Chapter Six

 

 

A big part of Cora wanted to hide out in her room until dinner. The moment she walked in and saw the fireplace, big king-sized bed, and luxurious bathroom, she was pretty sure she could just stay there forever. When Maria had told her it was a luxurious cabin, she wasn’t kidding. It was certainly a lot nicer than her apartment back home. It was a shame the electricity was out. Cora would’ve loved to take a hot bath and soak in the large garden tub.

Instead, she stared at her reflection in the dim bathroom mirror, lit only by the daylight coming through the small window. Her hair was a mess. Good grief. Thank goodness she’d still had her winter hat on downstairs or everyone might have thrown her back out in the snow for scaring the kids. She found her brush and some hair spray and did her best to make it presentable again. Not for the first time, she was thankful her hair was easier to manage than Jen’s. She pictured her friend’s frizzy hair and could only imagine how bad it would be after an adventure like the one Cora had.

The thought had her chuckling. It felt good to laugh.

She’d changed into a loose, pastel blue sweater to go with some dry jeans. Her wet clothes hung over the shower rod in the bathroom and her shoes sat in the bathtub. It would probably take a day or two for them to dry out completely.

The need for warmth from the fireplace downstairs and some food finally drove her out of her room. She stepped into the hall with socks on her feet. Once she closed her door, Cora turned and ran right into Grey. A hand against his chest was the only thing that kept her from stumbling.

His hand immediately covered her own. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She cleared her throat and stepped away from him. Even as her hand fell to her side, she could still feel the warmth of his chest on her palm.

He pointed toward her room. “Looks like we’re neighbors.”

“Who was in charge of room assignments?”

“I think Dare may have chosen ours.”

“It’s probably a coincidence then. I never pictured your mom as the type to set people up. Especially when the combination had already proven unsuccessful.”

Something flashed in Grey’s eyes, but he covered it before she could fully understand what it meant. “Yeah, well, I haven’t shared a room with Dare since we were in middle school.”

Cora laughed. “That should make for an interesting couple of days for you.”

“No doubt.” He hesitated. “I didn’t realize you still talked to Mom. I’m surprised she didn’t say anything.”

Cora shrugged. “That first year after we… Well, your mom called me on my birthday. So, I called her on Mother’s Day like I normally would. I guess we just kept on with the traditions.” She slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “She never once gave me an update on you. And from your surprise, I gather she never told you anything about me, either.”

Grey shook his head. “Not a word.” He looked like he wanted to say more.

She glanced at the hallway behind them and lowered her voice. “I really hope my being here doesn’t mess anything up for her. I know she’s excited to have everyone together under the same roof. The last thing I want is to ruin that for her.”

“Even after we separated, and Flynn would blame you for everything, Mom would always put him in his place. You’re the daughter she never had, Cora. I don’t think she’d feel the family was complete if you weren’t here.”

His words brought tears to Cora’s eyes. It meant the world to her that Maria had continued to keep in touch with her through the years. She nodded but didn’t trust her voice to respond.

For several moments, neither of them said a word. There was a time when Cora could’ve watched Grey like this and known what he was thinking. But things had changed. He’d changed.

Grey cleared his throat and motioned toward the stairs. “Shall we?”

She gave a nod and led the way, trying her best to ignore the fact that he was right behind her as they descended. Her attention went to a nearby window where fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky to complete the perfect winter scene. At least it was a gentle snow and nothing like the blizzard from yesterday. It did not, however, inspire Cora to go out in the cold again. In fact, they’d be lucky to get her out of the cabin when it came time to drive to the airport.

Cora stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched Zac and Dare wrestle on the rug. Little Emma toddled over and interrupted the match by diving on top of her big brother.

Grey chuckled. “That girl’s going to be tough when she gets older.”

Cora watched them with fascination and a little envy. As an only child who grew up isolated and alone most of the time, she’d often longed for a sibling to play with. Even to fight with.

