The Closer You Get (13 page)

“Come on, sweetie,” Ginger said to Cora as she accepted her drink from Roux the bartender, “you can hold my drink while Rye teaches me how to play pool.”

That snapped Cora out of her daze and her eyes finally turned angry. “Why don’t you just wedge it between your fake tits, Ginger. I’m going home.” She turned and walked out calmly and about as dignified as she could have under the circumstances.
 

Rye watched her, sick and frustrated. Ginger’s touch felt slimy, so he stepped away from her even as he stared at the door closing behind Cora.
 

“Come on, let’s play,” Ginger said, pulling at his hand. She had no regard whatsoever for her sister’s feelings. Rye, always a loyal and devoted brother, couldn’t imagine treating a sibling with such scorn.
 

“Go play with yourself,” he said and left her huffing by the bar.
 

He burst into the night and scanned the lot. She had her car door open, so Rye ran. “Hey,” he shouted.

She looked up at him, hate and hurt forming tears in her eyes. But at least she paused long enough for him to catch up to her. He grabbed her car door to keep her from closing it. Then he just stood there, willing words to form. But it had been years since he’d opened himself to hurt, years since he’d treated a woman like a human being, and the words wouldn’t come.

“What?” she spat.

“I’m sorry,” he managed to say. But it all just went downhill from there. “She was just…I…I didn’t mean…”

“What happened,” she said, “was that I hurt your feelings Friday night, and you decided to take it out on me by flirting with Ginger.”

He gulped because that was exactly the case.

She let out a little laugh, shook her head, and looked away. “I was going to apologize for misjudging you, for making you feel bad. But you just confirmed everything I accused you of, so I guess it’s moot.”

“Cora, I…” still couldn’t think of anything to say to make it all better.

She stared into him, giving him a moment. But when nothing intelligible came out of his mouth, she said, “I’m just mad at myself. You’re not my type, I know that. But I’ve nursed this crush on you, and I’ve let myself believe a guy like you might want me. Well, that’s over as of this moment. I promise to resume my professional behavior, but I don’t want to be your friend. You’re playing games I’m not interested in and not capable of playing.”

He shook his head. “Cora, I like you.”

She let out a bitter laugh, and her face contorted in pain and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “You had no problem stopping, Friday, when I said stop. I deluded myself into thinking you were a gentleman, but that’s not it, is it? You just weren’t that excited about me in the first place, were you? If Ginger had been next to me that night, you’d have gone home with her, wouldn’t you? I was just the only female available at the time.”

“No. No, that’s not true. I find you very attractive—”

“You were slavering like a dog over my sisters.” She clamped her jaw shut and looked away. “I’m sorry,” she said in a softer tone. “I shouldn’t blame you. You are who you are, and you have every right to your preferences. And deep down, I know I don’t want someone like you. I want someone true and honest…I want a serious relationship. I was a fool to let my attraction to you affect me so. Goodnight, Rye.”

She sank into her car and tried to jerk the door out of his grasp. “Wait. Please,” he said.

“Go back inside. Ginger’s a sure thing, and she hardly ever fucks the same guy twice. Should be just what you’re looking for.”

This time she succeeded in slamming the door, nearly taking Rye’s fingers with her. He stood helplessly as she drove away wondering if he’d just burned the best bridge that had ever come his way.
 

A
DAM
HAD
A
standing lunch date with Cora every Tuesday. He thought today he might try and talk her into playing hooky the rest of the day and shopping. He was dying to talk to her about Cash.
 

He parked in a small lot a block away, and as he was walking up the sidewalk, he saw her walking down it. They smiled at each other as they converged on the entrance to the restaurant. “Hey, beautiful,” he said, holding open the door for her.

“Hey, yourself.”
 

He followed her to the back end of the bar where Franny was sitting, all but a permanent fixture. Franny liked to come in, sip soda, and stare at Sullivan Fletcher’s back. Adam couldn’t really blame her, it was a nice back.
 

Cora took a seat next to Franny, and Adam sat next to Cora.
 

“The usual, guys?” Lyssa shouted from across the open kitchen.
 

“Yes, please,” Cora answered for them both. She took off her sunglasses and that’s when Adam noticed how puffy her eyes were.
 

