AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Trevor furrowed his brows. “What?”
Marissa smiled with a short shrug. “I do. I feel bad she missed out on you. She doesn’t get you in her life and watch you become the amazing person I see in front of me. If you’re giving me the go ahead, I’ll be happy to nag the hell outta ya.”
Caden stepped forward, making himself known. Both his son and woman glanced up smiling. His family.
“Hey.” Marissa smiled.
Trevor moved through the small kitchen. “Hey, Dad. I’m gonna go get Pop for dinner.” He skittered his way out of the room.
Caden stalked over to Marissa. She never even saw it coming, but he couldn’t stop himself. He grasped her neck and pulled her against his chest. The kiss was deep and passionate and had her responding with her hands wrapping around his waist.
“What was that for?” She smiled through her hazy stare.
He leaned down and kissed her lips again. “For being a good mom to my kid.”
“Cade,” she whispered.
“Shhhhh…” He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Better than any woman he’s had in his life. You’re giving him something I can’t.”
Caden had done right by his son, loved him, been good to him, taught him to be a man. But Marissa was giving Trevor something Caden couldn’t. She was giving him a mother’s love.
Chapter Twenty
She sat crossed-legged on the couch with Caden’s company invoices stacked in a pile next to her. She had become the official filer for Caden. She sifted through a few papers and organized them into sections. It wasn’t rocket science, but it gave her purpose and some cash in her pocket. Although she resisted, Caden insisted on paying her for the work she started doing around the office.
“You work for me, ya get paid. That’s how it works,” he said. She argued it was her way of helping while she lived with him rent free. He didn’t like that answer.
“You do more shit around this place than any of us. Besides, this is your home now with us. You don’t have to earn a keep. You wanna work at the shop, I pay.”
With her first paycheck, she blew it all on groceries. Another thing Caden didn’t approve of, though he didn’t bitch when she told him. “It’s my money, right? I can do what I please with it.”
In the last month, she had settled into her life with Caden. And Trevor and Jack. Some days were better than others. With Jack’s episodes, it took its toll on Caden and Trevor, but Marissa found her place and became his go-to person, which she secretly loved. As Colleen, of course. It felt good to be needed. It had been so long. And it felt equally good to be cared for.
A week ago, Caden had come home with Jack from a doctor’s appointment. As they made their way upstairs, Caden dropped a card on the table, making brief eye contact with her. He hadn’t said a word and went upstairs to get his dad settled. Marissa walked over to the table and picked it up.
Martin Decker, Grief Counselor
Her heart tripped, and she stared at the card a long while. When Caden emerged from the stairs, he stopped in the doorway.
“The doctor gave me the card.”
“How did he know? Jack talked about it?”
Caden averted his eyes to the floor and gave a sharp jerk of his head. “I asked him if he knew of someone you could talk to.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed up. “If you want, you don’t have to go. Just thought, if you need to talk to someone, maybe who could give you advice or help you in a way I can’t…” He shrugged. “It’s up to you, but I got the card in case you wanted to.” He dug into his back pocket and pulled out a flyer, unfolded it, and handed it to her.
“This is local, some support group meeting they do down at the community center. It’s a general support group, no specifics, but the doctor said he knows a few patients who attend, and they enjoy it. You can share or just listen. Maybe we check it out one night?”
He surveyed her in a way that had her thinking he was gauging her reaction. She smiled, grabbed the card, and put it in her pocket. She walked over, tangled her hands around his waist, and rested her chin on his chest. “Thank you.”
He kissed her forehead and held her close. “You’re welcome.”
She had her reservations on doing one-on-one therapy but figured the support group sounded kind of interesting. There, she could just listen, and if and when she was ready, share on her terms.
Although no one pushed about Carly, she knew they didn’t want Marissa to keep her hidden. Caden didn’t push, none of them did, but they did ask. Of all the men in her life, his dad was the most forward. Jack insisted on seeing a picture. It was harder than she thought showing him, but she did. It took everything she had to stare down over his shoulder as she held it in her shaking hand. Jack swiped it from her and leaned closer, almost examining it.
“A beauty, your little one,” he whispered and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, tugging her tightly into his ribs. He kissed her temple. “Just like her momma. You make pretty babies, Coll.”
Marissa chuckled. A month later and she was still Colleen. Where was the harm? If it made Jack better, then she could feign a former club whore.
