by Ali Vali
Chapter Seventeen
Emma ran around to the back door of Maddie’s house, eager to spend time with her daughter. Being away from the sweet child was killing her, but she couldn’t take the chance that Cain would see Hannah. It wouldn’t take a DNA test to determine the roots of Hannah’s family tree. The four-year-old was as much a Casey as Hayden.
A squeal greeted Emma when she opened the door and spotted the object of her secret covered in oatmeal. “Mama!” The blue eyes, identical to Cain’s, lit up when Hannah saw her mother, and like they often did, they flooded Emma with memories.
Over Four Years Earlier in the Casey Home in New Orleans
“Good night, honey.” Emma kissed Hayden’s forehead and pulled the covers under his chin. She had just read their second book of the night, hoping Cain would make it home before she was finished and Hayden fell asleep.
“But Mom isn’t here yet.”
“I know, sweet boy. She must be running later than she thought, but I promise she’ll be here when you wake up.” Emma ran her fingers through his hair in an effort to relax him and help him go to sleep.
“Aunt Marie’s party’s coming up, Mama.”
“I know. We’ll have to sneak into our room and finish wrapping her presents. Now go to sleep.” Emma kissed him again and watched the blue eyes flutter closed.
Outside the room Cain relaxed against the wall and waited for Emma to finish. A warm smile came easily as she listened to their conversation and thought about spending time with Emma. She wanted nothing more than to go in and kiss their son good night, but she knew it would take another forty minutes to calm him down again.
“Thanks for not coming in. He’s been wired since seven, and sleep wasn’t high on his list of priorities tonight,” whispered Emma when she emerged. Together they peeked in on the sleeping child.
“Maybe he thinks he’s missing out on something while he’s doing all that sleeping.”
“No, lover, that would be you who thinks that. He really missed you tonight. Come to think about it, so did I.” Emma pressed closer and started unbuttoning Cain’s blue shirt.
“I’m here, and I’m all yours for the rest of the night.”
“Promise?”
“With all my heart.” She kissed Emma, then scooped her off her feet and headed for the bedroom.
Problems at the Erin Go Braugh had kept Cain out late for the past week, and Emma had missed her touch.
Cain could feel her lover’s longing. She opened Emma’s robe and ran her hand down the lithe body.
“Sit down, baby,” requested Emma.
The shy lover had morphed into a woman sure of what she wanted and how to get it. Cain sat at the foot of the bed and watched Emma take off her clothes. The robe pooled at Emma’s feet, leaving her in a short silk nightgown that revealed her erect nipples. Before she lifted it over her head, Emma cupped her own breasts and pinched the nipples.
The move made Cain growl in a deep voice, “Take it off,” and Emma complied, smiling.
Emma’s body was, to Cain, perfection. Emma was what she liked to call curvaceous. Her breasts were full, with soft pink nipples, and her flat stomach gave way to shapely hips. True to her word, Cain had never desired another woman in her heart or in her bed after she found Emma.
Emma moved closer and finished removing Cain’s shirt. She unbuckled the belt next, and after she unzipped the pants, she snaked her hand down the opening and pinched the hard clit. “I promise to take care of this, but I want you to make love to me first.” Emma shoved the strong body down and pushed her own center over Cain’s mouth.
Cain loved Emma’s scent and taste. She took her time, pressing her flat tongue along the wet opening.
“Please, baby, I’ve been waiting for you all week,” Emma begged.
She kept her tongue in the same position, waiting to see how badly Emma wanted it. The slow rocking hips were starting their dance, which made her wish Emma had finished removing her pants so she could have gotten her to touch her, when suddenly Emma dragged her wet sex back and forth over her mouth. She knew Emma was in the mood for it to last, which meant any relief for her would have to wait.
“I love the way your tongue feels,” Emma moaned. “When we’re somewhere we can’t do this, I look at you and think about you licking me or sucking me, and it gets me so hot.”
Cain pulled her mouth away and groaned. The added dialogue was about to kill her since Emma was still using the same slow movements.
“I crave for you to do this to me, baby. Then when I can’t stand it anymore, you fill me up and make me scream.” The thought of Cain doing that made Emma speed up for just a moment before she stopped and slid herself against Cain’s mouth, filling it with the evidence of her desire.
Knowing she would have to wait a long time for satisfaction if Emma’s pace stayed slow, Cain ran her hands up Emma’s legs, along her body to the hard nipples. Maybe some more stimulation would accelerate Emma’s tempo.
“Oh yeah, baby, pinch ’em just like that,” Emma gasped, adding a roll to the movement of her hips. She was getting close, but she wouldn’t be making the trip alone.
As Cain was about to take both breasts and squeeze, Emma swiveled around. The different angle made her suck on the now diamond-hard point. She was so focused, she barely registered her pants falling past her knees to her ankles, and the head between her legs made her moan loudly against Emma.
Slow was impossible now as they each tried to ride out the pleasure and not forget the other’s need. Emma loved looking into Cain’s eyes when she came, but this position was one of her favorites because she could feel the long body shuddering under her. It was the only time Cain gave up total control, and she was the only person who had gotten her to do it.
