The smug smile faded from Merrick’s face, and she stared at Cain as if her boss had lost her mind. “Where am I going?”
“Merrick, I want you with Emma.”
“No way!”
Cain kept Emma by her side by putting her hand on her leg. “I’m only going to explain this once, and if you can’t accept it I’ll have to live with that.” Cain pointed to the chair Merrick had jumped out of when she registered her objection, clearly expectng her to sit back down. “I think you’re the best at what you do in my organization, and I need that reassurance guarding my wife when we go home.”
“Cain, I think Lou can handle taking care of Emma,” Merrick said again.
“I’ve made my decision, Merrick, and I want your answer now.” Despite their friendship, Cain didn’t like to be second-guessed by anyone who worked for her.
“My answer is yes, you know that.”
“Good. Like I said, I want Emma taken care of by the best.”
Merrick didn’t say anything else, realizing this might be a blessing after all. If she spent that much time with Emma, she could expose her for the fraud she was.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hayden was tying the laces of his running shoes when Cain stepped out on the porch early Friday morning. “Can I talk to you before you head out?”
“Sure.” He didn’t look up, still sulking from the night before when he’d learned that he’d be staying behind again. He didn’t seem very mature at this point, though he was always trying to convince Cain otherwise.
“We’re leaving later on today, and I wanted to talk to you before that.” Cain took a deep breath, and the cold air was almost painful. “I know you’re mad, and there’s nothing I can do about that, but I need you to look out for your sister while I’m gone. Even though you can’t do all the things you think you’re ready for, you’re still our next generation. If something happens to me, you’ll be responsible for keeping your mother and sister safe, and I just wanted you to know I have every faith that you’ll do a good job.”
Cain interpreted his silence as anger, and she left him to it, not wanting to push him any further than he was willing to go. She’d never forced him to do anything he didn’t feel comfortable with.
Hayden kept tying his laces, head down, though he jerked it up when the door closed.
“Mom, wait.” He caught up with her on the steps leading back to her room. “I know you think I’m too young, but I could help if you take me back. I also know you’re not going to. I’m not happy about it, but I understand. And what you asked me for outside”—he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb—“thanks for trusting me like that. And you have my word I’ll take care of Mama and Hannah. Just be careful this time, huh? No more getting shot.”
Cain stepped down and opened her arms. “Thanks, son, and I’ll try to keep my head low. You remember one more thing, okay?”
“Anything for you.”
“It seems like a long way off, but when you turn seventeen, no more leaving you behind. That’s when I started, and my father before me. Think you can hold out that long?”
“Mama isn’t going to talk you out of this, is she?”
“She made me swear if by then you’re still interested in the family business, I’d teach you everything I know.”
Just as she expected, he stepped back and offered her his hand. To shake it meant the oath she’d made would be as binding as if she’d signed it in blood. With a serious face to match his, Cain took his hand and returned the firm grip. “You have a deal.”
His smile was back. Cain knew that four years and a couple of months seemed like a lifetime, but it was a target to shoot for.
“Thanks, Mom, for giving me the chance.”
“You should know me better than that. I’m not giving you anything you haven’t worked for and deserve. Remember that when you show up on your first day.” She laughed along with him and pointed up the stairs. “Go tell your mother good-bye so she can get over her crying jag before it’s time to go.”
“She’s dressed, right?”
“Everybody’s a comedian,” Cain said.
After a cup of coffee, Cain went back upstairs and stripped off the borrowed robe. “Everything settled with the boy?”
Emma lay on her side watching Cain with a smile on her blotchy face. Hayden had just left. “Whatever you told him sure made him look happy.”
“I just gave him the timeline we talked about. He always wants to go so bad and is disappointed when I leave him, so I gave him a realistic goal. Why? He wasn’t trying to talk you into taking him, was he?”
“No, he wants me to spend every minute when we get to New Orleans keeping you safe.” As sweet as that sentiment sounded, Cain was a little disappointed that he’d thought only of her and wrinkled her forehead.
Emma ran her fingers over the frown lines. “He wanted me to watch out for you since he knew you’d spend the same amount of time and effort taking care of me. I must be moving up in the world if I’m in your league.”
“Of course you’re in my league. You’re his mother. I tried, but I never could fill that part of his life you were
