Chapter 24
Jordan
We should get ready,” Nora says, crawling on top of me, her hands trailing down my torso. The gray light of dawn fills the room, covering her smooth skin in a soft amber glow.
Mirroring her, I slide a finger down the thin space between her breasts. “I’m suddenly in the mood for something else.”
“We have plans,” she informs me.
“Seems to me like your body is advocating for a change of plans.”
“Mmm.” She shifts her hips over me, teasing me into wanting more than a beautiful view. “Under normal circumstances, you’d be right, but…”
“We have plans,” I repeat as my gaze travels from her face down to her navel, committing the view to memory. She’s tousled and sleepy-eyed from an active night and looking at me with a new affection. One I never thought I’d see.
“You’re quite the devoted brother.” Moving to her hands and knees, she plants a kiss on my lips for incentive, but it only makes me crave staying put more. I pull her down and roll, pinning her under my arm and good leg.
I cover her squeal with my mouth until her body stops resisting and starts writhing with need.
“We can spare twenty minutes,” she concedes.
“Plenty of time for what I want to do to you.”
◆◆◆
It took three tries, but we eventually made it into the car to start the five-and-a-half-hour trip to New York City. But an hour in, Nora turns off I-95 and heads west.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“A planned detour.” She takes my hand for the first time in our new, actual relationship, and I feel like a teenager again. Back when a touch from a girl felt more like heat from a flame. When simple moments got the heart pumping, not only from the physical connection but from knowing that person chose you. A time when casual gestures meant so much more.
“Detour to where?”
“Cave exploring in a non-dangerous, wheelchair accessible fashion.”
I laugh, trying to remember her creative replacement for the activity, but nothing comes to mind. “Tell me.”
“Nope. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Another hour later, we pull into the parking lot at Shenandoah Caverns.
“Clever,” I say, and lean over the middle console to offer a kiss. “I love this.”
“Good. Let’s get you out of here and go exploring.”
“Yes. My back is killing me.”
“Is that from the car ride or last night?” Her wink reminds me of another night I’ll never forget, and it sends a shiver down to my mid-section.
“Definitely the car. You, my darling, made every inch of me feel like a million bucks.”
“Damn right.” She offers her lips again, and I’m happy to oblige.
After a few minutes of our own gratifying version exploration, we get around to purchasing tickets to enter the caverns.
For the entire tour, Nora stays connected to me—her hand on my shoulder, on the back of my neck, or in mine. It’s a new affectionate side I’m loving and praying continues around our friends and family.
“Did you tell Josie when we’d arrive?” Nora asks later as she backs out of the parking space.
“I didn’t tell her we were coming at all.”
“What?” She slams on the brakes to glare at me.
“I wanted to surprise her and not put any pressure on us.”
“You are too smart for your own good.” Her smile brightens her face and something inside me.
“Is that a turn on?”
“Oh, yeah.”
On the way out of the parking lot, she turns right instead of left to head back toward the highway.
“Are you so turned on that you’re on a search for a place to accomplish number six on the list?” I wiggle my brow at her, but she doesn’t laugh off the question or change the subject.
Instead, her full pink lips tip up into a grin. “I may know a place we can try.”
“Nora Jean Roan Jolene Taylor, you just made my year.”
“Don’t go getting excited yet. It may not be a perfect spot.”
“Every minute I spend with you is perfect.” Raising our intertwined hands, I kiss the back of hers. “And ever since writing it down, I’ve been excited to cross it off with you.”
“You remember making the list?”
“I do. And thinking about you.”
“Positively?” she asks with a timid smile.
“Positively, sensually, longingly, lovingly.”
“Good.”
Soon, she turns off the main road, takes another right, and another until we’re heading down what looks like an old private driveway. The long, bumpy dirt road is littered with potholes. Weeds and grass, taller than the car, line the sides and brush against the doors.
“I’m starting to worry that you’re taking me to a serial killer’s house, and I’ll have to whip out some of my training to protect us.”
“Even in your condition, I have full faith you can take him.”
“How sweet.”
She lets out a laugh before a deep pothole rocks the car and a dilapidated house with white, wide-plank siding and a crooked porch comes into view.
“Seriously, what is this place?” I ask, taking in the surrounding scene—overgrown shrubbery, boarded windows, peeling paint, a rusted, bent trampoline, and large trees in the front and back yards with fallen branches littering the ground underneath.
When Nora doesn’t answer, I glance her way. Her eyes are unfocused and glossy, locked on something in the distance as if reliving memories.
“This is my childhood home. I have many wonderful memories here, but equally as many depressing ones.”
“Why did you want to come?”
She shrugs and looks out the driver’s side window for a bit before answering. “I don’t know. It seemed harmless a few minutes ago—a private way to complete another one of your wishes.”
“Does your mom still own this?”
“Yes. It was originally my grandparents’…on my dad’s side. He inherited it, and Mom received it in the divorce settlement, mainly because she had custody of me, and it was the only home I knew.” She sighs. “Plus, my dad was the one who walked away.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
“No. Never heard from him again. Or my first stepfather.”
