The look in his eyes pulled at her heart, his face eagerly waiting for her answer. He was serious, and that made her misty-eyed.
“You obviously don’t know how much I love you if you have to ask,” she replied, smiling, “I’ll be here with bells on and clothes off.”
He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, then leaned back onto the couch, laying her head against his chest.
“That a promise?” he teased.
“Yup, as long as Paula is in LA,” she replied.
“It’s going to be OK. I promise this mess will pass.”
“It’s not going to be OK. Not until that bitch is in jail where she belongs,” Lana replied.
Kayden sighed, “Lana, I thought we were going to move forward and forget her. It’s done, we can’t change the judge’s decision.”
Hearing him state the obvious didn’t help, but it made her angry nonetheless. He tilted her head to his face, feeling her body stiffen when he uttered the words. Her frown confirmed his suspicion.
“Listen to me, Lana. We are going to move forward and live our lives the way we see fit. Okay? That girl will never get within breathing distance of you or my family again.”
Lana smiled weakly, but she knew better. Crazy people always found a way to get what they wanted, no matter the obstacles in front of them. When Kim made her move—and Lana could feel it in the air that it was coming—she promised herself she would be ready. The gloves were off.
The familiar click of heels came down the hall, and Paula emerged, dressed as fashionably as ever, with her Vera Wang shades on. She had her hair pulled into a tight bun, a loose paisley shirt, and Capri pants. She took her shades off when she walked in on them.
“All ready to go?” she asked, smiling.
She was glowing. Paula was already beautiful, but for some reason, it was dialed up by ten.
“Look at you! You’re positively radiant! Did Garrett sneak into town last night or something?” Lana teased.
“Nope, this is just me,” Paula giggled, giving a twirl.
Lana rose from the couch, but Kayden pulled her back down on his lap and planted kisses all over her face, landing last on her lips. His tongue parted them, then prodded her mouth, sending shivers to her toes.
“I’m gonna miss you,” he said when he pulled away finally.
“Me too. I love you,” she groaned, wanting a repeat of last night more than a four-hour flight home.
She gave him another quick peck before she lost her resolve and stood up. As she walked to Paula, Kayden felt a pang of concern in his stomach. What if Sam was all over her when she got there? He didn’t trust him or his goatee. Brushing the thought aside, he got up and walked her down the hall to the door.
As Paula opened the door to leave, he spun Lana around with his free arm and dipped her, giving her a Hollywood kiss in the hall. Paula rolled her eyes but smiled as she walked out to the porch to give them a moment.
“I’m coming for you, Mrs. Capshaw. Don’t stay away too long,” he whispered against her mouth.
She smiled, and a tear escaped her eyes.
“I won’t. I miss you already,” she replied.
He gave her another lingering kiss and then let her up. As she walked out the door, he got another pang in his stomach. He was sick of his woman leaving him and would fight as hard as he could to keep her. He picked up her last bag, carried it out to the car, and saw her off, watching the car disappear down the road around the roundabout and out of Hamby—again.
8
fault lines
Hattie-Mae Smith sat in the third row of the library meeting room, where a witch-hunt was about to commence. She saw the usual suspects front and center, and now that the Capshaws had left town for a bit, a few local parasites decided it was time for acouncil meeting. There hadn’t been one in years, and it wasn’t lost on her that the timing wasn’t a coincidence. When she received the hand-delivered invitation yesterday, she was honestly shocked and awed that the subject matter was about Kayden.
The audacity of people holding a grudge against him for something he not only couldn’t control but wasn’t even responsible for, pissed her off. The only reason she even bothered to show up was to set them straight. Even if no one else would, she would stand and speak up for him. It was a disgrace. She glanced around the stuffy room with its old books and saw Mrs. Arnold, the antique jewelry owner, scowl in tow.
The only real issue she appeared to have had with Kayden was that he never gave her daughter the time of day. Next were James and Patricia Whitehall, notorious gossips of the town, always looking for any reason to speak against the family. They tried to corner Lana at the hotel a few nights ago and pulled theirancient cellphones out to take a video. She gave them a piece of her mind, and they didn’t like being put in their places one bit.
