Preston sought him out after Cade had signed in, giving him a short list of what tasks needed doing. While Preston was speaking, Cade’s gaze wandered around the area, seeking out Hope.
To avoid her, of course, and for no other reason.
“Are you looking for Hope?” Preston asked, seeming to sense he didn’t have Cade’s full attention.
Before he could stop himself, Cade responded, making the inquiry as casual as possible. “I haven’t seen her around for a while.”
“Yeah, I know. She’s dealing with midterms.”
“That explains it.”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you at the cottage, either.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy.”
The look Preston gave him said he hadn’t been fooled. Something was wrong and he knew it. Unlike Silas, Preston chose not to push or step in where he wasn’t wanted. For that, Cade was grateful.
After Cade had finished working an hour at the shelter, he headed to his apartment. Driving past the cottage, he noticed Hope’s car parked in her usual spot. All was well with her, it seemed. He found that reassuring and then was furious with himself for caring.
The last thing she’d said to him was good-bye, and it seemed she’d meant it, which was fine, because he did, too.
Chapter 19
The football team remained undefeated, which made Scott, Ben, and all their friends even more insufferable. Spencer hadn’t attended any of the games since homecoming, where he’d been treated like he had a communicable disease. One good thing was that Callie had stopped pestering him. It’d taken her long enough to get the message.
“You going to the game?” Joel asked, as he slid his lunch tray onto the table across from Spencer. The cafeteria was buzzing with talk about the upcoming game taking place that night.
Spencer gave him the look.
“Hey, just asking.”
“Are you?” Spencer said to his friend. This would be a first for Joel.
“Maybe. Oceanside is first in the league. No one expected us to beat Montesano, and now the entire state is paying attention. I heard one of the Seattle television stations is planning on being there.”
Spencer wasn’t interested.
“Come on, dude, that’s huge.”
No doubt Scott and his friends were eating it up, too. If what Callie said about college scouts looking at her brother for possible scholarships was true, then this was big news. Spencer wished Ben well. He didn’t have anything against him, other than the trouble Callie had brought into Spencer’s life because of Ben’s reported drug use.
Brian had joined them in the middle of the discussion.
“I’m thinking of going; Brian is, too,” Joel announced. “You should come with us, Spence.”
“I’ll think about it.” His decision was already made. He couldn’t care less how well the team did or their state ranking. In a few months, he’d be graduating and moving on to college.
* * *
—
U.S. History with Ms. Goodwin was his last class of the day. He’d noticed a subtle difference in her this past week. She wasn’t as quick-witted as she usually was. Nor did she laugh as easily. He was certain she’d gotten some kind of bad news and wished he knew how best to cheer her up. Although it concerned him, he wasn’t good with that sort of thing.
His mood didn’t lighten when Callie followed him out of the classroom. Instead of heading to his locker, he tried to ward her off by going straight to the parking lot. To his dismay, Callie raced out the door after him.
“Hey, wait up,” she called. School buses belted fumes as they pulled into place, preparing to load up students.
Seeing he wasn’t likely to escape Callie, Spencer turned around to face her.
She held her handbag tight against her side. Gone was the smile, the happy look she usually wore. A dark frown marred her face.
Something was definitely wrong. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I found out who’s giving Ben drugs.”
Spencer inhaled deeply. “Who?”
“Scott,” she whispered, almost as if she feared being overheard, which was highly unlikely with all the activity taking place around them.
Scott. That came as something of a surprise, but Spencer had his doubts. Scott’s father was a prominent attorney in town, and he came from money.
“And you know this how?” Spencer asked.
She nervously glanced around and lowered her voice. “I saw him hand a bag of pills to my brother.”
“Are you sure that’s what you saw?”