“I’m fine, but thank you. I appreciate the offer,” I tell her. Cora really has been sweet to me, and even understanding her motives for coming here, I can’t accuse her of being anything but super nice.
“Are you used to living alone?” she asks. “I had my own place before Huck barged his way into my life, so I miss the quiet sometimes. I love my family, but our house can be crazy. There’s so many of us, and even in our wing, it’s still hard to get even a moment of solitude.”
“Wing?” I question.
“Huck’s dad built the main house for him and Huck’s mom, and the original building has eight bedrooms and then a big living, dining, and kitchen space. The guys were all living there in the house they grew up in, but when they started getting wives and having babies, the house just wasn’t big enough. So Cody, Huck’s brother, who is a contractor, had plans drawn up to extend the original home by adding apartments that lead off each of the guys’ original bedrooms. So we all basically got our own wing in the house. But because every single Barnett man is obsessed with having as many babies as possible, all of the wings have been extended again. So the house is basically a hodgepodge of add-ons, so we all have our own space, and then we have the main house as shared space when we want to spend time together.”
“That sounds…” I trail off trying to find the right words. “Loud,” I finally say.
“It’s insane. But in spite of it all, I love it. Once you spend more time with us, you’ll understand why it works and why we don’t end up wanting to kill each other, I promise.” She laughs. “Which is why I’m here to pick you up for dinner.”
“Dinner?” I blurt.
“Yes, dinner. It’s the meal most people eat in the evening, so let’s go. It’s Beau and Bonnie’s turn to cook, and they’ve made baby back ribs. They are so good. I promise you’ll eat until you almost make yourself sick,” she gushes enthusiastically.
“Oh,” I say, forcing a hopefully upset-sounding tone into my voice. “I just ate.”
“You ate?” Cora says.
I nod.
“So just come hang out with us. Even if you’ve had dinner, you’ll be hungry once you see the ribs.”
Opening my mouth like a snake, I force a yawn out. “I was actually planning to have an early night.”
“Seriously?” Cora says.
Deciding that offering her a little honesty is probably the best way to get her to leave, I suck in a sharp breath, then say, “It’s been a tough few months for me. I was living in my car until it got stolen. I came to Rockhead Peak because it was the first bus that pulled into the station when I had literally nowhere else to go.”
Cora’s eyes go wide, then soften into the kind of sympathy that makes my skin crawl.
“You were homeless?” she questions.
“Yes and no. I was wild camping in my tent. I didn’t realize that you could only do that for a couple of weeks here. When Warrick found out, he offered me his spare room until I can find a job and get an apartment.”
“An apartment?” Cora asks slowly, her brows furrowed.
“Yeah. Obviously, I can’t stay here long-term. I’m grateful that Warrick was okay with me being here while he’s not. I’d never do anything to betray that trust,” I tell her, trying to let her know that I understand why she’s here checking up on me.
“Does Warrick know?” she asks.
“That I was homeless?”
“No. That you’re planning to get an apartment?”
I shrug, because what else can I say? That I stupidly thought him telling me this was my home was the truth? That I believed him when he said he felt something for me? That I’m an idiot who thought he trusted me?
“I don’t think he knows you plan to move out,” Cora says.
“Well, we only met a couple of days ago. He knows that I’m looking for a job. He told me to take a few days to recuperate, but honestly, I need to get back to looking for work. I’ve pretty much asked in every shop, café, and restaurant in Rockhead Peak, so it might be time to move on.”
“I’m confident that Warrick will not want you to leave,” Cora insists.
“I appreciate his generosity, but I won’t outstay my welcome. He said there’s no buses that come this far up the mountain, so if you know of anyone that is headed down into town who wouldn’t mind giving me a ride tomorrow, I’d appreciate that.”
“You’d just up and leave?” she questions.
“Obviously I’d leave him a note,” I say tartly.
