The Exception (34 page)

Besides Max answering a few work calls on his cell, the ride was pretty quiet. I found myself wishing that Cane was with us, but I reminded myself of his words:
things would be back to normal soon
.

I really hoped that was true. I missed him.

The more I thought about it, the more down I felt. I tried to focus on the banter between my sister and Max and the songs on the radio but nothing could overtake the worry, the fear that something was falling apart.

Before long, Max pulled into the parking lot of Pinnacle Peak and we got out of the truck.

“Seriously. Could this thing be any higher?” I asked as I descended to the ground.

“It could. But I felt any more would be overkill,” Max snickered.

“Ha, ha.”

Max grabbed us bottles of water from the cooler in the back and led the way.

It was a beautiful day, the weather finally beginning to cool off just a bit. The sun was bright but not baking and an easy breeze flowed. With each step on the granite-strewn trail, my mood elevated, too. Max paused dutifully as Kari and I stopped to take silly selfies by the cacti. As we got to the actual pinnacle, I was actually smiling.

Kari and Max walked to the other side, taking a selfie of their own, and I sat by myself on the hard ground. The desert looked beautiful from that elevation and I recalled a similar view I had seen with Cane by my side. I smiled as I remembered him opening up to me a little bit that night, sharing stories about his family. Looking out across the city from a different point than I did that night, I realized everything looked differently, depending on the perspective.

I glanced over to my right and saw a little flower growing in the midst of a strip of bare desert floor. It had a thick stalk lodged in a crack in the earth; its spectacular peachy-hued petals were basking in the sun.

This little flower made it, I realized, through tons of adversity. It overcame the rocks, the heat, and the location and blossomed because it fought for what it wanted.

I stood and looked out across the desert.

I needed to fight for what I wanted, too.

As we got back into Max’s truck a little while later, my phone went off.

Cane: I miss you.

Me: I miss you, too.

The sun had begun to set in the west, casting shadows across the back yard. Kari and I sat by the pool watching Max push a broom across the floor. After our hike, we had stopped for lunch at the Mexican restaurant where I had first met Cane.

I was in the same boat leaving Blanca’s as I was in the last time—quietly hoping for a call from Cane Alexander.

A light breeze tickled our skin as we sat stretched out on the chaise lounges. The sun was hidden by the acacia trees in the yard and I felt my body begin to relax.

I closed my eyes and listened to the pool swirl, the water splashing against the sides as Max pushed the pool broom across the floor.

“Why do you have an automatic pool cleaner if you have to clean the thing yourself anyway?” he asked.

“You don’t have to,” Kari said, tipping down her sunglasses. “You are just picky.”

“We need to move somewhere that doesn’t require having a pool for survival.” Max submerged himself in the water and came back up hot and wet, his tattoos glistening with water droplets.

“Move?” This was news to me.

“Not specifically.” Kari looked to Max for help.

“We have been talking about moving in together.” I could tell by the nonchalant way about his voice that he was testing me out, seeing how I would respond.

“Oh,” I said, a little surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“We aren’t sure or anything,” Kari said hurriedly. “Just something we’ve been throwing out there.”

I looked at my sister and Max as they shared a smile. “I actually think that’s great.” I set my e-reader down. I couldn’t concentrate on Blake and Cam anyway. “Are you getting a new place or moving in here or Max’s or what?”

“We don’t know. I said we were just thinking about it,” Kari said laughing.

I watched Max work his way around the pool, his muscles pushing and pulling. “I have been checking out apartments online, too. I need to just pull the trigger on one.”

Max looked at me. “Have you talked to Cane about that?”

“I would have to talk to Cane at all before I could talk to him about that.” I raised my eyebrows, challenging Max to a response.

I watched him force a swallow before swinging his eyes to the side gate. “What’s up, Alexander?”

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes followed Max’s eyes to the side gate.

Looking rumpled and without the cocky swagger he usually had, Cane came around the corner. He flashed Max a little wave before his eyes found me.

He walked over with a determined look on his face, taking his sunglasses off and training his eyes on me. He bent down and buried his face in the side of my neck, kissing me lightly behind the ear.

“Hey,” he whispered.

He pulled away to study my face before sitting on the edge of my chair.

“Did you get Howard’s call?” Cane turned towards Max.

Max’s forehead creased as he stopped pushing the broom. “No. Why?”

“We had a boatload of copper pipe go missing from the Benjamin site sometime last night.” Cane’s face was awash in frustration.

“You’re kidding me.” Max shook his head, the laughter in his eyes from a few minutes prior now evaporated. “What the fuck?”

Cane shrugged. “I’ve been dealing with that today. Security makes rounds in two hour intervals, so someone must have been casing the joint or it was an inside job.”

“None of our guys are going to steal that shit. We’ve had the same guys forever.” Max disconnected the broom and hopped up, sitting on the side of the pool.

Cane shrugged again, his shoulders tense. “We filed a police report. They’ll notify the local pawn shops and shit to watch for it. But we’ll probably never find it.”

“Did you call Nick?”

Cane flashed Max a look, causing him to blanch. “Yeah.”

