Chapter 6: Troubled Waters

The kids had to be up early to catch the bus and Cade made sure Callie was awake to make them breakfast, even though she complained. The children had to be waiting out in front of the house by 7 a.m. Callie insisted she could not do much better than cold cereal that morning because she was tired and it was early. Cade was bothered a little that she couldn't be troubled to cook a hot breakfast for the kids, but he let it slide for now.

After breakfast, Cade walked the kids out to catch the bus and he could see how nervous Ashley was. He pulled her close and gave her a little squeeze. "It's going to be OK Ashley, you'll see."

She didn't want to go to school and her stomach hurt. When the bus pulled up, Cade watched her get on the bus. She sat nervously alone in her seat the entire way to school, wishing she could be anywhere but going to school. Cade thought about her a lot that day as he worked on the truck.

When Cade drove into town to get more auto parts in the middle of the morning, Roger was there waiting. "I spoke with a friend of mine yesterday who could use a tire buster, if you're interested."

"And he'll hire an ex-con?" Cade asked doubtfully.

"Yep," Roger said, "I told him all about you."

Cade was surprised as he took the card that Roger gave him, which had Roger's friend's name on the front. The job would include repairing and changing tires, changing oil, and other basic car maintenance. Now it was Cade's turn to be nervous. He made his way to the tire business to find the owner.

"It doesn't pay that well to start," The owner informed him apologetically, "Until I know for sure this is going to work out," he looked at Cade with skepticism, "then maybe I can offer you a raise."

Cade gratefully accepted the job. Any money coming in right now was better than none and he had to start somewhere. The owner told him to report the following day to start his new job and he realized after he was hired, that he had very seldom worked a regular job. He hurried home to tell Callie. "I got a job," he beamed when he walked inside the house.

She was surprised, "Doing what?"

Cade told her about his new job.

"That's great," she said with relief because she knew they would eventually run out of money if he wasn't working, but part of her wondered what she would find to do all day while he was at work and the kids were at school.

Cade took her in his arms. "Thank you for being patient with Ashley, she really needs someone to care about her."

Callie enjoyed his embrace, but she felt a bit guilty because she had not tried very hard with Ashley. "How about a quickie before the kids come home?" She whispered seductively as she looked up into his face. He released his grasp of her and she looked down and realized she should not have pushed the issue.

"I think prison might have ruined sex for me," he finally said, "but don't worry, I'll get over it."

Imagining him having sex with another inmate in prison was more than she cared to think about, yet there was the implication that it may have happened, and even that he may have been raped. Why else was he so turned off by sex? Cade had always been highly sexual and very dominant in the bedroom, so thinking about him at someone else's mercy unnerved her a little. "I'm sorry Cade."

He stroked her on the cheek with affection, "Let's not talk about it right now."

"Do you want me to get a job too?" She asked.

"No, I want you to stay home and take care of the house and the kids, including Ashley," he said pointedly.

"And if I don't?" She asked defensively.

"I think you know the answer to that," He cocked his eyebrow. "I'll get that old razor strop out again and give you a good hard whuppin' with it."

"I'm an adult," she quipped bitterly, "not a child."

"Then act like one," he said, "And when I get home from work have dinner waiting on the table and the house cleaned up."

"Do I look like Carol Brady or June Cleaver?" She sneered and then she turned away from him in irritation. He was pushing her buttons.

Cade grabbed her by the arm and turned her around to face him. "You better figure out how to start acting like June Cleaver, or else."

Her anger was increasing by the second, "You haven't changed a bit; you're nothing but a male chauvinist pig!" She spat.

Cade had been yanking her chain and was not serious, well not exactly serious, but he wasn't sure he liked her tone. "Carol Brady had a maid, so she doesn't count," He snickered as he watched her anger continue to rise, and then he winked at her.

She burst out laughing when she realized he was only giving her a hard time. Then she looked at him with longing. "Cade I..."

"Shh," he placed his finger on her lips, "I know I'm not the man I was before I went away to prison, but in some ways that's good I hope. I'm trying to take care of you and those kids the best way I know how, but I'm new at this."

She pressed her head against his chest and looked shyly up at him, "When can we have sex again?"

He leaned over and began kissing her. His lips gently parted hers and his tongue slipped inside her mouth. He loved the way she tasted and the way she smelled. He gently reached up her shirt and cupped her breasts. The touch of his hand and his warm mouth on hers caused her to shiver. But then he suddenly stopped. "You need to go see a doctor and get on some birth control and be tested for STD's."

She wondered why he wanted her to get tested for STD's, yet didn't feel the need to be tested himself. "You'll have to give me a ride into town and make me an appointment," she quipped.

"I'll arrange for it," he said and he leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Just then the school bus pulled up outside the house and the kids raced up to the house. Waving her papers around for all to see, Jessica was just as excited as she had been yesterday. Harley wanted to know if he could play with his new friend Collin, and Ashley sauntered apprehensively up to the house, trailing behind everyone else. Cade thought of how pathetic Ashley looked. Her hair hung down in her face and she almost looked like a shadow. She was painfully small and thin for her age and her hair was cut unevenly and matted in places. Her clothes were second hand. He could see that she didn't stand a chance at school.

"How was school Ashley?" He asked when she finally walked inside the house.

Ashley looked up at him and shrugged, "OK I guess." The truth was she had a miserable day. She intentionally isolated herself from the other students to protect herself from being hurt by them. She was afraid of them. She didn't talk to anyone, and she kept her eyes hidden behind her long scraggly hair in order to feel safe and she rarely made eye contact with anyone. In addition to that, her vision was poor and she knew she needed eyeglasses, but no one had ever bothered to get any for her.

Cade gave her a little hug, "I got a new job today."

