Page 166 of The Obvious Check
“I did, but Savannah needed my help, and she’s more important than anything.”
Silence stretches between us as no one wants to answer the obvious answer hanging in the air.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.” Madison crosses to me and wraps me in the gentlest, most protective hug.
“I’m not putting either one of you in danger.”
“And you also can’t keep a secret to save your life,” Henry adds.
“Henry,” Cade warns.
Madison pulls back with a dramatic scoff. “That is so unfair. I kept plenty of secrets. I didn’t tell anyone about Dash and me for, like, months.”
She looks around like she’s just proven a major point. Then her gaze flicks to Cade, and the grin falters. “Okay, yeah, that probably doesn’t help my case, but I also didn’t tell Mom and Dad you were marrying Savannah, so. There’s that.”
Dash rubs a hand over his face, and Madison folds her arms. “Look, I’mmostlytrustworthy. I’d say sixty-forty. Seventy-thirty on a good day.”
“She’s rounding up,” Dash mutters under his breath.
“Okay,wow,” she says, glaring at him.
Cade wraps his arm around my waist and presses a kiss to my temple before dropping the tension like only he can.
“Can I eat my breakfast now?” he asks. “Or are we planning to emotionally spiral until lunch?”
I blink, the shift almost jarring, but it’s also so him. He’s never one to dwell on the bad stuff. He just focuses on moving forward and he’s right. We have so much to look forward to in this life we’re building together. Luke can’t hurt me or anyone else for that matter. So, yeah… it’s time to let go of the fear.
It’s time to move forward.
“Yes. Let's eat.”
The rest of the morning passes in a strange mix of relief and normalcy. Madison doesn't push for details, just stays close and tells me all about the plans she has to make sure her parents love me and ways to make Adley feel comfortable when she gets here. The guys clean up my broken mug and try to make everything feel normal.
When they finally leave, Madison hugs us both.
“I'm so proud of you,” she tells Cade quietly. “Both of you. Whatever you did, however you did it, I'm proud.”
After she's gone, Cade and I stand in our quiet kitchen with the remnants of breakfast and the knowledge that it's finally over.
“How do you feel?” he asks gently.
“Free,” I say, and I actually mean it. “That place is gone. Luke can't hurt anyone anymore, and we get to build whatever we want now.” I pause, a worry creeping into my mind. “What about Jeremy? Is he okay? Can anything be traced back to him?”
Cade’s expression softens with understanding. “He’s safe, Pretty Girl. Matty made sure of it. The way they set up the system, there’s no digital trail that leads back to Jeremy. As far as anyone knows, it was just a hardware failure that wiped Luke’s files. The feds got an anonymous tip from someone claiming they saw shady business practices. That’s it. Jeremy’s in the clear.”
Relief floods through me. “Good. He's been through enough.”
“He has. But now we all get to start over.” He looks at me and I just take a moment to see him. The man who fought for me, who chased away every nightmare, who wants forever with me… I love him and I will do everything I can to make sure he knows that every day.
“Scarred, but free and so incredibly grateful.”
He pulls me close, and I melt into him.
“You know what this means?” he asks, voice low, eyes locked on mine.
“What?”
“Tonight, I get to play hockey with my wife watching from the stands, and for once, I don’t have to worry about anything except the game.”
