Caden
How did everything go today? Any issues?
I stared at the message. How long had it been since his name had flashed on my screen? I couldn’t even remember. Just seeing the curve of the letters had my heart rate ratcheting up. But as I read the message, I frowned. It was a simple proof of life check.
It might not make sense to some people why that grated so much. Not until you lived through the aftermath of being diagnosed with a life-altering disease. It was as if I was no longer anything but someone who might die from low or high blood sugar. The people in my life couldn’t see anything but that. It didn’t matter if I was happy or sad, just that my blood sugar was within range.
I thought about not responding and then decided that would be a jerk move. Caden was trying to help. He cared in his way, even if it wasn’t how he used to. I had to make peace with that.
Me
All good.
I slid my phone back into my pocket, heading away from downtown and into the picturesque neighborhoods surrounding it. Craftsman cottages were painted in cheerful colors and surrounded by gardens with brightly colored blooms. The rest of my siblings lived far out of town, and that had its appeal, but I loved having a true neighborhood around me.
Turning onto my street, I caught sight of a figure jogging toward me. Each step that brought him closer had a weight settling heavier in my stomach. Rance could take a million and one jogging paths, but he justhadto choose the one that led him by my house.
His pace slowed as he approached. “Hey.”
I forced a polite smile. “Hi.”
“Just getting off work?”
I nodded.
Rance jogged in place in front of me. “I’m heading home to shower and then meet Sarah, Dave, and a few others for a bite. Want to come?”
That was the group that had gotten me into this mess in the first place. We’d all been in the same wider friend group through high school. I wasn’t as close to them as I was to Wren and Maddie, but we hung out socially a fair bit. With Rance’s attention, that felt awkward now.
“I’m pretty wiped. I’m going to call it an early night.”
He frowned. “You haven’t been hanging much lately. Is it because of Caden?”
I pressed my thumbnail into the pad of my forefinger to keep my temper in check. “I’ve been working a lot. But he’s my boyfriend. I’m going to spend time with him.”
Rance’s jaw worked back and forth. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“He’s a good guy,” I snapped. Caden might have hurt me in the past, but he would do anything for the people in his life.
“He’s a player.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t want to think about any women who might litter Caden’s past; it hurt too much.
Rance dipped his head. “Even if you don’t want anything with me, you deserve a hell of a lot better than him. He’s going to screw with your head and then ditch you.”
Something in me snapped. I was so sick of people trying to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do. That I didn’t know what was best for my own life.
“You don’t know a damn thing about him. And the truth is, you don’t know me either. Caden’s in my life because I want him to be. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll deal. But I don’t need your opinion or anyone else’s.”
I darted around him and stormed toward my house. But something deep inside me told me I was lying to myself.
Caden Shaw had the power to ruin me. And I knew it.
14
CADEN
I strode into the lodge,greeting people as I passed. The meeting with Juliana, the stable manager, had been both a relief and infuriating. Gabe undermined her at every turn, so she didn’t have enough staff for popular programming.
