Davis, Keyonna - Nowhere to Hide [Pine Valley] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (8 page)

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. Can I ask what happened?”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Cane said
,
trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

“It’s okay, I don’t like to talk about mine either.” Cane turned back around to look at Ali, who just smiled and turned her back. Cane couldn’t help the gasp that slipped out
.
Ali had a jagged scar going down the right side of her back from shoulder to hip that made her scar look like a paper cut. She turned back and squeezed Cane’s hand.

“Is that why you asked for a one
-
piece?” Not able to speak, Cane just nodded.

“It’s okay, I promise. The boys know how sensitive I am about my scar, so they won’t say anything about yours. Come on, let’s go before they come looking for us.”
If she can do it, then why can’t I?
Summing up all her courage Cane walked out to the pool.

* * * *

Finally, Duncan thought when he saw Cane and Ali coming out the door. He never understood what took women so long to get ready. How hard was it to put a swimsuit on? The guys had been in the pool a whole twenty minutes waiting on them. Getting out of the pool he began to walk over to them
,
but he caught Ali’s eye. She gave a small shake of her head and turned to head toward Riley and Chase who were sitting on the edge of the pool talking and drinking beers.
What was that all
ab
…
B
efore
he could finish the thought he saw what Ali was trying to tell him. Because of the way Cane was looking at him as if she was ashamed, he immediately knew that the scar that he was seeing was a gift from her ex. By the time he reached her, he so was consumed with rage that his whole body was trembling. If he ever met this Sam, he knew that it would take an act of God not to kill him. Evidently Cane saw the anger boiling off of him because she came to a complete stop and her eyes went wide. The look of fear on her face immediately calmed him down. He smiled and saw that she took a deep breath and began walking toward him again. If I reacted this way seeing that scar, Logan is going to blow a gasket
,
he thought. Reaching her, he rubbed his hand down her shoulder and felt her shiver.

“Would you like a beer?”

Cane frowned. “
Ewww
,
gross. No thanks, but I would like a glass of wine please.” Winking at her, he turned and walked toward the house. Just as he reached the door, Logan came out. Duncan grabbed him and forced them back through the door.

“What the hell, Duncan?”

“Just calm down, I have to tell you something about Cane.” Logan immediately went on alert. “Listen, I just wanted to give you fair warning. Cane has a nasty scar on her stomach. From the way she was acting, I would guarantee it that bastard Sam gave it to her.”

“Son of a bitch!” Logan yelled.

“This is exactly why I came and told you rather than let you see for yourself. Just don’t make a scene
.
F
rom
what I can see, she is very self
-
conscious about it.” Logan nodded stiffly and walked out the door. Knowing Logan wouldn’t let his anger show, Duncan poured Cane a glass of wine and grabbed a beer for himself and returned to the pool.

* * * *

This night couldn’t get any better
,
Cane thought. When she first came out in her bathing suit and Duncan saw her scar, she was shocked to see the anger in his face, and it scared her. When he rubbed her arm, the caress was soft and gentle, and she immediately calmed down. No one said anything about her scar
.
I
n fact they all acted like it wasn’t there. Forget thinking that she could fall in love with this family, hell, she was already halfway in love with them. Splashing around and wrestling with all the guys in the pool, she had never had so much fun or laughed as much in all her life.

Now lying in the lounge chair wrapped in Duncan’s fluffy bathrobe, Cane was feeling the effects of the four glasses of wine that she had. “I think it’s time for me to head to the room. I don’t think I can keep my eyes open much longer.”

“
Awwww
, do you have to go?” Ali whined.

Cane laughed. “I bet that whine gets you whatever you want out of these boys, don’t it.” Ali just giggled.

It was Logan to speak up this time. “I think we all have had a little too much to drink tonight
.
Y
ou
may have to stay
,
Cane.” Not wanting to risk anyone’s safety by trying to drive her home, she agreed to stay.

“Oh this is going to be so fun! You can sleep in my room. I have never had anyone stay over before!” Ali was clapping her hands and jumping up and down like a five-year-old.

“Well, that makes two of us,” Cane said. “I have never slept over with anyone before, so I think we should make the best of our first time.”

“Oh, we so have to stay up late and eat all kinds of junk, and…
Ohhh
we definitely have to talk about boys,” Ali said with glee. The last statement caused a lot of chokes and coughs from the guys, and Cane couldn’t help but to giggle herself. Ali was rubbing off on her. Ali kissed her brothers and Logan on the cheek and skipped off to the kitchen.

Standing, Cane said, “Well, I should go help her. Thank you guys for dinner. I have never had so much fun.”

Duncan and Logan both rose at the same time and each kissed her cheek. Feeling her face heat up, she told them all good night and went into the house.

