From This Moment (8 page)

Jake across the room keeps glancing at us while having the fight of his life with his nephews Gabe and Nathan.
  I think he’s supposed to be Darth Vader while Gabe and Nathan are Luke Skywalker and Han Solo!

“Dinner’s ready folks.”
  After Anna’s announcement, Beth comes over to take Edith from me.  My arms feel empty.

Cade offers me a hand to help me up from the sofa.
  Seemingly reluctant to let me go, he strokes my hand as we part.

At the table, Cade is on my right with Gabby on my left.

“Did Uncle Jake take you riding on Honey Bee?”  Gabby asks me with a mouth full of food.

Holding back a laugh, “No your grandpa did.
  It was my first time on a horse and Honey Bee was amazing, she made me feel like her friend.”  After a minute, “It was okay for me to ride her wasn’t it?”

“Yes, she needs lots of exercise.
  Where did grandpa take you?”

“We went to a river and saw some deer.
  This was totally cool; I’ve never seen deer out in the open before.”

Looking up I notice everyone has gone quiet and I’m not sure why.
   Meeting Jake’s eyes across the table, he starts telling everyone about our trip on ‘Big Red’, which seems to break the silence.  I’m still unsure why everyone had gone quiet though.

After the conversation with Gabby, I feel like Anna and Beth are looking at me differently.
  They didn’t treat me differently, just kept glancing at me in an odd sort of way.

~~ Cade ~~

When we arrive back home Jake excuses himself and disappears to his room.

“Would you like a hot chocolate?”
  I ask.

“That would be great, do you mind if I go and get changed first?”

size="+0">“No that’s fine.  I think I’ll do the same and meet you back here.”

Changing into sweats and a t-shirt, I go downstairs to make some hot chocolate.
  Rona appears not long after.

Settling down in the lounge with our drinks, I start to wonder whether Rona will ask me about the silence at the meal.

“Why did everyone go quiet when I was talking to Gabby?  I had the feeling it was something I said, but I’m not sure what.”

Guess I didn’t have long to wait!

“It was the fact that I took you to the river.  They all know that it’s the one place that’s sacred to me.  In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve only ever allowed them to accompany me there once.  That was to point out to them, that it was the one place in the world which was mine and mine alone.  So it was pretty significant to them that I took you there.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.
  I didn’t know, I never would have said something in front of your family if I’d known.”

“Don’t worry.”

Lifting her eyes to look at me, she looks haunted.

Yawning, “I think I need to go to bed.”
  Standing, Rona starts to walk to the stairs, she turns back towards me, “Cade, I want you to know that in the short time I’ve known you, you’ve
come to mean more to me than Nick ever did.”

Turning back she carries on up the stairs.

~~ Rona ~~

Its morning and being in the kitchen with Cade is wonderful.  He’s making breakfast while I get the coffee started.  Eggs, pancakes and syrup....yum!

“What would you like to do today?”
  Cade asks, while pouring the batter for the pancakes into the pan.

“I’m not sure, but I was considering renting a car, so that I don’t have to rely on you or Jake all the time.”

Cade quickly glances over to me, “You don’t need to do that, driving you around and showing you where I live is certainly no hardship.”  He flips a pancake, “I like spending time with you, unless you really would like a bit more independence, in which case, I’ll take you to sort out a car.”

“If you really don’t mind, then I’ll leave it for now.”
  I smile, “I like spe winding time with you too.”

“Now that’s settled, breakfast is ready.
  Let’s eat and we can talk about what to do later.”  Cade carries the platter of food over to the table, “I need to reply to some emails and make a couple of calls, after that we can head out someplace, if you like?”

“I’d like that.”

Having eaten some of my pancakes which are delicious.  I look at Cade, “You make the best pancakes, mine always end up thick and stodgy.”

With laughter in his eyes, “It’s all in the wrist.”

“Ha,” as intended I start to laugh, and then feeling wicked, licking my lips very slowly and in a seductive voice, “That’s what they all say.”

Cade’s eyes darken while watching me
lick my lips.  Standing up, he walks over; picking me up from the chair he places me on the table and moves to stand between my thighs.  Threading his fingers through my hair, he holds my head cradled in his hands.  I put my arms around his waist, “Teasing has consequences,” he threatens, a breadth away from my lips.

With a wicked grin, “I’m ready when you are.”
 Wiggling in his hold, I slowly move my hands down to his rear, bringing him even closer.  I can feel his erection against my stomach as his lips reach for mine in one hell of a kiss.  Our tongues start to dance.  I squeeze his butt.  Cade curses as he pulls away slightly, taking air into his lungs.  “We better stop this; Jake will be here in a minute.”

