A Kiss for Cade Read online

  “Appears to me that it’s already done. That man had a lot of gall.”

  “I can’t let Perry pay off my debts.”

  “Well, the man certainly knows how to give a wedding present. You gotta hand it to him. One other thing you should know. Roy had business in Suffox County yesterday. While he was there, he told Lawrence that he heard several men talking about Hart McGill.”

  At the mention of McGill, Zoe went cold. “McGill’s in Suffox County?”

  Gracie nodded.

  “Is Roy sure?”

  “He says McGill is bragging how he’s coming after—well, just bragging. You know how men are.”

  “Thank you, Gracie.” Zoe shut the door and returned to the kitchen, where she found Cade ironing. Glancing up from the board, he grinned and gestured toward an overflowing basket. “There was such a pile, I thought I’d help.”

  She wanted to cry when he held up Brody’s best Sunday shirt with a scorched iron imprint on the side. Guilt flashed across his face. “I’m not very good at this—”

  She was so overcome with gratitude, with love, that it took a moment before she found her voice. “This is the worst day of my life!” She burst into tears.

  “Hey—I’m ironing, not printing money—”

  “Gracie just told me that Lawrence said that Roy heard McGill is in Suffox County.”

  The silence was deafening. Stepping to the window, Cade pulled the curtain aside and looked out. “Is he sure?”

  She nodded, choking on a sob. “McGill’s…here.” A moment later she felt his arms slide around her waist and pull her against him.

  He buried his face in her hair, his warm breath brushing her temples. “We knew this was possible.”

  “No,” she whispered. “It’s too soon.”

  He held her tightly and let her cry it out. When her sobs subsided, he helped her wipe her eyes.

  “Better?” he asked.

  She shook her head. She would never be better, not as long as McGill threatened him. “And as if that weren’t enough, Perry’s lost his mind.”

  “Really?” Cade wiped his hands on a cloth. “How so?”

  “He paid off my bank debt.’“

  Cade crossed his arms and leaned back against the table. “He paid off the loan?”

  “Apparently.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  Was that jealousy in his voice? Her heart thumped at the thought. “Naturally, I can’t accept it.”

  “Why not?”

  Zoe took the cloth from him and wiped jelly off the kitchen table. “Would you want me to accept a gift of that magnitude from Perry Drake?”

  “Why not? What difference does it make who paid the bill? You’re out of debt, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but that isn’t the point. I don’t think Perry can comfortably afford this, and I frankly don’t want to feel obligated to him when—” She paused.

  “When what?”

  She took a deep breath. “When you’re gone. I don’t want him to think I would—”

  “Marry him?”

  She turned, eyeing him sourly. “This is not funny.”

  He leaned over and whispered, “You’re too much woman for Perry Drake. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take the windfall and run.”

  “I wouldn’t think of it. I don’t have feelings for Perry Drake. I never have, and I never will.” She rinsed a cup. “What are we going to do about McGill?”

  “Forget McGill. I’m leaving at first light. He won’t find me, and Pop will tell him that his information is stale.”

  “But he—“

  He caught her by the waist and kissed her. Hard. “I said, forget McGill. Now pack some clothes for you and the kids. You’re leaving when I do.”

  Hope sprang alive. “You’re taking us with you?”

  “I said when I do. Not with me.”

  Chapter Fifty

  A rooster strutted through the barn, lifted his beak, and crowed at the rising sun that shone through cracks in the door. Cade looped the girth under Maddy, kneeing her sharply when the horse puffed her belly. “Don’t give me any trouble, girl. I’ve got enough woman problems.” Cinching the strap tight, he then stepped back and smacked the horse on its flanks. “Just because you got a pretty face, don’t think you can work me.”

  Zoe entered the barn holding a cup of steaming hot coffee. She’d helped herself to a pound from the store. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed Cade good morning.

  “A kiss for me,” he teased.

  “A kiss for Cade.” Their eyes held for a moment.

  “I love you, Red. Don’t ever forget it.” He glanced up as Pop tottered into the barn.

