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Navy
CADE DOLED OUT the pizza and set two slices in front of me. I directed him to the drawer with the cutlery because he refused to let me get it, then he sat down across from me.
I grabbed a napkin and smiled. “How’s your dad? Is he still in prison?”
“No, he died a few years back.”
“Oh my god, Cade.” I reached over the table and squeezed his arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, all of it sucked, but Connor took the younger kids in when Dad went inside so I could play army.”
I frowned. “You weren’t playing army, Lumpy, you were at war. I can’t imagine what that was like for you.”
He nodded, his eyes far away for a few minutes.
“How did you end up here?” I asked. “In Washington?”
“Connor. He met the president of the San Diego chapter at one of Dad’s underground fights who helped keep the family together. When the prez decided to start an MC chapter in Portland, he sent Crow up to head it and Connor wanted a change of scene, so we followed.”
“MC?” I asked before taking another bite of pizza.
“Motorcycle club.”
“Like Sons of Anarchy?”
“Sort of,” he said. “They’re not one-percenters, which are considered outlaws. The Dogs of Fire follow the laws of the land, or so I’m told.”
“Are you and your other siblings part of it?”
He shook his head. “I ride with my brother on occasion, but the club life isn’t for me. Cullen and Cameron feel the same. Although, Cricket was in love with a guy back in the day who was in another club, but he moved south, I think.”
“Did you... um, have you, well, did you get married or anything?” I hedged.
“I got a bitch pregnant and married her to do the right thing.”
“Okay, so not a good situation if you’re calling her a bitch,” I deduced.
“I guess I was living with the ghost of you too, baby, because the only reason I slept with Diana was because she reminded me of you. I did get Devon out of the deal, and he’s fourteen, goin’ on thirty, so it was all worth it in the end.”
“Does he live with your ex?”
Cade shook his head. “He’s stayin’ with Connor right now because I’m remodeling our house and living in the RV at the property, so I didn’t want to disrupt his school life. He loves living at ‘Uncle Hatch’s’ place, so it’s a win-win.”
“Wait, who’s Hatch?”
He chuckled. “Oh, right, sorry. Connor’s road name in the club is Hatch. We’re the only ones who call him Connor, actually.”
“It’s kind of cool,” I breathed out.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’ll quit thinkin’ my brother’s cool right this instant.”
I laughed. “I only met him once, Lumpy, and he didn’t hold a candle to you.”
“That’s what I like to hear, Jelly Bean.”
“Um, no,” I said, taking a swig of wine.
“Jelly Belly?”
I nearly choked. “Absolutely not.”
“Okay, I’ll keep thinkin’.”
My stomach swirled with the warm and fuzzies and I grinned as I took another sip of wine. “Tell me about your life since you got up here.”
“Not much to tell. I got shot of Diana and have been fighting for custody ever since. Looks like I’ll get it in the next few months, but I never know what’s gonna happen with her, so I don’t count my chickens so to speak.”
“You let me know if I can help, Cade. I have contacts in family law, and I know my way around contracts. If she wants you to sign something, don’t until I look it over.” I shook my head. “Sorry, you probably already have a lawyer.”
“I do, but he’s not nearly as pretty as you.”
“You always were smooth.”
His eyes widened. “What? Me?”
“Yes, you, QB. It took me a good six months before I realized you were genuine and not just feeding me lines.”
He waved his serviette at me. “I’ll have you know, you brought all of that out in me.”
“How so?”
“I never talked much, to be honest. Until you. I mean, I was friendly and would flirt with Bernice for extra chocolate pudding, but in general, I found it easier to say nothing. People show themselves more when you do that. Quiet people make other people uncomfortable.”
“Lordy, I hear that.” I wrinkled my nose. “I can’t stand quiet people.”
He smirked. “Oh, I remember.”
I threw my serviette at him. He caught it midair.
“Well, you certainly chatted me up quite violently,” I reminded him. “I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.”
