“You don’t have to tell me. She made life as hard as it could be.”
I decided right then to tell her I’m at odds over whether I’m going to stay in the convent. She asks if it was because of Sister Helena. I explain about Kade, and she gets an ear-to-ear grin on her face.
“I’m thrilled for you. If you decide that’s what you want, you know we’ll all be so happy for you. But Father Anthony is right. You can’t date him and be a novice.”
“Oh, I know. I have to make up my mind. And I’m still on the fence, but as soon as I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
We chat with Father Anthony for a minute and then he leaves for the hospital and we go back to the convent. What started out as a rotten experience actually turned into something in my favor. I can’t wait to tell Kade about it when I see him. Now my heart sinks because I have no idea when that will be.
Eleven
The Seven
Three men sift through the yard, moving like shadows. When they get to the back door, one says, “Unlock and secure.”
The door is unlocked and the alarm deactivated. The dog starts barking.
“Drey, keep the pup quiet.”
The other two head into the study and log onto the computer, erasing camera images, and removing any incriminating evidence of their presence on the premises.
Then they hack into an account that gives them access to Kade Hart’s cell phone. Unfortunately, they are unable to retrieve the photos through that method. They log off the computer, leaving it as they found it.
“All clear?” Drey asks.
“We’re going to have to get our hands on his phone somehow. We can’t clear his photos online,” Verus answers.
“Shit.”
“Exactly.”
~~~~~
Rafe stands outside the door of Sabin’s office and observes him for a minute. Black leather stretches across an expanse of muscular shoulders. The give and take of leather surprises Rafe. He wonders why it doesn’t split right up the center as Sabin tests its strength each time he moves. Black shaggy hair in need of a trim brushes over the collar of the jacket as an impatient hand pushes a lock off his forehead.
“How long you going to stand there and ogle me like some lovesick bitch?”
Rafe rolls his shoulders back and prepares to go to verbal war.
“How the fuck do you do that?” he asks.
“Do what?”
“Know I’m out here?”
Sabin whips around in his chair and asks, “You did not just ask me that, did you? Because if you did, we have serious problems. It’s your job to pick up on shit like this. If you can’t sense when someone is watching you, and you’re my team-fucking-leader, then we have issues, Rafe.”
Maybe he’s right, Rafe thinks. He wonders if he’s lost his abilities.
“And your fucking confidence. If your men suspect that, you lose everything. What’s going on with you? Speak.”
“It’s the girl. Edge is right. She picks up on everything. Every damn time. Even I question my abilities when I’m around her.”
Black eyes penetrate gray ones. It’s an intense moment for Rafe. To have Sabin involved and digging around in your life is something they all try to avoid. But it’s gotten to the point where they can no longer do that.
A curtain drops over Sabin’s eyes and he’s silent for a moment. “You don’t have the luxury of questioning your abilities. Unless you want to be pulled from this mission. Is that what you want?”
“No. Edge has come up with an idea. He wants you to join us. Only to see for yourself what we’re talking about.”
Sabin’s eyes narrow. “What’s his game?”
“No game. He only wants you to understand what we’re up against.”
“A slip of a girl?”
“No, she’s unusual. Special.”
“What? You wanna take her home to Mom?”
Just for once, Rafe wishes Sabin would keep his sarcasm to himself. “No. Listen to what I have to say. Edge wants to see if you have the same experience we all do. If you don’t, he’s willing to let you tattoo ‘Pussy’ in capital letters across his forehead.”
Sabin flicks the hair out of his eyes. “Why the fuck would I want one of my men having a tattoo like that on his forehead?”
“It’s his way of telling you how sure he is of this.”
“Hmm. This is a first. Sweetening the pot is he? It might just be worth it to prove his arrogant ass wrong.”
Rafe laughs. “Thought you’d like it, but it’s not gonna happen.”
“You’re that confident?” Sabin asks. “A minute ago, you acted like you didn’t know your ass from a hole in the ground.”
If Rafe is sure about one thing, it’s this girl. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Sabin leans forward in his chair, rests his arms on his thighs, and steeples his fingers between his knees. “Here’s my offer. I come. But if I find out differently, you’ll all be pulled and suspended without pay. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get out of here and go tell Edge to get ready for some company. I’m going to be his right hand man.” Sabin flashes Rafe a wicked grin.
Twelve
Juliette
Things have been so much better without Sister Helena. Life’s almost like a vacation. Almost. The oppressive darkness of living in the convent has disappeared and even though it is still stark and unattractive, the atmosphere has altered so much that it’s a much more pleasant place to live. All the nuns seem lighthearted and happy. That was absent when Sister Helena was in charge.
The night she was taken away, after Father Anthony returned from the hospital, he called a meeting with all the nuns at the rectory. He explained that she would be in psychiatric care and when she was healthy enough to be released, she would go into retirement. Sister Mary Elizabeth is officially in charge now, and everyone is thrilled with the news.
The next day, one of the other nuns, Sister Marcella, paid me a visit in my room after dinner and brought me some blankets. She explained that Sister Helena only allowed the meager ones on my bed. The nuns all had protested, but she would hear none of it. I had no idea I had been deprived of these out of spite or whatever you want to call it. It was my impression that everyone slept with the same number of blankets that I did. That was the first night I didn’t freeze while I slept since I arrived at the convent.
