by Jae
"Oh, like you even noticed!" Doug shouted back. "You were too busy being paraded around as Daddy's little darling, the bright star of Harvard Law!"
Kade bit back an angry retort. Her own life hadn't been as easy as Doug made it sound, but she wasn't here to discuss that. "I noticed," she said. "I just never did anything about it. Don't make the same mistake with Laurie."
"It's not the same," Doug protested, a little calmer now.
"You have a healthy, beautiful, intelligent daughter. She has good manners, a kind personality, and good grades, but still you're not happy with her because you don't agree with her life choices. Because she's not like you or how you want her to be." Kade stopped to let her words sink in. "Now tell me that doesn't sound exactly like what our father did to you!"
Doug's chest was heaving. His jaw clenched, and for a moment, he looked as if he wanted to hit Kade, but then he whirled around and stormed from the room.
Kade stood staring after him.
"That was harsh," Eleanor whispered.
Kade slowly turned toward her. She had almost forgotten that her sister-in-law was even in the room. "It was the truth – and he needed to hear it." And so did you.
"Is Laurel okay?" Eleanor asked after a moment.
Two decades of living under her father's roof almost made Kade answer with a polite, socially accepted, "She's fine." She stopped herself from the automatic Matheson response, though. It had been an evening of hard truths for all of them, so she wouldn't start lying now. "She's pretty upset," she said. "Imagine how you would feel if the person you think is the love of your life breaks your heart and your parents abandon you."
Eleanor pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back her sobs. "Where is she? At your apartment?"
"No. Del took her out for ice cream." She hadn't wanted to leave Laurie alone right now, and Del had volunteered to keep her company until Kade returned.
"Del?" Eleanor blinked in confusion.
Kade only noticed how casually that name had dropped from her lips when she saw Eleanor's confused expression. Del had slowly become an important part of her life, so gradually she hadn't even noticed. "She's the lieutenant who came with me when I talked to Laurie yesterday."
"Oh." Eleanor nodded and seemed to accept that explanation without question. Then suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh! Is she your...?"
"My friend?" Kade knew it wasn't exactly the word Eleanor had been looking for, but she could play innocent with the best of them. If Eleanor wanted to know something, she would make her ask. She had no intention of giving away information on her private life or making it easy for her brother and his wife.
Eleanor traced the pattern on her teacup with her finger. "Yes... no. I mean... is she your... lover? Is that the right word to use?"
At least she's admitting her ignorance. "Maybe you should ask your daughter what expression she'd like you to use when you refer to Evan Whitfield. I suspect it's not any of the swear words Doug shouted across the house yesterday."
Eleanor sniffled. "This isn't easy for us."
"No one expects you to jump for joy because you found out your daughter is gay. Just don't make Laurie feel like she's doing something wrong, or she'll only hide it from you," Kade warned her, hoping she was reaching at least her sister-in-law if not her stubborn brother.
"Like you hid it from all of us?" Eleanor asked quietly.
That question from her quiet sister-in-law completely blindsided Kade. She hadn't expected it, and she wasn't ready to answer it. "I wasn't exactly hiding," she said slowly, trying not to squirm under Eleanor's interested gaze. "There never was anything to hide."
"I don't understand. You're not a lesbian or a... bisexual? But you said...?"
"I know what I said," Kade interrupted her nervous stammering. "Those labels have nothing to do with the reality of how I lived my life. I could love a woman, yes, but I never allowed myself to." She realized that she had hid from herself. She had shut herself off from a lot of options because she had only considered men proper dating material.
Eleanor bit her lip but didn't discuss the subject further. Not that Kade wanted her to. "Do you think Laurel could stay with you until tomorrow?" Eleanor asked, directing a pleading gaze at Kade. "I think her father needs a little time to calm down after what you said to him."
After hearing it phrased like that, Kade knew she couldn't say no. She had been the one to upset Doug, and now she would have to be the one to keep his daughter away from him until he had calmed down. Normally, that wouldn't have been much of a problem, but with the stalker probably still lurking around her apartment, she didn't want Laurie to stay there. "I'm not sure," she started.
"Please." Eleanor softly squeezed Kade's forearm.
Kade sighed. She would have to find a way. "All right. She can stay with me tonight."
* * *
Del met Kade at the door.
Kade's patrician features were even paler than normal, but the ice blue eyes were flashing with determination. Kade had been through a lot the last couple of days, and Del's admiration for her grew in leaps and bounds.
"How did it go?" Del asked as she let Kade into the apartment and took a pink backpack from her that probably held a few of Laurie's things.
Kade licked her lips and looked around. She seemed nervous for some reason. "Where's Laurie?"
Del grinned. "Don't worry, she'll probably be busy for the next few hours. She found my collection of lesbian fiction."
"Lesbian fiction?" Kade arched an eyebrow. "You're not letting her –"
"Oh, don't worry. I only gave her access to the G-rated stuff." Del winked at her.