Cade laughed. “I had to pry every word from your lips at the beginning. You were starting to scare the shit out of me.”
“Whatever, Trevor.”
He took a swig of beer then smiled. “Missed you, baby.”
“Missed you too, Lumpy.” I settled my elbow on the table and my chin in my hand. “What do we do now?”
He shrugged. “We continue where we left off.”
“A whole lifetime has happened since we left off.”
He leaned over the table. “You want to continue to waste time?”
“I do not,” I retorted with an emphasis on the ‘T.’
“Well, neither do I.”
“I don’t know how this will work, though.”
“Does anyone?” he challenged. “I didn’t have the power to stop you from slipping through my fingers before, but I do now, and I’m holding on a hell of a lot tighter.”
I smiled. “I really want to hold on too.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said. “Now, I’ve talked enough about me. Your turn. How’s your mom?”
“She died.”
“Oh, shit, baby, I’m sorry.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “It’s okay. She just couldn’t seem to stop drinking. She did while she was pregnant with Reed, but started again the second she stopped breastfeeding. If it wasn’t for Jim, I don’t know that I would have survived that.”
“Glad you had a good man in your life.”
“He’s the very best,” I said, my heart light now that I’d shared my biggest sorrow with Cade. “He paid for school and was always there for me whenever I needed it. He never treated me differently than Reed. I am his daughter in his heart.”
“That’s the way it should be.”
I nodded. “He was kinder to me than my mother was, and he actually shielded me from a lot of her drunken rampages. He’s a saint.”
“I’m sorry you lost your mom, baby, but I don’t like that she was unkind to you.”
“It was the drink.”
“Drunk words are just sober thoughts, Navy, and I don’t like that she ever even thought those things about you.”
“Me neither.”
Cade had been there for some of it. He didn’t like it then and it sounded like nothing had changed.
“Oh! Cola sent me a care package,” I said, wanting off the sad topic. I jumped up and went for my snack drawer, the puppy waddling up to me, so I scooped her up and kissed her head. “Guess what was in the box?”
“No clue.”
“Lumpy,” I pressed. “Think about it, Lumpy.”
He grinned. “Those lump things?”
“Yes.” I chuckled, pulling out the bag. “Now you get to try your namesake.”
“You sure you want to waste them on me?”
I cocked my head. “I’m not giving you the whole bag.”
He laughed. “As long as I know your boundaries.”
I grinned, handing the dog to Cade before grabbing a pair of scissors, and cutting open the package. I set it in front of him and he grabbed it and read it out loud, “Pineapple lumps, hm?”
“You’re not looking at the ingredients are you?”
He smiled. “Don’t really give a shit about that, honestly.”
“Well, then, try one.”
I held my breath as he fingered one out of the packet and popped it in his mouth. “Jesus,” he said as he chewed.
“Good Jesus, or bad Jesus?” I asked.
“Jesus, as in, I think I just saw him,” he retorted, grabbing another square.
I don’t know why, but the fact he liked them made my heart sing. It was so silly, wanting him to love the same things I did, but all of it just seemed to solidify our compatibility and I found comfort in that.
He groaned. “Fuck, I can’t stop eating them.”
“I know, they’re a bit moreish.”
He pushed the treats away, setting the dog back on the floor. “You need to take them, baby, or I’ll finish the bag.”
I grinned, sliding a couple out, then putting the rest in a plastic zipper bag and throwing them in the drawer. Sitting back down, I watched him. Taking in the beauty that was Cade Wallace.
“What?” he asked, sipping his beer.
“Nothing. I just can’t believe you’re here.”
He grinned. “Same.”
“Is it cake time?” I asked.
“You don’t want more pizza?”
“You incepted me when you were talking about fat kids and missing cake.” I narrowed my eyes. “So, now I want cake.”
He laughed. “Then cake you shall have. Stay put and I’ll slice it.”
Cade stood, leaning down to kiss me gently before prying open the plastic dome and finding a knife to cut the cake.