  “There you are, Cade—oh, mornin’, Zoe. You’re out and about early today.”

  Cade draped his arm around Zoe’s waist. “I’ll be in to say goodbye in a few minutes.”

  She nodded and kissed him again before slipping around Pop and out the door.

  Grabbing Maddy’s reins, he led the animal out of the barn. Pop trailed behind him.

  “Guess you heard the news?” Pop asked.

  “How long have you known McGill was getting close?”

  “Not long.”

  A muscle in Cade’s jaw worked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Pop caught up, latching onto his shirtsleeve. “Hold up. We need to talk.”

  Shrugging Pop’s hand away, Cade grabbed Maddy’s bridle and swung aboard. “Too late for talk.”

  Pop hurried to keep pace on his crutches. “No use getting bent out of shape, Cade. I didn’t tell ya because I knew the town had ya covered.”

  Cade reined up. “The town what?”

  Pop paused to catch his breath. “I said, the town has ya covered. No one’s gonna let McGill get ya.”

  Cade’s features hardened. “I take care of my own back.”

  “That might be, but now you got a little help.”

  Dismounting, Cade looped the reins around the hitching post, and then he lifted his hat and settled it low on his forehead.

  Pop met his even gaze “You haven’t noticed the guns the townspeople been totin’?”

  “I’ve noticed. I guess they have a right to carry guns if they want.”

  “They’re protectin’ ya!”

  “Me?”

  Pop nodded. “We took a vote, and it was unanimous in your favor.”

  “Why in the world would the town think they’d need to protect me?”

  “Because…” The elderly man paused, glancing toward the store entrance. “We figure it was the least we could do, seeing as how we forced you to marry Zoe.”

  Shaking his head, Cade smiled. “No one’s forced me to do anything. I’m not a fool. Go over to GloriLee’s and get your breakfast. She’ll be taking biscuits out of the oven about now.”

  “Okay, bury your head in the sand like a dadburned ostrich, but it’s the truth!” Pop shook a crutch at him. “If it weren’t for the town, you wouldn’t be ridin’ outta here today, confident your nieces and nephews have a good home.”

  Pausing on the lower step, Cade braced his hand on one of the porch posts. “All right. What’s this all about?”

  “You ready to listen?”

  “Depends on what you have to say.”

  “When we, the town, realized that you and Zoe couldn’t do anything except butt heads, we decided to take matters into our own hands. John and Addy’s kids were likely to suffer if we didn’t do something, so we called a town meeting and decided we had to get you and Zoe together or the kids would go to Laticia.”

  “The kids are my responsibility.”

  “A responsibility you weren’t living up to.”

  “Pop, you’re talking crazy. You, or the town, didn’t have a thing to do with me marrying Red. I’ve loved that woman most of my life.”

  “You think not? Who locked you in the jail?”

  “Zoe came up with the marriage idea.”

  Pop shook his head, his tongue pushing out his lower lip.
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  “She—”

  “Suggested it,” Pop interrupted, “like we knew she would. Or like we hoped you would, if you two ever stopped hagglin’ long enough.”

  Cade shook his head. “Did Zoe know anything about this so-called plan?”

  “Not a thing. She’d have never gone along with it if she had.”

  Slapping the post, Cade stepped up onto the mercantile porch.

  “No use doing something foolish,” Pop warned. “What’s done is done. The kids are where they belong, and there’s no reason you can’t stay around and be a husband to Zoe and a pa to those children. Let McGill come after you. Bring this thing to a head and get it over with. The town’s willing to stand and fight beside you. What more could you want?”

  “I’m leaving, Pop. I’m saying goodbye to the kids and Red, and I’m going.”

  “Don’t be a fool. There’s nothing out there for you.” Pop limped up the steps, trying to block Cade’s path to the inside. The old man’s faded blue eyes pinned him with a long, silent scrutiny. “Listen to me. You’re like my own boy. Give it up, son. The good Lord’s provided everything you ever wanted right here. Reach out and take it. Take what you’ve wanted ever since you rode out of here fifteen years ago. Are you blind? Your sister’s giving you another chance. Don’t be a fool and let it pass.”

