“No charger?”
“In a lost suitcase somewhere in Seattle.”
Cadence shimmied a pillow into the soft lavender case. Her mind raced with thoughts on how her own flight was due to leave Anchorage tomorrow evening. It would put her back in Kansas late Monday morning. Because Janine had been reluctant but understanding, she expected Cadence to get off the plane and head straight into the office. If she asked for another extension, she might as well hand in her resignation. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I didn’t, either.”
Sophie’s eyes glistened with tears, but with a deep breath, she kept them from escaping.
“Did you miss this place?” Cadence kept the topic lighthearted, at least until they finished fixing the bed and tucked Caroline in. Maybe it was nostalgia and a need for a getaway that brought them here. She supposed if someonelivedin Hawaii, it wouldn’t exactly feel like a vacation spot anymore.
“I’ve always missed this place.” Sophie had been eleven that summer. Full of wonder and imagination, from what Cadence remembered. They spent afternoons exploring together, every inch they could get away with, more than once being chased out of guest rooms by Great-Aunt Patty. “I wanted to come back, just once more. Before we sold it.”
“I’m supposed to leave tomorrow.”
“I know.”
I don’t want to. Cadence still hadn’t figured any of it out, and unless she did, she’d have to get on that plane.
“Tillie Grant left us some blueberry crisp,” Cadence said once Caroline was tucked in. Sophie dropped a kiss on her forehead and followed Cadence into the hallway. “She’s preparing for the Blueberry Festival or something like that. I guess that’s the next one.”
“I loved the festivals most,” Sophie said. “My favorite was the Moose Days Festival. Remember that one?”
“The last one of the season.” In the kitchen, Cadence dished them each a generous helping of cobbler and carried them to the table she had grown quite fond of this week. It felt like . . . home. “I forgot about the festivals, actually. I guess I was always a little bit more of a homebody than you and Tessa.”
“Tessa wasn’t really here much.” They both laughed at that. “Always chasing after that boy. What was his name?”
“Liam. He’s Ford’s best friend.”
“Married and all that now, I imagine?”
Cadence shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Maybe we keep that detail from Tessa,” Sophie teased. “He always did make her a little reckless and crazy.”
How much had Cadence missed this, sitting at the table eating a late-night snack with her little sister? It felt like a decade had gone by since they last shared this kind of quality time, even if it was a complete surprise. “What’s been going on, Soph? I’ve been worried.”
Sophie fidgeted in her seat, pushing around the cobbler in her bowl but not actually taking a bite.
“Soph?”
“Blake left us for another family.”
Cadence threw her hand to her heart. If she’d been given twenty guesses, none of her answers would’ve matched up to that. “Come again?”
“He left me for another woman after he found out she was pregnant withtwins.” Her eyes glistened with moisture. “Cadence, I’m only twenty-five. I can’t even say he traded me in for a younger model. I don’t know what happened. We got . . . comfortable, I guess. But I never had reason to suspect he was seeing someone else.”
Cadence slid around the table, cradling her now-sobbing sister in her arms. They rocked for what might have been minutes or hours. Her shoulder was drenched with Sophie’s tears, and her own now fell. She’d do anything to take the pain away.
With a few sniffles, Sophie finally pulled free. Cadence searched for a box of tissues and brought them back to the table.
“The divorce was final almost six months ago. I was just too embarrassed to tell you guys. The jerk couldn’t even leave us the house. He signed away all custody rights of his own daughter. The only thing we get from him is a monthly child support check. He didn’t want weekends or anything with her. How did I ever marry such a monster? How could I have been so blind?”
Cadence didn’t know what to say, so instead she refilled their bowls with cobbler.
“They were born this morning. One boy. One girl.”
If Cadence thought she had dozens of questions before, she had hundreds now. She reached for her sister’s hand across the table. “So you came here to get away?”