* * *
Cade
After helping to clean up, I poured Navy another glass of wine and joined her in her living room, handing her the wine before sitting next to her.
“Ta,” she said, tucking her feet up under her.
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you need to get home? For Devon?” she asked, then took a sip.
“No, he’s staying at a buddy’s tonight. I’m all yours, unless you want me to leave.”
“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. My first client meeting isn’t until ten tomorrow and I’m as prepared as I’m going to be. Plus, it’s a video call, because I work from home Thursday and Friday.”
“Well, you invite me to stay, baby, and I’ll stay all night.”
She blushed. “Tempting.”
“But?”
“I think we need to take things slow. I just got you back, and I need to know I’m not going to lose you again.”
I squeezed her knee. “Not goin’ anywhere.”
She pressed a hand over her heart. “Let me just feel that in here for a little while.”
“I can do that.”
“Thanks, Lumpy.”
“You got it, Cinnamon.”
She laughed. “Oh my god, no. I will not be called a stripper name.”
I grinned. “You’d make a smokin’ hot stripper, baby.”
“Thank you, but no.”
The puppy let out a little yip then came running, trying to jump up on the sofa with us. I bent down and scooped her up and she did a little turn, then settled right next to Navy.
“Oh my god, she’s so cute,” she breathed out.
“You want her?”
“What do mean?”
“Do you want to keep her.”
She bit her lip. “Lordy, I don’t know.”
“I have a hookup for vet shit, and I’ll cover those charges. I already have food in the truck, along with a dog bed, so you can have all of that.”
“I work full time, Lumpy.”
“Dogs adjust, baby.”
“She is really sweet.” Navy slid her hand over her head. “And I do work from home three days a week, sometimes more.”
“See? She’d be the perfect companion.”
“Pickles.” The dog raised her head and Navy laughed. “Do you like that name, Pickles?”
She licked Navy’s hand, and I squeezed Navy’s leg. “It’s decided.”
She met my eyes. “I can’t believe you brought me a dog.”
“Why can’t you believe it?”
“Because you seem to remember everything when it comes to me.”
I smiled. “I can’t entirely take credit for the dog, Navy. But yes, I do remember how much you wanted one when we were kids.”
“You can take credit, Lumpy, because you are still the sweetest, most thoughtful person I’ve ever known.” She leaned in and squeezed my chin. “And I’m saying that in private, so your street cred is safe.”
I chuckled, turning my head, and kissing her palm. “Looks like you remember a few things too.”
“I remember everything.”
The dog was done with me touching Navy and pushed at my arm with a little bark. Navy laughed, pulling her onto her lap and snuggling her close.
“Tell me about your work,” I said.
“Not much to tell. I take all manner of discrimination cases, but I tend to focus on female based discrimination more than any others. It’s kind of my specialty.”
“The Lord’s work.”
She let out a quiet snort. “Hardly, but it does excite me. There’s nothing like sticking it to a man on a woman’s behalf when she’s being taken advantage of.”
“No doubt.” I cocked my head. “What made you decide that avenue?”
“I guess I wanted to try and even the scales a bit. You know, we call people heroes who quit drugs, take anger management classes so they stop hitting their wives and kids. Or finally win their battle with alcohol, no matter the carnage they leave in their wake. I wanted to help the people who are kind regardless of the fact humans are dicks. I mean, what about the people who live a good, quiet life, raise their families, help their neighbor, are kind to animals? Why aren’t they heroes? Why can’t we start celebrating people who do the right thing the first time?”
“Because kind people aren’t salacious,” I said.
“True,” she breathed out. “Same with fucking athletes. I hate athletes. Jesus. These same assholes that beat their wives put these basketball, football, baseball players on pedestals even though they fuck everything that moves, cheat on their girlfriends and wives, and there are no consequences because they have money.”
“Yeah. It’s not good.”
“It’s really not.”
I frowned, a thought suddenly coming to me. “Do you ever get hassled?”
“By whom?”
