Page 91 of Prodigal Son

“I mean sick. Really sick. I thought he was having a seizure or some kind of heart attack. I never saw a man in so much pain. What the hell do these people do for doctors around here? Because I’m pretty sure he needs one.”

“She’s at Anna and Adam’s. They had the baby.” She rushed to Cain’s room, worry making it difficult to breathe. She quietly entered and her concern doubled.

Looking nothing like his usual herculean self, he lay curled on his side, eyes staring off in defeated shock. “Cain?” she rushed to his side and gently sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers stroking gently through his knotted hair.

The curtains had been drawn, and his brow pinched with tension. The air held the musty scent of damp fabric. She touched his forehead. No fever.

He groaned and his brow smoothed under the delicate weight of her fingers, his eyes closing. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again?”

“I’m here. What happened? Vito said you’re sick.”

“I don’t get sick. I think I’m dying.”

That was a little dramatic. “You don’t have a fever. Where do you hurt?”

“Everywhere. There was so much pain. I think I exorcised a demon.”

She tsked. “Do you feel okay now?”

“Tired.”

She pressed her lips to his head. “Well, try to sleep. I can make you some tea.”

He caught her hand and squeezed. “Where were you?”

“Anna had the baby.”

His eye’s opened and, for a moment, she saw through him, glimpsing some sort of trauma he usually kept hidden. “Is she…well?”

“She did great. The baby’s healthy and perfect in every way.”

He sighed, relaxing and shutting his eyes as if this news brought him great relief. “That explains a lot.”

“She, um…” Should she tell him? “She named him after you.”

The relief in his eyes disappeared, replaced with obvious surprise then he frowned. “Why?”

“I…I don’t know.” She hoped he would tell her.

“Adam will hate that.”

“It’s his son. I doubt he could ever hate anything having to do with him.” She didn’t know Adam by any means, but she assumed that wasn’t the case. “Cain, is there any chance the baby’s yours?”

He scowled at her. “No. Anna and I never… We have a past and she’s my…” He searched for the right words. “She’s like a sister to me now. That’s all. I don’t know why she’d do something so foolish as to name her first born son after me. It’s not like I’m any sort of role model. She should have named him after his father.”

Destiny frowned. “It’s a great honor. You’re going to be an incredible uncle.”

“Uncle.” He let the title sink in for a moment. “Uncles are either fun, terrifying, or invisible.”

“Some uncles are brave and wonderful teachers. You can be whatever kind of uncle you choose. Little Cain will love you, I’m sure.”

He gave her a strange look she couldn’t read. “Was he scrawny? Anna’s early.”

“Not at all. He’s pudgy and handsome and a healthy shade of pink. “When you’re feeling better, you should go meet him.”

He looked away, his eyes clouding with worry. “In time.”

Whatever he felt for Adam’s wife was more than mere brotherly love. Destiny had no right to feel jealous of their attachment, but she was only human and his affection for the other woman awakened her insecurities. She didn’t understand how Anna was so tied to Cain’s past or why he always looked sad when anyone mentioned her marriage to Adam. If everything was platonic and on the up and up, wouldn’t he hang out with them more often?

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