“Or what you thought was junk.”
“Right. But I didn’t care. I had a hundred bucks in my hands.”
“What did you do with it?”
“I hid it in a jar in the shack behind our apartment building. That’s where the owner kept all his tools. If I’d tried to put the money in our apartment, my old man would have found it and immediately spent it on coke.”
“And did you get your mom a birthday gift.” She saw Cav’s eyes lighten, a softening in the set of his mouth.
“Well, she’d been wanting a stand mixer. She had arthritis, and it was tough for her to stir anything for a long time. So I bought her one,” he said, pride in his tone. “A bright red one. She’d always loved red.”
Lia nodded, aware of how often Cav wore his favorite red t-shirt. He was a lot like his mother, and her heart burst with feeling for him. “She must have been overjoyed.”
“She was. I got her a birthday cake and ice cream, too. Lucky for us, my old man had passed out from the drugs, so we had a really nice birthday there in the kitchen.”
Lia’s heart swelled, understanding how much Cav needed a loving family. So much had been taken from him. A huge part of her wanted to be the woman who helped him create a loving family once again. It was a dream, but she held to it, knowing that it might be possible. Cav deserved all the love she held for him. And she knew he’d be a wonderful father to any children they might be gifted with, too.
“And the cat?” Lia wondered, finishing her sandwich.
“I bought him a can of tuna fish from the change I had from that hundred dollar bill. Felt sorry for him.”
“Did you see him eat it?”
Cav wiped his hands on his jeans after eating the sandwich, closing up the plastic box. “Yes. From then on, we’d see each other in that alley from time to time. I gave him the name, ‘One Ear.’ Over time, on some days when it wasn’t safe to be in the house, I’d wander out to the alley and sit down next to the dumpster. One Ear would come out of his hiding place and jump in my lap and let me pet him. He even started singing for me, which I thought was pretty neat.”
Her heart breaking, Lia could imagine Cav as that skinny, sensitive ten-year old boy. “I wish,” she whispered softly, “I could take away all that hurt from your childhood, Cav.”
Studying her, he shrugged. “It’s made me who I am today, Lia. I know I’m far from perfect, but I like who I’ve become over time. Chief Jacoby was the father I wished I had—I just got him later in my life, but he came in at the right time and helped turn me around. I was a pretty angry young man when I became a SEAL. I was a loner, a fighter and had tons of anger stuffed inside me.” He held up his hand. “Jacoby got the anger out of me with martial arts and Krav Maga. He taught me discipline and probably most important, patience.”
“He saw the good in you, Cav. He saw your heart, the fine person that you are.”
“It was a damned good thing he did, because I was a willful, wayward kid just looking to find someone to hurt. I realize now it was all that stored but misplaced anger toward my old man.”
“Anyone would have those feelings with someone like him,” she replied, urgency in her voice. “He abused you and your mother all the time.”
Straightening, he studied her. “Thankfully, those days are gone, Lia. Jacoby taught me to look at what was good in my life, and that was my mother. Now, when I start going down that rabbit hole of hatred for my old man, I switch to her. I think about the good times we had together. The laughter we shared, and how she held me when I was hurting.” He looked sad for a moment. “But she never had anyone to hold her after he’d beat the shit out of her. I didn’t dare go care for her or my old man would come after me…”
Lia got up and moved over to Cav, kneeling beside him and sliding her arm around his broad, capable shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him resting her brow against his “She had you to support her, and I know how much that meant to her. You loved her and showed her your love. Do you know how important that was to her, Cav? I do.”
He absorbed her words, and the soft press of her breasts against him. “Come here,” he rasped, lifting her and settling her across his lap. “I want to hold you and kiss you…now.”
CHAPTER 21
Lia whispered Cav’s name, framing his face with her hands, leaning forward and upward, taking his mouth with all the love she held for him. She heard him groan, felt his hands grip her shoulder more firmly, holding her there, hungrily seeking her mouth. If there was ever a time to cross that great divide between her mind and heart with Cav, it was now.