But now, there was nothing.
I got dressed, so that if someone was still lurking around and got a lucky shot with the camera, I would look presentable. Then I peered through the curtains on the front window.
Nothing. The reporters were all gone.
Relief swept through me and I rested my head against the wall, taking deep, steadying breaths. Looked like the press had found something else to obsess over, and good riddance to them. I was surprised to see every single one of them gone—not a single straggler waiting to see if they could break me down by being the last one standing—but I was certainly grateful. There were far bigger scandals out there than one senator’s son, and I just had to hope that these reporters wouldn’t come back.
I put the pot on for brewing, pulled out a mug for myself and one for Caitlyn, and then sat down at the kitchen table. I was glad that the reporters were gone, but it reminded me of how Cade and I were over. They were gone, Cade’s plan had worked, and now he was never coming back. Our chances of being together were gone.
Caitlyn entered and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Thanks, hon.”
I nodded. Caitlyn sat down next to me and took my hand. “I’m sorry.”
“More than ever, today, it feels like he’s really gone,” I admitted.
Caitlyn squeezed my hand and then released it, pulling out her phone to check on the news. “Well, I suppose the reporters being gone is a silver lining to this whole thing. And it must be some consolation to know that he does care about you, right? He does love you. That was never the issue. There’s something noble about that, honestly. Even if I agree with you and I think he….”
Caitlyn trailed off, her eyes getting going wide.
“What?” I asked, sipping my coffee.
“Melinda James tell-all scheduled for eight o’clock tonight,” Caitlyn said, reading from her phone. She looked up at me. “Apparently your boy’s mother is going to do this huge revealing interview about her career and the scandals she’s been witness to. Holy shit.”
That must have been what got the reporters off the lawn, I realized. Instead of this scoop, we’ll give you another one. As a Hollywood actress, Melinda James must have seen quite a lot of crazy things in her time, and now she was risking the trust of all her coworkers and friends in the industry to get the reporters off my back.
My respect for her increased quite a bit. I had no idea how I’d ever be able to thank her.
As if that was the cue, there came a knock on the front door.
“If it’s a reporter,” Caitlyn whispered, “I’ll hit ‘em with the broom.”
I got up. If it really was a reporter, I could….
“I got it!” Drew yelled, streaking past us in his pajamas.
“Drew, no!” I yelled, rushing after him.
My son got to the door first, opening it wide—Cade was standing in the doorway.
“Hey, buddy!” Cade said.
“Cade!” Drew hugged his legs, “I missed you.” He lowered his voice to what he thought was a whisper, “Mama missed you too, I think. She’s been sad.”
“I’m sorry that she was sad, buddy,” Cade said. “I missed you guys, too. My arms are kind of full, though, so is it okay if I come in first?”
“Yeah!” Drew moved out of the way to let Cade in.
Cade had a bouquet of roses in one hand and a teddy bear in the other.
“This is for you,” he said, handing the bear over to Drew. The bear was dressed as an astronaut and Drew gasped in delight as he took it from Cade.
“Go on and add him to your other toys,” I said, shooing Drew out of the way.
Drew grinned. “Thank you!” he said to Cade, and then he ran back down the hallway to his room, brimming with excitement.
Cade handed me the flowers. “Very romantic,” I said, setting the flowers down. My stomach was in knots. “But why are you here?”
He took a deep breath. “I wasn’t even at the Detroit airport before I regretted my decision, even though I thought that it had been necessary. But my parents surprised me. My mom, especially. She convinced my father that they had been wrong in the way they’d raised me. I think they’re both doing a lot of thinking, about things. And so now, they’re encouraging me…they even gave me their blessing to come back here, to you. They said that they were wrong, and they want me to be with you, if that’s what makes me happy. And it is.”