New Cuts, Old Wounds, page 1
part #2 of Scarred Series
Other Books by S. L. Kassidy
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Scarred Series
Scarred for Life - Book 1
New Cuts, Old Wounds
By S. L. Kassidy
©2015 S. L. Kassidy
This is a work of fiction - names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For permission requests, write to the publisher at lee@desertpalmpress.com or at
Desert Palm Press
1961 Main Street, Suite 220
Watsonville, California 95076
www.desertpalmpress.com
Editor: Kellie Doherty
Cover Design: Jamani Hawkins-El
Blurb
In this sequel to Scarred for Life, Nicole Cardell and Dane Wolfe have been together for a year. They are doing their best to move forward with their relationship and open up to each other. It’s time to meet family members. Dane’s nervous about meeting Nicole’s family, but she’s even more nervous about Nicole meeting her family. Nicole is eager for both. Nicole thinks Dane should bond with her family while Dane thinks she needs to get as far away from them as possible. The Wolfe family seems to agree with Dane, but keep inviting her to things and Nicole keeps accepting the invites. Will family make or break Dane and Nicole?
Dedication
I would like to thank and dedicate this book to my family, who supported my writing long before I thought it was worth anything, and to my online friends that helped me believe in myself and allowed themselves to be conscripted into betareading stories, whether they wanted to or not. You all know who you are, and lastly to the person who wanted to see this story published and helped make it happen.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
About S. L. Kassidy
Other Books by S. L. Kassidy
Chapter One
DANE WOLFE STOOD IN the den, staring out of the window. She had escaped inside, meaning to grab her guitar, but the light rays pouring into the tiny area distracted her. Her eyes locked on the outside and she stared for a moment. Birds fluttered and sang outside. Spring. A smile settled on her face. She couldn’t help being flooded by thoughts of the last time she noticed it was spring.
The spring brought warmth and promise along with it. For the first time in a long time, Dane found she could feel that vibe, coursing through her with all of the bliss that music contained. For the first time she could understand why people enjoyed the spring. There was a sparkle and shine to the whole world as if everything was touched by a fond, loving hand. Love surged through everything and floated from all things. She could even feel that sparkle flow through her and there was no question to her why that was.
She could hardly believe it had been a year since she first met Nicole Cardell. Her life had changed so much since then, but she wouldn’t change anything about it. She wouldn’t even change her ill-fated decision to leave Nicole several months ago, despite all of the pain it caused. That decision taught her and Nicole just how much they meant to each other. It made them stronger, individually and as a couple. And, now, spring brought them more enthusiasm and energy.
Today they had decided to take a step forward as a couple: Nicole would introduce Dane to her mother’s side of her family. The very thought made Dane’s stomach flip and twist. Nicole’s mother, Kathleen, still detested her. She imagined the rest of Kathleen’s family would be the same. After all, they had raised Kathleen, so she had to get her personality from somewhere.
“Come on, Danny, you can’t keep pretending that you forgot something. We need to go now,” Nicole ordered, standing by the front door. “I won’t go through this with every room in the house. I just got you out of the living room, searching for nothing and now I have to deal with this.” She sighed. “And I thought the fact that I got her downstairs in decent clothes would be the most difficult thing today. Shows how much I know,” she muttered.
Dane had fled into the den after Nicole had managed to get her out of the living room, claiming she forgot something. She used the same excuse when she snuck into the living room. She peered out the door, biting her lip while watching Nicole. Nicole’s green eyes glanced down at her watch and one of her feet, covered in a stylish golden-rod pump, tapped against the floor.
“I really forgot something this time!” Dane insisted.
“Oh, yeah? I can’t imagine what you might’ve forgotten in the den that you absolutely need right now. What did you forget?” Nicole asked.
Just as the question left her mouth, Dane grabbed her guitar and hobbled out of the room. Nicole arched a perfectly curved auburn eyebrow. Dane smiled. The only time she left the house with the guitar was to teach her music lessons.
“Danny…?” Nicole’s frown said much more than anything else.
“Trust me, it’s a good icebreaker,” Dane answered, her smile growing. “If all else fails, I play a few chords on my guitar. If I do that, I’m pretty sure your family won’t hate me so completely and totally like Kathleen does.”
Nicole’s agitated expression softened and she reached out a gentle hand to put on Dane’s shoulder. “You won’t need to do that, Danny. You’re the kindest and sweetest woman on the planet. My family will see that.” Nicole caressed Dane’s arm a little.
Dane glanced down at Nicole with just about the most dubious look her grey eyes could muster. “Have you been missing these last few months? Your mother hates my guts and this is her family. I’d like someone with your similar genetic makeup to like me,” she replied. Never in her life had others opinions mattered so much to her until she started dating Nicole. No matter how daunting, she’d try her best. It’d help their relationship, after all.
“Daddy likes you,” Nicole said.
