“Are you telling me there are no sparks this weekend? No interest at all between the two of you?” Dare’s voice sounded dubious. “I find that very hard to believe. I’m pretty sure Grandpa had the two of you in mind when he concocted this whole weekend.”
Grey would find this whole thing amusing if it didn’t center around him and his lack of a marriage. Grandpa had been an old romantic, and Dare had certainly inherited that trait. If Dare ever met the right woman and put his mind to it, he would have no trouble wooing her. “Or maybe Grandpa was hoping to smooth things over between the two of us and Flynn.”
“Well, yeah, that too.” Dare gave him a confident grin. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“We both went our separate ways. Five years is a long time, Dare, and if you or Grandpa thought that a weekend would change that, you are seriously reaching.”
Dare didn’t look convinced. “Well, that works out pretty well for me.”
“How do you figure?”
He put a hand to his chest then pointed to the wall between their room and Cora’s. “Come on, Grey. A smart blonde who’s dedicated enough to go back to school to pursue a career? She’s totally my type. And now that we’re both single and unattached, the timing could be right.”
Grey pushed himself off the couch and stood toe-to-toe with Dare. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking Flynn’s the only one I could get in a fistfight with.” They’d only had one, and it was back in their teen years. Their family didn’t let them forget it, though.
Dare put a hand on Grey’s clenched fish and pushed it down. “Easy, boy.” He laughed.
Grey seriously considered punching him anyway. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Maybe you should think about whether you object to the idea of my dating Cora because I’m your brother, or if it’s because you’ve still got the hots for her and won’t admit it.” Dare whistled as he strutted to one of the beds and flopped onto his back.
He wasn’t sure what annoyed him more: That Dare had baited him into responding, or that he was partially right.
Dare spoke again from the bed. “Maybe all of this is God’s way of giving you two a second chance.”
Chapter Nine
When Cora woke the next morning, the air in her room was cool. She turned her head to see that the fire had gone out at some point during the night. She’d had every intention of waking up and adding a log or two, but apparently sleep had been more important. She didn’t think she’d moved all night.
Now that she was warm under the covers, she hesitated to break that bubble by getting up. In fact, if her book had been within reach and not back in her suitcase, she might have reached for that and not bothered to get up for breakfast.
It was already light outside. Curiosity finally got the better of her, and she reached for her watch on the wide table. It was after eight? Wow, she must’ve been tired. She listened intently but heard nothing from the hallway outside of her room. Either everyone else was sleeping in as well, or they were downstairs.
The lyrics to Out of Eden’s song, “Lovely Day,” played through her mind. “Okay, God. Yesterday was a bit of a beating. Any chance You could ease up on us a bit today?” No response, not that she’d necessarily expected one. It always seemed like she got the answers to her questions in some of the strangest ways.
She was more worried about dealing with Flynn if he kept pushing her today. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin this weekend for Maria or the others. “Please give me an extra dose of patience today. I think I’m going to need it.”
The promise of pastries finally drove Cora out of bed. She wasn’t about to jump into the shower with only cold water available, but she did use a washcloth as a sort of sponge bath, which was bad enough.
Once she was cleaned up and dressed, she headed downstairs while singing the lyrics from the same song to herself.
Cora expected to see almost everyone, but only Abby and Emma were sitting on the couch. “Wow, I figured I was the last one to wake up.”
Abby smiled as she held Emma on her lap. “Mom just went upstairs again to change. Dare and Grey went outside to get more firewood. Poor Flynn is probably still trying to wrestle Zac into some clean clothes.” She rolled her eyes good naturedly. “Our son would prefer to be a nudist if it were up to him.”
Cora laughed hard at that. “I imagine keeping him clothed can be a challenge at times, then.”
“Definitely.” Abby had cut up a donut and was handing bite-sized pieces to Emma. “I’m really glad I finally got the chance to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of different things…” She paused and started over. “I’m a big fan of drawing my own conclusions.”
Cora appreciated that. “It can’t be easy. There’s years of history and a lot of hurt feelings. Sometimes it all seems muddled to me, and I lived through it.” Emma walked over to Cora and put a chubby hand on her knee. Cora smiled at her and was rewarded with one in return. “I’m glad to meet you as well. And your children. They both seem like sweethearts.”
“Thank you.”
The women smiled at each other, and Cora thought that, in another time and place, they might be friends.
Emma continued to smile up at Cora and finally lifted her arms as though she wanted to be picked up. Cora glanced at Abby. “Is it okay?”
“Sure. Emma’s entire life is a battle between wanting to be cuddled, and the need to run at top speed. You’re looking at the lull before the sugar high hits.”
