“Oh my God,” I breathed, shaking my head and hugging him tighter. My heart already felt broken for him, but it kept fracturing more with each new detail. “I can’t even imagine what that was like for you to go through, but I’m so sorry, Cade. It wasn’t your fault. But I’m sorry.”
He took a ragged breath. “I kept thinking, what if. What if I’d taken a different route, what if we’d left five minutes later, or five minutes earlier? What if we hadn’t even gone?” His head dropped to his chest. “Her life would be completely different.”
I shook my head fervently. “You can’t think like that. The ‘what if’ questions will eat at your spirit and sanity until neither exists anymore. There’s nothing you can do about what happened, Cade. One of my favorite quotes is, “Don’t look behind you; you’re not going that way.” ”
He tilted his head to the side in agreement. “I know that now, but like I said, it took a lot of therapy for me to get to a place where I wasn’t blaming myself every time I saw Ivy. She never held me responsible, and took the change in stride. I envy people who can do that—see a new circumstance as a challenge they want to face head-on and overcome. It takes me time before I can adjust.”
“But you did,” I rationalized. “You faced the trauma of what happened and figured out how to move forward. It’s courageous and commendable. You used your fear to overcome the things that were haunting you, and help make you into the person you are now. You should be proud of that.”
He looked over at me, emotion flashing through his eyes, and I felt a connection like I’d never felt with another human. We were sharing a real, intimate moment that had nothing to do with sex, but made me feel more vulnerable than I ever had. “We were hit by a mom of two girls: Grace, a five-year old, and Quinn, a three-year old. The kids were in the backseat. Their mom was texting.”
My sharp intake of breath punctuated his statement. Loss is always difficult, but the loss of someone so young from something that could have been easily prevented felt even more tragic.
“Her kids were fine, saved by their airbags and car seats, but she died from the impact. Grace and Quinn were left without a mom, all because she wouldn’t put her phone down and watch the road. A stupid text, and driving distracted took her life, and completely changed my sister’s.”
I felt tears prick my eyes for Cade, for Ivy, for the two little girls who were left to grow up without the most important woman in their life. “Oh my God, Cade. I’m sorry. I’m sorry this happened to you, I’m sorry it was senseless. I feel horrible for your sister, for the woman’s family, and especially for you, for carrying the guilt.”
He looked over at me, his features seeming lighter, like telling me had lifted a weight. “Thank you,” he said, squeezing my hand. “I’m okay now. It’s something I’ll always deal with, but I’ve been able to move forward, and part of that is because of what an incredible person Ivy is.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “I want you to meet her. That’s why we’re here.”
The snow was falling more heavily now as Cade opened the car door and took my hand, leading me inside his family’s house. Christmas lights still hung from the eaves, camouflaged by snow.
Cade didn’t bother to knock; his family must have been expecting him. I noticed the neutral ocean-like grey, blue, and cream tones as we walked into the kitchen. I approved of the wall color choices, and white kitchen cabinets with a large grey and white marble slab island; I was certain the Property Brothers would approve also. A woman with honey blond hair and soft lines around her eyes and mouth, indicating she’d lived a happy life, sat at the table working on her computer. “Hi Mom,” Cade said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Her smile lit up the room. “Hi, sweetie. Nice to see you.” Her gaze turned to me. “This must be Brynn.” She looked at me, warmth radiating from her. “She’s as beautiful as you said she was.” She got up and came over, giving me a welcoming hug. I glanced at Cade over my shoulder, eyes wide. I was shocked she knew my name and he’d told her about me. “I’m Sue. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
I smiled back at her, trying not to be awkward. I’d never really done the meet the parents thing before…in fact, I’d actively avoided it. “It’s nice to meet you too, Sue.”
“Is Ivy in her room?” Cade asked, looking toward the hallway.
Sue nodded. “She’s waiting for you. I know you need to get back before the weather gets worse, and don’t have a lot of time, so go spend as much of it with her as you can.”
