by Cindy Kirk
“This Tuesday?” Marigold couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “The Valentine’s dance is Saturday. This is a busy week for most people.”
“Are you busy on Tuesday?” Ami asked.
“No, but that only gives me two days to read the book.” Marigold wondered what had gotten into her sister. “Why does it have to be this week?”
“Because I don’t know how much longer you’ll be in Good Hope.” Ami’s green eyes held a sheen. “I want you there. At least for the first meeting, if that’s all I can have.”
Ami shifted her attention to Cade. “I’d like you there, too.”
Cade hesitated. When he slanted a glance at Marigold, she knew what he was asking.
Marigold didn’t stop to think. “I’d like you there.”
He gave a curt nod. “I’ll be there.”
Still going with impulse, Marigold slipped her arm through his and squeezed. “That makes me happy.”
The look that flashed in his eyes was something Marigold couldn’t decipher. Which wasn’t surprising, as her own emotions were in a turmoil. She should have discouraged him from coming, or at the very least, not encouraged. But no, she’d practically made it impossible for him to turn down the invitation.
It was too late to do anything now.
“At least I didn’t have to invite Anita.” Ami’s face brightened at the thought. “I can’t tell you how worried I was that Dad would decide to formalize their relationship simply because he and Anita had been dating for so long.”
It had been that way, Marigold realized, with her and Jason. Marriage had been something they’d considered on more of an intellectual, rather than romantic, level. They’d dated nearly a year. They enjoyed each other’s company and shared many of the same views. When he learned he’d be relocating, marriage seemed a logical next step.
In hindsight, Jason’s relocation had been the best thing that could have happened to both of them. The kind of love needed to last a lifetime simply hadn’t been there. She never once tingled when he walked into the room. When Jason held her in his arms, she didn’t feel warm and safe and cherished.
Heck, she’d never even shared with him what it had been like for her when her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. Not like she had with Cade . . .
Stop, she told herself. Spilling her guts about something that happened a decade earlier didn’t mean a thing, other than Cade was a good listener.
“I think something Cade said about connections really hit home with Dad,” Marigold heard herself say. “He realized he and Anita simply didn’t have that connection.”
“I understand about finding the right one.” Beck took his wife’s hand, brought it to his lips.
Ami leaned on her husband’s shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head.
The scene felt somehow intimate, and Marigold had to look away.
Flo returned with Cade’s to-go cup and a small bakery sack.
“On the house,” Beck told Flo before Cade could pull the wallet from his pocket. “I appreciate that you made a special stop to check on the rowdies.”
“All in a day’s work.” Cade flashed that easy smile that Marigold had grown to love, er, like.
Marigold rose and took his hand. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
Once they reached the entrance, Cade leaned over and brushed a kiss against her lips. “I’d best get back to work and let you get back to your family.”
Marigold couldn’t help herself. She grabbed his face and planted a long, lingering kiss on his lips. It didn’t matter that anyone inside the café, or any number of people walking past on the sidewalk, could see them.
When she stepped back, her breath came in ragged puffs. “Be safe.”
Then Marigold turned and walked to her waiting family.
Chapter Twenty
“That text was from my dad.” Marigold dropped the phone back into her purse before turning to make sure the exterior door to the bakery was tightly closed. “He’s watching the twins and asked if I wanted to come over.”
Cade noticed her voice held a slight edge. “Did he forget you’d be at Ami’s?”
“I think he was surprised I was going to a book club.” She gave a little laugh.
When they stepped onto the sidewalk, Cade took her arm. Despite the weather, they’d decided to walk. Cade had to admit to a certain trepidation regarding the evening’s events. “I’m not certain I understand how this book club thing will work.”
“Your part is easy. All you have to do is eat and hang with the guys.” Marigold’s fingers, which had been resting lightly on his bicep, tightened. “I had to actually read a book.”
“Poor Marigold.” His voice oozed faux sympathy.
She shot him a sharp glance. “Reading doesn’t come easily to everyone, Rallis.”
Something in her tone put Cade on alert.
“Thankfully I was able to get the story on audio.” Marigold’s gaze remained focused downward as they carefully negotiated the snow-packed sidewalk.
“What is it about reading you find difficult?” Though Cade enjoyed a good spy story or thriller, he knew some had a hard time immersing themselves in a fictional world.
“Just about everything.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’m dyslexic.”
Cade couldn’t believe he’d missed all the signs. Some trained observer.
Her chin jutted up. “It doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”
“Never thought it did.” Cade kept his tone matter-of-fact. Though she’d announced the diagnosis as if was no biggie, he sensed it was a big deal to her. Or had once been.
He wondered if Jason had known. Had Mr. International Attorney made her feel stupid? Could his attitude have been another reason for the breakup and her defensiveness now?
“What did Jason think of you being dyslexic?” Cade casually tossed out the question. This time he paid attention, keeping his gaze on Marigold’s face to gauge her reaction.
Surprise had her eyes widening. It was obvious she hadn’t expected him to bring up her ex.
“He didn’t know.” Marigold shrugged. “It never came up.”
“You dated him for almost a year.”