They’d barely made it across the living room when Maria snagged each of their arms and pulled them in the direction of the kitchen. “When Grandpa had reserved this cabin, he also paid for the fridge to be stocked. Now, the resort was going to cater dinner last night but couldn’t get here because of the storm. There’s plenty of sandwich stuff and snacks to last us for several days, though.” She motioned to the large island in the middle of the rustic kitchen. “Help yourselves. Once you have your plates made, you should go sit by the fire and warm up.”

Apparently, once sandwich fixings were brought out, other people felt the need for something to eat. Flynn and Dare were both busy piling meats and cheeses on sandwich buns. It was interesting to see the three brothers in one room together. Flynn and Grey were both tall but favored their mother with their lighter hair and green eyes. Even though it was clear they were brothers, all similarities in personality ended there.

On the other hand, Dare must look more like their father with dark hair and brown eyes and more average in height.

Cora had spent years watching their family dynamics. Flynn was very much the protective, and sometimes bossy, older brother while Grey and Dare had always been close.

Flynn picked up two plates full of food. “I’m going to take these out and eat with Abby while the kids play. Zac ate earlier, although he’ll probably still pick food off my plate.” He spoke to Dare and Grey, never once meeting Cora’s eyes. “The boy never stops eating.” With a half wave, he left the kitchen.

Cora chose to focus on her own plate and crafting a meal that was sure to keep her stomach happy for a while.

“Still a fan of sandwiches, I see.”

She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of Grey’s voice. “A good sandwich like this? Absolutely.”

Dare chuckled from the other side of the island. “Is there such a thing as a bad sandwich?”

“Yes.” She held hers up to show it off. “But this isn’t one of them.”

Dare gave her a nod of approval. “I can’t argue with you there.”

Cora smiled, but she meant what she said. There were years growing up when she had literally nothing but peanut butter sandwiches. It’s what her parents sent her to school with. It’s typically all she was fed for dinner, too. In fact, if she got jelly on her sandwich, it was a luxury.

To this day, Cora couldn’t stand the flavor of peanut butter no matter what it was combined with.

When she was a child, she’d assumed that was all her parents could afford. Much later, she discovered that it was simply what her parents fed her to save money, because they ate much differently themselves.

There were many foods she’d never had until she’d started eating meals with Grey’s family.

She pushed her depressing thoughts aside as she added some chips to her plate and went to sit on the hearth with her back to the flames. The warmth seeped through her sweater, and she sighed with contentment.  

Soon, Grey and Dare joined her. The brothers talked about some of their favorite winter memories growing up. They laughed about the year Dare had licked a frozen metal post just to prove his tongue really would stick to it. And the time they’d gotten the rare two inches of snow in San Antonio. Flynn had spent an hour trying to make a little snowman only to have Grey run into it with his bicycle when it slid on a patch of ice.

Grey cringed. “I really did feel bad about that.”

“You should have, because I had to hear about it all day from Flynn,” Maria said as she approached them with Emma in her arms. She patted her salt and pepper hair with her free hand. “It’s a wonder you three boys haven’t stripped every bit of color from my hair years ago.”

Dare stood and went to place a kiss on her cheek. “And you’d look just as beautiful, Mom.”

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder, but a pleased expression lit up her face. “You go finish that sandwich.”

Cora drank it all in. She’d forgotten how much she missed this family interaction. As she thought about all the things she must have missed in their lives, her contentment gave way to sadness.

When she and Grey ended their marriage, Cora lost more than a husband and her best friend, she’d lost all the people she considered family as well.

 

~*~

 

Grey laughed hard as he and Dare remembered one of the pranks he’d pulled in school. He was relieved to see that Cora seemed comfortable.

Conversation switched to summer vacations as they reminisced about warmer weather. Dare held up a finger. “Do you remember that one time when we all went camping when we were little, and we’d take turns in the hammock?” She crossed her arms in front of her. “We’d pull the hammock closed and then see if we could stay in while the others tried to swing the hammock hard enough to knock us out.”

