Page 23 of Saving Cade
When she finally heard the car pulling up to the house, the sun was low in the sky. Whatever had Cade been doing all day? She walked outside and gasped. The car was packed full of stuff. Cade got out and opened the trunk. He pulled out a large stockpot and beamed at her. “Bathwater coming up.”
Meg swallowed down the slow panic rising in her. Had he stolen these things? What was wrong with him? They were both going to get tossed into prison. She tried to keep her voice calm. “How did you get all this stuff?”
“My brother came through.”
“What? You didn’t steal it?” Meg couldn’t believe those words came flying out of her mouth. She clamped her lips shut.
Cade gave her a look that made her want to sink into the ground. “Is that what you think of me? That I’d steal?”
She felt terrible, and no response would come out.
He turned from her. “I’m that rich dude, remember?”
“You’re also hiding from the police. What if your brother grows a conscience?”
“My brother would never turn me in.” Cade carried the stockpot up to the house.
Meg walked to the car to see what else he’d bought. The first thing she saw was the propane tank, then she noticed the camping stove and small grill. No more cooking over the campfire. Her spirits soared. The back seat was filled with clothes and a propane heater. The front was packed with groceries sitting on top of a large cooler. She grabbed two bags of groceries and walked into the house.
They unloaded the car and Cade set up the camping grill outside the back door. He pulled a package of steaks out of one of the grocery sacks and wiggled his eyebrows at Meg. “Thought we deserved a nice dinner.”
“Are you cooking tonight?”
“Sure. You relax. Looks like you’ve been busy today. This place is cleaner than I’ve ever seen it.”
He’d noticed. Emotion surged in her and she blinked it back. What a stupid thing to get all sappy about. Just because Travis never said anything about how hard she worked around the apartment didn’t mean she had to go and get all emotional over Cade noticing her hard work.
Cade froze. “Did I say something wrong?”
Meg shook her head and tried not to show how stupid she was being. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her crying over something so dumb. “No. You’re sweet. Thank you for cooking dinner.”
He seemed to assess her for a moment before going back to unpacking the groceries. “You’re welcome.”
Meg helped him put away the food. She grabbed the large cooler and packed it with the cold items. He’d bought milk, cheese, butter, lunch meat, and yogurt. Her mouth watered just thinking about eating.
Cade pointed to it. “I figured I could put some snow in there to keep these cold. We can keep it in the sunroom. It’s freezing in there.”
“Good idea.”
Cade seasoned the meat while Meg lit a couple of candles. The house was getting quite dark and she didn’t want to bump into Cade. Physical contact with him right now wouldn’t be good. She was already getting mixed up in her head.
He nodded to her. “Go sit down. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”
“I’m fine.”
He made a face. “You’re one of those people who can’t stop doing things, aren’t you? Go. Sit.” He shooed her into the great room. “You can start a fire. Then sit and relax. Maybe play your ukulele for a while. Write a song. Stop cleaning the house.”
Cade left the room, and a few moments later she heard the screen door bang. Meg took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Travis had never done anything remotely this nice for her. She threw a couple of logs into the fireplace and lit them, then she grabbed her ukulele and sat on the couch. It was dark, but the fire provided some light. She strummed her instrument.
A peaceful feeling overcame her, and she started strumming the chords to one of her favorite songs. She sang the lyrics, getting into the melody of the song. It was one she could close her eyes to and lose herself in. She finally felt at home.
