“You know what? You should have known.” Clutching my towel to my naked body, I followed him into the bedroom. “I require the best. If my man can’t buy me a fancy car and lavish me in diamonds and faux fur stoles, what good is he?”
Cade paused to glare at me as he tugged on his socks.
“In fact, unless there is a mansion in my future, I have no use for you.”
“Oh, but you did use me, kitten,” he said, turning the nickname against me. “You liked when I was struggling. You liked seeing me weak. You had sex with me only because you felt so damn sorry for me you couldn’t help yourself.”
“You are so full of shit.” I rushed over to him.
“Do not hit me again, Tasha.”
The shuttered quality of his eyes reminded me of when I’d first started going to his house to work with him. Back when he’d been snarling like a wounded animal backed into a corner.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No need to lose sleep over it. I’m fixed. Your job is finished.” He yanked his shirt over his head. “And so are we.”
I followed him through the kitchen, refusing to let the night end so badly. He’d been unfair, but I was willing to hear him out. “Wait.”
At the front door, he shot me a smile that reminded me of the old him. It had a cruel bend to it. Then that silver tongue flicked out and sliced into me again. “And hey, now that my tongue works, I can go put it between another girl’s thighs. One who lets me be myself. See ya, Tash.”
I stared at the closed front door trying to reconcile what had happened. I wasn’t chasing him, not after he’d been both mean and unfair. I’d let Tony walk all over me, even after he showed me who he was. I ignored his flaws—and there were plenty. Cade had just revealed his. He’d walked out on me, and in the long run had saved me a lot of heartache.
That’s what I’d keep telling myself until I believed it.
Cade
I drove home, tunnel vision caused by white-hot rage. I didn’t know where else to go, or what I’d do when I arrived. Maybe I’d pack a bag and leave for…somewhere. I didn’t know where. Somewhere away from Ridgeway. I wasn’t far enough away from Tasha yet.
That tunnel vision widened by the time I turned into the driveway, which was probably why I noticed the silver Honda parked at the curb. It was unassuming, plain, and belonged to Joyce Wilson.
I stared at her car for a few beats. It was close to one o’clock in the morning. There was no reason for my mom to be here. Unless…
No. No way.
Rather than retreat to my room, I walked from the garage to the main house.
“Dad?” I called, hesitantly adding, “Mom?”
It’d been a year and a half since I’d greeted them in the same sentence. It was weird.
Hushed whispers came from the inky darkness of the living room. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but if he’d made her cry I was going to kick his ass. I had some leftover rage to burn off. What the hell.
I flipped on the kitchen lights.
“Are you okay, Mo—” The words froze in my throat as I slammed my eyes shut. “Oh my God.”
Somehow I needed to erase what I’d just seen: my mom frantically tucking her shirt into her jeans and Dad buttoning his pants.
No. No.
No, no, no.
There wasn’t enough brain bleach in the world to erase that image.
“Cade!” Dad’s voice. “I, uh, we thought you were with Tasha.”
“Hi, honey.” My mom’s voice shook. I tried to convince myself it was because she was nervous to see me.
“I just wanted to say hi.” Blindly, I backed out of the kitchen and toward the blessed exit behind me.
“Caden, wait,” she said. “We were, um, we really were talking.”
“Nope. Nope,” I muttered, feeling behind me for the doorknob and hoping I was close.
“Caden, honey,” Mom said. “I’d really like to talk to you. If you can forget what you saw, we could sit down now?”
I opened my eyes, my heart lurching. I missed her. So damn much. “I might never forget it,” I announced glumly and my parents smiled broadly. With a sigh, I gave in. “We can talk now.”
Dad grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a long drink. Then he handed it to Mom and she took a demure sip. They locked eyes. Shared a secret smile. It was so much like the old them, I didn’t know what to think.
A childlike hope that my family could be whole again pressed against the confines of my chest. Were they going to tell me they were getting back together? Did I want them to? Dad handed me my own bottle of water and I accepted it, watching them warily. “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Joyce started, her smile tentative now. “Your father called to tell me you’re not going back to college…”
Oh, hell no. I wasn’t doing this again. I put my hands on the table and pushed myself to standing.
“Sit down, Cade,” Dad said. “She agrees with you. Hear her out.”
Slowly, I lowered myself back into my seat. “You agree with me?”
“It’s so good to hear your voice.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Paul said it was back, but wow. It really is back. This Tasha must be a miracle worker.”
I ignored the stab of pain in my chest.
“I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“You won’t,” I snapped, the pain spreading. “We broke up.”
“Oh.” Joyce looked like she wanted to talk about it but shook her head and rerouted to the topic at hand. “You shouldn’t pursue a degree if you’ve lost interest. You obviously went into law for Brooke. You followed that girl around like a puppy.”
What a visual. I grimaced. “No, I didn’t.”
“I didn’t mean that as an insult,” she continued. “You thought you were in love. How were you supposed to know at eighteen what you wanted for the rest of your life? Who you wanted to marry or settle down with? Time changes people.”
I knew that hard-won truth. I’d changed. I wasn’t the same guy who’d chased at Brooke’s heels. Hell, I wasn’t even the same guy who’d crashed my Audi into a fire hydrant. So much had changed since then. Around me. Inside of me.
“You burned the ships when you professed your love to Brooke. I wanted to protect you but I knew you wouldn’t listen. When you commit, Caden, you commit.”
I thought of Tasha and how untrue that was. I’d walked out on her tonight and I hadn’t looked back. I rubbed a hollow spot in the center of my chest calling me a liar.
“You really want to work with cars?” my mom asked.
“Yeah.” I held the water bottle tight, not meeting her eyes until she rested her hand on my forearm.
“Then do that. Life is too short not to be honest about what you want.” She sent a gaze over at my dad. “Or who you want.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen,” my dad added. “I had a rough day and when I called to talk to your mother, she offered to come over and…”
“Spare me the details.” I held up a hand. But I smiled. Paul and Joyce looked happy. They deserved to be happy. “I need to think. I can’t do that here. I’m going for a drive.”