Page 116 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

She rolled her eyes. “Just don’t talk about me anymore, okay? It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Fine.” His expression held contrition. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know.” She smiled, and his face relaxed.

“Landon,” Amber called, “we’ve got to go. You know how my mom gets if someone’s late.”

“Be right there, babe.” He gave Everleigh’s shoulder a gentle punch. “See you later.”

Everleigh waved to Amber before she and Landon disappeared from the kitchen. She turned her attention to the dishwasher, making quick work of adding the dishes, utensils, and glasses before squeezing in the serving platters. Then she added the soap powder and started the machine.

The coffee maker spluttered, and the delicious scent of coffee wafted over her. Mom opened the cabinet and pulled out three mugs. “Ready for dessert, or is it too soon?”

“It’s never too soon for chocolate pie,” Dad said.

Everleigh grinned. “I’ll get the plates and forks.”

When they returned to the dining room, Everleigh’s phone began to sing, announcing an incoming call. She found her purse on the sofa and pulled out her phone, which registered an out-of-state call. She poised her thumb on the button to silence it, but something compelled her to answer.

“Hello?”

“Is this Everleigh?” a familiar female voice asked.

“Yes.”

“Hi, sweetie. This is Maggie Newton. I’m sorry to bother you ona holiday, but Henry and I needed to speak with you right away,” the older woman said. “We’ve been dreaming of retiring in Coral Cove, and running the inn together would be a dream come true. We didn’t want to risk losing the opportunity to someone else, so... how would you and Cade feel about a full-price offer for the Sunshine Inn?”

Chapter 28

Cade paced in his apartment. He had cleaned up the leftovers—well, the entire meal since he had lost his appetite after his mother stormed out—and then locked up the rest of the inn. He’d called for Bryant and retired to his place to try to cool off, but anger and disappointment still churned in his gut.

After taking a shower, he considered just going to bed. But it was too early for that, and he knew he would only wind up staring at the ceiling and stewing over his frustration toward his mother.

He had finally settled on an old Western movie when his phone began ringing. He was surprised to see his brother’s name and number on the screen. After pausing the movie, he picked up the phone. “Declan. Hi,” he said.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Declan sang while voices sounded in the background.

“Same to you,” Cade said. “Sounds like you have a full house.” A painful longing gripped his heart—the urge to be included in that house full of people, along with his parents and Everleigh, instead ofbeing alone on this holiday. He slammed his eyes shut and worked to dismiss those thoughts. Thanks to his mother, Declan would never be included in their family—and Cade didn’t know if he’d ever find a way to accept that.

The background noise faded away. “We’re at Stephanie’s parents’ house, and she has a huge family. I’ll try to find a quiet corner.” A door squeaked open and then clicked shut. “I wanted to check in with you. How’s your holiday going?”

“It was fine.”

“Was?” Declan asked. “It’s not even eight yet. Did you eat early?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m relaxing now, just me and the cat. We’re watching an old movie. How’s everyone there?”

Cade listened while his brother talked about Stephanie’s family and the delicious meal they had eaten. More sadness expanded in his chest as thoughts of what could have been overtook him. Had Mom agreed to include Declan and Stephanie today, they all could have been talking and laughing and eating too much food together right now.

“You still there, Cade?” Declan asked.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

“Something wrong?”

Cade hesitated. He hated lying, but how could he explain what had gone haywire today without hurting his brother? Neither lying nor telling the truth seemed all that great an option.

“I may not know you well enough to say this, but something seems to be bothering you, Cade. Did something happen with your mom today?” Declan’s voice held a thread of worry or hesitation—maybe both.

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