Love Collides (Fate's Love #3) (17 page)

After ten minutes or so, Dad left the room, stalking past me as if I wasn’t even there.

Eric wasted no time. “It’s been too long, sis.”

“I know, I know, but my life isn’t in Kaplan anymore. You know that, Eric.”

“Yeah, I get that. But your family is.”

A slither of guilt coiled itself around my heart.

“Eric, it's been a long few days. I already feel like shit, and I don’t need you laying on the guilt trip. I get enough of that from Dad.”

His eyes glanced at me, and his lips drew into a tight line. Dad reappeared and he took his seat again. This time, he spoke. “Joel and Bessie are coming over with food. It’s nice to see you around here again.”

And just like that, things fell into place a little. We were screwed up and dysfunctional, but Eric was right; despite all their faults, they were family. Even if after being back for the last three days, I was more certain than ever… Kaplan was not my home.

Not anymore.

~

I stepped off the plane and hurried down the steps to the bus waiting to take us to the terminal. The humidity was almost suffocating, not to mention my exhaustion from the journey, and I welcomed the fine mist of rain falling from the overcast sky. December was a strange time in Ecuador; warm and wet. But despite the weather, stepping off the plane had an instant calming effect on me.

Like coming home.
Almost, but not quite. Now something was missing
.
Something I thought I didn’t want—or need.

Kade.

I’d finally plucked up the courage to call Livy. After a fairly nice afternoon with my family two days ago, I’d returned to Gina’s and stared at my cell phone for almost an hour. After shrieking down the line at me for leaving without a word, Livy managed to calm down enough to let me speak, but I kept it vague. She wanted answers, and I didn’t want to give any. We were at a stalemate. In the end, we ended up talking about the holidays. But before hanging up, I did ask how Kade was doing. Livy said he was pissed, but okay. We said goodbye, and I spent the next hour talking myself out of calling him. Time was something I needed. After the whole Mikey incident, I needed to find some balance again—come to terms with things I’d never allowed myself to resolve. Then, and only then, could I go back to Kade and try to resolve things between us.

I just hoped he would wait for me.

As I exited the airport, my eyes instantly searched for Drew. He was waiting in the usual spot with the project’s Jeep. He jumped down from the beat-up vehicle and bounded toward me.

“Welcome back.”

“Hey, Drew. What did I miss?”

“Eager to get back into it, I see.” He laughed, helping me with my luggage. “Camila and Sofia are doing well. The birth had a few complications, but Doctor Pengala discharged them last week. She’s been asking for you. I haven’t told her that you’re arriving; I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Drew turned the ignition and pulled out of the rows of parked buses. The drive from Manta Airport to Portoviejo was almost an hour. Usually, Drew would want to talk—about the project, about what I did on my trip back home—but he must have sensed I just wanted to rest. I closed my eyes, leaned back against the headrest, and shut it all out.

Chapter 13

~ Kade ~

"Honey, I really think you can go home. It's been two weeks, and there's been no sign of him. Sally's heard nothing, so he must be laying low. I really think we can put this behind us now." Mom busied herself in the kitchen while I went to fetch more bags of groceries from the truck.

"Did you get spaghetti? I wanted to make Bolognese tonight."

"Yes, I have spaghetti. I have everything on the list except for eggplant. But no great loss there." I handed Mom another bag.

"So, will you go home?"

"Mom," I warned. "It's really no problem staying here. Just a couple more weeks until Christmas is out of the way. Speaking of, we need to get the decorations out of the attic."

"It's been a long time since I had you at home for the holidays." Mom smiled at me. "You're a good man, Kade Ford. Staci will come to her senses."

"Ho-how did you know?" My voice didn't hide my surprise. I'd kept up the white lie that everything was okay between us. I didn't want to let Mom down, to be another disappointment in her life.

"Oh honey, please. I may not live a conventional life, but I know when my son is suffering. And I noticed that you check your cell fifty times a day, but you never send a message or call. Which can mean only one thing; you're waiting for her to get in touch with you. What happened?"

Pulling out a chair, I dropped into it. Raking a hand through my hair, I said, "She left."

Mom's eyes crinkled with confusion. "Well, yes, honey. She was leaving. I don't understand."

"No, I mean, she left me. She just up and left. No goodbye, no nothing."

"Wha-what? Why would she do that?" Mom joined me and clasped my hand in hers. "She cared for you; I saw it in her eyes."

Not enough
.

Even after surviving Dad, Mom still believed in happily ever after. It made no fucking sense to me, but she had been brainwashed by her smutty romance books to believe that true love did exist. Maybe it helped her escape from reality. I would never escape—I’d witnessed Dad do some despicable things in the name of love; I’d watched my best friend pine over a girl for eight years. Love was ugly and messy and damn hard work. Before Staci, love had just been some unobtainable, unrealistic myth... something I had absolutely no desire in searching out.

