48 pages • 1 hour read
Elsie SilverHeartless
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Cade”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
Cade feels angry at himself for leaving Willa on the dance floor. He doesn’t like watching other men dance with her, but he sternly reminds himself that she is Luke’s nanny, nothing more. When she returns to the table, Cade notices how close she is sitting and tells himself to be careful. Unnerved by his own growing sense of desire, he starts a conversation with her about the bar where she works. She admits that she does not miss the bar or the city and has been enjoying her time in Chestnut Springs. Overcome by memories and emotions, Cade excuses himself and heads home. Willa decides to join him.
Their ride home is quiet until Cade finally breaks the silence. He wants to stop at Harvey’s to check on Luke but feels guilty about cutting into Willa’s weekend. Willa insists that she doesn’t mind, as she loves spending time with Luke. She even offers to start giving the boy riding lessons. Cade agrees and asks if she would also take him to an upcoming birthday party. At Harvey’s, they find Luke and Harvey asleep on the couch. While they straighten up their mess, Cade chastises himself for taking up more of Willa’s time and tells himself that she wouldn’t want to get involved with someone like him.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Willa”
Willa runs into Cade in the hot tub again. She is overwhelmed by how attractive he is and notices that he is looking at her with interest. Cade pours them a drink, and Willa starts a game of “truth or dare.” As they ask each other questions about their lives, Cade tells Willa about Talia and Luke and describes his former rodeo days. He explains that he and Talia knew each other as kids. They finally slept together after Talia had been chasing Cade for years. When she got pregnant, they got married, and Cade was soon so busy with the ranch that it took him a while to notice that Talia was cheating on him. He also tells Willa about his mother and about his efforts to take care of his family after she died. He explains that he stopped participating in rodeos because he has been too busy with Luke and the ranch. Willa dares him to start competing again and promises to watch Luke while he does. Cade agrees.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Cade”
Cade cannot sleep after his hot tub encounter with Willa. He feels aroused and wonders if she is thinking about him, too. In the morning, he is exhausted after spending the night awake. He runs into Willa in the kitchen and is surprised to learn that she gets up early to read before Luke is up. He also teases her about not wearing a bra. Willa playfully pushes back.
Cade, Willa, and Luke make dinner together. Luke tells Cade that Willa played the guitar for him and begs her to do so now. Cade is amazed when he hears her play and sing. Then, she puts on different music, and she and Luke dance around the kitchen. Luke insists that Cade dance with her next. Cade feigns reluctance but enjoys being close to Willa again. When Luke teases them both for being “weird,” Cade realizes that “something weird [is] happening” between him and Willa (138).
Chapter 13 Summary: “Willa”
The next morning, Willa finds a note from Cade in the kitchen. He made her coffee and wants her to meet him at the barn to see the new horses that he has been training. Willa can’t stop thinking about Cade throughout her morning routine. After she and Luke are ready, they head to the barn. Willa insists on riding one of the new horses, but Cade hesitates, worried that she will hurt herself. Willa rides the horse anyway, impressing Cade and the other cowboys.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Cade”
Cade arrives late at Luke’s friend’s birthday party. Willa has already taken Luke to the party, and Cade is meeting them there. He feels irritated when he sees the other families, and then he gets upset when he notices Willa crouching by a crying Luke near the pool. He watches as Willa confronts another mother for letting her son push Luke into the pool and hold him under the water. The mother, Betty, insists that her son was joking. Furious, Willa confronts Betty’s son and shoves him into the pool, at which point Betty demands that Willa leave. Cade sends Willa and Luke home while he confronts Betty about the situation.
Back at home, Cade finds Willa and Luke playing outside. He watches them and reflects on his feelings for Willa. He also recalls how she stood up for Luke. He joins their game of hide-and-seek and starts chasing Willa around the field. He playfully grabs and pushes her against a hay bale, and they kiss. Suddenly, he remembers Talia telling him that he was heartless, and his mood is buried in confusion and a sense of overwhelm. He pulls away from Willa, apologizes, and escapes the situation.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Willa”
Willa spends the night at Harvey’s for “another family dinner” (170). Afterward, Willa and Summer sit together and chat. Willa reveals that she and Cade kissed and that he has been acting strangely around her ever since. Summer teases Willa, insisting that she must have scared him, given that she is more sexually forward than Cade is. Willa explains that he kissed her and then became distant. He has been curt when he sees her doing laundry, teaching Luke guitar, or painting the porch with Luke. She tells Summer that she wishes she and Cade could have sex for the summer with no strings attached.
A few days later, Luke gets sick in Willa’s car when they’re driving home. He continues throwing up when they return to the house. Panicking, Willa calls Cade. He is curt at first but then tells her how to care for Luke. He cannot come home because a herd of cows has escaped and the cowboys need his help. He reassures Willa, insisting that Luke is in good hands. He also reminds Willa to take care of herself.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Cade”
Cade returns home to find Willa and Luke sleeping in his bed. He studies them for a moment before sitting on the mattress to talk to Willa. He lets her stay in his room and takes Luke’s bed himself.
