“I’ll walk you out,” Cane offered, pushing off the counter. Kelly pressed her lips with a simple nod. She still wasn’t talking to him. She said goodbye one more time and then they were walking out the kitchen and going through the front door.
“You staying the night, Frank?” I asked, hopping off my stool and taking my plate to the sink.
“Yeah. I don’t feel like calling for anyone to pick me up right now.” She sighed. “The beach was so amazing, Mr. and Mrs. Jennings. Thank you for letting me annoy you for five days straight. I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother.”
Mom chimed with laughter as Dad let out a hearty chuckle.
“Trust me,” Dad started, placing his plate on the countertop, “no one can annoy or bother me as much as my own daughter.”
I sucked my teeth and gave him a soft punch on the shoulder. “Whatever, dude.” I walked to the exit of the kitchen. “I’ll set up the pull-out for you, Frank.”
“Okay.” She turned and continued talking to my parents about a boat ride she saw advertised at the beach.
I walked through the foyer to get to the linen closet. On my way, I caught sight of Kelly standing in front of an Audi.
She and Cane were standing by the back doors, and someone was waiting behind the wheel. I think it was an Uber driver. Kelly’s face was stern while Cane was going on about something and waving his hands, as if the conversation being held was pointless.
Kelly stepped closer to him and said something…or maybe she’d asked him something.
Cane gave her a blank stare and no response, to which she dropped her gaze. She stepped away from him, shook and bowed her head, and pulled the door open to get in the backseat.
Cane stood there, shoving his inked fingers through his hair as the driver pulled off. Before I could blink again, the car was nowhere in sight.
Cane stood there for about twenty-seconds, and I watched him. Watched as he dropped his hand to his hip, tipped his head so his face was pointed to the sky, shut his eyes, and inhaled for three long seconds.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then he exhaled. He started for our house again, and I turned away, grabbing some fresh sheets out of the closet, shutting the door, and hurrying up the stairs before he could come inside and spot me.
Whatever they were arguing about seemed bad. I was curious and had hoped he would stick around long enough to tell Dad about it so I could eavesdrop, like I always happened to do. Unfortunately, he didn’t.
Cane was gone by the time I returned to the kitchen.
27
CANE
It’d been a week since we arrived back in Georgia. I hadn’t heard from Kelly since the night we got back. I knew why she was avoiding me, but I wasn’t up for talking about it.
I hadn’t seen Derek or the family that whole week either. The day after our arrival, I had to catch a flight to Boston to work out a deal. I stayed in Boston for two days before flying to Washington to meet with a potential investor. I spent the rest of the week there and had flown back in Monday morning.
It was hot that day. I was catching up on paperwork at the office when Derek had sent me a text message asking if I wanted to meet up for lunch.
I was now sitting in a booth made of fake red leather at a small breakfast diner, waiting for him to arrive. The place was packed with patrons, the salty scent of bacon floating around, mingling with the sweet, sticky scent of syrup and the thick aroma of coffee.
It was comforting, to be honest. It reminded me of the days before Tempt, when my sister and I would walk a few blocks together to catch a meal. I’d worked at a fast food restaurant after school and would spend all of my money on her and Mom. I always bought groceries with my money, or new clothes and shoes if they were needed. It didn’t matter if I was broke by the end of the day. They were my family, I loved them more than anything on earth, and I wanted to be a real man who provided for the people he loved, unlike my father.
I’d ordered coffee, and as I poured my cream and sugar into a mug, the bell above the door chimed and I watched Derek walk in.
Derek had the kind of build that could intimidate the average man. With his police uniform on and the belt strapped around his waist with weapons clipped to it, I figured only an idiot would challenge him.
The night he saved my mother, I heard he had to take my father down. My father wasn’t a small man. As a child and even a teenager, I always remembered being daunted by the height and size he had on me, so to know Derek had taken him down—tackled him to the ground and even got around to arresting him while hardly putting up a fight—made me automatically respect him.