Chapter 8

"What kind of name is Cricket?" I giggle at the man who seems close to my age, if only a few years older. He has a jubilant smile that infuses me with a warm, brotherly feeling like the one I share with Jimmy.

He looks over his shoulder and takes a step back from me, turning a lazy smile my way. "I chirp when I eat, so my Ma named me Cricket."

"Chirp?"

"You know, like some people hum when they eat. I make a chirping noise when I'm enjoying a meal."

A man almost as big as Kade walks up and offers me his hand. "I'm Erick. We met last night."

I barely made eye contact with either man when I sat in the tub, but I accept his hand. "My name is Dinah. You helped rescue Jimmy, right?"

I ask it as a question, but I already know the answer.

"We both did." He motions to Cricket and takes a step back when Kade approaches with a soft-sided cooler. "I hear you're on your way to the hospital now?"

"Yes."

"Give Jimmy our best," Cricket says.

Tears come to my eyes as I look each man in the face, gratitude infusing my soul. "Thank you for everything. We'll never be able to repay you for the kindness you've shown us."

"It's not kindness, but simple human decency. Besides, we take care of our own." He says the same thing Nan said to me earlier and exchanges a look with Kade, who nods as his response.

"Are you ready to go?" Kade asks, his arm swinging out to motion to the door and truck beyond.

I step into his chest and press my face to his shirt needing another hug, instinctively inhaling his scent. "You smell good again."

Erick and Cricket chuckle. "You are the only person who will ever think that."

"You don't think he smells good?" I pull back in surprise.

Both men scrunch up their noses and shake their heads. "No."

"Bite me." Kade rolls his eyes and wraps his free arm around me. "Come on, Honeysuckle, let's hit the road. I'll see you guys later."

"Tonight, Kade. Don't forget."

He sighs. "I won't."

"What's tonight?" I ask when Kade pulls onto the highway.

"It's the full moon party. We host one every month and I have responsibilities."

"Oh." I bite my lip and stare out the window. I've gotten comfortable quickly, and perhaps that was a mistake. I spent last night in the bed of a strange man, albeit one I felt safe with. This morning I did things with him—intimate and previously forbidden things—that felt natural and so, so good. But what happens tomorrow? What happens when Jimmy gets out of the hospital? Kade had a life before I broke into his cabin yesterday, and one morning of lusty exploration doesn't negate that. Should I be thinking about how to take care of myself sooner rather than later?

Kade slides his hand on my thigh and flexes his fingers to grab my attention. "What are you thinking about?"

"Well… Jimmy and I came here with two backpacks full of clothes and a couple hundred dollars, all of which is now gone. A ranch hand job was perfect because it provided food and housing in exchange for labor. What am I going to do without money?"

"You'll stay with me."

"That's very kind, but for how long?" I place my hand on top of his and lean my cheek against his arm. "You have a life. Friends, family, presumably a woman who knows how to touch and please you."

He groans. "Sweet Fates. There is so much we need to talk about Dinah, but for now I need you to understand that you are my only priority. You are my friend, my family, and the only woman who pleases me. I don't want you to worry about where you're going to live. You're welcome to be with me for as long as you want, and hopefully longer."

"What about when Jimmy gets out of the hospital?"

Kade sighs. "Jimmy will be protected and provided for whether he stays with us in my cabin or nearby with a friend like Erick. I won't let anything happen to him, just like I won't let anything happen to you."

I lift my head to look at him. "But why?"

Kade looks back at me with golden eyes that shine with unshed tears. "Don't you understand, Dinah? You're mine, and I'm yours, and I will do anything for you to choose me."

I don't know how to reply to that and Kade doesn't seem to require an answer. Instead, he turns on the radio to music I've never heard. We drive in silence, Kade's fingers drumming to the beat against the steering wheel for a half-hour while my belly grumbles with each passing mile. His words cycle through my brain on repeat, his sincerity hitting me in the heart in a way that confuses me. Is this how men and women are in the real world? Do they always know exactly who and what they want? It feels amazing to have someone so sure about me, but how can I trust his feelings are real?

Kade abruptly pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant with the sign Silver Fox Diner hanging over the top. "You need to eat. I should have fed you this morning, but I wasn't thinking."

"Are you hungry?"

"Ravenous." He leans over and presses a kiss to my temple. "Have you ever eaten at a diner before?"

I shake my head.

"You're in for a treat. I know the owners and they have excellent food."

Once again, Kade lifts me out of the truck, and we walk into the diner with my hand in his. We find a booth and I scoot across the vinyl seat to the end so Kade can sit next to me.

A waitress comes up and sets two menus down. "Hey Kade. What brings you this way?"

