Kieran bracketed his face with his hands and fluttered his eyes. “Aw, she’s in love.”
“Behave, brat.”
“But Sir, I—”
Matt arched an eyebrow, which had Kieran scampering for the couch. Caden wished he had that kind of power to shut Kieran up sometimes.
“So I met someone I’d never seen before. He’s… intriguing.”
Sitting up, Kieran glared at him. “Bitch, you have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, I don’t mean for boyfriend material. His name is Alexander, but… it’s not just Alexander. Quade says there are a bunch of people who live inside him.”
“Normally I’d ask if you mean multiple personality disorder, but in this place? What’s his story?”
Grabbing a beer for each of them, Caden sat down on the chair across from his friends. He handed them each a bottle, then popped his and took a long draw. He related the story Quade had told him about the attack on the mall and how Alexander ended up being a hotel for the other people.
“Freaky. And he’s unaware of them?”
“I’m not sure. Quade says that since the accident, the others seem to protect Alexander. The doctors and Ten aren’t even sure Alexander exists anymore.”
Wrapping an arm around Kieran, Matt pulled him closer. “I’m sorry to hear that. If anyone can help him, I’m sure they’ll be here. This whole place is incredible. We haven’t even seen much, but what we did? I’m just overwhelmed.”
“I know. Makes me wish we didn’t have to go back.”
Caden bit into one of the cookies that he’d gotten. They were moist and delicious, full of nutty goodness. He begged Quade to ask for the recipe, but Quade assured him Jess didn’t divulge her proprietary secrets for anyone. “You know… Quade invited me to live with him. When I mentioned this place being empty and the two of you, he might have said he could talk with the guy in charge to see if you could move in.”
Caden dared to peek up at his friends. They were staring at each other, and then Matt grinned.
Kieran turned back to face Caden. “Last night I told Matt I wanted us to stay here. I miss you, boo. The house is so empty without you, and having you hours away means we never get to see you.” He sighed and buried his face in Matt’s chest.
“He’s being overdramatic, but he’s not wrong, because the house isn’t the same. If you think they’d let us live here, we’d love being closer to you. And watching Quade strut around without a shirt is another selling point.”
“Yum, the best kind of eye candy.”
Caden glared at them, and they all broke out laughing. This was what had been missing from his life. The more time he spent with Quade, Kieran, and Matt, the more Caden realized how little he’d laughed since he moved to Millinocket. And he sure as hell hadn’t gotten fucked in years. There were some very hot guys in the town, but Caden wasn’t comfortable approaching them, and he wasn’t really sure how to ask.
Quade had taken that problem away. Should he be annoyed that Quade “claimed” him? Maybe, but he wasn’t. In fact, he found it to be fucking hot. Quade in caveman mode was amazing. Rough during sex, gentle after. He made Caden laugh, he made him feel safe, and best of all, he made Caden feel like he was the most important thing on the planet.
The whole Tree of Life thing notwithstanding.
“So do you think we’d be able to get jobs here?”
“You could, or… well, Quade was telling me that he wanted to talk to Dandrot—he’s the guy in charge—and see if he could talk him into opening a park that I would be responsible for. What would you say about working with me?”
Matt’s jaw dropped open. “Seriously? An entire park?”
“Well, I don’t know how big it would be, but I could also open a shop. Quade says he thinks real, live flowers would be a big hit down here. I could grow them from the seeds and plants I grabbed from the shop. It would mean learning to use my abilities, but I really want this.”
“That sounds exciting! I’d be happy to do it with you.”
Kieran practically bounced in his chair. “Me too!”
His heart pounding, Caden got up and walked into the kitchen to grab a few more beers to celebrate. He pulled open the door to the refrigerator and watched as a sheet of paper drifted from the top of the appliance to the floor. He bent and picked it up and scowled. The hen scratch was like that of a child….
“Ten.”
It fascinated him how Ten could set it up so the paper would fall at the right moment, considering Caden had been in the refrigerator several times already. He read the note and grinned.
Hi, Caden!
Congratulations on your new business. There’s a bottle of champagne in the freezer for you and your friends, and it should be at the perfect temperature right about now. Jess says it’s good, so if it’s not, blame her.
Tennyson
Caden read the note, then read it again. And again. Ten’s abilities still freaked Caden the hell out, but he really liked the kid. He was polite and courteous and dedicated to helping people. He wondered what his parents had been like. Did they have gifts they shared with Ten?
“Ten left us a present,” he called out to Kieran and Matt.
Caden pulled open the freezer door and drew out a bottle of Dom Perignon. He’d never had such an expensive bottle of bubbly before.
“Looks like we’re having champagne to celebrate.”
Opening a cabinet for glasses, Caden wasn’t surprised to find flutes for them to use. He took three over to the table, along with the bottle, and they proceeded to toast love, friendship, and new beginnings.
Now Caden just needed to survive what was coming at them.
Chapter 17
“I think a park is a fantastic idea. And this young man is interested?”
Dandrot closed one of the drawers of his desk, then opened the next one. He rooted around inside while talking with Quade.
“He is. He wants to make his life here, with us.”
Dandrot’s sapphire eyes gleamed. “With you, you mean.”
Quade’s cheeks warmed. “Yeah, with me.”
“How about if I clear out some room in the center of town? We’ll get rid of the empty lot we were going to use for a light pool and put the garden there instead. How does that sound?”
Thinking about it for a moment, Quade got an idea. The area in question ran the length of the street, almost four blocks. So much could be done with it. “What if we leave the light pool and open areas around it? I can ask Caden to design it so that he can incorporate both. It would look nice at night—maybe something for lovers to stroll through?”
“Brilliant. Yes, I like that idea.” He scribbled something on a scrap of paper, then held it up, squinting at what he’d written. He put it down, then looked in the desk drawer again.
“I’m glad you came to me. It’s good to see you happy, Quade. For a while I wasn’t sure you’d find yourself.” He slammed the drawer. “Where the hell did I leave my glasses?”
“The pair on top of your head, or are you looking for a different set?”
Reaching up, Dandrot’s fingers came into contact with a pair of black tortoiseshell glasses. “Well, damn. I must be getting old.”