Chapter 21
The steam rose off our bodies as we rushed into my apartment. We’d been soaked through and through, but we were so heated up that it was evaporating as we ran.
I tried to open the door but Caleb had his arms around me and was kissing the back of my neck, rendering me useless with my keys.
“I don’t want you to stop, but I need you to stop so I can get the key in the lock,” I giggled breathlessly.
“Let me,” he said and reached around me to help me open the door. My hands were almost numb from the cold, but the rest of me was hot from my desire.
His entire body pressed against mine and he fumbled with the keys, finally getting them in the lock and opening my door.
“I thought I was going to have to fuck you right here on your doorstep,” he said in my ear. “Not that I would have minded, but your neighbors might object.”
“Maybe not the creeper in 4E,” I laughed and we stumbled in, drunk on love and lust.
“Oh, let’s not give him a show,” Caleb smiled and looked me up and down. “This is all for me, and me alone.”
I shivered at his possessive comment; I loved how he seemed to be claiming me, wanting me, owning me.
“I can’t imagine being with anyone else,” I said and put my head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. Ours seemed to be beating in time, further proof that we belonged together.
“I don’t know how I survived without you, Brooke,” he said and bent to kiss me. “My life was meaningless for so long, but you’ve brought everything into focus and made it good again.”
“I feel the same way,” I whispered and felt tears prickling my eyes at the emotion being shared between us.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to my room, closed the door behind me and showed me how much I meant to him.
We fell asleep tangled in my sheets, the cold and loneliness driven from our bodies as love entered our hearts.
* * *
“What time is Addy bringing Lucy home?” Caleb asked in the morning as we stepped out of the shower. He was drying himself off and I couldn’t help but stare at his incredible body.
“Late afternoon so we have some time to hang out naked if we want,” I winked and smacked his perfect butt.
“Oh, naked hey?” he laughed and grabbed my arms. He held me as I wriggled and tried to get away, but not that hard.
“I don’t think clothes and I get along when you’re in the room,” I laughed.
“I might be developing a little clothing allergy myself,” he said and pulled me against him.
We tumbled back into my bed and ended up where we had started before the shower.
I could see that being with Caleb Harder would mean many many days spent in bed, and I could see that I was completely okay with that.
We crawled out some time later simply because our stomachs were protesting so loudly. “I don’t know how much I have to eat,” I told him. “I mostly have school lunch and dinner things for the coming week.”
“I’ll take you out,” he said, “anywhere you want to go.”
“Is there really much of a choice in this town?”
“Good point. We could go to Virgie’s Diner.”
“Oh god, not on my day off.”
“Then we’ll go to my house and have my cook throw something together. I’ll text him now.”
“Is that okay?” I asked, remembering the encounter I’d had with his father.
“If it’s dear old dad you’re worried about, I’ll take care of him.”
I sighed and said, “I’m in then. I want to see your room later.”
“You’ll see anything you want,” he replied and raised his brow suggestively. I laughed as he sent our breakfast order to his cook and we headed downstairs to his truck. There was a note on the windshield from a local garage and towing company letting him know the van was in their shop and would be ready for pick up later that day.
“Wow, good service when your family owns most of the town,” I laughed.
“It does have its privileges,” he said but looked a little embarrassed.
“Was it tough growing up here?” I asked as he helped me into the passenger seat of his truck.
He walked around to his side and got in, started it and said, “What do you mean?”
“I mean you are obviously from the Harder family, the town’s named after them. You obviously have much more money than anyone else. How did kids treat you?”
“It was awkward at times, I will admit,” he said. “I never knew if people were my friends because they liked me or if they liked my money. Not that it always worked that way, my father was tight fisted with it when I was younger.”
“He didn’t give you an allowance or anything?”
“Nope, I was the richest kid in town but I had no money,” he said with a bitter laugh. “Imagine how popular that made me.”
He kept his eyes on the road as he drove but I could hear the pain in his voice. “I’m sorry,” I said and unbuckled my seatbelt, slid over, did it back up and sat next to him. I took his hand and offered whatever comfort I could.
“Thanks,” he replied. “It means a lot to be able to share it.”
I wanted to ask him whether or not he had shared it with his wife, but obviously couldn’t bring her up yet. I didn’t want to hurt or offend him.
“I’m glad we can talk,” I said, hating the huge thing I was keeping from him, Lucy’s father and the abuse I’d suffered. I didn’t know how to bring it up in casual conversation though, how did you drop something like that without killing the mood completely?
I knew I had to, for my own sake and for his. I didn’t want to keep anything from him and I felt like he deserved it after sharing with me his greatest tragedy.
I decided to wait until later, when we were comfortable and in a safe place. When I was in his arms.
Caleb drove up the familiar street towards his house but drove a little further to a driveway I’d never noticed. He pressed a button on his key ring and a metal gate with matching monograms scrolling across it slid open silently.
“Oh fancy,” I laughed as we drove up a tree-lined driveway that didn’t seem possible. I hadn’t realized how large the land behind the house really was.
