Читать книгу His Unexpected Return - Jessica Keller - Страница 13

“Can I go swimming, Mommy?” Piper tugged on Cassidy Danvers’s hand. At almost five, Piper had already perfected the art of the doe-eyed pout.

Cassidy pulled her apron over her head, then set it on the wall of hooks at the back of the kitchen. She turned and eyed the bright pink cast on Piper’s arm. Even when Cassidy plastered every inch of her daughter’s arm in obscene amounts of plastic wrap or used a long bread bag to cover it, Piper had a hard time keeping the cast from getting wet while taking a bath. With her enthusiasm and daring, going in the pool sounded disastrous. Cassidy’s daughter had missed her best friend’s pool-themed birthday party the prior weekend, so it wasn’t the first time they were having the conversation, but if Piper was anything it was determined.

Piper noticed where her eyes fell. “I’ll be so careful.” She tucked her little casted arm behind her back as if keeping it from Cassidy’s view would somehow make her mom forget about the injury. “You’ll see. It will be fine. I just want to swim, Mom. One time.”

“Baby girl.” Cassidy dropped to her knees in the middle of the industrial kitchen where she spent most of her time. Despite the large window AC unit blasting wave after wave of cold air across her skin, the smell of burger grease lingered in the air from dinner. As head cook at the ranch, Cassidy was used to the smell—used to the four walls that made up the dining hall at Red Dog Ranch.

Her safe place.

After a tornado had torn its way through the ranch only weeks ago, the dining hall had been one of the first buildings the work crews had put back together. The owner, Rhett Jarrett, had insisted upon it. Outside, however, at least half of the ranch was still in shambles. Organized shambles, of course, but there was still so much to rebuild.

Too much.

After such destruction, Cassidy wondered if the ranch would ever truly be put back together again. In her life, that had never been the case. Trauma left scars.

Strands of hair had escaped the twin braids hanging over each of Piper’s shoulders. Cassidy brushed the errant wisps away from her daughter’s face, then let her hands cup Piper’s rounded cheeks. Piper had Cassidy’s brown eyes, but her daughter’s hair and expressions were the same as her father’s had been. Wade. Cassidy’s heart squeezed at the thought of him like it always did. Even though his funeral had been five years ago, memories of him invaded her life every day.

“Only one more week left until the cast comes off.” Cassidy let her hands fall to Piper’s tiny shoulders, offering a light squeeze. “Let’s hold off swimming until then. We can do that or something else fun to celebrate. It’ll be your choice.”

Piper huffed. “But it’s so hot out. Even my knees are sweating.”

Cassidy chuckled. “It’s called summer in Texas, sweetheart. We’ve got hot days and hotter days. Take your pick.”

“Uncle Rhett said if you said no to the pool, then I should ask about the sprinkler.”

“Did he now?” Cassidy’s voice warmed. Piper’s uncle Rhett was the new owner of Red Dog Ranch. He had inherited the family estate two months ago and was now devoting every spare minute to rebuilding the ranch in time to host free summer programs for foster kids—a longtime mission of the ranch. But he always made time for Piper.

Piper nodded solemnly. “And Aunt Shannon told me she broke her arm one time when she fell from a tree. The same one that I broke. Isn’t that neat?” Piper put up her good hand when Cassidy opened her mouth to respond. She was about to explain falling from trees was actually not neat at all. Cassidy loved that Piper was adventurous, but her daughter hardly needed encouragement or ideas that might get her hurt again.

Piper leaned closer, her excitement palpable. “That’s not even the best part. Shannon said Grandma still let her swim in the pond and tube on the river with her cast. She just made her wear a bread bag with a rubber band over her arm. Just like I do for tubs!” Piper drew a line on her bicep, showing where the rubber band fit.

Cassidy tapped her chin, making a show of giving it all some thought. “Sounds like I need to tell Shannon and Rhett they’re not allowed to gang up on me like this.”

