Cade

I PULLED MY phone out of my pocket as I climbed into my truck. Navy fucking Simmonds. It’s like I dreamed her into being. Glancing at my screen, I saw the text I’d sent myself and smiled. I had her number. A way to contact her.

She was found.

Finally.

I started my truck and pulled out of the parking space as memories washed over me.

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Navy stood off to the side of my mother’s grave, giving me space as we said goodbye to her. I didn’t want space, though. I wanted to wrap myself in Navy and never let her go.

My mother had died a week or so after Navy’s announcement that she was moving to Seattle, and her mother had allowed her to stay for an extra few days to be there for me. It was torturous knowing my mother was gone and Navy soon would be, but I had no power or say in the situation and neither did she.

I had to figure out a way to grieve while still making the time I had left with Navy count. I bowed my head, my hand flexing at my side as my mother was lowered into the ground. All of a sudden, Navy’s fingers linked with mine and she gave me a squeeze. I took a deep breath and leaned against her, needing her support, even though she was tiny next to me.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Just having her there was enough to sooth the pain, even if it was all temporary.

My world was shattering and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it.

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A car behind me honked and I realized I was sitting at a green light. I gave a wave and drove through the light.

Pulling up to my home, I noticed my brother’s bike out front and smiled. Connor had a set of keys, as did the rest of my siblings, and I’d sometimes find one of them jumping in to work on the house even if I wasn’t there. I’d left Cullen and the rest of the crew at the downtown house. We were ahead of schedule, so I figured I’d spend a few hours here getting the grout done in the bathroom.

Unlocking the door, I pushed inside and called, “Con?”

“Bedroom,” he called back, so I headed that way.

I found him in the guest room at the back, his arms crossed, his hand stroking his beard like he did when he was thinking. “Hey, brother.”

He grinned, pulling me in for a hug. “Hey.”

Unlike my other brothers and me, Hatch as he called himself nowadays, had long dark hair and an almost longer beard. He was never without his MC cut, and he was probably the best friend I had in the world.

I frowned. “Everything okay with Dev?”

“I woulda called if it wasn’t, Cade. Dev’s good. You’re raisin’ a great kid.”

I relaxed. “Appreciate you saying that, even if you’re really the one raisin’ him right now.”

“Bullshit. He sleeps at my house, and I feed him on occasion, but you’re there every day, and if you can’t be, you’re on the phone with him. Don’t count yourself out.”

I nodded.

Connor smiled. “Big brother lecture over.”

“Thanks.” I chuckled. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I had some parts to drop off, Maisie’s hanging with her girlfriends, and tonight’s church, but I had a few hours, so I thought I’d come see if you wanted any help. Did Devon call you?”

“Yeah, he said he was going to stay at a buddy’s tonight, right?”

Connor nodded. “Good, yeah, wanted to make sure you approved it.”

“I did.”

“So, what can I help with?”

“I was gonna grout.”

“I can do grout,” Connor said.

I grinned. “Awesome. Wanna split this sandwich?”

“Is it pastrami on rye?” he asked, hopefully.

“It is indeed.”

He clapped his hands then rubbed them together. “Then, hell yeah, I’ll split it with you.”

We sat on the floor of the bedroom, our backs to the wall, and I opened the deli bag. “You’ll never guess who I ran into today.”

“Who?”

“Navy Simmonds.”

“The girl from high school?”

“One and the same.”

Connor met my eyes. “Fuck me, brother, you okay?”

“Yes... and no.”

“Jesus, that musta been a shock. How is she?”

“Fuckin’ gorgeous,” I said, taking a bite of my sandwich.

“How is she, not how does she look?” he countered with a laugh.

I grinned sheepishly. “Don’t know how she is yet. She agreed to let me take her to dinner. She cried the second she saw me which went to my fuckin’ gut.”

“That cut you, Cade. You sure you wanna dive back in?”

