The City Girl's Homecoming Page 17

  Cade jumped from the rail and back into the corral. Maybe playing with the dogs would help him ignore the hurt that came from losing something very precious. After tossing the ball so many times he thought his arm would fall off, he fed the animals, then went into his father’s kitchen. On the way, he checked his phone to see if Megan had texted to let him know she’d arrived home safely. She hadn’t. But then, why would she? They weren’t dating. Whatever had been between them was over.

  “Where’s Megan?” Reginald asked, turning from the stove. “I thought I heard her car.”

  “She’s gone and she won’t be coming back. I told her I don’t need her help.”

  Reginald gave Cade a long, wordless look before stirring the gravy and turning off the stove. His father muttered to himself while they prepared their plates. Cade readied himself for the lecture he knew was coming. And Reginald didn’t disappoint. Once they were seated across from each other, Reginald looked Cade dead in the eye. “You’re being a fool.”

  “That’s your opinion.” Cade wouldn’t disrespect his father, but he really didn’t want to have this conversation.

  “How long are you going to let Deadra control your life?”

  “Deadra? What does she have to do with anything? I’m totally over her. I have been for a while.”

  “You might not be thinking about her or talking about her, and you may even be over her, but that girl is still in your head. She controls everything you do. Or rather, everything you don’t do.”

  “Meaning?” Cade put down his fork. His appetite had begun to shrink the minute his father started talking, growing smaller with every word. Now Cade couldn’t choke down a bite.

  “Meaning you’ve painted Megan with the same brush as you did Deadra. You keep comparing Megan to her even though the two couldn’t be more different.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. They’re both from big cities. Neither one of them had stepped foot on a farm until they came here.”

  “Those things don’t matter. That could describe any number of people. But when it comes to their hearts and what will make them happy in the long run, they are night and day. Deadra wasn’t going to be happy living here. It’s much too quiet and slow. She was just more suited to city life. Some people are. Just as you’re more suited to life on the farm. Neither place is better than the other. Neither type of person is better than the other.”

  “I never said anything different.”

  “No. But you think that because Megan is from the city, she can’t be happy with life on the farm with you. And you’re wrong.”

  Cade didn’t answer. He wished his father was right, but it wasn’t Reginald’s heart on the line. Cade wasn’t willing to take the risk. His heart wouldn’t be able to stand rejection twice in such a short period of time.

  Reginald didn’t seem to need a reply. Cade knew his father. Once he’d said what he’d needed to say, he would let the matter drop. It was up to Cade to decide what he would do with his father’s words of wisdom.

  Reginald pointed his fork. “If you’re not going to eat, wrap up your food and take it with you.”

  Nodding, Cade rose and did just that. Then he went outside, loaded Samson and Delilah into his truck and went home. Sleep took a long time coming. When it finally arrived, it was restless.

  The next couple of days were lonely ones for Cade. More than once he’d caught himself looking over his shoulder, hoping he’d see Megan’s car coming down the driveway. He never did. And he’d dropped off the last of the animals to the shelter this morning. He’d already told Rebekah he intended to adopt Samson and Delilah and she’d been delighted. He was happy with his decision, but he would have been happier if he and Megan could be together as well.

  He’d come close to calling her on several occasions, but had stopped himself. What would be the point? Megan wasn’t willing to commit to him and he didn’t want to settle for less.

  * * *

  Megan grabbed the mail, then trudged into her house. These past days had been so hard. She felt so empty without Cade. For the first time in a while, she’d felt lonely in her own home. Though he’d only been to her house a couple of times, Megan missed Cade’s presence. In order to keep from thinking of him, she’d taken on a few pro bono clients, hoping to help others avoid Mrs. Crockett’s fate. She’d begun staying at the office much later than she had in the past. But tonight Daniel had insisted that she leave the office at a normal hour, and he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  She changed out of her suit and into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, then sorted the mail. There was a small package, which she saved for last. She knew what it was and her heart ached at the thought of opening it.

  Before she and Cade had broken up, she’d ordered matching collars for Samson and Delilah. She’d hoped they would be adopted together and that their collars would be like friendship bracelets. Since Cade had decided to adopt them, they would be together, just as they should be. But she wasn’t involved in their lives anymore.

  When she’d purchased the collars, things had been going well between her and Cade, and she’d believed she would be a part of his life, too. That hadn’t happened. Even so, she still wanted Samson and Delilah to have the collars. She just needed to deliver them.

