Page 60 of Dirty Play

“Yup. Google it.”

“Nah, I believe you. That’s just kind of… adorable,” he says with a shrug. “Another one.”

“I’ve got a good one. Did you know that crocodiles can’t stick out their tongues?”

We spend the next couple of hours telling stories—his mostly about playing hockey as a kid, with one or two about all of his siblings mixed in. It’s the most I’ve heard him talk about his family and definitely the most personal information he’s been willing to give me.

I’m more thankful than I realized I would be that another layer of this man is peeling back. Maybe it’s because he’s home that he’s opening up.

“I actually really enjoy it here,” I tell him with a sigh.

“Me, too, Tink. Me too.”

It’s not just being here that I enjoy—it’s being here with him.

When we make it back to the house it’s after five, and I can smell something delicious as we walk through the front door. I hear laughter in the kitchen, and Cade grabs my hand and pulls me in for a hug. With a kiss on the top of my head—something I didn’t realize I loved so much—he holds me for a moment.

“Thank you for coming out here with me,” he says. “I’m not sure I could’ve faced this without you.”

I look up, stretching my neck back to see him. Everything his mom said earlier comes rushing back—how I changed him, how I brought him back home—and I start to wonder… am I helping Cade? Am I helping him work through his past and realize that he has a million people around him who care about him?

If I am, I just hope he realizes I’m one of them.

“Anytime, Mr. Grumps,” I say, leaning up to press a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth, just enough to make him want more but still chaste enough to almost be a cheek kiss. Pulling back, I head toward the kitchen, ready to help however I can.

When we walk in, they don’t notice us right away. Both his parents are in the kitchen pulling lasagna and bread out of the oven while Kylie makes a salad. It smells absolutely delicious, and my stomach starts growling, reminding me I probably should’ve eaten more this morning.

“Perfect timing, you two. Dinner is ready to go on the table, and Vince will be here in five,” Shelly says as she carries the lasagna over. “The table is set and everything is ready, so why don’t you have a seat.”

Feeling rather lazy but not willing to argue, I sit down, thankful when Cade takes the seat next to me.

“Did you guys have a good time?” Carson asks as he brings the bread over and sits down. Kylie and Shelly each bring a few things over and sit down, too.

“We did, you have a beautiful property. I’m sure I could spend days exploring it and still never be done.”

“You’re not wrong. Did you guys go over to the pond?” Shelly asks.

“Yeah, that’s actually where we spent most of our time. She found little ducks in the water, and we ended up watching them play for two hours until the mom came around,” Cade interjects, still annoyed that we got chased out of the area by a mama duck who, apparently, wasn’t very nice.

I hear laughter as Vince walks in. “You and those damn birds,” he says as he walks over and gives everyone a quick squeeze before taking the seat next to Cade.

“Well, now that everyone's here, let’s eat,” Shelly says.

It isn’t long until we have all finished our meals and are sitting back to listen to more stories. More memories, I love the picture they are painting of Cade—someone loveable, strong, and passionate. His hand moves under the table to grip my thigh, and I feel grounded knowing he’s right there, even if no one else can see.

Everything is going great until someone mentions Veronica again. This time, Vince mentions the surgery and how this was the second time Cade was supposed to have kidney surgery. I feel the temperature drop in the room, his grip on my thigh tightening just enough that I can tell how uncomfortable he is.

Cade looks toward Vince. “Drop that topic, please,” he says. I can’t see his face, but his voice sounds desperate.

I watch Vince as he just stares at Cade, his eyes narrowing, fingers tapping on the table like he’s assessing the situation.

“No,” he says, and I feel everyone hold their breath. “You can’t run from everything for the rest of your life, Cade. It’s time to man up and handle the past. It fucking sucks, trust me, we all lived through it while you ran. So don’t sit here and act all high and mighty like we can’t talk about something that we all fucking lived through.”

“Vince,” Shelly says, desperation in her voice, and I can tell she just wants to keep the peace. She’s got all her babies under the same roof, and she just wants to hold on to it.

“No, mom. I’m done walking on eggshells around Cade. I’m done pretending that when Veronica died, he didn’t die too. He left us. He left us because he was too much of a pussy to deal with everything, which meant he left us to mourn the both of them, and I’m fucking tired of it,” Vince says, his voice breaking.

I feel like this is the last place I want to be right now, the tension in the room skyrocketing as everyone watches Vince and Cade in a stare off, neither of them saying anything. I think Vince is hoping that this will make Cade talk, but it’s probably shutting him down further.

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