“No, Mommy.” Piper’s eyes widened. “I like playing with them. Don’t—”

“I’m only kidding, sweetheart.” Cassidy pulled her daughter in for a tight hug. She pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Well, what are we waiting for? Sounds like it’s time to go to the big house and see if the bag we used for last night’s bath is still hole-free.”

“Really?” Piper grinned like it was Christmas. “We can? You promise?”

“Of course. But only to jump through the sprinkler.” Cassidy flipped off the lights in the kitchen and took Piper’s hand, ushering her through the expansive dining area, where they weaved around all the tables to get to the front door at the other end of the building. Red Dog Ranch usually functioned as a summer camp for foster children. That was the reason why the dining hall had been built initially, but it was also where meals were served for the staff that lived on the property year-round.

Cassidy held the cumbersome front door of the dining hall open for Piper, then she followed her outside. Bright sunlight momentarily blinded her. She cast her eyes down. Positioned beside the small chapel on a hill that overlooked the ranch, the dining hall got blasted with sunshine in the afternoons.

A wall of heat slowed their progress. It was the type of uncomfortable warmth that made a person want to lie down and not move until it passed. Cassidy gathered her hair into a makeshift ponytail. Summer had quickly glided into the Texas Hill Country, driving the temperature into triple digits so early in the season.

“Cassidy? What are you... Why... I didn’t think... It’s you.” A man’s voice rocketed through her, making Cassidy startle. Her heart pounded loud and hard in her chest as she turned in the direction of the speaker. Her hands trembled and her throat went drier than the Texas dust.

She knew that voice.

Only one person had ever uttered her name that way. Wrapped three syllables in so much emotion, as if her name was a secret—the best secret—his lips had ever formed.

But it couldn’t be.

Her eyes landed on Wade Jarrett. Wild light brown hair and dark brows. Eyes a muted green like the underside of a leaf after a storm. A mouth with a constant quirk in it as if he was continuously on the edge of smiling, even when he wasn’t trying to.

She gasped and shuffled back on unsteady feet. Cassidy stumbled a bit and would have fallen if Wade hadn’t lunged forward and grabbed her arms, steadying her.

Strong. Solid.

“How?” she whispered. “When?” Unable to form a solid sentence, she shook her head. “This isn’t real. It can’t be.” He offered her a reassuring smile but it only made her shake her head more.

Because Wade Jarrett—the man who had been the love of her life—was dead.

She blinked, but he was still there, his touch sending tingles up her arm.

The man in front of her was very much alive.

Impossible.

“You’re here.” Wade’s voice was raw. “I never imagined... Didn’t think... But you’re here.”

Her limbs shook as black edged her vision. She forced herself to gulp in some air, but it was difficult to breathe beyond the wave of nausea pummeling through her body. “It’s really you?”

Wade nodded. “It’s me, Cass.”

No one had called her Cass for five years.

A loud sob lodged in her throat as she threw her arms around him. “You’re alive. I don’t understand. How are you alive?”

Wade hugged her back. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Wade’s voice was the same soft comfort it had always been.

There had been a boating accident and Wade had drowned in the Gulf of Mexico. A gravestone two miles down the road bore his name. Each week, Cassidy watered the black-eyed Susans she had planted there.

But here he was, back in her arms. God had answered the prayers she had stopped praying years ago.

“Mommy.” A small hand pressed against her thigh.

Piper. She had witnessed everything.

Cassidy broke away from Wade quickly, swiping at her eyes. Wade’s gaze locked with Cassidy’s. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He looked at Piper, then back to Cassidy. His dark brows formed a V.

Cassidy wasn’t prepared for the conversation she would have to have with Wade or her daughter when they realized who each other were. Not yet, not right this second. Cassidy needed her emotions to catch up—needed something to make sense before she could do anything.

She took a step back, finally slipping away from his touch completely.

They had held a funeral. She had mourned him these last five years. This was impossible.

Wade scrubbed at his jaw. “Mommy? You’re a mom.” He turned his head, focusing on the horizon.

