Fall Back Skyward (Fall Back #1)(18)

Standing inside this room, knowing that Josh and Nor spent their time in here, Josh touching her, Nor groaning in pleasure, tears me apart. I startle when Elise touches my shoulder, then she’s pulling me into a hug.

“It’s so good to see you Cole.”

I smile at her as we walk out of the room. “Same here.” We head back downstairs and into the kitchen where my steps falter and my heart literally stops beating at the sight in front of me. The lump in my throat is growing bigger by the second.

Joce and Cora.

My daughters.

I inhale deeply, that action kick starting my heart and it beats fast. So fast I feel like I’m losing my breath.

The picture in my pocket didn’t do them justice.

Elise once again touches my arm, her eyes full of understanding, and it makes me feel that she somehow knows what’s running through my head. She stares into my eyes as if to warn me or pass on an important message. “Girls, I’d like you to meet Cole.”

The girls stop whatever they’re doing and look up, and then walk towards us, their eyes all sorts of curious.

“I know who he is. Uncle Cole,” one of the girls signs, grinning wide. “Mom and Dad talked so much about you but they never said you’d be so tall.”

In that second, I die a million deaths. My f*cking heart crashes to my feet, shattering into a million worthless pieces.

Uncle Cole.

I flex my hands at my sides as regret threatens to choke me. I ignored all those letters Nor sent me because of my stupid pride and rage. Then anger fills my veins. How could I have known we had kids together? I don’t even know where to find my balance on this issue.

Seeing them with my own eyes, it hits me all over again how identical and pretty they are; their waist length red hair, bright gray eyes, all the way down to the cute dimples on the right side of their cheeks.

“That’s Jocelyn over there.” Elise touches her hand on the shoulder of the girl clutching a copy of Charlotte’s Web close to her chest. “And that’s Cora.” She gestures at the hyper girl, who is hopping on her feet, hardly containing her excitement.

I dart a glance between them and see the subtle difference. Joce is slightly taller than Cora. I sigh, relieved that I’m able to tell the difference between my daughters.

Jocelyn shakes my hand and signs, “Mom and Dad call me Joce, so you can call me that too. It’s great to meet you Uncle Cole.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Joce,” I tell her. Her lips lift into a small smile, then she shuffles toward the couch and sits down primly. Then Cora throws herself at me with her entire weight, hugging my waist. And in that moment, every negative emotion fades. I’m filled with wonder and awe and love as I hold my daughter.

Elise turns to me and says, “The girls are amazing at signing.”

I nod, completely floored. My family thought about me even though I’d turned my back on them. “They are so good at it. It’s amazing.”

After the introductions are over, I step back and Elise says something to Joce and Cora. They nod solemnly in return. She tells me that she asked them not to disturb Nor.

Cora grabs my hand all of a sudden and pulls me toward the living room, where a small desk stands next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Dropping my hand, she opens the first drawer and pulls out a sketchbook and starts flipping through the pages.

She pauses and peers up at me. “Mama praises you a lot. She says you can draw like a wizard. I told her I want to be like you when I grow up.” She points at the sketch of a butterfly so similar to the one I drew a long time ago and gave to Nor on her seventeenth birthday.

Cora’s drawings are really good. Probably much better than mine were when I was her age.

“I asked her if I could keep it,” she says shyly, her ears and cheeks turning pink. “I hope I will be as good as you one day.”

“Can I see that?”

She nods. I bend down, our heads almost touching and flip through her book.

My fascination soon turns into something else. Gone is the uncertainty I felt before, replaced by admiration and pride, and a certain feeling of connection to this lovely girl who is staring at me as if I hung the moon in the sky. I raise my head and look around the room as a feeling close to kinship flows through me. Joce is still sitting with her hands folded in her lap on the couch, her gaze intense, studying me. And once again, those gray eyes leave me breathless. My heart is attaching itself to Cora and Joce. Fast.





A HAND TAPS ME SOFTLY ON my shoulder. I raise my head and meet Elise’s gaze. Gone is the smile, replaced by a grim look. Her face is pale and her bottom lip quivers slightly.

That look on her face sends chills through my blood. “Are you okay?”

She shakes her head, her gaze darting between Cora and Joce, then mouths, “We need to talk.” I follow her as she heads for the kitchen. “Your mom called. It’s Josh. He’s taken a turn for the worse. His body is shutting down faster than the doctors anticipated.” Tears fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks. “He was asking for you.”

Fuck. “I need to get to the hospital. Now.”

She nods quickly, and spares a glance over my shoulder toward the twins. “I’ll wake Nor. I can’t tell them—” She stops and swipes her palm on her cheeks.

“I’ll wait down here,” I tell her.