  Before he’d ended things with her, Megan would have simply driven to the farm unannounced. After all, she’d spent nearly as many waking hours there as she had in her own home. But things had changed and she wasn’t certain she would be welcome. Though Cade hadn’t thrown her off his property, he’d told her he didn’t want her there anymore. He’d been clear about that when he’d told her he no longer needed her help with Mrs. Crockett’s pets. She would get permission to bring the collars to the farm. Hopefully he would let her.

  She grabbed her phone. Her finger trembled as it hovered over Cade’s name. Finally she pressed the icon and listened nervously as the phone rang. Breathing became difficult as she waited for him to answer. What if he didn’t answer? What if he didn’t want to talk to her? Then what?

  “Megan?”

  The sound of his voice saying her name sent shivers down her spine. She wondered how long it would be before she was truly over him. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long. She didn’t think she could take much more of the heartache. “Yes.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “What? Yes. I’m fine.” She sighed. “I’d ordered collars for Samson and Delilah. They came in the mail today and I was wondering if I could bring them out to the farm.”

  “Of course.”

  “When would be good for you?”

  “Anytime. Now.”

  That was unexpected. Relieved, her breathing became normal again. “Okay. I’m on my way.”

  “Megan...”

  “Yes.”

  “Drive carefully.”

  She heard the concern in his voice, and though she told herself that he didn’t mean anything by it, her heart still lifted. Maybe he still cared about her.

  As Megan drove down the highway, anticipation had the blood racing through her veins. The past few days she’d told herself that she was over Cade, but she knew that wasn’t true. She missed him and wanted him in her life. She loved Cade in a way she’d never loved another man and suspected she always would.

  Megan parked her car in her usual space and walked to the corral. She expected to see Samson and Delilah, but the corral was empty. She leaned against the rail and waited. Maybe Cade went somewhere and had taken them with him. His truck was parked in its usual spot, so they couldn’t have gone far. She climbed on the top rail of the fence and decided to wait. Inhaling a lungful of air, she felt the tranquility of the farm begin to work its magic. The tension she’d brought with her eased and she felt her shoulders relax. She closed her eyes, and for a moment, all felt right in her world.

  She heard a sound, opened her eyes a
nd turned. Cade was running from the barn, Delilah at his heels. Cade was calling Samson’s name. Megan hopped from the fence and ran over. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  Cade looked at her with worried eyes. “We can’t find Samson. He was in the yard when you and I talked, but when I turned around and he was gone.”

  “Surely he has to be around here somewhere.” Megan’s heart raced and she was consumed with fear. She couldn’t lose Samson like this. They had to find him. “Where have you looked?”

  “The barn. The corral. I even went to the spot where we found the other cats that time. He wasn’t there.”

  “Did you check your house? Maybe he wanted to go home.”

  “That was one of the first places I looked. He’s not there.”

  “Did you check the cat mansions?”

  “We donated the mansions to the shelter.”

  Megan spun in a slow circle, hoping to spot Samson in a place Cade might have missed. Nothing. She took a deep breath, trying not to panic. Surely Samson had to be near. Megan looked back at Cade. “Where should we look now?”

  Cade rubbed his hands down his face then blew out a long breath. Several tense seconds passed before he spoke. “Let’s go toward the road.”

  Megan’s heart froze. Although there wasn’t much traffic on the road, there were still enough cars to be a danger to the cat. They jogged down the driveway, pausing every few moments to call Samson’s name. Although Megan listened hard, hoping to hear meowing, they were always greeted by silence.

  When they reached the road, they started toward town. They looked in the high grass and in every place they thought the cat might be. There was no sign of Samson anywhere. After an hour of fruitless searching, Megan’s eyes filled with tears. She tried to hold them back but she couldn’t. One slipped out and was quickly followed by another. She wiped them away, but they kept falling.

  “Don’t cry, Megan,” Cade said. He put his arms around her shoulder, gently pulling her into his embrace. Unable to stem the tide of her tears, she pressed her face against his chest and began to sob.

  “I know I’m silly crying over a cat. Especially one that doesn’t even belong to me.” But she was crying over more than the cat, and she had a feeling they both knew it. It was just another loss in a lifetime of losses. She was also crying because her heart was still broken. Even though he was holding her, she’d lost Cade, too.

  “We’ll find him and everything will be all right. I promise.”

  She nodded, but she knew it wouldn’t be all right again. Nothing would be all right because she and Cade weren’t together.

