Page 100 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?” he offered.

She flipped on her camera’s flashlight and shook her head. “I charged my phone at my parents’ place, so I’ll be fine.”

They climbed out of the truck and met at the tailgate. Everleigh gasped and pointed her flashlight down toward the ground, where Bryant now rubbed against her shins. She giggled. “He nearly scared the life out of me.”

“Bad boy. You need to stop sneaking up on us.” Cade rubbed the cat’s back. “Now, you go with Everleigh and keep her company tonight.”

Everleigh hesitated, then threw her arms around Cade’s neck. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Anything for you, partner.” He held her close and breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo.

She stepped out of the embrace. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said softly.

“Good night.” He stood in the driveway and waited until she and Bryant were safely tucked inside the inn. As he climbed the stairs to the apartment, he tried to accept that soon she’d be gone from his life, though he didn’t know how he’d move on without her.

Chapter 24

“The lumber will be delivered this afternoon, and then we’ll get your sunroom framed and rebuilt.” Roger pulled his keys from his jacket pocket, and they jingled. “My crew will be there in a couple of hours.”

“Great.” Cade breathed in the cool November air as they crossed the parking lot at the home improvement store. It had been two weeks since the storm, and Cade had managed to work everything out with the insurance company. A tree service had disposed of the remaining branches as well as cut back the rest of the tree. The roof had been fixed, and Cade and Everleigh had hired Roger and his company to build the replacement sunroom.

He smiled when he thought of the events of the past two weeks. They had actually been... nice. He and Everleigh had cooked together, and they’d even played cards a few nights, spending most of the evening laughing. Their interactions had been good for his soul. He was grateful they were back on track as friends, and he tried not to think about how she planned to leave soon. He longed for her to give up the dream of selling the inn, hoping instead that she’d agreeto let him run it. In that case, she’d only need to visit a few times a year. Or more, if he were lucky.

With a frown, he shoved away those thoughts. He was kidding himself. Everleigh had made it clear that her heart was not in Coral Cove. Instead, her heart belonged to nursing, and he admired her for that.

Actually, he admired her for many things.

Stop it, Cade!

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Sorry.” Cade turned to his best friend. “What was that?” he asked as they approached Roger’s twenty-year-old Chevrolet pickup.

Roger unlocked the doors. “I said we’ll have the sunroom framed by Monday afternoon, and then the electrician will do his thing. We may have it closed in by the end of next week. It’s a good thing you’ve already picked out flooring and paint.”

“Lemonade,” Cade muttered. Everleigh was so proud of that paint that he couldn’t help himself from picking it again.

He bit back a growl at the thought of Trevor helping her paint that room. He couldn’t stand that guy.

He’d noticed Trevor’s name popping up on her phone a few times when they were together. She insisted he was only checking in to see how the sunroom rebuild was going. He hadn’t stopped by to help, and they didn’t need or want it as far as Cade was concerned.

Cade hopped into the passenger seat, and Roger cranked the diesel engine, which rumbled to life.

“You need to give me a lesson in framing this afternoon,” Cade told his friend. “I can learn.”

Roger grinned. “We’ll see about that, chef.” He steered through the parking lot.

“I did some plumbing work with my dad when I was a teenager. And I learned I was not cut out for it,” Cade said, snickering. Hiseyes scanned the parking lot as they drove. “I mean, I can hold a wrench, but I—” He stopped speaking when his eyes locked on a black Toyota Tacoma. “Stop.” He held his arm out toward his friend. “Please, stop here.”

Roger hit the brakes. “Why?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cade muttered. Fury boiled inside him as Trevor climbed out of the pickup truck and strolled over to a black Porsche Cayenne.

“What am I missing?” Roger asked.

The driver’s side window lowered on the Porsche, and Trevor leaned into the SUV. Cade shifted in his seat, and when he spotted Valerie Rhodes, he felt as if a match had been lit in his veins. Now he had the proof he needed that Trevor was up to no good. He was working with Valerie Rhodes, who was representing the builders. He should have known it all along!

“That rat,” Cade growled. “I knew it!”

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