“You’re getting in through the private entrance,” he said. “I have to say that’s a big deal. Nobody gets up this way.”
“I feel special,” I told him and tried to force my mouth closed, I wanted to gape at the manicured lawns and elaborate flowers and shrubs. I wanted to gasp when I saw the playful fountain with horse sculptures and the wide pool to the side of the yard. I spotted a tennis court through the trees, and what appeared to be a stable.
“You’re quiet,” he said. “This is all too ostentatious, isn’t it? I’ve often thought about moving to a smaller place in the country.”
“Have you lived here your whole life?”
“I have,” he said, “except for my time in school. I went to boarding school until graduation and then off to college for four years.”
“What about your family?” I asked.
“Anna loved the house. She was from a middle class family and had always admired my family.”
“You knew her for long?”
“I did,” he said, his face growing very serious. “She was a couple years behind me, just my friend’s kid sister but she loved me from day one.”
“That’s very special,” I replied. “I’m glad you two had some time together.”
“Me too,” he said. “It wasn’t long enough but it was perhaps the way life was meant to play out.”
“It’s funny how things change,” I said, thinking of my own life with Rolland.
He pulled up to a wide garage door, hit another button on his key ring and it opened, revealing a garage full of vehicles.
“You collect cars?” I asked, eyeballing the long line of them, everything from super fast Porches to practical SUVs.
“My father did,” he replied. “
Ironic, isn’t it? He nearly lost his life in one of his favorites.”
“I’m sorry,” I said and watched as he pulled into his spot.
We hopped out and the house was mostly silent, both Tara and Caleb’s father nowhere in sight.
I followed him through to the kitchen where he grabbed a couple croissants and looked at me with a wicked grin.
“Are you sure you’re hungry now, or would you like to wolf one of these down and take a peek at my bedroom?”
I grabbed one of them, took a bite, swallowed and said, “Bedroom. Now.”
He laughed and took my hand, dragging me up the stairs to the second floor. I nibbled my pastry past alcoves of artwork, elaborate carved doors and painted family portraits.
At the end of the hall was his bedroom; he kicked the door open swept me inside, almost off my feet.
I gulped the last of my croissant and dove onto his bed, slid to the center and said, “I’m starving.”
I licked my lips and stared pointedly at him as he laughed and climbed onto the bed next to me.
“Damn, Brooke,” he said, “I’m always hungry when you’re in front of me.”
We rolled around a little but didn’t get naked, not then. He took me into his arms and held me close, stroked my hair and stared into my eyes.
“This feels like a dream sometimes,” I said. “I can’t believe it’s really happening, you know?”
“I know,” he said and kissed the top of my head. “I know it all too well.”
We were in each other’s arms when there was a loud banging at his door.
“Caleb, are you in there?” Tara yelled in panic from the other side.
“We are,” Caleb called back, “what’s up?”
“It’s your dad,” she wailed. “He’s gone missing!”
“Shit, not again,” Caleb said and bolted upright.
I joined him and asked, “What do we have to do?”
“Go look for him,” Caleb said with his own voice tinged in panic.
Chapter 22
“Where was the last place you saw him?” Caleb demanded. Tara looked like she was going to start crying, but she collected herself and fought back her tears.
“I rolled him onto the patio for some sunshine and then had to take a call inside. I was gone for maybe ten minutes, when I got back he had disappeared.”
“He’s done this before,” Caleb reassured her. “He can’t get far.”
“I’m so sorry though, I never thought he’d move that fast.”
“Let’s go find him,” Caleb said, grabbed my hand and followed Tara back downstairs.
We searched around the patio and immediate lawn area. Tara decided to check the pool, and Caleb said he was going to head over to the tennis courts. I volunteered to stick close to the house and wait for him to come home.
It made me jumpy to wait for him; our last encounter hadn’t been that pleasant.
I was pacing back and forth looking out at the expansive lawn when I heard a slight squeak behind me.
I whirled around and saw Caleb’s dad sitting there in his wheelchair like nothing had happened.
“Mr. Harder! Where were you?” I exclaimed and ran over to him. I crouched down and assessed him but he looked healthy enough.
“None of your fucking business,” he snarled and stared at me with those steely eyes. “Now go get Tara.”
“Tara’s looking for you,” I replied, trying to keep my own fear in check as he locked his cold hard gaze on me.
“She shouldn’t be looking, I’m right here,” he said and narrowed his eyes, looking at me as if he could judge my inner heart, my fears. “Did you send her off so we could have some time alone?”
“God, no,” I said and tried to move back. His hand snaked out and he gripped my arm like a vice.
“You think you’re too good for me?” he hissed and pulled me closer. I pushed against him, tried to wiggle away but he held me tight. “You think I don’t know what you’re after? You’re just like Anna, play house with my son but ride my cock at night so you guarantee your place in my will.”
“I’m nothing like her,” I gasped and tugged my arm harder. “That’s a horrible thing to say.”
