truthfully, or do we just dance around the issue?”
“I don’t want to do this, Hayden.”
“Christ, just answer the question. Why did you leave? What’s hard about that?”
“I don’t want to change how you feel about Cain just because you’re curious. It’s hard because by telling you what she’s capable of, that’s what’s going to happen.”
“She’s at least willing to take that chance. Why can’t you?”
The question should have sent up a warning flare in Emma’s brain, but her anger at Cain clouded her judgment. Hayden’s reaction to the truth of her departure might be what she needed to win him over. “I don’t see her out here answering any questions.”
“She didn’t abandon me. You did. Now I want to know why.”
Emma glued her eyes to the ground and kept walking. Moving would make the tale easier to tell. “A little before I left, Cain and I hosted a party for your aunt Marie.”
“I remember. We’ve been over this part already.”
“The first time you asked me, I did tell you about the attempted rape Cain saved me from, but I changed the ending. I asked her not to hurt the guy too badly, but she went a lot further than that. She killed that guy for touching her property. He lost his life for something he almost did.”
Hayden stopped and felt shocked. Cain was harsh when warranted, but she rarely lost control and made such stupid mistakes. “She told you she killed him?”
“She lied to me to cover for herself, but I found out later what she had done.”
“Who was it?”
“What does it matter now, Hayden? It’s done, but it doesn’t change how she feels about you.”
“Just answer me, and let me worry about how I feel about my mother.”
“All right, but I found who it was the most disturbing since he was part of her family.”
The cold weather intensified as he felt the blood drain from his face. “Who was it?” asked Hayden through clenched teeth.
“Cain’s cousin, Danny Baxter.”
He stumbled when Emma said the name, certain he had heard wrong. “Impossible.” He felt her arms come around him, but he was too confused to care.
“It’s hard to believe, I know, and maybe now you’ll understand why I had to leave. My greatest regret, or should I say biggest mistake, was you, Hayden. I should’ve fought harder to keep you with me.”
“You’re lying, it couldn’t have been Danny.” He pushed Emma off him and looked like he was about to bolt.
“I’m telling you the truth, son.”
“You’re the one who begged her for Danny’s life?”
The warning bells finally went off in Emma’s head. Hayden couldn’t possibly remember the man who had come so close to violating her, and Cain had admitted she hadn’t answered Hayden’s questions. His question was totally out of context to what they were talking about. “How do you know Danny?”
“I asked you a question first.”
The anger, the straight body, the ice in his eyes and voice—it was all Cain she was looking at. What Emma didn’t realize was that she was standing on a cliff of her own making, and by encouraging her to tell Hayden the truth, Cain was about to push her off.
“I asked her, yes, but she didn’t listen to me.”
“She listened to you, all right. It’s your fault she’s dead, and I never want to see you again. I hate you!” Hayden screamed the last part so loudly the people in the yard heard a faint echo despite the distance. He ran back as fast as he could manage through the tears, his lungs burning from the cold air.
Cain was waiting for him, and he lunged into her arms. As upset as he was, he felt better when he realized that Cain wore her usual suit and cashmere long black coat instead of jeans and boots. He wouldn’t have to stay here any longer.
“Let it out, Hayden. It’s all right. I’ve got you.” Cain just held him until the tears subsided.
“Why, Mom?”
“It was a mistake.” She shook her head when he began to blame Emma. “My mistake, and mine alone. I have to live with the lesson that sometimes you have to choose the hard road, because in the end it’ll get you where you need to be that much quicker. I chose with my heart because it was easier and it cost me, so it’s my mistake, not hers.”
“I want to leave.”
“Go help the guys pack up. We’re going home.”
Cain sent him off knowing it wasn’t the end of their talk, but they would have to wait for a less public area to rehash it. Kyle had access to her business here, but her personal life and her relationship with her son were off limits. She started walking to intercept Emma, now that she was prepared to finish their talk.
“Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” Emma accused when she stopped in front of Cain, gasping for air.
“What truth is that?” She pointed her finger at Emma, almost poking her in the mouth. “The truth you spun for yourself to get you through the days?”