I can’t imagine not having my parents on my side growing up. They would have done anything for me and Josie, including working multiple jobs to ensure we never went hungry and had clothes we were proud to wear. When they were around, they made sure we knew how much they loved us. We played games, ate meals together, and made memories I’ll always cherish. Nora had only a few wonderful memories from her childhood, all punctuated with abandonment and heartbreak.
“No wonder you hate relationships,” I empathize.
“I wish the revolving door of temporary fathers would have made me want the opposite. But ironically, it turned me into what I hate most about my mother.”
It takes all of one second to assemble a convincing objection, but she squeezes my hand to stop me from voicing it.
“She can’t commit to one guy for very long and when she does, it’s never a genuine commitment. She jumps from one bed to the next, chases pleasure, and runs away when maintaining her happiness requires a little effort. The ironic part is she has no clue what makes her happy. She’s so terrified of being abandoned that she drives people away before they can do just that. It’s maddening.”
“Do you believe that happened to us?”
“In a way. For one, the merry-go-round of lovers my mother had messed with my view of relationships. The few good ones she somehow attracted in the beginning treated us both well, and I got attached.”
“And you felt abandoned when they left.”
She grins in agreement. “When I was young, I didn’t understand why. I didn’t realize my mother was sabotaging everything until I got older. At some point, she switched to men that were just as crazy and fickle as her.” She pauses, and I wait for her to collect her thoughts. “The front door used to be painted a bright yellow. I still can’t see that color without thinking about the nightmare this house became.”
Air hitches in my lungs. I hadn’t thought about the horrific attacks she endured happening here. With her mother’s lifestyle, I assumed they’d moved around. An ignorant error. “Nora, we should go. You’ve been through enough here.”
“No. I didn’t realize how much I needed to let all this go until I saw it.”
“Do you want to go inside? Is it safe?”
“Probably not, especially for you.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you go in there and through this alone.”
At the declaration, tears fill her eyes, poised to spill at any moment, so I continue before she sees how her pain chokes me.
“I will always have your back. When you have mountains to climb, I want to hold your rope. When the weight of the world feels too heavy, I’ll carry a load. When you need to cry…”
Her shoulders shutter as tears fall and coat her cheeks.
“Cry in my arms,” I finish before a sob burst from her throat.
Throwing open the driver’s side door, she jumps out. I watch her jog around the hood and turn toward my side, her hand clasped over her mouth. I swing open my door, and she sits on my lap, her arms locking around my neck with her face buried in my shoulder.
“Let it out, baby. I’m here.”
Rocking her trembling body, I run a hand over her hair. As she lets the hurt melt away, I feel it seeping into my bones and becoming mine.
“You’re so strong, Nora. However you want to do this, you can let go and find happiness. And I’ll be by your side helping you search for it.”
She sniffs and sits up, her red, puffy eyes falling to mine. I brush back the hair stuck to her wet cheek and tuck it around her ear.
“I love you,” she says softly, and I forget to breathe.
She’s never said those words to me, nothing even close, and my own eyes burn from threatening tears. Before I can respond or jumpstart my heart, she presses her lips to mine. Love pours through her body and the fingers framing my face. Whatever I have to do, I’m going to give this woman the world.
“Nora,” I manage with a shredded exhale, and gently nudge her shoulders to add some space between us. I need to see her and ensure her confession is as true as it feels.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she says. “It’s not untamed emotion from being here or some other passing sensation making me say it. I’ve loved you always. I just wouldn’t let myself admit it or act on it for fear of losing you. But that’s exactly what happened, anyway. I pushed you out the door before you could do it yourself…just like my mother. And I’m sorry.”
A lone tear gathers on her lid and spills over. “I pretended not to care, so it would be easier for you to do exactly what I thought I wanted, but it shredded me.”
“That’s in the past. This is what I want.” I wave a finger between us. “Us with no walls or fears or hidden feelings holding us back.”
“I know.” She combs her fingers through my hair. “It’s what I want, too. More than anything.”
Drawing her close, I savor this moment, this woman, and our mutual love until she releases me and sits back.
“But to destroy some of those walls for good, I need to face a few things first.”
“Need an ax?” I joke to make her smile.
She obliges with a snort. “I might.”
“Come on.” My palm taps her tight, jean-clad ass to get her moving. “I bet we can find something to help you smash those walls to dust.”
“Now, that’s an idea I can get behind.” She helps me to my feet. When I’m stable, she wraps both arms around my waist, and leans against me, needing the connection. “Afterward, I thought we could check out that tree over there.” She points to one in the distance. “It looks mighty sturdy. Maybe you can show me what number six is all about.”
“Whatever you want, my love.”
“Mmm. I like the sound of that,” she says, looking up at me, her eyes soft and admiring.
“What? Giving you whatever—”
“No. I like the way you said my love.”
“Well, get used to it. I plan on saying it a lot.”