Chapter Nine

 

 

When Cora woke the next morning, the air in her room was cool. She turned her head to see that the fire had gone out at some point during the night. She’d had every intention of waking up and adding a log or two, but apparently sleep had been more important. She didn’t think she’d moved all night.

Now that she was warm under the covers, she hesitated to break that bubble by getting up. In fact, if her book had been within reach and not back in her suitcase, she might have reached for that and not bothered to get up for breakfast.

It was already light outside. Curiosity finally got the better of her, and she reached for her watch on the wide table. It was after eight? Wow, she must’ve been tired. She listened intently but heard nothing from the hallway outside of her room. Either everyone else was sleeping in as well, or they were downstairs.

The lyrics to Out of Eden’s song, “Lovely Day,” played through her mind. “Okay, God. Yesterday was a bit of a beating. Any chance You could ease up on us a bit today?” No response, not that she’d necessarily expected one. It always seemed like she got the answers to her questions in some of the strangest ways.

She was more worried about dealing with Flynn if he kept pushing her today. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin this weekend for Maria or the others. “Please give me an extra dose of patience today. I think I’m going to need it.”

The promise of pastries finally drove Cora out of bed. She wasn’t about to jump into the shower with only cold water available, but she did use a washcloth as a sort of sponge bath, which was bad enough.

Once she was cleaned up and dressed, she headed downstairs while singing the lyrics from the same song to herself.

Cora expected to see almost everyone, but only Abby and Emma were sitting on the couch. “Wow, I figured I was the last one to wake up.”

Abby smiled as she held Emma on her lap. “Mom just went upstairs again to change. Dare and Grey went outside to get more firewood. Poor Flynn is probably still trying to wrestle Zac into some clean clothes.” She rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Our son would prefer to be a nudist if it were up to him.”

Cora laughed hard at that. “I imagine keeping him clothed can be a challenge at times, then.”

“Definitely.” Abby had cut up a donut and was handing bite-sized pieces to Emma. “I’m really glad I finally got the chance to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of different things…” She paused and started over. “I’m a big fan of drawing my own conclusions.”

Cora appreciated that. “It can’t be easy. There’s years of history and a lot of hurt feelings. Sometimes it all seems muddled to me, and I lived through it.” Emma walked over to Cora and put a chubby hand on her knee. Cora smiled at her and was rewarded with one in return. “I’m glad to meet you as well. And your children. They both seem like sweethearts.”

“Thank you.”

The women smiled at each other, and Cora thought that, in another time and place, they might be friends.

Emma continued to smile up at Cora and finally lifted her arms as though she wanted to be picked up. Cora glanced at Abby. “Is it okay?”

“Sure. Emma’s entire life is a battle between wanting to be cuddled, and the need to run at top speed. You’re looking at the lull before the sugar high hits.”

Cora chuckled as she lifted Emma onto her lap. The little girl leaned into her chest and popped a thumb into her mouth, effectively melting Cora’s heart.

The back door opened and banged shut. The sound of deep voices preceded the men into the living room. Between the two of them, they carried enough wood to keep the fire stoked for at least the first half of the day.

Grey took his gloves off and set them on the hearth. When he turned, he regarded Cora and Emma with a mixture of curiosity and something else Cora couldn’t quite identify. She offered him a small smile before turning her attention back to the little one on her lap.

She’d always liked children, she just hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to interact with them in the past. Helping them in the ER was rewarding, but they were often either too scared or too sick to really relax.

This was different, and it was impossible to not think about the baby she and Grey lost. She would’ve spent hours holding, feeding, and consoling their child.

She took in Emma’s pretty eyes and silky hair and wondered what their baby would’ve looked like.

Cora had to shove those thoughts away before her emotions got the best of her. The last thing she needed to do was look sad in front of everyone else and have to come up with some alternative reason for how she was reacting.

Abby’s voice brought Cora out of her own mind.

“What’s that for?”

Cora looked up to find Dare still holding onto a piece of wood he’d found outside.

“I figured I may as well take advantage of all the time we’ll have today and carve something.” Dare sat down on the hearth.

Cora forgot until then that he used to carve things all the time when she and Grey were married. He was actually quite good. The most impressive thing she could remember was when he turned a thick piece of wood into a fish. He later hung it up on the wall and joked that it was the only one he’d caught that weekend.

Grey pointed toward the kitchen. “You’d better find something to catch the shavings or Mom will not be happy.”

“You make a valid point.” Dare set the piece of wood on the ground and went in search of something he could use.

Apparently, Emma got her second wind. She climbed out of Cora’s lap and ran toward Flynn and Zac who were coming down the stairs. Flynn swung her into his arms and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Cora missed holding the little girl as soon as her arms were empty.

Grey was watching her again, and this time there was no missing the longing in his eyes. She knew, because she felt it, too. Unexpected tears clogged her throat and she stood to her feet. “I’m going to go see what I can find for breakfast. I’ll be back in a moment.”

 

~*~

 

When Grey entered the living room and found Cora holding Emma, everything about the scene had his heart twisting painfully in his chest. He’d wanted this with Cora from the very beginning: Children. A family. Watching her hold Emma was both difficult and sweet all rolled into one.

