Page 34 of I Still Do

Grey moved to stand beside Cora. “I guess that leaves you and me. Would you care to dance?”

The hopeful look on his face, and the laughter and smiles of everyone around her, quickly diffused her hesitation. As his arm went around her waist and his hand closed over hers, Cora’s pulse sped up.

There was no doubt about it: being in his arms affected her in a way nothing else could. Less than a day into their renewed friendship truce and already she was having to curb her reactions. She reminded herself that it would be easier once they returned to real life.

They’d barely started dancing when the song ended, and another began. The moment George Strait’s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” came on, the room filled with laughter. Grey’s chuckle reached her ears as he said for all to hear, “I’m just glad I only have one.”

Cora’s face warmed, and she let her forehead rest against Grey’s chest to hide what she knew was the start of an embarrassing blush. When she finally looked up into his green eyes, she found amusement and an echo of something else she used to see in his eyes years ago.

The oven timer went off, and Cora welcomed the interruption. She stepped out of his arms to help Maria finish breakfast preparations.

Fifteen minutes later, they all sat around the dining room table with plates full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh biscuits.

There was very little talking as everyone enjoyed the meal. Maria wiped her hand on her napkin and looked around the table. “Thank you for this morning. It means a lot,” she said with a watery smile. “So, what is our plan of attack?”

Cora admired Maria for being able to transition into getting ready to go. With any luck, the roads would be plowed sometime this morning. It was a good idea to do what they could to be prepared.

Flynn was the first to speak up. “I thought we guys could start shoveling out the cars.”

Grey nodded. “Agreed. Then we’ll make sure everything is packed and ready to bring downstairs. That way, when the snowplows do come through, we’ll be ready to load the vehicles and get going.” He set his fork down. “Cora and I are going to need a ride.”

“We’ll have you covered,” Dare assured him.

With their goals in mind, everyone focused on finishing breakfast. Afterward, Cora helped Maria with the dishes. Then they worked to put all the food into the fridge again now that the electricity was running. They heard the front door open followed by Dare calling out, “Cora? You downstairs?”

She and Maria exchanged a worried glance and ran into the living room. All three of the guys had returned from digging out the vehicles. Flynn and Dare were on either side of Grey, both offering support as Grey hobbled forward on one leg. A red stain radiated from a tear in his jeans just below the knee.

“What happened?” Maria followed them to the dining room where they eased Grey into a chair.

Cora retrieved several towels from the kitchen and returned in time to hear Dare’s explanation.

“We needed another shovel. Grey volunteered to go find one.”

“And I did.” He lifted his leg for emphasis then cringed. “Apparently someone left one lying by the side of the cabin before all the snow hit. I tripped over the handle and landed on the edge of the shovel.”

Cora cringed and looked at Dare. “Would you mind grabbing my medical bag from my room? It’s on the dresser.”

“Sure thing.”

She knelt on the floor, towels in hand. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” In full nurse mode, Cora pulled the torn fabric apart so she could see the wound inside. “Wow, they must have sharpened that shovel.” She dabbed at his skin with the towel to clear away some blood. “This could’ve been a lot worse. You’ll need stitches, but it didn’t nick an artery.”

Dare returned then and set her bag down beside her. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She dug in her kit for the pair of scissors she knew always fell toward the bottom. Using them, she cut away his pants leg to see the wound better. “I need to clean it.” She lifted the bottle of alcohol to show him and knew it was going to be very painful. “You ready?”

“Just do it.” Grey hissed as she poured the liquid over the cut. “Dare?”

“Yeah, man?”

“Next time you go get the snow shovel.”

That had everyone chuckling, which eased the tension in the room. If there was one thing Cora had learned from working in the ER, it was that a sense of humor was vital. She smiled when the three brothers started to rib each other about who had received the worst injury growing up.

While they compared broken limbs and busted lips, Cora cleaned up the wound. It was bleeding less but was going to require four or five stitches to close it. “I can sew it up, Grey, but all I have is a topical numbing agent. If you want, I can bandage this, and we can see if the airport has a medical area that’s better equipped.”

Grey immediately shook his head. “They’re going to be overtaxed as it is after this blizzard. They may not have any more supplies than you do. The topical will be fine. Let’s just get this done so these jokers,” he pointed to his brothers, “can finish digging the cars out.”

Cora didn’t have to ask him if he was sure, she could see the determination on his face. “You got it.”

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