Page 1 of Cayden

Chapter 1

The fall night was pretty, with the blue velvety sky covered with dozens of twinkling stars. The impossible heat of summer had finally made way for the cooler weather.

Trees were bending their boughs with the wind stirring the leaves and the rain, which had fallen earlier in the afternoon, glistened on the bed of roses and daffodils just along the wide porch.

The woman seated behind the wheel of the snazzy looking red car, took nothing in. Her mind was far away, thoughts troubled. She was trying her best to organize her thoughts and struggled for composure. She had to.

The man inside the sprawling ranch type house, one where she had grown up in, would notice the slightest bit of distress and she was not sure she wanted to unburden herself to him.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped out. Her boots hit the cobbled stone driveway, and she felt the familiar stirring throughout her body.

The place looked the same. She had been away for three weeks, and it still looked and felt like home. She had lived here for so many years, only moving out when she got married five years ago.

Wrapping her cashmere jacket around her slender body, Blair marched up the steps and pushed the door open, shaking her head at the fact that her dad refused to keep it locked. The neighborhood was secluded, and he had been living here for the past thirty-five years, but still…

Shrugging out of her jacket, she draped it on the peg of the coat tree and simply stood there inside the foyer, looking around. It was homey and comfortable. The furnishings were not new but had a kind of live-in quality that she appreciated.

It was funny that after being married into one of the richest family in the world, she could still appreciate home. And it was and always will be home. Especially now.

“Dad?” She called out. When she did not hear a response, she made her way through the narrow hallway towards the library where she knew he would be at this time of the evening.

She saw him standing precariously on the rolling ladder and reaching for a thick volume.

“Dad?” She approached cautiously, not wanting to startle him too much. “What on earth are you doing?”

His smile lit up his attractively lined face, mahogany eyes sparkling with pleasure.

“Honey. Why didn’t you tell me you were back?”

“I arrived just this afternoon and had to take a nap. The flight was long and exhausting.

What are you doing?”

“Just searching for a book to help with my lesson for tomorrow,” he patted it and carefully made his way down. Putting the book on the desk, he hurried forward to enfold her in his arms and she just took him in and wrapped herself around him.

The familiar scent of peppermint and tobacco almost brought tears to her eyes, and she wanted to stay in his arms and never leave. It was safer there than anywhere else.

As if sensing her turmoil, he eased her away and held her at arms’ length, eyes studying her face closely. “Still my beautiful baby, but there is something there. How about a cup of tea and some comforting conversation?”

“You know how I hate tea.”

He nodded. “I do. But in this case, you are going to humor your old man,” he patted her cheek, “let me just make a note I have been toying with before it slips my mind. I am teaching a controversial topic tomorrow and must be prepared.”

He walked over to his desk and wrote some jottings on his notepad. Blake Hendricks was a professor at the local university and taught religious science. He had had tenure for the past thirty-three years and was extremely popular with his students and members of staff at the university, a place he viewed as his home away from home.

He had met his wife there and often joked that he had married above him. Their love had always been a comfort to Blair and as an only child, she had been brought up to settle for nothing less than true love.

“Now honey,” taking her hand, he slipped it though his arm and led the way out of the library, he used as his office. “How was the trip?”

“Too much,” she admitted with a slight laugh. “The wine tasting went very well according to the responses received.” They entered the cozy and warmth of the large yellow and white room with the old-fashioned appliances. “Sit, I will make the tea.”

“Are you certain?”

“I don’t get to touch the stove much anymore.” She reminded him lightly as she foraged for the packet of tea and put the kettle on. “How have you been?”

Blake studied his daughter as she efficiently set out a tray with two cups and added slices of the apple pie, his neighbor had brought over just this evening and noticed the shadows in her beautiful eyes.

She reminded him so much of his dearly departed wife. Catherine had been a stunning beauty and could have had any man she wanted, and she had chosen him. it still baffled him that she had.

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