  Cade reached for the door handle. Pop rapped his hand with a crutch.

  “Listen to me. Stay here and fight McGill. When it’s over, you’ll have Zoe and the kids. You ain’t lived no life that cain’t be changed with a little effort.”

  Cade’s shoulders slumped as the weight of Pop’s words washed over him. “I wish it was that easy, Pop.”

  “It is that easy. You’re the one making it hard, you stubborn fool. Is it the money?”

  “Not solely.”

  “Then stay. Until a man finds his purpose, he’s never goin’ to be happy. Isn’t that what Reverend Munson says? You’ve found your purpose; now stay with it.”

  Cade nudged him aside and reached for the door handle.

  “Listen to me, knucklehead! If you was my boy, I’d turn you over my knee, no matter how big you are. Maybe you’ve found your purpose, and you’re just not man enough to recognize it!”

  Cade entered the store and slammed the screen door behind him.

  Zoe peeked from the kitchen when the noise made her drop a skillet. “Cade?”

  “Get the kids up.”

  “What? What’s the—”

  “Get the kids up, Red. I haven’t got time to argue. I want to tell them goodbye.”

  The look in her eyes cut him to the bone. His one regret was that she would never forgive him.

  “God forgive me,” he mumbled as he grabbed a handful of jerky and tossed it into a knapsack. He walked through the store, stuffing other dried and nonperishable food into the bag.

  He glanced up a moment later to find four tousled-haired children watching him pack.

  Missy’s lower lip jutted out. “What’s wong, Uncle Cade? Are you mad ’bout something?”

  “I’m not mad, Sunflower. Something’s come up and I have to leave.” The little girl’s eyes followed him as he moved about the store.

  Zoe reached out and drew Brody close. Cade refused to look at them. He’d never thought leaving them would be this hard. Sure, Pop. Stick around, raise the kids, be a husband. Easy to say, hard to do after the life I’ve lived.

  Stay, and McGill would always hold the winning hand. Even if he outdrew the thug, there were more brothers, more kin, looking to settle the score. Pop accused him of not being man enough to stay, but he was man enough to walk out and give Red and the kids a chance at a normal life.

  “Don’t go away, Uncle Cade.” Brody’s lower lip trembled. “You ain’t taught me how to shoot a pistol yet.”

  “Sorry, son.” Cade turned his back. “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to.”

  Missy started to cry, holding on to Zoe’s skirt. Holly reached over and took her sister’s hand. “Don’t cry, Missy.”

  “Uncle Cade is leaving,” she sobbed. “I don’t want him to leave.” Missy’s tear-rimmed eyes implored Zoe. “Make him stay, Zoe. Make him stay!”

  Zoe drew the child closer, quietly soothing her.

  “Are you tired of being a pa already?” Will asked. His grave eyes fixed on Cade. “We could be better.”

  Cade closed his eyes. The boy’s words tore at his heart as badly as Zoe’s silence. Leaving was the most difficult, painful thing he’d ever done.

  Zoe left the children and came to be by his side. “You’ll need sugar and coffee.” She reached for the items, helping him sack them. Their eyes met and darted away. As she edged past him, she laid her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll need warm clothing. It’ll be getting cold soon. I’ll pack a few of Jim’s things.”

  The knot in his throat tightened. “I don’t want your husband’s clothes.”

  “Don’t be foolish, Cade. It’s good, warm clothing. Jim would want you to have them.” She disappeared into the back rooms. The children hadn’t moved from the doorway.

  “You’re really going.” Brody stared at him.

  “Yes, son.” Cade wanted to take the boy in his arms and tell him the truth. Ten was old enough to understand that life didn’t necessarily deal from the top of the deck, and there were worse things than being a coward. A coward could be tempted to stay and subject his family to his enemies, but a man ran hard and fast to protect the ones he loved.

  “It ain’t fair!”

  “Brody, don’t raise your voice to your Uncle Pa,” Cade warned.

