Author: Suzanne Wright
Category: Young Adult
Go to read content：https://readnovelfree.com/p/24428_18
Paxton, however, had never dressed to impress. He’d worn casual attire and had no interest in looking slick. He’d preferred the clean-shaven look. He’d kept his bronze hair spiky at the top, and its length had faded the further down it got. He’d also had a lot more muscle on him than Calvin, whose build was more athletic than ripped.
Calvin kissed her cheek. “Hey, gorgeous.”
Closing the front door, Bree said, “Sorry, I’m a bit of a mess right now.” She had paint spatter all over her, including in her hair.
“Moira would have come but she was busy,” Bernadette told her.
Bree almost snorted. Moira despised her. Unlike her parents, she wasn’t blind to the cruelty in Paxton, but she’d loved her brother anyway. She blamed Bree for his faults.
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“You got all the light when your soul split; he only got the dark—how is that fair?” she’d once snarled at Bree.
Once the Cages had exchanged greetings with Elle, Bernadette headed straight to the contemporary kitchen, asking, “So, who wants coffee?”
Soon enough, everyone was gathered around the kitchen island with a mug of coffee. Bernadette did most of the talking. She was one of those people who didn’t really require you to contribute; she liked to be center stage. Unfortunately, but not at all unusually, quite a bit of the conversation centered around Paxton.
“Oh, here.” Bernadette dug her hand into her large purse and pulled out a giftwrapped, book-shaped object. “I thought you might like it. Call it a contribution to your giving the place a new look.”
Bree’s mouth curled. “Thank you.” But her gratitude quickly flitted away when she tore off the wrapping paper. It was a framed photograph of Paxton.
“He can’t be with you in body just yet,” said Bernadette. “But there should still be something of him here. I noticed that you don’t have any pictures of him anywhere. He’s going to love this house. Right, Ruben?”
“Right,” agreed Ruben, but his smile was tight. He didn’t believe that Paxton was alive—Bree could sense that clearly enough. She doubted he’d admit it to his mate.
Did it irk Bree that the woman couldn’t face that he’d been a twisted freak? Yes, but Bree couldn’t really blame her for being so determined to see the best in her son or to not give up on him.
Still, it was hard to be around Bernadette. The woman didn’t really see Bree when she looked at her. She saw a living, breathing link to Paxton. And she clung tight to it.
Calvin gently nudged Bree with his elbow and then tipped his chin at his mother.
Bree blinked. “I’m sorry, Bernadette, I didn’t catch that last bit.”
“I said I received a call this morning from Vinnie. He wanted to know if anyone had approached us to ask for Paxton’s whereabouts, but none of us have. Did hyenas really come to you, looking for a way to contact him?”
“Yes, they did,” said Bree. “They weren’t convinced that he’s never contacted me.”
“It is odd that he hasn’t,” Bernadette allowed. “But he will, Bree. I know you have trouble believing he’s alive, but he is. I feel it.”
Calvin sighed. “He left over twelve years ago, Mom. If he had any intention of returning, don’t you think he’d have done that already?”
Bernadette glared at him. “He’s just giving her time to mature, that’s all.”
Mature. She’d used that same word when she gave Bree a half-heart necklace a few days after he left. “Paxton asked me to give this to you,” she’d said. “He has the other half. When you’re mature enough for him to claim, he’ll come home to you.”
Bree had never believed that the necklace came from Paxton. No, Bernadette had told her such a lie to soften the blow of him leaving, mistakenly thinking that Bree felt abandoned and heartbroken. It had been a pointless gesture, but it was also sweet.
“You don’t think it’s strange that he never once contacted any of us?” Bree gently asked her.
The woman’s face went hard. “I don’t think he’s dead, if that’s what you’re really asking. A man like Paxton … sometimes they need to go their own way for a while.”
“And you’re so sure he’ll want Bree if he does come back?” asked Elle. “I mean, yeah, she’s his true mate. But he never treated her as if that meant anything to him; as if she meant anything to him. He left her. He never once contacted her. Never said he’d one day be back. To me, that doesn’t say he has much interest in taking a mate.”
Bernadette’s eyes flicked to Bree. “Tell me you don’t believe that, too. Tell me you haven’t given up on him.”
Bree only sighed.
“You’re his mate, Bree. The other half of his soul. He needs you more than you can ever know.” Which was as close as Bernadette would ever come to admitting that Paxton hadn’t been normal. “You can’t give up on him. You can’t move on with your life as if he shouldn’t be a part of it.”