Page 20 of I Still Do

When Grandpa Jackson heard that Cora had never been camping in her life, he knew they had to change that. Their church organized a family campout every summer, and Grey invited her to come along. He never had to worry about whether she’d do okay without the many comforts of home. The poor girl had just been excited to get away from her parents.

She’d taken everything in from how to build a fire to roasting marshmallows over it.

The memory of kissing away a bit of sticky marshmallow from the corner of her mouth flooded his mind.

With the way she was staring into the building flames with a faraway look, he wondered if she was remembering the same thing.

“It was really nice of your mom and Grandpa Jackson to include me as much as they did. I’ve always appreciated that.” She rubbed her hands together in front of the fire, clearly enjoying the warmth that emanated from the flames.

“What’s going on with your parents now?”

She shrugged. “They’re still together in a very dysfunctional marriage. He’s gone half the time, but I don’t think she really cares. They still like to throw it in my face that I couldn’t hold my marriage together while theirs is still successful. Well, their definition of successful, anyway.” Cora glanced at him with a cringe. “Sorry.”

He held a hand up to let her know he hadn’t taken offense. It didn’t surprise him at all that her parents had rubbed Cora’s nose in it.

“Anyway, they still live in San Antonio. I think it’s been over a year since the last time I saw them, and sadly, that’s okay with me.”

“Putting space between you and the two of them is good.” Grey had always felt they had a toxic effect on Cora. The few times he had been around her parents had left him feeling helpless and angry about the way they treated her. “In my opinion, the kind of relationship your parents have isn’t healthy, regardless of whether they are married or not.”

“I agree with you.” Cora’s hands must have warmed up enough because she let them fall to her knees. “But it does sting a little, you know?” She gave him a sideways look. “There were only a handful of things I was determined to do better than my parents, and marriage was one of them.”

“Well, it wasn’t just you.” Now that the fire was burning steadily, Grey was able to relax more. His arm rested against hers. She didn’t shift away and neither did he. He didn’t want to.

For now, he wanted to steer their conversation back to a simpler time. “We did have a lot of fun back in the day.”

“We sure did.” Cora’s voice sounded wistful. “I miss it.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” He paused. “I miss us. The way it used to be between us.”

She let her head tilt a little to rest lightly against his upper arm. She said nothing, but her action spoke of a similar feeling of loss.

Grey had been convinced that keeping his distance after the divorce was the smart thing to do. Maybe it was—in the beginning.

Now? Sitting here with Cora felt like all kinds of right.

~*~

Cora’s heart pounded a warning as she leaned into Grey’s arm. Seriously, this was one of the stupidest things she could be doing right now. Yet, the intense feeling of security coupled with the overwhelming sense of nostalgia meant the last thing she wanted to do was move.

She’d spent months—years—moving past all of this. She’d left Grey and their love behind. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d done it.

This right here felt like a giant step backwards. A step she wasn’t willing to take, no matter how temping it might be. Besides, sitting together in the dark out of necessity given the circumstance didn’t exactly create the perfect get-back-together scenario. The truth of the matter was, as soon as the roads cleared, they’d both go their separate ways. To their separate lives.

Cora suppressed a groan. The warmth of his arm penetrated her temple. When he rested his cheek against the top of her head, her right hand itched to reach for his. As though, even after all these years, they knew they were supposed to connect. The need to thread her fingers through his was so insistent, it finally gave her the strength to put good sense into action. She abruptly sat up straight and then tried to make it look subtle. At least he couldn’t see the pink tinging her cheeks in the firelight, right?

“You said you didn’t have a girlfriend right now. Why is that?”

Grey shifted away from her and reached for the fireplace poker to move a log a little closer to the flame. He didn’t look at all comfortable with this line of conversation. “I haven’t done much dating the last couple of months. I broke up with someone right before Grandpa died, and then I guess it just hasn’t been a priority since then.”

“I can imagine.” Cora had to make a conscious effort to keep her face neutral. Of course he dated. She truly wasn’t surprised. It sounded like he’d probably be seeing someone now if it weren’t for the trauma of Grandpa Jackson’s passing.

“What about you? Why aren’t you remarried?” He spoke the questions simply, but his voice sounded strange.

Cora blinked at him. He was watching her carefully now as she considered her words. “I don’t know. If I couldn’t make marriage work with my best friend… I guess I’m not sure I’d want to risk messing that up a second time.” She hadn’t meant to be quite so honest with him. “As for dating, my friend likes to regularly set me up with guys without letting me know ahead of time. I can’t say I’m a fan, and I don’t think she cares.” She forced a small laugh. “I prefer group gatherings. Takes the pressure off.”

Grey nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. It’s easier to get to know someone and see who they really are that way.” He studied her thoughtfully.

Was he mentally reliving the many group gatherings they’d gone to before finally dating each other? That was how Cora had discovered he was a gentleman, and that he’d defend just about anyone who was getting picked on, no matter who they were.

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