“I know who you are.” Piper bounced on her feet, drawing his eyes back to her. “I’ve seen your pictures in the house. Grandma has them everywhere. Mom too. All over,” Piper said. “You’re my—”

“Piper,” Cassidy broke in. “Go to the big house. Find Rhett.” Cassidy jutted her chin toward the large ranch house where most of the Jarrett family lived. If Rhett and Shannon had been talking about going in the sprinkler with Piper, they were both there. And these days, Rhett’s fiancée, Macy, was never too far from him so she was probably there too. Piper would be safe with them while she talked with Wade.

Wade was alive.

All this time.

Where had he been the last five years? Why hadn’t he contacted them? Cassidy needed answers.

Piper scrunched up her face. “But, Mom, he’s—”

“I said inside.” Cassidy sidestepped, putting her body in between Piper and Wade. Made it so Piper had to stop gawking at him. She pointed toward the house at the bottom of the hill.

Piper’s eyes narrowed. “I know who he is.”

“Now, Piper.” Cassidy’s voice had never been as stern as it was in that moment, but now wasn’t the time for them to meet each other. Not yet. Not formally.

Piper took a few steps back, putting her at an angle where she could see Wade once more. She looked at him for another heartbeat before she obeyed. Cassidy watched her daughter pick her way across the expanse of green in her little cowboy boots, glancing back at them after every couple of steps. Cassidy didn’t say a word, even when Piper was long out of earshot. She watched Piper go up the porch steps and disappear into the house. It wouldn’t take long for her to alert Rhett and Shannon to Wade’s presence. His siblings would probably assume Piper was confused; they thought Wade was dead, after all. But Cassidy knew they would head outside to investigate. They would be here already if they knew.

Lord, help me. How is this possible? How do I navigate this with Piper?

Cassidy sucked in a deep breath. A drop of sweat skated in between her shoulder blades as she turned to face Wade. He worked his jaw around, rubbed at a spot on his neck. His gaze fixed on the door Piper had just vanished through.

Finally his green eyes found hers. “Piper. Is she... She’s... Am I...?” He cleared his throat, but his voice was still completely raw as he asked, “Am I her dad?” He glanced down at her hands, checking for a ring. “Or is there someone else in your life now?”

“She’s my daughter, Wade.” Cassidy laid her hand on her chest. Until now, she had raised Piper alone, after all. “Only mine.”

His left eyebrow rose. Always the left. “You realize in most cases that’s physically not possible.”

She would confirm Piper was his daughter soon enough, but not until they had a chance to talk. The Wade she had known five years ago had been a troubled young man, who had drowned his problems in copious amounts of alcohol. Even when he had been a teenager, he’d had fake IDs so he could go into gaming halls. Before she let him into Piper’s world, she had to find out who he was now.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you, but five years, Wade. Where have you been?” Her voice shook a little. “We thought you were dead.” She could hear the tears gathering behind her words.

He flinched.

“Cassidy.” His hand moved as if he was going to reach for her again, but it stopped mid-extension. He curled his fingers in slowly, his hand falling back to his side. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he looked toward the little white chapel. “After all this time, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

Not an answer. He had always been skilled at avoiding hard conversations, but she needed answers so she could begin to make sense of what had happened. Had he been stranded on some island this whole time? Only recently cured of amnesia? What had prevented him from contacting them?

She spoke each word carefully. “There is a headstone with your name on it a few plots from your dad’s.” She gestured toward him. “Yet here you are. How is that possible?”

He rubbed his hand up and down his jaw and traced it down the side of his neck. Blew out a long stream of air as he looked out across the ranch. “I’m so sorry.”

Cassidy latched onto his arm, seizing all of his attention. “What happened? It was as if you just vanished.”

“That’s because I wanted everyone to think I had.”

She jerked her hand away and took a step back. “Wait. You...you wanted us to think you were dead? On purpose?” Her voice rose.

He took a nervous half step toward her. “Let me explain.”