I frowned. “Fuck yeah I wanna dive back in. I lost her once, I’m not fuckin’ losing her again.”

“It’s been twenty years.”

“Twenty-one years, six months, and twelve days, to be exact.”

“Shit, you seriously kept track?”

I chuckled. “No, I figured it out after I saw her today.”

“Still, I had no idea you missed her like that.” He cocked his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask.”

“We all had shit we were dealing with, brother. And to be honest, she was mine. I needed to feel and process the loss of her alone. I didn’t feel like anyone else would understand.”

“Cullen would have.”

“Yeah, but his loss was greater than mine. The love of my life was still on the earth. His was not.”

“True,” he said, his eyes softening. “Still, I’m sorry you went through that alone.”

“I appreciate that, Con.”

“You ever gonna call me Hatch?”

“Nope.” I grinned finishing off my sandwich.

He laughed, finishing his then we gathered the trash and got down to grouting.

* * *

Navy

By the time I pulled into my Felida neighborhood just after six, I was a nervous wreck. I debated texting Cade and calling off tonight, but I had a feeling he wanted closure just as much as I did.

Closure.

What a funny word. Especially since this felt like a new beginning, not the end of something.

I’d done a quick check on Dottie before rifling through my closet to find something to wear, then I was about to step in the shower when my phone rang, and I snagged it off the nightstand. “Navy Henderson.”

“Jesus, you changed your name,” Cade breathed out. “No wonder I couldn’t find you.”

I was so shocked by the question, I was rethinking canceling. “You tried to find me?”

“Yeah. When social media got popular, I signed up and looked to see if you might be on there. Do you know how many Navys there are on social media?”

I bit my lip. “How many?”

“None. I couldn’t find any, but when I got access to background check software, I looked for Navy Simmonds and you were a ghost.”

I blinked back tears. “I changed my name when Mum married Jim. It made me feel like I was part of a family. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t blame you, beautiful, I just wish I’d thought to dig deeper.”

“We were kids, Cade. We didn’t know how.”

“Maybe not. Still wish I’d thought of it, though.”

Tears streamed freely down my face now. He sounded sad. Shit, I was sad. “So, why’d you call?”

“Wanted to hear your voice.”

I chuckled as I wiped my cheeks. “You’re going to see me in two hours.”

“Wanted to make sure you were real.”

“Lumpy,” I breathed out without thinking. “Crap, sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry and don’t take it back,” he begged. “Jesus, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. And if I’m being honest, I almost canceled tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because this is all too much. My emotions are all over the place, and I’m afraid I’m going to just be a sobby, snotty mess the whole time you’re here.”

“Baby, I can handle that.”

“But you shouldn’t have to handle that. That’s my point.”

He sighed. “How about I grab dinner and bring it to your place? We can talk and catch up without any interruptions and if you need to cry, you can cry.”

“That actually sounds amazing.”

“You still like chocolate?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” I hissed out.

He laughed. “Got it. I’ll find dessert too.”

“Okay, that sounds great.”

“Text me your address and I’ll swing by when I’ve grabbed everything.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

“Don’t bail on me, beautiful,” Cade rasped.

“Okay. I’ll text you.”

“Really glad I found you, Navy.”

“I’m glad you found me, too.”

“I’m hanging up now,” he warned.

“Okay.”

“Right now.”

I grinned. “So, hang up.”

“Navy?”

“Yes, Lumpy?”

“You’re not gonna disappear on me, right?”

I smiled. “No. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

He hung up and I rushed through my shower. I also had to clean my house, which started with my bedroom and ended with my kitchen. I changed into a pair of stretchy jeans and a V-neck T-shirt that made me feel cute, then headed back to my kitchen. I’d just lit a candle when my doorbell pealed, and after checking my front door camera, I pulled open the door.

“Shit,” Cade breathed out. “Jesus, how the hell did you get prettier since lunch?”