“You’ve been crying,” Adam said, resting his hand on her back.

She sighed. Franny was alerted enough to turn her attention from Sullivan to Cora. “Is everything okay?” Franny asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Cora said. “I just had a little reality check and I’m getting over it is all.”

“I was already going to talk you into ditching work and going shopping,” Adam said, “this just settles it. You wanna come, Franny?”

“Depends,” Franny said. “I’ve been trying to get a date with Sullivan, but he keeps ignoring me. What say, Sully?” she shouted. “I’ll rock your world.”

No reaction from Sullivan. Franny shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll go shopping with you guys. As long as we can go by the fabric store.”

“Fine with me,” Adam said, “Now tell us about this reality check, Cora.”

Cora sighed. “It’s stupid. I had this crush on Rye and—”

“Shit.” Adam’s good humor vanished in the wake of righteous indignation. He’d warned her a million times. That guy was no good. “I’ll fucking kill him.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I told you he was no good, Cora, I told you.”

“I know. I should have listened.”

“So, wait, what happened?” Franny asked.

So Cora gave them a rundown of Friday night and the following Sunday. Adam was shaking with rage. The man had put his hands on sweet, innocent Cora. And then he’d used her sisters to belittle her. The sick bastard. “You should have seen him,” Cora said. “I mean, Friday he made me feel like there wasn’t another woman in the world worth looking at but me. Then Sunday, he’s got his hands all over my whore of a sister. I can’t believe how stupid I was.”

“He had no right to make you feel that way,” Adam said.

“Sounds like he was nursing a wounded ego,” Franny replied.

“And that’s an excuse?” Adam asked.

“Of course not. But it’s an explanation. Sounds like really immature behavior, but I wouldn’t take it to mean that he doesn’t find you attractive, Cora.”

“I don’t frankly care who he finds attractive anymore,” Cora said. “He’s not the right kind of guy for me. I need someone a little more down to earth, a little less full of himself.”

“Damn right,” Adam said.
 

“I thought he seemed like a lot of fun,” Franny said.

“Cora doesn’t need fun, Franny. She needs someone sturdy and dependable, just like her.”

“Um, Cora can have fun if she wants.”

“No,
you
can have fun. That’s the kind of guys you attract and the kind of lifestyle you choose to live. Unfortunately, Cora, the good guys don’t come in those tall, pretty packages. You see someone sexy like Rye, your best bet is to run the opposite direction.”

Cora was frowning, turning her head back and forth as Franny and Adam argued. “I don’t usually attract those types of men anyway.”

“This was just a fluke,” Adam said. “But it was a good learning experience.”

“Hey,” Franny said a little more forcefully. “One…Cora can attract any kind of man she wants. And two…why are we stereotyping, here? I mean, do we really know the guy? Are we really going to sit here and say that all tall, gorgeous men are brain-dead asses? We’re really telling Cora that she can’t have any fun along with all that sturdy and dependable?”

“I’m just trying to help her get a realistic view of her dating world.”

“You’re putting unnecessary restrictions on her dating world. Jeez, Adam, I had no idea you were so narrow-minded.”

For a moment he forgot that Cora was sitting between himself and Franny. “You want me to lie to her? Tell her she’s capable of attracting a man like Rye and convincing him to live a good life for her?”

Franny’s jaw dropped. Cora slammed her hands on the counter. “That’s enough,” she said quietly. She turned to face him. “What kind of man is it I should be going for? A hunchback with warts and a limp, perhaps?”

“Honey, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Lyssa and Sully brought them their sandwiches. Lyssa returned to the front of the counter to serve more customers, but as Sully started to return to his work, Franny said, “Hey, Sully, what do you think of our Cora? Is she a hottie or not?”

He froze, halfway turned away from them and shot Franny a dirty look.

Cora laughed bitterly and buried her face in her hand. But Sully turned to Adam. “What are you doing talking to her that way? I thought you were her best friend?”

It took a brief moment to overcome the surprise at being addressed by the usually silent Sullivan. “This woman has never been on a date in her life. The first guy she sets her sites on is that womanizing bastard, Rye Holcomb. Obviously she needs guidance.”

