Chapter 51
Olivia
Getting out of bed this morning was harder than I expected. Kade’s side of the bed was already cold when my alarm went off, but I do vaguely remember him kissing me goodbye before he left for a site visit. I was just too warm and comfortable to do more than mumble something half-asleep.
Eventually, I stumbled through my morning routine and made it to work, taking the time to grab coffee for both me and Brandon. As usual, when I knocked on his door, I was greeted by his familiar look of concentration, which slowly softened into a half-smile as I set his cup on the desk.
As I slowly settled in and opened my laptop, I was grateful to find the inbox surprisingly quiet. It allowed me to get caught up on everything I’d missed and go through the work schedule, making sure it was all back on track.
The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop—usually only noisy when Kade was around. The thought of that made me miss him more than I expected.
Just as I reached for my phone to text him exactly that, Brandon’s panicked voice rang out from his office.
“Jesus—” his voice caught. “I’m on my way.”
Brandon burst into my office, his face flushed and eyes wide with worry. “Trent’s been rushed to Elson General,” he says, barely catching his breath. “I’m heading there now. Can you manage the morning and then close up after lunch?”
I nod, my heart sinking. “Yeah, of course.”
Brandon gave a quick nod before rushing back out. I listened as his footsteps echoed down the stairs and then faded outside, leaving a sudden, heavy silence hanging in the air.
With my phone in hand, I hesitate for only a second before typing out a quick message to Kade.
Me: Keep me updated, okay? And if you need me, call.
I then scrolled to Aubrey’s name, hesitating for a moment before pressing call, my hands shaking slightly. Something has happened to Trent, and she’d want to know.
She answers on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey,” I say, my throat dry. “Have you heard from Kade this morning?”
“No, why?” she asks quickly, her voice sharpening with concern.
I swallow. “I don’t know the full details, but Brandon just ran out of here, he said Trent’s had an accident at work. He’s been taken to Elson General.”
There was a sharp inhale on the other end. “Wait—what? What happened? Is he okay?”
“I don’t know,” I say softly. “Brandon’s on his way now. I just thought you’d want to know”
“Jesus—okay. Okay. I—I’m going. I’m going now,” she stammers, her breathing quick and uneven.
“Aubrey,” I say gently, “let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“Yeah—yeah, okay. Thank you.”
The line disconnects, but I don’t move, the phone still pressed to my ear, the weight of it sinking deeper.
I spent the rest of the morning in a sort of limbo, holding my breath just waiting for news of any kind. I answered a few more emails, anything to keep my mind busy, and by lunchtime I closed the office like Brandon had asked.
The house was still when I stepped inside. Too still. I made dinner. I cleaned things that didn’t need cleaning. But mostly, I just waited.
It’s after dark by the time the front door finally opens, and I shoot up from the couch, my heart in my throat as Kade steps inside.
One look at him steals the air from my lungs. He looks wrecked. His face, pale, drawn tight with exhaustion, and his eyes are glassy and unfocused.
“Kade,” I breathe, moving toward him without thinking.
He shuts the door but doesn’t move, like he’s forgotten how to. His voice is barely a whisper. “Hey.”
“Come here,” I beg, holding out my arms.
He hesitates for only a second before stepping into me, pulling me against him like I’m the only thing keeping him upright.
His arms lock around me, the weight of his body leaning into mine, and I feel the subtle tremble in his shoulders.
When I pull back, my heart splinters, his cheeks wet with silent tears.
“He’s going to be okay,” I whisper, brushing them away with gentle fingers, though the look in his eyes unravels me completely. My strong, protective man—reduced to this: a shell, cracked wide open by fear and guilt.
I take his hand without a word, letting my fingers curl around his like a lifeline. Gently, I guide him to the couch, and he sinks down beside me with a heavy, broken sigh. I hold his hand tighter, grounding us both in the quiet.
After a long pause, he finally speaks—his voice hollow, distant, like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. “He’s broken his right leg pretty badly. They taken him into surgery to fix it.”
I squeeze his hand gently. “Trent is strong, Kade. You know he’ll bounce back from this.”
His jaw tightens. “He’s terrified he won’t walk again,” he breathes, his voice cracking under the weight of it. “And I—I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix it.” His eyes shine with tears again as he looks at me. “He was meant to wait for me. I was supposed to be up there with him.”
