Cayson stared at it, speechless.

  “I purposely made it cheap so no one would mug you,” Dad explained. “I’m sorry it isn’t nicer.”

  “It’s great,” Cayson said with shaky words. “Thank you.”

  “You’re my family and I always take care of my family,” Dad said. “I will make sure you come home in one piece.”

  “Thank you, Sean. But I’m sure I’ll be safe.”

  “You know me,” he said with a forced smiled. “Always paranoid…”

  “I appreciate it,” Cayson said. “Thank you.”

  Dad nodded then walked away with Mom.

  Clementine and Ward came next, their son in their arms. “Be safe, okay?” Clementine’s eyes were slightly watery.

  “I will.” Cayson stared at Ward Jr.

  “He’ll miss you,” Ward said. “We thought you would like to see him before you left.”

  “I do.” Cayson held him in his arms then rocked him back and forth. “You’ll be so big by the time I come back…I look forward to seeing you.” He kissed the top of his head then passed him back to Clementine. “Thank you.”

  “We’ll be counting down the days until you’re home,” Clementine said.

  “I will too,” Cayson said quietly.

  After they embraced, they returned to the group.

  The last person was Slade, and it was obvious by the way he was cowering and breathing hard it wasn’t easy for him to say goodbye.

  Cayson stared at him with the same sadness.

  Without looking at him, Slade slowly approached him, his head bowed and his gaze focused on the ground.

  Cayson watched him in silence.

  I could feel the depression from both of them. Neither one of them wanted to say goodbye. Neither one of them wanted to even speak.

  Slade cleared his throat a few times before he spoke. “I’m going to miss you…”

  Cayson nodded. “I’m going to miss you too…”

  Silence ensued again.

  “Will I get to talk to you?” Slade asked.

  “I’ll call when I can.” Cayson swallowed the lump in his throat.

  Slade put his hands in his pockets and sighed. “You’re doing the right thing, man…”

  “Thanks.”

  “I just wish you wouldn’t be gone for so long.”

  “I know.” Cayson took a deep breath.

  Slade pulled his hands out of his pockets then held Cayson tightly. His eyes moistened noticeably and he sniffed.

  Cayson returned the embrace and held him just as hard. He rested his chin on Slade’s shoulder and closed his eyes.

  “I love you, man,” Slade said. “I want you to know that.”

  “I love you too.”

  They continued to hold each other.

  No one dared to make fun of them.

  “I’ll take care of Skye. I promise.”

  “I know you will,” Cayson whispered.

  Slade cleared his throat and stepped back, trying to hide his emotion. “And bring me back a souvenir this time.” He tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

  Cayson couldn’t force himself to even chuckle. “I will.”

  Slade nodded and took a deep breath. “Be safe.”

  “I will.” Then he turned to me, the saddest look on his face I’d ever seen.

  “Before you say anything…” I pulled a ticket out of my pocket. “I want to walk you to the gate.”

  Surprise and gratitude came to his eyes. Then he turned to the rest of the family. “I’ll see you soon.” He gave them one final look before he grabbed my hand and pulled me through the gate. He purposely didn’t look back and wave, probably because it was too hard.

  When we arrived at his terminal, people were beginning to board the plane. They already seated first class.

  Cayson pulled me off to the side and faced me. But his head was bowed and his eyes were closed.

  How would we be able to say goodbye?

  He finally raised his head and opened his eyes. The moisture was already there, and the pain was obvious in every feature of his face. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “Skye.” He paused for a long time like he might not say anything else. “If you want me to stay, now is the time to tell me. Because if you want me to stay, I will. I will never resent you for it. I will never hold it against you. You’re the number one thing in my life. You always come first. Just tell me to stay and I will.”

  He was giving me an out. All I had to do was take it. All I had to do was ask him to stay and he would. I could just say one word and we would go home together and begin our marriage. I had the power to erase all this pain and change our future. It was in my hands.

  Cayson stared at me as he waited for me to make a decision.

  It would be so easy for me to ask him. He wouldn’t resent me for it. What I wanted was right in front of me.

  But I couldn’t do it. “I want you to go.”

  His face fell like he didn’t want that to be my answer.

  “I know you’re scared and I don’t blame you…I’m scared too. But this is what you were meant to do. Those people need you, Cayson. They can borrow you for three months…because I get you for a lifetime.”

  His eyes still looked as lifeless as a desert.

  “I want you to go, Cayson. We’ll both regret it if you don’t.”

  He took a deep breath. “How can I not be with you for three months?”

  “We’ll both stay busy and make it pass quickly.” I was trying to be strong for him. The second I showed weakness, he wouldn’t leave. “We’ve been preparing for this for months. Now it’s time.”

  He was finally convinced. “You’re right. It’s just hard…”

  “I know.”

  He cupped my face and looked into my eyes. He stared at me with a look I’d been receiving all my life, even if I wasn’t aware of it most of the time. The endless depth of his eyes showed his promise to me, that his heart beat only for me. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Let’s not say goodbye.”

