Home / When the Last Light Fades / Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

All Chapters of When the Last Light Fades: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

Breakfast was unusually quiet. Dad spooned up his grits and tried to reason with me."Yale didn't mean anything by it. Don't let something this small come between you. Listen to me. Go ahead with the wedding."I didn't answer. I just slipped a strip of bacon from my plate onto his plate.Back home, Dad ran a small breakfast place. He got up before dawn to knead dough and let it rise, shape rolls and hand pies, and fry doughnuts while the coffee brewed. Yale had accepted Dad's money for tuition without a second thought, but he'd never asked where it came from. Five- and ten-dollar bills and loose coins piled up in a drawer, stained with grease and grime. The cost showed even more plainly on Dad's hands, covered in thick calluses and burn blisters.Whenever I visited, I told him to take a break. He'd wipe his face with a towel and give me his guileless smile. "Once I've saved enough for a down payment for you two, I will."At the beginning of the year, Dad started complaining that his st

Chapter 2

I gripped my phone and went into the bedroom."All my friends and coworkers can see your comment," Yale said. "What are they supposed to think of Paige? We grew up together. Her mother is my godmother..."I cut him off. "So you gave her the appointment Dad and I waited four hours for?"The line went dead quiet, as if the words had caught in his throat."Dad was sitting there in a cold sweat, his legs shaking, just waiting for an endoscopy. You told us to wait our turn while those two sat around eating pretzels and drinking coffee. All they needed was a blood pressure check. Any nurse could have done it, so why did you give them our spot?"My questions seemed to make him angry. His voice shot up. "Your dad stands for over ten hours a day at work. Why's he suddenly acting so fragile? You're picking a fight with me over one appointment? Are you really that petty?""Petty? If I were petty, I wouldn't have called to ask you home for dinner. Dad comes to visit, and you never take him anywher

Chapter 3

For a moment, the slap left me too stunned to move. I held a hand to my cheek, then stepped forward to confront Helen. Yale immediately turned to shield her and Paige."Xandra! My godmother has a quick temper. She didn't mean it."Paige stayed behind him. "Don't stop me, Yale. A shameless woman like her needs to be taught a lesson.""Exactly!" Helen pointed at me. "If you really know my godson, why didn't he invite you to dinner tonight? I've seen plenty of shameless whores like you."She rushed at me, still shouting. Yale blocked my way but did nothing to stop either of them. Dad was the only one who moved to protect me. Before anyone could react, Helen's palm struck his face instead.The room fell silent. Dad didn't get angry. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, then smiled at Yale. "It's all right. Just a misunderstanding. We're almost family, and Helen has a quick temper. I understand."He was still gripping my hand, as though he feared I'd make things

Chapter 4

Dad and I stayed at a hotel that night. The next morning, I took him to another hospital for the same endoscopy process. This time, we had the result in two hours: a stomach polyp, not cancer. The fear I'd been carrying finally began to ease.Yale called throughout the morning and sent messages when I didn't answer.[Xandra, we're adults. Don't run away from home over one little thing.]Apparently, anything involving Dad and me was little. Paige and Helen were another matter.[Paige likes that limited-edition coat of yours. I gave it to her since you aren't wearing it.]The coat was brand-new. I'd saved it for our first visit to Dad after the wedding. Before I could get over that, another message arrived.[Paige wants to be your bridesmaid, but she doesn't have a dress. I gave her your champagne-colored one.]It was the only dress I had for the reception. Yale hadn't asked about Dad once, yet he'd found a way to bring Paige into every message. I left them unanswered and kept my attenti

Chapter 5

Yale had Jordan on speakerphone. His shout carried across the table, and every coworker nearby turned to look. With all of them watching, Yale couldn't bring himself to hang up."No, you've got it wrong," he said, keeping his voice gentle. "Xandra's angry. She's saying things she doesn't mean.""Wrong? You think being a senior doctor puts you above everyone else? "When you couldn't afford school, Xandra's father paid your tuition from college through your master's and doctorate. That's easily over $200,000, and you haven't paid him back a cent."Now he needs surgery and asks to borrow $4,500, but you rejected him. But you can buy your godmother a gold bracelet and new clothes for Paige?"Jordan didn't pause long enough for Yale to answer. "Where were they when you couldn't afford school? Refusing to lend the money was bad enough. You used her father's surgery to pressure Xandra into signing over the house. "When you knew she wouldn't agree, you borrowed $45,000 against it behind her

Chapter 6

"Xandra, are you trying to ruin me?"Yale found me at the hotel and opened with that. No apology, only the old habit of making everything my fault. Once, I would have panicked and stumbled through a defense. This time, I looked at him steadily. "Which part of what I said didn't you do?""Xandra Sutton!""Yale Xavier!"We faced each other until he finally looked away. He dragged a hand through his hair. "You've been telling people all kinds of things. My reputation's ruined. Colleagues competing with me won't let this go, and now I've lost my promotion."He caught the hem of my shirt, looking utterly defeated. "Post a statement online. Say the surgery money and the loan were made up. I might still be able to keep my position." When I said nothing, his voice softened. "Help me. You know how hard it was for me to get here as an orphan."I did know. That was why I'd asked so little of him over the years while giving him nearly everything he asked of me. I pulled my shirt from his hand.

Chapter 7

Within six months of moving home, Dad and I had two things to celebrate.I took over his breakfast stall and moved it into a storefront. We called it Dad's Table. We kept Dad's breakfast staples and added homemade cobbler and soup. Everyone on the block came by on opening day, and Dad stood among them clapping until his palms turned red.The other good news was my marriage. Daniel, our longtime family friend, had set me up with Simon Shaw.With Simon, there was no ten-year wait. I didn't have to ask Dad for money, either. I hadn't even brought up the wedding costs when Simon offered to cover them himself. This time, I accepted.You could tell where a man's heart was by what he was willing to spend on. I believed that now.Six months later, my husband took me to a prenatal appointment. We were walking down the hospital corridor when I heard a familiar voice."Xandra?"I hadn't expected to see Yale in Xanford. The sight of him stirred something for an instant, then the feeling passed. I

Chapter 8

The next day, I was serving customers at Dad's Table when Paige appeared in the doorway. I hadn't seen her in a long time. The arrogance she'd shown me before was gone; she only smiled."We're practically family, Xandra. Aren't you going to invite me in to sit down?"I took one look at her and was startled by how thin she'd become. Even so, I didn't invite her in."Don't be ridiculous, Paige. We aren't family, and we've never been close enough to sit down and talk."Her eyes reddened, and she hurried to explain. "Please, Xandra, hear me out. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. Mom and I never should have gone to Havenport to see Yale, and we never should have pushed him to take your house and borrow against it."I couldn't accept it back then. I fell for Yale first, but he fell for you instead. He wanted to marry you. Why should you get him?"At first, Mom and I weren't planning to do anything. We really only came for the wedding. But then we saw that Yale didn't care about you all that

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