Her anger flared, hot and sharp. Late to the party, but very much there.

He had willingly forced them to live through five years of lies.

After all this time, I didn’t expect you to be here.

His words clicked into place. He had left and hadn’t wanted to see her ever again. He wasn’t happy she was here. He had wanted her to go on believing he was gone. A hot wave of embarrassment washed over her. She felt so foolish for flinging her arms around him moments ago, for her tears.

Wade didn’t want her. Maybe never had.

Cassidy willed strength into her body. She would stand tall and face this man. His lie—believing he was dead—had forced her to become resilient, tough and independent. Now he would have to deal with what he had done.

She lifted her chin. “You left me alone.”

“For your own good.”

“How could you?”

“Cassidy.” He put his hands up defensively. “Please, just hear me out.”

“You missed almost five years of your daughter’s life.” There. Now he knew. It wasn’t how she had wanted to confirm his suspicion but she couldn’t take it back now.

His gaze dropped to the toes of his shoes as if the brown leather encasing them was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. His hunched shoulders did nothing to stem her anger, though in any other situation they would have caused her ready compassion to spring forward. She waited for him to say something more, to explain himself. To offer some reason that might suddenly make what he had done okay.

As if anything could.

He glanced up, his gaze latching onto her face as if she was a lighthouse and he was a ship tossed in a storm. “I didn’t know. If only I’d known.”

Cassidy balled up her hands.

She would not feel bad for him. She would not pity this man who had misused and discarded her as if she had meant nothing.

As if she had not mattered.

Surely if he had loved her at all, he wouldn’t have faked his death. He wouldn’t have let her cry and mourn and grieve for him.

“Why?” she whispered. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. “Why did you do it?”

Wade licked his lips. His hand shook right before he shoved it into his hair. “I thought... It was for the best, I promise. I did it for you.”

Cassidy reeled back. “Don’t you dare pin what you did on me. Not this. Not what you put them through.” She pointed at the house. At the place where Shannon and their mother had wept for months over him. At the home Rhett had left after he and his father had fought about who was to blame for Wade’s death. The entire Jarrett family lost their way for a while after they thought Wade had died.

Cassidy had almost lost herself in grief too.

She jammed her fingers against her chest. “Not after what you put me through.”

“Cass, hey.” He gently took hold of her arm as he stepped nearer. “I’m so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I shouldn’t have—I’m making a complete mess of this. Of everything.”

She yanked her arm away from him. “Don’t you ever say you did it for me again, understand? You clearly did it for you and you alone, Wade. So you need to own what you did to everyone.”

His eyes widened. “That’s not what I meant. Let me ex—”

She held up a hand. Moments ago, she had wanted answers, but she no longer wanted to hear whatever lie he was trying to spin to shirk the blame.

He had never loved her. She hadn’t known until this second, but there it was. For the past five years, she had mourned a man who she had thought had been devoted to her. Who had struggled in life but loved her fiercely.

But Wade hadn’t.

He had left.

Turned and never thought of her again.

Cassidy closed her eyes as she gritted out, “Did you or did you not fake your death?”

“It’s not that simple.”

Oh, but it was.

Cassidy blinked away tears as she opened her eyes and lifted her chin. “Tell me, Wade. Were you held captive for the last five years? Hit your head and suffered from amnesia?” She already knew the answer, but he needed to understand what he had put his family through. He needed to see that he couldn’t just explain away the kind of pain he had inflicted. Comprehend how ridiculous any explanation he had to offer would be.

“Was there some tragic reason you were unable to access a phone or computer or carrier pigeon to send a message? No kindling for a smoke signal to tell us you were alive?” Her voice trembled, but she held steady. “Or was not telling us—not reaching out—a deliberate choice on your part?”

“Cass, please.” He held his hands out to her, palms up.

“It’s a simple yes or no answer, Wade. No need for long explanations. The phone number and address are the same, so that couldn’t have been the issue.”

“There’s a lot more to it than that.”

“Just answer me.” She ground out the words.