“You’re all alike,” he said and seemed to slip into another world. His dementia kicked in and he added, “You’re all whores when I dangle a little cash in front of you. Did you ever tell him about the boy, Anna? Did you ever tell him who the father really was?”
I choked back a sob, his words were horrid and I didn’t know if he meant them. I didn’t know if Caleb knew the kinds of things his father said about his dead wife and son.
And I didn’t want to know.
It was too much for me, I jerked my arm once again and finally slipped free of his wretched grasp.
“I’m not Anna, and you are a disgusting old man,” I said in a low tone. “If you ever speak to me like that again, I’ll have Caleb stick you in a home.”
He frowned and seemed on the verge of exploding in rage, drew a breath and started to laugh. “No, you aren’t Anna. Meek little Anna. You’re a firecracker, aren’t you? My son might have done well this time, but one of these days I’m going to fuck you and make you beg for money.”
“Not likely, you gross old perv,” I spat, locked the wheels on his chair and stormed to the other side of the patio.
I sat on a stone bench and texted Caleb to let him know his father had been found, not that it was such a good thing.
He was back in moments, his concern for his father apparent on his handsome face. He knelt next to the old man and comforted him; all the while the old man locked his gaze on me and smirked with a knowing smile.
Caleb mustn’t have known about his father and Anna and Trevor’s paternity, the old man had dragged me into his web of lies in some sick attempt to control me and manipulate the both of us.
It wasn’t going to work. Caleb and I were both stronger than that and I would tell him everything one day.
Not to hurt him, but to get the specter of his father off his back. To release the old man and alleviate Caleb’s guilt over the accident.
I knew Caleb blamed himself for the accident, but now I could see that the only innocent in the car that day was Trevor, the little boy.
Anna and Caleb’s father were as sinful as they could get, and all the blood was on their hands.
So I would tell Caleb one day when the time was right, but for his own good. To help him forgive himself and truly move past the pain.
* * *
“Listen, my father is all out of sorts today,” Caleb told me after his father had been settled down and Tara was back to normal. She felt so guilty she was sticking around overnight. “I’m going to drive you to pick up the van, get him settled and I’ll pop by your place later. Is that okay with you?”
“Of course,” I replied. “I didn’t expect you to come over tonight actually, with everything that’s gone on.” I didn’t know how to tell him I was being careful about him and Lucy. I didn’t want Lucy to become too attached to Caleb in case things didn’t work out. It worried me that I’d taken her from her father, and I didn’t want her to lose Caleb if we broke it off.
“I can’t stay away from you, Brooke,” he said and touched my cheek. “I want to see you tonight and every night, but I know it’s too much for Lucy right now so I’ll sneak over after she’s in bed.”
I exhaled a huge breath and all the coiled tension that had been keeping my body stiff with worry. “Thank you for understanding,” I said and smiled. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“I was a dad too, remember,” he said, “I know how nerve-wracking it is.”
I winced as he mentioned being a dad, knowing what I knew and it hurt me to think of the dark secret I’d been told.
I simply gave him a quick hug and made small talk on the way to the garage.
The van was as good as new and the way the guys in the garage deferred to Caleb was strange and exciting. He obviously command
ed a certain level of respect over them in spite of problems he might have had in childhood.
I drove home to tidy up and make dinner for Lucy’s return and I knew things were going to be good. Caleb and I were in love with each other and that was all that mattered.
* * *
“And then I caught the biggest fish of the weekend, it was four pounds! We cooked it up and ate it right there on the campfire!” Lucy told me over dinner. She was so excited by the weekend that she was a river of chatter. There was so much to tell me, and I loved hearing about it.
She slurped up a forkful of spaghetti noodles, no sauce, and smiled.
“I had a fun weekend too,” I told her. “I missed you like crazy, but I got some things cleaned up around here.”
“That’s no fun!” she exclaimed. “Moms are so boring!”
“Yes we are,” I laughed. “Now finish up so we can have dessert.”
“Yum!” she said and dug into the rest of her pasta.
I loved these little moments, the times we had together in peace and harmony. They had been few and far between back when we’d lived with Rolland. Living with him had been like living next to an avalanche, you never knew what would trigger his rush of rage.
“Did you tell Caleb there was no soccer game today?” Lucy asked as we got her ready for bed. It was so sweet that she thought of him.
“I did, don’t worry he didn’t show up to an empty field,” I said and brushed her hair gently.
“I don’t want him to get mad at me,” she said, looking down. “I don’t want to make Caleb mad.”
My heart broke a little at that. She had never known a man to show kindness. She’d only seen her father who had been a brute. I realized that was the damage that was being continually done to her, the fact that her father had given her an early idea of how men were supposed to behave.
“Oh sweetie,” I said and crouched beside her. “Caleb isn’t ever going to get mad at you. He’s not that kind of man.”
“Not like Daddy?” she asked, looking up with her lower lip quivering, threatening tears.
HARDER Page 11
