Short Stories Created by Candy Caine

By Candy Caine

The following short stories portray the inner strength of women when put to the test.
I Kidnapped My Son: To save her child, a woman runs away with her son.
Defenseless: When a police officer save's a woman's life, he becomes obsessed with her.
Living a Lie: A young woman hiding the fact she had a child out of wedlock discovers that's not the only family secret.
Abducted: A woman is abducted off a NYC street by a cab driver.
Never Surrender: A married couple faced with unbearable tragedy finds an outlet to salvation.
Love's Encore: A wife catches her husband cheating one too many times.
Living in Terror: A woman divorces her husband only to discover he won't let her go.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Candy Caine
• Release date: Mar 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215915950

Candy Caine

Whether she's writing red-hot interracial erotica or less edgy contemporary romance as Candace Gold, Candy Caine believes in living life to its fullest in Arizona with her best friend and husband, Robert.

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Praise for Candy Caine

BECAUSE OF YOU ...Engrossing...a page turner... I would recommend this book! — Romance Novels in Color A sweet romance. I love the heartwarming ending. — Library Thing

FLAVOR OF THE WEEK Pure light-hearted fun. A really heart-warming read with endearing characters. — LBAS Book Blog

FOR YOUR LOVE ...A cast of well-crafted characters you’ll want to cheer for...delightful story... — Niambi Brown Davis, Author of Sanctuary A sexy, fabulous read. I couldn’t put it down. — Bertrice Small, New York Times bestselling author

MORE HEATED PLEASURES ...Candy Caine once again hits the right erotic sweet spots... — Cynthia White, author of Awakened Desire A roller coaster ride of erotic thrills... Great fun! — Alice Gaylord, author of The Reluctant Handyman

NO STRINGS ATTACHED Good quick read with sex, secrets, and trauma. — Reading By The Book

SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME A story about real relationships...the romance between Evie and Dillon is electric. Candy Caine’s writing is impressive. — Latrivia S. Nelson, bestselling author of The Ugly Girlfriend

SHORT STORIES CREATED BY CANDY CAINE

Woman are often referred to as the weaker sex. However, when they or their loved ones are faced with extraordinary danger, they often rise to meet and defeat that danger. The following stories showcase that inner strength.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I KIDNAPPED MY SON

DEFENSELESS

LIVING A LIE

ABDUCTED

NEVER SURRENDER

LOVE’S ENCORE

LIVING IN TERROR

Short Stories Created by Candy Caine 

Copyright © Candy Caine 2023

Published in the United States of America

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This is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance  

to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

SHORT STORIES CREATED by CANDY CAINE

I KIDNAPPED MY SON

Darnell! Come downstairs! Dinner’s on the table! I called up to my son. But, after ten long minutes had passed and Darnell still hadn’t come into the kitchen, I went in search of him. He probably had his headphones on, listening to God knows what type of rap and hadn’t heard me. His food was getting cold and would have to be rewarmed if he didn’t get his butt in his chair soon.

As I got to his room and opened his door, which, like other fourteen-year-olds, was always kept closed, he screamed out, No way!

Darnell, your dinner is... I never finished my sentence, because the look on my son’s face was one of sheer horror. He wasn’t listening to music, but had his eyes glued to the computer screen instead. I moved closer to the monitor to see what he was looking at. I nearly fainted at what I saw.

He must have been on some website devoted to tracking down missing children. There was a picture of him when he was a toddler. The terrible secret that I’d kept hidden for nearly fourteen years was about to be exposed!

"Mom! This is my picture! What’s it doing here?" he said, pointing at the screen.

What are you looking at? I asked, buying time, my heart already beating madly in my chest.

A website about kids who were kidnapped or lost.

Why are you on that site?

’Cause I had to do some stupid project for school. So, what’s going on here?

Babies look alike. That may not be your picture. I answered, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.

I know that picture. It was in that old book—

Darnell, how could it be you? Is your name Tyrone? Are you missing?

It says here that I was a year-old when I was kidnapped. And that I was last seen with my mother, Crystal.

I had no idea what to do or say at this point. The more I lied, the worse it would be. However, if I didn’t lie, all was definitely lost.

"Are you my real mother or did you take me from her?" he said as tears began to stream down his face.

Of course, I’m your real mother, I answered as I went to put my arms around him. He pushed me away. I didn’t know what to say. Stupidly, I reminded him that dinner was getting cold.

I’m not hungry, he said.

Darnell, please...

Why’s my picture on that site?

It’s not you, Darnell! Now shut that damn computer off and come downstairs! I hadn’t even realized that I was shouting.

Darnell picked up on the anger in my voice and closed down the computer without any further complaint. However, he didn’t budge out of his chair. I had hoped this moment would never come. And though I had all those years to prepare for it, I wasn’t. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to pinch myself and wake up from this nightmare. Somehow I had to take control of the situation, for Darnell wasn’t about to let things drop here. It was his safety and welfare that was now at stake. And believe me, that was my main concern now as it was then.

Mom, you always told me to tell the truth, no matter what.

Yes... yes, I did. Only sometimes, a parent has to bend the truth a little in order to protect the child she loves.

That’s my picture, isn’t it?

I nodded.

I don’t understand.

I don’t expect you to.