Wade sighed, defeated. “I didn’t reach out. It was a choice. I already told you that.”

“Then I don’t need to hear anything else,” she said.

And meant it.

He had chosen to let them hurt. To let her heart crumble to dust at the loss of him. To destroy his family. He had allowed them to believe and make decisions based on lies.

Nothing could make any of those things go away. Nothing ever would.

At one time in her life, she had fiercely loved this man. Loved the way his calloused fingers brushed the back of her neck or traced her arm right before his lips found hers. Loved the intensity in his eyes whenever they locked onto her face. Loved the caress in his voice whenever they talked together.

For her, their love had been a consuming force. Something that had shoved the rest of the world away. Something that had saved her from the suffocating pressure her parents had stacked on Cassidy her whole life.

Wade Jarrett had once been her everything, and it had been both wonderful and dangerous in turns.

But Cassidy Danvers had grown up. In the past five years, she had built a life where Wade didn’t exist. One where her happiness and success didn’t depend on him.

And it was a good life. A life she loved. A life in which she didn’t need him at all.

“Please,” he whispered.

She didn’t know the man standing in front of her. Not anymore.

He was nothing more than a stranger.

One she didn’t care to know.

Wade glanced around inside of the small white chapel as his oldest brother unceremoniously propelled him through the building’s front door. A large brown dog with yellow eyes followed close on their heels. Minutes into Wade’s conversation with Cassidy, Rhett had charged out of the big house and wrenched Wade away. Not that Wade had fought him at all. He was ready for this. For hard talks.

But he hadn’t expected to ever see Cassidy again.

Wade ran his fingers nervously over the lump on his throat. Was it getting bigger? The nurses had told him it wasn’t noticeable, but it’s all he saw whenever he looked in the mirror. The doctor in Florida had told him he had time to settle on a medical team that fit his needs. But the doctor hadn’t specified how much time exactly. Weeks? Days?

He was a father.

A father.

He had missed five years of his child’s life.

His hand went to his throat again. If something happened before he got to know his daughter... If...

He couldn’t think that way.

Wade ducked under the pull rope hanging from the bell tower as Rhett guided him forward.

“You can let go. I’m not going to disappear.” Wade put his hands up in surrender.

“Given your history, that’s debatable.” Rhett’s voice was a gruff rumble but a raw edge of emotion was evident too. Wade hadn’t gotten to say a word to Rhett before Cassidy told his brother that he had faked his death. Had left them on purpose.

She was right. Painfully so. But there was more to it.

The door rattled as it closed behind them. Farther in, Wade stumbled into the colored light spilling through the intricate stained glass windows lining both sides of the chapel. Wade caught himself on the back of a pew and then wheeled around to face his brother.

It was time to face them all.

Face what he had done.

Own his consequences.

He had thought he was ready but after seeing Cassidy, Wade wasn’t so certain anymore.

From the news articles he had read online, Wade knew Rhett was now the owner of Red Dog Ranch. One link he found said their father had willed the ranch entirely to Rhett, naming no other heirs. Figures. As the eldest son, Rhett had been painted in the never-do-wrong light early on in Wade’s life. All the Jarretts had played their roles, actually. Rhett as the beloved eldest, Boone as the book-smart son with straight A’s and Shannon as the lively, optimistic only girl of the family. The baby girl everyone doted on. Where had that left Wade? Out in the cold, that’s where. The only role left had been the rebel, the disappointment.

A role he had filled all too well.

The large dog had seated itself in front of Rhett as if it was his brother’s bodyguard. The dog’s eyes tracked every movement Wade made, putting him on edge.

“Is that thing going to attack?” He jerked his chin to indicate the dog.

Rhett ran a hand over the dog’s head. “Kodiak’s as gentle as a lamb, unless I tell her to be otherwise.”

Not super reassuring.

