From This Moment (10 page)

Rona is really quiet looking through the window on the way back to the house.  Taking her hand brings her attention back towards me.

Squeezing my hand, Rona starts talking.
 “I need to tell you something about Nick,” she hesitates, “he says he misses me and wants me back.”

I look at her with my heart in my throat, “And?”

She smiles.  “I told him no way would I ever go back to him.”  She kisses my hand.  “I figured out the only reason why he was with me was because of my money.”  Pausing, she continues, “My grandmother was rather wealthy and as I was her only living relative, she left everything to me, plus when I turned twenty-one, I came into my inheritance left by my parents.  I only told him about the money after he proposed, when we were planning the wedding, but he knew before that.  Everything seemed to click into place.”

“Wow.
  What a bastard.  I really wish I’d punched him now.  It would have made me feel good!”

“Thanks Jake, I wouldn’t have minded.
  I felt like punching him myself.  He sure isn’t worth getting in trouble with the Sheriff over.”

After a long silence we arrive back at the house with Rona looking exhausted.
  I pull her close as she exits the car, “Why don’t you rest until dinner?”

“That would be good, I’m really tired.”

~~ Rona ~~
d.”< />

Back in my room, I throw my purse, coat and scarf on the sofa and collapse on my bed.
  What a day.  I can’t get over Nick.  I trusted him and all along he played me.  At least Cade’s not like that.  I actually feel exhausted, but I want to be close to Cade, so after having a soak in the tub with the cinnamon bath crystals, I pull on my jazz pants, t-shirt with my thick socks and head downstairs.

Walking into the lounge area, Cade is sitting on the sofa watching me, “I thought you were going to have a rest.”

I walk over to him, “I thought that maybe I could rest with you.”

After a pause, Cade stretches out on the sofa.
 “Come here love.”  With no hesitation, I climb on top of him and settle down with my head on his chest, his arms go around me and our legs tangle.

I never want to move.

“Are you comfortable there?”  I snuggle more into him, “Oh, Yeah.”  He chuckles.

“Cade, will you tell me about your wife?”
  On what sounds like a groan, “What do you want to know?”  I lift my head from his chest to look at him, caressing his face, “Whatever you want to tell me.”

Cade pushes
me back down on his chest.  “Okay.... you have to know that I love Jake, Anna and Beth, but I will always regret those three and a half years of my life.  I was a lot different back then and obviously irresponsible.” Pausing. “I was nineteen, celebrating a friend’s birthday which left me intoxicated, and I passed out.  The party was at Daniel’s place –  his parents being on vacation.  I don’t actually remember a great deal, but I do remember waking up in one of the guest rooms in bed with a girl, Janice.  Having no recollection of what had happened in the room, I quickly dressed and left.  Five months later, I bumped into her in Jackson, she was looking rather pregnant.  Turns out it was me who got her that way.”

Cade went quiet, possibly reflecting what happened back then. “I assumed responsibility and insisted we date and eventually we decided to get married before the babies arrived.
  I was panicking inside, but it was really the only thing to do, because I wanted the babies to have my name.  Janice actually told me that unless we got married the babies would have hers.”

Sighing.
 “Jake and Anna arrived and I loved them at first sight.  It was tough.  I was just a kid taking on a wife and two babies, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  Janice and I didn’t have a marriage; we were more like roommates sharing the responsibility for the twins.  Half the time it was as though she hated them and me, she was on anti-depressants which, on more than one occasion, she would mix with alcohol.”

On another sigh, “Are you sure you want to hear the C to’s placerest?”

I kiss his chest, “Cade, no matter what you say I’m not going anywhere.”

“
One night when the kids were about two years old, she told me that she would try and get better, that she needed my help.  It would help if we tried to make the marriage work; she wanted to share my bed.  So that night, being an idiot, I invited her into my room.  She told me she was on birth control to regulate her period.  The following day, instead of things starting to change she went back to being her distant self.  Nine months later Beth arrived.  Three weeks later she took off.  Three months after that she died of a drug overdose.  I have three kids with a woman I only had sex with twice.  What are the chances of that?”

Sensing Cade needs comfort now, I lift my head and move further up his chest so that we’re face to face.
 “If it was me pregnant with your baby, I would consider myself the luckiest woman alive.  I sure as hell would never leave you.”  Caressing his face, “Thank you for telling me.”

Lowering my head, I place a kiss on his lips.
 “I love you.”  Kissing him again, I lower myself back down and start talking about my life, giving him time to recover from reliving part of his past.

“I’m a native of Rhode Island.
  I was fourteen when my parents died in a plane crash in Alaska during a blizzard.  My father was the pilot.  Having no other relatives in the States, I went to live in Ireland with my maternal grandmother, who I became close to during the eight years we lived together.  I have a Degree in Computer Science and Languages from Trinity College in Dublin, which made my grandmother proud.  My grandmother died in her sleep two years ago, leaving me heartbroken, but with a fortune.”