Why is my picture there? Are you my real mother?

Of course! That’s the God’s honest truth.

Then...

I took a deep breath. I tried to choose my words wisely, though it probably wouldn’t matter at this point. If God was up there, I prayed that He was tuned into what was going down in the little house that I was renting. I changed both of our names to protect you.

Then my name is really Tyrone Green?

Yes. And my name isn’t Mary. It’s Crystal.

Why, Mom? Why is everything a lie?

Because I love you with all my heart and had no choice. I know I told you that your dad died when you were an infant. Only that wasn’t true. I took another deep breath, but still felt as if I were starving for air. The truth is that I had to run away from him. He was a terrible man. He used to hurt me. And I was so afraid that he’d hurt you, too. Don’t you see that I did all this for you?

Somehow, he hadn’t really heard what I’d said or missed the reason behind it all, for he looked at me with undisguised scorn. I felt it rip right through me. And it frightened me.

Nothing has changed. We’re still the same people.

How can you say that, Mom? Everything has changed.

No, it hasn’t, I heard myself pleading.

I find out that I have a fake name and my old man is alive all these years, and you say everything’s cool. But it ain’t, ‘cause I’ve been living one big fat lie.

Listen to me, Darnell—

That ain’t my name.

Yes, it is. And you’ve got to continue to use it.

What for? It’s all a big stinkin’ lie.

I felt as if I wanted to die. What a colossal joke. All those years of hiding and lying to protect Darnell were all for nothing, for he was threatening to expose us. That safe, fictitious world that I had worked so hard to build for us was tottering and would most likely come tumbling down as if it were a fairy tale. All because I never knew my prince Charming had been an ogre in disguise...

***

The first time that James Green walked into my life, I was waiting tables at an upscale steak house. He was tall and had the broad shoulders of a tackler. The suit he was wearing hugged those shoulders like a glove. He was quite good-looking, and walked with an air that said he knew it. There was an attractive woman on his arm, who walked as if she knew him well. I couldn’t help but notice how the woman looked at him with adoring eyes, hanging onto his every word.

I took their order and went to wait at another table. I never thought that the man had even noticed my existence beyond being his server. However, when he left his fifty-dollar tip with his card, I took notice. Of course, I had no intention of calling him and merely pocketed the money without giving it another thought. I obviously didn’t play in his ballpark and never would, for he owned a chain of appliance stores and could buy half the city.

More than a week passed, and I’d forgotten all about him—until he came strolling into the restaurant, dressed to the nines again in a three-piece suit. Only this time, he was alone. Looking hotter than he did the last time, he flashed me the biggest smile as I approached his table to take his order. I didn’t mind, for he had the two most important things going for him; he was easy on the eyes and a very good tipper.

I hoped you’d be here tonight, Crystal. I realized you wouldn’t be the type of girl to give me a call.

It doesn’t matter. I don’t date customers, I replied quickly with the hope he wouldn’t pursue his efforts to get me to go out to dinner with him.

There’s an exception to every rule, Crystal.

I hated having to wear a name tag, and the fact that this man kept calling me by my name irked me even more. Not this one, I’m afraid.

I can be persistent, you know.

No, Mr. Green, I don’t.

Call me James. That’s my given name.

Okay, James, here’s the score. I’m a waitress. I’m not a classy girl. I don’t know one champagne from the other and I don’t care to.

He smiled. Neither do I. But one thing I do know. And that’s a pretty face when I see one.

His flattery had gotten to me, but I wasn’t going to let that sway me. Ignoring, or rather, trying to ignore what he’d just said, I replied, Look, I need to take your order and return to my other tables before I get fired.

I wouldn’t want that to happen, he said and promptly gave me his order, which I took to the kitchen. He remained in the restaurant for nearly two hours. I must have refilled his coffee cup a dozen or more times. That night he left me a one hundred dollar tip. Perhaps he thought he could buy himself a date.

When I left the restaurant, he was waiting outside.

After my initial shock wore off, I told him it was late, and that I was tired.

I realize that, he said. I wanted to say good night to you.

I thought that strange, but he did say he was persistent. Ironically, I went home and my last thoughts before I fell asleep were of James Green.

James began to have dinner twice a week at my restaurant. Even my manager told me to show some heart and give the guy a chance. Go out with him already, Milo said. Ain’t you got a heart?

Eventually, I did accept a date with James Green and had the time of my life. He certainly knew how to treat a girl, being truly a romantic at heart. But, unlike the other women he’d been dating, I didn’t want a one-night’s stand. I wanted marriage, kids and the whole nine yards. I wanted that pretty little house with the white picket fence. I never expected James to be the kind of man who’d want all that or desire a nobody like me. After all, he had everything, looks, money and all the class that went with it. All he had to do was snap his fingers to get any woman he wanted. When he proposed marriage eight months later, this poor Cinderella found herself living in a beautiful big house possessing everything that her heart desired and more. The only thing I was missing was a child, and that would soon follow.

Those were the happiest days of my life, although it wasn’t long before I discovered that it was more pleasant for me to please my new husband than to displease him. James sported a terrible temper and could be verbally abusive, needing to have the last word in any argument. Despite all this, my love for him didn’t waiver.

Unfortunately, like the change in