Kade looked too tired to even grin.
Del reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder. "How did it go?" she asked again.
"I got into a shouting match with my brother. I'm not sure if it did any good, but it at least gave him something to think about." Kade walked down the hallway and peeked in on Laurie without announcing her presence. "Her mother wants her to stay with me until tomorrow. I couldn't tell her no, so now I have a problem."
"You could stay here," Del suggested without hesitation. She had wanted Kade to stay anyway, and she found Laurie to be good company. She reminded Del of a younger, shyer version of Kade.
"You have a one-bedroom apartment," Kade reminded in her logical DDA voice.
Del shrugged. "It's only for one night. You and Laurie could share the bed, and I could sleep out here on the couch." She wanted there to be no misunderstandings. She wasn't doing it to cleverly arrange a situation in which they had to share a bed. This was about protecting Kade first and foremost.
A thin line was forming on Kade's normally smooth brow. "I can't ask that of you."
It was always a struggle to get Kade to accept help, and this time was no exception. "You're not asking. I'm offering. Come on. Say yes. I'd like the company."
"I'll have to ask Laurie," Kade hedged. "I'm not sure she'd be comfortable staying here."
Laurie had been a little shy and hesitant to talk to Del at the beginning, but that hadn't lasted long, so Del was confident in Laurie's reaction.
"Hey, Laurie," Kade said quietly as she entered the living room.
Laurie immediately laid her book down and looked up with wide, cautious eyes. "How did it go? What did they say?"
"They didn't say much, but I hope I got them to listen. They need a little time to digest what I told them. You'll stay with me tonight... if that's okay with you?" Something in Kade's voice and the way she interacted with Laurie made Del think she hadn't been close to her niece before.
"Great!" Laurie was visibly relieved. "I'd rather stay at your apartment than go home; that's for sure."
Kade bit her lip. "We're not staying in my apartment. We're staying here because..." She searched for something to say without revealing that she might be in danger.
"Because I just had a concussion, and your aunt generously offered to stay and watch over me," Del quickly came to her aid. It wasn'
t the truth, but it was not a complete lie either.
"Concussion?" Laurie repeated. "You're hurt?"
The concern in her voice warmed Del's heart. This is what Kade must have been like before her family taught her to hide her feelings behind a mask of stiff politeness. "It's not too bad," she answered. "The doctors already cleared me. Kade is just staying to make sure I'm really okay."
"Staying here is even better," Laurie said with a shy grin. She glanced at her aunt. "Have you seen all the books she has?"
Del had to smile at the overwhelmed expression that appeared on Kade's face for a second before the mask of confidence was back. "Yeah, I've seen them. She even lent me one of them, but I haven't found the time to read it."
Del grinned to herself. So you didn't even peek at the love scenes, huh?
"It's getting late," Kade said, "and you have school tomorrow. You should probably go to bed now." Kade was clearly uncomfortable with her new role as a substitute mother, but Del thought she handled it well.
When Laurie reappeared from the bathroom, Kade and Del were making up the couch for Del to sleep on. "You know," Laurie said, looking at the ground with red-tinged cheeks, "you don't have to do this because of me." She gestured at Del and the couch. "I'm not a kid. I have eyes."
Kade turned toward her with a frown, clearly not understanding to what Laurie was referring.
Del laughed. "Did you hear that, sweetie?" She stepped next to Kade and teasingly patted her butt. "We don't have to hide our love from your niece. The clever girl found us out."
Kade slowly turned around. She narrowed her eyes at Del. "Stop touching my ass, or I'll have yours for sexual harassment!" she threatened, seemingly dead serious, but as she turned back to Laurie, she casually pinched Del's butt. "Laurie, I told you she's not my lover, and I meant it. She's not just sleeping on the couch because of you."
"Oh." Laurie lowered her head. "I thought... I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry. You Matheson women are a beautiful bunch, so being mistaken for your aunt's lover is not exactly an insult." Del chuckled as she watched Laurie blush at the compliment. Kade stayed seemingly cool, but Del had learned to see behind the controlled façade.
Kade wrapped her arm around Laurie's slender shoulder. They looked good together, more like sisters than aunt and niece. "Come on, Laurie. Let's go to bed before this one tries her lame compliments on us again." With a playful toss of her head, Kade majestically strode from the room.
CHAPTER 20
THE FAMILIAR clacking of Kade's high heels stopped in front of her desk. Aiden could still identify the sound, but it didn't have the same effect on her blood pressure that it had a year before. "Hey, Kade," she said before she had even looked up.
"Aiden." Kade planted her briefcase on Aiden's desk and sat down in one of the chairs.
Aiden felt her eyebrows rise. She's sitting in a chair? Is there suddenly something wrong with the edge of my desk? She studied Kade's serious expression. "Everything all right? I haven't seen you all week."
