Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I’m out of my seat and across the room before he has a chance to blink. I’ve got him pinned to the wall and I’m in his face, but I see in his eyes what he’s trying to hide. He’s afraid.
I take a deep breath and let him go as I step back and really look at Kade. His clothes are a mess, there are dark circles under his eyes, and he hasn’t shaved. He looks really fucking tired and it’s not like my brother to be so stressed.
“It’s not like that,” I admit and shake my head. “I don’t know what it is, but this isn’t casual, Kade. You know I didn’t date or take random women to my bed in the States. Like we’ve always said about this island—wives not girlfriends.” I swallow hard before I say the next words. “I think she’s the one.”
As I say it out loud I know it’s true. Somehow in all my resistance I’ve fallen in love with Lula. I don’t know how I haven’t seen it before but maybe it’s because I’ve never felt like this. I would get so angry with the way she looked and walked and talked, but deep down I knew it was because none of it was for me. I wanted her to look at me, walk with me, talk to me, and the fact that she kept on ignoring me made me grouchy as hell.
“You think?” He looks surprised as his eyebrows pull together.
“I know,” I admit. “You shouldn’t be the first person to hear this, but I want you to know how serious I am. I love her, and I don’t have any intentions of letting her leave this island.”
“Damn, brother.” He walks over to his chair and falls down in it. “I did not expect that.” He runs a hand down his face and then a smile tugs at his lips. “Well, I guess that solves that problem.”
“What problem?”
“The one where I was going to kick you off the island so she would stay.” My mouth falls open and he shrugs. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Collins. Especially now that she’s pregnant.”
I take a seat beside him and lean forward on my elbows. “You know she’s going to be okay, right?”
“I’m just really worried about her.” He puts his face in his hands and I reach out and rub his neck.
“Kade, she’s going to be fine. She’s a strong woman and she’s got the best care we can provide. Not only with Lula, but there’s a medical team on this island ready and waiting along with a boat that’s gassed up and planes fueled for any emergency.” I shake my head. “If we were in the States the control would still be out of your hands. You can’t predict what’s going to happen, but if you worry about things happening the whole time, you’re going to stress Collins and the baby out.”
He looks up as if only just now realizing that. “Damn.”
“You have to be at one hundred percent so she can lean on you. Now is your time to be her rock and you can’t do that if you’re not sleeping.”
“There’s just a lot that can go wrong.” He shrugs, but I can see I’m getting through to him.
“There is, but you’re not alone.” I think about Lula and what it will be like when she’s pregnant. I know that I’ll be just as worried as Kade, but I also know he would tell me these same things. “I’m here and Vaughn will be back soon. There’s nothing we can’t do together, right?”
“Right.” He nods and lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’m just going a little crazy but I know you’re right.”
“I love it when you say that.”
“Damn, she really did a number on you.” He shakes his head and laughs.
“What?”
“I don’t know, but I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile like that.”
“Yeah, me either.” Lula makes me want to be a better man and I can’t say that’s a bad thing. “Maybe you should go in there and take a nap with your wife,” I suggest, and he nods.
“That sounds like a great idea.” He yawns and maybe now he can relax and get some sleep.
We stand up and as we walk out of his office my cell phone rings. I check it and see it’s my friend Sam from back in the States.
“You okay?” Kade asks on his way out.
“Yeah, I’m gonna take this. You go ahead.” Kade nods as he walks out and I answer the phone. “Hey man, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good, just calling back with that information you wanted me to look up.” My stomach tightens when I remember why I called him to begin with.
Sam and I go way back but we still keep in touch even though he travels a lot for the military. He does intelligence work for the feds when they need an expert and I knew he was the only one I could trust to help me out.