It only took a moment after she excused herself from the room for Grey to decide to follow her. The air was noticeably chillier as he walked away from the fireplace and ventured into the kitchen. She’d gotten a napkin but was just staring at the variety of pastries Mom had set out on the bar.

“It’s a hard choice, isn’t it?” Grey moved to stand beside her. “Grandpa always loved the food during these trips. He sure thought of everything when he reserved this place.”

Cora turned her head to look at him. There was still a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Our mess aside, your mom seems thrilled about this weekend.”

Grey nodded and lowered his voice. “It’s been hard on her and Flynn. The family business was something Grandpa had overseen, and I think there are those reminders everywhere. For better or worse, I think they both needed to get away.” He finally chose a glazed donut with what looked like cream frosting inside and took a bite. The sugary pastry nearly melted in his mouth.

She picked out a bear claw with apple cinnamon and put it on her napkin. “I wish family didn’t have to be so complicated.”

He moved to lean against one of the counters and was happy when she joined him. “I guess it’s never easy, whether you’re talking about a family of two, or the entire extended family.” They’d certainly found that out first-hand.

“Grey? Did we give up too easily?”

He was in the middle of a bite and her question had him coughing through it. He looked at her to find she was completely serious, her hazel eyes vulnerable as she watched him and waited for an answer.

Grey let her question sink in and was about to say something when Dare walked in.

“Oh, good. I’m glad there are some of the apple cinnamon ones left.” He snatched a bear claw and then gave Cora a nod of approval. “Good choice.” He took a large bite.

Cora lifted her own in agreement. “Absolutely. Maybe we should hide the rest for tomorrow morning.” She smiled at Dare and avoided looking at Grey completely.

“Now that is an excellent idea.” Dare’s eyes twinkled. “I guess Zac’s been asking to go outside and have a snowball fight. Flynn says none of them slept well and hinted that, if I took him outside, I could get some good uncle-nephew bonding time and the rest of them could catch a nap. Subtle, right?” He didn’t look like he minded at all. “I don’t suppose you two would like to join me in playing the doting aunt and uncle here in a while.”

A snowball fight would help break up the afternoon. “I’m game.”

“Sweet! Cora?”

Grey stepped in for her. “She’s never been a huge fan of snow, Dare. She’d probably rather stay inside.”

She gave him a sharp look as though she didn’t appreciate him answering for her. “No, it’s fine. I’ll come out for a little while at least.” She almost sounded enthusiastic. “Everyone should participate in a snowball fight at least once in their life, right?”

Now that Grey thought about it, they never did have much snow while he and Cora were married. She’d never been in a snowball fight? This was the weekend to change that.

Mom came in then. “I’ll have to turn my cell phone on long enough to get some pictures and a video. This is going to be fun.” She chuckled as she chose a donut for herself.

Cora glanced at Grey. “I think I’ll go see what’s going on in the living room. If I don’t sit down while I eat, I’m going to drop it. Then I’ll have to be forced to eat this bear claw right off the floor because it’s not going to waste.”

Grey watched her leave the room before finally turning his attention back to his donut.

“Sorry if I interrupted something when I came in.” Dare looked contrite with a dash of concern thrown in. His comment had Mom’s attention.

She lowered her voice. “I know this wasn’t the easiest situation for either of you, but I admire you both for sticking it out and doing it with a lot more grace than you could have. Your grandpa would be proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mom. It’s been harder—and easier—than I thought it’d be. Seeing her again like this.”

“Why easier?” Mom took a bite of her chocolate donut and nodded approvingly.

Grey pulled a bar stool over for her to sit on and Dare followed with two more so they could join her. Grey wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about this. He glanced through the kitchen door to make sure no one was close enough to overhear their conversation.

“We were good friends before we got married, but we lost a lot of that by the time the divorce came through. I guess I didn’t expect some of that friendship to still be intact when I saw her again.”

“So, what is making it harder?”

Grey had to think about that for several moments. “I guess it makes it harder to remember why we called it quits in the first place.” There. He’d said it.

Cora had asked him if they gave up too easily. If she’d posed the same question to him back then, he would’ve told her “no” without hesitation. But now? He didn’t know. Which bothered him just as much, because if there was even a possibility that they’d walked away from something that could’ve been fixed… The thought turned his stomach. He balled his napkin, along with the last bite of his donut, and threw it in the trash. “Did you know she and I both live in the DFW area now?”

Mom nodded. “Yep.”

“I didn’t realize she talked to you on a regular basis.” He paused, waiting for Mom to say something. When she didn’t, Grey finally asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“For the same reason I didn’t say anything to her, either. Grey, your relationship and history are between the two of you. I decided years ago to stay out of it. At the same time, I care about both of you. Enough that I never wanted to choose between you, so I didn’t.”

There wasn’t a thing Grey could say to that. He respected her for keeping out of their relationship, and he was glad she’d stayed in contact with Cora. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Are you kidding? It was as much for me as it was for her.” She stood and gave Grey a hug “You’d better go warm up by the fire before you’re outside freezing your tush off.”

Grey chuckled. “That’s probably not a half-bad idea.”