Chapter Forty
Nora
New York
The Holliston home rose up behind wrought iron and stone, a monument of old wealth that didn’t need to announce itself because it had been standing long enough to be unquestioned. Drew and Bella parked behind our car.
Once out of our car, Evan was a statue of forced calm. I could feel the minute vibration in his arm, the way his pulse was drumming against the sleeve of his blazer. I reached over, linking my hand with his.
Bella greeted me with a hug. “Just remember, Nora, we’re all nervous.”
I chuckled as I returned her hug. “Is that supposed to be reassuring?”
Drew shook Evan’s hand then came over to give me a warm hug. “Never thought this day would happen, but we’re here, and I’m sure it’ll get easier each time.”
Evan placed a hand on the small of my back and bent near my ear to say, “Don’t worry, if my mother shows up, he’ll forget all about how awkward it is to have you and Drew here.”
“Wow, way to hype up a night,” I joked.
The entry smelled of lemon oil and a history I didn’t share. Everything gleamed. The floors, the banisters, the long stretch of hallway that felt more like a gallery than a home. It was beautiful, but it didn’t invite you to sit down. It invited you to behave.
Gabe was already waiting. He stood near the dining room entrance, his posture so straight it looked painful. He looked like a man who had spent the last hour choosing exactly which mask to wear.
“Glad you could make it,” he said, his voice echoing slightly in the marble foyer.
Bella stepped forward first. She always had that quiet, iron-spined bravery. Gabe kissed her cheek, a brief, restrained brush, but I saw her eyes close for a fraction of a second.
Then came Drew. The air in the room seemed to vanish.
Gabe extended his hand, and for a heartbeat, the thirty-year war between our families felt like a physical wall between them.
Drew took it without hesitation. Firm. Steady.
No posturing, just two men acknowledging that the world had changed and there was no going back.
“Drew.”
“Mr. Holliston.”
Bella gave her father a pointed stare. When he didn’t seem bothered by it, she cocked an eyebrow and waited.
He cleared his throat. “Call me Gabe,” he muttered.
Bella smiled and exchanged a look with Evan.
My turn. Gabe offered his hand, but I didn’t want the formality.
I wanted to break the glass. I stepped in and hugged him.
He went rigid, his breath hitching as I breached the perimeter.
Then, slowly, his hand came up and patted my back twice before dropping away.
“Nora,” he said, sounding a little pained.
“Thank you for having us,” I replied softly.
Brady came rushing down the stairs. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Actually, you’re perfectly on time,” Evan said.
Hugs were exchanged all around, including one for me.
The dining room was a cathedral of mahogany and crystal. Gabe took the head, the captain of a ship that had been lost at sea for a long time. We filled in around him.
At the far end sat an empty place setting for Beth, Gabe’s ex-wife.
“Is Mom coming?” Evan asked.
Gabe reached for his wine, his fingers trembling just enough to make the crystal clink. He set it down without drinking. “I asked her, Evan. I told her it would mean a lot. To all of us.” He looked at the empty chair, his expression suddenly fragile. “That’s all I could do.”
I reached under the table, my fingers lacing through Evan’s, feeling the jagged edge of his hope. “That’s all anybody could ask,” I said gently, meeting Gabe’s eyes. He didn’t look away. For the first time, he let me see the exhaustion behind the empire, and I was grateful.
Good didn’t have to be perfect to still be good.
We were trying and that was something.
The silence that followed was suffocating. We were all staring at our water glasses as if they held the secrets to the universe. Then the doorbell rang. A soft, melodic chime that felt like a gunshot.
Gabe stood so fast he nearly knocked his chair over. “Excuse me.”
He disappeared, and we all leaned in instinctively. The tension thickened again, heavy and awkward, even though everyone was trying so hard to pretend it wasn’t there.
“Okay,” Brady whispered, his eyes wide. “If that is my mother, I might cry. If that’s Cody Burke, I am jumping out the window. Who is with me?”
“I’m with you,” Drew said, a rare, wicked glint in his eyes.
I looked at Drew, my voice soft but steady. “Dad will come around.”
“Well, we know it’s not Nora’s father out there . . .” Brady began.
Bella deadpanned, “Because there’s no screaming.”
A surprised burst of laughter moved around the table, short, a little shaky, but real.
Then we heard footsteps. Two sets. One heavy and deliberate, the other light, hesitant.
Gabe appeared first, his face transformed. He looked less guarded. Raw. And beside him stood Beth.
She was beautifully composed in a simple cream blouse, her smile small but her eyes were wide and uncertain. Gabe stepped aside so she could enter first. For a moment they stood there together, two people testing new ground.
Beth moved toward us, walking around the table like a quiet promise. She hugged Bella, then Drew, then Brady, holding him a moment longer. When she reached me she searched my face. “Nora Burke,” she whispered. “You have your mother’s light.” Then she hugged me tightly.
She moved on to hug Evan too before taking her seat at the far end.
For a long moment, nobody spoke. Silverware gleamed. The room seemed to hold its breath.
Beth looked around, her eyes glassy but bright. “It’s so great to have our family at one table again,” she said, her voice small but steady. “Even if it’s awkward at first, let’s make sure we do this again.”
Her words swept around the room like a soft breeze. Shoulders eased. Smiles grew less careful and more genuine. Brady passed the breadbasket without another joke. Evan’s hand brushed the back of mine in slow circles. Even Gabe’s posture relaxed a fraction as he looked at Beth.
The relief hit me then, physical and overwhelming. I leaned my head against Evan’s shoulder for a second. Conversation started again, quieter at first, then steadier, and this time it turned naturally toward the Harvest Glow Festival.
Brady said, “Dad, you have to attend. I hear you will be presented with a plaque.”
“For what?” Gabe asked.
I quickly added, “For being part of why Firebrook Valley water is clearer than it has ever been.”
Gabe frowned but murmured that he was happy to have had a positive effect on the area.
I didn’t like being anything but a hundred percent honest with Evan, but I also didn’t want to ruin the surprise of what we were really going to celebrate at that festival.
“You will be there, though, right, Dad?” Evan asked. Oddly more invested in his father receiving a plaque than I’d have thought he would be, but it was also nice to see them getting along better.
The feud was still out there, and old wounds still sat beneath the surface. But as I watched Gabe pour wine for Drew and saw Brady trying to teach Bella how to properly throw a bread roll at me, I realized something important.
This was an uncomfortable situation, but none of us were running from it.
And that gave me hope.