Max nodded, his knuckles white as he gripped the ledge of the pool. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“You did everything I needed you to do today,” Cane said, his voice softer. He looked down at me and smiled. “Now I’m taking my girl upstairs. Unless the fucking house is burning, I don’t want to be bothered tonight.” He shook his head. “On second thought, with the way shit is going, just let me burn with it.”

He chuckled as he stood up with me in his arms and carried me inside. Cane buried his face into my hair and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my head against his chest. I could hear his heart pounding inside his body and it caused mine to speed up, too.

He kicked open the door to my bedroom and sat me down at the foot of the bed. Grabbing my head with both hands, he stood as close as possible to me, our noses nearly touching. His eyes bored into mine. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t read him.

Silence filled the room, neither of us able to say anything.

“Jada,” he whispered, bending his head down and finding my lips with his own.

“I am glad you’re here.” My voice cracked with emotion as I looked at him. He looked exhausted.

He motioned for me to climb into bed. I lay in my normal spot and he climbed in behind me, pulling me backwards so that my back was pressed firmly against his front. He wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head beneath his chin.

“You are mine,” he said softly. “Do you know that?”

“Yes,” I whispered back. “I’m yours.”

He held me like that, not saying another word, until I felt his breath even out and his heartbeat slow.

I knew he had fallen asleep.

I lay awake for a long time, enjoying being wrapped in his arms. It seemed like such a long time had gone by since I had been able to breathe him in, feel him, relax with him and I didn’t know when the next time would come.

Things have changed so much.

I pushed the thought out of my mind, closed my eyes, and relaxed back into him.

Before I knew it, I was fast asleep, too.

JADA

The following morning, we lay together in my bed, Cane still holding me tight. Every time I tried to move, he would clamp down tighter, like he was afraid I would leave. Even in his sleep the night before, his arms were around me like a vise grip.

We talked about a few unimportant things, but mostly we just lay together quietly. I got the feeling he just wanted to be and I was okay with that. I had missed the physical connection with him as much as anything. Being with him felt like a part of me had been missing but was now back, and I didn’t want to ruin that. As good as it felt being in his arms, I knew that he would probably have to leave long before I wanted him to and I wanted to soak up as much Cane as I could to tide me over until he came back.

“Cane,” I said, turning my head to look at him. His blue eyes missed a bit of the sparkle and mischief that they normally held and that worried me a little. “Are you okay?”

He kissed my forehead. “Of course I’m okay.”

“You know what I mean,” I said, spinning my ring around my finger, hesitant to ask the next question.

Cane blew out a breath and looked at the ceiling.

“There is something different between us. I just feel like I am on the outskirts of your life.”

He grabbed my shoulder and rolled me over to face him. “You are never on the outskirts of my life.”

My throat tightened right along with my chest. I gazed into his eyes, the blues swirling fast and hard. “I just feel like you never want to see me, that it burdens you to have to make time for me.”

Tears began to prick at my eyes. I had just thrown my worst thoughts out there and now I awaited his response.

It was quick and hard.

He grabbed my waist and laid me on top of him, crushing me against his body. “Jada, no.”

My tears fell softly onto the heated skin of his torso before running off the side.

“I know things have gone to shit. I have had a lot going on, baby. I’m hoping it will all be worked through soon. I miss … this. I miss you. I miss holding you, talking to you, teasing you. Baking with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making me smile. “When I say I want to be with you, it’s because I do. More than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

I rose to look at his gorgeous face. He was chewing his bottom lip furiously, his eyes searching mine.

“Okay,” I finally said. “But I want a rain check. Every hour I have to sacrifice will be paid back with interest. Capiche?”

Cane’s chest bounced as a chuckle escaped his throat, his eyes now alight with humor. “Fuck, I love you.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his eyes went wide.

My heartbeat raced, goose bumps breaking out across my skin. My throat swelled, my breath hitching in my throat.

Breathe. That was probably a mistake.

“Jada,” he said, his voice rough. “I—”

“It’s fine.” I plastered on a smile to cover my disappointment. “It’s fine, Cane. I know how you meant it.”

His eyes began to blaze as his breath picked up. I turned to roll off of him but he grabbed my waist with both hands, holding me in place. “Fuck this,” he whispered, his eyes wild.

Forcing a swallow, he continued, “This isn’t how I thought this would happen. Hell, I wasn’t sure if I would ever feel this way at all. But I do, so it’s stupid not to just say it, right?”

His forehead was wrinkled and a small sheen of sweat broke out across it.

“Cane—” I began before his fingertips touched me lightly on the lips, effectively hushing me.

“Jada,” he said, taking a deep breath. “I love you.”

Each word was clear, crisp, as if he wanted to make sure I didn’t misunderstand that he was saying
it,
not just the words, but the meaning behind it.

I smiled through my nerves, my heart bursting with joy. My chest shook as I suppressed a giggle that was awfully timed. “You don’t have to say that.”

He shook his head, his eyes wary. “Damn it, woman. If you don’t say it back in about two seconds, I am going to lose my shit.”

I let the laugh escape. I loved him. It was really that simple. “I love you, too.”

His face broke out, mirroring mine, before he grabbed the back of my head and crashed his mouth to mine.