  Delilah barked and they jumped. They’d put her in the corral so that she wouldn’t get in the way of the search. Not only that, they didn’t want to risk her getting lost, too. One lost pet was enough. But somehow she had managed to get out of the corral and was now charging in their direction. When she reached them she barked and then began trotting down the road ahead of them.

  “Delilah,” Cade called.

  The dog didn’t stop or even turn around. Every few steps she’d sniff and then take off again. Cade and Megan looked at each other and then began to follow Delilah. After twenty minutes it became clear that they were headed toward town and Megan’s house. They began to call Samson’s name again. After a while, they were met with meows and purring. Delilah barked and then raced ahead to a stand of trees. Megan and Cade ran as fast as they could. When they reached the trees, Delilah and Samson were sitting side by side.

  “Samson!” Megan ran the last few yards and then dropped to her knees. Laughing through her tears, she scooped the cat into her arms and cradled him against her chest. Tears fell again, but these were tears of joy. “I was so worried about you. So worried. Don’t ever run away again. I don’t think I could take it.”

  * * *

  As Cade watched the reunion he realized that his heart was beating hard. For the first time in days the emptiness inside him was gone. He knew his heart was full because Megan was back on the farm. Though he’d fought the emotion with everything inside him, he’d missed her. The farm had been too quiet and colorless without her. She’d brought the life back with her.

  Megan and Samson were so happy to be reunited. They belonged together. He could be a part of their unit if he was bold enough to take the step. And truly, it wasn’t that big of a risk. Megan cared about him. He knew that now. Maybe he’d always known it. She might not be willing to buy a house now, but that didn’t mean she had one foot out of town. His father had been right. Cade had been looking at everything Megan did or didn’t do through the lens of Deadra. Seeing the way Megan was holding on to Samson for dear life, it occurred to him that Megan and Deadra weren’t alike in the ways that mattered. They were two different people who had different needs and wants.

  Deciding that he was not going to let Megan leave again, he walked up to her and wrapped her in his arms. It felt so good to hold her. If she’d let him, he’d hold her there for the rest of their lives. “He’s okay.”

  “I know. I was just so worried. I don’t want to let him go again.”

  “I understand that feeling.”

  Megan looked at him and smiled. “I’m sorry. I’ve been hogging him. I know you were worried. I guess you want to hold him, too.”

  “I was worried, but that’s not what I meant. I meant I don’t want to let you go again.”

  Megan froze, her hand in the air. “What?”

  “I love you, Megan. I want you in my life.”

  “What?” She shook her head. “Say that again. I must have misheard.”

  He smiled then took her hand into his. “You heard right. I love you.”

  “You love me.”

  He nodded.

  “Since when?”

  “I don’t know. It just kind of sneaked up on me. I tried to fight it because I was scared.”

  “Of what?”

  “Of being hurt again. I let my fear get the best of me and I ended up hurting you instead. I’m sorry.”

  Megan’s eyes widened and she pressed a hand against her breast. “I don’t understand. If you love me then why did you send me away? This is just your relief talking. You already told me that you don’t want me.”

  Didn’t want her? Where did she get that crazy idea? “I do want you.”

  “Why did you want me to buy the house if you want me?”

  He shook his head. “I wanted you to buy the house so you would stay in town. I thought if you had something to hold you here, you wouldn’t leave Spring Forest. Or me.”

  “Oh. I thought you were letting me know that you didn’t want me on the farm. At least not permanently. And then you even told me not to come back to the farm to help care for the pets.”

  How could he have been so stupid? He should have known Megan would think that. She’d had more than one family send her away. In her eyes he was doing the same. “I want you. Do you think you could be happy living out here? We’re so far from everything.”

  “Of course I can. And you’re not that far away from what I want most.”

  “And that’s what?”

  “You. A family of my own. I love you, too.”

  He smiled and kissed her lips. He felt the wholeness that had been missing for a while. “In that case, let’s get back home.”

  They stood and he wrapped his arm around her waist. As they turned and headed for the house, Megan spotted something in the trees. “What’s that? Is that a lost dog?”

  Cade took a few steps in the dog’s direction, walking slowly so as not to scare him. The little dirty gray dog barked once and ran through the trees. Cade chased after it for a minute, but the dog was too fast for him. Returning to Megan, he shook his head. “I couldn’t catch him. We’re not the only ones who’ve tried. From what I hear, many people have seen him, but no one has been able to catch him.”

 
; “I hope he’ll be all right. He needs a family to take care of him.”

  “I know. And I hope he will find one, just like we have.”

  Megan smiled. “Just like we have.”

  * * *

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