Her throat bobbed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess I was being selfish? I knew you were happy, and I didn’t want to hear the happiness in your voice when I missed you so much.” That surprised me. I opened my mouth, but clamped it shut a second later. “Not only that, but I didn’t want to ruin that happiness. This whole thing with you finding yourself? Clearly, it paid off when you left. You look healthy and well-rested again.”
“I feel better.”
“Good. As long as you’re happy…” She didn’t complete her sentence. I didn’t expect her to. Of course I’d broken her heart. She looked happy to see me, but also ashamed and hurt.
“Well,” she breathed, “if you want to see your dad, he’s right downstairs.”
I bobbed my head, going to the door that led down to the basement.
“Coming?” I asked Cane over my shoulder.
“Nah.” He held up a hand. “I think I’ll hang out up here, let you talk to him alone.”
“You can try my snickerdoodles,” Mom insisted, gesturing with her hand for Cane to follow her. “It’s a new recipe. I had a craving, but instead of my original recipe, I added caramel. You’ll let me know what you think? I plan on taking some to work tomorrow.”
Cane smiled, following her to the kitchen. “Of course.” Before he disappeared around the corner, he looked me in the eye, and that look said it all. You’ll be okay.
Sighing, I gripped the doorknob belonging to Dad’s man cave and pulled it open. It creaked a bit, but was nowhere near as loud as the TV down there.
I walked down, and with each step, the stairs moaned and croaked.
“Mindy, you got that beer?” Dad called. The sound of whistles blowing came from the TV, and Dad cheered, “Oh! Yes! Hell yes! Go, go, go!”
I stepped around the corner, and he had his hands in the air, clearly pleased with who was winning whichever sport he was watching. I rested my head on the corner of the wall, watching him briefly before noticing three beer bottles on the table beside his recliner, all empty.
I softly cleared my throat, and he finally pulled his eyes from the TV to see who’d made the noise. When his brown eyes found mine, his excitement morphed into shock.
Brows narrowing, he stood up straight, taking a step away from the TV. “Kandy,” he breathed, and the sound of his voice was enough to do me in. I hadn’t heard it in what felt like an eternity. I knew I would miss my parents, but didn’t think the feeling would be so powerful. I didn’t realize it would consume me whole the moment I placed eyes on them.
I rushed his way, and without a moment of hesitation, he opened his arms. My face pressed into his chest, and he sucked in a breath, holding on tight. “Kandy. You’re here…but…”
I looked up. “I’m here, Dad.”
“But…why? I thought…I mean, I figured you were happy with him. Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened and I am happy with him,” I confirmed, and his mouth twitched. “I just came back to see you and Mom.” I pushed a tendril of my hair back. “I miss you guys so much.”
He huffed. “We miss you, too. Every single day, sweetheart.”
My eyes burned with hot tears, my vision so blurry I could hardly make him out anymore. “Dad, I’m sorry that I—I mean, I didn’t mean to make you feel like you and Mom aren’t enough.”
“You didn’t make us feel like that.” He wrapped a hand around the back of my head, kissing my forehead. “How is he treating you?”
“Better than ever.”
He studied my eyes briefly, dropping his hand. “You know…I, uh…I know about Kelly.”
I swiped my tears away with the back of my arm. “What do you mean?” I tried to play dumb, when really my heart started beating a little faster.
“Come on. Don’t play dumb with me. If I know, I’m sure Cane knows, and he’s probably filled you in about it. One of the detectives was on the case of her random death. He called me, told me what was going on. It was on the news, too, but they’ve kept Kelly’s name out of it so your mother doesn’t know about it. I don’t plan on telling her about it, either.” Dad frowned a bit. “Did this have anything to do with Cane?”
I looked away. “I’m not answering that.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I tell you, you’ll conjure up even more reason to dislike him and his family.”
His face became serious. “So it did have something to do with him?”
I glared at him. “I never said that.”
“I know it did,” he stated. “Just answer one question for me: did he do it?”
“No.” My voice was firm, and Dad’s shoulders relaxed a bit.
“Fine. Then who did?”
“I don’t know,” I lied, “but it wasn’t Cane. He wasn’t even on the East Coast when it happened. You can check his records or whatever it is you do. He was in Texas.”
Dad ran a palm over his face. “Well…it’s not like she didn’t have it coming,” he muttered. “I can’t lie and say I didn’t think of ways to serve her a little more justice myself.”
I folded my arms, looking over my shoulder. “He’s upstairs, you know? Cane.”
He grimaced and was about to walk around me, but I pressed a hand to his chest. “Why is he in my house?” he growled.
“Because I told him to come inside with me. Look, Dad, you can pretend you hate Cane all you want, but you and I both know that it isn’t true. Cane made some mistakes in his life, yes, but he has told me repeatedly that loving me wasn’t one of them. Not only that, but you knew all about Cane and where he came from and who he was involved with, but you still let him into this house every single time for those dinners. You know he’s not all bad.”
“Jesus, Kandy. You’re still on that? Believing every little lie he tells you?”
“To be frank, Dad, Cane has told me nothing but the truth ever since I went back to him.” I folded my arms. “But I see you’re still out to blame him for every little thing.”
