Chapter 36
N ora
By the time Jericho and I step outside, the air makes me feel like I’m stepping out onto a new world altogether—crisp and biting, making me pull my jacket tighter around myself.
The quiet is a stark contrast to the diner’s earlier chaos.
The morning’s sudden interrogation had been complete pandemonium, and I catch a glimpse of how Jericho is moving, as if he’s still trying to process everything that just went down in there.
I can’t blame him; the wild whirlwind of my family alone would drive anyone up the wall. But then Jake showed up, turning everything on its head with his surprise visit. I didn’t know he was going to be back in town. That was a lot for any one person to handle—and not just because of Jake.
Seeing him with Olivia and Brodie—a whole little family together—was something else entirely.
He’d sent me pictures, sure, but meeting his wife and kid in person felt different; it stirred something unexpected within me.
Watching Jericho interact with Brodie tugged at my heartstrings in ways I hadn’t anticipated, planting seeds of longing that made me question if it was too soon for such feelings to surface.
Olivia’s straightforward warmth acted as a perfect antidote to Jake’s more complicated nature. She allows him to just be himself, and it’s clear he’s happier than I’ve ever seen him before. And Brodie—he’s absolutely precious, radiating a sleepy adorableness that wins over everyone in the room.
The chaos of our meeting—the way laughter piled on top of noise—was just what we’re used to.
As soon as the diner gets busy, hell breaks loose, and today felt like that on steroids.
It’s why Moons’ Diner is the heart of everything here—nothing stays quiet or secret for long—and that’s always been expected and familiar…
except maybe for Jericho. He looks more than just overwhelmed.
There’s a wariness about him as if he’s bracing for something ominous lurking around the corner.
My family’s teasing felt like a rite of passage into my world, but I didn’t think he’d take it so seriously.
I can tell it got under his skin, and I wonder what he really discussed with Jake.
As we walk together, I try to gauge where his head’s at, aware that all this—the friends, the noise—is incongruous to the careful solitude he thrives in.
I probably should have eased him into it more gently, but that’s not how things work around here.
He hasn’t said much since we left. His silence rings louder than any clamor inside Moons’.
Knowing Jericho well enough now lets me sense that Jake’s easy immersion only adds layers to his confusion about where he stands among us—wondering if there’s always going to be part of my past that makes him feel like an outsider here too.
But that’s not how I see it—I want so badly for him to believe that there’s space for him without hesitation.
His stride remains sure despite uncertainty clouding his piercing eyes.
It takes a moment before my hand finds his.
Squeezing it gently feels instinctual as if I’m silently offering reassurance where words might fail us both right now.
He walks beside me lost in thought while I wait patiently for him to return to me at his own pace.
We turn down Main Street toward the corner market.
Jericho says he needs to grab a few things—a piece of glass he ordered for the three-season porch at the back of his house he’s restoring.
Which is a bit odd if I’m honest; the amount of snow at the back nearly covers the windows itself, so I’m unsure how he’s planning to do that without freezing to death. But I agree to tag along.
“The weather is so nice,” he says when we head into the store, and I just laugh because the weather is disgusting.
Neither of us acknowledge it out loud, but we both know we’re avoiding the inevitable goodbye. Maybe this is why we choose the long way of walking to the store instead of driving.
Halfway back to the car, we pause at the edge of a crosswalk as a car pulls out of the alley across the street.
My blood goes cold. Dick. Of course it’s him. And I hate my reaction to him—when did I become so afraid of him just showing his mug?
Jericho sees him a second after I do. He doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t move. Just watches. He looks like a snake ready to strike—I don’t think he’s blinked once.
Dick unfastens his seatbelt and pulls the door open, but then he makes the mistake of looking up.
I see the exact moment he sees us—and does the only thing a coward would do.
He drops his gaze, closes the door, and starts the engine like he suddenly has something important to do on the other side of the planet.
After a quick glance in our direction, he takes off, spraying snow from under his tires. Like the last fuck you to us.
I feel Jericho relax beside me. He doesn’t say anything, but I know him by now. Dick’s presence physically does something to him .
His jaw is still hard, and I can hear the sound of him grinding his teeth behind the sudden quiet of the street.
“You okay?” I ask.
He finally speaks, voice low and flat. “Never again, Nora.”
