“Or we could hire someone to do the carpet and paint it ourselves over the weekend?” I wanted to do it myself.
“Ah. That’s a good idea.” Avery tapped her lips with her finger before her forehead wrinkled. “I’d need to run any improvements past the landlord.”
“Won’t he be happy we’re improving this place?”
“You would think, but he’s perpetually unhappy. He’s either always grumpy or just with me. I can’t decide.” Avery’s face was pinched.
“I can’t imagine you pissing anyone off.” Avery was quiet. She wasn’t as outgoing as Dylan or me.
She shifted on her chair. “Things come out wrong when I talk. I’m a little awkward.”
“I haven’t noticed that at all.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “Stick around long enough and I’ll say something embarrassing. I don’t think the landlord wants us to get too comfortable here.”
“Seems to me he’d rather keep a tenant than find a new one.” I folded my arms over my chest, trying to figure out what to do.
“You would think, but I think he has it out for us because of the mix-up in the contract.”
“I can handle him if you want.”
“I’ll let you know if he gets worse.” She smiled, focusing on me. “What’s going on with you and Cade? Did you have a moment after we left dinner the other night?”
I plopped into her guest chair. “Yes. He showed me the harbor. Then the next day, I went to a class and we’ve been kind of seeing each other since then.”
“Wow. That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Things have been going great, but he mentioned something last night that worried me. It was honest but set me on edge. I’m wondering if I’m setting myself up to get hurt.” I debated telling her that Cade’s wife died. I didn’t want to violate his trust, but I knew Avery would keep it between us.
“What makes you think that?”
“His wife died of cancer five years ago and he’s unsure if he can be in a relationship again. He’s not sure he can give me all of him. That’s kind of how I took it. He said he wanted to try, so that’s good, right?” He’d recovered nicely this morning, but I couldn’t get what he’d said out of my head.
“That’s noble of him but also cocky. You’ve been seeing him for what, a week? How does he know something serious is even on your radar?”
My cheeks heated and Avery’s eyes widened.
“No. You don’t have feelings for him already, do you?”
I nodded miserably. “I don’t know what to do. I moved here to find myself—to figure out who I am. This thing with Cade is intense.”
“Cade’s a distraction?”
“We’ve barely gotten the firm off the ground. My dad’s threatening to withdraw money from Kids Speak. I should be focused on that and not whether Cade is ready for a relationship.”
“Maybe you don’t need to figure out who you are so much as set boundaries with your family. You can go home on your terms. You set limits and stick to them. We’ll figure out Kids Speak together.”
It felt good to have friends to count on.
“Maybe he’s not the right guy forever but the right guy for now.”
She’d made a good point, but my stomach dropped when she said he was the right guy for now. I didn’t want to think about him moving on with someone who wasn’t me.
The office phone rang. “I’ll get it.” Avery disappeared into her office. I tried to get back to work but I couldn’t get the image of Cade with another woman out of my mind.
Chapter Nineteen
Hadley
Each night this week, I’d seen Cade in class, or we’d met up after to cook dinner together and watch a movie. It was very relationship-like and nothing I’d experienced before. My dates in the past revolved around charity galas, business dinners, and appearances for one thing or another. Something as simple as dinner and a movie never happened. I loved it.
Avery and I spent the afternoon on Friday in the conference room, with Cade’s contracts spread out on the table.
“Let’s organize them into paid, unpaid, and partial payments. Then we can get an idea of what’s going on,” I said.
“How are things with Cade?”
I paused and placed the file I’d been reading on the table in front of me. “Good.”
“You don’t sound overly excited.”
“I think it might be tough at times for him. I worry he’s not ready to move on or that something will trigger a memory and he’ll pull away from me.”
“It’s to be expected, I guess.”
“Right.”
Dylan burst into the room, filled with energy and excitement. “Hey, guys, I’m glad I caught you both here.”
I exchanged an amused look with Avery before setting the files aside.
“First of all, did you get an appointment with the county superintendent yet?” Dylan asked me.
“I scheduled it for next week.” That was my first step. I started with the superintendent. Then spoke with the teachers and assistants, who worked directly with the kids. I found the process was smoother that way, giving me a feel for how welcome my program would be.
“Perfect. I talked to several PTAs in the county. They’re so excited to have you come in to talk to the parents and teachers.”
“That’s great.” The PTA was the heart of the school. They were in charge of fundraising and ensuring teachers had what they needed in the classrooms.
“They want to include you in the back-to-school programs in August. You’d talk to the parents at back-to-school night and send an email out before school started outlining your program. If there’s a good reception, they’ll include your program in their funding.”
“What do you mean?” I’d never asked for that before. I’d never needed to.
“The PTAs here do one large fundraiser a year. The money raised goes to school assemblies and teacher’s supplies. They want to include your program pending the superintendent’s approval, of course. Everyone
