Chapter Thirty-One
Evan
The ride from the trailhead to the Burke ranch felt longer than the descent down the mountain.
Cody drove with his hands at ten and two, his knuckles white against the leather of the steering wheel. He stared at the dark road as if he were trying to outrun a ghost. Nora sat shotgun, still covered in mountain dirt and the salt of her own tears, her hand resting palm-up on the center console.
Security followed us in a second vehicle, their headlights a constant, pulsing reminder that Cody hadn’t taken any chances tonight. He’d been ready for anything. I couldn’t blame him for that.
The house came into view, every window blazing with light. It didn’t look like a home; it looked like a fortress under siege. Floodlights washed the stone facade in a cold, unforgiving white. Two more security men stood at the front steps, nodding once as Cody pulled the SUV to a stop.
What had he been afraid was involved in Nora being missing? Of all the things I’d imagined, I was beginning to see that Cody’s fears ran deeper.
He killed the engine, and the silence that rushed in was deafening. He stayed behind the wheel a beat longer than the rest of us—shoulders hunched, a man trying to steel himself to face the daughter he’d almost lost to the same mountain that took his wife.
Nora left the car first and waved for me to follow her inside. It felt wrong to leave Cody where he was, but I wasn’t about to rush him.
Inside, photos lined the hallway. Nora on Sunny. Drew in his graduation gown. Celia—vibrant and smiling in the sun. There were no photos of Cody. It was as if he only existed in the reflection of the people he loved.
Drew was waiting in the living room, standing by the fireplace with his arms crossed.
He looked exhausted, but his eyes were sharp.
Bella stood beside him, her posture perfect, her face an unreadable mask of composure.
She was our father’s daughter through and through—raised to be the calm in the center of a hurricane.
She met my gaze for a heartbeat. No smile. Just a silent acknowledgement.
Nora didn’t hesitate. She walked straight to the center of the room, her fingers still laced through mine. No hiding anymore.
Drew stepped forward and gave his sister a long hug. Bella hesitated then did the same.
Drew said, “This wasn’t how I imagined us returning.”
Nora made a pained face as she took my hand again. “On a positive note, Dad has moved past being angry with you to being upset with me.”
“Yeah,” Drew acknowledged. “Hey, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too,” she said softly.
“Evan,” Drew said, “I heard what you did and . . . whatever you need, know that you have my full support.”
Evan gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m confident your father will come around. Maybe not tonight. I imagine he’s shaken up. But I’m willing to work with whatever he brings to the table. Nora with it.”
Bella smiled, hugged Drew and said, “Look at my little brother, all grown up, and snagging a Burke of his own.”
Drew laughed. “Well, we are irresistible.”
Nora smiled. “Are we the problem?”
I hugged her and murmured. “Always.”
The tone of the room shifted when Cody entered the space. We stayed where we were, but all turned to face him. I could only imagine what his inner dialogue was as he encountered the reality that both of his children had fallen in love with the offspring of the man he hated.
“Bella. Evan. I’d like a moment alone with my children.”
Nora moved closer to me.
Drew put his arm around Bella. “Dad, that’s not going to happen.”
Cody’s shoulders tightened. “This is my house—”
Nora cut in. “I love you, Dad,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but it filled every corner of that high-ceilinged room. “And I always will. But it’s time for me to move out.”
Cody’s jaw flexed. In the harsh light of the living room, he looked smaller than he had a moment ago. Older. “You’re leaving? For where? Back to the city?”
Nora didn’t flinch. “No, I’m staying here, just not here.
Not in this house. It’s time for me to make a life of my own.
You’ll still see me all the time. There’s only one way you could lose me, Dad.
And you know exactly what it is. If you choose that path, I’m done.
But I’m hoping—really hoping—you won’t.”
The atmospheric pressure in the room spiked.
Was Nora referencing that Cody might not approve of us being together?
It felt like there was more going on. The old version of me—the fixer, the man who’d spent his life trying to keep his mother from crying—wanted to step forward.
I wanted to offer to buy Nora a house, but she didn’t need my money.
She also didn’t need me to save her from her father. She was stating her boundaries like I had with my own father. And it was a beautiful thing to witness.
She wasn’t clinging to my hand; she was holding it. Her chin was set, and there was a new, hard-won confidence in her eyes. The mountain hadn’t broken her; it had forged her.
I squeezed her hand again. I’m here. I trust you. You don’t need me to say a word.
Her eyes flicked to mine, and the smallest smile touched her lips. She understood. She knew I was finally seeing her.
“I’m buying a place in Firebrook Valley,” she told Cody, turning back to him. “Something simple. I want to bring Sunny and Untouchable with me. And for now, I’m going to work at Mabel’s.”
Cody let out a sound—half-scoff, half-choke. “Serving coffee and cookies? That’s your life plan? You have a legacy, Nora. You have a name to live up to.”
Nora looked at me, then back to her father, her expression full of a pity that must have stung worse than anger. “If you think Mabel’s is only about coffee and cookies, you’ve missed more than I could begin to explain to you.”
Drew watched the exchange, his eyes moving from Nora to me. He gave one slow, deliberate nod. It was more than approval; it was a passing of the torch.
Cody looked at his son, then at his daughter. His gaze snagged on her, the way she stood there without flinching. Something in his expression shifted. For a fraction of a second, it looked like he might step forward.
Like he might hug her.
The moment passed.
The silence stretched until it felt like it might snap.
“Do what you want,” Cody said finally, his voice flat and drained of its fire. “You’re going to anyway.”
“You’re right,” Nora said. “I’m not asking for your permission. But who we are to each other moving forward? That’s your decision.”
Cody stared at her for another long second, searching for the daughter who used to hide in the barn. He didn’t find her. He turned and walked out of the room, the door closing with a soft, final click that echoed louder than a slam.
The air in the room finally exhaled.
Drew crossed the rug in three strides and pulled Nora into a hug so tight it looked like he was trying to merge their heartbeats.
“I’m proud of you, Little Nora,” he whispered.
She squeezed him back, her eyes closed. “I’m proud of you too.”
When she stepped back, she turned toward Bella and opened her arms. “I know we don’t know each other well yet,” Nora said, “but I’ve always wanted a sister.”
I saw the flash of hesitation in Bella’s eyes—the Holliston reflex to stay guarded—and then it vanished. She stepped into the hug, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Me too. Brothers are such a pain.”
Drew looked at me over Nora’s shoulder. He didn’t say a word, but the slight lift of his chin said everything: Thank you for finding her. Thank you for being the man she needs.
I nodded back, my throat closing up.
Nora came back to my side, her hand finding mine again. I closed my fingers around hers, anchoring us both in the center of the room.
I had to blink hard to keep my own vision clear. It was a cocktail of pride and a growing, beautiful hope. Maybe the next generation didn’t have to keep bleeding. We could be the ones to stop the war.
From that day forward, we were a team.
Not just Nora and me, but Drew, Bella, Nora and me, and Brady. “Where’s Brady?”
“Someone had to stay with Dad,” Bella said quietly. “And he volunteered.”
“Better him than me,” I joked.
And we all laughed because a little shared trauma goes a long way comedy wise.