Gerry ran around the house, his mother hot on his heels.

“Please feel free to deal with him as you see fit, Mrs. Hopkins,” Caden called out.

“I’ll go have a word with Mr. Hopkins.”

As he headed upstairs, he ran into Cliff, who was coming down. Cliff’s brows were furrowed in a somber expression, and there was a conspicuous, wet patch on his gray shirt, right over his chest.

Caden paused and stared at the wet spot.

“What happened?”

Cliff glanced at him briefly and tugged at the hem of his shirt.

“It’s nothing.”

Sensing that something was off, Caden craned his neck and looked toward the room Cliff had just exited. A housekeeper was walking through the door with a white suitcase.

“Miss, where should I put your things?”

Lаtєst chαptєrs in g𝗮l𝗻ov𝗲ls.ｃοm

“Anywhere is fine, thank you.” It was the voice of a girl, and she sounded like she had been crying.

Caden raised an eyebrow and cast a suspicious glance back at Cliff.

“How old is she? She doesn’t sound like she’s even eighteen yet.”

Cliff wasn’t as clueless as Gerry. He had encountered people from all walks of life during his time in the military. While he may not have experienced everything life had to offer a young man in his prime, he was well aware of the goings-on among his peers.

“That’s my cousin,” he replied irritably.

Caden laughed, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“The cousin who just arrived?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

Cliff’s face darkened.

“Can you stop with that sleazy laugh?” He gestured vaguely at his stained shirt.

“She’s young and shy. It hasn’t been that long since her mother passed away. She’s been crying a lot and ended up wiping her tears with my shirt.”

“I see,” Caden said, his voice still filled with amusement. He wore a mischievous grin, too.

Cliff let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes.

“Look, I know your tastes are all over the place, but I’ll have you know that not everyone is as freaky as you.”

“Me?” Caden said, pretending to be affronted. “Freaky?”

“Wasn’t Alicia your ex-sister-in-law once?” Cliff shot back.

“You didn’t even spare your brother’s wife. You shameless rascal.”

Caden had nothing to say to that.