Page 61 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

She swiped the paper towel over her face. “I should have known this could happen.”

Cade waited for her to continue.

“He looks so much like you.” She took a shuddering breath. “He has your eyes and your chin. But I never imagined how much he would look like you.” She examined her shoes. “I guess I tried to block all memories of him and avoid thinking about the man he might become.”

Cade nodded. He had no idea what to say to his mother.

She cupped her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know what he wants from me.” She studied Cade. “Do you know what he wants from us?”

Cade stood up straight. “I can’t say for sure, but I think he just wants to know his family. He asked me to arrange a meeting with the three of us—you, me, and him. That’s why I’m here.”

Mom’s expression darkened. “No. Absolutely not. I left him in the past, and that’s where he belongs.”

Cade stared at her, and for a moment, he didn’t recognize her. She was talking about her son, her firstborn child. How could she be so cold, so callous? Declan was family, her flesh and blood. Who was this woman, and what had she done with Cade’s mother?

His confusion transformed into irritation, and he suddenly felt the need to defend Declan—this man who was hisbrother. “He’s a person, not some doll you left behind.” Anger simmered under his skin. “You can’t just pretend he doesn’t exist, Mom.”

“Oh yes, I can! I opted for a closed adoption for a reason.”

He was so disgusted that his nostrils flared. He pulled Declan’s card out of his wallet and slapped it on the table in front of her. “Here’s his number in case you change your mind.”

Without saying goodbye, he stalked out the back door and to his truck. He unlocked the door and began to climb in, but when he heard children calling to each other in the distance, he stopped.

He faced a park across the street, where a group of children played tag on the grass. Instead of driving away, he closed the truck door, traipsed over to the park, and took a seat on a bench. Cade had abrother, an older brother. While he watched the kids play, he wondered what it would have been like to grow up with an older brother. If his parents had chosen to raise Declan and him together, he could’ve had a playmate, a best friend, a confidant. His life could’ve been so different.

Hugging his arms tight against him, Cade let his thoughts whirl. He tried to imagine an alternate timeline with Declan in his life—someone to spend time with, to laugh with, to share thingswith. Someone to give him advice and share milestones with. Maybe Declan would have taught him how to ride a bike, how to swim, how to drive, how to ask a girl out. Grief for something he’d never known overtook him, and his eyes began to sting.

He pondered his confusing conversation with his mother, and he tried to make sense of her words. While he could understand why his mother had to give up Declan for adoption, he couldn’t wrap his mind around why she would deny him now. After nearly forty years, why would she push him away? Didn’t she want to know the son she hadn’t seen for forty years? Didn’t she feel something for him—a bond that only a mother and child had?

And if she pushed him away, did she expect Cade to do that same thing?

So many things didn’t make sense, but Cade knew one thing for sure: Life as he’d known it would never, ever be the same, and neither would he.

Today had changed him forever.

***

Cade steered the truck into the inn’s driveway later that evening and breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted a cozy yellow light glowing in the kitchen. He was desperate for someone to talk to, and Everleigh was the warm, supportive friend he needed at that moment.

After parking in the garage, he ambled up the path and through the back door, where he was greeted by the delicious scent of Asian food and the melodious lilt of Everleigh’s laugh. A whiff of wet paint also floated over him. What had she been up to while he was gone all afternoon?

The sound of a man’s voice drifted through the air, and Cade’s entire body stiffened. She wasn’t alone, but he hadn’t recalled seeinga vehicle parked in the driveway. He must’ve been so caught up in his thoughts that he missed it.

He stepped into the kitchen doorway and stopped short when he found Everleigh and Trevor sitting attheirkitchen island—the place where Cade and Everleigh shared breakfast together every morning. A muscle jumped along Cade’s jaw as Everleigh laughed at something Trevor said.

Cade tunneled his hand through his hair. The guy he suspected was up to no good was sharing a meal with Everleigh, and she was enjoying every minute of it. Trevor didn’t belong there. An unpleasant emotion overwhelmed Cade, something ugly and almost painful that squeezed the air from his lungs.

Could this day get any worse?

Everleigh turned toward the doorway, and her expression lit up. “Cade!” She beckoned him. “Come eat with us. I promise I didn’t cook it.” She grinned and pointed to the food. “It’s takeout from that new Japanese place, Tokyo Treasures. I have hibachi shrimp, and Trevor has steak. There’s plenty left. You can have half of mine.”

“Cade, how’s it going?” Trevor waved, but Cade focused on Everleigh.

“Sorry,” Cade said, his tone flat. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Don’t be silly, man,” Trevor insisted, his smile a little too bright. “Join us. It’ll be fun.”

Cade’s stomach turned sour. This guy was so fake it was almost funny.

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