Holy shit!
I let out a yelp then go to the wall hitting the light switch and see that someone’s thrown a brick through the friggin’ window. I’m barefooted, but the brick landed farther into the store, therefore there’s not a lot of glass around it, so putting the box of dryer sheets under my arm, I bend over, keeping my feet where they are lest some stray glass cuts my foot, and putting a hand to the floor grab it. When I stand, I pull off the rubber band and read the torn piece of paper that was wrapped around it.
Your not wanted here. You need to leave town while you still can bitch!
Well, that’s an example of a much-needed grammar lesson with a focus on contractions and comma usage right there. Good to see that the idiots still abound here in Serenity Point. I’ll have to have a talk with Cassie and Lacey about the state of grammar affairs in the school system.
“You okay?” a deep voice asks and I scream bloody murder, the paper falling to the floor as I hold the brick up in one hand and retrieve the box of fabric sheets from under my arm in one smooth motion ready to throw either weapon at my intruder.
Then a huge body steps through where the window used to be and I see it’s Kade.
“Wh-what are you doing out so late?” I ask, the hand holding the box going to rest over my heart which is about to jump out of my chest.
“Was on my way home from Jen’s and heard a crash,” he says, frowning and looking at the damage then bends down to pick up the note.
I stare at him as I think who’d want me to leave town. Well, he of course does, I’m sure. Then there’s his little chippy of a girlfriend who’d definitely love to see me gone. And maybe Bruce Holbrook who runs the filling station on the other end of town because he doesn’t want the competition, but his station doesn’t have a full-repair garage, so it’s not like I’d be taking money from him.
Kade walks toward me and takes the “weapons” out of my hands, raising an eyebrow when he does.
“Plannin’ on doing the guy’s laundry?”
I scowl at him. “It was the only weapon I could find at the time!”
He barks out a laugh. “What were you gonna do, rub them on him and,” he turns his hand to read the box, “Summer Orchard him to death?” He sets the brick, box and note on the counter still chuckling.
“Ha. Ha.” I’m still scowling.
“You call Dwight yet?” he asks, serious now.
“No. I just found the stupid brick when you came in.”
He pulls his phone out of the inside of his jacket and calls the Sheriff’s department telling them they need to send someone out. When he hangs up, he looks around for a second, then moves to me so quickly that before I know it, he’s thrown me over his shoulder again and is carrying me toward the back.
“Hey!” I say in a delayed reaction. “Are you kidding me?” I screech as he walks up the stairs with me. “This is two nights in a row, Kade!”
When we get to the top, he sets me down. “Glass.” That’s all he says and I look at him like he’s insane as I tug my robe more tightly around me. “Didn’t want you to cut your feet.”
“Well, you could’ve said something,” I snap even though that was really nice of him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were a damned caveman in your former life.”
His gray eyes suddenly seem to glow as he looks at me and I wonder why in the world they’d do that.
“What?” I frown, looking up at him.
“Seem to recall you saying something last night about that being a fantasy of yours.” He’s still looking at me in that way and now I’m getting hot and bothered because when Kade Kelly looks at you in that way, you have no choice but to be hot and bothered. Gah!
I huff out a laugh trying to be flippant as I flick my hand out. “I was just saying that to be silly. What I meant was the whole alpha male thing is what really turns me…” Shit.
He raises an eyebrow again and I can’t help but stare at his mouth as one side turns up slightly in a smirk. I lick my lips remembering how his mouth felt on me, sometimes rough and demanding, other times gentle and sweet then move my eyes to his to see they’ve gone molten and he’s now staring at my mouth. And, man, those SEALS did a great job training him because he again moves so fast I don’t have time to react. This time his hand is suddenly at the back of my head and he pulls me into him, bending as his lips come crashing down on mine.
Oh, my.
I can’t help the moan that comes out of me because it’s been so long since I’ve been kissed. So long since I’ve been kissed by him. We always had tons of sexual chemistry between us, and I find that that hasn’t changed, not one iota. I find myself winding my arms up and around his neck, snagging my fingers into his longer than usual hair, pulling at it and bringing him closer, loving the taste of whiskey on his breath.
And let me just say this right now. A kiss from Kade Kelly is something that should be marketed because if it were, there’d be a lot of happy women out there. Lord.
His hand at my waist suddenly drops down below my short robe and slides up under it to cup my panty-clad bottom and he jerks me against his hard body, and, God, it feels so good because I haven’t been touched in this way in forever. Our tongues are tangling madly together and when he starts moving me backward, a thrill runs through me because I know he’s leading me to the bed and I’m all for this, as in one-hundred percent in, consequences be damned, when suddenly he stops everything and we stand there with our lips pressed together. I open my eyes to see his are open too and I pull back.
“What?” I ask, my voice all husky and breathy.
“Someone’s here,” he says, letting me go and walking to the stairs, then he stops and turns, ordering, “Get dressed.”
Well, yes, sir. I stand there, chest heaving as I try to catch my breath after that amazing kiss and throw a salute at him, but he’s already gone and doesn’t see it. And now I wonder why he wasn’t breathing heavily, acting as if our kiss didn’t affect him at all. When my breathing’s back to normal, with a shake of my head I ask myself what the hell I’m doing and know I’m going to have to put the lockdown on my friggin’ libido when he’s around. Jeez.
