Page 108 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Cade rubbed his elbow. While he longed to tell his father everything, he wasn’t quite sure how to put it into words. But the stress had been eating him alive. He couldn’t stand the distance between him and Everleigh.

Dad’s face lit with concern, and he beckoned Cade toward the doorway. “Why don’t we sit and talk while we wait for Roger? When he gets back, I can help y’all hang the blinds.”

Cade led his father to the kitchen, where he handed him a bottle of Coke. As they sat at the island, he recalled all the times he’d satthere with Everleigh, talking and laughing. Now she barely spoke to him.

“You look like you’re about to explode,” Dad said. “What’s going on, son?”

Cade took a deep breath and then unloaded all of his burdens. He shared how he had suspected Trevor was bad news and caught him interacting with Valerie Rhodes. Then he shared how he and Everleigh argued, and how she’d told him her plans to leave. “I’ve tried everything to get her to open up to me. I’ve apologized. I’ve tried cooking for her, but she said she wasn’t hungry. I’ve begged her to talk, even telling her she could yell at me, but she says she’s too tired. No matter what I say or do, she just walks away or doesn’t answer me.”

He spun his bottle cap, sending it spiraling around the island. “I feel like I’m coming apart at the seams. I never meant to hurt her, Dad. I never intended for her to think I considered her an annoying younger sibling. That’s not even in the ballpark of how I feel about her. But she’s so stubborn—more stubborn than I ever imagined.” He found Dad watching him. “I can’t just let her leave thinking I don’t respect her, but I don’t know how to get through to her.” He scoffed. “I guess she’s just as stubborn as I am, huh?”

Dad remained silent, and Cade sighed. He craved his father’s advice. “Say something, Dad. Anything.”

“You care about her.” Dad rested his forearms on the island.

“Of course I do. We’re partners and friends.” He twirled the bottle cap again. “At least, I thought we were friends.” His posture drooped as the truth settled over him. “I guess the best option is for us to go our separate ways. We can’t get along. We drive each other crazy.”

Dad grinned.

“You find this funny?” Cade grumbled.

“Yeah, I do.” Dad continued to smile. “Because I’ve said those very words about your mother more than once.”

Cade stared at his father. “You’re comparing Everleigh and me to you and Mom?” he asked, and Dad nodded. Shock and confusion rocketed through him. Had Dad lost his mind? “That makes no sense. We’re not dating. We’ve never dated. So why would you even think that?”

“You and Everleigh seem to... click.”

“Click?” Cade guffawed. “All we do is argue,” he exclaimed. “We’re total opposites. We can’t agree on anything.”

Dad nodded slowly. “I’ve been there with your mom. I don’t have to tell you that she and I are opposites too. She’s much more... reserved. And getting her to open up sometimes requires a can opener.” He pointed to himself. “But I’m an open book.”

“That’s true.”

Dad pointed to him. “And you’re like your mom.”

Cade couldn’t deny it. And Everleigh was an open book like his father—warm, giving, kind, always willing to help someone. She was a ray of sunshine while he tended to be a gloomy day. Theywereopposites. Yet there was that old saying that opposites attract. And he was definitely attracted to her.

That familiar stitch radiated in his chest.

He scrubbed his hand down his face. Why was he driving himself insane? Soon she’d leave, and life could go back to—normal? What was normal now? Now that Alana had died, nothing would ever be normal again. And now Everleigh had walked into his life and turned it upside down.

“You okay, Cade?” Dad asked.

“None of this matters.” He tossed the bottle cap toward the trash can, and it bounced off the counter before rolling under the refrigerator. “She’s made it clear she’ll be gone by the beginning of December.”

“How do you feel about her leaving?”

Broken. Devastated. Distraught.“It’s what she wants.”

“Is it whatyouwant?”

No.Cade ousted the thought from his mind. He needed to change the subject. “Has Mom spoken to Declan?”

Dad frowned. “I’ve tried to get her to open up about him, but as always, she refuses. She shuts down whenever I mention him.”

Cade began pulling the label off the bottle of Coke. “What happened that made her want to forget her child?”

“I wish I knew.” Dad took another drink. “It had to be really bad.”

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