"We're visiting a friend in the hospital."

"Oh." The waitress smiles down at me. "I'm Lucille."

"Hi, I'm Dinah."

"Nice to meet you. Do you know what you'd like to drink?"

Excitement fills my belly as I think about the one thing Jimmy and I said we were going to drink as soon as we got away from the Family. "I'd like a cup of coffee, please."

"Cream and sugar?" Lucille asks.

I glance at Kade who seems to understand my dilemma. "Both. And a cup for me too."

"You got it."

He grins. "Will this be your first taste of coffee?"

"Yes."

"And was last night your first taste of hot tea?"

I bite my lip. "No. I snuck them at the house I cleaned. She didn't drink coffee, so I took what I could get. She seemed to enjoy corrupting me."

Kade slides his hand between my thighs. "I enjoy corrupting you too."

I mimic him, placing my hand high on his thigh. "Corrupting or teaching?"

His eyes flash gold and then settle back to his normal dark brown. "Both, Honeysuckle."

"Why do you call me honeysuckle?"

"Because that's what you smell like to me. Fresh, sweet honeysuckle straight off the vine."

I lift my forearm to my nose and sniff it. "I don't smell anything."

"You wouldn't because that scent belongs to me."

Lucille places two hot mugs on the table before I can ask him what he means. "Do you know what you want to eat?"

"Give us two specials, one scrambled with gravy, the other with eggs over easy. And make one with pancakes and the other with toast," Kade says without asking me.

"Coming right up."

He removes his hand from between my thighs and slides a cup in front of me. "Take a sip. If it's too bitter, we'll dress it up."

I take a tentative sip, the bitter, hot liquid burning the tip of my tongue. "Ewww. People obsess over this?"

Chuckling, he pulls it back and offers me his cup that has cream and sugar in it. "Try this."

One sip and the heavenly elixir makes my taste buds dance. "Oh, now I understand the obsession."

"Like the tea last night, cream and sugar make everything better." He fixes the second mug and takes a drink from it.

"This is nice. Thank you." I smile from behind my mug.

Kade uses his fingers to brush back a loose strand of hair from my face. "How are you feeling about seeing Jimmy in an hour?"

"Nervous. I mean, I'm unbelievably thankful he is okay, and I want to hug him and tell him I love him, but seeing him in pain will break my heart." I set my mug down and stare at the table with its chipped corners and scratched top. "As kids, when we broke a rule, we were disciplined by whatever elder was closest. Once they gave me to Jimmy, as my husband, they expected him to administer any punishments the elders felt I'd earned."

"He beat you?" Kade nearly growls, his hands clenched into fists.

I shake my head. "No. He couldn't do it, and the elders made an example of him by beating him ten times worse than he should have beaten me. Then they sent him home, and I had to tend the wounds for the next week. He was in so much pain, but he said it was worth it to keep me safe. Then he said we were getting out of there, and I promised I would stop acting out so we could make a break for it. Jimmy was willing to die at the ranch to save me, and so while I want to see him, I also don't want to see him. Does that make sense?"

"It does." Kade licks his lips and looks out the window. "I'm not going to lie, he's going to look pretty bad based on some of the injuries he sustained, but I promise he'll heal and you both have full lives ahead of you."

Nodding, I grab my cup and hold it between my hands, allowing the warmth to soothe me. "Okay."

"How old are the scars on your back?" His voice sounds strange, and he doesn't look at me as he waits for my answer.

I think back, my eyes going to the tin ceiling tiles above our heads. "Maybe seven or eight years. I think I was fourteen or fifteen when I got them."

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I wish I could change your past and how you came to me, but to be honest, I wouldn't change a thing if it meant I didn't have you here with me now."

Lucille walks up with four giant plates of food and sets them on the table. "Two specials, pancakes, and toast. I'll be right back with butter, syrup, jelly, and hot sauce."

"Oh gosh, this is so much food!" I exclaim as she walks away, thankful she broke up this too-serious conversation. I want to know Jimmy is okay, but I don't want to dwell on our past if we can run toward our futures.

"You don't have to eat it all, but I wanted you to have a taste of everything. This is what makes diners so great." Kade hands me silverware wrapped in a napkin and the two of us dig in, taking from each plate until I'm so stuffed, I fear I might burst.

"That was amazing."

"Breakfast food is the best." Kade pats his non-existent belly.

"Do you think we can take a couple cups of coffee to go and an extra one for Jimmy, if he's up to it?"

"Of course." He motions to Lucille over my head. "If you want to use the bathroom, it's over there in the corner."

My eyes follow his hand. "I'll be right back."