“What?” I ask, genuinely not understanding him.
He slowly turns his head toward me. “Never be in the same room with him again.”
My first reaction is to laugh at the absurdity of his request, but my smile quickly drops when I realize he’s not joking.
“I don’t think that’s possible.” I try laughing it off, but his face remains serious.
Leaning closer to me, he whispers. “Never again, Nora. Or he won’t be walking out of that room.”
Swallowing the fear from his cold promise, I take a step backward.
“I hate to say it but you’re scaring me right now.”
He exhales loudly and straightens his back. “I’m sorry.” He scratches the back of his head. “It’s not you I’m mad at. It’s him.”
“I know,” I reply truthfully. “But I don’t like violence, Jericho. You said it yourself. In any form.”
My eyes dart between his. His neck moves with a hard swallow as his gaze drops to the ground like a poor puppy who’s been abused.
“Just try to avoid him,” he mumbles still not looking at me. “Please.”
When I don’t respond, he finally lifts up his eyes to meet mine.
“Please,” he repeats, and it sounds different now.
It’s obvious that me not being around my ex is important, but I don’t exactly know why.
The intensity of Jericho’s—dare I say—hate toward him is unexplainable.
Since the moment I met him, I have seen him from only one side.
The good one. I never realized he also has this one. Dark, cold, and menacing.
All the things I don’t do anymore .
“Nora. Can you do it for me?”
“Why?”
He swallows again. “Because I’ll do something I’ll regret. And I really, really can’t afford it now.”
I feel my brows drawing together. “Can’t afford what?”
He looks troubled as he bites the inside of his cheek. His eyes are focused on my face when he opens his mouth?—
“Nora! Jericho! Just the people I needed to see.” Jonah’s voice comes from behind us, interrupting whatever Jericho wanted to say.
I like Jonah, I really do, but right now I’m ready to shove his face into the pile of snow conveniently located to our right.
“You did?” Jericho easily jumps into conversation with the widest smile I’ve ever seen on him. The man is beaming , and Jericho doesn’t beam.
“Yes!” Jonah coos, coming closer. “Look at you two! I knew you’d get along.” With a wink, he gives Jericho’s shoulder an easy push. “And all your bitching was for nothing.”
“Bitching?” I ask Jericho with a glare, waiting for him to elaborate.
“No bitching,” Jericho replies too fast. “Jonah must have misread my messages.”
“Did I?” Jonah sounds confused, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I don’t thi?—”
“Yes, misread,” Jericho repeats more firmly, making Jonah pause and instantly brighten his face.
“Yes, misread.” He laughs, pushing the phone back into his pocket. “I must have been thinking of someone else.”
Glaring between the two of them, I finally accept the idea that I’ll never hear the truth and change the topic. “What are you doing here today? The roads suck.”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing here.” He winces. “Got stuck here yesterday evening, so had to stay at one of the properties I’m selling. You guys don’t have any hotels around here.” His face turns snobby.
“Like you do.” I level him with a stare.
“We do.” He smiles back. “Dancing Pony. You forgot?”
“The bed and breakfast that never has room?” I ask with a raised brow.
He laughs. “Fair point. But yeah, I had to stay in the house down the road.” He points toward Cedar Street which is a big road off Main Street. “Right there. And now I’m hungry. I’ve heard there’s a new place in town.”
Jericho’s and my faces must have turned sour because Jonah lets out a loud cackle. “O-kay, I won’t go there. I guess I’ll freeze my ass off walking to the diner.”
“A very wise choice,” I confirm, giving his shoulder a gentle pat. “Grandma and Cheryl might still be there if you hurry. It’s not easy to drag Grandma from that place—every table wants to say hi to the original Moon.”
Jonah’s face brightens even more. “Great! Maybe Theodora will spike my cocoa.”
“Theodora?” Jericho asks.
“My grandma’s name.” Seeing his confusion, I laugh. “You didn’t think her name was actually Moon, did you?”
We say goodbye to Jonah, and right before he walks away, Jericho calls out his name.
“By the way, the bum who used to live in my house was just in there too.”
“Really?” Tiny wrinkles appear in the corners of Jonah’s eyes. “Well, let me go find and say hi to him.”
We watch him disappear down the street before we continue our walk back to the car.