Rhett had always been much bigger than him, taller with a wider shoulder span. Slightly intimidating, even when they were kids. None of that had changed in five years. If anything, Rhett was even more impressive now. Rhett’s hat was askew and his chest heaved, but Wade didn’t think it was from the exertion of charging up the hill. Rhett scowled at him, a mask of disapproval that, in Wade’s experience, every older sibling perfected early in life.

Or maybe only Wade’s siblings.

Disappointing people was Wade’s specialty, after all.

A muscle in Rhett’s jaw bunched and popped, then just as quickly Rhett’s face fell.

“First,” Rhett said, and then he crossed the distance between them so quickly Wade had no time to react. No time to block a punch Rhett would have had every right to throw after what Cassidy had revealed. But no hit came. Instead, Rhett yanked Wade into a rib-crunching hug. Wade hesitated for a second before his hands rose slowly to Rhett’s back.

Had his brother ever hugged him before? Not that he remembered.

“You’re alive. Thank God.” His brother’s whisper was rough, breath jagged. “Thank You, Lord, for protecting him. For bringing him home.”

The fact that Rhett was praying shocked Wade even more than his hug. Out of the four Jarrett siblings, Rhett and Wade had been the two who hadn’t immediately followed in their parents’ footsteps when it came to faith. Shannon and Boone had both become Christians in elementary school. A quick search online had even revealed that Boone was in seminary preparing to become a minister, a fact that hadn’t surprised Wade one bit.

But Rhett praying as he embraced him? So much had changed.

Wade buried his face into his brother’s shoulder. “You aren’t angry?”

Rhett let him go. Stepped away and ran his hand over his face. “Oh, I’m livid. You have no idea how much I want to shout at you.” Rhett paced. “But you’re here. Alive. It’s a gift. God’s given us yet another gift and I see that and I’m grateful.” He stopped and stared at Wade. “I can’t believe you’re alive. And you’re okay?”

Now’s when he should tell Rhett he had cancer.

But the words stayed stuck in his throat, right next to the lump the doctors said needed to come out. If he said it out loud, then he would have to accept it was real. He would have to deal with it and make decisions. He would have to consider what his outcomes might be. All things he had promised himself he would deal with after he returned home—after he made peace. And he would, but not on day one. Wade had only learned about it a week ago. He needed time.

Time.

There was that word again.

How much did he actually have?

Rhett was still staring at him, waiting. Kodiak flopped to the ground and let out a long yawn.

Wade nodded absently and his gaze landed on the window in the front door. He could see Cassidy out there still. She was heading down the hill, her chestnut waves bobbing with each step. Seeing her, he had forgotten to breathe, to think for a minute. He had forgotten his troubles. With her delicate features, deep brown eyes and scattered freckles, she was as beautiful as he remembered. More, in fact. The Cassidy he had left had been a nineteen-year-old girl, still growing and changing. Today’s Cassidy possessed the curves and maturity of womanhood and her fierce expression had made his mouth go dry.

Despite her initial shock, she had been confident and commanding, and he had never stopped loving her.

Never would.

He had disappeared so she could have a better life. One without the destructive person he used to be. He would have done anything for her. He had. And none of that had changed.

Good thing she was clearly done with any idea of him, because when she had first hugged him... If she had kept that up, it would have been very difficult to keep her at arm’s length emotionally. But that’s what he had to do. Wade had to focus on healing the hurt he had caused his family and focus on trying to beat his suspected thyroid cancer and both of those things were enough for any man. He wouldn’t offer his heart to Cassidy, not broken and sick as he was.

If her reaction was any indication, she would never want it again, anyway.

“Cassidy’s here.” Wade dropped down into one of the seats. He had imagined seeing his mom and most of his siblings, but whenever he had let his mind wander to the girlfriend he had left behind—which it often had—he had told himself that she was married by now or had moved on, far away from anywhere he would ever be. But here at Red Dog Ranch? The thought had never occurred to him.

Rhett crossed his arms. “Of course she’s here.”

Wade pressed his palms together, looked down, then looked up at the ceiling. “I have a kid, Rhett.” Guilt burned a hot trail down his ribs. “A daughter.”

