The Best Is Yet to Come (30)

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Fifteen minutes later Cade left Harry’s office, and he noticed his step was lighter. Now that he knew what he was doing, he felt good inside. At their first meeting Cade hadn’t wanted anything to do with counseling. These days, he was grateful for Harry, who would be the first one to tell him to pull his head out of his butt and make it sound like Cade’s suggestion. The guy had a gift.

This dance with Hope wasn’t about him and his limitations. His focus was on the woman who had caught his attention. Being by her side, protecting her from any potential problem, was what was important. Whatever embarrassment he suffered would be worth keeping her safe.

Instead of meeting Hope at the game an hour before the starting time, Cade showed up at her cottage.

Her eyes revealed her surprise when she opened her door. Shadow was at her side and didn’t so much as bark when he saw it was Cade. It seemed Shadow accepted him and all it’d taken was a single hot dog.

“Come in,” Hope said. Her eyes filled with expectation as she waited for him to explain the visit.

Moving into the house, for a moment, Cade couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was already dressed for the game in skinny jeans and a school sweatshirt with the Eagles logo. She was beautiful. Her silence reminded him she had no idea why he’d stopped by.

“I decided to be your plus-one for the dance,” he said.

Her face dissolved into a huge smile. “I’d love that, and thank you. I wasn’t looking forward to attending the dance alone.”

“But you should know I have certain limitations, and if that embarrasses you—”

“Stop,” she said abruptly, and reached out to grab hold of his forearm. “You’re being ridiculous. I know you have an injured leg. It doesn’t bother me, and it shouldn’t bother you, either. Now, enough said.”

Cade couldn’t resist. Even before she finished speaking, he drew her into his arms and kissed her. It was impulsive and out of sheer relief that she understood and accepted him with his many flaws and shortcomings. He took her by surprise because her mouth was closed, but she quickly adjusted, opening to him. Her arms went around his neck, and she leaned in to him, sucking on his bottom lip, giving herself to him. He wasn’t sure how long they kissed. Not long enough. One taste of Hope and it left him craving more.

When she opened her eyes, Hope looked up at Cade with the sweetest smile. “That was nice.”

It was all he could do to acknowledge her with a nod. He swallowed. “Very nice.”

“Tonight will be fun,” she assured him. “We’re going to attend the game and cheer on our team with half the town, and then Saturday night we’ll meet up for the dance.”

The tension between his shoulder blades dissipated and Cade relaxed. He could do this. Hope needed him, and he wouldn’t disappoint her.



* * *



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By the time they arrived at the football field, it was hard to find a vacant parking spot. This game was a big deal. Oceanside was playing against their strongest rival, the Montesano Bulldogs. The Oceanside Eagles remained undefeated. Although it was early in the season, the Eagles were expected to go all the way to the state finals. The previous year, both the football and baseball teams had been awarded the championship for Washington State’s A classification. With the school’s population around three hundred, they played against other schools with a larger student count from which to pull talent.

Much of the credit went to the coach, Wade Simmons. As far as Oceanside was concerned, the man walked on water. Cade didn’t blame them. Coach inspired and encouraged his team with a strong work ethic. Nearly every afternoon if Cade passed the high school, he noticed the team running drills and scrimmages on the field. Coach was strict but fair, and Oceanside loved him for the way he’d shaped the young men on and off the field.

Hope wrapped her arm around Cade’s elbow as they approached the field, her eyes filled with excitement. “Willa’s here,” she announced. “She’s with her husband and Dr. Annie, too.”

Cade knew Willa but hadn’t met Sean O’Malley, her husband. He was some hot shot photographer whose photos were often featured in National Geographic. Seemed funny a successful professional like Sean would choose to live in a little town like Oceanside. To each his own.

Cade hadn’t needed any medical attention outside of what he got from the VA hospital and the physical therapist he worked with in Aberdeen, so he wasn’t familiar with Dr. Annie. He knew her husband, Keaton, from the animal shelter. As he recalled, it was Keaton who’d delivered Shadow to the facility. Since Cade had been volunteering at the shelter, Keaton had stopped by several times. The man was large and intimidating at first glance, until Cade had been around him awhile. He was big-chested, close to seven feet, he’d guess, with hands nearly twice the size of a normal person’s, and it seemed his heart for helping others matched his size.

Hope waved to Willa, who immediately invited them to join her and Sean. Naturally, they sat more than halfway up the bleachers. Cade tensed right away, knowing the climb would be awkward.

Instead of rushing forward, Hope remained patiently at his side, taking one step at a time with him, as if he were the one helping her up the stairs.

She paused halfway up when she spied one of her students. “Hi, Spencer,” she said.

The kid looked up and then glanced away. As crowded as the stands were, there was plenty of space left on both sides of Spencer. It was as if he were being given the cold shoulder by his schoolmates. Clearly no one wanted to sit next to him.