Page 9 of I Still Do

Cora pinned him with a serious look. As welcoming as Maria and Grandpa Jackson had been, Flynn was the opposite. He tolerated her presence and said nothing until it was clear her relationship with Grey was becoming serious. The little comments about her old clothing or how she seemed to come over just for the food hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Cora could never forget the way Flynn had cornered her after she and Grey had become engaged. He told her that she needed to think long and hard about marrying into the family and then warned her against doing anything to hurt Grey.

“Really? Flynn and I have never gotten along. And he made it no secret that he blamed me for our divorce.” She knew Flynn had spoken to Grey about getting a lawyer and fighting for the money and belongings. But Grey, ever the gentleman, had agreed to split it all fifty-fifty.

The resigned expression on his face told her enough. “Hate’s a strong word.”

“And an applicable one. I have no doubt he was celebrating the day I was no longer part of the family.” Cora crossed her arms as the familiar rivers of annoyance coursed through her veins. “I can’t imagine he’s happy about my being here this weekend.”

“No, he’s not. But we’ve spoken about it, and he can deal. Besides, he’s married, and he and Abby have two kids now, so he has something else to focus on, too.” He picked up the poker and absently shifted one of the logs. “And you’re right, despite my reassurances that our divorce was a mutual decision, Flynn has always put you in the blame seat. But Mom and Dare are happy that you’re here, so just try not to go in swinging, okay?”

A thought came to Cora and dread slammed itself into her chest. She sat up straight, turned to face Grey, and clenched her fists. “Please tell me you never told them about—”

“No, I didn’t.” He let the poker clang to the bricks of the hearth and stood. “I made a promise, and I’ve kept it. But not telling our families about the baby was a huge mistake, Cora, and you know it.”

They were going to wait and tell everyone about the pregnancy at Christmas. But less than a month before, Cora woke up to intense pain and bleeding. Thankfully, Grey hadn’t been on one of his business trips. He’d raced her to the hospital where they’d discovered it was an ectopic pregnancy and her right fallopian tube had ruptured. Cora was taken into surgery where the tube was eventually removed. The last thing Cora remembered before being wheeled away was begging Grey not to tell his family.

“It wasn’t a mistake. It just plain wasn’t any of their business.” They’d argued round and round about it for weeks and months after the surgery, but in the end, he’d honored her request to keep it all between them. Instead, he’d simply told his family that she wasn’t feeling well while she recovered. “I didn’t need the judgment from my parents. And the last thing I wanted was pity from your mom and judgment from Flynn.”

“I get that, Cora. But what about me? I lost a baby, too.” He released a heavy sigh and stood. “I’m going to go bring in some more firewood before it gets much later.” He shoved his arms into his coat and then pulled his hat and gloves back on. His footsteps retreated through the kitchen before the back door opened and closed with a bang.

Cora sat in stunned silence. Of course he’d suffered a loss. But he’d taken it all in stride. She’d just assumed he’d been doing okay, that it was only her who had a hard time moving forward.

She’d spent years trying to let go of the past. If it weren’t for the literal scar that had yet to fade, she might’ve convinced herself it’d all been a bad dream. That old phrase about time healing old wounds? Yeah, she wasn’t so sure about that.

~*~

Grey wished the firewood hadn’t already been chopped. He could use some good physical exertion right about now. He found several logs that would work well and hopefully keep the fire burning all night long. If it weren’t so cold outside, he probably would’ve delayed his return to the house for a while. As it was, the frigid air was already seeping in after only fifteen minutes. He stacked what he could in his arms and went back inside.

He’d never understood why Cora didn’t want to tell people about the baby. It bothered him to no end. Not only because he would’ve liked some support after finding out that the pregnancy was ectopic, but because that was when Cora really retreated from him. From their marriage.

Things weren’t great before, but the loss was like a wall that neither of them could quite climb. It only got worse from there.

Watching Cora go through the grief and pain had been unbearable, and when she refused to open up to him, it was even worse. She kept trying to push him away, and eventually he let her. They’d both made a lot of mistakes.

He re-entered the living room, dropped the logs into the wood bin near the hearth, but didn’t see her near the fire. “Cora?”

“On the couch.”

He could barely make out her form in the ambient light from the fireplace. His heart twisted painfully in his chest. The last thing he wanted to do this weekend was fight with her. “Are you getting sleepy?”

“A little.” She shifted, and a small light came on around her wrist as she checked her watch. “Wow, it’s not even ten yet. How lame is that?”

“Not so lame considering all we’ve been through today.” He turned his flashlight on. “I think it best if we sleep in here near the fire. You can have the couch, and I’ll make a pallet on the floor. Does that work?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

On that note, he retrieved the pillows and comforters from both bedrooms. There was an extra blanket in one of the closets as well that he snagged on his way back to the living room.

Together, they moved the couch closer to the fireplace. While Cora got her spot set up, Grey folded the comforter several times to make a thick pad on the floor near the fire. Between that warmth and the blanket he found, he had no doubt he’d be comfortable enough to sleep. If anything, frequent checks on the fire to make sure it was still burning would be what kept him awake tonight.

He emptied his pockets so that sleeping in his clothes would be more comfortable, then lowered himself to the pallet. He’d certainly slept in less ideal places in the past when he used to go camping regularly. The sounds of Cora shifting on the couch quieted. While he was on the ground, he was easily within arm’s reach of her.

Instead of falling asleep, Grey couldn’t take his eyes off the fire. The flames danced and twisted as the wood crackled. Occasionally, a little popping noise or a slight shift in the log would cause sparks to release into the air before disappearing again.

He thought Cora was asleep when her soft voice broke the near silence. “Grey?”

“Yeah?” She was silent long enough that he started wondering if he’d imagined her speaking at all.

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