I followed Cade down the hall to a door. He knocked and I heard a high-pitched shriek of happiness, and then a lyrical voice answer, “Get in here, Cade!”
We walked into the room and Ivy was sitting in the coolest wheelchair I’d ever seen. Hundreds of ribbons were threaded through the spokes, and her chair was covered in art work.
“Your chair is incredible!” I said, looking at the colors and designs more closely. It looked like a collage of things. Faces, flowers—I recognized hydrangeas and lilies, music notes, the Eiffel Tower and the London Bridge…the list went on. I assumed the items she’d chosen were chosen for a reason, and I wondered what they were.
Her lips tilted up. “Thanks! It took me a few months to come up with the design and then draw them on.” She said it without a hint of boasting, just stating fact.
“You drew these?” I asked, stunned. The work was detailed, the bright, pop-art colors blended impeccably, and it looked like it had been professionally done.
“Ivy’s an excellent artist,” Cade said. “She’s the one who designed my tattoo.”
I looked at her with even more awe. “That’s amazing! I love Cade’s tattoo!” What I’d seen of it, at least.
She grinned. “So you’ve seen him naked.”
It was a statement, not a question, and my cheeks immediately flamed. Apparently being able to make me blush was something they both had in common.
Cade laughed at Ivy. “You’re going to scare her off.”
I switched back to our previous conversation. “Your artwork is amazing, Ivy. You’re really talented! I love that you decorated your chair this way. How did you choose what to draw?”
She shrugged. “They’re mostly my favorite things, or things that matter to me—like places I want to travel.” She looked down, playing with the wheels, like she was used to them being an extension of herself. “The chair has a motor option, but I don’t need it, and like pushing myself. Keeps my arms buff, and makes me super-hot. One day I’ll be rolling around Paris and London.” She grinned, and her eyes sparkled with the movement. She had an incredible attitude, and an infectious smile.
“So…,” Ivy said, eyeing Cade, “are you going to introduce me?”
His eyes softened and his lips went up, his love for his sister obvious even from where I stood. “Brynn, I’d like you to meet Ivy. Ivy, Brynn.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said.
“Me too,” Ivy said. “Are you his freaking girlfriend, yet? Because he really wants you to be his girlfriend.”
“I…uh,” I stuttered, dumbly.
She paused, her eyes going over me before coming back to rest on my face. “I can’t blame him. I like guys, but damn, I kind of want you to be my girlfriend, too.”
Cade reached down and ruffled her hair. “Seriously, Ives, you’re terrifying her. You’re going to make her run out of here and start walking home in the snow.”
Ivy pushed her lips out and narrowed her eyes like she was trying to be menacing. “I am pretty terrifying in my chair and all,” she said with a hefty dose of sarcasm.
I laughed at her ability to joke about the situation, and immediately liked her sarcastic nature. I took some time to look around the room. One wall was all black, and had chalk drawings in every color on it. “Is that a chalkboard on your wall?” I asked, walking over to inspect it more.
“Yep,” she said. “It’s a paint that turns any wall into a chalkboard. It’s my new favorite thing. Cade painted it for
me.”
My eyes found his and he looked down like he was embarrassed at the praise. “Cade’s a good brother.”
“An excellent brother,” she said with emphasis.
My gaze trailed over the rest of the room: a bedspread in light blue with a gold, puckered headboard sat against one wall. A white chair with a matching square table next to it was placed by a large window overlooking Cade’s backyard. My perusal stopped at her book shelf where I found myself looking at a photo of Cade, Ivy, and two little girls, one in Cade’s arm and one on Ivy’s lap.
“That’s Grace,” Cade said, pointing to the girl he was holding in the picture, “and that’s Quinn.”
“They were over here earlier this week,” Ivy said, braiding some purple and blue ribbons that dangled from the arms of her chair. “Grace is on the middle school girls’ basketball team, now.”