“Hey,” I say softly, shifting closer, resting my free hand against his cheek. “You can’t do that to yourself. You can’t blame yourself for this. Trent wouldn’t want that. You’d have been no help to him if you’d fallen too.”
He shakes his head, swallowing hard, his breathing unsteady as I brush my thumb gently over his skin. For a moment, he just lets me hold him, his eyes closing like he’s barely holding himself together.
Without a word, I shift closer, sliding my arms around his neck and pulling him into me. He comes willingly, burying his face into the curve of my shoulder, his breath warm and ragged against my skin. I feel the full weight of him then—not just his body, but everything he’s carrying.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper softly, running my fingers through his hair, feeling the tension in his back as I hold him tighter. “You don’t have to fix everything. Just breathe.”
His hands find my waist, clinging to me like I’m the only solid thing left in the middle of the wreckage. We sit there in the quiet, our breaths the only sound, his heart pounding hard beneath my palm.
Little by little, the tremble in his body begins to fade, but his hold on me doesn’t loosen, it only tightens, almost desperate.
“I need you, Liv,” he pleads, his voice barely more than a breath against my skin. “I need you to make me feel something… anything other than this.”
His lips brush my shoulder, soft and searching, and something in me unravels.
“I’m right here, baby,” I whisper, cradling his face as he lifts his head.
His eyes find mine—raw, pleading—and then he kisses me.
Soft at first, tentative, but the moment my hands slide into his hair, he deepens it, the weight of everything he’s feeling pouring into the way his mouth moves over mine.
His hands roam instinctively, tracing the curve of my waist before he grips my hips and pulls me into his lap, anchoring me to him like he can’t bear even an inch of distance.
I shift easily, my knees bracketing his hips as his hands slide beneath the hem of my shirt, fingertips brushing over bare skin. His kiss deepens further—urgent, searching—like he’s drowning and I’m the only thing keeping him afloat.
His mouth drags along my jaw, then down my neck. The scrape of his stubble makes me shiver, heat unfurling low in my belly as his hands roam greedily, tugging me closer until there’s no space left between us.
“Kade,” I breathe, the sound barely audible as I tilt my head to give him more.
“I need you,” he whispers again, voice cracked and ragged. His hands find the hem of my shirt, and when I nod, he pulls it up and over my head, his eyes sweeping over me like he’s starved for something only I can give.
I reach for him, tugging his shirt off too, needing to feel his skin against mine.
The moment it’s gone, his arms wrap tight around my waist, holding me as if I might disappear.
His forehead rests against my chest for a breath, his shoulders rising and falling with a shaky exhale, before his mouth finds mine again—hot, needy, consuming.
Our bodies move without thinking, hands fumbling between us as he shifts beneath me, his breath catching when I roll my hips against him.
When I rise just enough to lower my leggings, he helps, tugging them down along with my underwear until I’m bare above him. His touch slows for a moment, reverent as his fingertips trace along my thigh, up my side, before he lifts his eyes to mine.
“You’re everything,” he whispers hoarsely, like the words rip from somewhere deep, and then he’s kissing me again as I help him out of the rest of his clothes, urgency rising between us like a tide.
When I sink down over him, both of us gasp—his hands dig into my hips, my fingers clutch at his shoulders—and for a moment, we just hold still, foreheads pressed together, breath mingling.
And then we move—slow, deep—each push and pull feeling like something breaking and healing all at once. His hands steady me, guiding me, as mine cradle his face, our lips finding each other over and over, breathless and desperate, the air between us charged with something raw and consuming.
The heat builds, unrelenting, until it crests sharp and sudden. “Kade—” I gasp, my voice breaking as he hits the perfect spot, the tension snapping all at once, white-hot and blinding. My body clenches around him, vision swimming as I fall apart in his arms.
He groans low, the sound rough and wrecked. “I love you.” He breathes, the words torn from him as he shudders through his own release, his arms tight around me as though he’s afraid to let go.
We stay like that, clinging to each other in the aftershocks, his forehead resting against my shoulder, his breath ragged and uneven. My hands stroke through his hair as the tremors in my body slowly ease, his hold never loosening, never letting me drift too far.
I press a soft kiss to his temple. “I love you too. I’m right here,” I whisper.
And for a long moment, we just breathe—tangled together in the quiet dark, holding on.