“It may take forever,” I warn him.
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere, Dove.” His words lodge deep inside me, aching like a bruise and glowing like an ember all at once.
“Tillie made dinner. You must be hungry.”
I’m starving, so I follow him into the kitchen. I’ve met Tillie; she seems nice, not judgmental at all.
Even the kitchen is different—new. Once cluttered and dim, it’s now bright and open, smelling faintly of cinnamon and cookies. Tillie’s touch, no doubt, keeps it running like the heart of the place.
Bandit greets us with barks, prancing around our legs.
“Dr. K.” Evie jumps off a short barstool at the kitchen island, which has been made in two levels—one for adults and one for kids. I crouch and hug her, and then we are both attacked by Bandit, which leaves us laughing.
No, this is nothing like the old house, the one that was devoid of a woman’s touch since Cade’s mother passed away when they were young and Walt Mercer was a cold, cold man.
“Sarah, how wonderful to see you again.” Tillie hugs me while Evie and Bandit turn their attention to Cade.
As I stand in his kitchen, safe and warm, I wonder if I’ll ever be whole enough to take what he’s trying to offer.
CHAPTER 33
cade
Sarah stands in my kitchen, looking out of the windows into the dark. I know she wants to bolt.
Her braid slips over her shoulder, catching the light, and all I want to do is reach for her.
She was fine during dinner, but now it’s just us, and she’s shut down a little.
“Do you want a tour of the house?”
I want her to see the whole place, to understand there are no remnants of the past, of Landon. He hasn’t lived here—or even stayed here—in years.
“You lived here with Jeanine,” she whispers.
I step behind her, rest my chin on her shoulder, breathe her in. “I redid the house after she passed away.”
“The whole house?” I straighten and turn her to face me, my hands on her shoulders. “Yes. I had a good year and…I needed to…erase the years of…marriage.”
She studies me, wary, like she’s trying to spot the lie. But there isn’t one. I’ve got nothing left but the truth.
I draw in a slow breath. “I married her because she got pregnant. I didn’t want to have a kid at twenty-six, but…Evie is the one good thing that came out of that marriage made in hell. We weren’t right from the start. I stayed out of stubbornness, or maybe shame. She hated this ranch, hated me half the time. She hated Evie.”
“How could she hate Evie?” Sarah protests. “Evie is wonderful.”
I cup her cheek. “Yeah. Jeanine had problems. Many of them. She drank quite a bit, but she stopped while she was pregnant. Thank God.”
“You didn’t love her?”
I huff out a sharp laugh. “No. I tried. I mean, she was pregnant with my kid. And my father was on my ass about it.”
“Your father was an ass,” she mutters.
“Yeah, he was. A very big ass. Now, when I look back at how he”—I trace her lower lip with a finger and drop my voice—“handled that whole thing with Landon and you…I realize that he was also a very bad man.”
“Are Jeanine’s parents in Evie’s life?”
“No. They moved to Florida after Jeanine died. Blamed me for everything. I’m glad. I didn’t want them around Evie.”
