Page 16 of No Regrets

Chapter Five

The day before Christmas Eve, Brianna spent most the day unpacking. Kaden forced her to take the day off, and the three of them situated themselves in their new home. Blair had a hand in decorating, making the place beautiful, yet it also made Brianna feel like an intruder in her own home.

Shiloh played in the living room with some of the new toys Kaden had bought her while he sorted through their belongings right next to her. Much to Brianna’s surprise, Kaden had taken to being a parent. If Shiloh was hungry, he fed her. If she wanted to play or to be held, he normally stopped what he was doing and did what she wanted to do. He even talked to her—mostly about Brianna—gaining her advice. She smiled, tears forming in her eyes.

Shiloh was becoming a daddy’s girl.

“Hey, I’ve got the pictures unpacked. Where do you want to put what?” Bree rounded the corner to see Shiloh in Kaden’s lap, holding a picture of her the hospital took.

“I don’t care. Shiloh, sweetie, you need to lay down for a nap.” She picked up her baby and started toward the room, her grandmother cleverly designed with a pink theme.

After situating Shiloh in the nice new bed, Brianna flipped the lights off and met Kaden in the hall. She closed the door and tried walking around him, though he grabbed her arm and pulled her back against the wall.

“Bree, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She tried jerking her arm away from him, but it didn’t work. He prevented her movement with his strength and his body. “Let me go.”

“Not until you tell me why you’re so mad. You practically jerked Shiloh out of my arms.”

“I’m not mad, and she needed a nap.”

“She was perfectly fine in my arms.” He brushed her cheek with his fingertip and she broke down. “Sweetheart, why are you so unhappy?”

“I can’t handle it. I’ve always had my independence, and I just feel like you, your family, my mother are all taking it from me. I’m not in control of my own life anymore. I feel like a stranger in my own home.” She wiped her tears, smudging her makeup.

He wrapped his arms around her. “Sweetheart, we aren’t trying to take your independence. I only want to make your life easier.”

She sniffled laying her cheek against his chest. “I like being in control, Kaden. I can’t handle stuff when it’s out of my control.”

He slid his hands down her back. “Fine. Just thump me on the head when I’m getting in your way.”

“Kaden, it’s not that I don’t appreciate it. I do. I’m just not use to having someone to share my responsibilities. I’ve gotten used to being on my own, and I’m set in my ways.” She pulled back, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling down for her kiss.

This woman was possibly the most confusing woman on the face of the earth. One minute she’s pissed at him, and the next she’s kissing him. He didn’t like the pissed part, but the kissing part was really nice.

“We’re suppose to go to my parents for Christmas Day.” He pecked her cheek. “From what I hear, they have a whole room full of presents for Shiloh.”

She immediately retracted from him. “Great.”

“Bree, why do you hate my parents? You’ve known them all your life, and up until now, they’ve been like your second parents. What happened that changed your mind?”

She stepped away from him, walking back down the hall to the massive living room full of clutter and boxes. “Your mother threatening to take my daughter away for one thing.”

“Bree, she isn’t going to do anything.”

“Yeah? She likes to remind me all too frequently that her husband is the best damn family attorney in the whole fucking state of North Carolina. I wouldn’t stand a chance going up against him.” She threw a wad of paper across the room, not caring where it landed. “Forgive me for not being peachy with your family.”

He stood watching as she unwrapped small figurines and threw the paper wherever she cared. The last thing he needed right now was his wife—his best friend—scared of his mother’s threats. He didn’t need her constantly looking over her shoulder because she was afraid someone would snatch Shiloh and be gone. If anything, he needed her trust him much as he needed his next breath. But it didn’t look like he’d earn it anytime soon. No matter how many kisses or how many affectionate things he may say or do. She needed to feel safe with him, and ultimately he’d show her by making her daughter safe in his care.

“Do you not trust me?”

Left and right, she slung newspaper over her shoulder. “What reason have you given me to, Kaden? A lot’s happened in a year. Yeah, you’re still my best friend, but it’s not like it used to be. We can’t talk about things anymore, because our lives are intermingled.”

“You can trust me, Bree. I’ve always been honest. I’ve been there for you during the hard times. I’ve—”

“Stop right there before you piss me off royally.” She turned, holding her hand up. “You ran when I told you I was pregnant because you weren’t ready to be a dad. You didn’t bother to call, or ask about me during the nine moths before and after I carried and delivered your child nor did you even want to talk to me when you saw me at the restaurant the first night we saw each other in eighteen months. Don’t you dare say you’ve been there for me during the hard times because you have no idea how hard raising a kid solo is, not to mention my ill mother. I worked fourteen to sixteen hours a day and still barely had enough money to pay all my bills. Necessities, Kaden. It’s not like I had a credit card full of items that I purchased on a whim. I’m talking doctor bills, utilities, rent. As far as I’m concerned, you got off pretty damn easy, and if your grandfather hadn’t have died, I don’t think we’d be having his conversation right now.”

Kaden couldn’t hold in his own temper. “So you got what you wanted. A house you don’t have to pay for. Utilities you don’t have to pay for. Insurance you don’t have to pay for. I take care of Shiloh when I’m home even though I have boatloads of work to be done. And dammit, yes, I did run when you told me you were pregnant, because I knew that in all the years I’d been fucking women, left and right, you were the only one I bent my rules with. I never in a million years ever forgot a condom. Never, Bree. I knew it was my baby, and I knew I wasn’t ready. If I’d have come back then, I would have proposed because I couldn’t stand to see you alone. You try to act like a badass, but deep inside, you’re scared shitless and, babe, we’re in that boat together.”

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