Cascade by Claudia Hall Christian

should have expected him.
    “ Shouldn’t you be with your kids?”
Sandy asked.
    “ My kids are at home, Sandra.
After an evening at the Emergency Room, I took them home. They’re
exhausted.”
    “ They shouldn’t be alone,” Sandy
said. “Did you come for your stuff?”
    “ My stuff ??”
    Sandy scowled at his raised voice. Opening the
door, she pointed him inside.
    “ Why did you leave the kids alone
tonight?” Sandy asked. “Tonight of all nights!”
    “ They aren’t alone, Sandy,” Aden
said. “Blane and Heather came over after Katy’s party. Blane is
giving Nash some acupuncture.”
    “ Oh,” Sandy said. “I put your
stuff by the door.”
    “ I see that,” Aden said. “What’s
going on, Sandy?”
    “ Nash is in real trouble, Aden. He
needs all of your time. Noelle too,” Sandy said. “I take up your
nights and weekends. The kids need more of you.”
    “ It seems to me like you need me
right now,” Aden said. “I thought we were past all of
this.”
    “ All of what?”
    “ The push-pull,” Aden said. “You
love me. I love you. Nash and Noelle love you. It’s that
simple.”
    “ It’s not that simple,” Sandy said. “Your kids
need your help.”
    “ They need our help, Sandy. Nash came to YOU when he was in
trouble, not me. He wanted your help.”
    “ You know what he got in a fight
about? They beat him up because of me.”
    “ Sandy, no.” Aden grabbed her
shoulders to force her to look at him. “No. They’re bullies. They
fought with Nash because he’s not afraid of them. You were just an
excuse.”
    “ We should cool it, Aden, really.
If I’m not around, those boys won’t bother Nash
anymore.”
    “ Fine. You won’t pick him up at
school anymore,” Aden said. “But you and me?”
    Sandy shook her head. Aden sighed.
    “ Don’t give up, Sandy. Because of
some bullies? Don’t give up.”
    Sandy shook her head.
    “ If we cool off the evenings, what
about our workouts?” Aden asked. “Why don’t we keep working out
every morning? I enjoy that.”
    “ I like working out with you. I
always gain so much weight this time of year.”
    “ In all the right places.” Aden
slipped his arms around her. “We’ll give it a month?”
    Sandy nodded.
    “ What about New Year’s? Will you
spend New Year’s with me?”
    Sandy’s face was a wash of worry.
    “ Jake and Jill are having a party
at the Castle,” Aden said. “We’ll stay with them. Val’s inviting
her Hollywood friends.”
    “ Jill’s been talking about it for
weeks,” Sandy gave a slight nod. Her eyes sparked with hope. “I’ll
go… with you.”
    “ Will you still marry
me?”
    “ Aden! No!” Sandy exclaimed. “So
that the bullies can beat up your precious son? No!”
    “ Ok, ok, ok…” Aden pulled her to
him and stroked her back. “We’ll workout together for the next
couple weeks and see what happens.”
    “ What will Nash do this week?”
Sandy asked.
    “ He’ll have to come to work with
me,” Aden said. “He’s got to do his school work. There’s a meeting
set on Wednesday to resolve the issues between the kids. We’ll see
how that goes.”
    “ Is he injured?”
    “ No, MJ was right,” Aden said.
“They x-rayed him head to toe. He’s fine. The stitches were
perfect. He’ll have some bruises for a while, but he’ll be all
right.”
    When Sandy sniffled, Aden leaned back to look
at her face.
    “ This was really hard for you,”
Aden said. “Why do it? I love you. I’ll miss you every night, every
moment I don’t get to see you.”
    “ It’s for the best,” Sandy said.
“I’ll miss you too.”
    Aden pulled her close again.
    “ You should go,” Sandy
said.
    “ Sandy…”
    “ Please, it’s easier if you go.”
Tears dropped from her eyes. “Please.”
    “ I’ll see you tomorrow at the
gym?”
    Sandy nodded.
    “ 6:30?”
    Sandy nodded. Aden’s eyes caressed her face.
He gave her a curt nod. Then, he walked out her door.

CHAPTER
SIXTY-TWO
    The prick
     
    Two