“I give you my word, I’ll leave you all alone to lick your wounds. Just release my family and stay out of my business.”
The car door slammed so hard Emma thought the window would shatter. With a squeal of wheels audible for blocks in the quiet neighborhood, the car took off toward the river.
The heavy oak door shut the world out when Emma closed it, and she had to take a minute to lean against it. Her heart felt like someone had electrified it, so she closed her eyes to get it to calm down. When she opened them again she saw something missing from her life for too long—her son, looking fragile and in need of his mother.
She moved slowly toward him, wrapped her arms around him, and waited. Hayden stiffened at first but finally gave in to the tears that had threatened all day. The staff disappeared into the house as mother and son sank to the floor. No matter the difference in their sizes, Emma never lost her grip and Hayden cried into her shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” cried Hayden, saying it over and over.
“No, Hayden, you have nothing to be sorry about. I should’ve waited until both Cain and I could tell you about Hannah. But you have to know I love you both. I left here because I was a fool. Please don’t make your sister pay for my mistakes.”
“I’m sorry I ran away.”
“Just promise me you’ll think things through next time. I’m so glad you’re home.” Emma tried to push his hair out of his eyes. “I sure have missed you, and there’s someone here dying to meet you. Think you’re up for that?”
Hayden nodded and leaned more into his mother’s body. “I thought about her when I was sitting in that room.”
“What’d you think about?”
“What it would be like to have a little sister, nothing big. Does she look like you?”
“Honey, if you look at the million baby pictures we have of you, you’ve seen Hannah. Let’s go in the den, and I’ll run and get her.”
With a strong hold, Hayden kept Emma from getting up. “He’s coming back, he said.”
“Who, Hayden?”
“Mr. Bracato. He said he wants to hurt all of us. He’s the one who had Mom shot.”
“He won’t touch you again, I promise. I know what he did to Cain, but I’m going to do the one thing I should’ve done four years ago.”
“What?”
“Trust her to fix it. She’ll take care of us, and I have every faith she isn’t going to fail. After all, these are her children we’re talking about.”
“But she’s—” said Hayden.
“She’s awake, son, and doing great.”
Hayden pulled away a little and looked at Emma in shock. “She’s awake?” His mother’s nod made one thought pop into the boy’s head. Oh shit.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Hannah’s here?” asked Hayden. He felt calm for the first time in days as Emma wiped away his tears. Finding he had a sister and sitting in the small room where Giovanni had locked him had left him in an uncomfortable limbo. In so many ways he had lost his place, or at least started to question his place, within his family. It was a new experience.
“I don’t want to push you, but she’s waited so long to see you. Hannah’s never met you, true, but she talks about you and Cain all the time. Do you think you can forget you’re mad at me for just a little while and give Hannah a chance?”
The look in Emma’s eyes reminded Hayden of the loving mother he had lost. His last conversation with Cain came back to him. She had asked him to try and see Emma in a different light.
“You won’t leave me again, will you?” His tears started again, and he felt desperate for something to hold on to other than Cain.
Emma placed both of her hands on his cheeks. “I made the worst mistake of my life when I walked out this door.” She cocked her head toward the oak surface they were still leaning against. “It’s something I can’t ever take back, and it’s something that will forever haunt me, but I’m here now. There will never be another day of your life that I won’t be here. I love you, Hayden. You’re my son and I love you.”
“What about Mom?”
“I can’t speak for Cain, but I can promise that we’ll find a way to share in your and Hannah’s life. Your sister needs to get to know you and Cain as much as I need to get to know you again. You’re a wonderful boy, but I’d like to believe that I can offer things Cain can’t.”
He pulled away from her, but Emma moved with him. “Mom has given me everything.”
“I’m not saying she didn’t give you what you needed, but you need both of us. With Cain you’ll find your strength, but I think with me you’ll find—”
“My safe haven,” he said.
“Yes.” She pulled him forward, and for once he didn’t hesitate. Hayden accepted the comfort Emma so freely offered. As she took in his warmth and presence, she sent her ex-partner a silent thank you. She owed the moment to Cain’s generosity.
“Mama.” Hannah’s voice sounded small. She stood at the back of the foyer with her finger in her mouth, swaying like she was afraid of being sent away.
“Come here, sweetie.” Emma kept one arm around Hayden but held a hand out to the little girl. “This is your brother Hayden.”
“Really?” asked Hannah. Her mother’s nodding head got her to break out into a run into Hayden’s arms.
Emma bit back a sob when she saw Hayden’s teary blue eyes as he held his sister tight. The size of his smile was one Emma saw only in her dreams.
“Hi, Hannah, how are you?”
For the rest of the afternoon the youngest Casey sat on Hayden’s lap on the floor and rambled. She would reach out every so often to touch his face or his hair, as if to verify he was real. Hannah’s experiences were limited to the farm and their neighbors, but Hayden listened to her stories with rapt attention.
In his heart, just like Cain, he knew he would spend a lifetime loving and protecting the little charmer sitting with him. It was exciting to have someone to look out for like Cain did for Marie. Hannah sounded like she had inherited the Casey smarts as well as their mischievous streak. But maybe giving Cain all the credit wasn’t fair anymore. Both of the Casey children had become who they were because of Emma as well.
“You two want to go visit Cain at the hospital?” asked Emma.
“She’s awake, you said?” Hayden’s question sounded a little shaky.
“Mom has eyes like you, Haygen, and she let me sit on the bed with her,” Hannah chimed in.
“She’s awake, buddy, but I think she’s still too weak to do any serious groundings,” teased Emma, trying her best to ease any concerns he had. Cain was generous with her family, but what had happened with Bracato made it hard to gauge how she’d react.
“You must not know her well at all, then,” he responded.
They piled into one car but were escorted to the hospital by two other vehicles full of Cain’s men. Hayden’s silence grew with each block they traveled, and he held Hannah’s hand as she sat between him and Emma.
Merrick opened the door after studying the street and walked them into the lobby. As they rode up in the elevator, Emma made eye contact with the top Casey guard. Understanding, Merrick escorted the children to the waiting room so Emma could go in alone. The fact that neither of them had called to relay the news would not be lost on Cain.
She was sleeping when Emma entered, providing the perfect opportunity for her to study the face and body she missed so much. Growing up on a farm with no siblings hadn’t prepared her for sharing space with another person, especially in her bed. But with Cain she had never had any awkwardness or adjustments. She had moved in shortly after they had consummated their relationship, walking on what felt like thin ice, trying to do nothing that would make Cain regret her decision to invite her.