“No, he tolerates me. There’s a difference and you know it. Chem, just let me bring the guitar. It’ll make me feel better,” Dane replied, somewhat pleading. She figured her pet name for Nicole would help.
Nicole sighed, but conceded with a slight nod. Dane grinned and took that as a great excuse to embrace her lover. Giggling, Nicole returned the embrace before stepping up a little to give Dane a kiss. Dane ran one hand through Nicole’s gorgeous auburn locks, earning a low moan from Nicole. Dane took that as an invitation to fondle Nicole, who was wearing a flowing, deep yellow sundress, so it made it easier for Dane to touch her bare skin. Nicole pulled away and shook a scolding finger at Danny.
“We don’t have time for this, baby. We need to get moving right now,” Nicole said.
“But, you look so hot!” Danny complained, reaching out and brushing her lover’s hair from her shoulder. She loved seeing Nicole in dresses. The cloth seemed to hug every inch of her luscious form in a way that made Dane envious of the fabric. Sleek, toned legs that went on for days made her almost drool. Plus, Nicole wore dresses that seemed to be made just to tease Dane’s senses.
“Yes, but I’ll look just as hot when we get back home. Right now, we need to leave because my grandmother will not be happy if we’re late for Easter dinner,” Nicole said.
Dane’s stomach clenched, for what felt like the umpteenth time today, and she practically flew out of the door, which was quite a feat considering her right leg was lame and she had a limp. Gotta be cool. I don’t want to mess this up. She slipped into the car and honked the horn in a playful manner while Nicole shut and locked the front door.
“You know, if you only sat on this side, you’d be halfway there by now,” Nicole teased as she, too, got into the car and hit the button to start the engine.
Dane stuck her tongue out at her girlfriend. A year ago, such behavior would’ve been beyond unheard of for her, but Nicole brought it out of her. She didn’t mind it one bit. It felt freeing. Being with Nicole made her feel so right and at peace with herself. She never wanted to let that feeling go.
“You’ve been cleared to drive if I recall,” Nicole said as she pulled out of the driveway.
“I so much enjoy having a chauffeur,” Dane replied with a smile.
Nicole snorted. “Stop smiling at me like that. It makes it so damn hard to be mad at you for being a smart ass.”
Dane didn’t give Nicole much time to be even pretend-angry with her. After turning on some classic jazz, Dane leaned over and took Nicole’s right hand into both of hers. She caressed Nicole’s hand with her own and smiled at her.
“I really want your family to like me,” Dane said. She knew how much family meant to Nicole. If she could make a good impression on half of Nicole’s family then it’d help their relations hip. She wanted to minimize any problems she could cause between Nicole and her family. Dane hated that she caused trouble between Nicole and Kathleen. She knew how close the mother and daughter were, even if Kathleen got on Nicole’s nerves occasionally. She couldn’t bear the thought of being a reason for them to drift apart and didn’t want to do that with Nicole and anyone else in her family.
“Danny, I promise, they will like you. My mother’s family isn’t that scary,” Nicole replied.
“How can they not be? They raised your mom!” Dane laughed.
Nicole chuckled, too, but quickly stopped. She felt bad for doing it. Dane’s shoulders tensed. Maybe she shouldn’t joke like that. But, Nicole’s mom had been extra-hard on Dane since the day they met. Nothing she did was good enough for Kathleen’s little girl. Of course, Nicole begged to differ. Kathleen was just set on making Dane’s life difficult and needed little prompting to do so. It touched Dane that Nicole always stood up for her.
“Danny, you know I’d never knowingly subject you to anything bad,” Nicole said, glancing over at Dane.
“What? Every freaking Saturday you do that!” Dane countered, teasing a bit, even though she honestly felt like her Saturday mornings could be considered a form of torture.
Clicking her tongue, Nicole shook her head. “Baby, physical therapy doesn’t count.”
Dane narrowed her eyes. It did count! She’d been in physical therapy for four months now, working on her injured hand, knee, and leg. It worked wonders for her hand, which meant a lot since music was her second favorite thing on Earth. Her leg wasn’t coming along as quickly, but Nicole told her to be patient and it’d work out. Still, Dane hated going and swore up and down that her therapist was a sadist.
“Baby, being serious, you do know I’d never knowingly subject you to something bad, right?” Nicole asked, worry coloring her emerald eyes.
Dane smiled a little and kissed her lover’s knuckles. “Of course I know that, Chem. Just nervous and that’s why I’m being so difficult. I’m sorry for acting like this.”
“I understand why you are, but I promise you, my family is pretty normal.”
Hearing they were “pretty normal” didn’t help Dane feel better. For Dane, normal meant against same-sex relationships, like Kathleen. Normal also meant disliking the fact that Dane was pretty much unemployed, lacked a college education, and still dressed like a teenage bum more often than not. Well at least they wouldn’t see her “bum-gear.”
