Tymber Dalton - The Reluctant Dom

Kaden laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I’ll be honest, when I thought about it that way, something inside me was okay with it. I felt so fucking jealous and angry that you’ll have all these years with her that I won’t. I knew I had to get through that somehow, because she needs me to teach you and I can’t let my ego get in the way of that. When I thought about her being ours…” He wiped his eyes again. “Yeah, it’s fucking whacked. Give me what I can hold on to, buddy. Okay?”

Seth nodded. “Okay.”

Kaden helped Seth get his books and a few other things he needed and put them in the Ridgeline. It felt weird driving it, even though he’d driven it before.

It felt…

He shuddered.

kaden’sdying

His sister-in-law had the day off from work. When Seth walked into the kitchen, Helen turned, smiled, and then her face fell. “Seth? What’s wrong?”

He sat at the table, his head in his hands.

“Kaden’s dying,” he sobbed.

He barely felt her comforting arm around his shoulders as he cried.

Somehow, Seth made it through class. Helen helped him pack when he returned. He didn’t tell her everything about their new arrangement, only that Kaden and Leah had asked him to move in with them because of the obvious, that he wanted Leah to have help with him as his illness progressed. He did hint that Kaden was worried about Leah’s state of mind and wanted Seth there to take care of her as much as to take care of him.

Helen looked sad. “They’re so sweet. You guys have been friends for so long. Ben will be upset to hear about Kaden.”

“I don’t know how many people he’s telling right now. Tell Ben not to tell anyone yet, okay?”

She nodded. “Right.”

When all his stuff was crammed into the Ridgeline, Helen hugged Seth. “Give us a call. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I appreciate you guys putting up with me. I feel like the neighborhood stray dog everyone takes pity on.”

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself. You’ve had a rough time. I’m sorry about Kaden.”

He struggled not to cry again. It’d been hard enough to hold it together during class. He didn’t want to break down in front of Leah and Kade.

“Thanks.” It was after four when he started for their house. Halfway there, he pulled into a Publix parking lot and cried again. How was Leah holding it together? He was a fucking wreck.

After twenty minutes he put himself together and pulled into their driveway a little after five. Kaden walked out, smiling, as Seth backed up to the garage. He already had the tailgate down by the time Seth climbed out.

“Glad to see you, buddy. I sort of worried you might have second thoughts.”

Seth snorted as they started unloading boxes into the garage. “I did. And third and fourth and fifth but I guess you’re stuck with me. God only knows why you want me.”

Leah walked outside wearing her collar and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, much to Seth’s relief. Her sad smile and welcoming hug set something spinning inside him.

“I’ll take your clothes and get them unpacked for you.” He handed her a suitcase and one of the several garbage bags holding his clothes. She took them inside.

“That’s why I want you,” Kaden said in a low voice. “That woman right there. She needs you.”

Kaden helped Seth get the rest of the boxes neatly stacked in the garage while Leah took care of all his clothes. His ex-wife had ended up with the house and furniture. To avoid bankruptcy, he’d sold off everything relating to his business. That left him with a beat-up Mustang and what was now sitting in Kaden’s garage, mostly books and some personal mementos.

“We’ll get new bookshelves for the bedroom,” Kaden offered, studying the boxes. “This weekend, we’ll go out and get some.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay.” Kaden turned to Seth and dropped his voice, angry. “What aren’t you understanding? This is your home now. You live here. Yeah, it’s my name on the deed, but you need to get used to the idea that you are lord and master of this fucking place, so to speak. The faster you can get that through your thick skull, the faster you can help her, because I don’t have time for this kind of bullshit when you’ve got serious stuff to learn!”

Seth stepped back as Kaden closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. Had he thought Kaden was handling this remarkably well? Apparently not as well as Kaden tried to portray.

“I’m sorry,” Kaden apologized. He stepped closer to Seth, his voice low and calm again. “When I…when it happens, you need to be at the point where you literally step in and fully take over in name as well as function. Leah needs to see you in that role by that time. It’ll be too late to get her trust and faith in you by then.”

He jabbed his finger at Seth. “That means you need to drop the bullshit, right now, and step up, buddy. I know it sucks. I know it’s weird. I know it’s contrary to every fucking thing you might feel right now. But you need to get used to pulling up in that driveway and looking at this house and thinking, ‘I’m home. This is my house. That’s my wife.’ When you’re doing that, she’ll feel it, and it will help her.”

Seth nodded, unable to think of a reply. Kaden returned to the house. Seth looked around. Leah had already taken all his clothes inside. He suddenly realized she’d also grabbed a bag containing dirty clothes.

He grabbed his guitar case and hurried inside. When he reached his bedroom she was still there, organizing his clothes for him, some things now neatly folded and stacked on his bed, dresser drawers open, the closet half-full. He anxiously searched for the bag of dirty clothes. When she looked at him, she laughed.

“I already got the dirty ones.”

Stunned, his jaw dropped. “What, being into this stuff turns you psychic or something?”

She pointed to a pile on the floor in the bathroom. “You looked panicked. Don’t worry, I figured it out as soon as I opened the bag.”

He reddened, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Leah. I’ll go wash them.” He started for the bathroom.

She frowned, firmly shaking her head. “No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“That’s my job.”

“Leah—”

“No!” Her eyes widened. At her nearly frantic tone, Seth held up his hands in supplication.

“Whoa. Calm down, babe.”

But she wasn’t calm. “No! It’s my job, Seth. I do that. I take care of Kaden, and I take care of you.” Her whole body trembled. Kaden suddenly appeared in the doorway, a worried look on his face. He didn’t speak, just stood there watching. Seth suspected Leah didn’t know he was there.

Seth tried again, forcing his voice to stay calm. “Leah, honey, I don’t expect—”

She stepped forward, almost in his face now, looking up at him. “It’s my job. Please .”

He glanced at Kaden, looking for help, but his friend stood there, unmoving, observing.

Swallowing hard, Seth finally nodded. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed. “Okay, honey. It’s okay. I’m sorry.”

He heard her ragged breathing, watched her pulse thrum in her throat, her face flushed not from excitement but…

She stared at him, and he recognized the look from the night before. Barely constrained anguish fighting to bubble to the surface.

He suspected this was his second lesson.

Not sure what else to do, he grabbed her hands and gently squeezed them. “Babe, he told you to go easy on me. You’ve got to teach me this shit, remember?” He attempted what he hoped looked like a gentle smile. From the dangerous roll his stomach took, he wasn’t sure he made it.