Free Cheating Time by T. R. Graves Page B

that's
still the plan. The thing is… she's worked out a deal with Barone
in hopes that he'll leave us alone. Leave you alone," Dad said, having to clear his throat
several times afterward.
    What the hell?



Chapter 6
Revelations
Carlie
    My stare snapped up. "Mom can't go back to
the capital… She can't go anywhere near Barone by herself . You and Jayden can stay
with Gran and Tawney. You'll be fine. I'll go with Mom. She'll need
someone to help her. I can be her assistant. I can make sure she's
safe."
    With pride I'd seldom seen from Dad (at
least not when it came to me and not Jayden), he smiled down at me.
He, a military man through and through, may have been yelling at me
a few minutes earlier, but his frustration was more about how
powerless he was over our situation, not how angry he was with me.
I'd seen that side of him every single time Barone sent Jayden on a
mission. Dad would pace our house the entire time Jayden was away.
The instant Jayden had returned so had the Dad I'd known and
loved.
    There was no way for me to understand fully
how Dad felt at this moment, but the stress etched into his every
tight-fisted grip was evidence he was feeling out of control when
it came to what was happening with his family.
    "Sweetie, you can't go with her. Sh-she needs someone who is
better equipped to protect her. Jayden's that person. He'll keep
her safe," Dad assured me.
    "It needs to be me. You know Barone will
manipulate Jayden just like he always has. He'll send him on
missions and leave Mom unprotected. We can't let that happen," I
argued.
    Dad looked at me strangely before saying,
"Carlie, I know you and Jayden have always had a unique
relationship. It's as if you've never really understood what a
Surrogate is… You've never really realized he has no biological
mother or father. At least not ones he can call a parent. Your
mother and I have taken on those rolls for him, and you've resented
any respect we've afforded him. That's not like you at all.
    "What you need to know right now is that I
trust him. He's the only person besides me that I'd let protect
your Mom. All Jayden knows is what he's exposed to. We've spent
years showing him he can be a better person than the one Barone was
trying to mold him into becoming.
    Dad stared over my shoulder, studying
something. Studying nothing in
particular. He sighed.
    "I've known Barone my entire life. He's
always been a talent scout. He took one look at Jayden, who was
still a toddler at the time, and saw his potential. He did the same
thing with your mother. He used his charms to win their trust and
loyalty.
    "Until Jayden began living with us, he
thought the package Barone had been selling was the real deal. When
Jayden became a member of our family and saw what a real family was
and what real love was, he changed. I saw it. I knew he was
different." Dad chuckled, and it was nothing less than sad. Then he
gulped. "Jayden has never known what to think of you. He… he'd
never been loved unconditionally until you accepted him and loved
him like he was the big brother you always wanted. Even as a small
child, you were opinionated and demanding. Unsure of what to do
with you, he pushed you away. Not because he didn't care just as
much as you, but because your intensity scared him. It took a long
time, but you eventually began to follow his lead, pushing him
away."
    Dad's gaze was still faraway, and all I
could think was how alike he and I were. In the middle of the
mayhem we were dealing with, he was taking time out to consider
events that had shaped our lives. Like me, he feared the cusp of
change we were so obviously on. With it, there would be no going
back. The only guarantee we had was that our lives would move
forward with or without each other. That thought frightened both of
us and instigated memories that had led us to where we were.
    "You probably don't even remember this, but
when you were two and Jayden was four, Ms. Sarah watched both of
you. Of course, Jayden