Page 54 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

“Bernie and I wanted to come down before it got too late in the year. Do you have any openings?”

“We sure do.” Everleigh pulled up the reservation page on the website. She booked the Walkers for the first week in November, then quickly ushered her off the phone.

When she hung up, she cupped her hands to her face. The guilt she’d kept bottled up inside her boiled over, and tears poured from her eyes again. Why hadn’t Alana told Cade to call her and ask her to come home? Everleigh could have been helpful during her treatments, could have comforted her and wiped her tears when she cried, could have told her she loved her one last time...

Mrs. Walker’s words echoed in her mind. Surely the cancer had been painful. Had Cade done all he could to keep her comfortable? Somehow, she was certain he had. She already sensed Cade had a good heart, but that didn’t stop the anguish from blooming inside her.

“Everleigh?” Cade called from somewhere inside the inn. “You here?”

“In the office.” Her voice was tight.

As soon as he appeared in the doorway, worry raced across his chiseled features. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She tried to curl her lips into a smile, but it felt more like a grimace. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” He pulled a chair over to her. “What happened?”

She waved off his worry. “Mrs. Walker called to make a reservation, and she didn’t know Alana had passed away. She asked me questions about her death, and it was... I just found it difficult to respond.”

“I remember Mrs. Walker.” He frowned, and she was certain it was his concerned frown. “She never knows when to be quiet.”

“It’s okay. Really. I’m sure she meant well.” She wiped her eyes with the tips of her fingers. “How was the grocery store?”

He rested his arms on the desk. “Uneventful.”

“You had a visitor while you were out.”

His eyes briefly narrowed. “Who?”

“Some guy named Declan.” She handed him the business card. “He’s anxious for you to call him.”

Cade studied the card, and his brow furrowed. “Declan Hewitt. Declan Hewitt...” He whispered the name as if trying to place it. “Where have I seen that name?” He tapped the business card against his palm and then snapped his fingers. “I think this guy has emailed me about something. Seemed odd.” He dropped the business card into his pocket.

“He seemed pretty serious about talking to you.” Everleigh finally conjured up a genuine smile. “Ooh, what if you won a sweepstakes?”

“That would be a miracle since I can’t remember entering one.”

“You need to try positivity, Cade. The guy could have good news.”

He scoffed. “The last time I did that, things turned disastrous. Why waste the energy on getting my hopes up?”

“Take a chance sometime. You might be glad you did.” She reached out and touched his arm.

“This is about more than just dreaming, partner.”

“You’re allowed to dream, Cade,” she told him. “You deserve it.”

Shaking his head, he started toward the doorway. “Thanks for taking the message. I’ll go finish putting the groceries away.”

***

Later that night, Cade flopped down on the sofa beside Bryant and opened a can of Coke. “What a day, huh, buddy?”

The cat stretched his large paws out in front of him and yawned before snuggling deeper into his blanket.

Cade took a long draw from his can before setting it on the end table beside him. He found the remote and flipped on the television. While the evening news anchor talked about how the weather would continue to be warm during the next few days, Cade’s thoughts wandered back to earlier in the day when Everleigh had handed him the business card.

He pulled the card from his pocket and studied the stranger’s name. He couldn’t for the life of him imagine what Declan Hewitt wanted. When he recalled Everleigh saying he could have won a sweepstakes, Cade shook his head and chuckled to himself. If only he could muster an ounce of her positivity. At the same time, he’d done too much living to believe people only had good intentions. Many people were only out for themselves, and Cade had encountered the worst of that.

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