the front door.
His eyebrows shot up and then he laughed. Just the thought of him and Heather together, in that capacity… it was beyond humorous.
Chapter Five
Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head.
Raven didn’t know what had caused her to say what she’d just said to Cade.
When she’d turned the aisle in the grocery store and had seen Heather wrapped around Cade, she’d been… jealous.
Maybe it was her and Heather’s past rearing its evil head. Maybe it was the fact that she still, after all these years, couldn’t stand the other woman.
Whatever the reason, she’d tried not to think about it, until she’d bumped into Cade and then the words had just flown out. She regretted them the instant they left her lips, and she felt her face heat. Then he started laughing at her, and her temper reared its head.
After all, she’d been gone for ten years. She had no idea about any of the dynamics in the town. After what she’d witnessed earlier, it seemed clear that he and Heather were… involved.
“After the little display earlier, I assumed.” She narrowed her eyes.
He sobered and shrugged. “Heather has had a thing.” He rolled his eyes slightly. “She’s been…” He shook his head. “I’ve been avoiding her for a while now.”
“Oh?” She felt herself settle down again. “I guess not much has changed in that arena.” She stepped past him to continue her shopping. She hadn’t expected him to fall in step with her.
“How about you?” he asked. She stopped and glanced at him.
“Me?”
“I haven’t heard about anyone following you into Cannon Falls. Did you leave a trail of broken hearts in San Diego?” he asked casually.
How had they gotten on this topic? Oh, right, she’d started it.
“No,” she answered. “No trail of broken hearts that I’m aware of.” She put a bag of her favorite chocolates in her cart. Even though her rooms didn’t have a kitchen, she figured she could keep some of the basics so she wouldn’t have to run down to the kitchens all the time.
The small fridge was plenty large enough to hold a couple days’ worth of meals, and she was tired of using the tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner each day.
“My gran was excited to hear that you were back in town. She wouldn’t mind a visit from you.” He stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. “You should come over tonight. She’d love to catch up with you.”
Raven’s first instinct was to decline. But Janice Williams had been one of Raven’s favorite teachers. The woman had been a close friend to not only her grandmother, but her mother as well.
She hadn’t had a chance to talk to the woman since coming back in town. It had been on her to-do list. She had something special that she was supposed to give her from her own grandmother.
Thinking about it, she figured that having Cade there as a buffer might make the difficult situation a whole lot easier.
“I’d like that,” she finally said.
“Great.” He pulled out his phone and held it up. “Put in your number. I’ll text you the details.”
Here, she hesitated. She hadn’t given anyone in town her private number except for Carrie and Darby.
Shortly after the fire, someone in town had leaked her number, and she’d spent the next year getting hate calls at all hours of the day. She understood that there were still a lot of people in town that blamed her and wanted her gone.
“I won’t share your number with anyone,” Cade finally said softly, “if that is what you’re worried about.”
Straightening her shoulders, she took his phone and added in her contact information.
“Great,” he said, tucking his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll text you the details later.”
“Should I bring anything?” she asked.
“My grandmother loves red wine,” he answered easily as he turned to head the other direction. “Any red wine,” he called over his shoulder.
As she finished up her shopping, she added a bottle of her favorite red wine to the mix. She saw Cade leave a few minutes before she made her way up to the checkout.
There were two clerks working the front. She waited in line to be checked out, and just as she started unloading her items, the middle-aged woman took one look at her, narrowed her eyes and gave her a terrible look, then set a closed sign on the counter and walked away without a word.
Raven held in her anger and moved over to wait in the