My brows shot up. “You keep in contact with their family?” That was an extraordinary thing to do. Most people would have been furious about an accident like that. Cade’s family had done the opposite. Forgiven them, and embraced them.
Cade’s shoulder went up. “Too much time is wasted carrying grudges,” he said. “Think of how much energy goes into that. There’s no point. It’s like you’ve said before, you can’t change the past.”
Ivy came over and took the photo off the shelf. “I lost the use of my legs,” she said. “They lost their mom. Their loss seems much greater than mine.”
My mouth gaped and I stared at them both, stunned. Their ability to move forward was almost unbelievable; their ability to forgive and put others before themselves bordered on divine. “You’re both incredible. Seriously.”
To prove it further, they both brushed the compliment off like they didn’t deserve some sort of humble, noble human award.
We spent the next few hours talking and laughing, Ivy telling me stories about Cade—many of them embarrassing, like the time he ripped his football pants right down the back during the middle of a game—and Cade returning the favor. They asked a lot of questions about me, and for one of the first times I could remember, I wasn’t afraid to open up. Maybe it was my comfort with Cade, or maybe it was just because I really liked him and his family, I wasn’t sure.
Sue came in with dinner, and we all sat around Ivy’s room, eating and talking about everything going on in our lives. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d enjoyed a family get together this much. I didn’t get to see my own family much, and loved that Cade was still connected to his. I’d been so caught up in our time together that I didn’t realize how much time had passed. We still had an hour drive to get home.
“You need to leave before the weather gets worse,” Ivy said. “The roads are gonna be wetter and scarier than an airplane bathroom.”
Cade gave her a look. “Meet Ivy, our resident meteorologist.”
She glared and threw a pillow at him. “When have I ever been wrong?”
He held up his hands in defense. “It was a compliment, I swear!”
We grabbed our things and said our goodbyes. Sue was lovely, and apologized for Cade’s dad being out of town on a business trip. I told Ivy I’d come see her again soon. And I meant it. Regardless of what ended up happening with Cade, Ivy’s positive attitude and feisty personality were things I absolutely wanted in my life.
Cade opened the car door for me and we started our drive home.
“Thanks for coming,” he said. “I’m sorry we stayed so long.”
“Don’t be. I enjoyed it.” And I truly had. I loved Cade’s family, and Ivy was now one of my heroes. She had the best attitude and as our conversation had continued, before long, I realized I didn’t even notice the chair. She was an extraordinary person who had been through an immense tragedy, but she hadn’t let it define her. Instead, she’d used that to build herself into the person she wanted to be. I respected her a great deal.
“I have a confession.” He bit the corner of his lip before glancing over at me. “I’ve never brought a girl home before.”
I froze, totally shocked. “Not even your college girlfriend?”
Cade shook his head. “Ivy was part of the reason Cami and I broke up. Cami thought I spent too much time with Ivy, and couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that I considered Ivy my responsibility. She didn’t like the idea of Ivy becoming my dependent someday when my parents couldn’t take care of her anymore.”
I blew out a whoosh of a breath. “That’s a lot to take on. But if she loved you, it shouldn’t have mattered. Ivy should have been as important to her as she was to you.”
Cade eyed me closely. “Those were my thoughts exactly.”
“I really, really like her, Cade. I’m truly so impressed by her and what she’s been through, and overcome. She’s smart, funny, and seems pretty resourceful. Has she ever expressed interest in leaving home and going out on her own?”
Cade laughed at that. “Repeatedly. I think it’s hard for my parents to deal with that thought. They want to protect her.”
“She doesn’t seem like she needs protecting.”
He tilted his head in agreement. “She doesn’t. I’m sure she’ll push back against them soon and do her own thing.”