Helping me from the table, he leans towards me and places a chaste kiss on my lips.
 

Going back to our breakfast, I decide I still have a bit of wickedness left in me this morning and can’t seem to stop myself, “One of these days there will be no interruptions, I hope you know what you’re going to do to me then?”
  I give him a saucy smile, “because I know exactly what I’m going to do to you, and it involves my mouth licking.... and sucking on....”

Leaving the sentence hanging, I catch the shock on Cade’s face.
  I start laughing, changing the subject, “These eggs are good too.”

With shaking hands, Cade manages to put his cup of coffee down without sloshing too much over the table, “Are you trying to kill me?” he asks, in a strangled voice.

Still laughing, “At least you would die happy!”

Picking his coffee back up, laughing himself now, “Minx!”

Our laughter is broken by my phone.

I only switched it back inched it on when I woke early this morning and dealt with the emails that had come through, plus voice messages.
  They were all mainly from Nick and he was becoming a pain.  Without reading his to me, I emailed him telling him to stop with the messages and to leave me alone.

Excusing myself from Cade, I dash back to the kitchen to retrieve my phone from the breakfast bar, not recognizing the number, I send it to
voicemail.  Not two seconds later it starts to ring again, same number.  Figuring I might as well answer, frowning, “Hello.”

“Rona.... is that you?”
 
Nick
.  I was speechless and at the same time I shouldn’t have been considering how many voicemails he’s left and emails.

I look towards Cade, “Yes, it’s me.
  What do you want?”

“Are
you in Jackson? Can we meet?.... just to talk, I’ve been emailing you and left you voicemails, but you haven’t replied.”  Talking to Nick I actually feel nothing.

How can I feel nothing for someone I was su
pposed to have loved.

“Rona please, you should have been my wife now, at least you can hear me out.”

The cheek of him.  As though it was me who called the wedding off.  “I’m sorry, but did you just say I should have been your wife now?  I think I’m hearing things.  As I recall you walked out on me an hour before the wedding and you know what?”  I was walking backwards and forwards in the kitchen now, waiting for him to answer.

“What?”

Cade is stood close to me, looking at me as I reply to Nick, “Cancelling the wedding was the best thing you ever did, so I guess I need to thank you for that.”

After a long pause, “What do you mean, you where crying and screaming at me when I told you I didn’t want to get married.”

The Pig!

“What did you expect me to do an hour before the weddin
g, you arrogant ass?”  I look at Cade who raises an eyebrow at this comment.

Taking a deep breath, “You know what, this conversation is over.
  I‘ve nothing else to say to you.”  Going to put the phone down I can hear him shouting ‘Rona’.  “What now?  I really am losing patience.”

“I’m here in Jackson, staying at the cabin.
  Please meet me for lunch and then if you don’t like what I say, I promise not to ring or email you again.”

I look through the window at the deer close to the back porch, “Not lunch, ring me back in five minutes and I’ll let you know whether or not I’ll meet you.”
  I hang up.

Going over to where Cade is now sitting, he opens his arms to me.
  Not thinking twice, I sit in his lap, he wraps his arms around my waist and I put my arms around his shoulders.  He always feels so good against me.  He holds me tight, “Are you alright?”

Not wanting the hug to end
I just nod, and carry on holding onto him.  “I am now.”  I pull slightly away to talk to him.

“Nick is in Jackson, at his friend’s cabin.
  He wants to meet me this afternoon to talk.  He says if I do, he’ll stop inundating me with voicemail and emails.”  I sigh as Cade places a tender kiss to my lips, “I think it would be worth it just to get the messages to stop.”

“Where does he want to meet?” Cade asks.

“He didn’t say.  Can you recommend anywhere?”

“Tell him to meet you in the Silver Dollar Grill inside the
Wort Hotel.”

“D
o you think it’s a good idea to meet him?  I have to admit I’m a bit nervous.”

“He obviously feels like there’s unfinished business between you both, so maybe meeting with him this afternoon will finish that, and you both can move on.
  If it helps I’m going to come with you, but stay in the background so that he doesn’t know I’m there.” 

I kiss both of Cade’s eyes shut then place a hot kiss on his lips.
  “I have already moved on, I’m happier here with you than I ever have been.”

“Good!
  Because you mean the world to me.”  Holding my face between his hands, “I know this is fast, but I love you Rona.  I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I can’t fight what you make me feel anymore.”