I lose my robe and go to the armoire nabbing a pair of jeans and pulling them on. This has got to stop with him. You’re leaving soon. “I know,” I mutter angrily to myself. I next grab a cream-colored, oversized cable knit sweater, yanking it on over my tank top, and after slipping on my Ked’s, head downstairs to give my statement to the police.
~~~
"That’s all for now, Mill. We’ll call if we need any more information,” Dwight states. He and I graduated together and he’s now the sheriff, which doesn’t surprise me in the least. His dad was the sheriff before him and his grandpa had been a police officer in another town, so I guess it’s in his blood.
“Thanks, Dwight.”
“Good seeing you again, just sorry for the circumstances,” he says to me. “You said you got some plywood to cover this?” he asks Kade, nodding at the window.
Kade nods. “Called Mike. He’s on his way over now.”
“All right. Need anything else, you know how to get me,” Dwight says, dipping his head down and touching the front of his hat at me before leaving.
“I need to sweep this glass up,” I say to Kade and start for the back to get a broom, but Speedy Gonzales grabs me by the arm, pulling me to him.
“Mike’ll take care of it. You’re coming home with me.”
“But—” I barely get this out before he’s grabbed my jacket off the coat rack by the door and is helping me into it.
“Purse,” he says and I just look at him, my mouth hanging open. When I don’t move fast enough, he growls, “Purse, Mill.”
I spring into action at his tone (although I find it annoying… and maybe just a little hot) and run upstairs to get my purse. When I get back downstairs, Mike’s already there and Kade introduces us, telling me that Mike owns the local gym at wh
ich he’s a member where he now participates in the boxing matches that are held on the first weekend of every month. Why doesn’t it surprise me that adrenaline junkie ex-Navy SEAL Kade would go for something like that?
“Keys,” Kade now says and I stand there looking at Mike who’s pretty dang hot, not Kade Kelly hot, but hot nonetheless as he grins at me, before I realize Kade’s talking to me.
“Oh!” I reply as I dig my keys out of my purse. Wow. I’m a sharp one at three in the morning.
“Which one’s the store’s?” Kade asks. I point to one of the two station keys on there and he twists one off the ring handing it to Mike then gives me back the rest. He nods a thanks at Mike then says, “Let’s go,” grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door and across the street to his pickup truck that’s parked in front of his store. He beeps his keychain making the lights flash then opens the passenger door for me when my brain finally catches up.
“I can just take my car,” I tell him.
“Get in,” he says, looking down at me, his eyes doing that molten thing again. Eep!
“But what if—”
“In, Mill,” he says, and I know it’s no use arguing.
I sigh and climb up in the cab. He helps with a hand at my hip then closes the door, going around the front to get in on his side.
As we take off, I look over at him. “Uh, Kade?” He glances my way then looks back at the road. “I could just stay at the store. I mean, if the window’s boarded, it’s not that big a deal.”
“Not happening.”
I blink. “But it’s not like—”
“Not happening,” he repeats.
Dang. Was he this bossy when we were together?
“Were you this bossy when we were together?” I ask.
I see the side of his mouth curl up and I kind of want to punch him right then. I’ve forgotten that he’s a man of few words and that it sometimes used to infuriate me, especially when I was trying to make a point and he’d just let me go on and on then end it all with a few simple words. Ugh.
“Why’d you call Mike?” I ask instead.
“He works for me.”
“But he owns the gym too?”
“Yeah. Opened it about a year ago but needed some extra cash, so I hired him. I didn’t really need the help, but he gives me free gym time, so it all worked out,” he explains.
Wow. Kade’s such a nice guy. Always there for everyone. I find my anti-getting-involved-with-Kade stance is starting to weaken. Not good.
It’s then that I notice we’ve driven north two miles and have turned east, so I ask where we’re going.
“Bought the Lombardi place,” he replies keeping his eyes on the road.
And suddenly I can’t breathe.
All the friggin’ air has been knocked out of me and I feel a huge stab to my heart as well. Oh, God. I wasn’t ready for that.
I collapse back against the seat, turning my head to look out my window and can’t help it as tears burn the backs of my eyes before falling over and winding their way down my face. I squeeze my eyes closed and put a hand to my chest because it feels as if my heart is breaking.
He bought the Lombardi house. The old Victorian house that he and I had argued over for years when we were deciding where we wanted to live after we married. I’d loved that old house from the minute I’d laid eyes on it, with its wraparound porch, the big bay window in front, several dormer windows upstairs, the turret on the right side that houses a spiral staircase, but he’d been adamantly against it saying it’d take too long to repair it all.
And now he owns it.
He’s brought other women home with him to my house.
And my heart breaks into a million pieces.
Chapter 6
The entire time we drive, not a word is spoken because I’m busy staring out the window as tears slide down my face. When I sniff once, I feel his hand nudging my arm and I turn to see he’s holding a tissue out to me. Gee, thanks. I take it and wipe my face then nose.