Dane dressed in her Sunday best, as she jokingly referred to it. Nicole had to help her pick it out, but she was in black slacks, dark blue sweater vest, and a sky blue shirt underneath. She felt a bit preppy, but Nicole liked the outfit. Nicole liking something was just about the easiest way to get Dane to do something, except go to physical therapy. Plus, Dane wasn’t completely uncomfortable in the clothing, having dressed in such a way a few times when going out with her lover.
Dane tried to take her mind off things by staring out of the window. The greens of the season had arrived. A smile worked its way on her lips as she felt that spring feeling again, reminding her that she had known Nicole for a year.
“What’re you smiling at, Big Dog?” Nicole inquired.
At the sound of one of her sobriquets, Dane’s smile grew and she glanced at Nicole. “Just thinking about how it’s been a hell of a year.”
Nicole nodded. “It certainly has. I mean, this time last year I was just realizing what a bastard Tyler was and then you drifted into my life. Danny…” Nicole stopped for a moment. She took a deep breath then continued. “Danny, I want you to know that living with you has been one of the best times of my life. You have improved my life in so many ways. I’m happy you’re here.”
Dane felt light at this news and knew her features brightened because of it. “Me, too, angel. Being with you is the best time of my life.” Those words earned her a smile from Nicole.
The ride took a little over thirty minutes, giving the butterflies time to return to Dane’s stomach and her heart sped up, thumping heavy against her ribs. Dane couldn’t believe it when they pulled into a middle class neighborhood not too different from their own. Wouldn’t Kathleen’s parents live in a gated community like Kathleen and Raymond did? And where was the massive house she’d imagined?
Nicole pointed out a house as she parked across the street from it. Dane stared at it from across the way and she could hardly believe her eyes. She couldn’t believe Nicole’s grandparents lived in a two-story house that was about the same size as Nicole’s. Toys even littered the front lawn.
“Chem, you sure this is the place?” Dane asked, her eyebrow arching high in disbelief as she exited the car.
Nicole giggled as she got out. “I think I know how to get to my grandparents’ house. Just like most people, my grandparents are regular people and they have a regular house in a regular neighborhood. Just because my mom is rich doesn’t mean her parents are.”
Dane nodded as if she understood, but she really didn’t. “Sorry, Chem, but where I’m from riches are inherited, so I just assumed…” Of course, the assumption doesn’t make any sense now that I think about it. Still got a lot to learn about the regular world, I guess.
Nicole shook her head, her hair swaying a little. She wrapped her arm around Dane’s and led her into the front yard. With each step, Dane felt a flutter in her stomach and she wasn’t sure how to quell it. Dane looked around, almost expecting everything to change at any moment. Nothing did.
“Hello?” Nicole opened the front door and called into the house. Dane wasn’t surprised that the door opened for them. People didn’t lock their doors when they expected a lot of company. She never noticed it until she started going places with Nicole.
“Nikki!” a couple of childish voices called.
Two little kids charged into the small foyer, hugging Nicole around the waist and taking Dane by surprise. Dane mouthed “cousins?” to Nicole, who nodded. Nicole had explained to Dane only yesterday that on her mother’s side she was the oldest of her cousins by a decade. Her mother was the oldest of three girls, also by a decade.
Nicole hugged the children back before directing their attention to Dane. “Guys, I would like you to meet my friend, Danny. Danny, these are my cousins I told you about, Sabrina and Eddie.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Dane said, extending her hand to both children. Thanks to some prep time Dane knew Sabrina was eight and had dreams of being a dancer. She had the biggest brown eyes, just like Nicole had said. Dane actually thought the little girl was cute as a button and she looked downright adorable in her powder blue dress with a bow wrapped around her waist. Sabrina curtsied instead of shaking hands, her straight, shining black hair hiding her olive-toned face.
“I’m gonna be ten,” Eddie boasted, shaking her hand with more force than necessary. Dane smiled. Nicole had told her that Eddie wanted to be like his older cousin, Philip, who was an athlete with a very strong handshake.
“That’s amazing,” Dane said, as if really impressed. She was more impressed with his deep dimples and ruffled dark brown hair. He looked very much like a cherub and was too cute in his little black suit, complete with a vest and dark red tie. He puffed his little chest out.
“You’re really tall,” Sabrina commented with awe in her voice, staring up at Dane.
Dane shrugged and smiled a bit, not too sure what else to do. She ran her hand through her unruly hair and glanced off to the side. Nicole wrapped her arms around Dane’s arm once more.
“Excuse me, guys. I want to introduce Danny to Grandma and Papa,” Nicole said to her young cousins.
This plan made Dane short of breath for a moment longer than she liked. Be cool. Just because they’re Kathleen’s parents doesn’t mean they’ll hate you right away. But, even if they didn’t hate her right away, Dane trembled at the thought of doing something to upset them. She knew from discussions how much Nicole loved her grandparents. Dane had to do this right or she could ruin everything.
“Okay!” The pair charged off.
