Page 67 of Combust
Before leaving town, they ordered takeout from an Italian restaurant located across the street from the riverside park. The savory smells of tomatoes, cheese, fennel-spiced sausage, and pepperoni tormented Cade on the interminable drive back to the ranch.
When they finally arrived at his cabin, he limped gingerly from the car, while Maggie supported him around his waist. Once inside, she very firmly insisted that he sit while she set about reheating the pizza and pasta.
“You’ve certainly got some snap to your garters,” he commented as she opened a bottle of Coke and poured a couple of classes.
“Is that good or bad?” she asked, her tone wary as she brought him a glass.
“It’s good,” he assured her. “It means you generally know what you’re doing, and you don’t suffer fools gladly.”
“You don’t think I’m too bossy?” she asked, seating herself at the small table.
He saw the flare of uncertainty move across her face, and wondered:Who made her doubt herself like that?
“I adore a woman who can stand up for herself. I wouldn’t want to be with someone too timid to bite a biscuit,” Cade said with complete honesty. “I’m hard-headed, and so are you. I expect that we’ll have a bit of thunder and lightning between us from time to time. But that’s fine by me.”
Maggie raised her glass. “Here’s to sunny skies after stormy weather,” she toasted him.
He saluted her with his wine in return. “And here’s to gettin’ our feathers a mite singed today, but still walkin’ away.”
“We were both very lucky,” she said, and drank. “And I’m so glad that Emily’s going to be okay.”
Then she put her drink down, and regarded him soberly. “I know I was reckless, going into that barn without a buddy, but I had to try to save her.”
Cade reached out to cover her hand with his own bandaged paw. “Not blamin’ you. And I couldn’t leave the two of you in there. Not after…” He shuddered, feeling an icy finger draw a line up his back.
Maggie turned her hand palm up, and very gently closed her fingers around his.
“Cade, what happened to you?” She met his gaze, her clear hazel eyes filled with compassion. “I won’t push if it’s one of the things you don’t want to talk about, but I’d like to know.”
He shook his head and pushed down the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. “I ain’t ever talked about it. But I think it’s long past time I told someone. And I want that someone to be you, Maggie. I want you to know about who I am and where I came from.”
Chapter Nineteen - When All is Said and Done
“Thank you for trusting me,” Maggie said soberly.
The microwave beeped, signaling that the pasta was ready. Meanwhile, the smell of heating pizza drifted from the oven.
“Do you want to talk about this now, or after dinner?” she asked.
“I’d appreciate it if we waited until after we ate,” he told her. “It’s not a pretty story.”
She nodded. “All right.” Then, she rose from the table and gave him a slow smile filled with promises. “Right now, I think I need to feed you.”
* * *
Later, when Cade had devoured the last piece of pizza, and Maggie had polished off her pasta dish, they settled themselves on the sofa. Maggie curled up against Cade’s side. He put his arm around her, relishing her presence after the long days and weeks of her absence.
“So,” he began slowly. “I want to tell you about what happened to my clan, and how I grew up.”
She draped her arm across his belly, and he let the warm weigh anchor him as he cast his thoughts back into the past he’d tried so hard to forget.
He began.
“My clan lived in the Ozark Mountains, down in Arkansas. We lived pretty isolated. Didn’t have much in the way of neighbors, and it took us a long time to drive into town, long enough that we only went shopping once a month or so, and only for things that we couldn’t grow or make on our own.
“I don’t remember a lot about my parents or the other clan members. When I was still really young, maybe six, seven years old, I don’t exactly know, there was a—”
He swallowed hard. This was the part of the story that fueled his nightmares. That Christmas Eve, he’d lost everything important to him. He took a moment to collect himself as Maggie waited patiently.