  He was really leaving. He was about to walk onto that plane and I wouldn’t see him for three months. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might stop. “Okay.” My eyes welled up with tears but I couldn’t fight them back. It was too hard. This was too painful.

  “I’ll call you whenever I can. I set up Skype on your computer. That’s the only way I’ll be able to reach you.”

  “I’ll always leave my computer open.”

  “Okay.” His thumb trailed over my cheek. “I’ll be thinking of you the entire time I’m gone. Please don’t worry about me with someone else—”

  “That’s not something I ever worry about.” Cayson would never cheat on me, married or not. I understood how devoted he was to me. He could hook up with some girl in a foreign land and I would never know. But he would never do that.

  Emotion came into his eyes. “Well…I’ll talk to you soon.” His eyes were just as wet as mine.

  “Okay.” My tears broke the surface and I started to cry. Goddammit.

  Cayson couldn’t hold his emotion back and his face mirrored my own. He pulled me into him and kissed me, massaging my lips with his. He cupped my face and kissed me hard, giving me something passionate and strong to get me through the lonely nights up ahead. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too,” I whispered into his mouth.

  They made the final call over the speakers, and it was clear Cayson couldn’t wait with me any longer.

  He broke our kiss then stared into my face. “This is temporary. But we are forever.”

  “Forever,” I repeated.

  He examined my features like he was trying to remember them for the long months to come. “I love you.”

  I knew why he repeated those words. I knew what he wanted me to say in return. He wanted our last exchange to be that powerful phrase. It would be the last thing he said to me and the first thing he said when he returned. “I love you too.”

  He gave me one final kiss with trembling lips before he quickly turned away and walked off. He never turned around to look at me, and I knew exactly why. He didn’t want his last image of me to be from afar while I waved. He wanted it to be when he kissed me, when we were close.

  He handed his ticket over then walked onto the plane. When he passed through, the flight attendant shut the door and locked it behind him.

  When he was really gone, I felt my eyes saturate with more tears than I could handle. They swelled to twice their normal size then cascaded down my cheeks. There was nothing left for me here but I stayed anyway, unsure what else to do without the other half of my soul.

  Chapter Twelve

  Slade

  After everything was packed in the truck, I headed back upstairs into the apartment. “Baby, come on. If you need something you can always get it later.”

  “This is stupid.” She put her hands on her hips. “We can’t just barge in like this.”

  “We’re going to. Get over it.”

  “It’s rude,” she argued. “And she didn’t even invite us.”

  “I don’t care. I made a promise and I have to keep it.”

  “No, you said you would look after her,” Trinity said. “You’ve totally taken that out of context and now you’re going overboard.”

  I grabbed the final bag sitting on the counter. “We’re wasting time. Let’s go.”

  She released a loud and irritated sigh before she followed me.

  ***

  We entered the house with our stuff in tow. Unsure where to put it, we set it down in the entryway. Most of the furniture had been moved from the penthouse but there were still a few things missing.

  Skye came out from the living room with a permanent frown on her lips. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, not their typical Preston blue. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Moving in,” I said as I set down my guitar. “We’re staying until Cayson comes back.”

  Skye cocked an eyebrow. “Uh…why?”

  “I told him I would look after you,” I said. “And I keep my word to my best friend.”

  “I think he meant call me to check in every now and then…not move in and watch my every move.”

  “I’m not watching your every move,” I argued. “But I’m keeping you safe.”

  Skye crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t that a little ridiculous? My parents are right next door.”

  “But I made this vow to Cayson—not them.”

  Trinity walked inside with a few things. She immediately gave Skye an apologetic look. “I tried to talk him out of it…but you know how that goes.”

  “I appreciate this,” Skye said. “But it’s really unnecessary.”

  “It’s gonna happen,” I said. “Just accept it.”

  Skye shot Trinity a pleading look.

  Trinity shrugged. “Would it be the end of the world? You shouldn’t be here all alone. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some company? This house is way too big for just you.”

  Skye slowly nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

  “It’ll be fun,” Trinity said. “We can play board games in the evening, watch the game, and spend more time together.”

  “Plus, you’ll have a man in the house to look after you,” I said.

  Trinity and Skye both rolled their eyes at the same time.

  “If you’re watching me because you think I’m going to fool around on Cayson the moment he’s gone, then you shouldn’t have been the best man at our wedding.” She gave me a look of pure loathing.

  My eyebrows shot up. “I wasn’t implying that at all. I just know Cayson doesn’t want you to be alone. If I were gone, I would want Cayson to do the same for Trinity.”

  The anger disappeared from her eyes and affection shined through. “Well, that was very nice of you. But you’ll have to commute to work every day, and I can tell you right now it sucks.”

  “We’ll manage,” I said. “So, which room is ours?”

  “Well, only one of the guest rooms have been made,” Skye said. “It has it’s own bathroom. You can have that one.”

  “It’s probably bigger than our apartment,” Trinity said with a laugh.

  I held up my guitar. “And you’re getting free entertainment.”

