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Cade knotted his fists. “She was there to gloat.”
“Did she say so? Did she use the opportunity to tell you what a disappointment you were? Or anything that would give you that impression?”
Briefly reviewing the scene, he murmured, his voice so low he could barely hear himself. “We didn’t speak…She tried, but I wasn’t listening.” He’d been too embarrassed. Humiliated.
“I see,” Harry said.
Anger sparked in Cade. “I hate it when you say that. You see what? You have no clue, making judgments like you’ve been gifted with psychic powers that enable you to read minds. Well, I’ve got news for you. You’re as much a fraud as Hope and Silas.”
His words fell like boulders off a hillside, bouncing on their way down, destroying the landscape. Cade knew Harry wouldn’t respond to anger. Cade had tried before and had been unable to get a rise out of him.
Harry continued as if Cade hadn’t spoken. “I can see your family is a sensitive issue. I believe, from what you’ve said, that while you remain estranged, your mother seems to have had second thoughts.”
“You don’t know that,” Cade challenged. At one point, he’d been sympathetic toward his mother. No longer. If she’d been genuinely interested in healing the breach between them, she would have made the effort to connect with him instead of with Hope.
“True,” Harry agreed. “But I wonder if you should look at what you saw in a different light. Do you sincerely think Hope sought out your mother? Or is it possible that your mother found Hope?”
“How would my mother even know about Hope? No one in my family knows anything about me.” Cade had made sure of it. When he cut those ties, he never intended to return.
“Your mother knew you were in the courtroom,” Harry reminded him. “I assume you weren’t the one to tell her.”
“Hardly,” he said with a snicker, “but that doesn’t mean Hope is innocent in this. She knows how I feel about my parents. That she would even talk to my mother is in itself a betrayal.”
Harry seemed to measure his words. “You’re telling me you sincerely believe Hope would go behind your back, do an extensive search to find your family, and arrange a meeting. Not only would she do all this, but then take the risk of meeting your mother in Oceanside with the possibility of being seen by you.”
Cade quickly dismissed the idea. “Hope knew I would be at group therapy that afternoon.”
“Only a water pipe burst, and the session was canceled at the last minute.”
“Yes,” he confirmed. Harry had tried to cast doubt on the scenario, and while Cade would like to believe Hope was innocent, he was convinced otherwise. This anger, this darkness he’d been living with the last three days, was familiar, almost welcome. He’d started to trust the light only to learn the light couldn’t be trusted. It was an illusion like a desert mirage.
“When you confronted her, what was Hope’s explanation?”
This was the question Cade had dreaded. “I didn’t give her a chance to lie.”
“Really?” Harry gave him a look of disappointment, which Cade chose to ignore.
“You mean you went with your gut,” the counselor said, “and are finished with her.”
“Exactly.” He didn’t care to hear anything Hope had to say. He knew what he saw. As far as he was concerned, that was the end. He wanted nothing more to do with her.
“And this is where Silas stepped in.” It was more statement than question.
“He contacted Hope.” It tightened his jaw just thinking about what his friend had done. The last person Cade wanted to see or speak to ever again was Hope, and Silas had forced him into it.
“Why would he do that?” Harry asked, and seemed genuinely curious.
Cade huffed out a long breath. “That was my mistake. I called Silas and asked him to join me at Hooters.”
“Hooters,” Harry repeated slowly. “This was soon after you saw Hope with your mother, I take it?”
“Yeah, I needed to think, you know.” A lot of military men frequented the bar there. Being around other veterans was comforting. Well aware of the consequences, Cade knew enough not to get drunk. He wasn’t looking for a fight. Wasn’t looking for anything other than a sympathetic ear. He’d called Silas, thinking his friend would empathize with him. He never got the chance. Before Silas arrived, a woman, Cade couldn’t remember her name, had made it her mission to fulfill his every need. It didn’t take him long to realize her ulterior motive. She wanted Cade to pay for her drinks. When Silas arrived, Cade had been embarrassed at his inability to get rid of her. The woman had more arms than an octopus and was crawling all over him.
At some point, he wasn’t even sure when, Silas had taken his phone and called Hope.
“I don’t know what Silas was thinking,” Cade said, regretting nearly everything about that night. It’d been a big mistake to contact Silas and an even bigger one heading to Hooters.
“I’ll admit it seems out of character for him,” Harry said, thoughtfully, “unless there were extenuating circumstances.”