But now I was under its spell. I'd let myself fall for the girl who made me no promises.

"Yeah, well. Love isn't all hearts and flowers, Mom." My lips drew into a tight line, but she wasn't paying attention; she was too lost in the romance of it all.

"Sometimes we can't see what is right in front of us. Give her time."

~

Mom had it wrong because, as the days passed, I still heard nothing from Staci. Time wasn't bringing us closer together; it was driving us further apart and driving me insane.

"Mom, are we doing this or what?"

Mom had wanted to wait until Christmas Eve to put up the tree. Just like when I was a child.
He
hated the holidays, so on Christmas Eve, when he was out drowning himself in Jack, Johnny, and Jim, Mom and I would sneak out the decorations and put up the tree.

"Coming, coming. I'm just finding a little music to get us in the holiday spirit."

Nat King Cole's deep voice drifted into the living room as I set about emptying out the old box of ornaments and lights.

"Right, shall we?"

The tree stood proudly in the corner of the room. I'd managed to buy a real one last minute from the tree farm. It was starting to turn a little brown, but it would do.

We took our time covering the tree with tinsel and decorations. Once it was finished, I unfolded the small step to help Mom place the star on top of the tree.

"There, perfect." She took a step back to admire our handiwork. "You used to love to put the star on. You'd go straight for it, ignoring all the other decorations. Seems like only yesterday..." Her voice trailed off.

A knock on the front door rang out through the house, and Mom blinked, shaking away the memories, before saying, "I'll get it; it’s probably just carolers. You get these boxes packed away."

I heard the door open but no Christmas carols. Mom's voice cried, "No, no."

The room closed in around me, and my hands released the box. It dropped to the floor in slow motion, the contents spilling onto the carpet. Everything stopped, except the sound of my heart slamming against my chest.

He's here.

I rushed out into the hallway and was thrown back into my childhood. Dad was towering over Mom with a menacing look on his face as Mom cowered away from him. He had aged; lines cut deep around his eyes and mouth, but his eyes were the same. As black as the night. Pure evil.

"No, no, no," Mom whispered obviously in shock at his presence. "You're not supposed to be here."

Dad barked out a maniacal laugh, "Like that ever stopped me before, Jess. I've waited a long time for this. Ten fucking years."

Red exploded behind my eyes and I didn't think as I lunged forward throwing Mom to one side. I launched myself at Larry, and we sprawled to the ground all fists and elbows.

"I see you grew up, boy." Dad managed to clamber to his feet while I righted myself and readied to go at him again.

The anger coursing through me was screaming for a release, and Mom's cries failed to penetrate the rage consuming me.

"I'm not the scared teenager I was back then. You made a mistake coming here, Larry."

"Larry? I'm your father, boy, and don't you forget it. And it’s time you paid for putting me away for so long." Dad charged at me, ducking and ramming his shoulder into my chest. I stumbled back, winded from the contact, and then his fist was colliding with my face.

The pain shattered through my cheekbone and into my eye socket. I blinked rapidly trying to focus. Larry was poised ready to strike again, but something in me snapped.

The nights of listening to Mom and Dad argue. Her fresh bruises the next morning. The blood, things smashing late at night, the fear.

My fist drove straight into Larry's face. He didn't have time to move and a sickening crunch echoed in the quiet street. Larry cursed and clutched his bleeding nose stumbling unsteadily on his feet. But I wasn't done yet. I pulled back my fist and swung again, catching his jaw. He went down and moaned.

"Kade, stop. Kade. Kade," Mom's voice cried from somewhere behind me, but I was past all reasoning. I was lost to a childhood of abuse and terror at the hands of the man lying on the ground in front of me.

He was nothing to me. He was just a monster in my mind. And monsters could always be defeated.

Kneeling over him, I picked up his collar and raised my fist again.

And the bastard laughed, spraying blood into the air. "I should have put you in the ground when I had the chance."

My fists rained down on him in a punishing motion. Each thud and crunch rolled off me like it wasn't my dad's face I was breaking.

"KADE, HONEY. STOP. PLEASE."

My body froze. Larry groaned again, but I gripped him firmly.

"You don't want to do this, Kade. It’s not you, honey, not my boy."

But I did want to do this; I wanted to make him pay. I needed to make him pay.

"Kade." Mom's voice sounded stronger.

"Do it, boy." Larry groaned, his eyes rolling back into his head. Blood was everywhere. "I always knew you were just like your old man."

I pushed him back to the ground with a thud. "I am nothing like you. You disgust me, you piece of shit. I hope you rot in hell when they haul your sorry ass back to prison."

