After It's Over (21 page)

He’s either got a lot of free time or he’s got someone helping him. I wonder if he’s going to be alone. It’s not too late to just walk away and save myself the humiliation of being rejected again. I’ve got enough money in the bank to buy a one-way ticket to Aunt Aida’s place. No, Paige, you’ve come to far to run away now.

She was about to ring the bell when the sound of a hammer on wood drew her attention to the backyard. Her heels sunk into the grass as she made her way to the gate.

Should I knock? No, he won’t hear me over all that noise.

Paige unlatched the tall wooden gate and opened it. Kade was in the middle of the yard, hammering long pieces of wood together.

Looks like he’s building the patio he always wanted.

Paige was still; she waited to catch his eye, but she wasn’t prepared for his reaction when she did—he dropped the hammer on his foot.

“Are you okay? Should I get you some ice?” Paige asked, coming to his side.

“No, I’m fine,” Kade grunted. He hopped over to a lawn chair and sat down. He cursed for a full minute before finally looking at her.

“What’re you doing here? I heard you got married.”

The question felt like an accusation.

“I did,” Paige said quietly.

My brother’s right. He is grumpy.
Why is he looking at me like I’m betrayed him? He’s the one who stood me up.

Kade rubbed his head. “I heard you barely knew the guy.”

“I…” Paige gulped hard. “Look, you stood me up, so I signed up with the next best thing that came along.” She bit her lip and gave Kade a sideways glance.

This is not the reaction I expected. He’s clearly angry and I’m feeling defensive. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

“This is obviously a bad time. I’ll just come back later,” she said, turning around and heading for the gate.

“Wait!” Kade stood up.

“What?” Paige spun around. “You stood
me
up, remember? I don’t understand why you’re angry.”

“I didn’t stand you up.” His face was contrite. He ran his hand through his hair.

“I waited for two hours, Kade.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Was it me? Did I do something…” Paige felt tears come; she chewed on the inside of her lip and willed them away.

“No, it wasn’t you. I got stuck working a double homicide. I tried to call you. I left messages every day for a month.”

“My phone was crushed that night. I lost every message for about a month because I had to switch carriers. They said I set a record for destroying phones,” Paige replied.

“I’m sorry I let my job get in the way of what we almost had.” Kade rubbed his eyes and sat back down in the chair.

Paige carefully lowered herself into the battered lawn chair next to his. She sat just a couple of inches away from him; their knees almost touched.

“I should have come over here and waited until you got home that night. That would have changed everything,” Paige mused.

“I can’t believe you’re married,” he whispered.

The pain in his voice brought relief to Paige’s heart. She wanted to smile and assure him that she wasn’t married anymore, but that seemed cold. She’d cared about Ben and still ached at his loss. In her heart, she wasn’t over him yet.

“My…” she drew a deep breath. “My husband was killed.”

“What?” Kade’s eyes reflected his concern. He took her hand.

Paige cleared her throat. “He cheated on me with this woman. Her name is Beth.” Tears fell as she spoke. “I want to hate her. She’s alive and sitting in a mental hospital while my three stepdaughters struggle every single day to carry on without their dad.” Paige shook her head. “But I can’t. Ben broke her. He treated her terribly and she just broke. We all have our breaking points.”

“I think the solution is to get help or get out before reaching that point,” Kade said, frowning.

Paige noted how tired he looked and the sadness in his eyes, which wasn’t there the last time she saw him. She could feel that something had happened to him; she sensed it had nothing to do with her.

The last thing he needs is for more drama from me.

Paige stood up. “I shouldn’t have come. This is a lot to dump on you. I’m sorry.”

Kade stood up, grabbed her hand, and pulled her in for a tight embrace. “I know this feels like the end of the world, but you’re a survivor. You will get past this. You’ve been through worse.”

Paige closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around him and inhaled his scent.

“Yeah, maybe I have.”

Losing you was worse.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you.” He pulled back and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

“In a strange way, it made realize something really important.”

“Yeah?”

Paige nodded. “I realized that what happened to my parents wasn’t my fault. My mom hit her breaking point.”

“There’s more to it than that,” Kade took a deep breath and pulled back.

“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah, I found out your mom had terminal cancer. She didn’t have much time left, and didn’t want to leave you with your dad.”

“So, she planned to kill him?”

I have no idea what to do with this information.

“I can’t prove it, but I think she did. She was afraid of what he might do to you if—”

“If she wasn’t around to protect me.” Paige squeezed Kade’s hand. “Thank you. Thank you for caring enough to reach out to me.”

“I thought you should know.” Kade held her hands in his. “I never meant to stand you up. Never.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

Paige smiled. “Yeah, good. That means we have something to build on.”

“So, you’re here to stay?”

“Yes, I think it’s time I finally came home.” Paige smiled at Kade.

He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Finally.”

THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle Alstead was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. Tired of the rain and perpetually overcast days, she moved to the Intermountain West region of the country where she learned to love the mountains. When she’s not chasing after a babyzilla, she can be found updating her author’s blog at http://michellealstead.com.