Chapter 66: Chapter 66

CASSANDRA BATES

THREE WEEKS OF INCONSISTENT NAGGING.

I was so mad at him, I wanted to kick him in the shins for everything. But hurting him was hurting myself too and I wasn’t prepared for that.

The first week Kade had made it clear no woman of his was staying in a walk-in closet carrying his kid and so he’d rented a luxurious penthouse for me.

I took it under the one condition I would be paying rent monthly. That was my first mistake, assuming he would even take my money after the lustful and apologetic look he gave me when he left me in my new apartment.

The second week was even more stressful. With him showing up at my apartment door with breakfast and baby necessities I didn’t require yet.

The third week…

Icarus woke up and I had been beyond thrilled knowing I hadn’t somewhat killed him. I visited him everyday and everyday Kade Hawkins was there, waiting for me with a grin and donuts and healthy drinks I hadn’t asked for and I rejected them.

Rejected him. Not missing the pained expression on him every time I did that.

“I’m getting discharged today and it feels like I’m in a fucking funeral”, Ice joked.

I packed his clothes, ignoring the other man in the room who stared a tad too long at me.

“Fuck, I’m done. I can’t take this shit”, Ice grunted with a hand wrapped around his torso, he tottered towards me taking the duffel bag and zipping it up before he cupped my cheek with a grin.

“I love you, I love both of you but even I can’t take whatever it is that’s going on. So, I’m gonna leave and you two are gonna stay and patch things up”

“You are in no state to drive Icarus”, Kade’s raspy voice warned. All raspy and rugged I could feel it in my bones, like sweet poison eating at my skeletons.

“And you are in no shape to give orders, Hawkins. To calm your titties, I called one of the guys, they’ll drive”

Few minutes later, Icarus was gone, Kade and I were left standing together.

The silence cloaked over us, I could almost taste the tension on my mouth and it was awful.

“I’m glad he’s doing fine”

That was my conversation starter and Kade took it as some sort of me finally forgiving him.

“Yeah, he might have kept things from me but I don’t think I would have survived if I lost him. I’m barely surviving after I lost you, Red”

“Kade”

I warned but there was no hiding that his words, his voice struck me in the chest and had my heart looping around like a stripper on a pole.

Then he started walking and I stood there waiting for him to close the distance between us, refusing to meet him halfway because since I met this dratted man, I was the one doing all the work, feeling like I was forcing myself on him and his fucked-up life.

“I miss you, Red. I miss you in my fucking bed, I miss seeing you around the house, I miss your scent heck I miss listening to your stories about Lulu and everything that pops in your mind. What do I do to get you back Cassandra? Baby, I’m dying here”

“I don’t know”, I whispered, my cheeks ablaze, eyes burning and every muscle in my body kinda tired of holding in my resentment for him.

Everyone forgave him. My family forgave him and if I was being frank here, my father would hand me to this man without batting an eyelash because they knew he loved me. Even Jace hinted at it, hinted that I was the one trying to stop this thing between Kade and me.

His hand found my cheek, his fingers exploring the skin around my cheek and that light touch sent frissons all the way to my skull and spine, spinning through my body like an electric shock.

Maybe it was my hormones speaking, maybe it was the pregnancy, my heart but at this moment I didn’t care.

“I’ll take care of you, Cassandra. Of our baby, I’ll be the man you need and the man you deserve just…take me back, honey”

“I hate you”

“I love you more baby”

Curse him.

My eyes met his dark ones. The ones I was addicted to like a bull with the color red.

“Say please. Say please take me back. Beg for me like I’ve begged for you for all these months to be mine. Promise me you’ll do right by me and our baby”

He grinned. The type of grin that knocked me away with one fell swoop.

“Please take me back…because I’m already yours, sweetheart. My heart beats for you and for you only, without you, I’m done Cassandra Bates. I’ll be by your side forever baby. I’ll be the father to our litter of kids because oh yeah, we are going to have a ton of them playing in our house with me teaching them how to play football, baseball, anything they fucking want. I’ll-“

I clashed my lips with his. Unsure, afraid of what this meant.

My breath caught in the back of my throat as he crushed his lips over mine with devastating warmth, bringing our hands to his chest and lacing our fingers together.

His lips were possessive, demanding; his almost-familiar fragrance of dry cedar and shaved wood made my knees weak.

And amidst our kiss I heard him groan ‘a thank you’, like he would have died had I not forgiven him.