“And she’s a really great kid, at that.” Rhett leaned against the pew a few feet away on the opposite end of the aisle. “But you had no part in raising her to be that way. Why not, Wade? I’m having a really hard time coming up with any positive reason you could have had for faking your death, but I’m all ears.”

His reasons wouldn’t appease his big brother. Besides, right now Wade was far more focused on the fact that he had a child.

“I didn’t know.” He would not have gone if he had known Cassidy was pregnant. Of that he was sure. “I give you my word, Rhett. I didn’t know.”

Rhett’s eyebrows went up. “Whether or not you knew doesn’t matter. You deserted her.” He said the words slowly, deliberately. “You opted to step out of our lives for five years and by doing so, you missed a lot. You can’t ever get those years back. And you sure don’t get to stroll in here and pretend like they didn’t happen. You don’t get to be proud of Piper when you had nothing to do with raising her.”

When Wade decided to return, he had known he would face roadblocks and consequences. He had guessed that it would take a long time to regain his family’s faith—if he was ever able to. He owned the fact that his actions had caused damage. Wade had returned because he was ready to do something about it and if he was being honest, he had also returned because he was scared and he needed his family.

But he hadn’t known the depth of what his recklessness had cost him.

Wade was a dad.

He had a child. A family of his own.

Whatever it took, he was ready and willing to prove that he wasn’t the same man who had walked away from them.

He hadn’t been there for Cassidy when she had been the one he was trying to help by leaving. She had needed him.

Although, maybe she hadn’t. Maybe no one needed Wade Jarrett.

He dropped his head and pressed his fingertips to his forehead. “This is so much worse than I thought. And that’s saying a lot.”

“We thought you drowned. They located the boat you were on. It capsized, Wade.” Rhett pushed off the pew to stand to his full height. “Was that all for show?”

“The storm came out of nowhere. Everyone had been drinking.” Ashamed of his old lifestyle, Wade looked away from his brother’s heavy gaze. His eyes landed on the cross hanging on the front wall of the chapel. The sight of it caused the tightness in his chest to ease. No matter what happened or how his family reacted, God had forgiven him. Wade knew that with as much certainty as he knew he was breathing. God had welcomed him home, into His family...even if Wade’s flesh and blood never fully did.

The only reason Wade had made it that night was because he had been appointed captain for the evening, so he hadn’t drunk as much as the rest of the party. As his buddies all drowned in the Gulf of Mexico, he had hung on to a piece of wreckage. He had tried to save them, tried to reach them, but the storm had produced gigantic waves and they had been out of sight within seconds.

“A group on a yacht pulled me out of the ocean. They saved my life. That’s where I’ve been this whole time.” He finally made eye contact with his brother. “In the Gulf. I’ve been working as a deckhand for cash and places to sleep.” Working on luxury charter boats was hard work and long hours that many people didn’t want to do. It hadn’t been difficult to find crews willing to take him on. As long as he kept his mouth shut, did whatever the guests asked and put in fourteen-hour days without complaint, they had been happy to keep him on board.

“After all that, why now?” Rhett frowned. “Why are you here?”

Because some of the best thyroid surgeons are only hours away in Houston.

Because I’m scared and I need my family.

Wade swallowed hard.

“Whenever we docked, I tried to catch up on stateside news.” Most of his last five years had been spent offshore in the Caribbean. The sights had been amazing, but after the first year he had missed the mainland. “I read about the tornado. There were articles about Red Dog Ranch. About a fund-raiser to help offset the destruction.”

“Macy’s doing.” Warmth flooded Rhett’s words. “We’re engaged, by the way. Wedding’s set for the end of the month. Nothing fancy, mind you. We’d like it to be just family.”

“Seriously?” Wade offered a tentative smile. “It’s about time.”

“Stay on topic.” Rhett moved his hand in a circular motion. “Why you’re here.”

