We Shall Rise (10 page)

“Kaden please,” Reysa urged. “Diamonde wouldn’t lie about this. This is the only way.”

“A goddamn Chihuahua,” Kaden muttered bitterly. “Fine, cut it off.”

“Reysa, would you like to do the honors?” Diamonde offered. “You are the knife expert.”

Reysa looked at the Kaden’s mangled hand through watery eyes. “I-I can’t do this to him.”

“I would be happy to,” Grotaon volunteered as he grabbed his miniature axe. “Aye. It would give me great pleasure to be of service.”

“Not with that toy axe,” Kaden threatened. “You’re not going to torture me with that pathetic excuse for a weapon.”

“No problem.” Grotaon held out the axe which began to grow larger until it reached the size of a normal axe. It was nearly as big as Grotaon, but he twirled it with ease. “This will only hurt--well quite a bit actually--but only for a few agonizingly slow moments. You know lad, there’s an Irish Gaelic proverb, ‘
Is minic a bhris béal duine a shorn
’ which translates to ‘many a time a man's mouth broke his nose.’ Such a fitting expression to sum up this moment and probably most of your life.”

And Kaden thought his day couldn’t get any worse. He had been pissed on by one Chihuahua and attacked by a rabid one named Fi-Fi and now his hand was about to get chopped off by a diminutive, but deadly axe yielding elf who wanted to lecture him with Irish proverbs.

He tried to focus on Reysa’s tear stained face, but he couldn’t help but watch as a gloating Grotaon levied his axe. Kaden roared as his world went black.

Kaden opened his eyes and inhaled the enticing scents of jasmine and gardenia. For a moment, he thought he had just awoken from the most bizarre dream, but then he looked at his bandaged right arm and realized—Fi-Fi was real and he was one hand short. As he tried to sit up, he felt her soft hands gently lifting him.

“Are you in any pain?” Reysa asked as she ran her fingers through his hair. The slightest touch and he was hard for her again.

How could he possibly be in pain with those heavenly fingers stroking him? Pain would come if she stopped no doubt, but nothing could defeat the bliss of her touch except for that furry thing touching his left arm. Kaden stiffened. A brief moment of panic as a small part of him feared it was another killer dog with an unnatural overbite preparing to use him as a chew toy.

Reysa sensed his discomfort and reached for the brown teddy bear. A harmless stuffed teddy bear with a bright pink bow. Great. Now he just embarrassed himself in front of the one woman he wanted to impress.

“Tatiana left this for you. It’s her good luck bear. She thought it might help you heal. She never sleeps without it, but she did for the first time last night. She figured you needed it more.”

Kaden took the rumpled bear from Reysa. He was touched by Tatiana’s sweet gesture. “Thank her for me.”

“Actually, she’s waiting outside to see you. She begged not to go to school today. She wanted to be here in case you woke up. She’s quite fond of you. I can’t imagine why,” Reysa teased.

“She has bad taste in men.”

Reysa stood up and walked to the door. Looking over her shoulder, she added, “Apparently so does her mother. I’ve been told this repeatedly over the last few weeks.”

A moment later she returned with Savannah and Tatiana who slipped through her mother’s legs and jumped into the bed. She hugged a startled Kaden who didn’t know how to respond to the child. He awkwardly patted her back with his left hand and she released him snuggling into this left side.

“Sugar, I heard you were in need of a hand,” Savannah taunted as she waved all four of hers at Kaden. “Fortunately for you, I’ve got one to spare.”

“Grotaon called to check on you,” Christian strolled into the room adding to Kaden’s misery. “He wanted to make sure we called him if the infection spread just in case he needed to remove any more of your body parts. I think he should just chop you into bits to be safe.”

“Behave, Christian,” Reysa reprimanded. He quieted, but kept that smirk on his face. “Savannah, can you check his bandages to make sure he’s ok?”

“I’m fine,” Kaden grumbled. “I would feel better if the dog stench was out of this room. Then I could breathe fresh air.”

