48 pages • 1 hour read
Heartless
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Chapters 18-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 18 Summary: “Cade”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and sexual content.
As they sit in bed together, Cade and Willa talk about Cade’s childhood. Cade tries to focus on the conversation instead of contemplating his attraction to Willa. He delves into his mother’s death and describes how he responded to it. Then, Willa talks about her childhood, admitting that she hasn’t changed much. She also berates herself for being immature. Cade insists that she shouldn’t talk about herself that way and lists all the good things about her. Willa makes another joke about them having sex, insisting that they are going to have to discuss their feelings for each other because their relationship isn’t going to end after the summer; Willa is always going to be a part of Cade’s life because of Summer and Rhett. Cade realizes that she is right. After he says goodnight, Cade acknowledges to himself that he is afraid to become romantically involved with Willa.
That weekend, Cade, Willa, and Luke drive to the rodeo together. On the way, Cade reflects on his and Willa’s recent conversation, still convinced that their relationship cannot go any further. However, he cannot help but feel happy when he sees her with Luke. He also feels attracted to Willa and is aroused when he admires her outfit.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Willa”
Willa takes Luke to buy snacks before the rodeo. She tries to stay focused on Luke but feels distracted by her thoughts of Cade. In the stands, Willa talks to Rhett and Jasper about her jumping competitions. They also reveal that their sister, Violet, and their cousin Sloane are coming into town for a surprise visit soon. Willa notices that Jasper perks up when he hears Sloane’s name.
Cade does well in the show, and Willa is impressed. She feels even more attracted to him as she watches him compete. Afterward, Willa congratulates Cade and hopes that they will drive home together. Instead, Cade suggests that she stay behind with Lance and the cowboys. She agrees but feels disappointed.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Cade”
On the way home, Cade feels angry with himself for suggesting that Willa stay behind with Lance. However, he still doesn’t know what to do about their relationship. Rhett and Jasper tease him about Willa, suggesting that he should start dating her. Cade dismisses their comments.
Back at home, Cade misses Willa and Luke, as his son is staying with Harvey. He waits for Willa on the porch. As he studies the designs that she and Luke painted on the railings, he wishes that she would hurry up and get home.
Chapter 21 Summary: “Willa”
Willa leaves the bar not long after Cade heads home. She likes Lance, but the “bar scene exhausts [her] now” (239). When she pulls into Cade’s driveway, she feels relieved. Cade is waiting on the porch, and she is surprised when he gets upset with her, insisting that she shouldn’t barge in so late at night. She calls him out, reminding him that Luke is with Harvey and that he is the one who told her to stay out. They get into an argument and then reveal how they feel about each other. Finally, Cade grabs Willa and starts touching her, expressing how much he has wanted to be with her. He removes his pants and shirt, and Willa performs oral sex on him. He thanks her afterward and starts talking about how complicated he felt their relationship would be. Hurt and annoyed, Willa heads to her room. Cade storms in after her and insists that he hasn’t finished talking. He was worried about getting involved with her because he cares about her too much to just have a casual relationship. He then insists that he wants to return her sexual favor.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Cade”
In bed, Cade tells Willa that he is only going to have sex with her if she starts seeing and talking about herself differently. He insists that she thank him every time he compliments her and touches her. Willa is hesitant at first but gives in. They engage in foreplay and have oral sex.
Chapter 23 Summary: “Willa”
Willa is overwhelmed by how satisfied Cade makes her in bed. They have penetrative sex, and Willa thinks about her feelings for Cade and realizes how much she likes him. She tells him that she doesn’t want to use a condom and that he can finish inside of her because she is on birth control. Afterward, they collapse into each other, and Cade thanks Willa.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Cade”
Cade and Willa have sex several more times. In the morning, they wake up, make breakfast, talk, have sex again, and fall back to sleep. When Cade wakes up, he feels happy. He wishes that he could ask Willa to stay at the ranch with him and Luke, but he worries that it’s too soon for this request. When Willa wakes up, they lie together, laughing and talking before having sex again.
Later that day, Cade and Willa drive to Harvey’s to get Luke. Cade feels calm, but Willa seems anxious. She wants to know how she and Cade are going to handle their relationship, but Cade keeps making jokes. She gets upset at him for minimizing what happened, but Cade insists that he really cares about her. At Harvey’s, Luke and Harvey come outside to meet them. Harvey immediately deduces that Cade and Willa slept together and seems pleased. He and Cade chat while Willa and Luke start playing.
