I slipped out of his hold. “Go before I make you stay.”
“Okay.” Caden grabbed his keys and headed down the hallway. “Lock the door behind me and set the alarm.”
I almost argued with him that we didn’t need to worry about that anymore, but with everything Caden had been through lately, I simply followed him to the door.
“I won’t be long,” he said as he headed down the walk.
“Take all the time you need,” I called.
As Caden slid into his SUV, I closed the door and locked it. Then I set the alarm. I made my way back to the kitchen, and as my ring caught the light, I smiled, my insides warming. Caden Shaw was going to be my husband.
I let out a full-blown, giddy squeal and then dissolved into laughter. Then I decided to make chocolate chip muffins. I set to work pulling ingredients from the pantry, humming while I did so.
Just as I opened the fridge, the doorbell rang. I closed the door and headed down the hallway. Peeking through the peephole, I grinned at the familiar face and disarmed the alarm.
I opened the door to the morning sunshine. “Hey—”
I didn’t get another word out because something hit me in the middle. Blinding pain ricocheted through me, making my muscles spasm and then give out altogether. I crumpled to the floor, and as darkness closed in around me, it was Caden’s name on my lips.
44
CADEN
I pulledto a stop in front of my parents’ home, idling for a moment before putting my SUV in park. This house held so many memories. The good. The bad. And everything in between. But it was time to let it all go.
Turning off the engine, I slid out of my SUV and headed up the front path. I hesitated for a moment and then rang the bell.
There was nothing at first, and then footsteps came from inside. They echoed, making the space inside sound as empty as it was. The door opened slowly, and my mother appeared.
She wasn’t dressed nearly as formally as usual. Instead, she wore casual joggers and a T-shirt with a slouchy cardigan wrapped around her. But it was her eyes that worried me. They were empty, bleak.
“Caden,” Mom said softly.
I stepped into the entryway and wrapped her in a gentle hug. “Hey, Mom.” I didn’t bother asking if she was okay. I knew she was a wreck. There was no other option.
“How is Grae doing?”
I released my mom and stepped back. “She’s doing a lot better this morning.”
“That’s good.” Mom’s voice shook on the words.
“I wanted to come and talk to you and Dad. Check on you.”
She nodded, but the movement was jerky. “He’s in the living room.”
Mom started walking without waiting for an answer from me, leading the way down the hall and into the living room.
My father sat in his usual leather chair. He had a newspaper in his hands, but he wasn’t looking at it. Instead, his focus was on the back windows as he stared into the forest.
He looked up at the sound of our footsteps. At least a dozen emotions flitted across his expression at the sight of me, but they moved too quickly for me to pin any of them down. “Caden.”
There was no warmth in his voice at my name, no affection, only clinical coolness.
“Dad. I wanted to check on you and Mom. See if you needed anything.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “You can start by getting that woman to drop any charges she might be planning against Gabe.”
Every muscle in my body turned to granite. “He tried to kill her.”
