Chapter Seventeen – Caden
Caden
I pulled up and parked behind my father’s truck.
My heart felt like it was about to beat right out of my chest. I had no idea how they would react to the news I was about to tell them.
A part of me wanted to wait for the twelve-week mark Lilibeth had mentioned, but I knew I couldn’t keep this from my parents.
I wasn’t scared they’d be mad, more like disappointed.
Dropping my head back against the seat, I thought back to the times I’d slept with Lilibeth.
I’d worn a condom every single time. Nothing had seemed wrong with any of them, but had I been paying close attention when removing them?
No. I’d been too fucking caught up in how I was feeling.
Or to be honest, how I’d felt about making love to Lilibeth.
Being with her had felt so fucking right.
I shook those thoughts away.
“Shit.” This wasn’t how I’d pictured my life.
Yes, I wanted a family, and for years had always thought that family would be with Rachel.
Since she’d left, the last thing on my mind was a family.
Now I was going to be a father with a woman I was fighting my feelings for, and after just a few days spent together.
A humorless laugh slipped free as I shook my head. I grabbed my keys and got out of the truck. It was starting to lightly snow, and I made a mental note to check the weather before I texted Gatlin about going out.
I opened the front door and walked into my parents’ house.
The familiar scents of home instantly took me back to happy memories.
As I headed toward the kitchen, I smelled what I was pretty sure was beef stew, and my stomach growled.
I paused when I heard a faint song, closing my eyes as Stevie Nicks’s “Leather and Lace” played.
I knew what I would see when I walked into the kitchen. My mother and father dancing.
A mixture of happiness and sadness washed over me as I started forward again, leaning against the wall right outside the kitchen and watching as Mom and Dad danced slowly together. They were so lost in one another they hadn’t noticed I was there.
I watched as Mom leaned her head against my father’s chest as he held her. He had his eyes closed, and when the song was about to end, he dipped her, and they both laughed. The next song started, “Edge of Seventeen,” and Dad spun my mom and let her go.
I cleared my throat, and they both looked over at me.
“Caden!” Mom said, making her way to me. She pulled me into a hug.
I kissed her softly on the cheek when she drew back. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“What have I always told you kids?”
I smiled as I gazed down at my stunning mother. I’d always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she still was. Even with age, she was growing more and more beautiful.
An image of Lilibeth popped into my mind, and I quickly pushed it aside.
“You always told us we could never be a bother.”
She patted me on the chest. “That still stands.” Then her brows drew down slowly as she looked into my eyes. “What’s wrong?” Taking a step back, she grabbed my hand and drew me farther into the kitchen. “Ladd, turn down that pot, will you? Turn off the music, too.”
My father quickly did as Mom asked, then made his way to the table, where she had me sit.
“How in the world do you know something’s wrong?” I asked.
Mom rolled her eyes as my father grinned. “I carried you in my body for nine months. You’re my firstborn and my most sensitive child. I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Most sensitive?” I echoed, with a gruff laugh, thinking about the irony of her talking about being pregnant with me.
Leaning back in her chair, she glanced at my father, then back to me.
“You were around five, I think, when you begged your father and Uncle Mike to go round up the cattle one morning before a pretty big storm was about to move in. Your father told you no, that you had to stay back with me. I turned my back for one minute and you slipped out the door. Your grandfather found you in the stable, attempting to saddle a horse to ride out to meet your dad and uncle. You were so worried about the cattle and the thought of them being in the storm. You told your grandpa that your dad and uncle needed your expertise.”
Grinning, I said, “I remember that! Granddad finished helping me saddle the horse, then we rode out together. It was the first time I ever helped with the cattle.”
“Do you remember the time Sugar was having puppies, and you insisted on sleeping in the barn with her, even though your father told you that she had weeks left? You slept in that barn for two weeks before you finally gave up and moved back into your bedroom. Even then, you went and checked on her every few hours.”
I laughed. “Yep, I remember that, too.”
Dad smiled fondly before he tilted his head and regarded me. “What’s going on? You look like something heavy’s weighing on your mind.”
“I don’t want to keep you both from dinner.”
“You’re not. We’re having beef stew. Are you hungry?”
There was one thing I would never turn down, and that was my mother’s cooking. “I’d love some.”
“Stay,” my father said to my mother, as he stood. Kissing her on the head, he added, “I’ll dish us up some bowls.”
