Page 62 of Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Everleigh’s face flashed with worry. “Everything okay?”

“Yup. Enjoy your meal,” he told her. Then he headed toward the back door.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and a headache began to throb behind his eyes. He kept moving, wishing he could sprint to his apartment.Just leave me alone, Everleigh.

“Cade!” she called after him. “Wait!” She caught up to him, grabbed his arm, and tried to turn him toward her. “Hey. Hold on. Did you talk to your mom?”

He nodded.

“What happened?”

He frowned. “Don’t trouble yourself.”

“Cade.” Her eyes pleaded with him, and when she touched his shoulder, he edged away from her. The hurt in her eyes nearly tore him in two, but he couldn’t help himself from rebuffing her. He’d already allowed her to become too important to him. “You look terrible.” She reached for his face but then stopped.

“I’m fine.” He ground out the words. “Please, just go back to the kitchen.”

She hesitated. “Talk tomorrow?”

He nodded.

She lifted a suspicious eyebrow. “Promise?”

“Yeah. Now go back to your... your... Trevor.” The words tasted bitter in his mouth.

Her pink lips formed a thin line. “I’ve already told you he’snotmy boyfriend.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he muttered as he walked away from her.

He continued to the door leading up to his apartment, grateful Everleigh didn’t follow him this time.

He heard a meow.

Bryant blinked up at him, and Cade felt the tension in his shoulders start to ease. “Hey, boy.”

As soon as he unlocked the door, the cat scurried up the stairs. Cade dragged himself behind him, feeling as if he’d been hit by a bus. The emotions of the day had knocked the wind out of him.

When he reached the kitchen, Bryant circled Cade’s feet like a shark stalking his prey. The cat sang his usual chorus of meowswhile Cade spooned a stinky seafood meal into the cat’s bowl and set it on the linoleum. Bryant began inhaling it while Cade propped his hip against the counter and rubbed the heels of his hands in his eye sockets. He tried to erase the image of Everleigh laughing with Trevor, but it was permanently burned into his brain now, along with his disturbing conversation with his mother. He felt like he was trapped in an upside-down world where nothing made sense.

“What should I have for supper, Bryant?”

The cat continued guzzling down his meal.

He opened his refrigerator and stared at his containers of leftovers. He considered cooking something since throwing together impromptu recipes had always calmed him. It had been his best therapy after Serena left him and since he’d lost his restaurant.

But choosing ingredients sounded like too much work when he was emotionally and physically spent. He grabbed a container of leftover chicken Alfredo and pasta and stuck it in the microwave. Once it was warmed through, he flopped down on the sofa, turned on the television, and found an old action movie to stream. He tried to lose himself in the cliché story while he ate, but his mind kept replaying his mom’s callous words about Declan and the scene of Everleigh laughing with Trevor. Both made his stomach roil.

Cade had no idea how he would ever recover from this terrible day.

***

Everleigh watched Cade disappear into the doorway leading to his apartment. The pain in his eyes had stolen her breath, and she wished she could’ve held him captive and insisted he talk to her. She couldn’t stand it when he shut down, and she knew to the depth of her soul that he was hurting. His conversation with his mother must have gone badly, and she longed to offer him some solace.

She stood in the driveway while the lights in his apartmentilluminated, and a warm golden glow escaped through the slats in the blinds. She was grateful Bryant had gone inside with him. At least Cade wasn’t alone.

Her flip-flops crunched along the rock path leading back toward the inn. She climbed the back steps and returned to the kitchen, where Trevor remained eating his supper.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

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