Rae of Sunshine (Light in the Dark 1)

Cade sat beside me on the couch with a modest amount of space between us. Thea sat in the leather armchair with her legs thrown over the arm, flipping through the pages of a magazine.

“Cade?” I questioned, my voice hushed.

“Yeah.” He didn’t look at me.

I was seeing a whole new side of Cade today—one who was distant and unhappy, except when he’d come into the guestroom earlier. I didn’t like seeing him like this, but it gave me an idea of what he dealt with from me. It made me wonder why he bothered with me at all.

“That picture—”

“What about it?” He growled, brows drawn tight.

I was tempted to let it drop, because he clearly didn’t want to talk about it, but something made me persist.

“Who’s the little boy?” I asked, bracing myself for his reaction. I knew how much I hated it when people pried into my business, so I was prepared for him to tell me to fuck off. I wouldn’t be angry if he did. I’d understand.

His eyes closed and his face screwed up as if he was in pain.

“Come with me.” When he looked at me my throat closed up at the sadness I saw in his eyes.

He took my hand and dragged me upstairs, down the hall, and into the room I knew was his.

I took a moment to look around at the décor—trying to get to know Cade a little more.

The walls were painted green and the furniture was a dark cherry color. Bookcases lined one wall, and they were indeed covered in books with the odd trophy sitting on a shelf here and there. A desk sat in the corner with a Macbook. It was clean. Sparse. Almost like Cade had cleared most of his possessions out—at least the ones he could easily take to college.

“I should’ve explained to you about Gabe sooner, but…it’s not something I like to talk about.” He sat down on the end of his bed, scrubbing the palms of his hands on his jeans.

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me.” I started to back out of the room, my hand on the knob of the closed door.

He shook his head. “No, you deserve to know. It’s why my mom’s so…well, you know and why my dad’s an ass. Sit,” he nodded his head towards a chair in the corner. “Get comfortable.”

It didn’t escape my notice that he was putting space between us.

He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up in random directions.

He looked to the ceiling and let out a breath. “We were on vacation and Thea wanted all of us to go horseback riding. I was fifteen, Thea was eleven, and Gabe was eight. My parent’s arranged for us to go on this trail ride, all five of us. My dad and I were up front with the guide, while the others hung back. Gabe was nervous and didn’t really like it so my mom had to keep coaxing him along.” Cade paused, clenching his jaw. “The horse got spooked, reared back, and sent Gabe flying.” I watched with shock on my face as a tear coursed down Cade’s cheek, getting lost in the stubble. “When he landed he broke his neck and fractured his skull on a rock. He was paralyzed instantly and then bled out.” He swallowed thickly. “He was just…gone.”

Cade looked away and out the window. His shoulders were slumped, like the burden of his memories was too much to bear.

“Nothing was ever the same after that,” he whispered, his voice gruff with barely contained tears.

My eyes closed and my body shuddered. How often had I said the exact same thing?

I knew all about how one moment could haunt you for the rest of your life. How it consumed you and every facet of your life.

Cade wasn’t paying attention as I eased from the chair and came to sit down beside him. I placed my shaking hand on his forearm and felt how taut the muscle was pulled. For once I was more concerned about someone else’s pain than my own.

He slowly moved his gaze from the window to me. Strands of hair fell forward to hide his eyes. As if it was second nature to me I reached up and pushed the

hair away, but left my fingers tangled in it.

“I know exactly how you feel,” I whispered, the confession falling off my lips easily.

“Do you?” He didn’t say the words harshly like someone else might would. His voice was soft, curious.

“Yes,” I nodded, my body shuddering with a breath.

“Tell me,” he pleaded. His voice lowered as his hand sought mine.