Reaching for my hand, Mom squeezed it tightly. “So?”
I drew in a deep breath and let it all out.
“That was a heavy sigh,” my father said.
An ache instantly formed at the back of my neck. I reached up and rubbed at it. “I’m not really sure how to tell you this bit of news.”
Mom instantly looked worried. “Are you okay?”
Realizing what she was thinking, I quickly said, “I’m fine. No one’s hurt or sick or anything like that.”
She leaned back and instantly looked relieved. “Thank goodness.”
Dad walked over and set a bowl down in front of my mother, then in front of me. I waited for him to come back with his own bowl and sit down.
I took a bite and raised my brows. “Delicious.”
“Stop stalling, Caden Wilde.”
Setting my spoon down, I wiped the corners of my mouth before closing my eyes briefly. “The last thing I ever want to do is disappoint either of you. Or Granddad or Grams. I hope you know that.”
“Of course, we know that,” Mom replied.
My father added, “And I highly doubt you ever could, son.”
I cleared my throat and just blurted it out. “Lilibeth is pregnant and I’m the father.”
My mother’s eyes widened as Dad’s brows drew down for a brief moment, then shot up.
Dad wore a confused expression. “I thought you two weren’t dating.”
Glancing at my father, my mother laughed. “Are you serious right now, Ladd Wilde? Anyone with two eyes can tell they like each other. Was it Christmas night?”
I nearly choked. This was not how I’d expected them to react. “I’m sorry, how did you know I went to Lilibeth’s Christmas night?”
She shrugged. “Small town, Caden. People talk, and apparently your truck was parked outside of her little rental for longer than a brief visit.”
I watched as she took a bite of stew, smiling as she chewed.
Rolling my eyes, I said, “I’m surprised it wasn’t in the paper.”
Laughing, Mom said, “Oh, this will be even bigger once they find out.”
Dad chuckled as well.
My eyes bounced between the two of them. “You’re not upset?”
Eyeing me, my mother shook her head. “Caden Flint Wilde, are you seriously asking us that question? Upset? I’m thrilled! But I didn’t want to react too much until I was sure how you felt about this. So…how are you feeling?”
Once again, I was reminded of how much I loved my parents. “I’m…confused. Scared shitless, worried I’m going to fuck up a kid. Did I mention I’m scared?”
My mother placed her hand over mine. “Being scared is a natural reaction. Is there a bit of happiness somewhere in there?”
I nodded. “Yes, but I’m still in shock.”
“How is Lilibeth doing?”
“I think she’s okay.”
“You think?” my father asked, frowning. “Have you asked her?”
“Yes. Of course. But my head is still spinning, Dad. She told me yesterday about the baby, and we just went to the doctor today. I heard the heartbeat, and that made it really real.”
“I would imagine so,” Mom said softly.
“I feel worried. Excited. Angry.”
“Angry?” Dad asked.
“That it’s happening this way. I used to dream of having a family, and after Rachel left, I kind of gave up on that dream.”
“You’re angry because it’s not with Rachel?”
My head jerked back at my mother’s words. “No! That’s not it at all. I’m angry because this is how God’s giving me a family. I spent just a few nights with a woman, using protection, and she got pregnant. I spent years with Rachel and got nothing.”
Mom shrugged. “Maybe that’s because your future wasn’t meant to be with Rachel.”
I looked at Mom and nodded. “You’re right. It wasn’t meant to be with her. And Lilibeth has, in a strange way, helped me see that.”
Dad cleared his throat. “But you’re still angry about having a baby with Lilibeth?”
“No, I’m not angry about that part. I care about Lilibeth.
I can’t say that I love her, I have feelings for her, I know that much.
It’s just…when I thought about having a family, I pictured it like…
” I pointed between my parents. “I thought I would be like this. In love, married, and excited about my future. I’m worried about what people will say.
Not for me, but for Lilibeth. The minute Janet Miller finds out, you know she’s going to have it in The Daily Dirt. ”
My mother rolled her eyes. “I think I know Lilibeth enough to say that she can handle herself and whatever the gossips throw at her.”
“I just know my emotions are all over the place, and I’m sure Lilibeth feels the same. She told me that she wouldn’t hold me responsible, and I could be as much a part of this as I wanted.”
“I hope you told her you were there a hundred percent,” Dad said.