Page 6 of Dancing on Air

“I forgot to tie it up and it floated away. I was going to leave, but…” She felt bad about it all over again.

“You got stranded,” Emma answered for her. Cora nodded. “What have you been eating?”

“I packed enough food. I have a backpack.” She glanced towards the door. “I had. I guess your dog got into it the other night. He ate all my trail mix.”

“What have you been eating since then?” Emma asked. When Cora just shrugged, Emma jumped up and started moving around the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” JT asked.

“Cooking.” Emma glanced over at him. “Your sister just admitted she hasn’t eaten in a full day. You can’t tell me you don’t care if she starves.”

“She’s not going to starve,” JT said, but then he shrugged. “Go ahead.”

Emma made her a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich, and she devoured every single bite as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks instead of days.

“Where do you think your mother would have gone?” Emma asked her.

“She has no one. Nowhere to go.” Cora looked at her. “She didn’t leave on her own.” She was sure of it. Positive. Maybe. She never trusted anything when it came to her mother.

“Do you think your father did something to her?” Emma asked after a moment.

She’d been afraid of that since the night her mother had disappeared. After all, she didn’t know her father very well. He’d been around since she was eight, but in those ten years, she’d only spent a few weeks each year under the same roof as him. Most of that time she’d been locked up in her room trying to avoid him until she could return to school.

“I don’t know. All I know is that I couldn’t stay home, waiting, alone,” she admitted.

“Have you gone to the police?” JT asked from across the room.

Cora shook her head. “They wouldn’t believe me.” It was true. She’d tried several times in the past when her mother had had one of her… episodes. The police had told her to stop bothering them and making crank calls.

“Why not?” Emma asked. “If you’re concerned⁠—”

“I’ve had a few run-ins with the law.” She closed her eyes on the pain. “Breaking and entering,” she told them, though it was to her own house. She’d snuck out of the house one night when she was sixteen, and her mother had called the police when she snuck back in. “Staying out past curfew,” she added, remembering how her parents had wanted to teach her a lesson. “Drinking.” Yeah, she’d had a sip of a beer and had thrown up immediately after. Still, they had smelled it on her and had added that to her crimes. “They wouldn’t believe me. My father would convince them that she was just taking a break.”

“Sounds like he hasn’t changed much,” JT added.

“JT, why don’t we allow Cora to stay the night, at least until you decide what to do. She can take my room,” Emma suggested.

She was a little surprised when he quickly agreed, as if he’d been thinking about it already.

“If you’re still hungry, there are plenty of leftovers.” He set a container of cold steak on the counter. “Help yourself.” He nodded to Emma. “Can I talk to you, outside?”

She stood. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Cora, then followed JT outside.

Cora stood in the doorway, Bo sitting at her feet, and listened to the two of them talk. She’d never heard a couple speak so kindly to one another. It was obvious they loved each other. Her heart ached at the thought of finding someone who would treat her like her brother treated Emma.

When JT disappeared down the dark pathway, Emma turned towards her.

“So, are you two an item?” she asked Emma.

Emma’s face turned slightly pink at the question. “How about I make you another sandwich and we can chat some more?”

Chapter Two

Over the next few days, Cora somehow wiggled her way into her brother and Emma’s life.

While Emma was there, Cora hounded her with questions about her and JT. Most of her questions were about her brother since she was trying desperately to find out if he knew anything about her mother without being too direct. She also asked Emma questions about Kayla and JT’s mother.

It was odd how kind her brother was to her. He seemed to trust her completely without knowing that much about her. She even made best friends with Bo and a few kittens that were on the island.