I shouldn't have let her go off with him alone. No respectable man is physically abusive with the woman he loves. Cade couldn't get the image out of his head. Trevor shoved Caroline and she flew back nearly four feet. This guy was a first class prick. There had to be some kind of dirt on him that Cade could find to show Caroline and prove this theory.
Cade had to cool his temper and burn the adrenaline pumping through his veins. After the quick five mile run, he showered and walked back to the plantation house to wait for Eddie to get home from work. Cade wanted to be the first person to inform Eddie of the details, certain Caroline would sugar coat it to keep Trevor from looking like the bad guy. Eddie needed to know exactly how this maniacal bastard treated his daughter.
Cade sat quietly in the rocking chair on the front porch stewing. He glanced down and noticed a red spot on the leg of the rocking chair. Is that blood? Caroline's blood? Vehemence vibrated his bones. What happened before he got there just in time to step between them? Why would she make excuses for what Trevor had done to her? Sure, she may have tripped, but if he hadn't pushed her so hard, she wouldn't have lost her balance.
Any man who resorted to physical anger toward a woman was a spineless coward. He certainly didn't deserve Caroline. An amazing person inside and out, it made no sense for her to be with someone like Trevor.
Gravel crunched under the SUV's tires and Eddie pulled into the driveway.
Cade stood and eagerly met him as he slammed the door of the Tundra. "Hey, man. What are you doing here today? You work Tuesdays, right?"
"Yes, sir. But I'm not here working today."
Eddie's smile stretched across his face. "I see. Then you're here for Caroline? Where is she?"
"She's not here." Cade clenched his fists to rein in his temper because every time he thought about Trevor, the rage boiled. "Can you take a walk with me so we can talk?"
Eddie's brow furrowed, but he didn't question. "Sure. Is Caroline okay?"
Cade led him to the back yard out of sight in case Caroline came home before he finished disclosing the afternoon's events. She would be pissed with him for ratting her out, but Eddie needed to know exactly what happened, and Cade knew Caroline wouldn't be completely honest in her details.
"Yes, sir. Her fiancé surprised her with a visit, and they're out to lunch right now." Cade shifted uncomfortably, suddenly unsure about Eddie's feelings regarding Trevor. If he liked him, it might be more difficult to convince him that Trevor was a worthless dog.
Eddie's face remained indifferent. Cade knew Eddie didn't know much about Trevor, so he probably didn't have a problem with him being here, but Cade also knew Eddie hoped Caroline would be persuaded to choose him in the end.
"He surprised her, huh? That's good, I guess. Took him long enough. She's been here over a month. Did you meet him yet?"
Cade snorted. "You could say that."
Eddie squinted in the sunlight and studied his face. He focused on the sliced lip and the bruised swelling around Cade's jaw. "I see. Didn't go so well, huh?"
Though he tried, Cade had difficulty not seeming too anxious or talking too fast. He normally didn't have this much trouble controlling his temper. He'd mastered that art years ago, but it had been equally as long since he'd been this enraged.
"Well, you see, sir, that's just it. I didn't know he was coming, either. And Caroline and I had just decided to hang out again. On my way up here to take her to lunch I heard yelling. My gut told me something was wrong so I sped up a little. When I got closer, I saw this dude shove her. She went flying back like a rag doll and skidded across the gravel. I sprinted the rest of the way and stepped in between them. He would hit me before he laid another finger on her."
Cade cracked his neck in conjunction with his knuckles and drew in a deep, calming breath. "Apparently he didn't like someone else stepping up for her as he so kindly showed me with his fists."
Eddie's eyes hardened. "He shoved her?"
"Yes, sir. And I don't think that's all he did. Before I got up here and saw them, I heard her yelling at him. She said something about breaking her arms and that he was hurting her. She told me he had shoved her and she tripped over the flower pot on the porch. I also saw a little spot of blood on the rocking chair."
Eddie expelled a string of curse words with his breath as he brusquely rubbed his face. His jaw muscles twitched with the clenching of his teeth.
