Emma removed her hand and prayed the tension in Hayden would relax a bit before they got to the house. She didn’t want to add to the list of wrongs her mother kept well tallied in her head. From the time she had come home, she had tried to fit into the role her mother expected as a way of atonement, but she was finding the righteous road wasn’t so easy to walk. With the baggage she’d brought home, every time she stumbled, she dug deeper to find the woman her mother wanted.
Carol Verde wasn’t the most forgiving of women, so Emma found herself stumbling a lot. She was supposed to have had the life Carol hadn’t been able to achieve. Instead she had run off, found Cain, and brought Hayden into the world. That was not the life Carol had missed out on, and she found it abhorrent that her daughter had chosen such a path.
Carol hadn’t been thrilled to open her home to the boy, no matter what it would accomplish, and Emma’s father had just shaken his head at what she had arranged to do. Her parents had only met Cain once, but Ross respected Cain for never abandoning Hayden. Whatever happened or didn’t happen in the coming week would occur without his help.
Emma rode the rest of the way in silence, looking out her side of the car and remembering happier times when she didn’t know all she had learned about Cain. She recalled the terrified faces of those escorted to the office of the pub when she worked there. She didn’t know who the men were or what their fear stemmed from, but after those meetings they disappeared. For so long her love had shielded her from realizing how Cain made a living, but the day came when it wasn’t enough to make her stay.
Once she had left, though, when her longing for Cain almost overwhelmed her, she liked to relive those first years.
Fourteen Years Earlier at Emma’s Apartment
“Thank you for dinner tonight.” Emma stood in front of her apartment door and gazed up at Cain, hoping to get her to bend and kiss her before they parted.
“You’re welcome. Maybe we can do it again tomorrow night?”
She watched as Cain put her hand on the wall and leaned in closer. “I’ve seen you with about ten different women in Erin Go Braugh since I started working there. What makes me so special?”
“I like talking to you, Emma. Trust me. If I just wanted sex, I would’ve turned on the charm by now and we’d be done.” Cain moved her other hand to the other side of Emma’s head, effectively trapping her in a human cage.
The deep voice was getting closer, and Emma battled herself not to lift her own hands and run them through the thick black hair. “That confident in yourself, huh?”
“Most of the time I go with what I know. That way I’m seldom disappointed, so yeah, I’m that confident. Let’s say seven tomorrow night?”
“I’ll be ready. And thanks for telling me you like spending time with me. That means a lot.”
Cain leaned down and kissed her softly. “You’re welcome again. Thanks for wanting to talk to me. That means a lot to me.”
Emma remembered their courtship as a slow process that ended with her falling so in love with Cain that she thought the world would end if they ever parted. She’d never wanted for anything, especially Cain’s time and affection, and she’d never worried about someone else replacing her in the mobster’s heart.
Thinking back now, she acknowledged Cain had never shown her dark side around her, but she knew Cain was capable of violence against anyone who hurt her or the family. On long winter nights alone with just her memories, Emma sometimes had a hard time conjuring up a solid reason for leaving, but then the image of Cain’s bloody hands would return, and so would the tears. As hard as being away from Cain was, Emma was certain in her justification for leaving.
“There it is.” Emma pointed out the window of the Tahoe to a large two-story house with a barn standing near it.
The temperature was starting to drop along with the sun, and the cows standing near the fence huddled together for warmth. A man and woman stepped off the front porch when the car stopped, and like Emma, they were both fair and slight of build. The man stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Welcome. My name’s Ross and this is my wife Carol. We’re your grandparents.”
The boy, who was taller than all three of them, glanced at the hand before he took it. Ross was surprised by the strength of Hayden’s grip, and by not finding anything about his looks that connected him to his daughter.
“Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for having me.” Hayden let go of Ross’s hand and offered his to Carol. “Ma’am, I’m Hayden Casey.” He smiled and cocked his head when Carol ignored his hand. His gestures reminded Emma so much of Cain, a sharp pain shot through her chest.
Ross stepped forward, obviously hoping to make up for his wife’s rudeness. “Thank you for coming, Hayden. After watching you grow up in pictures, it’s nice to finally have you with us. Would you like to take a look around the place?”
“Daddy, he might be tired,” Emma reminded him gently.
“I’d love to, Mr. Verde. Lead the way.”
Emma and her mother watched as Ross led Hayden and Mook toward the barn, pointing his finger in a hundred different directions as he talked. Ross had been a wonderful parent, but Emma could tell now it might have been a good thing for him to have had a son as well.
“He certainly looks like that woman.” Carol glared as Ross walked the boy and his shadow closer to the barn. “If this works out, he’ll only add to our shame when you go parading him around town. I warned you long ago that going to that godforsaken city was a mistake. You bedded down with evil, and look what it’s gotten you.” She pointed in Hayden’s direction. “God won’t look kindly on you for bringing that spawn into the world. It’s a sin, I tell you.”
“Hayden was never a mistake, Mother, and he’s anything but evil. I don’t give a damn how you feel about him. I’ll never be ashamed of him, no matter what. And please try to be nicer to him. If he tells Cain we treated him like crap when she gets here, she won’t let him come back if things don’t work out. Not to mention Hayden’s not going to want to come back.”
“Don’t curse at me, Emma. Wait, she agreed to come?”
“Hayden wouldn’t come unless she was invited.”
“I don’t want her kind in my house. Though it might be nice to see that smug smile get wiped off permanently, and have her know who was responsible.” Carol turned and went back into the house.
Emma talked to herself as she buttoned her coat and followed the guys to the barn. “Enjoy it, Emma, ’cause when Cain gets here and gets reacquainted with your mother, you’ll either never see Hayden again or you’ll attend a funeral when Cain orders Merrick to shoot the old windbag.”
*
Hayden and Mook smiled through dinner, and Hayden wasn’t too concerned that no one spoke a word through dinner aside from the prayer when they had sat down. He thanked a still-unresponsive Carol for their meal before stepping outside with his cell phone to call Cain.
“Hey, kid, how are things in the sticks?” The static was so bad Hayden had to go inside and ask to use the phone, which sat in the empty living room.
“Cold and full of cows.”
“You’re in Wisconsin, Hayden. What’d you expect?”
“Where were we supposed to go this year on break?” Hayden looked out the front window as Ross closed the barn doors for the night. The older man seemed eager to please, and Hayden found himself liking him. Maybe the next two days wouldn’t drag out too much.
“I think we’d narrowed it down to Vegas for some golf.”
“You owe me, Mom.”