Chapter 7

“Can I ask you a question?” Ali whispered. It was three in the morning and after eating popcorn, chocolate, and ice cream, she and Cane had finally gotten in the bed. They did all the things that girls were supposed to do while at a sleepover. They gave each other makeovers, manicures, and did each other’s hair
.
N
ow
they had been lying in bed for the past thirty minutes talking about random things, favorite movies, who they thought the cutest actors were
.

“Sure, you can ask me anything,” Cane
said
, already half
-
asleep.

“Do you really like my brother and Logan?”

That question was not what Cane expected. Thinking about it, she answered, “Yes. I know it has only been two days, but I think I could really fall in love with them. With all of you really, you all have made me feel so welcomed like I have known you for years.”

“Good,” was all Ali said, but Cane could hear the happiness in her voice. For the first time in eight years, Cane realized that she was happy, too. With that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

“Wake up! Cane wake up!”

Cane slowly came awake to Duncan shouting and shaking her. She could hear a loud sobbing sound and realized that it was her. She was half
-
seated in his lap with her head on his shoulder. Logan was behind her with his hands rubbing circles on her back. Coming to her senses, she looked around the room and saw Ali sitting up in her bed with a terrified look on her face. She looked like she had been crying, and Chase was sitting with his arm around her. Riley was leaning against the door.

Oh no! What have I done! They are all going to think I am crazy now.
So much for fitting in with this family, Cane thought.

Completely embarrassed, Cane turned her face into Duncan’s bare chest. “Oh God I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” She began to cry again and felt Duncan lift her in his arms and walk out of the room. She was aware of them walking down a hallway and then a door shutting behind them. She didn’t look up until she felt herself being laid in the center of a king-size bed. Duncan slid in on one side, and Logan, who she didn’t know followed them, slid into the other.

“You want to talk about it?” Duncan asked. They had both curled up on each side of her, and she felt nothing but comfort. She would have never have gotten this from Sam
.
H
e hated any show of weakness, and her waking up crying would have definitely been weak to him.

Because she was so quiet for so long, Logan spoke next
.
“Baby, you were screaming in your sleep and Ali couldn’t wake you. She was scared to death. I think it’s time to tell us everything so that we can help you.”

Cane knew that he was right. She had been holding this in too long, and it was starting to take its toll on her. Knowing that after the scene she just made, that she still had these two guys and their family willing to help her with no questions asked
,
gave her the courage to finally tell her story. Taking a deep breath, she began.

“Well, after being abandoned and growing up in foster and group homes, I realized that if I wanted to make something of my life, I had to depend on myself, so I worked hard in high school and earned a full scholarship to college. For the first time in my life, I was happy. According to the state I was officially an adult, and I was out on my own. I met Sam my freshman year. At the time I had never even received any attention from a boy, and I couldn’t believe that a junior was interested. From the time we met we were inseparable. By the spring of my sophomore year, he asked me to marry him and I told him no. I didn’t even have a specific reason for saying no, just instincts telling me not to.”

Cane swallowed back tears. If only she had listened to her instincts. Feeling a gentle squeeze from Duncan she continued. “We had a really big fight one night after he asked me to marry him again and I said no, and he threw me out of his apartment. I went back to my dorm room and cried all night. After a week, I was feeling better about not being with him and my roommate invited me to a party. Not wanting to be alone, I went. Not thinking, I did the stupidest thing and accepted a drink from a guy. I woke up naked in a bed next to a strange guy and didn’t remember anything that happened. I was terrified, and I went straight to Sam and told him what happened. I couldn’t believe how understanding he was about it and how angry he was that someone would do that to me. I began to think maybe my instincts were wrong about him, so I gave him another chance. He never asked me to marry him again, but he asked me to move in with him. We were happy for a while, and then he began to change. At first it was just little comments asking who I was with when I went out, telling me I smelled like other men, things like that. He eventually talked me into dropping out of school using my guilt about what happened at the party against me. He always found a way to throw it in my face. I was stupid to stay, but by that time
I
felt so low that I felt I deserved him.”

Cane could feel the fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. Logan pulled her face to his chest and rocked her.

“Oh, baby, you never deserved any of that.” He rocked her while Duncan ran his hands up and down her arms.

They remained quiet, and she began again. “About four years into the relationship
—
he had made detective by that time
—
he began pressuring me to have babies. I knew that I did not want any children with him early on, so I went and got birth control behind his back. I did not want any children to suffer like I had. After months of him trying to get me pregnant with no luck, he assumed that something was wrong with me and made an appointment for me to see a doctor. I knew he would go with me and find out about the birth control, so I told him I didn’t want kids. He became so angry when I told him that he slapped me across the face. That was the first time he hit me. He apologized the next morning with flowers and said it would never happen again, but it just got worse and worse. Over our eight
-
year relationship I had my right arm broken twice, my left broken three times, several broken ribs including one that punctured a lung, and way too many bruises to count.”