Hometown Star - By Joleen James Page 0,69
behind him. He didn’t want to talk about Star with anybody. He couldn’t. He loved her too much.
Cade sank down on the steps, his head in his hands. He loved her.
He wanted all of her. He didn’t want a part–time wife, or a part–time mother for his kids. He didn’t want a woman who freaked out at the thought of having his child. He didn’t want that kind of woman at all, but that was the woman he’d fallen in love with. What the heck was he supposed to do about that?
Nothing. Nada. Zip. He’d done it. He’d let her go.
There was no future for them. All he had left was the bright, shiny kitchen, a glaring reminder of their time together.
And a red wall that symbolized his broken heart.
* * *
Star let herself into her condo. She was home. Home. She paused, inhaling deeply, disappointed that the new smells didn’t smell quite so new anymore.
She set her bag down and went to her phone. The message light blinked. One missed call. Her heart sped up. Hoping against hope the call was from Cade, she pressed the button.
“Star, it’s me,” Destiny’s voice sang out. “Guess who got married?” Her mother laughed. “That’s right, it’s me. John and I got married yesterday, just a small ceremony in his backyard. I wanted to invite you girls, but, well, we were just impulsive, no time to plan. I got my man, honey. Just as soon as I’m settled, I want you and your sisters to come up and help us celebrate. Be a love and call your sisters for me and give them the news. Bye, sweetie.”
The line went dead.
Disgusted, her stomach churning, Star picked up the phone to call Brandi but immediately changed her mind. She wasn’t going to be her mother’s messenger. She didn’t want to field all the questions, didn’t want to analyze Destiny and her warped sense of romance.
Right now, she wanted to lick her own wounds.
Star curled up on her bed, missing Cade. She’d botched things up with him. He probably hated her now, and it was her own fault. She finally fell asleep around midnight, her dreams wild and terrifying. Babies floated through her nightmares, crying, reaching for her.
Star woke with a start, her body drenched in sweat.
She got up and went to the bathroom.
She sat on the toilet, and that’s when she noticed.
She had her period.
No baby. She pressed a hand to her womb, her empty womb. Everything was okay. She was okay. Her life was perfect, right?
Calmer now, she went back to bed, but she didn’t sleep, not for a long, long time.
Chapter Twenty
Exactly ten weeks after they’d shot Cade’s home makeover for Update This! the show aired.
Star was in front of her TV, so starved to see Cade, his house, his family, she could hardly stand it. She dreamed of babies nearly every night, and she wasn’t sure if the dreams were God’s way of punishing her, or God’s way of signaling her that she wasn’t done with Cade yet.
She only knew her life here wasn’t enough for her anymore. Even her promotion couldn’t cheer her. Her time with Cade and his family had changed her, yet fear kept her in Seattle. She’d hurt Cade and pushed him away more times than she could count. Would he push her away if she asked for another chance?
Star’s eyes were drawn to the fireplace mantel, to the painting hanging on the wall above. The landscape of Seward, painted by Patsy, had become her solace, her touchstone. More than ever she wanted to return to Alaska. Maybe she was a hometown girl after all. And she could no longer deny that she was hopelessly in love with a hometown boy.
The show came on, and there he was, every gorgeous inch of him from his dark hair to his sky blue eyes. Her pulse jumped. Her hand went to her stomach, to her empty womb. She’d been mourning the loss of a baby that had never been conceived for ten weeks now.
She’d fallen in love with Cade.
And she’d blown it—big time.
Her phone rang.
Star picked up the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me, Brandi.”
“Hi, Bran,” Star said, the sound of her sister’s voice lightening her mood immediately. “How are you, kiddo?”
“Great. I just watched the show.”
“Me, too,” Star said. “What did you think?”
“It was wonderful. I wish you could have been here to watch it with me.”
“Me, too,” Star said, although she wasn’t entirely sure she meant the words. “How’s everyone?”
“We’re