Evan turned away with his teeth clenched tight. “Yeah, you really trust me.”
He took a step away, and Caden grabbed him by the arm. “I do trust you, but I don’t know them, and this new you, the one who challenges his father? The judgment is still out on him.” He took him by the shoulders and leaned down so they were eye to eye. He knew the intimate hold would be a little embarrassing for Evan, but he did it as much to drive home the fact that he loved him no matter what happened between them as he did to let the other boys know that Evan had a father who cared about him. His gut ached at the way Evan’s entire body went stiff, and the fire in his son’s eyes drove that pain deeper.
“This uncomfortable part of our relationship is new to us both, and I know there are parts of it that you can’t control, and there will be parts that I can’t control either.” He’d sworn he’d never make Evan feel bad about pushing the envelope, and he was finding it a difficult tightrope to walk. “Ev, you don’t need to like me, but you do need to know that I love you.” He felt the tension in Evan’s shoulders ease just a hair and continued with the hope that Evan was really listening. “And there’s no way that I’m going to ignore what my gut’s telling me about these kids. My job is to protect you, so no matter how hard it is for either of us, we’d both better get used to it.”
Evan shrugged out of his grasp. “They’re my friends, Dad.”
“I know. I get it. Let’s just make sure they’re the right friends.”
He watched Evan walk away and felt as though he was losing him a little more with each step. He questioned again if he’d done the right thing by moving. He’d made it for almost thirteen years on the force without getting killed. Should he have pushed his luck by staying and hoped for the best? It was a question he’d asked himself a million times, and he knew he’d ask it of himself a million more times before Evan came out on the other side of his transition into manhood.
Inside the patrol car, he checked his cell, but still there was nothing from Bella. He called her, and the call went to voice mail. He needed a Bella fix. Forty-eight hours was too long to go without seeing her.
He played the conversation with Evan over and over in his mind on the way to Seaside. He was certain he’d done the right thing by flexing a little parental muscle, but it still made the muscles in the back of his neck pinch tight. A thread of guilt tightened inside him. In Boston, time off had meant Caden would have more time to spend with Evan, watching him show off at the skate park or hanging out at the house while he and his friends bopped in and out during the day as they went from one of their houses to the next, doing whatever kids did. Lately, Evan preferred to spend time with his friends instead of his father, and Caden allowed Evan extra time with them because he craved time alone with Bella. That guilt had been nagging at him over the last forty-eight hours while he’d been working nights and wishing he could be with her.
He drove up the sloped gravel road into Seaside and parked beside Bella’s car in her driveway. He waved to Amy as she came out of the laundry room.
“Aw, no tool belt today?” Amy held a laundry basket against her hip and pulled the laundry room door closed with her free hand.
“I think my chief might have a heart attack if I wore that to work.”
She crossed the gravel road. “You obviously have a male boss.”
“Very male.” Caden looked at her basket. “Do you need help?”
“You’re such a gentleman. No, thanks. I’ve got it. Bella’s still at the beach with Jenna. Want me to tell her you came by?” Amy tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Sure. I’ll try to come by later while I’m on patrol, but it may not be for a few hours, if I’m able to at all.” He noticed that Amy had her bathing suit on beneath her dress. “Why aren’t you at the beach?”
“Hey, Caden. How’s it going?” Tony waved from the deck of his cottage. His hair was tousled, which seemed a perpetual state for Tony, and it gave him the look of always having just come from the beach, which, by his board shorts and lack of a shirt, Caden imagined he had.
Just had a run-in with my son, can’t find my girlfriend, and I’m sure I’ll have three more thefts to deal with tonight. Life is grand.
“Great. Just stopped by to see if I could catch Bella.” Man, he missed her.
“I was with them at Cahoon, but the sun’s really warm today, so I came back to get some things done.” Amy shifted the laundry basket to her other hip. “She’ll be bummed she missed you, but she had a great day and I know she’ll be excited to tell you about it.”
“Yeah. I’ve been texting her, but if she’s at Cahoon, she won’t get them until she leaves.” He ran his hand through his hair and debated driving over to the beach, but the chance of catching her in the parking lot was nearly zero. “Can you just ask her to check her phone?”
“Sure.” Amy shifted her eyes to Tony and her cheeks flushed.
The dispatcher’s voice came across the radio in his patrol car. “Thanks, Amy. I’ve got to take this. She can text me, and if I get a break, I’ll swing by again.” He waved to Tony, took the call, and headed back to Nauset to handle another vehicle break-in report. He had a feeling it was going to be a very long night.
BELLA AND JENNA stayed on the beach long after the sun went down. Her hair whipped across her cheeks, reminding her of the night Caden tied her hair back with fishing line. He was always doing thoughtful things like that—taking care of her in ways that no man had done before. He was different in so many ways from the other men she’d dated, and she realized that she was different when she was around him, too, and even though she wasn’t her snarky self, she liked the softer woman she became when she was with him.
Jenna pulled her chair closer to Bella and draped a blanket over their legs. “You look like you’re deep in thought.”
“Thinking about Caden.” She inhaled the cool, salty air, and her mind drifted to Caden’s fantasy. Bella had always been adventurous, and she’d never been especially modest. Having sex in places other than the bedroom wasn’t new to her—tents, cars…been there done that. Outside, though? That had always carried a trace of danger, but the thought of doing that with Caden didn’t feel dangerous at all. Caden wouldn’t let them do anything dangerous. Maybe they could find an adventurous, private spot to satisfy his fantasy…
“Aren’t you always thinking about Caden?” Jenna wore a sarong draped around her shoulders and it blew behind her like a colorful mane.