"She made excuses for him, like it was her fault and she deserved it." Cade shook his head and pressed his eyes closed. "I've seen his type before and I'd bet my truck this isn't the first time he's gotten physical with her." Cade's sister had done the same thing when her fiancé smacked her around. Cade wasn't around and couldn't do anything about it then, but the bastard messed up by almost killing her when Cade was finally home.
"I don't like him, sir. Not only because I love Caroline, but I saw how rough he was with her and the way he spoke to her. He's an a—well, he's just not good for her, Mr. Fontenot."
"It's good that you were around and able to step between them in time. Could've been much worse. Thank you." Eddie cocked a crooked grin. "I'm surprised, Beau. With your highly trained skills, I can't believe he's still walking. Why'd you hold back?"
He dropped his eyes to the piece of gravel he kicked around. He didn't want to go into detail about the way he'd envisioned himself ripping the guy limb from limb. "I didn't think Caroline would appreciate me killing her fiancé with my bare hands right in front of her."
Eddie laughed boisterously. "No, I suppose not. Why don't you come in and have a glass of tea with me? We'll have some lunch and wait for my future son-in-law to get back so I can meet him."
"Thank you, sir. I'll come in for a bit, but I don't think I'll stick around once he returns. I don't think I'll be able to control myself if I see him again. I really don't like him."
"Fair enough. Come on in. I could use some company right now, anyhow."
They got their tea and went to Eddie's office to chat. Eddie checked his messages and slammed the phone down, cursing under his breath.
"Something wrong?"
"These stupid real estate development companies. They won't leave me alone. Apparently my family's property is worth a considerable amount of money, and it's right smack in the middle of a fast growing area. They're trying to ruin the beauty of Golden Meadow with shopping malls, master planned communities, and other types of commercial properties—all around me. I've had a couple of different companies bugging the piss out of me to sell."
"That sucks. What companies?"
"Well, they're mostly local, but there's one company in particular that doesn't make any sense to me. I'm not worried about the local ones. The one that doesn't fit is a place up in Illinois. Why the hell would a company based in the Midwest be interested in property down in southeast Louisiana? Don't worry though. As long as I'm alive there's no chance in hell anyone's gonna buy this land. It's been in my family for nearly two centuries."
"Illinois? What's the company name? Do you know where in Illinois?"
"Not sure. It's like, KT, or KP Real Estate something or other. I don't know, I didn't exactly chat them up. I told them to go to hell. Why? You heard of 'em?"
Cade's mind spun at warp speed. That rang a bell. Why?
"I don't think so, but it sure sounds familiar. It seems like I should know who that is, but I can't figure out why." The relentless gnawing at his gut was nauseating. Why couldn't he remember the significance of that?
Cade heard the gravel crunching again as a car was driving up. "If it's all right with you, Mr. Fontenot, I'll let myself out the back door. I'd rather not be here when they walk in. Caroline's gonna be angry enough with me for scratching up his pretty face, but when she finds out I told you, I'd rather not be here."
"Sure thing, Beau. Thanks for coming in and giving me a heads up. I appreciate it. Oh, yeah. . .next time, if there is a next time, don't hold back. Ya hear?"
"Roger that, sir. I hope you get a better first impression of him
than I did. Have a good afternoon."
Cade slipped out the back way and tried hard to figure out why a Real Estate company in Illinois should be significant. On the way back to his cabin in deep thought, he pondered what Eddie had told him. KT. . .KP. . .or maybe KC? It hit him like a ton of bricks. Could it be? KC—Kenneth Callahan! Caroline said Trevor's dad was a real estate developer in Chicago. That had to be his company. Too much of a coincidence for it not to be. Why else would someone from Illinois be interested in this property in southeastern Louisiana? That couldn't be why Trevor was with Caroline. . .could it? Surely the prick's not that heartless. Adrenaline flowing, Cade sprinted the rest of the way to his cabin to do some research. This may be exactly the break he needed to prove to Caroline she shouldn't marry this punk.
***