Into the Fading Twilight (Starlight Grove, #2) (32)

“She doesn’t mean it in a bad way,” Cora said softly.

“I know, it just …”

“Feels like someone cutting you down when you’ve just gotten your sea legs.”

One corner of my mouth kicked up. “Exactly. You get it.”

She let out a low whistle. “Brae and Holly are mama bears to the core. They want to fix and coddle and protect. But sometimes, what I need is space.”

“God, do I feel that. I worry all the time that I’m going to bite Brae’s head off in a way that does serious damage because I just need to … breathe.”

“You’re alive. You’re breathing.”

I heard Kol’s voice in my head, my grounding stone.

“Get that space. Honestly, I lie if I have to.” Cora let out a little laugh. “The other night, I told Holly I had to do an emergency deep-conditioning treatment on my hair and couldn’t go to dinner.” Her mouth curved wide. “Hair emergencies for the win.”

“Your locks do look extra luscious today,” I said with a laugh.

Cora flicked them over one shoulder. “Why, thank you.”

I felt those eyes on me again. The kind that held a different sort of energy. I sought out the feeling and found the same dark-haired man staring at me. He was almost glaring but not quite.

“Who is that?” I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper.

Cora followed my line of sight. When she finally spoke, her voice went quiet. “Jack Hooper. His wife, Cynthia, was—”

“One of the victims,” I finished for her so she wouldn’t have to say the words.

Cora nodded. “He’s mad. But not at you.”

“At the universe.”

“The universe and Trav. At first, I thought he would hate me, but he’s been nothing but kind. Even brings me fresh-caught fish every few weeks because he knows Trav used to do that for me.”

An ache settled in my chest. It felt like everyone in this small community had been marked by this thing. By Travis. If Dex hadn’t already killed him, I’d be gunning for the job.

Cora’s gaze flicked up to my face. “Can I ask you something? If it’s too much, you can tell me to take a flying leap.”

Tension curled around my muscles, but I managed to speak. Because I knew it would likely cost her to bring up whatever this was. “Sure. If it’s something I don’t want to answer, I’ll tell you.”

“Good.” Cora said the word as if the syllable was an exhale. “Do you still not remember anything? I’m just … I’m trying to make sense of it.” Tears swirled in her green eyes. “To me, he was wonderful. Always caring, never doing anything even close to violent. I’m just trying to understand who the other half of him was. Why he did it.”

My heart broke for her. I couldn’t imagine having someone I loved turn out to be the kind of monster Travis was. Kol’s face flashed in my mind. The truth he’d bared to me. What he’d carried. It was so similar to Cora’s yet so different.

“Nothing concrete,” I whispered. “Just flashes now and then. But I’m honestly not sure if they’re memories or something my mind conjured up because of the different things the doctors and law enforcement officers have told me. It’s still mostly just blank.”

Cora worried the corner of her lip. “I guess … that might be for the best.”

I heard her unspoken words. Even though I won’t get answers.

“If I do remember anything, I’ll tell you.” But that was a lie. Because not knowing might be better for Cora, too. Knowing the details of what her ex-fiancé had done would only give her nightmares.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

A glint of something caught in the afternoon light. Sun on metal? Glass?

And then I saw him.

That same stupid mustard beanie. The blond beard. And a long-lens camera.

Reese, the reporter, was taking photos of me, and I could do nothing to stop it. I was in a public place. But something niggled at me.

How the hell did he know I would be here?





CHAPTER ELEVEN


Kol




QUICK, SOMEONE SNAP A PIC OF ME FOR MY PROFILE” Maverick ordered, lifting the beam higher as he stood in the center of the garage apartment. “I look fuckin’ ripped.

“Wylder scoffed. “Is this for your desperation app?”

Mav glared at our eldest brother. “That’s rude. There are plenty of people looking for lasting connections on there.”

Dex let out a snicker. “The app is called Seven Minutes in Heaven.”

Mav just shrugged. “Seven minutes to forever. Now, someone take the damn photo.”

“I’ll do it just to shut you up so we can get moving.” I snapped a shot and then shoved my phone back into my pocket.

“Someone else,” Maverick begged. “Kol is the worst with tech. He probably cut off my head or got an angle that gave me five chins. You’d think he was geriatric with his fumbling and bumbling.”

I glared at Mav. “I might only be the second oldest, but I can still kick your ass.”

Wylder pressed the nail gun to the beam in strategic places. “Remember when Kol lost his password keeper?”