“I’m sorry, Sara, I really am, but I can’t get involved in this situation. If there’s going to be healing, then the three of you will need to work it out yourselves without any interference from me.”
“I understand,” she said, sadness weighing down her words. “It was too much to hope for, I suppose.”
“I’m sorry, I truly am.”
“It was presumptuous of me to ask. I thought…I hoped, you know, that you might have some insight into how best to bring Cade back into our family.”
“I wish I did.” She was sincere in that. Hope would do anything to have known her mother, to have had a father in her life. That was never in the cards for her. At some point, she prayed Cade would be able to find a way to bridge the differences he had with his family. That would need to come from him, though, and not from anything she said or did.
“Would it be all right if I called you now and again?” Sara asked, her eyes bright with hope. “It would mean the world to me if we could talk every so often.”
As much as she hated to disappoint Cade’s mother, Hope didn’t want to do anything behind his back. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Sara’s face fell.
“I would be willing,” she revised, “but only if Cade knows, in which case, I believe he would probably prefer to talk to you himself.”
Sara didn’t appear convinced. “He’s as stubborn as his father, so I wouldn’t count on that.”
“I’m sorry, I wish I could do more.”
“I do, too,” Sara said.
They finished their tea and left at the same time.
* * *
—
An hour after she was home, Hope had expected to hear from Cade. When she didn’t, she sent him a text.
How’d your session go?
Good.
Before this point, his text messages hadn’t been this abrupt.
Can you stop by later?
No.
Is everything okay?
Just dandy.
Hope’s heart rate accelerated.
Cade, what’s going on?
You tell me.
What do you mean?
A full minute passed before he responded.
Did you have a good afternoon?
He knew. He must have seen Hope and his mother at Bean There. She’d assumed he was at his therapy session and wouldn’t be in town.
Hope didn’t want to have this discussion via text, so she tried to phone him. He didn’t answer.
It isn’t what you think! Let me explain.
Hope waited for a response and saw that the text wasn’t delivered. She tried several more times and then realized why they weren’t going through.
Cade had blocked her.
Chapter 17
Hope remained stunned. Without listening to a word of explanation, Cade had blocked her. His action infuriated and frustrated her. He was being judgmental and completely unfair. She wanted to stomp her foot and retaliate. The best way she could think to do that was to block his number, too. If, at some point, Cade wanted to apologize, he would feel the same annoyance she had.
Her little temper tantrum lasted for all of five minutes before she changed her mind and unblocked him. She wanted to talk to Cade, to explain that she hadn’t broken his trust. Maybe, she told herself, he’d realize he’d overreacted and would reach out.
But he didn’t. She waited, trusting and believing he’d realize his mistake, only to face disappointment.
“If that’s what he wants, then fine,” Hope told Shadow, as she slammed around the kitchen.
By now it was well past dinnertime, so she threw a few leftovers into a salad. Then she found she couldn’t eat it, and slapped her fork down on the kitchen table, startling Shadow. Her stomach was in knots, and she blamed Cade for the loss of appetite. Tossing the remains into the garbage, she determined if Mohammad wouldn’t come to her, then she’d go to Mohammad.
Although she had never been to Cade’s studio apartment, she knew the general vicinity of where it was. If she drove around long enough, she was bound to see his truck parked out front.
She brought Shadow with her and took off, doing her best to contain her irritation. It distressed her that he thought so little of her that he would cut her from his life, as if everything they’d shared meant nothing.
While she was driving around, her mind whirled with all the things she planned to say to him. She’d explain the situation, reassure him that he’d been wrong in whatever he had assumed. Being the forgiving person she was, she would accept his apology and they would move forward.
Cade’s truck was nowhere in sight. After an hour of driving around, she realized she was wasting her time. Cade had likely guessed she’d be unable to leave matters as they were and went out of his way to thwart her efforts.