He held onto it, looking around the room, but mostly focusing on Derek. Derek had his hands on his belt, his chest poked out, and his jaw clenched.
“Get the hell out, Buck,” Derek hissed. “I should break your fucking face for following my daughter.”
Buck stepped away from me, stuffing the envelope into his pocket.
“Let’s go,” he snapped at Miss Walker.
Miss Walker collected her things. “I am so sorry I wasted your time, Mr. Cane. If I’d known the details, I never would have taken his case. I just saw a big, popular company, and that he was related, and assumed it was deeper than he let on.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her.
She nodded, forced a smile, and then left. When they were both on the elevator and the doors had shut, I turned toward them and smiled.
“Did you see the look on his face?” I laughed.
Mindy laughed with me, and I reeled her in for a hug. When I pulled away, she said, “He won’t be coming to you again—at least not about a lawsuit. I’ll keep the recording on file just in case, though.”
“Thank you so much, Mindy. I know you didn’t have to come all the way up here.”
“Yeah, Cane.” She patted my shoulder. “I did. You’re a friend.” She turned to collect her things while I gave Joey a brotherly hug, clapping him on the back.
“Thank you so much for coming, Joey! You’re looking great, man!” I said, smiling.
“Thank you! I’m on a new diet! Vegan now!”
“Hey, it looks good on you!”
I turned and looked at Derek. He stood where he was, frowning at me as I cocked my head.
“Thank you for coming, man.” I met up to him.
“I only came because Kandy called us and said it was urgent,” Derek mumbled. “I didn’t do this for you. He was a threat to my daughter.”
“He was, but still…I appreciate you showing at all.”
“Don’t get used to it,” he muttered, turning for the door. “Come on, Mindy.”
“We have to get going. I have a meeting tonight, but tell Kandy to call me when you see her,” she said.
“I will.”
She smiled over her shoulder when they met at the elevator. I watched them go, and then turned to Joey. “I should get going too,” he announced. “My wife about strangled me when I told her I had to fly here so last minute. You know she’s pregnant?”
“Shit, really?”
“Yep. She’s right at nine months. Baby is due any day!”
“Holy shit, man! Congrats!”
Joey laughed. “It’s a boy, too.”
“That’s amazing. What you always wanted, man.”
I walked with him to the elevator, pressing the button. The doors opened in no time, but before Joey boarded, he turned to me and said, “For the record, I know you see your father in yourself sometimes, but you are ten times a better man than he is. I remember the way he used to make you feel, but I’m glad to see you are past that. You look…happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look like this.”
I ran a hand over my head, smirking. For some reason, when he said that, all I could think about was Kandy. Her soft laugh rang in my head. My skin tingled, craving her touch. I told her once this was settled, I’d come right back to her.
“I am happy,” I told him. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, actually.”
“Well,” Joey said, taking a step back and letting the door go. “Happy looks good on you. The woman you’re with must be one hell of a lady.”
I smiled, watching the doors close, but what I really wanted to do was tell him that Kandy was everything I never knew I needed. She was light in my darkness, the calm to my storm. The bliss and ecstasy that I’d slowly became addicted to over the many years I’d known her.
Kandy gave me purpose again, and my purpose was to make her the happiest woman on earth.
Chapter Thirty-Five
KANDY
Cane came home early, and my heart pounded hard when I heard his car door shut from the den. I ran to the window to look out and make sure it was him, and when I saw him walking around his car to come to the front door, I rushed around the corner and yanked the door open. Before he could even make it to the stoop, I was already out, running into his embrace.
He chuckled as he caught me and twirled me in his strong arms. “Oh, little one.” He wrapped a hand around the back of my head, hugging me tight.
I tipped my head back to look him in the eyes. “Is it done?” I asked.
And he smiled, eyes mellow. “Done, baby. And I’m sure he got the message. We won’t be hearing from him for a while. We’re free. Really free.”