Page 98 of Finding Forever

Bebetter.

And he would. He’d show her he was better than Abernathy. He kept arguing that he was nothing like her stepfather, then turned around and did nothing but reinforce her fears that he was.

It was time for him to show her, through wordsanddeeds that he was the better man. He held her close for a long timewhile she slept. He enjoyed the warm, slight weight of her, and was humbled that—despite the things he’d said that evening and his unforgivable behavior—she trusted him enough to sleep so peacefully in his arms.

But he had things to take care of. Things that could not be put off for much longer. And even though it pained him to do so, he eventually had no choice but to carry her into his bedroom and lay her down on his king-sized bed, where she immediately curled up into a tight defensive ball. Guarding herself in her sleep now that he was no longer holding her.

She looked tiny in the middle of that massive bed, and he yearned to join her. But he shook his head impatiently, and dragged a comforter up over her. He indulged himself with one last, lingering look and, after flipping the light switch left the room abruptly, before he could give in to the overwhelming instinct to crawl into that bed with her.

He returned to the living room and put on some coffee; he was going to need at least a pot of it to keep him going tonight. Once he had his first mug poured, he sat down on the sofa with his laptop. Her delicate honey and almond scent tantalized his senses. It clung to his skin and his clothes and once again he was tempted to sayfuck itand just snuggle up in bed with her. He was exhausted and he couldn’t think of anything that could possibly bring him more satisfaction than falling asleep with his wife in his arms right now. Well… hecouldthink of something, but they both needed rest a lot more than they neededthat.

He smothered a yawn and blinked down at his laptop screen; it was blurry. He swore and reached for his glasses on the coffee table. God knew, seventy percent of his headaches probably resulted from not wearing his glasses enough.

He needed to focus. He had work to do.

The following morning,Cade woke up with a stiff neck thanks to falling asleep in a half-reclined position on the sofa with his head twisted at an awkward angle. It was gloomy outside, gray and rainy.

His phone was buzzing like a persistent obnoxious fly and he sat up groggily not sure where the damned thing was. The device was near enough for the rhythmic vibration to have awoken him, but far enough away not to be able to pinpoint its exact location.

He swore viciously as, still punchy from the lack of any real sleep, he fumbled beneath cushions and the lap blanket he’d dragged over himself while he was sleeping. Nothing.

When the buzzing started again, he uttered another couple of filthy words and half tumbled off the couch to look under the coffee table. He eventually found the damned thing under the sofa but by the time he fished it out the buzzing had stopped again.

He sat back down to glower at the screen.

His father had been trying to reach him.

He yawned and checked his missed calls and yep, pretty much as expected, they were all from his father.

He was about to return the man’s call when the device vibrated in his hand and his father’s name popped up on the screen again.

“Dad,” he greeted, stifling another huge yawn.

“Why the fuck aren’t y’answerin’ y’phone, lad?”

“I was sleeping. I had a late night last night.”

“Aye, I can see why. How long did it take you to do all of this?”

His father had to be referring to the emails Cade had sent him just—he checked the time on the huge wall clock in the kitchen—three hours ago. Fuck, he really needed more sleep.

“Most of the night. But I already had a lot of the information on file.”

“Are y’sure this is a can of worms you want to open? Given everything you’re dealing with already?”

“Yes.” His voice was resolute.

Cade had never been more certain of anything in his life.

“Niall, you know what this is going to do, right?”

“Yes. And I don’t give a fuck. I just need to know that you’re on board with it.”

There was a long pause, and Cade genuinely wasn’t certain what his father’s reply would be.

“What would you do if I wasn’t?” the old man finally asked and Cade shut his eyes wearily.

He took a deep breath before replying, “I’d see to it myself. Even if it takes every last resource I have.”

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