Mom shook her head. “You boys were always finding ways to hurt each other. It’s a wonder you all made it through childhood without more broken bones.”

Grey finished his sandwich and glanced at Cora. She was laughing with the rest of them, but there was an echo of sadness in her eyes. He was surprised when his first instinct was to reach for her hand. He seriously doubted she’d welcome the sentiment.

He wondered if all their talk about childhood memories was what was making her so sad. He and Cora had spent a lot of time talking about Cora’s childhood. Technically, her parents had kept her fed and clothed, and Cora had a room of her own with a few things in it. But it wasn’t enough. She’d missed out on so much.

Her parents were emotionally withdrawn. They shared nothing of their love or lives with Cora. She might as well have grown up alone, and Grey had often wished he’d met her before junior high.

His family—with the exception of Flynn—had welcomed her with open arms, and she’d jumped right into them back then. Who did she have in her life now? Was she as alone now as she was before they’d met? Or had she replaced him and his family?

Mom changed the subject by asking Cora more about her job. “That sounds wonderful, Cora. I’m sure that isn’t an easy job. Do you put IVs in and everything?”

Cora’s eyes brightened as she spoke about a job she was clearly passionate about. “I do anything to help my patients, from drawing blood to putting in IVs. I see my job as being that bridge between them and the doctor and making them feel more comfortable during a scary or uncertain time in their lives. I know what a difference that can make.”

When they were in high school, Cora had struggled with what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Once they got married, she seemed content with a part-time job at one of the local office supply stores. He’d never expected her to take an interest in the medical field, but it clearly agreed with her.

Cora had finished her meal. She and Mom decided to go to the kitchen and organize food into coolers to set outside in the snow.

Grey watched as she left the room and could see her in the kitchen as they talked. He didn’t realize he was still looking at the door she’d exited through until Dare reached over and kicked him in the shin.

Grey winced. “What was that for?”

“I figured you might like to know you’re staring at your ex-wife.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows several times for effect. “Something you want to share with the group?”

“Nope.” Anyone else would hear Grey’s tone of voice and know the topic was no longer open for discussion. Anyone but Dare, that is.

Dare glanced over to Flynn and Abby as they played with Zac. “Flynn clearly isn’t happy she’s here.”

“Yeah, well he’s not happy about a lot of things.” Maybe that was rude, but it didn’t make it untrue. “The way I figure it, this is a weekend to honor Grandpa. If he wanted Cora here, that should be enough.”

“Agreed.” Dare kicked him in the leg again. “Way to build a bridge and get over it all, bro.”

“I’m serious, Dare. If you don’t stop kicking me, I’m going to knock you right out the front door and into a snowbank.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Dare gave him a look that lived up to his name. A moment or two later, he tipped his head toward the kitchen. “Seriously, though. What’s it like seeing her again?”

That wasn’t an easy question to answer. “It feels like it’s been a dozen years, and yet just yesterday at the same time.” Grey changed the subject to horses and roping, which took his little brother’s attention away from Cora.

At one point, Grey noticed Mom come out and ask Flynn something before he followed her back into the kitchen. Moments later, Grey looked up again to see Flynn and Cora talking. Immediately on alert, he stayed seated, uncertain what kind of conversation they were having. He’d hoped Flynn would keep his negative comments to himself. Based on his body language, and the way Cora’s expression went from neutral to pained, it was clear it was too much to ask of Flynn.

Grey interrupted Dare. “Hey, I’m going to go make sure everything’s okay in there.”

Dare’s gaze went to the kitchen and he sobered. “When it comes to Flynn, there’s a fine line between concerned big brother and bully.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll see you later.”

Dare nodded.

As Grey got up from his seat and strode toward the kitchen, his brain told him he ought to let Cora be. She was more than tough enough to handle anything thrown at her. She’d proven that many times over the years he’d known her.

This intense need to protect her was unnecessary, but he wasn’t about to ignore it either. Someone needed to show Flynn that Cora was welcome here, too.