Page 34 of Fire Fight

Then I glance at Raelene and the short dream falters.

The only way this could be a family is if my mother sat there, giving me her gentle smile of encouragement. Listening to me talk about my day, lending advice when she knows I need it. Staying silent when all that will help is a comforting hug.

Grief hollows me and it’s merciless, sucking everything into its gaping abyss. Even my breath.

Then Cadence’s phone buzzes with another message and anger—my steadfast companion—rushes in to fill the void.

“I just heard from a friend who works at Rodolfo.” I waggle my phone. “He’s organised a booking for a table of four this Saturday.” Arnold frowns and I meet his eyes with a formulatedsmile. “If we want the reservation. I thought it would be nice to go as a family.”

“The Rodolfo?” His frown turns to cautious optimism. “Doesn’t that place have a six-month waiting list?”

“Yeah.” I give a shrug like it’s no big deal. “He knows I want to welcome everyone. But if you already have plans…”

I stare at Cadence, enjoying the way her expression collapses. Especially when her mother bounces across to the sofa to draw her into an excited dance.

“It sounds fabulous,” Raelene gushes, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder. “What d’you think, love?”

“Great.” Her thin smile doesn’t come close to reaching her eyes. The longer I look, the more it turns into a grimace. “But would next Saturday—”

“It has to be this Saturday,” I interject. “The table’s booked.”

“And if we decline, we’ll never get a reservation again on such short notice,” Arnold agrees, cluelessly coming to my rescue. “Well done, son. I’m proud of the effort you’re making to include everyone.”

I smirk at Cadence, feeling satisfaction at her distress.

But Arnold isn’t finished yet. The old man’s getting positively teary-eyed.

“It’s hard for me to say how grateful I am to have you properly here. Those times you didn’t come home for days, sleeping in your car…” His voice completely chokes, and he shakes his head until it loosens. “Let’s just say it’s nice to have you home at night.”

He opens his arms, and I step into them. Mimicking his hug because he’s never given me one before, and I’m not sure what he expects.

When I pull away, he wipes his eyes.

Fucking hell.

“For a long time, I thought I’d missed my chance to be a father or to have a proper family and now look at us.” He beams like he can’t believe his good fortune. “You’re all so special to me.”

“You’re special to us, too,” Cadence says, reaching over to grasp his hand.

And my head thumps with pain, the deep-seated ache bringing different tears to my eyes as I glance at her. “Yeah, you’re special.”

CADENCE

Twenty minutes later, I walk around to Hudson’s house to give him the bad news in person, needing the exercise to process my irritation.

Drake is going from bad to worse.

I tried to understand him blaming me for boot camp, but so far, the benefit of the doubt has earned me a ridiculous forfeit demand, constant insinuations about my virtue, a food-stained blouse for the last two periods at a school where everyone always looks perfect, and now a ruined date.

And not to forget the theft of my medication. Can’t go past that little treat.

I fold my hands into my armpits to hide my fists and walk past Hudson’s house the first time, needing another minute to find my head.

When I walk up to the door, it opens before I have the chance to knock.

“I thought I’d better come out and grab you before you walked past again.”

Knowing he was watching adds embarrassment to my list of stirred emotions. I can’t stand to wait and blurt, “Drake organised a family dinner on Saturday. I can’t go out.”

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