"Really?" Ashley managed a smile and the other two kids instantly paid attention to their dad as he described his new job. But as he talked about his work schedule, Ashley began to get a sinking feeling inside because she realized she would be home every afternoon with Callie, and that was an idea she didn't relish.

"Can I go with you to work sometime?" Harley asked eagerly.

Cade laughed, "No." Harley was crestfallen.

Callie realized she hadn't begun to cook any dinner yet. She was growing tired of the same old routine and she didn't feel up to making food for all of them. "Maybe we can go out to dinner tonight and celebrate your new job," she suggested.

Cade knew she was trying to get out of cooking. He noticed that the house was still a huge mess, possibly even worse than when they arrived. As near as Cade could tell, Callie wasn't doing anything all day long. "OK," he slowly nodded, "Let's go out for dinner."

A week later, Cade arrived home from work later than expected to find Ashley sobbing and shaking as she tried to wash the dinner dishes. Callie had already served dinner, and there was a plate of food left for Cade in the oven to keep warm.

"What's the matter?" Cade asked when he saw Ashley.

"N-nothing," Ashley sobbed and attempted to wipe her tears on her shirt sleeve.

Harley rushed in to greet his dad and heard him ask Ashley what was wrong, "She got a whipping," Harley informed Cade, as if it was no big deal.

"What for?" Cade wanted to know.

Callie began getting Cade's dinner out of the oven for him and tightened her jaw, "You said I could spank the kids if I was reasonable about it."

Cade got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What happened?" He demanded.

"She was being slow," Callie said, "I told her to get moving."

Jessica stood nearby and was nervous as soon as she saw the look on her dad's face. "Do we need a go out to the garage and wait now?" She asked anxiously.

Cade smirked when he realized Jessica was already getting used to him sending them out to the garage when there was a problem and whenever he wanted to talk to Callie alone. "Yes, you and Harley need to go out to the garage."

Harley and Jessica rushed out of the house and raced to the garage.

"What did you whip her with?" Cade asked.

"That old razor strop of course," Callie said defensively, "What's the big deal. It was just a whipping."

"So the other two kids must have been moving fast enough?"

Callie could tell he was angry. "Ashley's older than they are and she deserved it!" Callie insisted.

Cade gently took hold of Ashley's wrists. They were buried in the dish water inside the sink. He took a towel and dried the water from her dripping hands, and watched the tears spilling down her face. He noticed some welts on her forearms where she had attempted to block the strap. She was shaking violently. "C'mere," he said softly and led her into the living room where he sat down on the dusty couch. He pulled her close to him and she put her head on his shoulder, clinging to him for all she was worth. She was so painfully thin and small that he could barely feel her weight pressing against him. "Let me see," he said and he forced her to turn around and lift up her dress and show him her bottom. He was a bit shocked. Her bottom was raw and her skin was broken in a couple of places. His anger rose. "Go out to the garage with your brother and sister," he said. Ashley quickly complied.

Callie swallowed, "Cade, I..."

Cade glared at Callie, "You beat the shit out of her."

"She wouldn't do what I asked her to do," Callie said lamely.

"Somehow I think you lost control of yourself and became very frustrated and took it out on her," Cade said.

"That's bullshit!"

"Is it?" Cade glared. "I won't let you beat her like that."

"You favor her over me!" Callie accused. "You love her more because she is Stephanie's child and Stephanie was your first love."

Cade considered her words. "I don't love anyone more than anyone else in this house, in fact I'm not sure I love any of you, including Ashley." His words cut like a knife.

"You've always liked Ashley better than my kids, or I mean our kids" Callie raged, "Or me."

"What?" Cade was flabbergasted.

"You do! Don't deny it!"

Cade puzzled over why Callie was so insistent that he loved Ashley more than the rest of them. He honestly wasn't all that fond of any of them, even though he was slowly growing used to them. It was easy for him to see that Ashley had it rough because she had no one to look out for her. He would have hoped Callie would have protected Ashley from Seth's wrath while she was living there, but it appeared to him that the opposite had been true. Callie had allowed Seth to abuse and ridicule Ashley in order to protect herself and her two children. "I don't love Ashley more than anyone else!"

Callie tightened her jaw, "She deserved a whipping."

Cade had let Callie have the upper hand with Ashley without realizing the full extent of her prejudice and now he was sorry. "You aren't allowed to whip her again," Cade said, "Ever!"

"So now she gets special treatment!" Callie was fuming.

"Nothing she did wrong would have warranted that harsh of a whipping," Cade said. "You obviously can't control yourself when it comes to her."

"It wasn't that bad."

"It was severe," Cade said.

"Well," Callie raged, "It wasn't just from today," she admitted.

Cade felt his anger rising, "How many times have you whipped her?"

Callie looked down, "I don't know, a couple."

Cade stormed out of the house and out to the garage. The children flinched when he entered the garage because they could see how upset he was. He walked over and stood in front of Ashley, "How many times has she whipped you?"

Ashley did not want to take sides. She had learned that in these situations there was no winning. She was doomed no matter what she did or said, history had taught her that much.

"She gets lots of whippins," Jessica volunteered, "Every day."

"Is that true?" Cade pressed Ashley for an answer.

Ashley reluctantly nodded.

"Good God!" Cade stormed back inside the house to find Callie pacing back and forth and fidgeting. He stormed over to her and raised his arm high in the air as if he were about to strike her. She cowered in fear and held up her arms to block the impending blow.

But Cade had a lot of time to think while he had been in prison and he promised himself he was not going down this road again. He stopped himself, yet he was so full of rage he didn't know what to do with all of it. He grabbed Callie by the arm, "You're leaving," and he threw her into the living room. "Get upstairs and get your stuff ready."