“Oh, stop,” I admonished, stepping back so he could walk in.

Talk about pretty. The man was still illegally good looking. And he was holding the cutest cream and white little ball of floof I’d ever seen. “Who’s this?”

“She doesn’t have a name yet,” he said, handing me the puppy. “Someone dumped a litter at one of my sites, so Cullen and I took them back to Connor’s place.”

I snuggled the sweetness, kissing her cheek. “What kind of monster would dump something so precious?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “Shoes on or off?”

“Off, please.” I smiled. “Can I take anything else from you?”

“I got it.”

Toeing his boots off while still holding his packages, I snuggled the puppy as I took a second to take Cade in. He wore dark jeans, a skintight long-sleeved T-shirt which showed just how much he’d filled out, and a pair of black boots that looked like they were made just for him. And he smelled amazing. Like pine and leather. It was intoxicating.

“Kitchen?” he asked, pulling me out of my reverie.

“This way.”

The puppy let out a little yap, so I set her on the ground, then led Cade to the back of the house. He set everything on the counter before pulling me in for a hug. “Hi.”

I couldn’t stop myself from sliding my hands up his back. “Hi.”

He pulled back and smiled. “Your house is cute.”

“Thanks. I love it. It’s small, but since it’s just me...”

I couldn’t quite finish that sentence because his eyes grew sad, and it just made me remember how much we’d missed.

“What did you bring?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Pads and treats for the puppy, she’s been fed. Then for us, pizza, beer, wine, and chocolate cake. Sorry, it’s store bought, but I’m a shit baker.”

“Store bought’s absolutely acceptable.” I grinned. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, setting the beer in the fridge, placing a pee pad on the floor for the dog, then facing me. “You got plates?”

“Oh! Right.” I blushed. “Yes.”

I grabbed plates and set them on the counter while Cade pulled the cake out of the bag. Across the top, ‘Happy Birthday, Navy’ had been scrawled in blue icing.

I gasped. “You remembered?”

“’Course I remembered.” He ran his knuckles gently down my cheek.

I swallowed. “I always bake a cake and put a candle in it for you.”

Cade’s birthday was in two weeks and three days, and I’d never forget that date as long as I lived.

“What?” he whispered.

“God, that’s so dumb, eh?”

“You bake a cake on my birthday?”

I bobbed my head, desperately wanting the ground to swallow me whole. “I have every year since I left.” My stupid eyes welled up with tears for the sixty-third time that day. “I never wanted to forget.”

“Navy, I’m gonna kiss you, but if you don’t want me to, you need to say something quick.”

I licked my lips as I raised my head and his mouth landed on mine. His tongue swept between my teeth, and I met it with mine, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning in as he slid his hand to my neck.

I burst into tears, which forced us to break our connection and I buried my face in his chest as he held me close.

He rubbed my back. “Baby, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it. Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?”

“Yeah, because I’ve missed you the same.”

“Mum was always telling me that I was a kid and that I’d get over you because I couldn’t possibly know what love is at my age.” I sniffed. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“Every guy I’ve ever dated has had to measure up to the ghost of you, and none of them ever did. I never stopped loving you, and I should not be telling you this right now on our first date.”

He chuckled. “One, it’s not our first date, and two, I never stopped loving you either.”

I met his eyes. “You don’t have to say that.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What’d I always say back then?”

“You said a lot of things, Lumpy, you’ll have to refresh my memory.”

“Fuck,” he growled, kissing me again. “You keep calling me that, I’m gonna take you to bed.”

“Slow your roll there, buddy, I’m a virgin.”

“Shit, you are?”

I laughed. “No, but I needed a second to breathe.”

“Well, let me remind you that I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“Oh yeah, I remember now,” I teased.

“We should eat or I’m gonna lose my resolve.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we should.”

“One more kiss.”

I grinned. “If you insist.”

He kissed me one more time and then we carried our plates to my little kitchen nook.