The Best Is Yet to Come (37)

“What was there not to like? I got to spend the evening with you, didn’t I?” he said.

“And I wasn’t at the dance alone.” Hope had spent so much of the last two years by herself, it felt good to feel a connection with another person, even if that thread remained fragile and was still relatively new.

Cade drove Hope back to the cottage. Although it was after midnight and she was tired, she didn’t want the evening to end.

“Come in for a few minutes,” she said, when they arrived at her place.

Cade hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not asking you to spend the night, Cade. Neither of us is ready for that just yet. I need to let Shadow out, and I thought I’d put on a pot of chamomile tea and relax for a minute.”

“All right.” He didn’t hesitate, and that encouraged her. Before, he always needed time to think through each invitation, as if to sort through the implications of being with her, and what that might mean.

Once she unlocked the door, Shadow was there to greet her and then immediately went outside to do his business.

“I hate keeping him locked up all day,” Hope said. It was her one regret with owning Shadow. “Mellie’s been kind enough to come and let him out once or twice a day while I’m at school.”

“Didn’t you mention getting a doggie door?”

“I did, but I need to find someone to install it.”

“I’ll do it,” Cade said, with an eagerness that surprised her.

“I didn’t mention it so that you’d offer, Cade.” She didn’t want him to feel obligated.

“I know. I’d be happy to do it, really. That’s just the sort of thing I enjoy.”

His enthusiasm was unexpected and welcome, as it helped solve a problem for her. “I’d appreciate it, but I can’t let you do it for free.”

“Why not? If I needed a favor, would you turn me down?”

She laughed softly. “It depends on the favor.”

He dismissed the question. “I’ll stop by tomorrow afternoon, and while I’m here I’ll secure the railing on your porch.”

That railing was in bad shape. Hope didn’t dare put any weight on it for fear that it would become completely dislodged. “Preston’s been meaning to look at it for some time now, but he’s busy at the shelter and with his family. I haven’t wanted to pester him about it.”

The kettle on the stove whistled, and Hope filled the teapot that had once belonged to her grandmother. She’d kept a few mementos from her grandparents and treasured each one. They were her one link to the past.

“Preston’s got enough on his mind without worrying about this, especially when I can fix it without a problem.”

They sat at her small kitchen table and Hope poured the tea. It was too hot to drink right away. Cade stretched his arm across the tabletop and took hold of her hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

She smiled. “You’re thanking me for dragging you to a high school dance?”

“I’m thanking you for everything. When we first met…I wasn’t in a good place.”

“Are you now?” she asked.

He didn’t answer right away. “Not completely, but I’m getting there.”

Hope felt she was getting there, too. Like Cade, she had a way to go, but she was making progress.





Chapter 13




Hope wasn’t home when Cade arrived late Sunday morning. He knocked several times before he realized she wasn’t there. He could hear Shadow barking on the other side of the door. He checked to see if she’d locked the door, and sure enough Hope had left it unsecured. She was far too trusting.

Speaking calmly, letting Shadow know it was him, Cade eased open the door. As soon as it was wide enough, the dog shot outside. It was a relief to know Shadow had seen Cade enough times to know he wasn’t a threat, with or without Hope’s presence.

Shadow immediately went into the yard to do his business and then lay down in the grass to watch as Cade went to work testing the railing. As he suspected, the wood had rotted and needed to be replaced.

As he was dismantling it from the porch, Preston came out of the house. “I’ve been meaning to get to that for weeks,” he called out as he approached. “Hope isn’t one to complain, so it was easy enough to let it slide.”

“No worries, I enjoy this kind of stuff. But it looks like it’s going to take more than a few nails to set this in place, there’s wood rot here.”

“I thought as much. I bought the wood to replace it a while back. I’ve got it stored in the garage.”

“Great, that will save me a trip to the hardware store.”

Together they walked over to Preston’s garage, and Preston moved a few items aside to reach the stacked pieces of lumber that rested against the garage wall. Together they carted what was needed back to the cottage.

“The entire porch could do with a paint job,” Preston said, “but that will need to wait for better weather.”

Intent as he was on the task, Cade hadn’t noticed the darkening skies.

“Listen, I know you’re doing this as a favor to Hope, but this is my responsibility,” Preston said. “I’d like to pay you.”