Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Tyler was having a good old fashioned bad time.
Waiting was the worst.
Oh, he knew it was the right thing to do. He even wanted to do it, insofar as he wanted very much for Cadence to have the time she needed to think through their relationship. Part of him was even grateful for the opportunity to show his commitment before she was asked to make a choice.
Even with all that, he hated waiting.
He just wanted to be with his family again. He missed them every second.
This intense longing to be with Cadence and Isabelle, all three of them together, had led him to do things that were possibly just the tiniest bit goofy.
Such as, for example, driving past the gallery in the evening, because just looking at Cadence’s workplace helped him feel closer to her.
It was only a little out of his way. It was definitely no big deal. Totally normal.
And, he reasoned as he drove past, it was good, actually, because somehow the lights were still on inside, even though it was well past opening hours.
He still had a key from back before he and Cadence had separated. He didn’t want to be presumptuous, but he really didn’t think that Cadence would mind him sticking his head in just to switch off the lights.
He swung around into the parking lot, then frowned when he saw that Cadence’s car was in the parking lot. The lights weren’t on by accident, then. She was still at work.
Tyler told himself he should just keep driving. He’d promised to give her space, so he should do that. She had said she would call when she needed his help.
But… he was already here.
He got out of the car.
“Cadence?” he called as he opened the door, not liking that it was unlocked. Magnolia Shore was pretty much as safe as a town could get, but still. He would have preferred her to lock the doors this late at night. Just in case.
“Ty?” Cadence blinked up at him, turning away from her work like she was coming out of some kind of trance, and he couldn’t contain his smile.
He remembered seeing her like that when they were in college, whenever he’d pull her away from studying or writing a paper so she could take a break.
She got so focused. He’d always found it utterly charming.
“Honey, what are you doing here?” he asked, the endearment dropping off his lips before he could think better of it. “It’s so late. Where’s Izzy?”
She peeked over his shoulder at the window and seemed surprised to see that the sun was nearly set. At this point in the summer, sundown happened late.
“Uh, yeah, I guess I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.
I dropped Izzy off at a sleepover this afternoon.
One of the girls in her class is having a birthday party.
” She chuckled. “Those parents looked like they were preparing for battle, what with half a dozen seven-year-old girls spending the night.”
“Woof,” he said. “Yeah, I hope they have enough coffee for tomorrow. They are not getting much sleep tonight.”
“We thank them for their sacrifice,” she said with faux solemnity, pressing a hand over her heart. “Anyway, I came by after dropping her off, which I guess was a few hours ago now.”
Tyler glanced at the blank wall behind Cadence.
“Oh, yeah. You’ve, uh, made a lot of progress?”
“Funny man,” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “Yes, I am very clearly stuck. I’ve laid out a whole bunch of setups, and none of them are quite right.” She sighed. “Or maybe I’ve just been staring at it too long.”
“Well,” he said, considering. “I can either provide a helpful ear if you think it would help talk through it with someone, or…” He mentally crossed his fingers, hoping she would go with option two.
“Or you could let me take you to grab some food at the diner. Your brain needs fuel to work and all that.”
She looked longingly at the blank wall.
“You know how much I hate leaving a project unfinished, but I think you’re right,” she said with a sigh.
“Yeah?” he asked. “Dinner?”
“Dinner,” she agreed. “But then, can we come back? I want to give it another look before I call it a night. Maybe the break will make it all make sense.”
“Of course,” he agreed readily. He might have agreed to just about anything at that point, truth be told. Not only had she agreed to meet him for dinner, but she’d said we. She wanted them to come back together.
He felt so hopeful that he even extended his hand to her. She took it.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get something to eat, huh?”
They strolled across the street, hand in hand, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the street in shades of blue shadows. As they walked into the glowing warmth of the diner, Tyler felt like he was living something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
“Let me guess,” Tyler said, after they were shown to a table. “Your order is going to be the egg salad sandwich on sourdough, with a side of double coleslaw.”
Cadence narrowed her eyes. “Are you implying that I’m predictable?”
“You’re reliable,” he corrected.
“Uh huh. What are you going to get, the thing that nobody ever orders at a diner and never should?”
