled over Kadey. "She's Rh-null."
Sky shook like a leaf in a windstorm. She reached out and put her hand on his strong shoulder as she whispered, "Yes, that's right. For the love of God, please tell me you are, too." Standing unassisted right now wasn't an option.
He reached up and covered her hand with his. The warmth of his rough hand spread through her immediately. "I am."
"Will you donate blood before you leave so she can have her operation?" Sky closed her eyes and prayed that the man she once thought of spending her life with would agree.
"No." Sky clutched her gut as if he'd hit her.
Kaeden stood up and turned around to face her. "I'll donate blood, and I'll stay until we know for sure she'll be alright. Our blood is extremely rare, and I won't risk leaving in case she needs more."
Sky gazed up at him. A new scar ran from his ear down to his chin. Other than that, Kaeden looked almost same as he had the last time she'd seen him-a little over two years ago. Except he wasn't. This wasn't the version of the man she'd meet years ago in Fresno, and it wasn't the version of the man she spent stolen nights with, he was… different, colder… more distant. The last two years had been hard on him. She shook her head, still in disbelief at his words, "You'll stay?"
Kaeden turned his head toward her and elevated a single eyebrow. "I'll stay until she's received what she needs." Sky trembled, the impact of his words, that he was here in her home ready to save her daughter's life meant everything. Kaeden had come back, and he'd agreed to help. "Thank you." She couldn't help the tears that fell. Kadey would have the surgery. She'd have a chance at a normal life. For the last four months, she hadn't allowed herself to hope. A sense of relief flooded through her and Sky leaned into him only because she couldn't stand on h
er own. Her eyes closed as his arms slowly wrapped around her. She said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for sending this man back into their lives, if only to donate his life-saving blood.
A knock sounded at the front door, and Kaeden no longer held her. In the time it took her to open her eyes, he was plastered against the wall and peeking out the blinds toward the front door. Sky ran her hands up and down her suddenly chilled arms. This man-this distant version of Kaeden-scared her. A second knock followed the first, and Sky made two steps toward the door before Kaeden stopped her with a hand on her arm. Nothing violent or harsh, but enough to still her immediately.
"Do you know a man who drives a silver Prius?" Kaeden's muscles were tight and bunched.
Sky nodded. "Trey Cross, he's… we've dated." She didn't want to admit that to Kaeden.
A third knock, this one much louder and more insistent, followed the first two. Sky peeked at Kadey who tossed in her sleep. "I need to answer the door before he wakes up Kadey."
Kaeden relaxed his hold before he whispered, "I'll leave through the back. I'll be back tonight. Don't mention my being here to anyone." He glanced at Kadey. Was he suggesting if she told someone he was here, he wouldn't help Kadey?
"Don't you dare threaten to leave us again, Kaeden, not when she needs you." Sky grasped his forearm and felt the taut, roped cords of his muscles under her hand.
He lowered his arm breaking the contact. "I'll be back tonight. Don't mention to your lover that I was here."
Another knock, followed by Trey's voice calling her name snapped her head toward the door. She looked back at where Kaeden had been and scanned only an empty room.
"Momma? Someone is at the door." Kadey sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Yes, baby. I'll get it." Sky covered the distance and opened the door.
"What took you so long to answer the door and why the hell didn't you answer my text?" Trey's grey-blue eyes darted immediately past her into the front room.
"Please mind your language. I haven't looked at my phone, and I was in the kitchen. I was going to get Kadey a snack." Sky moved out of the way and let him in.
"Hey, kid." Trey acknowledged Kadey.
Kadey pushed her curls out of her face. "My name's Ka-dey." She gave Trey a disapproving look before she turned her stare toward the television and her beloved Dora.
"Right. Whatever." Trey followed Sky into the kitchen and mussed Kadey's curls, flopping them back into her face as he passed.
"Where have you been?" Trey pulled her into his arms, and Sky couldn't help noticing the difference in the how she felt in Trey's embrace versus the way she'd felt when Kaeden had held her. Trey put her on edge, made her tense, while in Kaeden's, she felt protected and safe. Sky moved out of Trey's grasp and looked around the kitchen. "I need to finish getting Kadey a snack." She used the excuse to create distance from him. She headed toward the cupboard that held the granola and pushed up on her toes to fish it out.
"Have you heard anything else on bio dad's whereabouts?" Trey hopped up onto the counter next to her and grabbed an apple out of the bowl. His messy dishwater blond hair fell into his eyes.
Sky shook her head. "No, I haven't heard a thing." Not necessarily a lie, she knew where he was, or at least she knew he was near. She pulled open the fridge and took out the yogurt.
"You've checked with all the police agencies the D.A. works with?" Trey took a huge bite of the apple as Sky portioned some vanilla yogurt into a small plastic bowl.
"Yes. That's why I was suspended, remember?" She closed the lid on the container and put it back in the refrigerator.
"Your fault for getting caught. And the blood thing didn't work?"
"You know it didn't." Sky dropped the serving spoon into the sink and braced herself on the countertop. How had Kaeden known she was looking for him? What had she done that had caught his 'peoples' attention? The IRS check? The California Law Enforcement Terminal entries that the Sacramento Police Department had performed? What security agency did he work with? She needed to ask him when he came back. Because he was coming back. He had to.
