25. Cora
25
CORA
T he house is thankfully quiet as I pad my way down the hall and through the kitchen. It feels weird sneaking around the house at night, but I was restless. Tonight has been incredible and emotional, and I am still reeling from the latter.
“Hope you’re not leavin’ on my account,” a soft voice says from the darkened kitchen. I gasp and jump, stubbing my toe on the leg of the couch.
“Dammit!” I hiss and Bristol laughs quietly.
“I’d say sorry, but I feel like that makes up for all the noise y’all were making.”
“Oh my gosh, I am so?—”
“I’m kidding.” She chuckles. “I don’t sleep much when Navy is gone. You’d think it would be the opposite, but I like having her close even if it does us both good to have some time apart.”
“Is she with your parents?” I ask awkwardly, realizing I am wearing only Talon’s shirt with my hair thrown up into a messy bun.
“Yeah, they’re both so good with her.” Bristol looks down at the mug in her hand and then back up at me. “Can I get you a cup?”
I want to say no.
But something about the way she’s sitting in the dark has me nodding and moving toward the cabinet. “I’ll get it.”
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“Restless,” I confirm. “Just needed some quiet.”
“And?”
“It’s just weird,” I admit. “I spent a lot of my adult life feeling one way about him, and now everything has changed.” I shrug. “I just need a minute to catch my breath.”
“He really cares about you.”
“I know, and I care about him too.” The mug warms my hands as I mull over how much to tell her. “There was a lot to unpack tonight and Talon was everything. He’s so much more than I imagined.”
I take a hasty sip to stop myself from unloading all my emotional baggage on this poor woman in front of me.
“Can I tell you something?” she asks quietly.
“Of course.”
“I go back and forth between wanting so desperately to be with someone and then hating myself for even considering it. I’m lonely, but the thought of being with anyone but Davis makes my skin crawl.” She sighs. “And then I find myself in this panicked state of what happens when one of my brothers finds someone and I have to do this all by myself. ”
The words hang between us, the magnitude of her raw honesty bringing tears to my eyes.
“I think whatever you’re feeling is valid. There’s no one way to grieve and there’s no denying that your loss is devastating.” Reaching across the table, I place my hand on hers. “I didn’t know Davis, and we’re just getting to know each other, but I can say with certainty that I know you can find your spark again. I hope you find the balance that lets you celebrate the life you had with him while still allowing yourself to find happiness.”
“It seems like a fantasy, honestly.” The words are a solemn whisper, but I don’t miss the way her eyes flash with hope too.
“Only you can know when it’s time.”
“I hope you’re around to see it.”
“Me too. And in terms of your brother—I know that you’ll never be alone. If anything, you’ll gain more people who love you and your daughter. My friend Aspen is smitten with her.”
“That’s good because Phoenix is all tied up in knots over her.”
“I know.” I grin behind my mug and we share a quiet laugh. “Oh hey, you should come with us to the book club at the library. It’s coming up soon. Nina Amore is the new librarian, and she’s trying to breathe life back into the place.”
“I don’t really have time to read,” she says with a little shrug.
“Then don’t. I’ll give you the highlights and you can just tag along.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I’ve heard that a lot lately, and I’m feeling good about my odds.”
“Well, since we’re sharing…” she says. “Hypothetically speaking,”—she raises an eyebrow and waits until I nod—“hypothetically, I did some digging and was able to identify your anonymous commenter and sent a cease and desist letter.” She grins. “I also sent a box of penis cookies, a colorful dildo in non- discreet packaging, and rigged their social media page with pop-up ads for porn and penis enlargement.”
I open my mouth and then close it as I let that sink in.
Wow.
“And you know who it was?”
“I do.”
“And you think they’ll stop?”
“Bullies only have power when we let them. And no one bullies my family.”
“I don’t want to ask, but I need to know who it was.”
Her expression is sad, apologetic, and I know before she even opens her mouth who it is.
“Your mother.”
I want to be surprised but I’m not. I just didn’t think she’d stoop to such a despicable level. Part of me wants to confront her, to finally find some closure, but the other part of me is thankful I don’t have to be involved.
She’d want the theatrics, and I just want to get on with my life.
“Thank you,” I say, swallowing down the emotion. “Thank you for taking care of it for me.”
Bristol’s smile is soft as she pushes back from the table and places her mug in the sink. “Goodnight, Cora. This was nice.”
“It was. Night,” I say belatedly as she disappears down the hall. I sit with my half-finished cup of tea, my earlier need to sneak out no longer pulsing in my veins. Bristol might have needed this kitchen confessional, but I had too. Maybe it’s because we don’t know each other that well that we were able to spill a few truths in the darkened room.
Truths that have my soul humming in a way I’ve never felt before.
Standing, I push in my chair and then wash the mugs, leaving them in the drying rack for the morning. Retracing my steps, I take a breath before easing Talon’s door open and closing it behind me.
“Are you all right?” he asks, his voice heavy with sleep.
“I couldn’t sleep. I talked to your sister a while in the kitchen.”
“Were you sneaking out?”
“What if I was?”
“I would thank her insomnia,” he jokes, but it’s strained probably for her sake and mine.
“That’s fair,” I admit as Talon pulls back the covers, allowing me to slide in next to him. “I just didn’t expect to like you.”
He chuckles, his chest vibrating as his arms wrap around me. “You really know how to stroke a man’s ego.”
“The only ego I’d like to stroke is yours,” I tease, my lips pressing a kiss to the column of his neck. “Also, that was me saying I like you.”
“I know.” His arms tighten around me. “I love you too.”
“That’s not what I said,” I protest weakly.
“I know, but it’s what you meant.”
“Must be tough being right all the time.”
His body stills as I prop myself up on my elbow to look him in the eye. My heart races with the admission, but all I see is adoration reflected back at me.
“You don’t need to say it right now. I don’t want you to feel like?—”
“There’s never a right time, Talon Banks, and if watermelon season has taught us anything, it’s that the simplest things can be the sweetest.”
“I’m thinkin’ about growing you a whole garden of the damn things for next year.”
“Next year, huh?” I murmur against his lips.
“And every year after.”
“It’s a good thing I love you or that would be awfully presumptuous.”
“Thank God for that.”