Page 16 of Greater than the Heart
“Cha-cha, I told you this was a bad idea,” the shorter one hissed at the taller one.
“Shut the fuck up, man. He ain’t gonna stopshit. Get upstairs, stupid,” the taller one ordered. As the shorter one started up the stairs, Cade picked up the bat and held it like he’d seen batters do in the baseball games he watched with Jackson in the media room.
They were kids, he could tell, and he didn’t want to hurt either of them. They reminded him too much of the kids he knew from the shelter. “I’m guessing he’s too chickenshit to do the dirty work, so he’s got you doing it. Hey, if you wanna get your head caved in, come on,” Cade threatened.
“Fuck that shit,” he heard before a loud blast ripped through the silence and a sting on his head sent him tumbling down the stairs, where he struck his head several times and the world went black.
Cade sat on the stairs of the club leading up to the office and considered the situation as he looked around, seeing police hurrying in after breaking down the front door. That was going to have to be fixed, and Ford would be pissed because those doors were custom-made and very expensive.
Based on what he was seeing, he could only imagine he was dead, and he hated it more for his husbands than for himself. He knew they’d be hurt with him being gone, but he had faith they’d help each other get through the grief.
Someone joined him, and when he looked to see who it was, he was surprised to see it was his father, Hudson. “Did they send you to tell me I’m going to hell?” he asked sarcastically.
For the first time Kincade could ever recall, Hudson laughed. “No, not at all. I am coming to apologize to you. I’ll skip the itemized list because you need to go back, but I’m sorry for every crappy thing I ever did to you, Kincade. I’m proud of the man you’ve become. It was admirable of you not to draw the gun and shoot them. You’re a better person than I ever was.
“Could you keep an eye on your brother? I did him no favors either, but I believe with your influence, he can be as great a man as you’ve turned out to be,” Hudson told him.
“I don’t know how much of an influence I can be from this side. What happens now?” Cade asked as he watched the paramedics working on him.
“You’re not dead, Kincade. You have a severe concussion but that bullet just grazed the side of your head. You’ll have a messed-up part, but you’ve got my thick hair so nobody will notice.
“Your husbands want children, Cade. How do you feel about it?” Hudson asked, surprising Cade. But then, again, he knew Ford and Jax loved kids, based on the way they treated Carlotta. With him gone, they had a better shot at having a family.
“So, can you give me any answers to the great mysteries of life? Did you get any profound insights when you died? No, better yet, why the fuck did you get yourself involved with Clary Radcliffe? You had money, Dad. We always had enough to eat, and we had a wonderful home. We didn’t need cooks and housekeepers or fancy gadgets. We just needed you,” Cade told him.
“As for any answers, I don’t have any more answers now than I did when I was alive. I have a lot of regrets but voicing them won’t change anything. All I have for you is some advice, if you’ll listen,” Hudson told him as they loaded Cade’s body onto a gurney.
It looked gruesome, all the needles and tubes in his arms. There was an oxygen mask over his face, and he was really glad Ford wasn’t there. He’d have passed out for certain.
At that point, Kincade didn’t have anything to lose, really. “Sure. Advise away.”
“Be grateful for the people in your life. They make it worth living every day. Make certain they know beyond a shadow of a doubt you love and cherish them.
“Look for the wisdom in failures. When we fail, we learn, and everyone can stand to learn something new.
“Cherish the simple pleasures like a good cup of coffee; the smell of flowers in the spring; and the feel of snow on your tongue in the winter. The Creator makes no mistakes, so cherish the people in your life, and learn to forgive before bitterness settles into your soul like it did mine.
“They’re taking you away, but remember I love you. Please be the father to Ashton I never could, and if you and your husbands are blessed with children, remember all of my mistakes and do it right. I love you Kincade,” Hudson said before he stood and walked up the stairs, disappearing along the way.
Cade decided if he wasn’t dead, then his subconscious must be playing hell with his mind. Even if it was just his own hopes anddreams, he’d given himself some damn good advice. If he wasn’t dead, he planned to remember it. Well, he hoped he would.
“I can’t believe this, love. It should have been me.”
“No! It shouldn’t have been either one of you. You need to hire a security service, Branford. If those two idiots could case the place so easily, you and Cade need someone to teach you how to be less predictable. The police said there’ve been a series of robberies in the early morning hours in the neighborhood. Most businesses are open until the wee hours of the morning, so the kids didn’t think anyone would be at the club so early. That’s how they get away with daylight robberies.”
Cade could hear Ford and Jax talking, and he hated they were upset. He tried to open his eyes, but they wouldn’t budge as the blackness took him away again.
“He used to love to play tennis. He tried to talk Hudson into taking him to the club to let him play, but that nasty bastard rarely took time for anyone but himself.”
It was his mother, which meant she’d been called from New York. He hated she’d been dragged back to Chicago over nothing serious. Again, he tried to open his eyes or move anything to show them he could hear them, but his body failed him again.
Cade felt someone holding his hand, and there was definitely sobbing. He had no idea how much time passed between his bouts of cognizant thought and the deep sleep. He hoped it wasn’t months because he wanted to belivinghis life with Jax and Ford.
“Chére, you gotta wake up. You know we don’t do well without you, and we have so many things we want to do. Places to go and things to see. We miss you too much to even sleep, Kincade. Please, please, come back to us.”
It was Jax, and Cade could tell he wasn’t doing well. He hauled up every ounce of strength in his body to squeeze the big guy’s hand, but before he could, the blackness took him again.
Cade finally opened his eyes to see the room was mostly dark. There was a faint light he determined must be from the bathroom. He looked at the end of the bed to see Griff and Cleveland asleep in a large, orange Naugahyde recliner in the corner of the room.
