Once all the testosterone left the room, it seemed all the women wilted in relief, except Kresley, who missed Cade even though he was near.
“Grown ups are so weird”, Jaxson stated in a way only a child could do. talking to no one in particular. Even at six years old, he had picked up on all of the vibes earlier from the different men and women.
“Yes, they are, sweetie. Indeed, they are”, Grace stated dryly, heading over to him where she gave him a big hug and commended him on his coloring abilities. A sudden shout from the bedroom had the women raising their heads to see what could be going on.
Cade and Boomer walked out of the bedroom quickly, with a scowling Braxton moving fast on their heels. “Baby, Boomer and I have to leave for a little while and go to the PD. I promise we’ll be back soon. It won’t take us long. It’s official police business. The guys are going to stay and help finish boxing up and start loading downstairs. Here’s the keys to the moving truck. I’m sorry. It’s important.” Cade spoke between deep breaths of urgency. Kresley stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek lovingly.
“I understand Big Sexy. Go do whatever it is that needs doing and come back to me as soon as you can. Check your texts in case we’ve moved on to lunch.” With a final kiss and an I love you, Cade and Boomer headed out the door.
Braxton still stood there, looking upset, pensive and moody. Gertie walked up to him and put her hand on his arm. “Hey, everything okay Brax?”
Braxton brought his eyes down to hers and gave her a small smile and a nod, stating “yeah, it’s all good. Just anxious to see what Cade and Boomer find out. It has something to do with my brother’s death.”
Kresley stiffened at that bit of info, but didn’t ask for details. Cade would tell her all he knew once he saw her again. “Well, let’s get back to work to distract ourselves until they return.”
The rest of the packing went by quickly and soon they were standing in the living room with many boxes stacked around them. Ash, Boots and Braxton graciously took turns carrying down boxes to the moving truck that Cade had rented.
As Kresley was prepared to shuttle everyone out of the apartment and downstairs, Cade and Boomer arrived. She took one look at Cade’s face and knew something had happened. She silently asked him what was going on and without words he let her know that they would talk later. She noticed that Boomer motioned for Braxton to follow him out and down the stairs.
The apartment looked emptier and Kresley took a last look around at the place that she had lived in solitude for the last 8 years. It was a sweet, bitter feeling. But she knew where she was going would be the ultimate adventure. She looked over at Cade and found him watching her intently. She held out her hand to him, kissing his fingers when he grasped it tightly.
“Kres, are you sure this is everything? No shoes or clothes lingering? Nothing in the laundry room or bathroom?”, Cade asked, arms wrapped around her waist and his hands stroking up and down her back. He kissed her nose and looked longingly into her eyes. This was it. Her moving all of her stuff into his house, their house, was a monumental thing for him and he felt almost giddy with happiness.
“That’s all of it. I triple checked everything just in case. I can’t believe we got all of this done over here by 12:30 PM. Thank you everyone for your help. Now let’s go feed you some good food!”, Kresley stated joyfully. Cheers around the room could be heard and all of them moved towards the door. Cade held Kresley’s hand and held her back from leaving with the others.
“Kres, Boomer and I were called to the station because someone found what we think is the weapon that murdered Drake Harris. Some partial fingerprints were found on it and they’re running forensic tests on it as we speak.”
Kresley was flabbergasted at this new bit of info. “Where did they find it?”
Cade paused for a few moments, then stated with anger in his voice, “The person that found it, saw it hidden well under some trash in the alley behind here. It was buried under a good bit of cardboard collapsed boxes from that closed store a few doors down from you. I’m pissed that it wasn’t found the night of Drake’s murder. Boomer and I have already talked and Officer Sloan Smith dropped the ball on finding it, since he was canvasing that part of the alley.”
“Well, I’m just glad they found it. Maybe it will lead the way to the person responsible and we can all breathe a sigh of relief soon”, Kresley rested her head on Cade’s chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt his arms come up and hug her tight.
“I hope so, Kres. I hope so. I want this done. Closed. So I can move on with you to more beautiful things without this cloud hanging over us.” Cade gave a small kiss to the top of her head and gently ushered her to the stairs. Cade closed the apartment door gently, with a finality to Kres that as one door closed on her past, one was about to open at their home, well, new home to her. One that included the man of her dreams, the one that put a smile on her face, love in heart, and many plans in her head for what was ahead. Life was good.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wedding day began beautifully. The weather was perfect, sunny and breezy. Kresley had spent the night at Francie’s house, honoring the tradition of the bride
