Jane circled the airport pickup lane again, watching for Kaeden. She hadn’t believed him when he’d said he would come visit her, but this was the third time he’d come. Every time he came, she was more and more excited to see him.
She would have gone to Connecticut to see him, but they both agreed she needed to be near her mom for now.
It killed her that she hadn’t gone back to see Carl and Evelyn after all that had happened. She had gotten them on a video call and told them the whole story and how sorry she was to have left without saying goodbye.
Of course, they had told her not to worry about that.
Still, she had cried when Evelyn told her they felt blessed to have been able to give her a little respite during that horrible time. They were such good people. When her mom was more settled someplace and Turner was, hopefully, in prison somewhere someday, she hoped to go visit them and say a proper thank you. For now, she had settled on shipping Evelyn some local blueberries. She hadn’t known New Jersey was famous for blueberries until her mom told her.
But now, Jane was just excited to see Kaeden. She was going to tell him that she was thinking of moving closer to him. She and her mom had started looking for a residential care home near New Haven and there were a few options. The only problem was, Jane didn’t want to leave her mom long enough to go visit them for a tour and taking her mom with her would be complicated.
She spotted him, his overnight bag slung over his shoulder, hands in his pockets as he looked for her. She saw when he found her car and knew her smile matched the one on his face.
She was falling in love with this man. Hell, maybe she was already there.
After seeing what her mom went through with Turner, she didn’t think she’d be ready to date anyone for a long time. Sure, she knew not all men were like her mother’s husband, but still, it had left her uneasy with the idea of giving any kind of control to a man.
But Kaeden had control of her heart. He’d had it for a long time now, but she was realizing he would never abuse the love she gave him. He wasn’t remotely like Turner.
Kaeden opened the door and tossed his bag over the back seat, then leaned over to kiss her thoroughly. She loved this part.
She loved the way he kissed her. She completely understood the expression “toe-curling kiss” now. He did that to her every damned time, but this first kiss when they’d been apart for a while was always the best.
Someone honked behind them and Kaeden shot a glare their way before grinning wickedly at her and settling into his seat.
“Missed you,” he said as she pulled into traffic.
She smiled. “Me too.”
“What do we have planned for the weekend? Anything fun?”
She blushed and he laughed.
“I’m happy to keep you in bed the entire time, Jane Walker.” His words and the deep tone told her what he had planned for those days in bed. A thrill went up her spine.
Hearing her name again felt good. It had been two months since she and her mother had gotten some semblance of their lives back.
At first, Jane hadn’t trusted that Turner Carson wouldn’t keep coming for them. She’d spent days and even nights at her mom’s bedside in the home, even though she technically wasn’t allowed to stay overnight more than two days. Since the home had let a private detective onto the property several times to see her mom without anyone knowing it, they hadn’t said much.
Of course, they hadn’t been happy to find out her mom had been living there under a fake name, but Jack’s lawyer had helped calm them down in the end.
Kaeden seemed to track her thoughts. “Anything from Turner or is he still keeping his distance?”
Jane swallowed. “We haven’t heard from him, but the lawyer is keeping us up-to-date. There’s an investigation into my mom’s car accident now. The police department is in a lot of trouble over the fact that there wasn’t much in the police report about the tire tracks and skid marks and things. My mom’s lawyer is using it as a basis for breaking the prenuptial agreement and getting my mom the money we need to keep paying for her care.”
They were almost to the end of the money they’d gotten selling her mother’s jewelry.
Evan Willows had told them Turner Carson claimed they took old watches that had been in his family for decades, but that wasn’t true. Her mom remembered the watches and Jane would bet anything they were still locked in the safe where her mother had last seen them.
Kaeden took her hand. “Do you need help paying for it until the divorce is finalized?”
Jane swallowed hard. He would do that for her, wouldn’t he? She’d been so alone for so long, it was almost too hard to believe she had someone in this with her now, a partner to help carry the burden of anything that came her way.
Jane bit her lip. “I hope not. I mean, I’ve been working more now that I don’t need to worry about hiding and the lawyer said they’re also investigating Turner’s first wife’s death. She supposedly committed suicide, but they want to be sure. It turns out that a woman he dated in his early twenties also died under suspicious circumstances, but the police never had any leads they could follow in that case. I think Turner Carson’s world is crumbling around him.”
Kaeden swore under his breath and she knew what he was thinking. That her mom had been damned lucky to get away from him. She hadn’t gotten away without lifelong damage, but her mother was strong. Each day, she went on smiling and laughing and living her life despite what that man had put her through.
It amazed Jane and she knew Kaeden felt the same. He’d talked to Jane about how strong her mom was, about what an incredible woman she was.