When I'm done, I find Kade waiting by the front door for me. He smiles, and my insides warm as my heart swells. The kindness he has shown me is unlike anything I've ever experienced. While his friends were nice too, it was different. Just a smile from Kade lights up my world and makes my body weightless, as if I haven't one trouble in the universe.

I practically skip to him, my feet feeling great with the thick socks and cushy shoes.

He offers me his hand. We say goodbye to Lucille and drive for another thirty minutes until we enter Great Falls and follow the signs to the hospital.

Kade pulls his phone out and dials a number. "Hey. See you in ten."

That's all he says and hangs up without a goodbye.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"My friend Wiley. He and Sly have been sitting with Jimmy since we got him to the hospital last night, watching over him."

"Why?"

Kade licks his lips. "Last night, you asked me if I planned to call the police. The answer is no. Which means we need to make sure that if they come around and ask questions, we're there to tell the story until we can convince Jimmy of the correct one to tell. You'll have to help us with that, Dinah."

I bite my lip. "The hunters are dead, aren't they?"

"Yeah, Honeysuckle, they are."

"Is it sinful that I'm glad?"

"Not in my opinion. They deserved a lot worse than what they got for what they did to you."

Nodding, I glance at the coffees in the box on the floor of the passenger seat. I'm sitting in the middle, thigh to thigh with Kade, neither one of us able to go without touching each other. "I don't want to talk to the police."

"You don't have to." He parks the truck and squeezes my knee. "If all goes to plan, the police won't know Jimmy is here. Nan should have fixed it last night, but just in case another doctor stumbles upon him, we have a story to tell which excludes you completely. I told you, I'll protect you—both of you."

I've never been in a hospital before—the stark white walls and sterile linoleum floor are the opposite of calming and reassuring. This is how they take care of their sick? We ride the elevator up several floors and walk through a set of doors marked Restricted Area/Quarantine.

"Don't mind the signs. It keeps strangers out."

A tall, sleekly muscled man emerges from behind a curtain that shields my view from the bed, beeping equipment, and friend beyond. He sniffs the air, his eyes wide as he looks at our joined hands. "Son of a bitch."

"Shut up," Kade says gently.

I stop walking and stay frozen in the doorway as tears fill my eyes.

The man walks forward and offers his hand. "I'm Wiley."

"Dinah."

His smile is easy and comforting. He tilts his head toward the bed. "It's okay. He's resting right now, but he knows you're coming and he's going to be very happy to see you."

Kade drops my hand and lets me step forward at my pace. Walking around the curtain, I gasp when I see Jimmy's bruised and battered face. The right side is swollen and purple, and his arm is held in a sling. I approach his left side, sliding my hand over the only part of his arm not attached to wires and gripping his fingers.

His left eye opens, but the right one remains closed. "Dinah?"

Tears spill down my cheeks as I choke back a sob. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's okay," Jimmy says weakly. "The doctor says I'm going to be fine in no time. What about you?"

"Don't worry about me." I press a kiss to his hand.

"I'll always worry about you. You're my best friend."

"I thought I lost you."

"I knew you would save us." He licks his lips and hums softly like he does at night to lull me to sleep.

Kade walks up behind me and slides his hand on my back. "Hey there, Jimmy. I'm Kade."

"Another one of our saviors. Wiley told me about you. Thank you for taking care of Dinah."

"It's my job to take care of her and the people she loves. You don't have to worry about anything. We'll make sure you're protected."

"I'd question that, but I'm too tired to argue." Jimmy closes his eyes. "I will say this, Dinah, the pain meds they give at the hospital are a million times better than the herbs and weeds we chewed on as kids."

"Jimmy?" I whisper as a soft snore escapes his lips.

Wiley stands on the other side of the bed, his fingers on Jimmy's wrist, his eyes on his wristwatch. "He's heavily medicated and should sleep most of today and tomorrow. Rest is the best thing for him right now."

"When do you think we'll move him to the clinic?" Kade asks.

"Nan, Sly, and I figure we'll move him after the festivities tonight."

I let go of Jimmy's hand and turn into Kade's chest, wrapping my arms around his waist as relief runs through my veins. Jimmy's hurt, but safe, and receiving infinitely better care than if this had happened within the commune walls.

Kade slides his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. "You okay, Honeysuckle?"

"I'm tired, but grateful."

"Here." Kade guides me to a chair and slides it next to Jimmy's bed. "Rest and be here for Jimmy when he wakes up. Wiley and I are going to have a chat outside."

"Please don't leave me." An air of desperation causes the words to get caught in my throat.

Wiley pushes the curtain back so I can see the door and Kade leans down, tilts my face up with his crooked finger under my chin, and kisses me. "I'll be standing right where you can see me."