I’d been watching the roads and weather as we drove, and noticed the snow had stopped wafting to the ground in light, soft flakes. It was now falling at a rapid rate, and the area illuminated by Cade’s headlights looked like a wall of snow. White-outs were scary, and definitely not a time you wanted to be on the road. The temperature had dropped rapidly after twilight, the pavement slick and getting worse. The fog wasn’t helping the situation. We drove in silence for the next few minutes, Cade concentrating on the road. I was about to ask if we should turn around and go back to Cade’s parents’ house when without warning, something was abruptly in front of us blocking the road, the snow and fog obscuring our vision. Cade hit his brakes hard so he wouldn’t run into whatever it was, and we went sliding off into oblivion.
Tips and Tits: The Word from Mistress A
Omelets and Orgasms
I don’t know about you, but I loathe the alarm clock. Nothing is worse than waking up before your body is ready. What if, instead of a blaring alarm clock, you were woken up to the pleasant buzzing of a vibrator? A vagina virtuoso—I’m not gonna lie, I wish the genius was me—came up with the glorious idea that waking to an orgasm was far better than being jolted out of a sexy dream by some horrible song, DJ, or beeping that makes you wonder if it’s time to get out of bed, or run for your life because surely, the only thing making such a horrible noise would signal the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. The orgasm alarm is a vibrator that you attach to your panties—yep, even I’d put on some undies for this magnificent toy. It has thirty freaking levels! Let that sink in for a second.
THIRTY!
You set the time you want to get off, and it goes off…starting slow, and building to a crescendo over five glorious minutes. Trust me when I tell you that it will wake you much more effectively than a cup of coffee. And this handy little vibrating egg timer is also great for foreplay. Set it to go off anytime, anywhere. Everyone will wonder why you’re smiling so much! There isn’t currently an option for men, but I’m told they’re working on one right now, so sign up for the newsletter and check back! When it’s in stock, it sells out fast, so get your orgasm alarm ASAP!
We came to a stop in a flurry of snow. We hadn’t hit anything, just slid—but it had felt like we were skidding down some kind of hill. My heart was a hammer against the inside of my chest, my lungs burning because I’d forgotten to breathe. I took a few deep inhales to invoke calm, and remind myself it was over and we were fine. Thank Thor for seatbelts and a safe car. I looked over to check on Cade. His face was pale and he seemed a little stunned. He shook himself out of it.
“Are you okay?” Cade asked immediately, his eyes assessing me from head to toe. He reached over, his hands on me like he was checking to make sure nothing was broken. He closed his eyes for a moment,
his chest moving up and down with effort. Considering he’d been through a horrific car accident once already in his life, and had just relived what could have been another one, I was surprised he was holding it together. I wouldn’t have been. His eyes came up to mine and he let out a rattled breath.
“I’m fine,” I said, trying to reassure him. I was far more worried about his mental state than I was about my own. “It was just a little ice.” I wasn’t too shaken; things like this happened all the time during winter. I’d slid off the road a few times myself—but it was a completely different experience for Cade given what he’d been through with Ivy. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, pressing his lips into a line like he was convincing himself to push past the emotions he was feeling. He opened his door. “I need to see what we landed in.”
We both got out to evaluate the damage. The SUV had slid into a ditch. The ditch didn’t have water in it, just snow, so that was a bonus. The SUV wouldn’t be washed away. And it was still sitting on all four tires. But the sides of the ditch were covered with slick, wet snow. Cade stood back, putting one hand up to his chin, then bent down gauging the depth of the ditch and the terrain. “I’m going to try and get it out with the low-wheel drive,” he said as he stood. “Make sure you stand over on the other bank, far from me so if I slide again, I don’t hit you.” I nodded as he got back inside. He tried to give the SUV some gas, then a little more, but the tires bit at the snow, spitting it in every direction. They couldn’t gain any ground in the deep, wet fluff, let alone get up over the bank. He got out of the car again, cupping his hands in front of his mouth and blowing on them to take away the chill. I had a coat, but my arms were wrapped around myself trying to preserve every ounce of heat.
Chasing Brynn (A Tempting Novel Book 2) Page 23
