Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(47)
“Do that if you have to—then call me when you’re ready,” he said and tugged the sheet away to get a final look at her before rolling out of bed.
*
Eli’s phone buzzed just as he was about to turn on the shower. He assumed it would be Jo again, but the screen showed Gavin’s number, so he answered. “’Lo?”
“It’s me. You on for basketball with the boys this morning?”
“Not today.”
“Why not? It’s Saturday. What else you got going?”
“I’m about to have breakfast with Cora.”
A strained silence ensued. Then his brother said, “The same Cora who was at the bar last night with her ex-boyfriend?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t find that a little strange?”
He leaned against the door to the bathroom while he talked. “They’re just friends, Gav.”
“I thought you were going to say you’re just friends. That’s the type of thing you normally say when I ask about a woman.”
“Cora’s different.”
His voice changed, grew more somber. “Eli, I just passed Doug Maggleby a few minutes ago—out in his yard. He said her ex has been staying with her.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“In a small house with only one bedroom...”
“Stop it. She has a couch.”
“I’m just being real with you, man.”
Eli started the shower so the water would get hot. “They’re friends, like I said.”
“How do you know?”
“She told me.”
After another brief silence, during which he seemed to be weighing whether to continue the argument, Gavin said, “Breakfast with Cora it is, then. I guess basketball can’t compete.”
“You could join us.”
“No. One of us needs to show up at the court. The boys will be disappointed otherwise. But...can I say one more thing?”
“I have the feeling you’re going to do it regardless.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Besides the fact that Cora’s had another man in her house for several days, are you sure you’re doing the right thing, getting involved with one of the teachers here?”
“I’m not sure at all,” he admitted.
“But you’re doing it, anyway.”
Eli remembered how he’d felt last night, right before she agreed to come home with him—and how having her say yes had changed everything. When he was with her he could more easily put his childhood into perspective, more easily remember the present and what his life was like now. “I can’t help myself.”
“That’s freaking terrifying,” he said.
Eli drew a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
*
Matt was gone. Hallelujah! The dread in the pit of Cora’s stomach eased considerably when she saw that his car was no longer in her drive. She still feared she’d find a nasty note waiting on her dresser, but at least she wasn’t facing a confrontation.
After she let herself into the house, she held her breath as she wandered around. She was afraid he’d only stepped out to buy milk or something and planned to return. But everything that belonged to him was gone. And he hadn’t left her a message or anything else to indicate that he was upset with her. While on the way home, she’d briefly considered the possibility that he might’ve dumped out her drawers, ransacked her personal belongings or thrown away her birth control...
Fortunately, all looked as she’d left it.
A ping signaled an incoming text message, so she reached into her purse to retrieve her phone.
Everything okay? Eli wanted to know.
Fine, she wrote back. She didn’t think of her ex-boyfriend as particularly vengeful, but she did know he’d always been a little threatened by her search for her birth mother. He probably blamed the fact that she’d found Aiyana and was planning to move to Silver Springs as the reason she broke things off with him. It was easier to believe that than the truth—that she just wasn’t fulfilled in the relationship.
Matt’s not giving you any trouble? He’s leaving?
He’s already gone, she told Eli.
Great. Then I’m going to swing by the basketball court and play hoops for a while—until you’re ready to go, okay?
The students were going to love seeing him. Okay. I’ll walk over there when I’m done.
She set her phone to charge, since it was almost dead after going all night, and peeled off her clothes. Then she paused to stare at herself in the mirror.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she mumbled and turned on the water.
Chapter Sixteen
Jo tried to call three times and texted twice while he was at breakfast with Cora. Eli had believed, if he ignored her long enough, she’d simply go away. Now he wasn’t so sure. His birth mother seemed determined, adamant—was desperate to get some money out of him. But she had no right to come to him in the first place.
“Have you thought about changing your number?”
The question caused him to glance up. Cora had seen him check his phone numerous times but, true to her word, she hadn’t asked any intrusive questions. Although this one made it clear she knew who kept interrupting their meal, it still respected his privacy regarding the details of his past and his feelings toward his biological mother.