Page 73 of Purr For Me
She was so stupid. Sully was right—it was only a cabin.
She gripped the locket around her neck. Her mother was wherever Lexie was, because she was in her heart. It was time to put the past behind her. And she needed her big girls' panties on to learn to trust again. Deep down, she knew Kade would never hurt her on purpose. He would always be there for her.
It suddenly seemed all so clear. She loved Kade and losing the cabin didn’t change that.
Pulling her mobile out of her pocket, she dialed Kendra’s number. “Hey, Kendra. Can you do me a favor? I want to plan a surprise dinner for Kade.”
“Oh, wonderful! You’ve forgiven him.”
“There really isn’t anything to forgive. I owe him a huge apology for blaming him. So, can you help me organize this?”
“Sure. I’d love to. I’ll get Stella to help. What do you want me to do?”
“Well, Sully told me Kade’s moving back into his house on Friday. Stella’s working on getting a spare key to Kade’s house and I was wondering if you could get Tom to take him out for the afternoon, then you, Stella and I could set up a lovely surprise dinner.”
“Sure, Tom will think of something. But what are you going to do?”
“I’ll just dial in Stella. She’ll have some ideas.”
Soon after Lexie had explained that she wanted to surprise Kade, Stella was full of brilliant ideas. Stella outlined her plan, and soon the girls were giggling away.
* * *
Kade moved back into the big house on Friday morning, leaving the guesthouse for Jason. As he walked through the beautifully renovated mansion, he’d never felt more alone in the large, rambling rooms. Why did he need a house this size? He wanted to share it with Lexie—and have a family with her.
If only Lexie were here with him.
What hurt the most was that he loved Lexie more than she loved him. He wouldn’t care if he lost everything he owned, as long as she was by his side. Yet, she couldn’t forgive him one tiny cabin.
He knew that wasn’t fair to her. He hadn’t had her upbringing. He’d had a loving mother and father and led a privileged life. He hadn’t been raised by a junkie mother, or ended up in foster care, only to have her mum return and then lose her to a terrible wasting disease. Nor had he had his self-respect and dignity trampled on by a drug-addict husband who’d left her destitute and then tossed her aside like garbage.
He understood what that cabin represented to her. He just hoped that if he could see her, touch her, she’d remember that he loved her and she’d forgive him.
He took one last look around before glancing at his watch. He was meeting Tom this afternoon, who had agreed to help him design a plan to get Lexie back.
Shit, he best move it. They were meeting at Tom’s house, since he was looking after the kids today.
It took about twenty minutes to drive to Tom’s, and he suddenly felt stupid. How the hell was Tom going to help him get Lexie to see him, let alone make her love him again?
Tom greeted him with no animosity, which surprised Kade. The man was Lexie’s biggest fan. He handed Kade a beer as they sat outside on the porch.
“Nice house,” he said.
“We like it. Now, let’s hear it.”
Smiling, Kade threw a ball for Connor, Tom’s little boy. Ignoring the shard of sorrow that pierced his heart, Kade said, “I’d appreciate any help you can give me. I never meant to hurt Lexie. Just the opposite. It sounds dramatic, but I wanted to give her everything—the cabin would have been just the beginning.”
“I get that,” Tom said. “She’s just grieving the loss. Give her time.”
“I’m so angry with myself. I underestimated Charlie Erickson. I got careless. Short of threatening to murder him, there isn’t anything that will make him sign it over until we have evidence to charge him and that is taking time.”
“Look, she’ll get over the cabin. You just have to remind her you love her, and she’ll forgive you.”
That surprised the hell out of Kade. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box, placing it on the table in front of Tom. “Open it.”
Tom met his gaze for several moments before setting his Coke bottle on the table and picking up the box. After another glance at Kade, he lifted the lid.
A large princess-cut diamond set in a rose-gold band sparkled in a plush bed of satin. A matching rose-gold chain was threaded through the ring. “As a mechanic she can’t wear it at work, so I got the chain so she can hang it around her neck under her work clothes.”