Trey put his hand on her waist, and she jumped. "Hey, settle down. You're strung tight aren't you?"
"Yeah, well, dang it, I've earned that right." Sky snapped at him.
"Woah, now. Don't take your shit out on me." Trey pulled his hand from her and took a step back. "I can leave, it's not like I don't have options."
Sky drew in a deep breath, she shouldn't have snapped at him. "I'm sorry, I'm just exhausted."
"Right. I can tell by the ton of luggage under your eyes. I'll spend the night, and you can get some sleep without worrying about getting up to check on the kid."
Sky blinked at the suggestion. Trey had never spent the night. That wasn't what they'd agreed upon. It was the only rule Sky had ever made or enforced. "Stay?" She parroted the word back and gawked at him.
"Yeah, I mean I can keep an ear open for the kid. You can get some sleep, so you don't look like you're fifty years old. Don't worry, I'm not going to jump you in front of your little princess." Trey sat the half-eaten apple on the counter. "Not like we've been able to do that lately anyway."
He pulled her into his arms, but she held herself away from him. The dig about not having had sex was true. They hadn't slept together in about six months-but it was a cold, cutting comment. Sky's entire world was imploding, and he was taking shots at her for not putting out? He'd finally crossed a line she wouldn't ignore. He didn't care about Kadey's condition, Trey wanted her rested so she'd put out. Sky stepped back breaking his hold. "I think it would be best if you left. Now."
"What?" A shocked look crossed his face, but it was replaced by anger within seconds.
"I'm not going to be in the mood to 'do that' with you for one heck of a long time." Sky used her fingers to quote his words. "My primary concern is my daughter. I won't allow you to spend the night. That would lead to Kadey asking questions I don't need right now."
"Why not? How much longer are you going to pretend that you don't have a life outside of that kid? She's young. Tell her we're friends and that sometimes grownups spend the night."
"Ahhh… no, when and if I have that conversation with my daughter it will be about a serious relationship." Sky grabbed the granola to sprinkle it on top of the yogurt.
Trey snatched her arm and turned her. His grip bit into her arm and the granola in her hand flew onto the floor. "Serious relationship? As if the last two years of putting up with your drama hasn't proven I'm serious?"
Sky broke free of his hold and went to the corner to grab her broom and dustpan. His reference to her drama wasn't new. He hated dealing with any of the emotional wreckage Kadey's diagnosis and Sky's subsequent actions had caused. She talked to the floor as she swept, instead of meeting his eyes, "The fact that you don't understand why I don't want to deal with this now is another problem, Trey. Look, right now, I'm not capable of giving anything to anyone other than Kadey, and you should see that. My child is the only thing I can focus on. If that makes you mad, well, then… I'm sorry, but I just don't have the capacity to do anything except take care of my baby. I can't take care of you, too." She swept the crumbs into the dustpan. As she straightened, she glanced at Trey. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. Sky shrunk in on herself. It wasn't the first time she'd angered Trey, but it was the first time she wondered if he'd strike her. She paused with the dustpan in her hand, hovering over the trash can.
"Ungrateful bitch." Trey spun on his heel and stomped down the small hallway.
Was she? Had she led Trey on? No. Her shoulders bunched up when the front door slammed. Sky drew a shaky breath in and released it. "Way to mess that up."
"What did ya' mess up?" Kadey asked as she came into the kitchen.
"Ahhh… I messed up your granola. I spilled some." Sky dumped the granola from the dustpan into the trash can and p
ut the broom and dustpan away.
"Why is Trey mad again?"
"You know, baby, I'm not sure." Other than wanting sex and not getting any, oh, and her standing up for herself.
"Oh well, we can't cry over spilled milk, right, Momma?" Kadey moved her step stool to the counter where her snack waited.
Sky smiled at her little girl. She had no idea why Kadey picked that saying, but she'd go with it. "That's right, honey. Let me wash my hands, and I'll get you some more granola for your yogurt."
"Then a bubble bath in the big tub!" A huge smile radiated from Kadey's face.
"You bet. Yogurt, a tubble of bubble and then we can read books until bedtime."
"Tubble of bubble! Get clean, no trouble!" Kadey repeated the nonsensical saying they'd made up.
"No trouble," Sky repeated as she handed Kadey a spoon. If only.
Chapter Three
"Jewell King." The voice on the other end of the phone was familiar, yet it wasn't the person with whom Ani wanted to speak.
"Zane Reynolds, please." Ani glanced up as Trey Cross stormed out of Sky's house. The way the door reverberated on its hinges pissed him off. There was no way his daughter was still asleep now-not that Anubis needed another reason to hate the man.
"Zane is in a meeting, what can I do for you?" The chirpy professional tone told him that Jewell hadn't recognized his voice yet.
"I'm not sure. I'm used to doing things… in the dark." Ani smiled as the typing sounds in the background stilled.
"Well, hello my old friend." Jewell's voice softened as if she actually believed that Anubis was her friend.
"It has been awhile." He watched the Prius reverse and hightail it out of the neighborhood about as fast as a preschooler on a scooter, because… Prius.
"I told myself if I ever spoke to you again, I'd thank you for everything you did for Zane and me. So… thank you. If you ever need anything, just name it."
Anubis (Guardian Security Shadow World Book 1) Page 3