20. Caden
CHAPTER 20
Caden
I’ve been meaning to fix this light outside the kitchen door for months. It’s not safe for the cooks to be out here in the dark when we’re surrounded by wild animals.
It’s one of five jobs on my list to make the kitchen area safe, let alone up to operating standards.
That’s the thing about summer at the lodge, there are never enough hours in the day to get shit done. The jobs just keep stacking up on top of each other, and I’m the only one pulling a finger out of their ass to complete them.
I’m just about to get stuck in when I hear Chef Raph’s distinct roar bellowing from the kitchen.
Stay out of my kitchen, dumb girl.
That’s not happening.
I drop my toolkit & storm towards the entrance.
He thinks he can get away with throwing his weight around, knowing nobody likes to stand up to him, but I will. He can’t be treating the staff like shit, regardless of the type of kitchens he was trained in. This is Braggan Valley, and that’s not how we do things here.
I’m just about at the threshold when the door swings open, followed by a short figure bouldering into me.
She looks up for a second, catching her breath as tears brim in her rich amber eyes.
Millie .
She pushes off my chest, stumbling and making it a few paces before she bends over and retches up over a pile of logs.
The same logs I just chopped this afternoon, but I’ll have to worry about that later.
“What’s going on?!” I demand.
She doesn’t reply, instead steadying herself before taking off in the direction of the canyon trail. It’s no kind of night to be out on the trails with the storm forecast.
I’ll need to go after her, but first I’m dealing with the overgrown wankstain we call Chef.
I yank open the kitchen door, coming face to face with Parker, the colour bleached from his cheeks.
“What the fuck happened there?”
“I don’t know, man.” Parker holds his hands up. “She just came running through from the dining room like she’d seen a ghost.”
I feel my jaw tighten as my eyes fall on Chef Raphael. It doesn’t sound like the tears were his fault, but he’s overdue for some home truths anyway.
“Raph!” I point. He meets my stare. “Learn to watch your mouth or you’ll find yourself out on your ass. You’re not above anyone here. Next time you think about raising your voice, remember who signs your paycheck. Maura won’t stand for this shit, and I won’t hesitate to throw you under the bus if you ever speak to Millie like that again.”
I don’t give him any time to retort, slamming the door shut behind me. It’s not lost on me how hypocritical I sound after the way I spoke to Millie yesterday.
I grab Doug’s leash from the passenger seat of the truck as I whistle for him. He comes on demand, hurdling across the creek to meet me just before the trail head.
The rain is coming down hard, slashing at my cheeks as I take long strides along the trail, following the tiny footsteps Millie has left behind.
My boots squelch as the storm picks up, leaving behind a stream of mucky slush where the worn path used to be. The wind is thick, stealing my breath as I try to push against it.
When I finally find Millie, she’s sitting dangerously close to the edge at the canyon overlook. The loaded waterfall is gushing through the rock in deafening bursts.
“Millie! Get back here! You shouldn’t be over there,” I roar, climbing over tree roots to get closer to her. “It’s not safe.”
“Leave me alone, Caden,” she gasps, her voiced drowned out by the rushing water. “I want to be alone.”
“Like hell am I leaving you alone out here.” The frenzied sky lashes down on us, Doug lets out small whimpers as rain soaks into his thick coat. “Get your ass back over this railing.”
She glares up at me, mascara streaked down her freckled cheeks. Her white button down is completely soaked through, brown waves weighed down against the cotton.
I wrap Doug’s leash around a tree, freeing both my hands to help her back over the railing. “Please, Millie.” I’m not too proud to beg right now. The canyon is dangerous, and I’m not going to stand around letting her become another statistic. “You need to come back where it’s safe.”
She teeters slightly as she clambers to her feet. My heart leaps out of my throat as I lunge forward, tugging her into my hold and dragging her back over the railing.
I expect her to pull away, but she clings to me, her hands digging into my back, lungs begging for air between painful sobs. My arms hang in midair for a second, useless while I decide what to do with them.
Fuck it.
I wrap them tightly around her waist, letting her sink into the warmth of my flannel beneath my jacket.
“What happened, Millie?” The question comes out as a whisper.
“I… I just saw that man… and I froze.” She draws in a breath. “I thought I could do this… but I don’t know that I can… it never goes away, it’s everywhere I am. It’s everything I am.”
She’s not making any sense.
If someone hurt her, it’ll be the last thing they do.
“What man? Who did this, Adams?”
She shakes her head. “It’s not… it’s nobody here… it wasn’t his fault.” The words make their way out between disjointed cries. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, Millie. Nothing doesn’t hurt like this. Whatever it is, I need you to tell me.” I rub a thumb across her shoulder, pulling her closer to shield her from the storm. “Let me help you.”
Something between anger and misplaced possession claws at my lungs .
I never want to see this girl cry again.
She straightens, pushing away from me and letting my arms fall back to my side. I feel an instant loss, a void without her cradled beneath them.
“I’m fine,” she affirms, rubbing her eyes with her wet sleeves. “I’ll be fine.”
She looks anything but fine, but I won’t labour the point while we’re out here. “Let’s get you back down the trail,” I say with as much composure as I can muster. “You need a hot bath and some fresh clothes.”
She looks at me with confusion. “There’s not a bath in the staff house.”
“No… there isn’t,” I confirm.
Doug raises an eyebrow at me as I untie his leash from the tree.
CADEN
Where do you keep those bath things?
Bath grenades???
Make the water fizz and are a pain in the ass to clean up?
I’m hoping Maura has her phone on hand. If not, I’ll happily march into that wedding covered in mud to get my answer.
AUNT MAURA
One: You’re supposed to be working right now.
Two: If you’ve finally brought a girl back to the main house, I can’t wait to meet her.
CADEN
It’s not like that.
Also, not helpful.
Answer please.
AUNT MAURA
Oh Caden… you HAVE brought a girl home.
How splendid.
CADEN
…
AUNT MAURA
The bath BOMBS are in the glass jar in the vanity in the back bedroom.
Remember to use a condom. Safety first, ejaculation second.
Jesus Christ.
She couldn’t be further off base.
I’ve never crossed that line with any of the staff, and breaking that tradition with Millie is the last thing on my mind.
Especially not tonight.
All I care about right now is finding a way to erase this sadness from her completely.