Cade
It had been a week since the crash. I was slowly losing my mind to the pull of the past and I was frustrated with myself for not being able to control my emotions. Now that I had finally seen Charlotte, I found myself wanting to see her again, and it pissed me off that she was never anywhere around town. I couldn’t seem to run into her despite trying shamefully hard to do so. My house wasn’t even safe from the reawakened memories since we’d lived here together after we got married. I tossed to my other side, shoving an arm beneath my head as I reached for my cell phone to check the time.
It was way too early to be awake. The crash and our conversation after it still played on a loop in my mind. I couldn’t let it go. Charlotte had been terrified; I’d seen it in her eyes. She’d denied to my face being followed, but Matt’s report said otherwise. She would have no reason to lie to me unless she had something to hide, like she thought she knew who was following her and didn’t want anyone to know. And if someone had been chasing her, was she in danger? Or could it be something less serious?
Vowing to get to the bottom of whatever trouble Charlotte was in, I threw off my covers and sat on the edge of the bed. It was barely dawn and I was exhausted. She was all I could think about and sleeping had become impossible.
I was off work, but like every other day this past week, I didn’t want to be stuck in the house where I would undoubtedly torture myself all day with memories of her. I got dressed to head to Violet’s where I could eat breakfast and formulate a plan. I needed something to do all day, because just like when Charlotte had first left me, I couldn’t stand to be alone with my thoughts.
The early morning sun melted the ice on the roads so the trip into town was quick. My stomach growled, my need for food and caffeine almost as intense as my desire to get her out of my fucking head—for good this time.
Violet’s shop was located in a strip mall in the center of town. Like most of the other buildings in Sweetbriar it was designed with a mountain aesthetic in mind; think dark wood and natural stone facades with pine trees and evergreen shrubs planted in every spare patch of dirt. I swung into a spot in front of the shop and got out, the crisp breeze making me shiver, and hurried inside to get warm. It was early, so the line was long. Everyone in Sweetbriar got their coffee here. Violet was good enough that eventually she ran all other coffee shops out of town.
“Earth to Cade.” Violet waved a hand in front of my face.
“What?” I mumbled as I looked around. In a daze, I’d made it to the front of the line without noticing.
She chuckled. “What’s eating you? Charlotte, right? Go to the corner table with Mom and I’ll be right over. You want the usual, right?”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Vi.” I headed for the table Violet kept reserved for my mother. She wrote romance novels for a living and most of her newest works were done right here in the shop. She always said people watching inspired her. I wondered if Charlotte felt the same way about her own writing. I kind of hoped not. Charlotte wrote murder mysteries; what could possibly inspire her by watching people?
Mom was hugely successful. In fact, she had mentored Charlotte when we were in high school, helping her hone her writing skills and later helping her find an agent, stuff like that.
“Cade, sit.” She moved her laptop bag from the chair next to her and patted it. “How are you doing, honey? I know you’re off today. I was going to bring you dinner tonight so we can chat. I heard everything from Levi.”
“Of course you did.” I forced a laugh. “I’m fine. I’m over it.”
“We both know that isn’t true.” Her eyes, shining behind her black cat eye lenses, were soft on mine as she patted my hand. “But I’m not here to be nosy. I’m here to make sure you’re okay.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m fine.” I looked up as Violet placed a blueberry muffin and a coffee in front of me.
Violet looked at me skeptically. “Okay. Sure. You’re just fine and dandy.”
Frustrated, I dragged a hand through my hair. “Why don’t any of you believe me? I am fine, really.” Over the last week, each one of my siblings—and I had seven of them—let it be known they thought I was full of shit, accusing me of lying about my feelings for Charlotte. I’d gotten quite an earful, and it was split fifty-fifty as to whether I was lying to them or to myself.
“Don’t blame us for being observant,” Violet snarked before taking a seat next to me. “Denial isn’t good for anyone, Cade. Let us help you.” She stabbed a straw into her iced coffee, an eyebrow shooting up as she studied my face and took a sip.
“I’m not in denial.” That was not a lie, and the fact that I didn’t want them to know how I really felt about Charlotte being back in town proved it.
“Don’t argue with your brother, Violet. If he wants to say he’s fine, then he’s fine until he needs us.” Her eyes got huge as she peered over my shoulder. “Don’t look,” she hissed.
Instinctively, I turned to look. Charlotte stood in the doorway; her eyes shot to mine while a hesitant smile crossed her face. She was dressed for a run—black leggings, long sleeved thermal T-shirt, and a puffy purple vest. She was gorgeous with her hair in a high ponytail and her cheeks flushed bright pink from exertion. I lifted a hand in greeting before turning back to face my mother.
“You never were a good listener,” she muttered while Violet laughed.
“I’ve got to get back to work. You’ll be okay.” Vi patted my shoulder before making her way back to the counter.
“Right, she’s gone. Now, we can talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I insisted, unwrapping my muffin and taking a bite. “She’s been back for a couple months. No one wanted to talk about her with me when she first got to town. What is up with the interrogation now?”
Her head tilted and her eyebrows furrowed while she studied my face. “You hadn’t seen her yet. You went back inside your lonely, divorced Caden bubble and hid out at home. You haven’t been on a date since she came back. Don’t think we haven’t noticed. This is bothering you more than you let on.”
I shrugged and sipped my coffee while having an internal debate as to whether or not I wanted to get into a discussion about my love life with my mother. I decided on not.
“Look, honey. This is one situation I’m not going to meddle in.” My eyes went wide as my head jerked back on my neck. My mother was a notorious matchmaker; so was my sister Violet, for that matter. I’d have to keep my eye on them both. “Cade, I have to be honest with you. I’ve kept in touch with Charlotte over the years. We didn’t speak often, but I never told you because—”
Holding up a hand, I stopped her. “She loved you and she needed you. I’m not angry about it. Why should you remove her from your life because my marriage with her didn’t work out?” Her sigh of relief broke my heart. I took her hand across the table. It bothered me a little, but not enough to get angry over.
“Darling, I’m so relieved you feel this way. Thank you. I was worried you’d be hurt, and I would never want to hurt you. It’s just—I have always thought of her like another daughter and I didn’t want to abandon her entirely.”
“I’m not hurt. You two were always close.” I gestured to her laptop. “Is she going to join you here? To write or whatever?”
“We hadn’t talked about it. I mean, this is Violet’s place and she’s your sister—”
“I really don’t want to be like that anymore—my side of town and hers. Especially since she’s planting roots here again. I should make it a point to stop avoiding her. This is different than when she was visiting for a holiday or on vacation. She has a townhouse this time. I can be an adult about it as much as she’s trying to be—that’s why she’s been coming in here lately, isn’t it? To get to know you all again. Plus, if she’s going to stay in town, where else would she get her coffee?”
“Yes, all of that is definitely part of it. There’s probably some curiosity as well.”
“Curiosity? About what?”