“I think it’s the puppy smell in your blood that’s bothering you,” Christian retorted.

“Enough!” Reysa yelled. “Kaden needs his rest. We should go.” Kaden really wanted her to stay but wouldn’t ask with the others in the room, especially Christian. He would not show any weakness in front of the vampire-wolf. Reysa sat next to Kaden on the bed. “Christian, Savannah and I are going to The Lore. I’m sorry to leave you, but I am so behind in my work and I can’t keep dumping my responsibilities on my friends. I’m just a phone call away if you need anything. I can pop in at a moment’s notice. I have left you fresh blood in the refrigerator and Tatiana has been baking all afternoon for you. She will take care of you if you need anything.”

It took a moment for her words to register then he realized she was planning to leave him alone with her kid. “Wait a minute! I don’t babysit.”

“Actually, she’s babysitting you.” Christian clarified. “We wouldn’t want you to be left totally unprotected. You never know what could happen. Tati’s pet piranha might decide to take off your other hand.”

Kaden wanted to squeeze the life out of Christian with his one good hand. He took a very deep breath and focused his attention on a worried Reysa. She squeezed his shoulder trying to reassure him everything would be ok. He looked at Tatiana’s bright, hopeful silver eyes. She wanted to spend the day with him and as uncomfortable as he was at the prospect, he could not deny this child anything. There was something about her innocent eyes that could make the hardest of hearts melt.

“I’m willing to stay with Tatiana, but I can’t communicate with her. I can’t fully sign with one hand.”

“That’s ok,” Reysa reassured him. “Her hearing aids are on so if you talk slowly, she can read your lips. Also, if you write in print, she should be able to read it. You really don’t have to worry about her. Her dinner is in the fridge. It just needs to be warmed and she can do that herself. She’s very independent and careful.”

Kaden did not feel comforted. He hadn’t spent time with a child since Julian was a kid and look how well that turned out.

Julian. He had not seen him since he woke. He would have been more surprised if his younger brother had been waiting by his bedside, but not seeing him was a familiar disappointment Kaden had grown accustomed to over the years. He had no one to blame but himself. Julian was probably having a drink celebrating Kaden’s plight. Who could blame Jules? Kaden had caused him considerable pain and “I’m sorry” would not take away the years of hurt.

Kaden wished he could undo his past mistakes, but what was done couldn't be undone. Not ever. Their relationship could have survived the fights, the sibling rivalry, the competition, but their bond could not survive Helena. That devil-in-heels permanently severed their relationship. She would always stand between them no matter how many years had passed. Julian could not forgive that betrayal and Kaden could not forgive himself.

He would spend the rest of his life pretending that Julian’s disdain did not matter, but his heart knew the truth. He missed his
fratellino
, his little brother.

“Julian was here all morning, but he left about an hour ago.”

Kaden stared at her in awe. It was like she knew what he was thinking. She always seemed to know just what he needed, except for now as she prepared to leave when his heart was pleading with her to stay. He couldn’t say the words.

“Well, it’s time for us to go.” Reysa walked over to Tatiana and hugged her tightly. She set her down and starting signing, “Peanut, I want you to be on your best behavior for Kaden. You take good care of him. If you have any problems, Lina is in her room. She’s grounded and can’t leave. You can also just use your necklace. Wish for me and I’ll come immediately.” Tatiana tugged at heart shaped golden charm around her neck. This was her beacon to her parents Diamonde made for her. With this charm, her parents could always find her no matter how far away she was from the safety of their arms.

Kaden caught the slight tremble in Reysa’s fingers as she signed those instructions to Tatiana. Suddenly, Reysa looked very worried as if it just fully had occurred to her that she was trusting her daughter with someone she shouldn’t. Kaden resented her doubt. She didn’t believe in him. He gave her no reason to, but her doubt stung. He wanted more than anything to prove to her he could be trusted. He would prove it to himself as well.