Emma kissed the inside of Cain’s thigh and waited for the small tremors to stop before she finished taking off the forgotten shoes and pants. She stayed on her knees on the floor and enjoyed running her hands up and down Cain’s legs. The toes digging into the carpet let her know they were just getting started.
“Honey?”
“What?” Cain took a deep breath and dragged herself into a sitting position.
“I love you.”
Cain put her hand gently on Emma’s cheek. “Come up here, sweetling.” She helped Emma onto her lap and kissed her softly. “I love you too.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything. You can have anything you want that’s within my power to give you.”
“I want another baby.”
Cain’s hands came to rest on Emma’s backside, and she pulled her closer. Children were something Cain wanted, the number limited to as many as Emma was willing to have. Because seven years had passed since Hayden’s birth, she had given up hope for any more.
“Are you sure?”
“Honey, I know how you feel about Hayden. I just didn’t think it was fair to cut into that, but he might be willing to share you with the rest of us now.” Emma put her hands behind Cain’s neck and pulled her into another slow kiss.
In a week, at Marie’s birthday party, she was planning to give Cain her own special gift. In fact, she was about to move up her timetable and tell her now, but what Cain was doing with her hands made any other conversation impossible.
It was the love they shared that helped create the life growing inside her. Another baby was her gift to Cain and to herself.
That was the last time she had shared herself with Cain, and it was fortuitous she had waited to share the news of her pregnancy. When Cain had killed her cousin, Emma left with one of the good things she and Cain had created together. It was time to get the other one back.
Given time, Hayden would understand why she had decided to leave and what she was doing now. Cain would let the boy go and not come after Hannah only if she was somewhere she couldn’t get to them. But Emma’s craving for Cain, her desire to have her hands on Cain’s skin, hadn’t died away. Having her so close for the last couple of days was only
making it worse.
“Girl, where’d you run off to?”
Maddie’s laugh broke the spell and made her blush.
“Never mind. Maybe I’m too young to know, and this little one’s definitely too young.” Maddie put Hannah on the floor, and the little girl ran to her mother.
“Hey, sweetling. Have you been good for your aunt Maddie?” Emma scooped the child up and hugged her, loving the way Hannah’s small arms felt when she hugged her back.
??I miss you, Mama.”
“Oh, honey, Mama misses you too.”
Hannah spent the morning showing Emma all the pictures she had drawn in the past couple of days. The little girl fought sleep when her naptime rolled around, and Emma knew she was afraid her mother would be gone when she woke up. She rocked her and sang to her until sleep won out and she was able to put her down. She spent some time just sitting on the bed watching her daughter.
Maddie interrupted her thoughts by softly asking, “Honey, what’s going to happen if Cain finds out about Hannah?”
As Emma tucked the blankets around Hannah, she realized how her life with Cain had made her much more worldly wise than Maddie, who was a few years older. “That’s not possible.” She leaned down and kissed Hannah’s cheek one more time before following Maddie downstairs.
“Emma, I’m not asking if it’s going to happen. I’m asking what happens if she does. I’m worried about you, and I want to know what we might need to plan for.”
Emma accepted the cup of coffee her friend offered and thought of a good answer. If Cain found out about their daughter, she might do something unpredictable. “I don’t know how to honestly answer that question. Cain is like two different people. I fell in love with one, and the other one scared me enough to come running back here.”
“Is there a chance you could lose Hannah?”
“If we were in Louisiana I wouldn’t have a chance. That’s why I’m here. Cain’s reach is long, but even her power has its limits, or at least I hope it does.”
Maddie put her hand over Emma’s and squeezed it. “I want you to be careful, Emma. I just have a really bad feeling about this. You do what you have to do, and don’t worry about Hannah. We’ll take care of her as long as you need.”
The loyalty made Emma smile. “I know you will, but don’t worry so much. Kyle’s got everything under control.”
“How’s Hayden?”
She felt like a ray of sun as she thought about the young man, a smile breaking across her face. “Maddie, you wouldn’t believe how big he’s gotten. He’s just like Cain—tall, you know—and smart. When he talks to me I have to keep reminding myself he’s only eleven. We’ve had a rough start, but I think we’re making headway. The biggest surprise in all this has been Cain. I don’t think I’d have had much time with him if she hadn’t prodded him to cooperate. She’s been a good mother.”
“You sound like a woman in love. Are you sure about all this? It isn’t too late to change your mind.” Maddie squeezed her hand and smiled.
“I can’t go back now even if I wanted to. At one time, Cain would’ve forgiven me anything, but this…” She looked up the stairs. “This she won’t forgive.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Ready to head home in a couple of days, buddy?” Cain and Hayden sat in the same booth she and Ross had occupied the day before.
The café in Haywood was like a throwback in time. Oak floors, scuffed by time and heavy foot traffic, needed a coat of finish, and the countertop was a dated avocado green color, though clean. Their waitress completed the atmosphere with a ruffled apron.
Cain ignored the nostalgia of the place and studied the anger brewing just under the surface of her son’s face.