In the morning, Willa thanks Cade for cleaning up the bathroom. He tells her that he is taking the day off to care for her and Luke. During their conversation, he realizes how much he likes Willa and reminds himself to be careful.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Willa”
Willa and Luke lie on the couch watching television. Luke is starting to recover but still feels sick. Meanwhile, Cade cleans the house. Willa insists that he join them instead. Suddenly, she feels queasy and races to the bathroom and vomits. Cade finds her and helps her. He takes her temperature, gets her some aspirin, and holds her hair while she continues throwing up. Then, he helps her into his bed. He sits on the edge, and they talk. Willa opens up about her family, their expectations, and her questions about settling down. Now that she is close to Cade, Willa realizes how much she wants to have a romantic relationship with him. She suggests that they have sex without any obligation. Cade looks interested but insists that her offer is too complicated because they are in different places in their lives. He moves to leave but agrees to stay when Willa asks him to.
Chapters 10-17 Analysis
As Willa and Cade’s relationship evolves, both characters begin to experience The Transformative Power of Love. The more time that they spend together, the more they teach each other about intimacy, care, and connection. However, as Willa engages in The Search for Home and Belonging, her need to find a place for herself complicates her feelings for Cade and her conception of their future together. Meanwhile, Cade’s attraction to Willa triggers memories of his past, and his emotional difficulties further illustrate The Impact of Trauma on Intimate Relationships. Thus, both Willa and Cade are pursuing their own individual journeys toward growth and greater emotional maturity. Willa is trying to decide where she wants to be and how she wants to shape her adult life. Although she cares for Cade and Luke, she has yet to discover how they might fit into her personal reality. Meanwhile, growing closer to Willa makes Cade realize how much unresolved tension and pain he still carries. Indeed, every time he and Willa share an intimate conversation or heartfelt encounter, Cade is overwhelmed by thoughts of his failed relationship with Talia. This network of interpersonal dynamics conveys the complexities involved in building sustainable adult relationships.
The novel uses Cade’s first-person perspective to delve into his private thoughts and unspoken fears, creating a much more nuanced portrait of this outwardly gruff and hard-nosed rancher. The more interest that Cade shows in Willa, the more reflective and contemplative he becomes, and his experiences with Willa correspond to marked shifts in his internal world. For example, in Chapter 10, Cade spends a full 10 minutes watching “Willa dance with four different men” at the bar (99). In this scene, Cade is sitting on the sidelines of the dance floor, a position that allows him to observe Willa and reflect on their dynamic without interruption. While observing her, Cade describes Willa as “a spark in the dark. Dancing flames against a midnight sky. She shines brighter than almost anyone in this entire place with her glossy hair, bright dress, and twinkling green eyes” (99). By employing this vivid imagery to highlight the admiration that laces Cade’s thoughts, Silver makes it clear that Cade regards Willa as a powerful source of light, novelty, and strength in his life. By contrast, his reference to a “midnight sky” works as a morose metaphor for Cade’s lonely circumstances without Willa. Similarly, his references to stars and flames indicate that Willa has ignited his heart and illuminated his world in a surprising manner. This descriptive passage therefore reveals Cade’s true feelings for Willa, and his private thoughts contrast with his steely, gruff exterior, conveying a softer, hidden side to his personality.
At the same time, some of Cade’s private thoughts reveal his desperate attempts to rein in his amorous feelings for Willa, and these moments betray the deep core of fear that inhibits his actions and hinders his progress toward a healthier, more balanced emotional life. His thoughts and feelings are often at odds with one another, illustrating the dichotomy between his natural desires and his pragmatic preference to avoid risks and entanglements. Cade’s internal experience also captures the many ways in which his trauma over Talia’s abandonment has made him hesitant and fearful of pursuing intimate relationships with women. His determination not to cross the proverbial line with Willa is inspired by his fears of getting hurt and of disappointing himself and Luke yet again. Therefore, his trauma clearly impacts his ability to engage authentically with Willa in the present.
By contrast, Willa’s actions and behaviors throughout this section of the novel underscore her free-spirited, restless nature. Her fearlessness is also portrayed in a variety of scenes. When she shows her willingness to go dancing, to play truth or dare in the hot tub, or to ride an untrained horse, she makes it clear that modest embarrassment has no place in her life, and she also shows her boldness when she plays guitar and sings with Luke in the kitchen or pushes the bully into the pool. She is bold and spirited and is willing to express her true emotions as they arise. Her impulsive and uncalculated behaviors are therefore a manifestation of her desire to live a full life. She does want to find a welcoming home and a sense of belonging, but she does not mask what she feels in the moment in order to manufacture a sense of false security. These dynamics reiterate her positive, energizing effect on Cade, who stands as her polar opposite in many ways. Indeed, Willa is attracted to Cade’s strong and responsible nature even as he finds himself attracted to Willa’s lighthearted, bold nature. Whereas Cade is controlled and contemplative, Willa is forthcoming and effusive. Rather than finding themselves nonplussed by their fundamental differences, the two protagonists gradually begin to engage in deeper acts of intimacy. The narrative atmosphere becomes increasingly charged with tension whenever they are together, and this heated atmosphere foreshadows positive changes in their future.
