The Best Is Yet to Come (27)

“My hope is that this will be the first of several dinners.” He looked her way as if this was a question rather than a statement.

“I’d like that.”

He stretched his arm across Shadow’s back and reached for her hand. They linked their fingers together. “Tell me what brought you to Oceanside.”

She inhaled and held her breath. Certain details of her life were private, Hunter’s death being one of those. The pain of his loss was her own and she held it close, not wanting sympathy or welcoming it. Talking about Hunter made her realize how alone she was and often brought tears to her eyes. This was a path she wasn’t ready to walk with Cade, since they were just getting to know each other.

Unsure where to begin, she started with her childhood. “My mother abandoned my brother and me when we were toddlers. We grew up in southern California and were raised by my grandparents.”

“That’s rough,” he said.

“Our grandparents loved us to the best of their ability. I’m sure raising two rambunctious children wasn’t how they’d expected to spend their retirement years.” More than once, Hope had felt their resentment that they couldn’t travel and do all the things they had planned, because they were saddled with her and Hunter.

“Hunter, that’s my twin brother, joined the army as soon as he graduated from high school. I was smart enough to get a scholarship for college, and moved out as soon as I could, to give my grandparents the freedom from responsibility of looking after us.” Hope had worked two part-time jobs, plus concentrating on her studies. Hunter helped her out financially when he could.

“Why did you decide to become a teacher?”

He didn’t know she had a double degree, and this wasn’t the time to point that out. “California had a shortage of teachers at the time, and I knew I’d be able to get a job.”

He nodded, as if urging her to continue.

“Then I lost both my grandparents within a short amount of time, which was really sad. Grandpa went first and then Grandma with breast cancer. I had no idea that older women are more prone to that form of cancer.

“She was lost without Grandpa and died about a year later. Her death certificate said it was cancer, but I knew the real reason. I had moved back in with her to help. She was lost and lonely without him and didn’t have the will to live.”

Cade gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “That partially answers my question. With Hunter serving in the military and both your grandparents gone, you had no reason to remain in California.”

“Exactly. I’d lived in the Los Angeles area nearly all my life, and I wanted to experience life in a small town. Once I’d completed the paperwork, I applied for teaching jobs in a number of small towns in Washington.” Oceanside hadn’t been her first choice. It’d turned out to be the best, though. “Now, what about you?” she asked, eager to turn the conversation away from herself.

Leaning back, Cade stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles. “Raised in Tacoma, graduated from Pacific Lutheran University,” he stated the bare facts. “After that, I had some problems with my parents, my father in particular.” He hesitated, as if unsure he should continue. “My dad demanded that I follow in his footsteps, career-wise. I rebelled. That didn’t sit well with my mom and dad. We’ve basically been estranged ever since.”

How unfortunate to have a family and to walk away. “I’m sorry, Cade,” she said, genuinely sad for him.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything.”

“I know that. I’m sorry that you don’t have a good relationship with your family.” Because she was completely alone in the world, Hope would give anything to have known her birth parents. As it was, she had only fleeting memories of her mother. As far as she knew, her father had never been part of her life. From tidbits she’d overheard from her grandparents, their mother was a lost cause. Hope wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, although she suspected it had something to do with drug addiction. From the time Hope and Hunter arrived at their grandparents’ home, they had never, not one time, received any communication from their mother. Hope had no idea if the woman who gave birth to her was alive or dead, and had to assume she was the latter. According to their grandmother, it was likely Hope’s mother didn’t know who had fathered her and Hunter.

“I wish it was different, too,” Cade confessed. “The problem is we’re both too stubborn to admit we were wrong.”

“You can’t go back?” Surely there was a way to move forward.

“If I reach out to my father, he’ll assume I’m admitting I was wrong and will bend to his plans for my life. That’s not going to happen. I’m not cut out to be an attorney.”

“What about your mother? Can she help?”

Cade straightened. “It took a long time for me to forgive her for not backing me when I needed it most. I was desperate for her to stand at my side. It’s only been recently that I’ve come to understand what a difficult position she was in, trapped between me and my dad.” He hesitated, bending his head down. “I saw her not long ago.” His voice was low, uncertain. “I should probably tell you…”

“That you’re on probation?”

His head shot up. “You know?”