affection, and she’d never worried about someone else replacing her in the mobster’s heart.
Thinking back now, she acknowledged Cain had never shown her dark side around her, but she knew Cain was capable of violence against anyone who hurt her or the family. On long winter nights alone with just her memories, Emma sometimes had a hard time conjuring up a solid reason for leaving, but then the image of Cain’s bloody hands would return, and so would the tears. As hard as being away from Cain was, Emma was certain in her justification for leaving.
“There it is.” Emma pointed out the window of the Tahoe to a large two-story house with a barn standing near it.
The temperature was starting to drop along with the sun, and the cows standing near the fence huddled together for warmth. A man and woman stepped off the front porch when the car stopped, and like Emma, they were both fair and slight of build. The man stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Welcome. My name’s Ross and this is my wife Carol. We’re your grandparents.”
The boy, who was taller than all three of them, glanced at the hand before he took it. Ross was surprised by the strength of Hayden’s grip, and by not finding anything about his looks that connected him to his daughter.
“Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for having me.” Hayden let go of Ross’s hand and offered his to Carol. “Ma’am, I’m Hayden Casey.” He smiled and cocked his head when Carol ignored his hand. His gestures reminded Emma so much of Cain, a sharp pain shot through her chest.
Ross stepped forward, obviously hoping to make up for his wife’s rudeness. “Thank you for coming, Hayden. After watching you grow up in pictures, it’s nice to finally have you with us. Would you like to take a look around the place?”
“Daddy, he might be tired,” Emma reminded him gently.
“I’d love to, Mr. Verde. Lead the way.”
Emma and her mother watched as Ross led Hayden and Mook toward the barn, pointing his finger in a hundred different directions as he talked. Ross had been a wonderful parent, but Emma could tell now it might have been a good thing for him to have had a son as well.
“He certainly looks like that woman.” Carol glared as Ross walked the boy and his shadow closer to the barn. “If this works out, he’ll only add to our shame when you go parading him around town. I warned you long ago that going to that godforsaken city was a mistake. You bedded down with evil, and look what it’s gotten you.” She pointed in Hayden’s direction. “God won’t look kindly on you for bringing that spawn into the world. It’s a sin, I tell you.”
“Hayden was never a mistake, Mother, and he’s anything but evil. I don’t give a damn how you feel about him. I’ll never be ashamed of him, no matter what. And please try to be nicer to him. If he tells Cain we treated him like crap when she gets here, she won’t let him come back if things don’t work out. Not to mention Hayden’s not going to want to come back.”
“Don’t curse at me, Emma. Wait, she agreed to come?”
“Hayden wouldn’t come unless she was invited.”
“I don’t want her kind in my house. Though it might be nice to see that smug smile get wiped off permanently, and have her know who was responsible.” Carol turned and went back into the house.
Emma talked to herself as she buttoned her coat and followed the guys to the barn. “Enjoy it, Emma, ’cause when Cain gets here and gets reacquainted with your mother, you’ll either never see Hayden again or you’ll attend a funeral when Cain orders Merrick to shoot the old windbag.”
*
Hayden and Mook smiled through dinner, and Hayden wasn’t too concerned that no one spoke a word through dinner aside from the prayer when they had sat down. He thanked a still-unresponsive Carol for their meal before stepping outside with his cell phone to call Cain.
“Hey, kid, how are things in the sticks?” The static was so bad Hayden had to go inside and ask to use the phone, which sat in the empty living room.
“Cold and full of cows.”
“You’re in Wisconsin, Hayden. What’d you expect?”
“Where were we supposed to go this year on break?” Hayden looked out the front window as Ross closed the barn doors for the night. The older man seemed eager to please, and Hayden found himself liking him. Maybe the next two days wouldn’t drag out too much.
“I think we’d narrowed it down to Vegas for some golf.”
“You owe me, Mom.”
“I do, huh? How do you figure I owe you?”
“The way I see it is, if anyone else had been my father, I’d be swinging a golf club instead of dodging cow patties. Get me, Dad?”
His laugh made Cain feel a little better. “I get you, son, but if anyone else had been your dad, all you’d know is cow-patty dodging. See how life works?” When Cain heard him sigh from the other end, she turned off the treadmill she’d been running on.
“You never have told me why she left.”
“You’re right. I haven’t, even though you used to ask me all the time.”
Hayden turned from the window and sat on a flowered print chair near the phone. “You don’t think I can handle the truth? I didn’t stop asking because I lost interest in the answer, you know.”
“I know, Hayden. I just wanted you to form your own opinions about your mother. You may not want to hear it now, but you’ve got to have some kind of relationship with her. What that’s going to be is up to you—not me and not her, just you. Accepting the things in life we can’t change or can’t take back will make you a man. Trust me on this one, buddy.”
“Will you get mad if I ask her?” He picked at the tag on his hiking boots as he asked, and wondered for the millionth time what the answer to his question might be. This was his opportunity to ask Emma all the questions