Mom was already on the line with the authorities; I could hear her behind me speaking to the operator. I stood back up and smeared my bloodied knuckles on my jeans. Larry was beat up pretty badly and reality slowly started to catch up with me.

Fuck, what had I done?

~ Staci ~

"Feliz Navidad," we all sang in unison.

Christmas at the project was busy. Families came to extend their blessings and bring the staff small gifts, and every year on Christmas Eve, Drew dressed up as Santa Claus. Project headquarters looked like a cheap and tacky grotto, but the local children loved it, and it brought some joy to a village with little in the way of luxury.

"Staci, Staci, look what Papa Noël brought us." Pablo and Andres bounded toward me excitedly with a half-wrapped toy in their small hands.

"Wow, that's great, you guys." I ruffled their heads in turn. "What did baby Sofia get?"

"Baby Sofia has, how you say, enough. Love is all she needs." Camila joined us.

I turned to her and stroked Sofia's head as she slept peacefully in the sling hugging her tight to her mother's chest. The ache in my own chest was hard to ignore. In the past, working with new parents was one of my favorite activities, but now it was hard. And more and more I realized the extent to which I'd not dealt with what happened to me all those years ago.

"You look so sad, no?" Camila regarded me and smiled. "It's Christmas. Time to be happy, no?"

"Your English is really coming along. That's great, Camila." I deflected her question.

"Kero, good teacher. But you no answer my question."

"I'm fine. Everything is muy bueno."

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" Kero stepped up beside me.

"Camila was just telling me what a good teacher you are. Should I be worried?" I laughed, but it was strained.

Kero wrapped her slender arm around me and squeezed. "Someone's got to replace you eventually."

Six months ago, that statement would have caused me to bite back. The project was my life. But since returning, no matter how hard I'd tried to fight it, my feelings for Kade were not going away. If anything, they were growing.

"Don't start planning my sendoff party just yet." I flashed Kero a look that caused her to laugh and excused myself.

The day's storm had cleared some of the humidity, but warm mist lingered in the air, coating my skin as I walked to the huge tree stationed in the middle of the village. It was a typical Christmas tree, but the villagers prided themselves on it, and for the month of December, it became the focal point of the village. Children pinned their letters to Papa Noël, and families gathered to tie their homemade decorations to the tree. Tonight was no different.

Couples, children, families, and village elders all gathered around the tree. I joined them as I did every year. Except, this year, something had changed. I still felt content being here, but I no longer watched the scene in front of me and felt complete. Something was missing. Part of my heart was back in Gainesville.

“So…” Drew joined me on the makeshift bench. “Are you missing it?”

“Missing what?”

“Home? I always find this time of year pretty rough. Do you have someone back home waiting for you?”

I stared at him blankly, uncomfortable with his question.

“Sorry. It’s just you’ve never mentioned anyone before, but since arriving back, something’s different with you. Don’t get me wrong; your work is as great as ever, but it’s you. You’re different. As if your head’s in the game, but your heart’s somewhere else.”

“Since when did you become so perceptive, Drew?”

“Hey, I oversee; it kind of comes with the territory.”

“I guess.”

Drew nudged me gently. “So, am I right?”

“Long story.”

“Come on, it’s Christmas Eve. A time to share.”

“I met someone,” I said quietly as if hardly saying the words lessened the truth behind them.

“I’m sensing there’s a but in there somewhere.”

“A big one.”

“Okay, so you don’t want to talk about it? I get that. We all have our secrets. But let me ask you one thing. You love this job; I know you do. I’ve never known anyone more committed to the cause than you. Except me.” He grinned. “Tangent, sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, you love your work. But sometimes work isn’t enough. I’ve been out here eight years. Eight. It doesn’t leave much time for a social life or a relationship. I guess I’m what you would call married to the job. But something you probably didn’t know about me. I had all that. I’m the wrong side of forty. I tried marriage, the American dream, and it wasn’t for me. Maybe I hadn’t met the right woman. Who knows, but I tried it. I can say ‘I did it, but it wasn’t for me.’ Can you say the same thing?”

I couldn’t. I knew it, and Drew knew it. I’d graduated from USF four years ago and had thrown myself into the project. But I had my reasons. I just didn’t know if they were valid anymore.

“If you never try, you’ll never know. Now, I probably shouldn’t be saying this because I’m your boss—and I did have a couple of glasses of Kero’s eggnog—but if I ask you right now where you want to welcome the New Year in at, what does your heart say? Not your head. We both know where your head will pick. What does in here say?” Drew’s hand hovered over my chest right where my heart was.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed—and a little freaked out—at the moment occurring between us, I batted his hand away and said, “Drew, lay off the eggnog. Kero laces that stuff with enough brandy to sink a ship.” I rose from the bench and brushed off my clammy hands. “And thank you. Merry Christmas,
boss
.”