Page 45 of Follow Me to Your Heart
I bowed my head and tucked my curls behind my ear. “I did it hoping to change him, and not in the way that you’re thinking. Other than what he does for work, Cage is damn near perfect in my eyes. Things were getting to a point where he was choosing work over everything else, and you know what he does. He was conflicted about things, so I removed myself from the equation, hoping he would figure out how to put himself first.”
“So, it’s not about the pictures with his ex?”
“No.” I snickered. “I could care less about her. I will admit it pissed me off when I first saw them, but Taylor and Sienna got me together. I miss him so much, Kasey. Whenever I see him checking in on me, I want to cave, but I know it’s not what either of us need right now. I just pray he chooses what’s best for him, whether I’m included or not.”
Kasey grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. “The two of you love one another too much to not come back together. I’ve seen him fall in love with you over the years and vice versa. I have faith y’all will figure it out. Just know it may take time, or it may not.”
“Is that how you felt when you and Amanda broke up?”
“Yeah, it was. It’s different when you know someone is your soulmate. We were broken up, but we were still connected. I knew once I got my chance, I’d marry her and do right. You never know. Cage might feel the same way.”
“I hope so.”
Kasey kissed the back of my hand again. Our moment was interrupted by Alana calling him, asking if we were going to sit outside forever. We shared a knowing glare before getting out to go inside. Mom opened the door with her arms outstretched. I stopped in my tracks. The last thing I wanted was to be affectionate with her, so I let Kasey lead the way.
“Oh, my babies.” She cooed, embracing Kasey and rocking from side to side. “I’ve missed y’all so much. I wish I got the same treatment as your father.”
“If you showed up for us like he did, then maybe you would,” I responded, rolling my eyes. We couldn’t even be around her for one minute before she started her bullshit.
Mom pulled away from Kasey and glared at me. She opened her mouth to speak, but Kasey leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her hush. With the mood I was in, I wanted her to say something. I’d take all my anger out on her.
“Hello to you too, Korren. Come and give your mother some love.” She waved me over as she stepped toward me. I glanced over at Kasey who held his hands up. That was one thing I loved about him. Even though Alana was our mother, he didn’t pressure me to do anything I felt uncomfortable with because she held that title.
“I’m good, Mom.”
Alana tipped her head to the side with her lips tightly pursed together. “Excuse me?”
“I said I’m good. Are we going to go in and eat or what?”
With a wave of her finger, Mom turned around and headed inside with us in tow.
When our parents got a divorce, Mom bought a house on the outskirts of Camden Cove, right on the lake. She lived a few houses down from the baseball player Banks Callahan, so no one could tell her a thing. Her home was cute. It housed four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, much too big for only her. She swore she got it big enough for Kasey and me, but we hardly ever came over here when we were younger.
“It smells good in here,” Kasey stated as we ventured deeper into her home.
One look around and one wouldn’t know she even had kids. The pictures decorating her mint painted walls were of her and only her, mixed in with some art done by Leilani Keith. She led us into the dining room where she had the table set for three.
I had to agree with Kasey, it did smell good. Alana had prepared meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, sweet peas, and yeast rolls. It was one of Kasey’s favorite meals growing up.
Kasey smiled bright. “Aw, man. You know this is my meal, Mom.”
“I had to get down for my baby. It’s been a while since I cooked for you, so I figured I’d prepare your favorite.”
I bit down on my tongue to refrain from speaking my mind. For the longest, I’d known she favored Kasey over me. It didn’t bother me, but she made it obvious whenever we were all together. I was Daddy’s favorite, but he never made Kasey feel it.
We bypassed the dining room to go wash our hands. When we were all seated at the table again, Mom said grace before plating the food. Of course, she plated mine last. I stabbed my fork into my meatloaf when the doorbell rang. We all stopped and looked at one another.
“Expecting someone?” Kasey questioned Mom.
She swiftly shook her head. “No, I’m not. Do you mind going to see who it is?”
Kasey excused himself and headed to the front. The name that left his lips made me drop my fork.
“Cage? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, hell no.” Mom threw her napkin down, scooted her chair back, and marched to the front.
I was hot on her heels. We made it to the front at the same time. My heart felt as if it would leap from my chest at any moment seeing Cage standing there. Two weeks had passed since we’d been so close, and it took everything in me not to jump into his arms. Goosebumps prickled my skin when our eyes connected. He winked at me before reverting his attention to Kasey.