“I don’t trust him,” he grumbled.
“Well, I do. Okay? And I love him. He means a lot to me, and at one point in your life, he meant a lot to you and Mom too.” He tried fighting the look, but I noticed his eyes soften. “Look, I know things can’t go back to the way they used to be. Trust me, I get why they can’t, but you had your time to sulk and throw your own pity party. It’s time to accept life as it is.”
He scoffed and walked away from me, sitting in the recliner. “If you came back, thinking I would show him some sympathy, it isn’t gonna happen. As far as I’m concerned, Cane is dead to me.”
“And I hate that you feel that way, D.” Cane’s deep voice rose behind me, and I looked back, watching him and Mom round the corner. I was so involved in our conversation that I didn’t even hear them coming down.
Dad stood up quickly, glaring at Cane. “You have some nerve, Cane.”
“I know I’m the last person you want to see.” Cane raked his fingers through his hair. “Do you remember the day you called me about Kandy’s graduation, and you told me that you really wanted me there?”
Dad didn’t answer, but his eyes stayed on Cane’s.
“I was busy as hell that weekend. Swamped, really. But you told me that if I didn’t make it, you would understand. And if I did make it, it would mean so much to you because I was family to you.”
Dad’s eyes went red at the rim.
“It was the first time you actually called me family. I mean, yeah, you’d hinted at the whole brother thing before, but calling me family was different and special, and I appreciated it. The thing about family, D, is that there are always arguments. There is always drama we have to deal with, but we push through it out of love, man. It can take months—years sometimes—but you learn to forgive. And look, I know me being with Kandy crosses every single line in your book. I know I hurt you the day you found out about us…but if anyone in this world knows me, it’s you, and you know I would never do a thing to hurt your daughter.” He
came closer. “I am begging you, as someone who cares deeply for not only your daughter, but all three of you, to accept this for what it is. Accept the fact that I love her, D, and that I want her in my life just as much as you want her in yours. Stop trying to fight what already is because if you keep fighting it, you’ll only create a bigger barrier between the two of you.”
Dad ran a hand over the top of his head, turning his back to us. “What is this, some kind of intervention?” he muttered.
“No,” Mom said, walking up to him and rubbing his back. “It’s time for you to make changes, honey. Kandy is our only child. She’s not five anymore, and I don’t know about you, but I love seeing her like this. I never want to see her like she was before. We have to make compromises, baby. It’s that simple. It’ll take time to accept it, but we’re going to do our part as parents and make things right. She’s all we’ve got, Derek.”
Dad’s shoulders sagged, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. It was quiet for several seconds, the sound of the soccer game filling the void. “You’re practically asking me to hand her over to you,” Dad huffed.
“That’s not what I’m asking at all,” Cane assured him. “She is still your daughter, Derek, and you are the first man she ever loved. Nothing in this world will change that. Ever. If anything, I’m second place for life, but I’ll take that if it means having a place in her life at all.”
My heart skipped a beat at those words, and Dad turned halfway, looking Cane over. “I need time to think,” he mumbled, slouching in his chair and picking up the beer Mom had brought down.
“No problem.” Cane took a step back, and Mom sighed. She came my way, rubbing the middle of my back as I turned for the staircase, following after Cane.
When we were in the kitchen, she said, “He’s a stubborn ass, but he’ll come around. I know it.”
“I hope so.” I sat at the counter, grabbing a cookie from the plate and biting into it.
“I can order pizza if you two are hungry,” she offered, looking between us.
“No…it’s okay.” I finished off the cookie. “We should probably get back. I don’t want things to get too tense around here. But before I go, guess what?”
She smiled, hand on her hip. “What?”
“I might be going back to school.”
“Oh, good!” Her eyes lit up. “Where are you thinking of going?”
“The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.” I looked at Cane. “Cane knows some people there. He said he might have to pull some strings, but has no doubt they’ll take me in the fall.”
“Oh, baby! That is amazing! I’m so happy to hear that. Oh, that reminds me!” She rushed to the drawer behind her and pulled out an envelope. “This is for you.” She handed it to me. My name was written on it.
“What is it?”
Her grin was smug. “Open it and see.”
I ripped it open carefully, taking out the folded paper. When I unfolded it and read it, my eyes expanded. “This is for…”
“I opened an account for you. I know you said you didn’t want to talk much about the trial, but the money is all yours. It came in a few days after you left. We haven’t touched it. I was planning on surprising you with it one day to let you know you could use it for school or whatever, but I’m glad he’s doing this for you. Now the money is yours. You’ll probably need supplies, books—this can go toward that.”
“Aw, Mom.” I walked around the counter, throwing my arms around her neck and hugging tight.
“Oh!” She couldn’t help her laugh, and she hugged me back even tighter.
“I was going to tell you to take your car, but I assume Cane has already taken care of that issue.”
He laughed, showing off his perfect teeth. “I couldn’t not get her one.”
“You spoil her, you know that?” Mom teased.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “I know, and I’m pretty sure you warned me about that many times over the years. Now I’m trapped.”
Mom and I laughed with him.
