by Violet Duke
That forceful fun fact reminded her of another time he’d been compelled to be the furthest thing from a boy scout for her. When he’d been ready to lie under oath in court for her.
Nicely played, universe.
But before their full-circle moment could rain some reality down on their reunion, an adorable Tasmanian devil like energy came zipping into the room and practically tackle-hugged Caine where he stood.
“Caine!! Ohmigosh, we’ve missed you so much!”
Chapter Six
Addison felt her heart do a somersault when she saw the awed, proud paternal affection filter across Caine’s expression as he ruffled Kylie’s hair. “You’re all grown-up.”
The follow-up ultra-male throat-clearing, foggy-eyed-for-a-nanosecond way he got choked up just made Addison melt even more. “Dang it Kylie, couldn’t you have turned out a little less beautiful?” he complained immediately. Turning to Addison, he sounded distraught. “Tell me you don’t let her go out at night yet.”
Geez, at this rate, her ovaries were going to faint. “Caine, she’s fifteen.”
Seemingly even more grumpy over the truth in that alone, he insisted, “Well, then her curfew should be an hour after sunset, no later. Unless it’s with adult supervision.”
Kylie giggled. “You sound just like Uncle Alec.”
Caine looked thoroughly insulted over the comparison.
Which seemed to entertain Alec to no end.
Caine swung his glance over to him. “Have you been making yourself useful and keeping the boys away from her?”
Alec simply gave him a look that said, “Duh.”
Oy, the pair were like two overbearing peas in a pod.
To be fair, they did have good reason to be overprotective. More often than not, Kylie had smitten teen boys staring at her all day long. Not that she ever noticed. No, Addison’s modern day hippie gypsy sister usually spent her days like a sweet, dancing-to-music-only-she-can-hear Alice in Wonderland meets Ariel finding mermaid magic in every little slip-n-slide journey she took in the world.
With her hair usually in a loose, garland-like braid over one shoulder, and her outfits consisting mostly of gauzy, flowing floral tops paired with secondhand denim capris and patched hobo bags she made herself, Kylie had an effortless, earthy beauty that probably would’ve resorted Caine to threatening all of Kylie’s male friends with a loaded shotgun by now had he been in their lives all this time.
Kylie quickly tucked her bag behind the desk and came back around to link her arm with Caine’s. “Did Addison give you the grand tour yet? If not, can I? Walking around and seeing all the families spend time together around the property is one of my absolute favorite things to do.”
Just like that, he was putty in Kylie’s hands, just like he’d been back when she’d been in grade school and the incredible man had gone—in his squad car—to every McDonalds in the area, ordering the Hello Kitty Happy Meal until he had the complete set of toys to surprise her with.
To this day, Kylie still had the little Hello Kitty figurines on her dresser.
“I’d be honored if you’d give me a tour, princess.”
“Oh my gosh, no one’s called me that in years.” Her radiant smile fell apart then, turning down at the corners, likely at the realization of what she was saying, and who she was saying it to.
Addison squeezed her hand in sympathy. “Hey, why don’t you start with a tour of the gardens?” she suggested, knowing that would help cheer her up like nothing could.
Sure enough, Kylie perked up. “You have to see it, Caine. We have three produce gardens that all the residents help maintain—the big family crop garden at the center of the property, a hydroponic one on the walls that Tanner helped engineer over by the pool, and one with a partial greenhouse back by the doggie play area that Franny watches over like a hawk to make the most amazing menus for us every month.”
On the way to the gardens, Kylie detoured them through the courtyard to show him the little co-op kiosks in the small farmer’s market type set-up they had there, run by the residents every other afternoon with everything from snacks to handmade crafts. From there, they hit the biggest garden first, filled with families tending to the crops.
Caine looked around in redoubled admiration. “I didn’t realize your lot kept going so far beyond the buildings.” He shook his head in wonder. “Addison, this is incredible. You’ve practically built a small gated town here.”
Addison crouched down to pet a nearby autumn lettuce cluster while Kylie ran off to pick a sweet cherry tomato off the vine for Caine to taste. “You should actually get partial credit for these gardens, you know. Since it was that Venus Fly Trap you gave Tanner back in Creek Hills that started his interest in plants, which led to our business proposal for this complex having the urban gardening focus that secured us some really big grants and investors.”
She smiled, thinking of the nomadic adventures that little plant had accompanied them on. “It’s still alive, in fact. I know those things live like a hundred years without its owner doing much, but still. I think it inspires him. He has it with him in his dorm room at USD where, by the way, he got a full scholarship to get his degree in botany, specializing in sustainable horticulture.”
Caine was back to looking choked up. “I always told that kid he was smart.”
“That you did. And he never forgot it.”
“Does he visit sometimes?”
“He tries to return to Arizona once a month or so. You guys should hang out. I mean, regardless of what’s going on between you and me, that shouldn’t stop you and Tanner from—”
She cut herself off when she saw Caine looking defiantly opposed to the words tumbling out of her mouth.