“Your point?”
“Why didn’t you tell him?”
Marigold hesitated for so long Cade wondered if she was going to answer. Then she sighed.
“I don’t know why other than it’s always seemed like such a private thing.” She wrapped her scarf more firmly around her neck as the breeze picked up.
She’d dated Jason for nearly a year yet hadn’t mentioned something so important to him. Yet she’d told Cade. Why? Because she trusted him? Or because she knew she’d be leaving soon so having him know scarcely mattered?
“How old were you when were you diagnosed?” A gust of wind from the bay rose up, slapping them in the face with tiny ice pellets. Instead of lowering his head and soldiering the rest of the distance to Beck’s home, Cade went with impulse and pulled Marigold into the covered entryway of the nearby Enchanted Florist. The exterior door to the closed shop sat in a protected alcove the size of a phone booth. Though there wasn’t much room, it was enough to keep the sleet at bay.
Marigold glanced around. “Why are we here?”
“It’s out of the wind. And,” he added, “we’re not far from Beck’s house.”
“Ah, I hate to tell you, Sheriff, but you’re not making sense. Our ultimate destination is right there.” Marigold pointed with one gloved finger. “Why aren’t we braving the big, bad wind for one more block instead of cowering in a doorway like a couple of weenies?”
“This is more private.” He wrapped his arms loosely around her. “Tell me about the dyslexia.”
“Nothing to tell.” She averted her gaze, feigning intense interest in the sleet. “It looks like it might be letting up.”
He brought her face back to his with the tips of two fingers. Perhaps he should simply let it go and not press. But she’d willingly told him something she’
d kept from a guy she was thinking of marrying. There had to be a reason. “You brought it up. Now finish the story. When were you diagnosed?”
“I was ten.” The corners of her mouth pulled together.
“I’m surprised it took them so long to make the diagnosis.”
“I hid my struggles well.” Her lips twisted in a poor semblance of a smile. “I could have gotten help earlier, but I was very good at deception.”
Cade could picture her as a little girl, with those big blue eyes and curly blonde hair. Cute and spunky as hell. No doubt she had the same take-no-prisoners attitude back then. The thought made him smile. “I bet the teachers loved you.”
“Actually, they didn’t know what to think of me and my substandard performance. Most had taught at least one of my sisters. The three older Bloom sisters were excellent students.” Marigold’s heavy sigh shredded his heart. “I covered by talking excessively and being the class clown. Then, when I was ten, the party came to a crashing halt.”
Though the entry walls to the store effectively blocked the wind, she shivered.
Determined not to push her in a direction she wasn’t ready to go, Cade didn’t say anything. But he kept his arms around her, wanting her to feel his support. He liked the sex they’d shared over the past weeks, liked it a whole lot. But it was these moments of connection that arrowed straight to his heart.
Whenever she let him hold her—as she did now—or reached out to take his hand in a casual display of affection, his heart melted.
Alice hadn’t liked being touched, especially in public. It had taken him a while to realize Marigold loved it when he went with impulse and brushed her hair back, or massaged her shoulders. Even when he simply let his fingers linger on her arm.
He liked it, too. It had become increasingly difficult to be close to her and not touch. So he’d been going with impulse more and more frequently. He liked what was blossoming between them.
What he didn’t like was wondering how he was going to bear life without her.
“Where was I?” she asked after what seemed an eternity but was likely only a few seconds.
“You were ten.” So young, he thought, so innocent and vulnerable.
“Mrs. Copple, my fourth-grade teacher, saw through the clown act.” Marigold’s head rested against his chest. “She called my parents to the principal’s office to discuss their concerns. They were stunned when she told them what she suspected. As a teacher, my dad felt guilty he hadn’t recognized the signs. My mother was so distressed, she cried.”
“That must have been difficult.” Cade stroked her back.
He would remember what it felt like to hold her close. When she was gone, he would remember—and savor—this moment.
“Although they assured me I hadn’t, I knew I’d disappointed them.” Marigold inhaled deeply, let the breath out slowly. “That’s when I made my vow.”
“What vow?” Cade kept his voice soft and soothing.
“I would make them proud. One day I would be more successful than any of my sisters.” She jerked back and her blue eyes blazed with determination. “It’s a vow I mean to keep.”
All the pieces suddenly clicked into place. Cade now understood her drive to be the very best in her field. This also explained why she wasn’t interested in staying in Good Hope.
He knew about setting goals and mustering the drive necessary to achieve them. He wouldn’t ask her to stay with him, wouldn’t encourage her to consider the possibility. If she didn’t achieve the goal she’d set at age ten, a goal that undoubtedly had gotten her through some difficult times, she’d never be truly happy. That’s what he wanted for her.
Her happiness, even at the expense of his own.
“You’re a smart, determined woman, Marigold Bloom.” He brushed his lips against her hair. “I know you’ll find every success.”
The crowd at Bayside Pizza had thinned in the last hour until only a handful of tables held customers. Ever since her talk with Cade before the Book Club meeting two days ago, Marigold had been on edge. She pushed aside the plate holding a half-eaten slice. “I feel as if all I’ve done is eat this week. I don’t even want to think about dessert.”