Cade hugs
me close while I continue.  ”Her husband was a banker and invested, really very well.  I met Nick just over six months ago and he charmed me right off my feet, to begin with.... very quickly we ended up engaged, arranging a wedding.  I didn’t love him.  I guess I loved the attention and the idea of being part of a family again.  Nick has four sisters all with at least a couple of kids each.  They all made me feel welcome.”

I lift my head up to look at Cade and grin at him, “So after the wedding was cancelled, I took a flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and fell head over heels in love with the sexiest guy I’ve ever met.
  Not only does he have a hot body, but a great personality and an amazing voice; I could listen to him talk all day, and now I’m going to place a hot kiss on his....” and before I can finish, Cade grabs hold of my head and brings me in for one very hot kiss.  I end up wiggling all over him; his erection getting larger by the second against my stomach.

~~ Cade ~~

Still kissing Rona, I can’t get enough of her.  In less than a week she has become to mean the world to me.  How t C.&nry hhe hell am I going to let her go back to Ireland?

I pull away from the kiss, “Love, I need to tell you something.
  I have to leave for Denver in a few hours.  I have a meeting with a client tomorrow morning at eight.”  Rona is so still and silent I think perhaps she has fallen asleep.  “Rona?”

“Sorry.
  Just tired.”

“I thought you had nodded off.
 I’ll ring when I can tomorrow.... I even thought about taking you with me, but Anna and Beth have no idea about us and I really don’t want them finding out this way.”

“
I don’t like the idea of you being away, but I’ll be okay and maybe catch up with some cleaning and I could do with washing some clothes.”

I feel Rona drift off to sleep.
  Holding her close for about thirty minutes, I extract myself from her, grabbing a blanket from the back of the sofa.  I cover her up before heading to my room to shower and pack for my flight.

~~ Rona ~~

Having had a good night’s sleep, I remember that Cade left for Denver last night, after carrying me upstairs to bed.
  Not wanting to get out of bed, I just lie on my side, looking out of the window, trying to get my thoughts in order.

Before leaving Ireland I’d given my notice in at work, packed up my apartment and gave most of my clothes, shoes, jewelry to charity.
  The furniture came with the apartment rental, so I didn’t have to deal with that.

After cancelling the wedding I realized I wanted to spend some time back in the States.
  My plan was to spend this four weeks in Jackson Hole and then to travel to my home town of Newport.  Now.... well, I don’t really know what to do; the thought of leaving Cade makes me feel ill.  I haven’t told him that I have no job or place to live; I don’t want him to feel he has to offer me a place to stay.

Financially, I never have to work again, but I’m not one for sitting around and doing nothing.

Looking around, I can hear music coming from somewhere, then realizing it’s my phone; I answer it, “Hello.”

“Rona, how are you feeling? You were so exhausted last night, I wasn’t even sure if you’d remember that I left,” he says in a husky voice.

Feeling wicked, “Oh, I remember you leaving.... I remember what it feels like being carried in your arms.... I remember what you smell like, and most of all.... I rem F.&nryaviember what you taste like.”  I end on a smile –  I knew what I was doing to him.

After what sounded like a groan, “You do realize, I’m now sitting in the conference room with the client due any minute, where I have to stand to greet him with a rather large erection.”

Laughing now, “Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.... are you okay?  Did you sleep well?”

“I slept crap, because you weren’t nearby.”
 After a pause, “I have this fantasy of you naked spread out on the conference table in front of me with your ankles around my neck and my mouth between your thighs.”

Speechless.
“That.... was.... evil.”

Chuckling, “Payback
love.”

“I’ll give you payback....
when you get home I’m going to get you naked and put my hands and mouth all over you.  When you can’t stand the teasing anymore, I’m going to put your rock hard penis between my legs, where you’ll find me very hot.... very wet.... and very tight.  I love you Cade, hurry home.”  Laughing, I hang up on him.

After a hot shower and dressing, I head downstairs, finding a note from Jake saying he’ll be back soon.

Just finishing breakfast I hear the door bell.  Going to answer it, wondering who it could be, because I presume Cade’s daughters wouldn’t bother ringing the bell and just enter.

Opening the door, whatever greeting I was going to say flies straight out of my head, “Nick, what the hell
are you doing here?”

He looks rough.
  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“No, I’m not, this isn’t my house.”
  Pausing, “Hang on a minute, I never told you were I was staying.”

How the hell did he find me?

“A friend of mine followed you back here yesterday.   Oh yes, he saw you all kissy face with that older guy.  Your taste has gone downhill babe.”

God, I really want to hit him, and if he doesn’t leave I will, “He’s a better guy than you ever were, or ever will be.”