Page 111 of Wilde Flame

My father laughed, while my mother frowned.

“She. Scares. You?”

Standing, I started to pace. “Yes, Mom! She scares me. Every time I see her, something happens in here,” I said, as I placed a hand over my heart. “Sometimes I’ll walk into a room, and she doesn’t know I’m there, and I’ll just watch her. I can’t take my eyes off of her. I’m drowning in these feelings that I’ve hidden away deep inside, and I don’t know how to release them. To let them come up to the surface.”

Mom moved to the coffee table and sat down. When I stopped in front of her, she took my hands in hers. “Caden, do you love her?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I care about her. I care about her very much, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt her.”

“Do you know why you went to Janet to talk to her about Lilibeth and the baby?” my father asked.

“I didn’t want her to upset Lilibeth. She was already so stressed with moving in and all the changes.”

My father shook his head. “It wasn’t simply because you didn’t want her to get hurt by gossip. You did it because you love her, Caden. Love isn’t always black and white. Love makes us want to protect those we’ve given our hearts to, regardless of whether we know it or not. Love melts the defenses you’ve put up and gives you the strength to try again. It can talk us down from ledges we’ve put ourselves on and give us the courage to keep moving forward no matter how scared we are.”

I blinked as I stared at my father.

My mother glanced at him and said, “Oh my God, Ladd Wilde, when did you start writing for Hallmark Cards?”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. The moment had been so serious, and I was grateful to my mother for lifting the mood.

My father wore a serious expression as he replied, “I can be deep, Viv.”

“I see that,” she said, before focusing her attention back on me. “Caden, let me ask you something, and I want you to really think about this before you answer. When you close your eyes and picture your life in ten years, what do you see?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea what I see.”

She scowled. “That’s because you haven’t closed your eyes yet and tried.”

I chuckled. “Okay.” Closing my eyes, I drew in a breath and slowly exhaled.

“It’s ten years into the future, and you’re sitting on the front porch of your house. What do you see?”

An image slowly started to appear in my mind. It was more of a movie than a picture.

“Kids playing in the front yard with a dog.”

“Your kids?” she asked.

Smiling, I nodded.

“What else do you see? Look around you, who or what else is there?”

In my little movie, I turned my head to the right and saw Lilibeth sitting in the other rocking chair, smiling as she rested her hands on her swollen belly. When she turned to look at me, I was overcome with a sense of pure love and happiness.

My eyes jerked open.

Mom was looking at me, a smile on her face. “Did you get spooked?”

“Oh, he got spooked, all right!” my father added with a chuckle.

“You saw Lilibeth,” she said.

“What is this fucking witchcraft you’re doing on me, Mom?”

Her brows rose. “Language, Caden Wilde. You may be thirty-two, but I can still wash your mouth out with soap.”

It was my turn to raise my brows. “You’re going to wash my mouth out with soap, Mom?”