“I don’t need your guidance, Adam, I need your support,” Cora said. “Do I judge you whenever you need a shoulder to cry on?”

“I’m not judging, I’m—”

“You’ve had it out for that guy from day one,” Franny said.
 

“That’s true,” Sully chimed in. “What’s wrong with him? Sure, he’s a little slutty, but so’s Franny and we like her.”

Franny folded her hands over her heart. “Aww, thanks, Sully.”

“How can you just flippantly dismiss his behavior?” Adam asked. “The guy’s a pig and he was such a jerk to Cora last weekend.”

“He was a jerk,” Cora agreed, “but that’s not all there is to him. He’s great at his job. He’s loyal to his brother.”

“And he stood up for my sister and the girls at the bar that night when Les Dunigan was harassing them,” Sully chimed in. “Sounds like he’s a pretty stand-up guy, most of the time.”

Adam shook his head, realizing he was losing this argument. “That’s not the point anyway. The point is, you shouldn’t be looking for guys like Rye.”

“Because he’s too much fun for me?” Cora said.

Adam sighed and shook his head. “You’re being difficult.”

“You’re being overbearing. Do I need to say it Adam? You’re not my mommy.” She made a funny pouty face at him, which made him laugh.
 

“Shit,” he said, still chuckling.

“Whatever,” Franny said to Cora, “I just want you to know that you’re every bit as hot as your sisters.”

Adam didn’t agree. Cora was beautiful, but her sisters were tall, elegant, classically beautiful. Cora’s features didn’t come remotely close, and if she tried to date the way her sisters dated without the tools they had at their disposal, she was going to fail. But he realized if he said that out loud, he’d end up looking like an even bigger asshole than Rye.

“Don’t you agree, Sully?” Franny asked.

Sullivan glanced at Franny, and then Cora, as he backed away, clearly getting nervous again. “I always thought you had real cute ears, Cora.”

Cora had been sipping her soda and almost spat it out. “Cute ears? Thanks, Sully.”

He shrugged.

“Come on,” Franny said. “Is that what passes for a compliment in your family?”

Sully shrugged. “She’s got a cute nose, too, kind of turned up at the end. And all them freckles. Hell, Cora, you’re a cutie, that’s all. What do you want me to say?”

Cora’s cheeks turned a dark shade of pink. “Thank you, Sully. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
 

He bobbed his head, once, and stepped backward toward his work bench.
 

“So what type of woman do you prefer, then, Sully?” Franny asked.
 

He turned to her, his face going blank. “A quiet one.” He put in his earbuds and turned back to his work, gone until the next time he decided to grace them with his conversation.

Cora turned to Adam wearing the sweetest smile he ever saw. “Sully called me a cutie.”

Adam kissed her on the forehead. “You are, Cora. A real cutie.”

They went shopping like he’d wanted and had ice cream at a little shop in the mall, where Franny kicked him in the ankle and said, “So what’s with you and Cash? You’ve lost a little of your delirious glow.”

He smirked and leaned back in his chair. “I’m not sure. We had a weird night Friday, and I haven’t heard from him since.” He told the girls about what happened, leaving nothing out.

Cora finished off her mint chocolate chip scoop and pushed the cup across the table. “Rye won’t talk about it. Whatever it is that happened in Henderson. He was arrested, you know?”

“Rye? Doesn’t surprise me,” Adam said, having learned nothing from their earlier conversation.

“Well, they found him innocent on grounds of self-defense. I couldn’t get the details, but it sounds like it was pretty bad for Cash. Do you think you can get him to talk to you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think you can continue the relationship if he doesn’t?”

He hummed in thought. “That’s a good question.”

Franny happily scraped her double fudge brownie ice cream out of the bottom of the cup. “How long’s it been, a month? Maybe you just call him and let him know there’s no pressure to talk. That’s probably all it is. He’s afraid to contact you because he doesn’t want to talk.”

“Yeah, but how serious is this? I mean, I’d like to know up front how much work this relationship is gonna be. Depending on the kind of trust issues he’s got, I could be making a huge commitment.”

“God forbid,” Franny muttered.

Cora merely hitched a shoulder. “You have to do what you have to do. He seems like such a great guy, though.”