“I try to make it out here at least once a month,” he admitted before taking his own bite. “Too much of the greasy foods and my uncle will whoop my ass in the gym.”
Her eyes narrowed when she remembered his uncle. “You’re uncle Sean, right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and took a sip of his soda.
“He was a police officer?” She felt her stomach roll. She didn’t know why she’d forgotten that he was related to the man who had found her, tucked away, hiding from the fire in a cave. A cave she couldn’t remember crawling into as the fire raged around her, taking everything that was dear to her away.
“Yeah, still is,” he said easily, too engrossed in his food to notice her incertitude. “Became sheriff a few years back. That’s how I walked into my job. The position became available, and he encouraged me to run.” He shrugged and she forced herself to relax and to continue eating.
Normally, when she grew too upset, she’d go without food. Which was why for the first few years after the fire, she’d lost so much weight that they’d talked about putting her on feeding tubes.
“You like your job?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful.
His eyes met hers and, for a moment, she thought he could see through her façade.
“I do. I think it’s a far better fit for me than the medical field I was aiming for. What about you? Did you work before returning here?”
“I had a few odd jobs here and there. My last job was working for a marketing firm.”
“And you decided to return here after your grandmother passed?”
“Yes, it was one of her last wishes. She’d helped my parents when they’d purchased the property all those years ago. Something tells me that she knew my uncle was running it into the ground.” She nibbled on a fry.
“Is it that bad?” he asked.
“I’m not sure yet. I’m meeting with Joe Ramsey tomorrow. Now that my uncle can’t get into the accounts…” She felt a huge weight release when she remembered removing him from all the accounts and locking him and her aunt out of all the financials.
“I bet you’re relieved knowing that part of the job is over. Having to deal with Colin,” he said.
“I’m struggling with feeling sorry for him,” she admitted. “I mean, if I find out that he really did steal from me, from the resort, then I won’t struggle any longer, but until then…” She shrugged. “Part of me wants to believe he couldn’t do something like that. The man I remember…” She pushed her half-empty plate away.
“And the other part?” he asked.
“The other part wants him to be guilty so I can never have to deal with him again.” She closed her eyes. “Which makes me just as terrible of a person as he is.”
She opened her eyes when Cade took her hand in his. “Why would that make you a terrible person?”
“Because I’d enjoy knowing he was locked up. Alone. Suffering. Away from his family.” She looked at their joined hands, Cade’s large tan hand next to her own smaller, pale, freckled one.
Just the simple kindness he showed her by the move almost had tears building up behind her eyes.
“One way or another, I guess I’ll find out tomorrow,” she added with a shrug. For some reason, she was growing tired. Maybe it was opening up to someone, other than her shrink, for the first time in years. Maybe it was the long day she’d had. Whatever the reason, she leaned back in the booth, breaking their connection, and looked out the window.
“It will get better,” he said suddenly. She glanced back at him.
“Most of the town still believes I’m responsible for…”—she motioned with her hand— “everything.”
She watched, waiting, guessing that he wanted to ask her if she was, but instead, he sighed and leaned back, mimicking her move.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
At least he hadn’t blamed her. How did she feel?
For so long she’d hid her feelings. Denied them. Repressed them and tried to forget that she had feelings or emotions at all.
It was one of the reasons that she hadn’t dated after Reggie. She’d been too afraid to unbottle that genie.
“Weary.”
Chapter Ten
When there is a war between fire and water, fire loses. ~ Spanish Proverb
There was so much Cade wanted to ask Raven, but he could tell that she was beyond tired.
“I bet you haven’t gotten a lot of sleep since you came back.” He leaned in and ran his eyes over her.
There was no denying that she was beautiful. Her skin was pale and flawless, her crystal eyes, which also had a knack for drawing you in, were haunting. Her lips were full and, well… perfect.
Still, under all that, he could see slight dark circles under her eyes, as well as the lost look that crossed there on several occasions. Each time it did, he could see her consciously pushing the emotions away.
It somehow only made him want to expose them even more. What would Raven be like unhinged?
She’d barely eaten anything really. A quarter of her burger along with a few French fries. Since he’d wager that she was a few pounds underweight, he guessed she wasn’t a stress eater.
“How about we get out of here?” He nodded towards the door.
She nodded as a response, and he moved to help her slide out of the booth.
Since he didn’t feel like taking her back just yet, he took the long way back to the resort.
Even though it was now full dark, she looked out the window as if she could see everything.
“How long did it take for things to grow back?” she asked.
He glanced over at her. “In some parts, less than a year. Others”—he shrugged— “it’s still growing back.”
“A lot of people left.” It was a statement, not a question.
“More than half the town. People took their insurance money and split. I guess some decided the country living wasn’t for them. When your uncle stopped hiring locals…”
“He stopped…” She sat up a little and looked at him.
“During the season.”
“Where did he hire them from?” she asked.
“Anywhere but Cannon Falls. I know that several regulars who used to work for your uncle were turned away the year after the fire. Some had to move on, out of the town, to find work.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“Like you said before, no one but your uncle should apologize for anything he has done.” He reached over and took her hand in his again. He liked the way it felt. Liked the way she felt.
He’d gained enough information about her over the past few days to know that whatever had happened ten years ago, there was no way she’d caused the fire on purpose. If he’d learned one thing over the years, it was that accidents happened. Hell, he’d caused his mother and grandmother enough grief in his teenage years that they both swore that every grey hair they had was due to him.
Whatever had happened in the past, Raven had a good heart now. She’d suffered as much as anyone had, maybe even more so.
Still, that didn’t stop him from wanting answers. Needing them. But he had time. For now, he wanted to explore what he was feeling between them. What had been building up since the moment he’d walked into her office.