Cade’s hand reached across the table and took hers, caressing her palm with his thumb. “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider that statement?”
Before Marigold could respond, she was grabbed from behind.
“I’ve been looking all over this town for you.”
“Fin.” Marigold shrieked, then jumped up to give her sister a hug. “What are you doing here?”
Cade rose and watched the two sisters hop up and down, arms still encircling each other.
After a few seconds, Marigold looked around and held out her hand to him. “Say hello to Fin.”
“Good to see you again.” As his gaze settled on Fin, Cade wondered how Marigold could think anyone would confuse Ami with this woman.
Granted, they had the same nose and lips, the same green eyes and sun-streaked hair. But there was a softness, a gentleness to Ami that her doppelgänger didn’t possess.
Fin’s smile, while friendly, held a brittleness. There were lines of tension around her eyes. “I heard you’ve been entertaining my baby sister while she’s in Good Hope.”
“And doing a bang-up job of it, too.” Marigold tucked her arm through Cade’s, seemingly oblivious to her sister’s narrowed gaze. “I thought you and Xander were in the Caribbean.”
“A week in St. John was the plan.” Fin’s lips thinned. “Unfortunately, Xander has yet to secure a location for this new movie he wants to shoot over Christmas, so he canceled. He’s off to God knows where with his cinematographer and production designer to check out some promising site.”
“I’m sorry.” Marigold’s hand went to Fin’s arm. “I know how much you were looking forward to the trip.”
“Typical man.” Fin waved a dismissive hand. “They’re all . . .”
Her voice trailed off as her gaze focused on something in the distance.
Cade followed the direction. Jeremy stood next to a table by the window, his arm around Eliza’s waist. The brunette leaned against him as they chatted with Cory and Jackie White.
“Anyway.” Fin’s expression gave nothing away. “I’d already put in for the week off, so I thought I’d come see my family.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
“I also have good news that I wanted to share in person.” Fin cast a glance at Cade before refocusing on her sister. “The job with the studio is yours.”
“Why, that’s . . . surprising.”
“Not at all. You’re talented, Marigold. You’re destined for far more than this little town has to offer.” Fin slanted a glance at Cade. “Anyone who thinks differently doesn’t have your best interest in mind.”
Instead of going back with Marigold and her new temporary roommate to the apartment, Cade paid the bill and gave her a brief kiss.
“Enjoy the rest of the evening with your sister.” Conscious of Fin’s scrutiny, he kept his voice easy. “Are we still on for the dance tomorrow?”
Marigold’s hand remained on his sleeve, as if reluctant to let him go. “Pick me up at seven?”
“It’s a plan.” Cade turned to Fin and lifted a brow. “If you’d like to come with us, you’re welcome.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Though he could tell Fin couldn’t wait to get rid of him, Marigold’s hand remained on his arm. “Is the hockey tournament at ten?”
“Yes.” She’d promised to come and watch, but that was before her sister’s unexpected appearance. “If you can’t make it, that’s okay. Fin is—”
“Always up for ogling a bunch of handsome guys on the ice.” Marigold turned to her sister. “They’re all great skaters, except maybe for Beck, who—”
“—is getting better with each game,” Cade finished the sentence for her. “Seriously, Marigold, don’t feel you have to attend.”
“I’d love to wat
ch.” Fin flashed a bright smile. “We can cheer you guys on to victory, and I can tell Marigold all about the life she’s going to have as a supersuccessful hairstylist in LA.”
There wasn’t much to say after that. The woman had made her point loud and clear.
If you try to keep my sister in this backwater town, you’ll have to deal with me.
Fin wouldn’t get any fight from him.
Cade shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the stiff wind as he headed home. Not home, as in the small apartment over the bakery that in the last few weeks had seemed like his, but to the barren room in the boarding house.
Seeing Marigold’s talent shine at the Hearts and Cherries Fashion Show had made him see her in a different light. He wouldn’t hold her back. He loved her too much to tie her down to a life she didn’t want. Even if that meant living his life without her.
Cade’s Saturday morning turned ugly when he decided to read the local e-newsletter, the Open Door, over a cup of coffee. After reading the front-page article, he wished he’d added a shot of whiskey.
According to a survey taken two weeks earlier, Travis held a commanding lead in the race for sheriff. It appeared not only was Cade going to lose the woman he loved, but he’d likely lose the job he’d come to love, as well.
By the time he reached Rakes’s Pond, he was in the mood to skate and skate hard. The ice was filled with fellow Ice Holes as well as members of the opposing team, the Ugly Pucklings. He greeted everyone but kept the conversations brief.
Shortly before the game was to start, Cade scanned the west side of the pond, where temporary bleachers had been set up. He spotted Marigold immediately. Curly blonde hair spilled in all directions from under a bright red hat. As the wind dropped the temperature a good ten degrees, she wore a black parka and thick wool mittens. She’d looped a scarf, the same bright red as her hat, around her neck.
Fin appeared to have gone for style rather than warmth with a green coat better suited to cool California nights than frigid Wisconsin days.