Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
Jada
“Rise and shine.”
I tugged the blankets over my head, trying to pretend Cane wasn’t standing at the foot of the bed. If there was one thing I disliked about him, it was his chipper attitude in the mornings.
“Jada,” he said sweetly, “it’s almost noon and I told Max we’d meet him and your sister for lunch.”
“Why did you do that?” I mumbled, snuggling farther into my bed. Suddenly, the covers were ripped over my body. “Cane!”
“Don’t hoot with the hoot owls at night if you can’t soar with the eagles in the morning.”
I huffed. “That is so not funny. It’s Saturday.”
Cane smirked. “You’re so fucking cute. But you need to get up.”
“You’re such a pain.” I rolled onto my side and looked up at him. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray polo shirt, the collar popped up and looking downright edible. It was as if he had been awake for hours as he stood over me.
“That’s been said before. You’re so unoriginal.” He smiled cockily and smacked me on the butt.
I rolled over onto my back again and looked at the ceiling. “How long have you even been awake?”
“I had to work this morning, so I rolled out of here around five.” He sat on the edge of the bed and turned toward me. “And as much as I would like to lie back down with you, I told Max we would be at lunch.” He bent down and kissed me on the forehead. “You still smell like smoke.”
“I can still smell it on me.” I dragged myself off the bed. “I guess I need to get another shower before we go.”
“What was the impromptu fire about last night?”
I could see the suspicion in his eyes. I shrugged as I walked my way toward the door. “We just wanted a fire. I had some things from my life before that I didn’t want around, so I burned them.”
“Okay,” he said, lying back on my bed.
I heard the bed squeak, and I flew around, hands on my hips. “Hey. You can’t lie down if I can’t.”
He put his hands behind his head and smiled, looking ridiculously gorgeous. “I typically do what I want, you know?”
I shook my head. “Can you make me some coffee while I get ready?” I said, jutting out my bottom lip.
“If it will make you a little happier today, sure,” he said, sitting up. “But get your ass moving, woman.”
I trudged to the bathroom and showered quickly, using the body wash with the strongest scent to mask the smoke smell that wouldn’t leave.
I hated that Cane was suspicious about the fire, but I knew he would overreact.
Decker was a loudmouth and an asshole, but he wasn’t a threat to Cane in any way, shape, or form.
So the less he knew, the better. I had endured enough drama to last me a lifetime.
I toweled off quickly and threw on a coral sundress and a turquoise bracelet that had been my mother’s. I twisted my hair into a knot and slipped on a pair of flip-flops before joining Cane in the kitchen.
“I smell coffee,” I said, perking up at the aroma of beans. He was sitting at the table with two mugs of energy, reading the Saturday morning paper. Seeing him so relaxed while doing something so normal made my entire body flood with warmth.
“That you do,” he said, nodding at my cup. “I sent Max a text and told him we’d be leaving in a few minutes, so drink up, and then we’ll go.”
I sat down and lifted the cup to my lips, and breathed in the heavenly aroma. “Thank you,” I said, smiling at him as he got up and put his cup in the sink. He turned to say something when the doorbell rang. He looked at me curiously, and I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Want me to get it?” he asked, flipping the coffee maker off.
“If you don’t mind. I’d like to sit here and nurse this liquid gold.”
Cane smiled and shook his head as he walked to the front door. I heard the door open, and Cane’s voice grow louder. I set my mug down slowly, listening closely.
“I’m here to see my wife. Is she here?”
Oh, fuck. That voice.
It was so agonizingly familiar; I knew the tone like the back of my hand. By the sound of the words alone, I knew what he was feeling, what his eyes looked like, and the rise and fall of his chest.
A cold chill ripped through me, and I scrambled to get up from the table. I knew I had to get to the front door before the two of them went toe-to-toe.
“Your wife? You’ve got the wrong house,” Cane replied as I entered the living room. He was standing with his back to me, and I could see Decker over his shoulder.
Our eyes met, and he took a step forward, and a rush of adrenaline tore through me. Cane extended his arm, grabbing the doorframe, effectively blocking Decker from entering.
“Jada!” Decker watched me from the other side of Cane, and I could feel the fury rippling off him as I approached. “Get out of my way,” he said to Cane, trying to sidestep him.
“What are you doing here, Decker?” I asked, stopping a few feet behind Cane. My stomach rolled at the sight of him and I wrapped my arms across it.
Decker’s eyes were wide with fury, just like I knew they would be. His jaw was tense, his fists clenched at his side. I vaguely wondered if I got close enough, if he would smell of whiskey.
I knew every ripple of his body, every shade in his eyes. But at the same time, he felt like a complete stranger. It was confusing, stranger than I thought it would be, to see him again. Then again, I never thought, nor did I want, to see him again.
I just wanted him to leave.
“So you’re Decker?” Cane’s voice was frigid. His body was completely still, eyes focused on the man in front of him.
“I told you yesterday that I’d had enough of your games,” Decker said, looking at me over Cane’s shoulder. “Get your shit packed. We’re going home.”
Cane bristled, the muscles in his back flexing at the revelation. “You talked to her yesterday?”
Decker laughed arrogantly. “Are you jealous?”
