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“You’re home early,” she comments, turning her head so I have access to her lips. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“What can I say? I was anxious to get back to you.”
A smile spreads across her face as she looks over her shoulder at me. “It’s amazing how you always know what to say to make my stomach flutter.”
My lips twitch with amusement as I lift my brow. “You aren’t used to it by now?”
Her laughter is light and full of happiness. “I’ll never get used to it.”
Resting my chin on her shoulder, I look down at the dough on the counter. “What cookies are you making?”
“Do you have to ask? Do I ever make anything other than your favorite? It’s a good thing I also love Snickerdoodles.”
I chuckle. “And it’s a good thing I like to share.”
That earns me a giggle. The contrast of the Cat from last night to the Cat today still amazes me. There’s not a hint of stress from the night before visible on her face. It’s as if the incident never happened at all.
I adore all sides of Cat, but the playful side holds a special place in my heart. It reminds me of our younger days, before darkness touched our lives.
Seeing a cooling rack with baked cookies on top, I grab one. I lift it to Cat’s mouth first, then pop what’s left in mine. I moan at the delicious sugary cinnamon taste. Cat’s snickerdoodles rival those of professional bakers.
“Our reservation is in a couple of hours,” I tell her. “Is this the last batch?”
“Yes. I’ll be done in about fifteen minutes.”
“Meet me in the shower?”
She wiggles her ass against my cock, which quickly begins filling with blood. “You betcha.”
Grabbing her chin, I turn her head enough so I can steal a kiss before I let her go with a light smack on her butt.
I leave her laughing in the kitchen and head upstairs. Rather than going straight to the shower, I move to the closet and pull out the lock box shoved to the back on the floor. After punching in the code, I lift the lid. When I see the white envelope on top, my jaw clenches painfully. My anger isn’t due to Cat hiding the letter. It’s solely focused on what the envelope represents and the reason it was sent.
I pull the envelope from the box, close the lid, and shove it back before walking out of the closet. Snatching the paper out, I unfold it. My blood boils with every word I read. I knew Henry’s lawyer has been trying to get his client released on the technicality, but I didn’t expect it to actually work. I’d love to get my hands around the neck of the asshole who fucked up the DNA test and squeeze until I see the life fade from their eyes.
Henry Stephens, Terry Fletcher, and Howard Leeway, all sixteen at the time, wore masks the night they broke into my house and terrorized my family. After murdering my children and leaving my wife for dead, the boys exited my home and went on their merry fucking way. By pure luck, Jimmy Simons, a homeless man digging through trash in the neighborhood at the time, witnessed the three teens leaving the house. After seeing blood on their clothing, he decided to investigate. That man saved my wife’s life. While I can never thank him enough, I started by getting him an apartment, paying his bills for the first three months, and assisting him with finding a job. To this day, I visit him regularly and he comes by the house often. Cat’s met him as her rescuer. However, when she started repressing her memories when they became too much for her mind to cope with, he became just a guy I met and became friends with.
I shove the paper back into the envelope and stuff it in a banker’s box under the bed.
God help Henry if he ever comes back to town. He and the other two fucks who decimated my family were safe only because of the prison bars they were put behind. Now that one is free, there won’t be an inch of him that’s recognizable once I get my hands on him.
ChapterSixteen
Caterina
Ican’t contain my smile as Hunter leads me, with my hand in his, from the SUV to our spot close to the lake’s edge. Willow Lake will always hold a special place in my heart. It was here that I gave myself to him for the first time and where he proposed to me two months later.
The moon shines brightly above us, so we aren’t in complete darkness. The added reflection on the lake helps as we approach the blanket already set out on the ground with a small cooler nearby.
My heart pitter patters in my chest as I take in the set up.
I turn to Hunter. “If you were with me all night, how did you set this up?”
His lips quirk into a smirk. “I had help from Silas and Katie.”
“You seem to think you’re getting lucky tonight.” We stop at the edge of the blanket. “Sure are confident of yourself, aren’t you, Mr. St. James?”
“You planning to say no?” He drops to his knees in front of me and pulls off my shoes one at a time, his head tilted back to keep his eyes on me.
