Deadline

by Judy McDonough

"Surprise. Again." Trevor looked less than thrilled.

  "Trevor, hi." Caroline clutched her chest, out of breath from running up the stairs.

  He nodded toward her overnight bag in Cade's hands. "Am I interrupting?"

  Cade's stone-cold, guarded expression didn't fool her. He was wound tight and ready to snap.

  She leaned against the door frame to catch another deep breath. "No, we were just getting back."

  "From?" Trevor was surprisingly calm.

  "Cade took me to New Orleans to show me around. You know, before I have to come back to Chicago."

  Trevor forced a smile. "I see. Before you have to come back."

  Cade set the bag down and stepped closer to Caroline. "Trevor, nothing ha—"

  "Stop!" Trevor commanded as he shot to his feet. Fire blazed in his ice blue eyes and he held his hand up to Cade. "I don't want to hear a single word from you," he sneered. "I want Caroline to tell me why she feels she has to come back to Chicago instead of wanting to come back. I want to hear it from her mouth."

  Caroline swallowed hard. Why did I say that? I do want to go back to be with Trevor, right?

  "Trevor, I didn't mean it like it sounded. I do want to come back with you, but Cade knew I was tired of being stuck in the house for so long, and he knew I'd never been to New Orleans."

  Trevor's frown deepened with confusion. "Why were you stuck in the house?"

  Crap! Way to open your big fat mouth. "Well, you see, I fell and hit my head. . .hard. I had a concussion, and the doctor didn't want me up and about too much."

  "You had a concussion?" Trevor's brow crinkled with genuine concern, his tone softened. "You didn't think that would be something I would want to know about?"

  "I didn't see any reason to worry you."

  "Sweetheart, I could have come down here to be with you. I could've helped take care of you." He cut his eyes accusingly at Cade.

  "I knew you were working and I didn't want to be a burden."

  Trevor hugged her tightly. "Baby, you are anything but a burden. We're getting married. In sickness and in health. I want to take care of you."

  Trevor's shoulders stiffened just as Kristy entered the room. She stopped cold in her tracks. "O-kay. I've obviously interrupted you guys. I'll be leaving now."

  Hurt and angry, Trevor stepped back and looked at Caroline. "You called Kristy? Nice, Caroline. You called your best friend for help before you called your fiancé. What does that say about me?"

  Kristy couldn't escape from that room fast enough.

  Cade shifted uncomfortably. "I'm gonna go. . .do something. I'll let you guys talk."

  "Trev, don't be like that. It wasn't a big deal. I just needed someone who could come down here for a few weeks and not have to take off work."

  "Caroline, for something as serious as a concussion, I would take off work. I especially want to know about it at least!" Trevor pulled her to the bed and sat down beside her. "I miss you like crazy. I can't stand not being able to see you every day, or at least several times a week. I miss getting to talk to you on a regular basis and kissing you whenever I want." He kissed the side of her face trailing his lips down to her jaw. "I'm ready to be married to you so we can be together all the time," he whispered. "I'm ready to be the one who takes care of you, Caroline."

  She grabbed his hand and looked down at their entwined fingers. "I miss you, too."

  He lifted her chin to kiss her. He smelled so good, and his mouth tasted of cinnamon. His kiss reminded her how much she loved him. Trevor rested his forehead against hers and spoke with his eyes closed. "Caroline, come back with me. Come back to Chicago with me. You don't have to stay here any longer since you and your dad are cool now. I want you back home with me where you belong."

  Where you belong. She flinched. Those were the same words Cade had used when she arrived home from the hospital. She wasn't sure exactly where she belonged anymore. "Trevor, I'm not. . .I can't just leave. I have to say goodbye to everyone."

  "That's okay. I'm not due to fly out until tomorrow evening anyway. You'll have some time to say your goodbyes."

  The ground crumbled from beneath her. "I just don't know. I'm already settled here. Kristy's still here, my car is here. . .it's so quick."

  "It's not a difficult decision, C. I want you back with me. I should've brought you back with me last time when you offered. I love you, and it's killing me to be away from you this much. When I asked you to come down here for the summer, I wasn't expecting you to reconnect with your dad so quickly. I didn't realize the difficulty I would have being away from you. Let's go back and get married now."

  Caroline's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "What? Now? What are you talking about? That's. . .that's insane! I don't have a dress, we don't have a church reserved, I'm not finished with school. This is all too rushed. You know I can't deal with deadlines, Trevor."

  "It'll be easy, C. We don't need a church, we can have a small intimate ceremony next to the scenic lake where we had our picnic. We could have a Justice of the Peace perform the ceremony, and it'll all be done before school starts. That way you won't have anything to worry about during your last semester because you'll already be married. No wedding plans to worry about. No stress over our wedding night."