  Skye’s voice was full of sarcasm. “Goodie.”

  Trinity grabbed her bags and headed up the stairs. “Which one is it?”

  “The third door on the left,” Skye called.

  Trinity made her way up.

  “Baby, what the hell are you doing?” I asked.

  She turned around and faced me when she was on top of the stairs. “What?”

  “I’ll carry everything up,” I said. “Just relax.”

  A slight smile stretched across her lips. “I can carry things. I’m pretty strong.”

  I narrowed my eyes on her face. “You sit that fine piece of ass on the couch and let me take care of it.”

  “No,” Trinity argued. “I can carry my own weight.”

  I snapped my fingers and pointed to the couch. “My wife doesn’t carry anything. Now sit your ass down.”

  Trinity ignored me and walked away.

  Skye crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Yay…I get to deal with this for three months.”

  “She and I hardly argue,” I said. “Only when she doesn’t listen to me.”

  “Which is pretty often,” Trinity yelled from the second story.

  “Excuse me,” I said as I headed to the stairs. “I need to spank my wife.”

  ***

  Trinity made dinner, aloha burgers. It came with the pattie, a slice of pineapple, and teriyaki sauce. It was awesome, and Trinity usually made it for me after I had a long day. She also made homemade fries. “Eat up.” She set the plates in front of us before she took the seat beside me and across from Skye.

  Skye stared at her plate without touching it. “I’m not used to someone cooking for me.”

  “It’s pretty awesome.” I grabbed the burger with both hands and shoved it into my mouth. “My wife is hot, rich, and she cooks for me. Did I score or what?” “You did score,” Skye said with complete seriousness. She picked at her fries but didn’t devour her burger like she normally would. Her movements were slow, like she was trying to waste every second possible so it would bring Cayson back sooner.

  “Have you heard from him?” Trinity asked.

  “No…he said he wouldn’t have access to service all the time. But he will when he can.” She released a deep sigh like she didn’t realize she was actively doing it. “But I’m sure he’s okay.”

  “You can get so much done while he’s gone,” Trinity said. “You can decorate the house without worrying about his ugly input.”

  “Cayson has good taste, actually,” Skye said as she continued to eat.

  “You’re lucky,” Trinity said. “If I let Slade decorate, it would be nothing but guitars and rock band posters.”

  “Sounds awesome to me.” I was already halfway done with my burger.

  “See my point?” Trinity asked. “We’re actually looking around for a house.”

  “You are?” It was the first sign of life Skye showed. She seemed genuinely excited, not thinking about Cayson for the first time. “That’s awesome. Where?”

  “We want to stay in the city,” Trinity said. “We’re looking for an apartment or house.”

  “There’s a lot to choose from,” Skye said. “You can find just about anything in the city…if you can afford it.”

  “We can definitely afford it,” I said. “Trinity is fucking loaded.”

  Trinity nudged me in the side. “Don’t just blurt that out to people.”

  “Ouch.” I dropped my burger on my plate then rubbed my injured side. “You think people can’t figure it out? You own a huge company. And it’s Skye. You haven’t already told her?”

  “That’s not the point,” Trinity said. “Don’t blab that to other people.”

  “And yes,” Skye said. “I do know. I’m very proud of her.”

  “When you take over the company we can go on such luxurious vacations,” Trinity said excitedly. “I say we go to Greece next summer.”

  “Depends on when I take over the company,” Skye said.

  “It must be soon,” Trinity said. “Every time I talk to my dad about it, he acts like it could be any day now.”

  “Dad hasn’t said anything to me,” Skye said. “I don’t think he’s ready.”

  “He’s probably just there so he can see you every day,” I noted. “But he’ll eventually get sick of that.”

  Skye continued to pick at her food and didn’t touch her burger.

  Trinity gave her a sad look. “I know this is hard, but not eating isn’t going to bring him home sooner.”

  Skye flinched for a moment before she grabbed the burger. “I know…hopefully, it’ll get easier in a few days.”

  “It will.” Trinity gave her a firm look.

  I missed Cayson too but saying that wouldn’t help Skye. If Trinity left me for three months, I’d be a mess. Actually, I would never let her go. Even if she went to the Middle East, I’d be right by her side. Without her, there was no me.

  ***

  “It’s just weird.” Trinity turned on her side and looked the opposite way.

  “She’s way on the other side of the house. She won’t here a thing.”

  “She might.”

  “If her ear was pressed to the door, maybe.” I grabbed her hip and dragged her close to me.

  “It’s awkward,” she said. “If she does hear us, it might make her feel even more alone.”

  “Dude, we’ll be quiet.”

  “Did you just call me dude?” she hissed in the darkness.

  I moved her to her back then climbed on top of her. “I’m not living here for three months without getting laid.”

  “We can just stop by the apartment after work before we come over here.”

  “No, I need to pick up Skye and take her home.”

  She raised both eyebrows. “You don’t have to wait on her hand and foot. She can take care of herself.”

  “Cayson would do it for me.” That was my automatic response to everything.

 

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