Chapter 25 Summary: “Willa”
Willa and Luke run around the yard and hide from Cade. They jump out and scare him. Cade grabs and lifts both of them. When Harvey sees them, he offers to take Luke for the day so that they can have some time together.
Cade and Willa ride horses around the ranch. Cade wants to talk about Luke’s upcoming birthday. Every year, Talia comes to Luke’s party; it is usually the only time she visits him. He warns Willa about how Talia might respond to her and to Luke’s affection for her. Willa insists that she’ll be okay and expresses her desire to help plan the party.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Willa”
Willa and Cade meet in the hot tub after Luke is asleep that night. Willa realizes how comfortable she feels with Cade. Then, they start talking and engage in foreplay and oral sex. During the encounter, Willa realizes that she is falling in love with Cade. Cade lifts her up and takes her into his room, where they have sex.
Chapters 18-26 Analysis
This section of the novel marks significant developments in Willa and Cade’s relationship, furthering the novel’s explorations of The Search for Home and Belonging, The Transformative Power of Love, and The Impact of Trauma on Intimate Relationships. Once Willa and Cade agree to engage in a sexual relationship, they start to interact with each other in new ways. At times, Cade worries that their physical intimacy will complicate Willa’s life and impede her ability to continue exploring her various options. This is particularly because advancing their relationship in this way intensifies Cade’s feelings for Willa. He wants more than a casual relationship but worries that he is holding Willa back. At other times, Cade’s fear is inspired by his proverbial emotional baggage. He doesn’t want his negative experiences with Talia to inhibit him from caring for Willa, nor does he want to weigh Willa down with his own private issues. Meanwhile, Willa worries about becoming sexually and romantically intimate with Cade because she doesn’t want to intrude on his family life. These complex relational dynamics challenge the characters to communicate more openly so that they can fully embrace their feelings for each other and grow as a couple.
The novel uses the scenes of Willa and Cade engaging in sexual foreplay and intercourse as a metaphor for vulnerability, connection, and emotional intimacy. Whenever they have sex, they become more open with each other, and Cade becomes more aware of Willa’s points of vulnerability. For example, Willa does not think of herself as being “self-conscious,” but when Cade tells her that she needs to take pride in herself instead of making fun of herself, she starts to become aware of her pattern of negative self-talk and her tendency to use humor as a defense mechanism. Until she and Cade become intimate, she never realized the negative impact of this habit on her psyche. As Cade gives her encouragement, compliments, and praise during their sexual interludes, these interactions start to transform how Willa sees herself. During a sex scene in Chapter 22, for example, Cade tells Willa, “You have no idea how special you are. How insane you make me feel. How I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the moment I laid eyes on you” (253). When Willa “rolls her eyes” in response, Cade tells her, “The only appropriate response is, Thank you” (253). In this way, he directly addresses her discomfiture with compliments and encourages her to start seeing herself in a more positive light. He wants Willa to love herself the way that he loves and appreciates her. In this way, Silver uses the growing relationship between her characters to illustrate the idea that sexual openness can lead to emotional openness, love, and understanding.
Willa and Cade’s evolving intimacy also furthers their independent and overlapping search for home and belonging. For Willa, the process of growing closer with Luke and becoming more intimate with Cade is changing her understanding of home, family, and the future. In Chapter 21, for example, Willa describes the sense of belonging that she feels when she returns home from her abbreviated evening with Lance. As she states, “When the lights turn into Cade’s driveway and shine at the picturesque rancher, my body sags with relief. This isn’t my home, but […] I feel like I’m home” (239). This moment marks a turning point in Willa’s character development, as she is starting to attach a deeper meaning to her time at Wishing Well Ranch with the Eaton family. The situation is no longer just a nannying gig; it now offers her the promise of something more permanent. This feeling arises primarily because the setting and its atmosphere make her feel safe, seen, and wanted. Notably, Cade undergoes similarly meaningful shifts when he begins to regard his home and family in the context of his relationship with Willa. After they have sex in Chapter 24, for example, Cade realizes that “[h]aving Willa close is comforting. It’s like having Luke under the same roof” and knowing that “everyone is safe” (274). With these evolving sentiments, Cade and Willa gradually invent a new life for themselves and for Luke. Their love is transforming how they conceptualize the idea of safety, and their connection offers them new possibilities for a future life together.
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