She ended up ordering pizza anyway, and we ate with her. She went on about my tattoo, scolding me for getting one, but when Cane explained the meaning of it to her, she let up…but only a little bit. She was a lawyer, after all. She didn’t believe in tattoos or piercings other than on the ears.
Dad didn’t come up from his man cave…not that I was expecting him to. I don’t think there was anyone as stubborn or bullheaded as my father, especially while he was drunk.
Before I knew it, it was time to go. I hugged Mom goodbye one last time. “Tell Dad I’ll see him again soon,” I said over her shoulder, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Why don’t you tell me yourself?” a deep voice asked.
I opened my eyes and pulled away from Mom as Dad came through the threshold. I didn’t think about what to do or how to do it. I just went to him, throwing my arms around him.
He groaned. Sighed. “Be safe,” he murmured, rubbing my back.
“I will.”
“And call me if you need anything or if anything goes wrong.”
I laughed. “Dad, I will.”
It took him a few seconds, but he finally let me go, and I walked off the porch, giving them one more wave goodbye before heading to the car.
Cane was standing by the driver’s side, waiting for me. He tipped his head at Dad, who subtly tipped his head too while collecting Mom in his arms, and then we got in the car.
They stood there, watching us leave, and I looked at them the whole time, only turning away when I could no longer see them.
“Did that make you feel better?” Cane asked when we hit the freeway.
I looked down, and even though there were many emotions swirling inside me, my heart no longer felt heavy or filled with guilt. I was fine.
Like I said before, free.
“I needed that,” I murmured, grabbing his hand. He brought my hand to his lips, kissing softly. “Thank you for going in with me.”
“Walked out without another black eye. I’d call that winning.”
I broke out laughing as he showed off a full, boyish smile. “Yep. That’s a big win. You think he’ll come around to the idea of us?”
“Yeah, baby.” He kissed my hand one more time, and as if he were deep in thought, he looked through the windshield, toward the setting sun and said, “He will.”
Part III
WINNING
Chapter Thirty-Two
KANDY
One Year Later
Bliss.
That’s what the next year was like.
There were no threats. No drama. No lies. No pop-ups from El Jefe. Everything was smooth sailing. I got into UNCC and was studying, and of course Cane still worked. Mom called every single day to check on me and had even visited our house twice when she had the free time. Miss Cane cooked for her, and she really got to know Lora in all her foul-mouthed ways. She loved them both just as much as I did. To be honest, they were the kind of people who were hard not to love. They had flaws—we all did—but Miss Cane had a sweet, sweet soul, and Lora had a kindred spirit—one that made you wish you were best friends with her if you didn’t know her. But even though they were fun, lovely people, I couldn’t help feeling like they were both hiding something.
For starters, Miss Cane used her cell phone a lot more than she had before, and I could have sworn one night when Cane wasn’t in town, I heard her arguing with someone on the phone. I wasn’t sure whether or not to tell Cane at first, but eventually I caved, and he said he was going to look into it. I don’t think he ever did. He’d probably forgotten, and I refused to bring it back up twice. She was a grown woman, after all, and it could have been anyone she was arguing with. My biggest worry was that she’d gotten in touch with Buck somehow.
Lora? She was another mystery. Being on her phone was nothing new, but I noticed she’d go long periods of time without being home, and it was always when Cane wasn’t around. When I asked her what she was up to, she’d tell me she needed some time
to herself, or a moment to breathe, but I didn’t really believe it. It wasn’t my business, though. I just hoped she was being safe.
Despite all of it, everyone seemed happy. We lived our lives the way we’d always wanted. Cane had his family and me, and I had him. I talked to Dad several times a week, through text or call, and even talked to Frankie more often to fill her in on everyday stuff, but not so much lately. She was still having a hard time with the whole Clay thing. Not only that, but Aria’s health was only getting worse.
And then New Year’s Eve arrived, and our peace became chaos all over again.
Miss Cane was making spiked hot cocoa and cookies, and Lora was on the deck in the backyard, in front of the fire pit, bundled under a thick blanket, probably scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram like she always did. Cane was in his downstairs office, wrapping up on emails, and I was studying the diamond necklace he’d given to me for Christmas. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t wear something like this for just any occasion. Wearing it to school would have made my peers wonder exactly where I came from, and I was already a quiet soul there.
I didn’t bother making new friends at my new school. After my last experience with Brody, it just wasn’t worth it, although I did take up recreational softball again. I practiced at a park with a few other women who practiced their swings and pitches. They were good people and all minded their own business, which I loved.
Cane came around the corner, watching me as I ran my fingers over the diamonds while looking in the mirror. “I think it’s about time you give your neck a rest.” He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me. He reeled me into him, and my ass settled into his groin.
“Never. I love it too much. I’ve never worn something so expensive.”
He chuckled low and deep, burying his nose into the crook of my neck. Just as he was about to kiss me there too, someone rang the doorbell.
He pulled away to look at it. “That might be Cora. I told her she could come watch the ball drop with us and share some drinks, since she didn’t go out of town with her family this year.”
The Cane Series: Complete 4-Book Box Set Page 72