Two days later, we’re getting ready for the Christmas masses. The church is decorated and the nuns are scurrying around with last minute preparations. Christmas Eve is in two days. I haven’t seen Kade since I’ve been back. I miss him and Ethel. It’s been too cold and the snow is still too deep for me to walk over there or to the shelter, so I’ve had to cancel my volunteer activities. Hopefully, the snow will melt off some in a few days and I’ll be able to resume them.
We have choir practice today. The nuns have encouraged me to join in. I’ve tried to get out of it, but they won’t hear of it. I don’t know why they want me here. I swear I sound like nails on a chalkboard, but they embrace my horrible voice as if I were an opera singer. Maybe they all need psychiatric care like Sister Helena. Or maybe they need their hearing checked.
The church is filled with nuns and choir members milling around, waiting for practice to start. I’m standing right inside the church, leaning against a pew when he walks in the narthex. Oh, God, he looks like sunshine and summer on this cold winter day. He turns to the right and he must see someone because he laughs. The timbre of his voice makes me shiver—not with cold, but with heat. Blazing heat. His profile is perfect, nose straight and tinged with pink from the cold; his sinewy form is covered in his jacket, much to my dismay. The urge to run and hug him is overpowering. Heat spreads from my belly to my core, and then up to my neck. I know my face is flushed; I can feel the heat singeing my cheeks.
“Emmalia, are you okay?”
It’s Sister Mary Elizabeth.
My head jerks around so I can look at her. “Uh, yeah, I,
uh, I’m okay.”
Her brow creases and she puts her hand on my forehead. “You do feel a bit warm to the touch. A slight fever perhaps?”
Of course I’m warm to the touch. My blood is about to boil. Shaking my head, I say, “No, no, I don’t think so.”
“Maybe you should sit down.”
“I’m fine, really.”
While we’re discussing the state of my health, I don’t notice Kade’s approach.
“Emmalia.”
I really need Sister Mary Elizabeth to get the hell out of here.
“Hello Kade. I’ll be running along to gather the sheep. Emmalia, if you don’t feel up to this …”
“I’m fine,” I huff.
She nods and her chubby body shuffles off. Oh, how I wish we were anywhere but here.
Turning to face Kade, I smile and say, “Hi.”
“What the hell happened to your face?”
It’s dark, well dark like most churches, and my face has faded quite a bit so I didn’t give it a thought. But his ice blue eyes darken as his pupils dilate. He fights to maintain control, as his body tenses and his eyes seethe.
“Tell me, Emmalia, before I do something we both regret.”
“It was Sister Helena.”
His face moves in front of mine and he says, “What did you say?”
“But it’s okay.”
“It is not okay.”
Before I can speak, he stalks out of the church. I run after him calling his name. He stops in the narthex.
“Listen to me.”
He looks like a damn bull, with his nostrils flaring. The muscle in his jaw twitches so violently, I’m afraid he’s going to crack his teeth.
“Calm down, Kade. Everything is good. She’s gone. Father Anthony removed her and Sister Mary Elizabeth is in charge now.”
The tension drains out of him and he inhales. “Thank God.”
“There’s something else. Well a couple of things.”
“Am I going to have another stroke over them?”
“I don’t know.”
The truth is, I don’t know how he’ll react. I’d like to think he’ll be happy, but who knows? Our eyes dance around each other’s for a few seconds and mine end up lingering on his sensual lips for far too long.
“Are you going to tell me or are you just going to stare at me?”
My belly turns into a pile of knots, and I grimace.
“That bad, huh.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I squeak. So I blurt out, “Father Anthony knows we’re sweet on each other. Well, he knows I’m sweet on you. And so does Sister Mary Elizabeth. And I told them both that I would make a decision soon about my life in the convent. They reminded me that I can’t date you while I’m here.”
A monstrous grin spreads across his face. Then he looks around and sees no one, so he grabs my hand and drags me to a nearby closet. It’s a small one that’s used for odds and ends. Once inside, he flips on the light, closes the door, and his hand softly traces the outline of what remains of the bruise.
“I’m glad she’s gone because I may have gone to jail over this.” His lips kiss the bit of swelling left behind, and work their way to my lips, where they caress and tease. “I want you, Juliette. I’ve done nothing but think about you since you left. Come back to me. Please. I’m not above begging.”
“Kade. I want you too, but this is moving so fast.”
“I mean leave the convent so we can try. Properly try.”
His lips are back on mine, but this time they’re insistent, probing, tasting, invading, and I’m lost to everything that’s Kade Hart. My hands burrow under his jacket so I can feel his skin. I need his skin next to mine. And I realize then there’s no hope for me here. I have to get out and make my way, trying to see if it works with Kade.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Okay what?”
“I’ll leave. After Christmas.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
He grabs my butt and hoists me up against him, saying, “I promise, you will not be sorry. I’ll make you happy, I swear I will.”
“You have to promise me something else, too, Kade.”
“Anything.”