Okay, if he’s going to be a dick about all this, I can handle it. I’ll stay the freaking night there, although I know it’ll kill me, then in the morning he’ll take me back to the garage, and since it’s Sunday I’ll get an emergency repairman out to fix the window. Monday I’ll hire people to run the garage as soon as possible, get things up and running then get the hell out of town and never look back.
When we turn into the drive, I can’t hold back the sob that bursts out of me because I forgot about the red maple, dogwood and beech trees that line it, and even though it’s dark, I know they’re brilliant with color this time of year. Believe me, I used to haunt this place year round after I found it just to see what it looked like in the different seasons, that’s how much I loved it, and I know that in daylight the trees will be gorgeous.
“Babe.” Kade glances over at me as we make our way up the long drive as I continue sniffling.
But I can’t even look at him. How could he do this to me? Again, I know I have no right to feel angry about this, I know it, but I am. It’s like he took my dream away from me. And of course, that’s exactly what I did to him in a way, right? All’s fair and all that shit, huh?
We drive around to the back of the house where there’s a detached garage, but he doesn’t pull inside it. He stops the truck and gets out coming around to open my door, but I’m already out, looking around at what I can see of the place in the dark. There’s a lot of construction stuff around, piles of boards and a small concrete mixer and I know he’s been working on the house, fixing it up, and I want to scream.
He’s at my side now and when he tries to take my arm with his hand, I jerk it away and step back, spinning to glare at him. He looks back at me eyes narrowed, and I get it now. I know the only reason he brought me here was to hurt me. I’d hurt him, and now he’s getting me back in a big way. Shoving this right in my face. And it’s too cruel.
We stay like this, looking at each other, for a few seconds when he finally speaks saying quietly, “C’mon in, Mill.”
And that’s when I finally lose it. “You did this on purpose!” I shout and the tears start falling again. “How could you, Kade? How…” I gulp in air because it feels like I can’t breathe.
He frowns, putting his hands on his hips. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oh. My. God.
“Are you serious? You know this was my place!” I throw my hand out toward it. “My house! I loved this house! But you didn’t want it! The one thing I wanted and you said no! And now… now you have it!” I’m sobbing uncontrollably now. And I’m so angry. So goddamned angry. “I know I left you and I know it was wrong how I did it! But I was so scared! So lonely! You were never there and I didn’t know if you’d ever be home for good… or if you’d get hurt on a mission… or… or… killed…” I gasp in air as I admit this and see his eyes are still narrowed as he watches me. “But this house…” I shake my head. “This was the one thing that would’ve made me happy while you were gone. Would’ve given me something to keep me busy instead of missing you all the time. Would’ve shown me that you wanted something for me since you wouldn’t be here. Would’ve made me… would’ve made me… stay. But you… you said… no…” I drop my head into my hands as I continue crying, my shoulders jerking with each sob that comes out. How could he be so spiteful?
The next thing I know, he puts an arm under my knees and one behind my back, picking me up and carrying me up the back porch steps, which elicits another sob from me.
“I… can’t… Kade… hurts too… much,” I cry.
But he takes me inside anyway, and when he turns on a light in what I know is the mudroom, I duck my head against his chest, my fingers digging into his shirt, pulling it to cover my face, refusing to look at anything. I don’t want to know what it looks like, what he’s done with it, because what’s left of my heart will crumble.
He walks through the kitchen then into the living room
(see? I know this house) and flips on another light, but I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to be completely shattered at what I see. Then he carries me up the stairs, down to the end of the hallway into what I know is the master bedroom, and sets me gently on a bed.
I know I’m probably being ridiculous, but at the moment, I don’t care as I turn on the bed and grab a pillow crying into it while turning on my side away from him and curling up into a ball. He lies on the bed behind me, stretching his long body out against me, throwing a muscular arm around my waist and sliding the other underneath me, as he pulls me close to him, holding me as I continue crying.
“Shhhh. Babe… it’s okay…” I hear him whisper into my ear.
But it’s not okay. I thought I’d felt hurt with everything over the last five years, but now I know I was wrong. This hurts. So bad, down to the very core of my soul. And I know it’s just another loss I’ve taken over the years. Just one more hit. One more added to the list of things that have destroyed me. First my dad and then my mom. Then Kade. His family. Papaw and Meemaw. Aidan. And now this.
And no matter what, I know I’ll have to jump right back up and act like nothing’s wrong because that’s the kind of person I am. God forbid I ever let anything get me down. I’ll plaster that stupid smile on my face as if everything’s just wonderful in my world, making my way through life but not trusting anyone.
The irony of it all? I doubt I’ll ever truly allow myself the luxury of fully committing to anyone because I’m afraid they’ll leave. Yeah, I, of all people, am afraid of being abandoned. Go figure.
I fall asleep to Kade’s hand sliding gently through my hair and his soft whispers of, “It’ll be okay… I promise…”
~~~
I wake slowly, drifting to the surface of consciousness, and feel happy and warm and safe, better than I’ve felt in a long time, and I’m not sure why. I flutter my eyes open and take in a deep, contented breath until I realize where I am and my heart seizes for a second.
Bigger Than the Sky (Serenity Point) Page 5
