Cora shrugged. “That first year after we… Well, your mom called me on my birthday. So, I called her on Mother’s Day like I normally would. I guess we just kept on with the traditions.” She slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “She never once gave me an update on you. And from your surprise, I gather she never told you anything about me, either.”
Grey shook his head. “Not a word.” He looked like he wanted to say more.
She glanced at the hallway behind them and lowered her voice. “I really hope my being here doesn’t mess anything up for her. I know she’s excited to have everyone together under the same roof. The last thing I want is to ruin that for her.”
“Even after we separated, and Flynn would blame you for everything, Mom would always put him in his place. You’re the daughter she never had, Cora. I don’t think she’d feel the family was complete if you weren’t here.”
His words brought tears to Cora’s eyes. It meant the world to her that Maria had continued to keep in touch with her through the years. She nodded but didn’t trust her voice to respond.
For several moments, neither of them said a word. There was a time when Cora could’ve watched Grey like this and known what he was thinking. But things had changed. He’d changed.
Grey cleared his throat and motioned toward the stairs. “Shall we?”
She gave a nod and led the way, trying her best to ignore the fact that he was right behind her as they descended. Her attention went to a nearby window where fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky to complete the perfect winter scene. At least it was a gentle snow and nothing like the blizzard from yesterday. It did not, however, inspire Cora to go out in the cold again. In fact, they’d be lucky to get her out of the cabin when it came time to drive to the airport.
Cora stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched Zac and Dare wrestle on the rug. Little Emma toddled over and interrupted the match by diving on top of her big brother.
Grey chuckled. “That girl’s going to be tough when she gets older.”
Cora watched them with fascination and a little envy. As an only child who grew up isolated and alone most of the time, she’d often longed for a sibling to play with. Even to fight with.
They’d barely made it across the living room when Maria snagged each of their arms and pulled them in the direction of the kitchen. “When Grandpa had reserved this cabin, he also paid for the fridge to be stocked. Now, the resort was going to cater dinner last night but couldn’t get here because of the storm. There’s plenty of sandwich stuff and snacks to last us for several days, though.” She motioned to the large island in the middle of the rustic kitchen. “Help yourselves. Once you have your plates made, you should go sit by the fire and warm up.”
Apparently, once sandwich fixings were brought out, other people felt the need for something to eat. Flynn and Dare were both busy piling meats and cheeses on sandwich buns. It was interesting to see the three brothers in one room together. Flynn and Grey were both tall but favored their mother with their lighter hair and green eyes. Even though it was clear they were brothers, all similarities in personality ended there.
On the other hand, Dare must look more like their father with dark hair and brown eyes and more average in height.
Cora had spent years watching their family dynamics. Flynn was very much the protective, and sometimes bossy, older brother while Grey and Dare had always been close.
Flynn picked up two plates full of food. “I’m going to take these out and eat with Abby while the kids play. Zac ate earlier, although he’ll probably still pick food off my plate.” He spoke to Dare and Grey, never once meeting Cora’s eyes. “The boy never stops eating.” With a half wave, he left the kitchen.
Cora chose to focus on her own plate and crafting a meal that was sure to keep her stomach happy for a while.
“Still a fan of sandwiches, I see.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of Grey’s voice. “A good sandwich like this? Absolutely.”
Dare chuckled from the other side of the island. “Is there such a thing as a bad sandwich?”
“Yes.” She held hers up to show it off. “But this isn’t one of them.”
Dare gave her a nod of approval. “I can’t argue with you there.”
Cora smiled, but she meant what she said. There were years growing up when she had literally nothing but peanut butter sandwiches. It’s what her parents sent her to school with. It’s typically all she was fed for dinner, too. In fact, if she got jelly on her sandwich, it was a luxury.
To this day, Cora couldn’t stand the flavor of peanut butter no matter what it was combined with.
When she was a child, she’d assumed that was all her parents could afford. Much later, she discovered that it was simply what her parents fed her to save money, because they ate much differently themselves.
There were many foods she’d never had until she’d started eating meals with Grey’s family.
She pushed her depressing thoughts aside as she added some chips to her plate and went to sit on the hearth with her back to the flames. The warmth seeped through her sweater, and she sighed with contentment.
Soon, Grey and Dare joined her. The brothers talked about some of their favorite winter memories growing up. They laughed about the year Dare had licked a frozen metal post just to prove his tongue really would stick to it. And the time they’d gotten the rare two inches of snow in San Antonio. Flynn had spent an hour trying to make a little snowman only to have Grey run into it with his bicycle when it slid on a patch of ice.
Grey cringed. “I really did feel bad about that.”
“You should have, because I had to hear about it all day from Flynn,” Maria said as she approached them with Emma in her arms. She patted her salt and pepper hair with her free hand. “It’s a wonder you three boys haven’t stripped every bit of color from my hair years ago.”