“That we’ll take this slow. That we won’t see each other every day. That we give each other room. I want us healthy in this relationship and not using each other as a crutch.”
He plays with a piece of my choppy hair as he thinks of what to say.
“This isn’t a place for a long conversation, so I’ll be brief. I’m pretty much a fucked up, broken down, drug addict. I’m not a great catch,” and he bends down to whisper into my ear, “Juliette.” Then he offers me a goofy grin before continuing. “I’m eccentric as shit. Sometimes my thoughts turn pretty dark and my moods turn even darker. That’s when I express myself better through music than words. I’ve never thought I was worth loving—until I met you. Have you ever heard of the snap? The click? That’s what happened to me when I met you. Everything snapped into place. It all clicked. You make me feel things—things I didn’t know existed. I’ll never use you as a crutch. I look at you as a rocket booster, Juliette. You lift me up. Take me places I’ve never been. But a crutch? Never. And I agree with you. If you want room, you’ll have it.”
“For someone who expresses himself better through music than words, you did a damn fine job of it just now.”
He kisses me, but just a peck.
“We need to get out of here before they call the police and file a missing persons report.”
He opens the door and peeks a little then we walk out. I’m struck by the fact that he’s here so I ask him.
“I’m playing the organ.”
“For the services, too?”
“Huh uh. Only for practice. Mr. Grant, the regular organist, couldn’t be here today.”
“Kade, have you seen that organ? It’s huge.”
He looks at me and busts out laughing. “I have seen it and indeed it is.”
“Can you play it?”
“I grew up playing the mighty organ,” he smirks. “I’m quite handy at it.”
The sexual innuendos suddenly hit me and I elbow him. “You’re bad.”
“No, I’m a man and we all act like we’re twelve.”
“You really know how to play that thing?”
He laughs. “You’re going to find out. But are you singing today?”
“They insisted, but I think I’ll lip sync.”
“Just relax and sing. You’ll be fine.”
“Okiedoke, Bronco,” and I give him a wink.
We separate ways, and I can hear him laughing as he climbs the stairs to the choir loft, where the humongous organ is. I join the others in the front of the church. As I pass Sister Mary Elizabeth, she mumbles, “Did you two have fun in the closet?”
I suck in my breath and my face feels like it could torch up the church. I’m sure it’s red as fire.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone else saw you slip inside.”
“Gah, I’m dying here. He was furious over my swollen face.”
“I take it you explained the situation.”
I nod.
“Come. It’s time to practice.”
I let her lead me, but I know I’ll sound like a squirrel barking. This two hour practice will seem like days.
Kade stands at the choir loft and tells the director he’s ready. And when the pipes of the organ begin to blow out the melody, I can only think of him running his expert fingers across the ivory keys. Song after song, he plays, never missing a key. Or at least if he does, I can’t tell. My untrained ears probably wouldn’t notice anyway.
We finally finish, and I look at my watch. It’s one-thirty. And I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I linger at the back, hoping to talk to Kade.
He finally comes down from the choir loft and says, “I was hoping I’d see you while I was here. I wanted to give you this.” He hands me a piece of paper with a phone number on
it.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the kennel where Ethel will be staying.”
“Kennel?”
“Yes. I leave tomorrow for Charleston to spend the holidays with my family and I’ll be back the day after Christmas. She’ll stay there until I return.”
“Oh, no!”
Sister Mary Elizabeth hears me and asks, “What is it Emmalia?”
“It’s Ethel. She has to stay in a kennel because Kade is going to Charleston for Christmas.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have any other option,” he says.
“I know. But it still breaks my heart.”
Sister Mary Elizabeth chews on her lip. “Why doesn’t Ethel stay here?”
“But I thought …”
She smiles. “I know. That was Sister Helena. We all wanted that puppy here. You can bring her here and then she won’t have to stay in the kennel.”
I nearly knock poor Sister over when I hug her in excitement.
Kade comments about how things have changed for the better around here.
“They sure have. I even have more blankets and I’m not freezing at night anymore.”
He bristles. “You were freezing at night?”
“Forget I said that.” I don’t need him seething over something else. “You’re not going to burst my bubble of happiness. I get Ethel for a couple of days.”
“And I’m sure she’ll be excited to see you as well,” Kade adds.
“Let’s go get her!” I charge toward the church entrance. This is such a fabulous surprise. Christmas wasn’t exactly going to be an exciting holiday for me. The last two were dreadful. I was expecting for more of the same, but now with Ethel coming over, I’m happier than I would be if someone handed me a trunk full of money.
“Whoa there!” Kade calls out. “You can’t run outside without a coat.”
What the heck am I thinking? Laughing, I head back to where I dropped off my coat, hat, and gloves.
“Now let’s go.” I run out the door.
“Slow down, baby doe. I’m coming.”
I’m waiting for him by his truck when I notice them. The shadows and silhouettes. I haven’t spent much time outside in a few days so they haven’t crossed my mind for a change. Kade catches up to me and unlocks the door. When he opens it for me, I lean into him and tell him about our visitors. “Can you see them?”
The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart: A Hart Brothers Novel Page 16