“I’m ready to go now. I don’t understand why we have to stay longer.”
“Hayden, what’s wrong? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I can see something in there eating away at you.” Cain tapped her finger against the side of his head, making him smile a little.
“I’ve been taking all these long walks with Emma, you know?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? I know you’re mad at her for leaving and not getting in touch with you, but I’ve got to believe there’s just one little part of you that’s been dying to see her again. It’s all right to admit that, son. Feeling that way isn’t an insult to me. For better or worse, Emma’s your mother, and in her own way she loves you. She gave you life, Hayden. Never discount that.”
“It’s just she never answers any questions directly. I’m trying to get to know her like you said, but it’s like she won’t talk to me. She doesn’t treat me the same way you do. I know I’m a kid, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a brain.”
“You want me to talk to her?”
Hayden slumped his shoulders a little more because he wanted nothing more than to answer no. If Cain was forever running around fixing his problems, she would never start to confide in him more about the business. “Can I give it one more shot?”
“You can give it shots for a month of Sundays, boy, if that’s what you want. Good answer, by the way. You’re growing up on me faster than I think is fair.”
That got him to crack his lips in a genuine smile. Praise from his mother was something Hayden treasured more than anything else. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You want to take a walk with me, or are you all walked out?”
“Are you going to talk about your feelings and how I should be playing with kids my own age more often?”
The sarcasm gave Cain some insight into how Emma had spent their time together. “That would be no. I want to walk down to Roy’s and make sure your grandfather’s all set for the winter. I don’t want to see him have to sell off any of his…” Cain paused and tried to find the right word.
“What, land?”
“No, I was going to say ‘flock,’ but that’s not right when it comes to cows. It’s ‘herd,’ right?”
“You’re looking at someone who’s allergic to manual labor,” joked Hayden. Actually he had enjoyed his time with Ross the most during his visit. His grandfather talked about different things, not to just fill the silence, but probably because he thought he should know a little about the other part of his family. Ross never seemed to expect anything from their time together, and Hayden had opened up in turn.
“Remind me to buy you an axe when we get home, then, son. Your new job will be to split logs for the fireplace.” The two laughed as they got ready to leave.
The waitress ran over and asked if she could get Cain a cup of coffee to go. Haywood had never seen such a heavy tipper. She was used to the couple of quarters her regulars left on the counter, which wasn’t an insult to the service, just a reality of tight budgets. With Cain coming in two days in a row, the new shoes she had been saving for were now a reality.
“Have a good day,” Cain said as she put on her hat.
“Tomorrow the special is pork chops, if you’re interested.”
“How about you make plenty, and I’ll bring my crew in for lunch?”
The waitress smiled and nodded enthusiastically as she pumped Cain’s hand.
“If you eat in here and wink at her one more time, we may have to take her home with us,” whispered Hayden.
The woman had run ahead and opened the door for them.
“If she can cook a pork chop as well as your grandmother could, she might be worth the airfare home.”
Cain maneuvered Hayden between herself and the buildings they were passing, to protect him from any attack from the street. As they neared the corner, she spotted the same guy who had watched her have lunch with Ross the day before. The guy still looked cold and out of place. It was time to have some fun.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where the feed store is?”
The rapid eye movement was a giveaway that the last thing the man expected was for her to speak to him. He pointed in the direction they were headed and cleared his throat. “A few blocks down there.”
“Thanks. He
y, does Bob carry any livestock?”
“Livestock?” The guy looked like he was about to jog down the street to get away from her.
“I believe she means live animals of any kind,” Hayden added, trying not to laugh.
“I guess so, but I’m not really from around here. I’m just visiting friends.”
She wanted to ask who he was visiting but didn’t think the fun of needling the guy was worth the risk, not yet anyway. She wondered if he would bother to go down and find out the owner’s name was Roy, not Bob. Maybe in my retirement I’ll offer to teach some classes on the art of what not to do when following outlaws, if the feds pay me well enough.
Roy came around the counter and greeted her with a firm handshake, truly glad to see her. The fee she had paid him for the use of his property was more than generous, making the visit from Kyle inconsequential. They talked about Ross’s account briefly, then spent the rest of their time shopping for a new tractor. The new piece of equipment was a gift from Hayden and Cain to thank Ross for his hospitality.
Another man unfamiliar to the storeowner browsed the sparse shelves during his transaction with Cain, declining his offer of help when mother and son left. Roy was about to call after Cain and warn her about the guy, but thought she looked like someone who could handle just about anything or anyone.
A few days after Cain’s arrival, had the citizens of Haywood been responsible for her future fate, Kyle would have been hard-pressed to find anyone willing to convict her of a traffic ticket, much less anything else.
*
When Emma pulled Ross’s old truck into the Verde farm and stopped at the back of the barn, she noticed Cain’s vehicle was gone. Taking a chance she climbed to the loft. Time was running out, and she wanted to know if Kyle had found anything useful.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Kyle told her in a more-than-irritated voice. He had spent the morning on the phone with his supervisor, trying to talk her out of pulling the plug on their whole operation.