  “I hate you! You shoulda never come back. Ma said you’d stay. She said once you got here, you’d love us enough to stay and keep us. She said you’d marry Zoe ’cause you was always sweet on her, but Ma lied! You ain’t gonna stay. You’re gonna run away and never come back, just like you always do!”

  Brody’s words cut deep. Addy promised innocent children that he’d come back for good? Why would she do that? Why? He knew why. She could read him like a book. Pop was right. She was giving him a way back, but she’d failed to take his life into consideration. He wasn’t the callow youth who’d ridden out of here looking for adventure. He’d found a bushel basket of it, enough to sicken him. He’d gone at life like a kid eating too many green apples because no one was there to stop him. Now he was paying the price.

  Oh, Addy. Why did you promise something I can’t give? Don’t you think I would stay if I could? Don’t you think I know you loved me enough to give Red back to me? Don’t you know how it hurts?

  The front door slammed shut, and he glanced up to see that Brody was gone. “Brody!”

  “I’m going with my brother!” Will shouted. “We don’t want to live here anymore! You’re mean!” He raced out the door before Cade could get around the counter.

  Missy dashed after them. He reached out and snagged the hem of her nightgown. “Zoe!”

  Zoe appeared in the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

  “The kids are running off.”

  “Maybe I’ll go with them.”

  He glanced at Missy, who was kicking and squirming on the floor. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m having a big ol’ fit so you won’t go!”

  Leaving the girls to Zoe, he walked to the door and jerked it open. “I’m going after Brody and Will.”

  “Cade,” Zoe called, running after him. “You have to go now. I’ll go after the boys.” She paused in the doorway, her eyes begging him. “Go on. I’ll go after them.”

  He reached out, touching her lips with his finger. “I can’t go knowing there’s a couple of little boys out there crying their hearts out, thinking I don’t give a darn about them.”

  Her eyes pleaded with him. “Hart McGill is a county away. I thought we agreed the children’s safety came first.”

  “That was before I knew what an Uncle Pa was.”

  She caught him close. “I can’t keep up this facade.
It’s tearing me apart to let you go,” she whispered.

  Drawing her to him tightly, he rocked her in his arms. “Say it,” he whispered harshly.

  “I can’t—”

  “Say it, Red.”

  “I love you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. “I love you.”

  Kissing her roughly, he then set her aside. “Fix breakfast. I’m going after our boys.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Cade crouched beside the trunk of a hickory, watching the boys. Overhead, a songbird trilled to its nearby mate.

  Brody and Will were on their knees at their parents’ graveside. Dirty tear-streaks smudged their faces and, as usual, Will’s nose needed wiping.

  Rising, Cade walked over and handed the boy a handkerchief. “Blow hard.”

  Will jerked away, swiping his sleeve across his nose. “Don’t have to do nothin’ you say. You don’t care ’bout us anymore.”

  Cade knelt between the two boys. Brody jumped up and ran to his grandparents’ tombstone. “Look,” Cade said, “I don’t want you to think I don’t care about you. I do. A lot. Now come on. Let’s go back home. Zoe’s worried.”

  Brody kicked a clump of dirt. “Why should we do what you say? You’re not our pa. Our pa is there.” He pointed to the fresh mound of dirt that held his father’s remains.

  Will sat back on his haunches. “We come to say goodbye to Ma and Pa. Then me and Brody’s gonna be bounty hunters. We’re going to shoot people, just like you.”

  Cade looked away. Bounty hunters. When had he ever encouraged that? “And where do you plan to do this bounty-hunting?”

  “Wherever you do,” Will answered.

  “And how do you plan on getting to where I go? On foot?”

  “Brody knows the way. He knows lots of stuff.”

  Cade glanced at Brody, who was staring at his bare feet. “That right, Brody? You going with Will? In your nightshirt?”

  Brody refused to look at him. “What do you care?”

  “Well, you may not believe it, but I do care. I can see why you’d be mad at me, but why Zoe? Do you want to hurt her?”

  “You did,” Brody spat out. “Ma said you hurt her real bad once.”

  “Yeah,” Will agreed. “But she said the good in you would come through someday, and you’d come back and make it up to her.”