“Variety is the spice of life, Cadence!”
They both erupted into giggles. They held hands all the way until their food arrived. Cadence did, indeed, order her usual. Tyler ordered pumpkin pancakes.
“Pumpkin pancakes?” Cadence asked after she’d taken a bite of the coleslaw. She’d never had better slaw than what they served here. She couldn’t believe that most people ignored the side in favor of ‘flashier’ things like French fries.
More for her, then.
“Yeah, they’re delicious. Want a bite?” Tyler offered, waving a loaded fork in her direction.
“No way! It’s summer. Pumpkin is for fall.”
He shook his head at her as he ate another bite. “It doesn’t stop tasting good in the summer. This is what the canning process was invented for, Cadence. Deliciousness all year round.”
They bantered and joked and teased just like this all through dinner, then decided to split an order of banana pudding just so they could linger a little longer.
Would Tyler jinx himself if he acknowledged that it felt like a date?
Eventually, however, they ran out of reasons to stay.
“If we don’t get back to the gallery now, we’re going to be there until midnight,” Tyler reminded her.
Cadence made a scrunchy disappointed face that was completely adorable.
“It doesn’t have to get done tonight,” he reminded her.
Her scrunching intensified.
“Yeah, just like I thought,” he said, laughing. He slid out of the booth and held out his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go deal with those paintings so you can rest easy tonight.”
Instead of taking his hand, she looped her arm through his, which, in Tyler’s opinion, was way better.
“You know me so well,” she sighed.
He thought this might be the best compliment he’d ever received.
They strolled back down the street, making the short trip last a while. They didn’t speak, but Tyler knew they were both enjoying the mutual pleasure of just being together.
He’d been so afraid he’d never had this again.
As they reached the front doors of the gallery, Tyler spun Cadence around so they were face to face. She put her arms around his neck and looked up at him with a smile.
“Cadence,” he said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. He really did love her new hairstyle. It suited her. “I would like to kiss you now. Is that okay?”
“That is very okay,” she told him.
He cupped her cheek, bent down to kiss her, and—
Bam!
Both their heads whipped toward the gallery at the sound, which had sounded like… well, Tyler wasn’t sure what it had sounded like, but it had not sounded good.
“Oh my gosh, what was that?” Cadence cried. She fumbled in her bag for the gallery keys and quickly opened the door, Tyler hot on her heels. They heard another sort of clanging sound as they went through the doors and…
“Oh, whoa, stop,” Tyler said, tugging Cadence back. “Hang on, let me go in first and check.”
Water was pouring out of the ceiling. After Tyler got through the doorway, his arms held over his head as if that would do much against the spray, he realized that it didn’t go far into the gallery. It was confusing though.
“Ugh, the pipe!” Cadence cried. Her purse over her head made a far more effective shield, and she hopped nimbly over the puddle that the burst pipe, whose rupture had made the mysterious noises, had left in the entrance of the gallery.
“Didn’t you just get this fixed?” Tyler asked, huddling out of the range of the spray and waving his wife toward him.
“Yes!” Her tone was pure frustration as she crossed to his side. “Man, the plumber said it was fine! Ooh, he’s going to receive a strongly worded voicemail about the merits of checking his work before making promises!”
“I approve of your plan,” he told her. “But in the meantime, do you think we should shut off the water before it really floods in here?”
Her eyes went wide. “The artwork!”
The next half hour was a flurry of teamwork.
Tyler, following Cadence’s instructions, hurried over to the main water switch and turned it off.
Then, he helped Cadence move all the art that was in the risk zone.
Most of it went into the storage shelves in the back room, although Cadence did load up a few pieces into the back of her car when the storage area became too crammed.
When they were done, it was late and they were both unpleasantly damp.
“Well, this stinks,” Cadence said when they were outside, staring at the gallery like it was an enemy they’d vanquished.
This was such a masterclass in understatement that Tyler started to laugh. For a moment, Cadence looked at him, shocked, and then she too, erupted into giggles.
“Why are you laughing?” she demanded through her mirth.
“Why are you laughing?”
She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his shoulder. Tyler had been a little afraid to enjoy any moments of closeness between them before, but this time, he just let himself soak in the moment.