“People who don’t like that you’re helping the disenfranchised?”
She bit her lip.
“Fuck, I knew it. How bad?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. My assistant logs and files any threats and only lets me know if there’s a death threat. I haven’t had one of those in a while. At least, I don’t think so. My assistant is new.”
“Don’t like that, Navy.”
“I don’t like it either, but I’ve only ever had to file one restraining order, and that was in Seattle.”
“Who?” I demanded.
“It was a long time ago and I’ve put him in my rearview.”
“Who, Navy?”
She sighed. “My ex.”
“Do you feel comfortable telling me what happened?”
“In general, yes. But right now, I want to just enjoy you. Us. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, baby, that’s okay.”
“What about you?” She smiled, picking up her wine again. “What did you do after the army?”
I shrugged. “Same old, same old. Went into business with Cullen and Cameron... sometimes Con... building and fixing up homes. Got a crew of twenty guys working for us now. Most days I love it. Some days I love it less.”
“So, you figured out maths, then?”
I chuckled. “Because of you.”
Navy had spent hours of her precious time tutoring me and it’s the only reason I passed.
“I knew you’d be the boss one day.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Anyone you’ve ever met is happy to follow you, even if it’s off a cliff.”
I nearly spit out my beer. “Well, let’s hope I never have to ask anyone to do that.”
Navy smiled, watching me intently.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yep. I’m still just having a hard time believing you’re here.” She bit her lip. “What are the odds we’d end up in the same place at the same time?”
“The universe knew we had to meet again, obviously.”
She laughed. “I guess so.”
“Can’t wait to walk this road with you again, sweetheart. Wished to god we never got off it.”
“Me too.” She sighed. “I’m trying not to let that regret swallow me, Cade, but I’ve missed you so hard for so long, I might unknowingly sabotage things.”
“I won’t let you do that.”
“Promise?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.” I reached out my hand. “Come here.”
She raised her eyebrows over the rim of her glass. “I’m already here.”
“Put your wine down and come closer.”
She shook her head. “But it’s really good wine, Lumpy.”
I set my beer on the side table and leaned over her, close enough to be nose-to-nose. “I know it’s good wine. I bought it on the recommendation of Connor’s woman, Maisie.”
“She’s good value, then.”
“Yeah, she is.” I slipped her wine glass from her hand and set it behind her.
“But...” She craned her neck, her bottom lip popping out in a pout.
Fuck.
Pickles jumped up and licked my chin, so I set her on the ground before leaning in and biting Navy’s lip gently.
She sighed, sliding her hands into my hair. “You’re seriously making me rethink a few things.”
“Like what?” I asked, kissing her quickly.
“Like, not ripping your clothes off and dragging you to bed.”
“Jesus, Navy, don’t say that. Do you know how hard it is for me to think about room measurements right now?”
She cocked her head. “Why are you thinking about room measurements?”
“Because if I don’t, I’m gonna have a raging hard-on.”
Navy let out the cutest little chortle and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her again.
She stroked my face. “Don’t disappear on me.”
“Not goin’ anywhere, beautiful.”
“Will you stay tonight even if we just cuddle?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
She kissed me again. “You know I still love you.”
“Love you too, angel.”
Navy’s nostrils flared slightly as she took in a deep breath, and she closed her eyes. “That makes me sound like a mafia mistress,” she whispered with a chuckle.
“Don Wallace at your service,” I teased, and she opened her eyes and smiled.
“You know I’m not really angelic, right?”
I grinned. “Let me have my fantasy for at least one night, yeah?”
“One night,” she retorted. “Then, all my shit’s gonna be on display.”
“Can’t wait.”
Her doorbell pealed, breaking our sweet moment.
“It’s after eight.” She frowned as she slid off my lap and grabbed her phone. “Who could that be?”
“You’re not expecting anyone?”
Her finger slid over the screen of her phone. “No.”
I pushed off the sofa and headed for the front door.
“Cade, what are you doing?”