“I dug a little deeper and that’s when I found Dad’s obituary.” Wade looked away and swallowed a few more times. He covered his mouth with his hand. “I missed the funeral.”

Rhett’s head bobbed. “You’ve missed a lot more than that. I’ll have to get you caught up on what’s going on with Mom too.”

“I want to help, Rhett. Help with the rebuild. With anything else that’s going on.” He moved his hands to encompass the ranch’s land. “I’m asking if I can stay here, work here.” If I can come home. He let out a shaky breath. “But I know it’s completely up to you.”

Rhett turned so his back was to Wade. He scooped off his hat and hooked his hand around the back of his neck, clamping down on the muscles there. He bowed his head a fraction.

“You can give me the worst tasks. Long hours.” Wade rose as nervous energy jangled through his limbs. If Rhett said no, Wade wasn’t sure what he would do. He had no backup plan. “I won’t complain.”

Rhett rolled his shoulders as he pivoted to face him. “And what do you get out of it?”

“Forgiveness, I hope,” Wade answered with gut-honesty. “I’d like an opportunity to reconcile, if that’s possible.”

“I’m saying yes.” Rhett held up a finger. “But I’m only saying it because Dad’s will was specific on the topic. It says I have to always have a job waiting for any of my siblings if the need arises.” He took a step toward Wade. “Understand, I’m not saying yes because I think this is a good idea. If it were me, I’d ease back into life here slower.” He rested his hand over his heart. “I don’t think you comprehend how much you hurt everyone and how difficult this is going to be. I respect that you need to handle this how you see fit—however, I need your word that if your presence starts ripping this family apart that you will be mature and do something to fix that.”

To leave.

Wade understood perfectly. They had been better off the last five years without him to worry about. Without the inconvenience that he always seemed to be. He would have to prove he wasn’t that troubled boy anymore. The thought stole any desire to share his health news with Rhett. He didn’t want them to see him as a burden again, not yet. Maybe not ever.

Wade closed his eyes and sucked in a long breath. Let it out. “I’ve changed a lot in five years, Rhett.”

“Good, because I would love if you proved me wrong,” Rhett said. “I really would.”

“I will.” Wade jammed his hands into his pockets. “I’m not the constant failure of a person I once was.”

“You were never a failure.” Rhett’s smile was sad. “But that’s a talk for another day.”

They had talked long enough. It was time to head down to the house. To face whomever was there. Wade’s gut clenched with anxiety but he started toward the door anyway. Kodiak groaned as she got to her feet and trailed Rhett.

Rhett held out his arm, stopping Wade’s progress. “One more thing.”

“Sure.”

“Cassidy.”

“What about her?” Wade tugged his hands from his pockets to cross his arms over his chest.

“Stay away from her.”

“Listen, I will be forever grateful that you all stepped in and took care of her for me, but she was my girlfriend and I get to—”

“Wrong.” Rhett stepped so close he was in Wade’s personal space. “She is your nothing. You don’t have the right to think about her as anything to do with you other than the mother of your child who you will respect. Understood?” His tone invited no debate. “You lost that right when you abandoned her.”

Wade straightened his spine. Cassidy and Piper were his family—a family he hadn’t known he had but now that he did, he wanted to get to know his daughter and be a part of her life in whatever way he could, and that meant dealing with Cassidy too.

He would abide by almost any rule Rhett could toss at him, but not this. However, arguing with Rhett would get him nowhere fast. Wording in the will or not, Wade knew if he angered his brother, the man could send him packing.

“You’re right,” Wade offered because it was true. “I have no claim on Cassidy.” He licked his lips. “I just... I’d like to try... I’d like to spend time with her and Piper.”

“That’ll be up to Cassidy,” Rhett said. “But keep in mind, you don’t get to have expectations about what any relationship with her will look like. Everything is on her terms—her boundaries. She does not have to let you into her life again and I wouldn’t blame her if she chose not to.”

“Agreed.” He walked beside Rhett toward the door.

Rhett clapped him on the shoulder right before they exited. “Welcome home.”