"I was swamped with arraignments, and Tenley's lawyer kept me busy with all the paper he wasted on last-minute motions." Kade made a dismissive gesture, letting Aiden know that most, if not all, of the motions had been dismissed by the judge. "Do you have a minute?"
Aiden leaned back in her chair, stretching and rubbing the back of her neck. "Sure." She always had a minute for Kade.
Ray looked up from the file he was reading but continued to work when he noticed Kade's question was only directed at Aiden, not at him.
"Is one of the interview rooms free?" Kade asked.
Aiden hid her surprise. She would soon learn why Kade was so secretive. She rose and led Kade over to the smallest interview room. When she passed Okada's desk, Okada waggled his eyebrows at her, gesturing at Kade behind her back. Aiden threw her pen at him.
Kade firmly closed the door behind them. "I know this is unusual, and you're probably wondering what's going on, but this is not about our jobs, and I didn't want to discuss it in front of the crowd."
"Okay," Aiden said slowly, trying to catch up with what Kade had said and what it implied. If it wasn't about their jobs, what else was there to talk about? A sudden thought occurred to her. Del? Does she want to talk about Del? She hoped Del hadn't done anything to upset Kade – not only for Del's and Kade's sake but also for her own. She knew from Dawn that something was developing between Kade and Del, but she wasn't prepared to give relationship advice to Kade Matheson. "So what is it you want to talk about?"
"I want you to talk to your sister for me," Kade said straight out.
That was the last thing Aiden had expected. "Talk to my sister?" she repeated. What interest could Kade have in that?
"Not just talk. I want you to talk to her about what she's doing to my niece," Kade said.
Oh, God. This is the "Make your sister stay away from my niece" talk! Aiden couldn't believe that Evan hadn't been staying away from Laurel Matheson. She doesn't know with whom she's dealing. Messing with a Matheson is not a good idea. Laurie Matheson was way out of Evan's league as Kade had always been out of her league. It had made Aiden stay away from Kade, and she had hoped that Evan was smart enough to stay away from Laurie too. Aiden was convinced that, in the long run, a relationship between them would never work out, and trying would only cause more problems for Evan. "Well, I can try, but to tell you the truth, Evan is not exactly eager to listen to her big sister. We haven't spoken more than a few words with each other since Deming told me I have a sister."
Kade leaned against the edge of the small table in the interview room and studied Aiden. "It must be difficult for you."
"I always wished for a sister growing up, but now that I have one, I don't know what to do with her," Aiden said. She had stalled, putting off calling or visiting Evan for the last few days, simply because she didn't feel ready. "Having to tell her to stay the hell away from your niece is not going to make it easier," she said with a sigh.
Kade looked up sharply. "I don't want her to stay away."
"What? But I thought..." Now I'm confused. She would have bet her entire paycheck that the influential Matheson family would find ways to keep Evan away from their daughter.
"My brother and his wife would probably like that, but it's not what my niece wants. Laurie is bawling her eyes out because Evan refuses to see her again." A gentle sarcasm resonated in Kade's voice, but Aiden could see that she truly cared for her niece. "I would appreciate it if you could do something about that."
"My half sister and your niece." Aiden shook her head to clear it.
Kade shot her an understanding glance. "I know. Scary thought, huh?"
Aiden nodded. Oh, yeah. "So you want me to tell Evan...?" she prompted, wanting to be very clear on the subject.
"Just make sure that she didn't break up with Laurie because my overprotective brother scared her away," Kade said. "Let her know that not all Mathesons are arrogant, controlling, pigheaded snobs."
"They're not?" Aiden asked with her most innocent expression.
Kade smirked. "Laurie isn't."
"Oh, right. We're talking about Laurie." Aiden grinned, then sobered. "I'll talk to her, but no promises. The way things are going between us, she'll probably do the exact opposite of what I tell her to do."
"It's worth a try. If she wants nothing to do with Laurie, at least I'll know it was her decision and not my brother who destroyed Laurie's first relationship."
Aiden sighed and leaned back against the wall of the interview room. Now I really have to talk to Evan. No more putting it off. Shit. She gave Kade a nod and turned to leave the interview room.
"Aiden?" Kade called.
She turned back around. "Yeah?"
Kade hesitated.
With a frown, Aiden returned to her side. "Anything else you wanted to talk about?" Whatever it was, judging from Kade's expression, it wasn't something pleasant. Aiden couldn't think of any subject that would be even more awkward than talking about
the relationship between her sister and Kade's niece.
"Actually, yes. There is this... situation I could use your help with." Kade's words were slow and hesitant.
Aiden knew what it had to mean for the proud woman to ask for help. "Anytime, you know that, Kade," she said. "Tell me about this situation."
"Well, it seems I have a secret admirer," Kade said. "Six months ago, someone started sending me flowers and sappy cards."