Page 47 of Rebellious

“Ahh,” he answers, scratching the scruff of his beard. “So, I’m to assume you couldn’t sleep then?”

I feel my teeth clench. I can’t admit to Bennett’s father that he locked me out. Doing so would signal that Bennett and I are having problems. And everyone knows problems between girls and boys are typically about love. I can’t have Cade thinking anything is wrong and possibly asking Bennett or my father.

“Yeah,” I lie. “This move and new job has my head all messed up.”

Cade grabs a bat and walks up to the ball machine next to mine and turns it on. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

Yes. I’d very much like to pout it out alone.

I shake my head. “Not at all.”

“Your father and I used to spend hours out here when he was stressed.” He smiles like he’s remembering something funny. “He would hit, hurling insults at me, until his shoulder gave out.”

That sounds like my dad.

“And you let him?”

“Let him?” He scoffs, readying his bat before taking a swing, and sending the ball into the fence much harder than I do. “No one can stop your father from doing anything. I think you know that.”

“Yeah,” I nod. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

Cade barks out a laugh. “Agreed.”

I take another swing and miss. “But you’re still friends with him after all these years?”

He nods. “Your father and I have an understanding.”

I scoff. “Like what? You being patient when he explodes?”

“Not exactly.” He takes another swing, leveling the hit and sending the ball to the back of the cage. “You know, some of our best conversations were spent out here, not saying a word.”

I step back and drop the bat. “What? I don’t get it. You just stayed out here and hit balls?”

The familiar dark head nods briefly before he lines the bat up and takes another swing. “Believe it or not, most problems don’t need to be given a voice. Sometimes the battle must be fought within.”

Tightening steals my breath as I realize Cade might have been lingering in the woods longer than I thought.

“Sometimes, a good friend is someone who will stand in the shadows, a constant presence, so you can fight the battle alone.”

“Is that what you do, Uncle Cade?” I swallow, letting the ball whiz past me. “You stand guard while my father fights his own battles.”

Stepping out of the box, Cade turns around and faces me. “I’m saying the strength of a friendship is not measured by what’s said but by what is done.”

I look down at the ground. “And what happens if he loses that battle?”

I swallow. “You saw he locked me out, didn’t you?”

The bat clangs against the cage as Cade drops his bat. “Look at me.”

I pull my eyes from the ground as the ball whizzes between us. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I know Bennett will never live in a world without you.”

My lip quivers as I fight back tears. “I hope you’re right.”

He smiles. “I know Jamesons and I know Von Bremens.” He winks. “And I know how big of a pain in the ass they all are.”

He tips his chin to the ball machine. “How bout we hit until your shoulder gives out?”

The tension in my body eases. “I’d like that.”

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