Jill Shalvis - The Detective’s Undoing

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay, just checking. Look, Jacob, it’s good to communicate and tell people how you feel, but it’s not good to hurt people with words. Do you understand?”

Jacob stole another peek at Delia. “Yeah,” he responded.

“Because if you’d rather, we can arrange for you to fly back to Southern California.”

“Cade,” Delia said quietly.

He reached out and settled a hand at the base of her spine, his arm resting on her saddle, and felt her instinctive reaction in the tightening of her muscles. He left his hand on her, feeling his own tightening, as well. “So what’s it going to be, Jacob?”

The boy stared at the brilliant blue sky, dotted with huge puffy clouds. “Stay,” he said quietly. Then he shocked Cade by looking straight at Delia. “I want to stay. With you.”

Delia blinked, for a moment incapable of hiding her surprise. Clearly touched, she said huskily, “You can stay for as long as you want.”

Cade looked at Jacob steadily, until the boy’s shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“I know,” Delia told him. “We’re still getting used to each other, aren’t we? I won’t apologize for being a beginner, but maybe we can learn to ride together.”

He sent her a cheeky smile. “Can we learn from Cade?”

Delia met Cade’s eyes and saw a whole host of things there, things he didn’t know what to do with.

“Yes,” she answered Jacob, still looking into Cade’s eyes. “I imagine there’s a lot we can learn from Cade.”

Cade found himself staring right back, absorbing her silent gratitude, her affection.

Jacob urged his horse forward at a slow walk.

Delia hesitated, then said softly for Cade’s ears only. “You’re so good with him. As if…”

As if he knew what he was doing?

He did know, or once upon a time he’d known. “I understand kids,” was all he managed to say.

She sent him a warm sweet smile, and he was helpless to hold back his own.

They took Jacob on a ride through the hills behind the ranch. The light snow from the night before hadn’t stuck, but the ground was stiff with frost. With it crunching beneath their feet and the hush of the oncoming winter, they were in their own world.

With each mile, more of Jacob’s bad attitude faded and more of the real Delia showed. Cade held himself back, afraid that being with this woman who’d become so special to him and with the boy who was rapidly becoming special would be painful.

After all, it should remind him of a life he’d had long ago, and in some ways it did.

But Delia wasn’t his wife, and Jacob wasn’t his son.

And much as he didn’t want to admit it, he felt more joy than pain.

He reined in his horse, and both Delia and Jacob came to a stop behind him. “Ready for that run now?” he asked Jacob, whose face lit up before he remembered to play it cool.

“If you want,” he said with his characteristic one-shouldered shrug.

Delia opened her mouth, and Cade was certain she was about to veto the idea. Before she could, he scooped the boy onto his horse and settled him in front. Jacob immediately stiffened away from the physical contact, but Cade just smiled. That would change, and soon. He handed Jacob’s reins to Delia, who gave him a long look.

“What are you doing?”

“He wants to gallop,” Cade said simply, as if he didn’t suddenly feel the need to run hard and fast and furious himself.

Delia’s eyes narrowed. She was on to him, no doubt. “Be careful.”

“Always. Hold on,” he whispered to Jacob, slipping an arm around his waist. Then he let the horse have its way, and they took off at a fast clip across a wide meadow.

Jacob held himself stiff for exactly one second before he gave in. He clutched the arm Cade had around him, but laughed joyously as the wind whipped icily against their faces.

“Good?” Cade shouted.

“The best,” Jacob shouted back with a wide grin. “More!”

Cade gave it, and for a few short glorious moments horse, boy and man ran free as the wind. It felt inconceivably…right. At the end of the meadow, Cade brought the horse to a stop. Jacob straightened away from him immediately, but turned his head to look at Cade, his eyes sparkling. “I want to do that on my own horse. Can I?”

“Soon.” Cade laughed, reaching forward to ruffle the kid’s hair in a gesture that felt as natural as breathing. God, he’d forgotten how good it felt to be with a kid, how kids smelled like youth and innocence, how they laughed with abandon, how everything they felt they wore on their sleeve. “But definitely not today. Delia would skin me alive if I got you injured on your first day here.”

They both turned to look for her. She was still on her horse, leading Jacob’s, slowly making her way toward them.

“She’s still far enough away…” Jacob looked at him hopefully, making Cade laugh again.

“Not a chance. I’m not risking my stay here for another joy ride. Or my dinner. Maddie’s cooking her pot roast, and in case you’re wondering, it’s to die for.” Plus, he had no problem making out Delia’s anxious gaze as she came closer. “If I haven’t risked it already,” Cade muttered.

But as she came up to them, she smiled, mostly in response to Jacob’s grin, Cade thought. “Fun?”

“Yeah.” Jacob looked at Cade, and there was no mistaking the adoration there. “He’s going to teach me to ride like he does.”

“You’ll have to come back to do that,” Delia said, only her eyes betraying how important Jacob’s response was to her. “Think you’ll want to?”

Jacob reached down and stroked the horse’s neck. The animal gave a huff of pleasure. “Yeah. I want to come back.”

Delia slid off her horse, and from her natural grace and ease of movement, no one would have guessed how new to riding she was. Then her horse snorted and Delia leaped back, eyes wide.

No one but me, Cade silently corrected, biting back a smile.

She moved toward Cade’s horse and looked up into Jacob’s eyes. “I’m hoping someday you’ll want to come here and…well, maybe stay.”

“You mean, live here with you?”

Again, only her eyes gave away her emotion. “Yeah.”

Jacob scratched his head and looked puzzled. “I don’t know.”

Delia merely nodded. But Cade caught her hard swallow and the stricken flash in her eyes, and he nearly reached for her, but then Jacob spoke again.

“I used to not have anyone to live with,” he said, “you know, after my mom died. Now all of a sudden, everyone wants me to live with them.”

“Everyone? Like who?”

“Edna,” Jacob said. “You. And Scott.”

“Scott?” Delia repeated with more than a little surprise. “Scott wants you to live with him?”

“He said it was going to be up to the judge, but if I wanted, I could tell the judge who I wanted to live with most.” Confusion flickered in his eyes. “I thought living with Scott would be great. He’s got a puppy, and he said it could be mine.”

“But now…you’re mixed up?” Delia asked gently.

Jacob shrugged again. “A little.”

“I’d be confused, too,” Delia said. “So many choices. Why don’t you just think about it for a while, okay? No one is asking you to make any decision right now. Don’t feel rushed.”

“Okay.”

Delia smiled at Jacob, and Cade smiled at her, willing his support and affection into her hurting heart. She shocked him by returning that smile.

Jacob pointed to a large rock on the bluff overlooking the river. “Can we go fast again? Just to the rock?”

Delia nodded, and with her permission, Cade held Jacob tightly and let the wind take them.