Page 405 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
"Hi." She forced a smile as the air sucked from the room. He was so far beyond beautiful he didn't look real. Photoshop would have had a run for its money.
"Hi, Kari. Nice to meet you. My brother taking good care of you?" His voice had no inflection, his blue eyes no life. What in the world would cause someone like him to live in numbness? He was numb. There was little to no life in him as they spoke for a few more minutes. He was nothing like his brothers.
"I told Jake he doesn't deserve a girl this pretty." Landon laughed, and Kade nodded, his expression tight and unyielding.
"I agree." His eyes shifted over toward Kari. "And you're from New York?"
"Yes. We live in Maine now, but my family is still in New York. In the slums of New York." She gave him a cheeky grin and he nodded.
"Nice place up there. I love the snow especially."
Jake walked into the living room and extended his hand. "Come on. Let's go make out in the barn."
She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Kade. Dark hair, tanned skin, deep blue eyes the color of the ocean. Gorgeous and yet completely dead on the inside.
"Nice to meet you. Hopefully one day we can do it in person."
"I'd like that." Kade turned his attention back to Landon, his tone not changing. "Where's your girl, man?"
Kari got up and walked toward Jake, wanting to ask a million questions, but saving them. Maybe he was simply sad from not getting to come home for the holidays. Maybe something happened on the battlefield recently and it changed his life.
"You all right?" Jake wrapped his strong arm around Kari as they walked out of the house and down a long path that led to a big red barn in the back part of the property.
She shivered and wrapped her arm around herself, snuggling against him. "Yeah, just trying to figure out why your brothers aren’t married or dating."
"They’re jaded, baby. Just like I was." He kissed the top of her head. "They need to find a good woman like you and see what they're missing."
"Maybe our relationship will show them that they're missing something." She glanced up at him and tried not to fall as they walked the rocky path away from the house. "Clint and Landon still seem full of life though."
"Yeah, they don't let much get them down." He averted his eyes from her.
"And what about Kade? He didn't seem alive when we spoke. When most people would have smiled at something Landon or I said, he didn't budge. It was like he was frozen."
"He's seen a lot on the battlefield, baby. He's a hard man, but he always has been. I don't know if he believes in love, to be honest with you."
"What do you mean?" Kari pulled him to a stop and forced him to face her. "Who doesn't believe in love?"
"Someone that's lost it, I guess." He shrugged, looking far more noncommittal than she'd ever seen him look.
She ran her hands down his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Baby."
"What?" He glanced down, his expression pained.
"What happened to him? Unless you don't want to talk about it, then I'll just let it go."
"He married his high school sweetheart." Jake shrugged as his eyes glazed over as if a memory were dragging him far away. "He wasn't always this cold. He's using it as a defense mechanism."
"Most people do. What happened with his wife? Is she not around anymore?" Kari shuddered to think that the story could get much worse than cheating or divorce. Maybe she should have left it alone.
"She got MS in high school, but you couldn't tell." He took a shaky breath. "She was a lot like you. Bubbly, and of course my mom and dad loved her to pieces. We all did."
"Did?" Kari swallowed hard. Shit.
"Yeah. She started going downhill because of the disease about a year after Kade and her graduated and got married. She um... she died on Christmas Eve the year after they got married, so about seven years ago. It was my junior year. Worst fucking holiday ever. We're still getting over it, but I think that's why Kade doesn't come home often. Too many memories to haunt him."
"Oh, my God." She moved back and rubbed her chest as the image of Kade moved in front of her mind's eye. He was so cold, so lost, so destroyed by losing love. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Jake reached out and pulled her close, pressing his cheek against her head. "It's part of the deal, you learning about me and me learning about you. I'd give anything to get my brother back, but it's just not going to happen."
