Page 8 of Dancing on Air

Their father had chosen to leave his family because someone had killed his oldest daughter. Was that why her dad never really looked at her? Because she reminded him of Lori?

“I bet this isn’t how you expected our first meeting to go,” Kayla said with a slight chuckle.

Cora shook her head.

“JT tells me you’re a dancer,” Kayla said as she glanced towards the house.

Cora nodded.

“How long have you danced?” Kayla asked.

“Since I was six or seven.” She bit her bottom lip. “Should we go check on him?”

Kayla sighed and glanced at her. “Yeah, let’s go.”

She followed Kayla back up to the house to check on JT.

They made their way up the pathway and entered the house. JT was in the small office looking at the computer screen, watching the security footage from earlier.

“Is everything okay?” Kayla asked from the doorway.

“Damn it, I told you to…” JT stopped when he noticed both of them standing at the door, Bo by their side. “He kept to the one place I didn’t put cameras up.” He groaned as he showed them the screen. “How did he know?”

“It’s not that hard,” Cora admitted. “All you have to do is wait until after dark. There are red blinking lights on each camera. You should really put some tape or something over the lights so you can’t see them in the dark.” That was how she’d avoided being seen those first two nights.

JT turned to her and asked, “Want to help me move some cameras around? I’ve got some black duct tape.” He pulled the roll out of the drawer and held it up.

“Not exactly how you expected the meeting to go?” he asked Kayla.

“No.” She smiled as she looked at Cora. “I think this is much better than I could have planned. I’m glad you’re safe,” she said to her.

For the next two hours, the three of them moved around the island together, relocating the cameras and putting tape over the red flashing lights.

Around sunset, Cora and Bo went with JT back to the mainland to take Kayla home. Kayla hugged both of them.

“She likes you,” JT said as they pulled away from the dock later.

Cora was quiet for a moment as she thought about the past few hours, the past few weeks. So much had changed. She’d actually spent time with her brother and sister.

“Why are you guys being nice to me?” she asked, concerned suddenly.

“You’re family,” JT answered after a moment.

“I’m not. Not really.” She shook her head.

“I was eighteen when our sister Lori died. I’m six years older than Kayla. I never was close to either of them. Until recently, Kayla and I have had… a strained relationship.” JT nudged her on the shoulder as he steered the boat towards the island.

Cora’s eyes moved to her hands as she nodded. “I usually stayed with my aunt Patty when my mother was gone. Until she died. Then my father…”

“Divorced my mother and moved up there full time?” he finished for her.

She nodded again.

“Your mother’s medical records are sealed, so I couldn’t see why…” He left the question open. His island came into view, and they both looked over at it at the same time. She could make out the lights on his dock and on the pathways leading up to the main house, as well as the building he used as his writing studio.

For the first time in her life, she thought of a place as home. And she had only been there a few days. She had never felt so… welcomed before.

“My mother has struggled with bipolar disorder her entire life. The first time she was admitted into Twin Valley, she was nine,” Cora said.