“No,” Cane said, standing taller. “You get jealous over things that aren’t yours. She’s fucking mine.”
“Get the fuck out of my way,” Decker bit out, his Boston accent thick.
Cane turned slightly, and I could see the side of his face as a smile spread across his lips. “You seem really angry. I would hate for something ugly to happen in front of my girl, so you better get out of here while you can.”
Decker’s eyes blazed at Cane’s words. “I don’t want any shit. Just move out of my way.”
“Don’t start shit, and there won’t be shit.”
Decker took a step toward Cane, his jaw tight. “Move it, boy.”
Cane chuckled, releasing the doorframe and standing in the middle of the threshold. “This guy wasn’t even in your league, Jada,” Cane said loud enough for me to hear. “You can’t tell me that this pussy did shit for you.”
My heart leaped as Decker rushed Cane, closing the distance between them in half a second. Cane grabbed him by both shoulders as he came in, driving toward Decker with his head in an upward motion, smashing the top of his head into Decker’s face.
Decker shot back, blood pouring from his nose, his eyes wide. He was clearly not expecting Cane’s aggression.
My entire body went stiff. I couldn’t shout, and I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t do anything but watch the chaos unfold in front of me.
Cane burst forward, grabbing Decker by the shirt. Decker swung wildly at Cane, connecting with the side of his face. He stood still, shaking his head, an eerie smile on his face.
“Now you’ve fucked up,” he said as he threw a kick, knocking Decker to the concrete with a thud. The impact caused one of Kari’s aloe plants to fall off the stand by the door.
Tears began to prick my eyes, my past colliding with my future in front of my eyes in a way I never imagined.
“Stop it!” I finally choked out, my hands covering my mouth, trying to hold back the bile that threatened to spill from my gut.
Immediately, Cane’s fist was blasting into Decker’s face—once, twice, three times. Decker stopped swinging and lay still in the fetal position, his hands trying desperately to cover his face.
Cane stood as Decker lay still, his face already swelling from the blows it was dealt. His eyes were wide with fear.
My stomach had become a pit of acid. I hated everything about this situation, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Cane stuck his foot on the side of Decker’s face, pushing his head roughly to the side, before turning to me. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this motherfucker called you yesterday,” Cane said, his eyes wild. “Didn’t you feel that was a fact maybe I should fucking know?”
Cane’s lips were a thin line, his jaw pulsing with anger as he looked at me.
“He sent me a box of pictures I had left behind, and I burned them, Cane. The smoke? It was the smell of my life before you going up in flames.”
His face softened. Marginally.
“He called me, and I told him to never call me again. I didn’t tell you … I should have, I guess. But I didn’t want to cause a bunch of drama for nothing.”
“Yeah, for nothing. Right,” he said, holding my gaze for a few more moments. He looked down at Decker and removed his foot from his face.
Cane peered down at my ex-husband. “I am going to let you up. I want you to get in your fucking car and get the fuck out of here. Got it? Move on with your life because her future? It’s with me.”
He shook his head as he bent down and grabbed him by the shirt, helping him to his feet. “Now get.”
Decker spit a mouthful of blood onto the porch as he looked at me. “This was your last chance.” The eyes that I once knew so well, that I once saw my life in, seemed so alien to me. “I won’t be around when you decide you’ve messed up. You’re on your own.”
With that, he turned and stumbled to his car. I could see his sinister scowl—even as one eye was swollen shut—as he backed out of the driveway.
Holy. Shit.
Did that just happen?
I bent over and put my hands on my knees, trying to get air in my lungs. Trying to find calm.
“This was your last chance.”
Cane walked slowly across the room. He wrapped me in his arms and rested his cheek against the top of my head. He took a deep breath. “You will never be on your own.” He squeezed me tighter as my tears flowed.
I sighed as I wiped my face and sagged against him.
“You know,” he said, kissing the top of my head, “it doesn’t matter what’s in front of you as long as you know who’s behind you. And I’m always going to be behind you.”
I smiled into his chest.
“Even when you fail to tell me shit like your ex-husband called you.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Damn right you should have told me.” His voice was crisp, laced with frustration.
I let out a breath, causing my shoulders to slump with it. “Things just seemed to have calmed down, to be going right for once in my life. And I didn’t want to rock the boat.” I raised my head to look into his eyes.
He placed his hand beneath my chin, angling my face up. I watched as the anger melted from his face as he searched my eyes, his jaw slacking, his eyes softening. “Jada, it really bothers me that you didn’t tell me that.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Cane’s body relaxed as he looked away. “My feelings are hurt. I’m turning into Max,” he said, wincing, making me laugh. “But seriously, are you all right?”
“Yeah. These blasts from the past are going to have to stop at some point, right?”
“Let’s fucking hope.”
“Forgive me?” I reached up and cupped his face in the palm of my hand.
He tried to look stern, but a grin crept its way in. “I suppose. But you’ll have to make it up to me.”
“Deal.”
“Oh, my beautiful girl. You should always ask for the fine print before agreeing to a deal.”
I shrugged. “I trust you.”
“Famous last words,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Let’s go back inside. Someone has some baking to do.”