“Addison, I agree we can’t keep going on the way we have been all these years. But you’re not getting rid of me. Don’t talk like you and I aren’t going to still—”
Kylie’s return with three perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes for them cliffhangered where ever he was going with his impassioned speech.
And it was driving Addison crazy not to know what the end of that sentence was.
“So where do you want to go next on the tour?” asked Kylie with a smile, totally oblivious to the situation.
Caine didn’t miss a beat. “Where do you guys live?”
“In the same building we were in earlier.” Kylie pointed back the way they came while munching on her tomato. “The lower three floors have the main office, staff and community kitchens, dining hall, computer center, daycare, a few rooms for night school and other classes the parents sign up for, and different areas for the kids to study and hang out in. We live up on the fifth floor, across from Uncle Alec. The other management staff who need to be on site like the maintenance super and main groundskeeper live in the other apartments on the floor too.”
Always the officer, Caine studied the building and nodded at the row of identical windows a floor below the apartments. “So what’s on the fourth floor?”
“Commercial office spaces,” answered Addison, feeling suddenly shy about the part of the housing complex she’d had to fight the hardest to get funding for. “We encourage folks to be self-employed if that’s their passion and strength. So if they work from home, but need more space or specific equipment, whether they’re bakers or artists or carpenters, we have commercial spaces they can share.”
As he surveyed the row of office windows—all clearly occupied—the tension in the air between them dissipated completely. Caine gazed at her in awe. “Sweetheart, what you’ve built here—the sustainable living, the communal classes, the be-your-own-boss initiative—you’re changing these families’ lives. Giving them a real shot to get out of the homeless cycle.”
Addison had long passed the stage in her life where she felt the need for validation over a job well done. But Caine wasn’t just offering praise. He was seeing her vision.
Alec reappeared out of nowhere and tugged on Kylie’s braid. “C’mon, Kyles. Let’s give Addison and Caine some alone ti
me. The kids want us to play kickball with them and be team captains again.” Not bothering to wait for a reply, he started jogging over to the big grassy area by the pool where a group of kids were waiting and waving Kylie over. “Hopefully, you don’t bounce any more pitches that knock little kids on my team over like last time.”
That made Kylie dash after him in an indignant huff. “I didn’t knock that kid over! You had him lean in over the plate to get the walk, you big cheat!”
A friendly shoving race between the pair commenced as they sprinted to the field.
“I’m sure he’s good people. Especially since he’s got your approval and all. But that guy is a serious danger to my admittedly single-minded sanity where you’re involved,” confessed Caine, not sounding homicidal or even jealous, really. More…envious. “He’s gotten to be a part of all your lives in more ways than I ever did.”
Saying it out loud hurt like hell.
And seeing Alec giving Kylie a laughing noogie with a camaraderie second only to the kinship Caine had seen her have with Tanner just rubbed salt in the wound.
Seven years ago, when he’d offered to become foster dad to both Kylie and Tanner, he’d been wholly prepared to be as involved in their lives like his own parents had been in his. So truth be told, when Addison left, Caine didn’t just lose the woman he’d known in his gut he was meant to be with, but the two kids he’d wanted to become a permanent part of his life as well.
“Was he good with Tanner, too?”
She pondered that for a sec before answering, “I think in the beginning, Tanner didn’t want to like Alec. Because he wasn’t you.”
Caine thought an announcement like that would make him feel better, but it didn’t. “You could’ve called me. I would’ve talked to him, encouraged him to give the annoying guy a chance.”
She smiled. “I know you would’ve. And Tanner did, too. Which is why he did eventually grow to become close with Alec.” Her gaze held his unwaveringly as she added, “But you were never far from his thoughts. In fact, he even wrote his college application essay about you—the man who taught him about the person he wanted to become. I kept a copy to show you one day.”
Hells bells, that news immediately prompted his brain to issue a storm watch for his eyes. Heavy precipitation imminent. Possible flood warning upon arrival of that essay.
“For both Tanner and Kylie, yes, they hit it off with Alec because he’s fun and cool and super caring in his own way, but with you back in Creek Hills, it was like they’d…imprinted on you or something.”
Where had he heard that before? “Isn’t that a werewolf thing?”
Addison’s brows hopped up in surprise. “I’m impressed.”
He’d have to remember to take Millie out for some ice cream for insisting he watch her favorite vampire movie with her on TV.
“I still remember how easily they’d bonded with you. From the very beginning, they’d felt safe with you, looked up to you. With you, it was always a two-way street for them—a given that you’d be as much a part of their lives as they were in yours.”
Huh, maybe there was something to this imprinting thing.
“Alec, on the other hand, is more like their big brother. More fraternal than paternal. Definitely a one-way street kind of guy in the life-sharing department.” She held his gaze meaningfully. “So Alec may have hung out with them for longer than you got to, but you were right there with them all along in more ways than you realize.”
Hearing that helped like nothing else could. Those kids had left permanent footprints in his life, of that he had no doubt. “I thought about them all the time, too.”
“Did you—” Shaking her head abruptly, she pursed her lips to stem whatever she’d been about to ask and quickly looked away. “Never mind.”
