Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(43)

“And I appreciate it. But what’s the rush?” he asked. “We’ve been having a great time, haven’t we?”

No. She couldn’t take another day. “I’m done,” she blurted.

“What does that mean?”

“I’m ready for you to go home.”

She was afraid this would provoke a fight, but she’d run out of patience. He thought he was having a difficult time; well, she was having a hard time, too. She’d felt nauseous ever since she’d seen the look on Eli’s face at the bar.

Matt opened his mouth to reply but she let out an involuntary gasp that silenced him.

Eli’s truck was parked in front of her house.

*

Eli couldn’t believe he was doing this. He’d never felt the need to chase after a woman, but Cora was driving him crazy.

Matt got out of the car when she did and came around by the trunk. Eli noticed his surprised expression but refused to let the fact that Matt was there get in the way. He strode over to Cora. “Can we talk?”

He’d taken her off guard; he could tell. She paused for several seconds as if searching for the best way to respond before she said, “Um...tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow would be better for me.”

She didn’t understand that he was desperate or he wouldn’t be here. “I don’t want to wait.” He needed her, needed...something with the power to divert his thoughts and ease the rage burning like acid inside him. His biological mother had been texting and calling him relentlessly since he’d left the bar, saying she was in a bad way and needed his help. But she was a psychopath and a drug addict, so she was always in a bad way. He wasn’t going to let her back into his life. He wasn’t the person to call even if she had straightened up, not after all the cruelty he’d suffered at her hands.

He’d finally left his phone at his place and gone out for a drive, traveled aimlessly around the valley for two hours before making the decision to allow himself to go to Cora’s. He had to resolve at least one thing that was bothering him. Otherwise, it felt like his head would explode. Although his birth mother had contacted him once or twice before, she’d never been quite so insistent.

You know it was that damn Tim I married who treated you so bad. Wasn’t me. I wasn’t involved in any of that.

She’d had the nerve to send such a text—a blatant lie—as if he hadn’t been fully aware of exactly what happened, and who was responsible. They’d been in it together, one feeding off the other. But it wasn’t just that. He wasn’t himself, wasn’t in control, not since seeing Cora at the bar.

“This isn’t... I mean, you’re her boss,” Matt said. “This isn’t personal, right?”

Eli ignored him. He was wound up, on edge, afraid he’d bash him in the face if he so much as acknowledged his presence. His birth mother triggered too many painful memories, a surfeit of emotion. Eli felt like there was a monster growing inside him that was about to bust out at any moment.

Fortunately, since Aiyana had taken him in and he’d worked through most of his issues—the ones he could resolve—he hadn’t allowed his frustration to erupt, hadn’t let it get the better of him.

But it’d been a long time since he’d been this raw.

“I asked you a question,” Matt said.

Eli leveled a glare at him. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll go inside.”

Eyes wide, Matt stumbled back as if he’d just caught a glimpse of the rage lurking inside Eli, but before he could do anything else, Cora grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the house. “Give us a few minutes. Will you? Please?”

Unwilling to make it that easy, Matt looked from her to Eli and back again. “Don’t tell me... You guys are seeing each other, aren’t you!” He glared at her as if she’d cheated on him. “There’s no way you’d start dating Aiyana’s son! Not without—”

“Matt, if you say another word I’ll never forgive you!” she broke in.

Without what? Eli had no clue and didn’t get the chance to ask before she shoved her ex toward the house with more force. “Matt, please. If you value our friendship at all, you’ll go inside this minute.”

He cursed but accepted the keys she tossed him and finally did as she asked.

Once he was gone, a profound silence fell.

Suddenly, Eli was no longer sure what he’d hoped to achieve. His eyes were beginning to burn as badly as his gut, and a lump the size of a baseball rose in his throat, making it impossible for him to speak normally.

What the heck was he doing? He’d been a fool to come here. He was only making matters worse.

Without another word, he turned on his heel and opened his truck door. He intended to get in and drive off before she could realize how close he was to breaking down, but she grabbed hold of him.

“What is it, Eli?” She looked concerned as she dragged him around to face her, but that only made it harder for him to maintain his composure. He jerked away, didn’t want her to see him like this. But she refused to let him go. She caught hold of him again, this time with a stronger grasp.

“Talk to me!”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.” He managed to mutter that much without having his voice crack—thank God—but she didn’t act like she heard him. She stared into his face, trying to read what he was feeling. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. “What is it?” she asked, clinging tightly. “Tell me.”