He’d kissed me stupid to the point of delirium I was almost losing it and when he pulled away, I had never been needy for a man’s touch like I was for Kade Hawkins’.

I knew right there and then; this man was my forever.

---FOUR YEARS LATER----

“You should be taking it easy, Cassie”, Lucia nudged and I gave her a wan smile that indicated that in no way was I leaving my husband alone.

Being pregnant at thirty weeks did that to someone. My husband was like the air to me.

I needed him, constantly.

To scream at? To shove a plate at? To whine to?

I needed HIM.

MY best friend aside from Anna Swan who’d be upset if I said I had another best friend, held my arm as we trudged down the green pathway that was my parents’ home.

“I know the twins are probably pulling his ears out”, I joked because yes, Vivi and Rykkon were as clingy to their dad as I was.

“Not as much as Finn is with Jace”, she added and we both chuckled.

Being parents was different.

A good kind of different despite the pain that came with pushing kids out of your body.

By the time we made it to where Nicole and Callan Asher were buried, Kade’s glare was enough to cut me into two.

“I told you he would throw a fit”, Lucia whispered, walking gracefully to her husband who had their three and a half old son, Finn Asher, in his hands.

“Mommy, mommy. We met Grandma Nicole and Pop-pop Callan”, Vivi, my little girl, came running.

Rykkon was right behind her pulling my long ankle summer dress with one of his many questions.

“He was a soldier! Can I be a soldier too? I’m going to be a soldier”

Kade appeared behind our kids, his hand banding around my waist, his voice a mere whisper.

“Over my dead body, he’ll be a soldier. What did we say about you moving about, Red?”

I grinned. We all knew me obeying his rules was like asking a cat to eat grass for a month.

“I missed you”, I COOED, grabbing his V-cream shirt in my fists and kissing him.

And this him…it was like meeting him all over again and falling in love with him…again.

He always kissed me like he couldn’t get enough and I blame him for me being pregnant again.

“If you lovebirds are done making out, care to join us?” Jace’s amused voice beckoned from behind and I resisted an eye roll. Family meetings always sucked because we were a tad too many and I couldn’t necessarily fuck my husband in my parents’ home.

“I missed you too, Red and I can’t wait for us to go back home and show you just how much you drive me crazy”

“Do I drive you crazy too daddy?” Vivi asked, I burst into laughter forgetting that my kids were still standing next to us.

“Of course, baby. You are my princess”, Kade cooed, taking my hand in his and trying as much as possible for me not to get injured.

And as we stood in front of the monumental rock that had Nicole and Callan Asher’s names and a few endearing words from family, there was no hiding the fact that although Kade and Jace were sad like they always were when we visited their parents’ graves, this time there was some semblance of peace.

“They would be happy to see both of you right now”, Lucia stated, leaning to Jace’s side.

“And proud. Definitely proud to see their grandkids”, I added, Kade smiled.

“She’s really something, mom. Isn’t she? And I thank you for bringing her into my life. I thank you for bringing all of them back to me, mom”

“Grandma Nicole, that’s her name!” Finn corrected still in Jace’s arms.

“Yes honey, grandma Nicole and she would have liked you. Liked all of you”, Lucia cooed pinching Finn’s chubby cheeks.

Cheeks he definitely got from his father, Jace.

“I found him, mom and dad. I found Connor just like I promised. I told him you both loved him, that it wasn’t his fault. I remind the knucklehead every day how much you both fucking loved him”

“Says the knucklehead who paged his wife with another kid and forgot to tell the family”, Kade taunted.

Lucia cheeks turned red and I eyed her belly.

“Lucia’s pregnant? And you didn’t tell me? Am I ever going to be the only pregnant woman in the family?”

“To be fair, I was waiting for the right moment to tell you Cass”, Lucia apologized, I was about to scold both Asher brothers when Vivi spoke up.

“Knucklehead”

“Fucking”, Rykkon joined before Finn added another fucking with a clap.

“All of you owe the swear jar, one dollar each. No kid in my household is going to say bad words in my presence”

“I’m sorry, mommy”

“Sorry”

Kade smirked next to me and I hit him with a ‘what’.

“My mom and dad invented the swear jar too baby”, Kade started.

Jace continued with the same smug smirk,” And look at us now. We cuss like motherflunking sailors”

My kids wouldn’t be like them. They wouldn’t cuss…aah who was I kidding, they could cuss like their fathers all they wanted and I wouldn’t love them less.

----------------------THE END