Unbreakable (City Lights, #2)(19)

I glanced at Cory. His hands dangled off his raised knees. No ring. The monster squad may have taken it. “What about you? Are you married?”

“No,” he said. “No, I’m not. I have a little girl—Callie. She’s seven.”

“You do?” I sat back, absorbing this. It explained a lot. I now thought I knew the source of his kindness, the innate goodness of him. A deep well of love for his child. But it scared me too. If something were to happen to him in here, his little girl would be robbed of a father. The thought stole the warmth right out of me and sent a chill down my spine.

“They’ve got the AC blasting,” he said, watching me. “You want my jacket?”

“No, uh, thank you. You were saying you weren’t married?”

“Oh, right. Callie’s mother, Georgia…She isn’t the marrying type.”

“And you are?”

“Yeah, I guess I am. I would be.”

“That’s not something you hear from young men these days.”

“I’m almost thirty. Not all that young.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I like the idea of sticking with one person through it all. Help each other accomplish goals…have kids…help them accomplish their goals. It just makes sense to me.”

“But…Georgia? She didn’t feel the same?” I heard the words leave my mouth and wished I could catch them back. “I’m sorry. That’s extremely forward of me and none of my business.”

“I brought it up.” Cory smiled though it was strained. “So to answer your question, no, Georgia did not see it that way. She’s not a fan of my chosen line of work.”

“What’s wrong with…construction, wasn’t it? A journeyman.”

“Yeah, construction. There’s nothing wrong with it, as far I’m concerned. It’s what I like doing. What I’m good at. But Georgia’s always telling me I’m too smart for it. As if there’s nothing more to it than hammering nails into two-by-fours all day. She wanted me to go to college, get a ‘real’ job, but I think that’s bullshit. Construction is my family business, and there was a time when we were doing okay. Georgia still wasn’t happy.”

A pained expression came over his features but I didn’t think it was because of the gash on his head.

“Anyway, it’s money,” he continued. “For Georgia, it comes down to money. As in, I don’t make enough for her to feel okay about being legally bound to me.”

The back of my leg cramped slightly and I shifted against the wall. Cory noticed and evidently thought I was uncomfortable.

“Sorry,” he said. “Now I’m getting too personal.”

“No, it’s fine—”

“You’re lucky. You don’t have that problem.”

I frowned. “What problem?”

“You don’t have to worry about money.” He saw my affronted expression. “What? It’s not a judgment call—”

“No? Sure sounds like it. I have to work my ass off for what I have, and so does Drew.”

Cory held up his hands and said mildly, “I’m not saying you don’t. But—”

“If you’re trying to imply I don’t have pressure—”

“I’m not implying anything,” he said thinly. “But lots of people work their ass off and it doesn’t take the pressure off. There’s always more, like a huge sack of rocks, and you have to keep carrying it no matter what. No matter if you’re tired or sick or your f*cking truck breaks down…” He dabbed the cloth to his brow. “Jesus, listen to me. I must’ve been hit harder than I thought. I’m sorry. I’m just tired. Sometimes I just get… tired.”

I studied at him. The worry lines between his eyes that had been there before the robbery began had reappeared. Whatever ire I had felt over his comments faded—I realized I had been ridiculously defensive anyway. And I had to remind myself Cory was, for all intents and purposes, a man I’d met only earlier today, even if it felt like I’d known him for years.

It’s just the stress of this situation. It’s forcing us all to bond together. For survival.

“Hey.” I nudged his arm. “Tell me about Callie. You said she’s seven? In…second grade?”

“Yeah.”

“Does she like school?”

“She does. She’s good at it. She likes to write stories.”

He laughed lightly, his whole body relaxing, his face morphing back into the ‘breathtaking’ range of beauty as he spoke of his daughter.

“She wrote this one story about a kid, a superhero, who flies around giving food to homeless people. That’s her whole superpower. Feeding the homeless.”

“She’s got a big heart,” I said.

“Yeah, she does,” he said. “What about you? You and your fiancé going to have kids?”

I shifted again. I told myself it was just the hard floor. “Uh, no. We’re not. We’ve decided we’re too busy with our jobs. It wouldn’t be fair. To the child.”

He blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Pardon me for offending.”

“No, I just…” He made an inscrutable face. “Nothing.”