Page 124 of Finding Forever

“Goodbye, Fern.”

“Goodbye, Margot.”

The call ended without a sound and the ensuing silence echoed harshly throughout the tranquil apartment.

Her phone rang again soon after. It was Cade, of course, but she wasn’t quite ready to speak with him yet. She put her phone on silent, buried her head in her arms, and sobbed like a baby.

Just a few minutes later the front door slammed open and her head jerked up in time to see Cade flying into the apartment like a bat out of hell. He had his phone clutched in his hand and his wild eyes scanned the apartment and went dark with relief when he spotted her at the counter.

“Jesus, Fern, you scared the hell out of me,” he admonished, sounding out of breath. “Whydidn’t you answer your phone?”

“I was on the line…” she said her voice high-pitched with tears. His gaze softened and he made a beeline for her and gently gathered her into his arms.

“Oh, sweetheart, I didn’t think she’d call this quickly. I triedto warn you. I was reluctant to give her your number without discussing it with you first, but I was concerned she might change her mind. It’s taken her nearly a month to reach out.”

Fern pushed against his chest, and he released her reluctantly. His concerned eyes raked over her features and he reached into his jacket pocket to produce a clean, blue handkerchief.

She accepted it gratefully and wiped her face before blowing her nose.

“Please explain to me,” she began in a hoarse voice. “How I could possibly have offered Margot’s family full restitution of their business before I even had control of my own money?”

“I did it for you.” Just a straightforward reply. No hedging or subterfuge. She appreciated that.

“Why? And how? Granger was holding that property hostage out of sheer spite.”

“I could see that it was eating you up. And I didn’t want you blaming yourself for it any longer. I hated that you felt responsible for Abernathy’s actions.”

“I’ll repay you.”

“If it’ll make you feel better,” he said with an easy shrug. “But it’s not necessary. I hoped that it would help you and your friend make amends…” He gave her another searching look, eyes lingering on her still wet cheeks.

“I think we both needed closure,” she whispered. “And… thanks to you, we have that now. But we’ll never be friends again. And that’s okay. I’m just happy I had the opportunity to sincerely apologize and she was grateful for the chance to tell me that she forgave me long ago, and that she and her family didn’t hold me responsible for what had happened.”

“And that’s enough?” Cade asked.

“It’s more than enough, Cade.”

“Then why are you crying?” The aggrieved note in his voice made her smile. She stroked his lean cheek reassuringly.

“They’re happy tears.”

He didn’t reply, but his grim expression told her that happy tears, or sad tears, they were all the same to him and he wasn’t thrilled about seeing her cry.

“How did you get here so fast, anyway?” she asked curiously. His office was at least fifteen minutes away. Her phone call with Margot had lasted less than five.

“Your appointment, remember?”

“What?”

“With Dr. Khan? That’s today, right? Or am I mistaken?” He lifted his phone, clearly checking the date, and frowned. “Itistoday. Or did you change the appointment?”

“Uh… no. I didn’t. But didn’t think you’d be joining me.”

“I missed your last one.” She wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean.

He’d been out of the country during her second appointment with Dr. Khan shortly after Christmas but had asked her a surprising number of detailed questions about it when they’d FaceTimed afterwards. But she hadn’t expected him to come to that one either.

He rarely asked about the baby. Even after her last appointment, his questions had been about Fern’s health—her blood pressure, her glucose levels, her decreased appetite—he hadn’t once asked how the baby was doing.

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