  His eyes flamed with passion and he softly brushed her hair behind her shoulder to kiss her neck. She hoped with all her might he wouldn't notice the small stitched area where her head had been shaved. He whispered in her ear, his hot breath kicking her heart rate into high speed. "The virginity issue will be solved, the sex will be great, and you'll be able to completely focus on your studies. It makes perfect sense." He stole her breath in a vigorous kiss. He pulled back, excitement lit his face. She felt guilty for not reciprocating his enthusiasm.

  It did make sense. But she didn't like that her virginity was an issue. Still, he did have a point about having it all over with, she only wished she had a little more time before she had to leave.

  "Why tomorrow? Give me a week to say my goodbyes."

  "Why do you need a week? You have more than twenty-four hours. That should be plenty of time to give your hugs, exchange emails and phone numbers, and say your goodbyes. Everyone important to you lives right here in this house, right?"

  Caroline's stomach fell. All but one, but she couldn't say that or Trevor would fly off the handle. No way would Trevor understand her need to say goodbye to Cade. At least not without making her seem like an unfaithful whore again.

  He kissed along her jaw and neck, brushing his lips across her thrumming pulse. "Let me take care of you." Good grief, the man was a master at seduction.

  "Please, baby. I need you," he whispered.

  She smiled. "Okay. Let's do this. . .before I change my mind. I'll say my goodbyes, and we can fly home tomorrow."

  Trevor jumped up, scooped her into his arms, and spun her around. It made her smile to see him so happy. It could be her agreement to marry him soon and he saw an end to his continuous sexual frustration, but she preferred to tell herself his happiness stemmed from her coming home with him now rather than waiting six more weeks. Now she had to figure out what to tell everyone.

  Kristy was going to have a cow. She'd already told Caroline she wanted to make her wedding dress. Could Kristy come up with something in such a short amount of time? Eddie was going to be disappointed in Caroline leaving sooner than planned. He didn't have a high opinion of Trevor, either. But maybe in time, he would. And Cade. Her heart ached with the very thought of the sadness in his eyes. Ugh. Her head throbbed.

  "I'm going downstairs and get another glass of water." She grabbed her pain pills from her bag. "Do you want anything?"

  "I'll come with you." He held her hand as she led the way. "I could go for some of this incredible sweet tea I've heard so much about."

  Caroline tried to convince herself that she had made the right decision. It really didn't matter if they married in August rather than January, right? She planned to marry him anyway, so what's a few m
onths?

  Delia greeted them with a big smile. "Hey, Miss Caroline! I'm so glad you're feelin' better. Your color has come back and you look lovely as always. Me and Delphine was so worried about you."

  Caroline rounded her eyes and gave a near-imperceptible shake of her head, stopping Delia before she said too much. She didn't want Trevor to know it was much worse than she'd led him to believe.

  Without taking a breath in between, Delia glanced at Trevor and switched the subject with fluid skill. "What can I get y'all?"

  Trevor looked at Caroline curiously. Nervous now, she glanced from him to Delia. "Delia. This is my fiancé, Trevor Callahan, and he would like a glass of your delicious sweet tea. I'll just have a glass of water, please."

  "Certainly." Delia eyed her suspiciously. "Mr. Callahan and I met briefly the last time he visited, but never officially. Pleasure to see you again, sir. You two can have a seat and I'll bring it right out to you."

  "So that's the famous Delia you told me about? She's um. . .nice."

  "Yeah, she's the first person I met when I got here. I really like her, and we've become quite good friends. I'm going to miss her."

  He squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be back here. I promise."

  Caroline was glad to hear it. She assumed he hated this place because the only experiences he'd had here were extremely unpleasant. And since Trevor was waiting for her when she returned from New Orleans, Rachel must have meant for her not to stay in Louisiana or Caroline would hurt him through her undeniable feelings for Cade. She felt better about her decision.

  She only hoped Cade would understand. He was the main reason she doubted her decision. Once she married Trevor, she would never again be able to kiss Cade. Truthfully, Trevor would probably do everything in his power to keep her as far away from Cade as possible. And that made her very sad. She didn't want to admit it, but she had fallen in love with Cade. She was in love with two men, and couldn't allow herself to do this to Trevor any longer. After all, she'd loved him first and for longer. It was good that she was leaving early. This way she wouldn't be tempted to make any more reckless decisions, like trying to seduce Cade in a romantic hotel room.

  She couldn't ignore the ball of fire in her gut. She was getting married in six weeks. Holy Cow.

  ***