“Don’t do that.”
Slowly, she turned back to face him.
He cupped her cheek gently. “Don’t hide your thoughts from me.”
At that, she just gave him an incredulous head tilt. “You say that like I was any good at it before; you always read me better than anyone ever could. Like an open book.”
He grinned. “My favorite book.” As more memories came flooding back, his voice roughened to a coarser grit. “It’s right up there with the bedtime storybook Kylie left me.” The copy of Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar had been one of the first things he’d unpacked when he’d moved to Phoenix, and it was still the only book he kept on the shelf in his living room, next to his family photos.
At the flash of pain in Addison’s eyes, he instantly regretted his words. He hadn’t even meant to bring up any of the gifts they’d each left for him. It just came out.
Possibly because he wanted, needed to talk about the gift she’d selected to leave behind as his parting memory of her.
Too soon.
“What were you going to say just now?” he asked, changing the subject for both their sakes.
She hesitated again, but then finally whispered shakily, “D-did you hate me for leaving?”
Shock held him mute for a second, before he answered, probably more forcefully than he needed to, “How could you possibly think that? Baby, you gave up everything, started over with nothing, and survived against odds most people wouldn’t be able to even fathom, just so I wouldn’t have to perjure myself in court.”
“Because I knew it would’ve been more than just lying on the stand for you. It would’ve been breaking an oath that’s at the very foundation of what you believe in, of who you are.”
God, this woman. “I repeat; how could you possibly think I’d hate you for what you did for me?”
Her lower lip wobbled. “But…but I disappeared on you after—”
Still too soon. He lifted her chin. “After a night we won’t talk about right now,” he finished, his words weighted with emotion.
When she looked ready to argue with him about it, he gently cut her off at the pass. “To answer your earlier question about us: Yes. We should try just being friends. I can’t promise I’m going to be good at it. In fact, I’m probably going to stink at it pretty bad. But I’ll do my best.”
The need to kiss those now softly smiling lips of hers felt like a compulsion he just knew he wasn’t strong enough to combat.
So he stepped back, mentally cataloging all the reasons why he needed to keep walking and make use of the quick-exit he’d come prepared with by purposely bringing his patrol car, which needed to be returned to the station.
She’s happy. That’s all that mattered.
That’s why he was going to keep his distance—or at least try his damndest to.
And why she was never going to see the inside of his bedroom.
Seeing as how he rarely slept, Caine hadn’t bothered with a bed when he’d moved back to Phoenix. Instead, he’d turned the master into his own command central, filling it with whiteboards with charts and surveillance photos and triangulated maps, file cabinets full of intel Drew had hacked, and basically every bit of recon and research he’d ever collected before and after each of the dozen times they’d just barely missed apprehending David.
Seemed like whenever Caine would get close, somehow the son of a bitch would be a step ahead. Sometimes by few days, others, mere hours. Then immediately after, they’d hit a drought where the trail ran cold for months on end with no evidence of David even being on the planet.
Aside from the annual notes, that is.
If I can’t Have Her, Neither Can You
Caine flicked on the lights of his apartment and headed to the boxes of evidence in his bedroom where he kept the note he’d received the day David had jumped bail.
And every year since.
Seven years, seven notes. Though it was the same note each year, Caine had separate file boxes for each, as every one of the deliveries had been a deliberate message in itself, showcasing the fact that David had had both specific knowledge of Caine’s plans for the day, and direct, untraceable access to make the drop.
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br /> The first letter had been waiting for him when he’d returned home after first learning David had disappeared after posting bail. It had been slid under his apartment door, on a secured lot, where not a single camera managed to catch David on property.
The second had been placed on his seat at a bar he’d been hanging out at with his buddies while he’d been at the restroom.
The third arrived by messenger at a school he was volunteering at that day, which he’d only just agreed to go to an hour prior.
The fourth was left on his parent’s porch, on literally the only day he’d been there visiting in months.
The fifth appeared under the windshield wiper on his squad car after he’d transferred back to Phoenix PD, the week he’d had a different car since his had been getting serviced.
The sixth came taped to the inside of a pizza order that was delivered to a friend’s house shortly after he arrived.
And the most recent? He’d found it his locker at the precinct, on a floor where only cops and guests registered with a photo ID have access.
Maybe that’s why Caine had been so on edge over Addison (and evidently, Alec) thinking he was some sort of boy scout.
Because maybe he’d be standing here in his bedroom right now with an actual bed, and the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life—instead of surrounded by seven years of intel—if only his badge and code of honor didn’t keep him from simply bringing the bastard back across the border in a body bag.
Chapter Seven
“You want me to do what now?”
“The job is perfect for you,” Caine reasoned innocently as he helped his friend Georgia set the table while her two kids washed up for lunch. “A sewing class at Addison’s housing complex would be a hit. And you are one of the best seamstresses I know.”
“One of?” She shot him a look of sheer offense. “I’m the only seamstress you know.
“Okay, fine. The best,” he amended, hiding a grin.