“We’ll be fine,” Kaden assured Reysa whose eyes darted nervously from his to Tatiana’s. He stood up and softly cupped her cheek in his left hand. “We’ll be fine,” he repeated. He reluctantly let her go and reached for a giggling Tatiana who he easily lifted with his left arm.

Christian embraced Tatiana as well and also gave her a list of warnings about Kaden. Finally they left and he realized that he was stuck in a house with a four-year-old girl.
What the hell did I get myself into?
He thought as Tatiana wiggled out of his arm and dragged him to her playroom.

II

I made you some cookies and brownies. We can eat them at my table during our tea party.
Tatiana signed enthusiastically. Before Kaden could tell her she was out of her mind if she thought he was going to play tea party with her, she ran to her bedroom.

He was willing to play video games with her or to race some of her cars and trucks. Even with one hand, he could handle the Wii, but if she thought he was going to play girlie games with her, the kid was going to be very disappointed. She'd better learn now that one rarely ever gets what they want in life although it looked like that she was used to getting exactly what she wanted all the time. Not tonight though. Kaden was not her overindulgent father.

She returned dragging a chest that was almost larger than her. She opened it up and pulled out a fluffy white dress with some odd beading. It looked like one of those horrid outfits parents forced their kids to parade in during those child beauty pageants. Tatiana didn’t seem bothered by the idea of wearing that disastrous outfit. She quickly put it on over her jeans and dawned what resembled a diamond tiara. Kaden got a closer look and realized they were real diamonds. Good grief. This kid was spoiled rotten. No wonder she had a princess complex.

You can wear this
. She pulled out a yellow and royal blue monstrosity and handed it to Kaden. He studied the costume like a scientist trying to analyze a new species. After careful consideration he deduced this was supposed to be a king costume.

“Are these tights?” he asked as he held the offending material far away from him.

Tatiana nodded in delight.

“You honestly expect me to wear this?”

Tatiana’s smiled started to fade as she nodded slowly.

“Kid, I’m going to say this real slowly so there’s no confusion. There is no way I would be caught dead in this. I don’t do costumes. I don’t do tea parties. I’m not going to do your hair, play with your dolls or watch princess movies. No girlie nonsense.”

Tatiana’s lips starts to tremble. She buried her face in her hands and ran to her room almost stumbling on the train of her dress.

“Good job asshole,” Kaden cursed himself. “Five minutes alone with the kid and she was already in tears.” He worried she was already summoning her mother to come rescue her from him. If he couldn’t prove to Reysa that she could trust him with the most precious thing in her life, then there would be no hope for them. Even though his mind constantly reminded him that Reysa was not for him, his heart refused to listen and his body had long since tuned out that unwanted message. He had to be with Reysa, but she wouldn’t have to be with him, especially if her kid hated him which she probably did at the moment.

Kaden did the unthinkable as he donned the king costume sans the tights. He would not concede that point. Real men didn't wear tights. He would have to convince Tatiana of that, but he would have the tea party she wanted even if he died from humiliation. As long as this sacrifice led to Reysa’s bed, it would be worth this brief period of mortification for the sake of making this child smile brightly again. The ends had better justify the means.

He knocked on her door and waited temporarily forgetting that she wouldn’t hear him knocking. He opted for barging into her room and hoping that wouldn’t scare her. Dealing with kids was too difficult. Leaving her with him was a grand mistake.

She was lying face down on the ground. Her face hidden under her arms. He touched her shoulder, but she shrugged free. “This was going well,” he bemoaned. It’s not like he could just start talking to her. She needed to face him. Losing patience, he decided to force her upright and hope that she wouldn’t scream.

He picked her up and pushed her arms down forcing her to see him. She looked ready to holler until she saw the king costume. “I guess I finally have your attention.” One look at those watery eyes and Kaden felt like a jerk. He tried to sign and speak the words he thought Tatiana needed to hear. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I’m not good with kids. Let’s have the tea party. It will be fun.” Kaden was not good at apologies as evidenced by his lack of friends and broken familial relationships. He didn’t have a clue how to make amends with a ticked off kid.