Page 6 of Crossing Paths
“Good! Then you’ll know not to do anything stupid!” Molly shouted back, although she was smiling.
With a final quick wave from Felicity and another brisk chin lift from Bennett, they left, the screen door closing with its usualbangbehind them. The sound, as familiar as it was, made Norah jump. It seemed to emphasize the finality of their exit. This might be the last time they had to chase after Jane.
Norah pulled her gaze off the closed door and headed into the kitchen. It seemed a lot quieter without Charlie, Felicity, and Bennett there, even though Molly was still talking to someone on her cell.
“Ready to research?” Cara asked with a smile that turned puzzled as she studied Norah. “What have you been up to? You look like you just ran a marathon or fell into a pond. Possibly both.”
Norah hesitated, nervously fingering the medical alert bracelet she’d gotten back when her asthma wasn’t yet under control. Although she hadn’t had to go to the ER for a bad flare in years, she still wore the bracelet. It had turned into a security blanket for her. She was reluctant to answer Cara’s question, but she wasn’t sure whether that was because she felt guilty for going to a trainer other than Felicity or because she wanted to keep Dash and her newly sprouted ambition to become a badass to herself for a while. Her giddiness over the second option made her uncomfortable, so she quit her mental debate and just blurted out, “I was at the gym.”
Cara’s eyes widened. Even Molly, who was supposed to be paying attention to the person on the other end of the line, looked intrigued. “What gym?” Cara asked, the corners of her mouth lifting as her eyes sparked with interest.
Before Norah could answer, Molly was saying into the phone, “Gotta go. Potentially fascinating things happening here.” There was a short pause before she snorted a laugh. “Yes, more fascinating than you. It is possible, you know. Love you. Bye.” Ending the call, she shoved her cell into her pocketwithout looking away from Norah. “You went to a gym? Why? Doesn’t Fifi torture you enough?”
“Who was that on the phone?” Norah knew her stalling tactic wouldn’t work—at least not for long—but she needed a few moments to get her thoughts together. Molly and Cara would feel the guiltiest if Norah explained her true reasons for wanting to learn how to fight. After all, she’d been their backup when her inability to defend herself had become glaringly evident. Also, she didn’t want to be taken off her current case. She had to keep Leifsen away from her sisters, plus it was personal now. She was going to bring him down.
“John Carmondy, of course.” Cara was the one who answered. “Who else does Molly love except for us, and we’re all here—well, wewereall here before Fifi, Bennett, and Charlie left.”
“It could’ve been Lono,” Norah argued. “She loves her dad.”
“Quit stalling.” Molly narrowed her eyes into the stern glare that was guaranteed to make Norah fold. She should’ve known that her sister would see right through her. “What’s going on?”
“I…um…I wanted to take some MMA lessons?” Her voice turned up at the end, and Norah knew she’d failed. Her sisters wouldn’t believe her weak excuse for a second, and then she’d have to tell them the truth about her stalker and that she didn’t want to be the weak link anymore. She couldn’t live with the idea that she might be the reason they were killed or injured, all because they trusted her to act as backup and she’d failed miserably. Both Cara and Molly were eyeing her suspiciously, and she braced for the coming inquisition.
“Why would you suddenly decide that you’re interested in fighting of any sort?” Molly asked. “You don’t even duck our punches when we spar.”
“Uh… It’s actually an interesting sport? An art form even. He’s—I mean,it’sbeautiful.” Norah resisted the urge to close her eyes and sigh at her utter hopelessness.
The silence from her two sisters was charged as they looked at each other and then back at Norah. The sheer glee in their expressions made her pretty sure they hadn’t reached the correct conclusion, and she let the air out of her lungs in a quiet breath of relief.
“Is all this”—Molly sketched a circle in the air, encompassing Norah’s entire sweaty and bedraggled form—“because of aguy?”
“A really fit MMA guy?” Cara, who was usually her steadiest and most practical sister, sounded positively giddy. “One who insists that the only way to learn is if he puts his strong, sinewy hands on you to guide you through each movement?”
Even Molly’s eyebrows flew up at that, and she turned to stare at Cara. “Where’d that come from?”
“That movie Henry and I watched the other night. The one with the hot Samoan boxing coach?”
“Oh, right,” Molly said.
Both of her sisters refocused on Norah, their obviously eager anticipation of what she was going to say next making her panic a little. She didn’t even know how she felt about Dash. How could she explain him to her sisters?
“It’s not… I mean, thereisa guy, but that’s not… He’s not…” She trailed off, caught by her inability to explain Dash’sallure.Hotwas the wrong word, conjuring up an inaccurate Hollywood-pretty-boy image. Dash was compelling and solid, and he laid out ideas in a way she could understand. He was capable of building her up and giving her hope, something she’d never expected from gym sessions filled with drills.Thiswas why she hadn’t wanted to share him yet, while the idea of him was so unformed yet potentially life-changing.
As her tongue-tied silence lengthened, her sisters’ expressions grew even more pleased and excited, making her face burn. She knew her normally light skin was currently bright red, digging her deeper into the hole she needed to climb out of.
Just go with it, her inner voice urged. It was an easy way out of having to explain her true reasons, which would only make her sisters feel bad or worried enough to sideline her yetagain. Saying she found Dash enormously hot felt dismissive, as if she were reducing him to nothing but a flat image. It would be a small price to pay to protect her sisters from hurt though.
With a sigh, she held her hands up in a shrug. “Fine. He’s…hot.” It tasted like a lie on her tongue, but it did the trick.
A sound that could only be described as a squeal emanated from her sisters in stereo, and Norah winced from both the decibel and the attention.
“Itisa guy! You voluntarily went to a gym because you’re interested in a guy!” Cara was positively giddy. “What about the sinewy hands thing though? Was I right about that part?”
“Our little Norah is all grown-up,” Molly cooed, making Norah cringe. Molly’s delighted laugh was contagious though, and she found herself giving her sisters a reluctant smile.
“Well? Spill!” Cara prodded.
Norah stared at her blankly. She’d already spilled about the whole gym thing. What more did her sisters want?
