Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
She looks like Josie…like my sister…and I’m both happy and terrified knowing what that means I should expect for my reception.
“Norah?” The surprise in her voice is evident.
My smile is shaky. “Hi, sis.”
A million emotions flit across Josie’s face. First, shock. Then, confusion. Then… “What in the hell are you doing here?”
Oh boy.
“Uh…I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by and see how you’re doing.”
“In the neighborhood?” she retorts with narrowed eyes. “Red Bridge is nine hours away from New York.”
“Okay, so I wasn’t exactly in the neighborhood, but I…wanted to see you.”
“You came all the way to Red Bridge because, suddenly, after five years of no contact, you wanted to see me?” Her brow furrows in skepticism. “You really expect me to believe that?”
“I did. I do want to see you. Five years is too long for anyone, and it’s definitely too long for us,” I respond, but when she looks down at my suitcase with hard eyes and a fixed mouth, I know I’m going to have to hit the honesty a little harder if I have any chance of swaying her. “And…I kind of…sort of…need a place to stay for a little while.”
“You want to stay here? With me?” She looks down at my suitcase again. “And you didn’t think it was a good idea to give me a heads-up?”
“I tried to call you,” I lie, and Josie’s gaze jerks back to mine.
“Bullshit.”
“Okay, so I didn’t try to call you because I had a feeling you’d strongly discourage my presence.” Not to mention, emotionally, I’ve had a lot going on.
A harsh laugh jumps from her lungs. “Very perceptive of you.”
“So…can I come in or…?”
“How about you tell me why you’re here first, and then I’ll decide.”
I push out a breath. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.” She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the doorframe. She’s settling in for the long haul, but I’m not ready to open Pandora’s box of wedding day disaster. Though, I’m going to have to find some manner of compromise with myself if I want in that door.
“I just needed a break.”
“You left New York because you needed a break?” she questions. “And why do you need a break exactly? Life getting a little hard in the penthouse?” She laughs at me, which stings. “Or, maybe, you’re low on maids and overwhelmed at doing your own laundry? Or, I know, maybe you’re distraught because Hermes won’t let you buy the latest bag?”
Typically, I, Norah Ellis, am the peacekeeper. The person who doesn’t give in to anger and who doesn’t shout or let mean words flow off her tongue. But evidently, I am not that person today. The derision in her voice, mixed with everything I went through back in New York, burrows underneath my skin like a little parasite, and once it finds its way into my bloodstream, I can’t hold back.
“I know it’s probably bringing you great enjoyment to find me on your front porch like a stray cat, but I just took a nine-hour Greyhound bus ride and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and had to hitchhike another ride from a complete stranger who also happened to be the world’s grouchiest man, which ended in me walking here from the center of town, and I’d really like to just sit down. And maybe…you know…drink some water to stave off a hospital stay for dehydration.” My voice breaks on an almost-cry, but I suck the urge back down into the depths of my throat. “Could you find it somewhere in your apparently cold, dead heart to let me come inside first before we get into all the tragic details of the current state of my life?”
Josie stares at me, considering. It’s the last straw on my delicate hold.
“Please?” I beg, a tear breaking loose. “Show your sister some mercy?”
“It’s not bringing me enjoyment to see you cry,” she eventually consoles. “Not at all, but it’s been over five years, Norah, and it’s not like you were the nicest person to me the last time I saw you. Actually, you were a total bitch.” She’s referring to our grandmother’s funeral, and I know she’s right. I was my mother’s soldier that day, doling out all the things that brought our relationship to this point. I’m not proud of my behavior back then, but in my defense, I was only twenty-one and still naïve about our mother.
“Josie, you have to admit that you weren’t being nice either. You told Mom to ‘get the fuck out’ in the middle of a funeral. Actually, you screamed it. In front of everyone. It was quite the scene, if I recall.”
“It’s not my fault that Eleanor decided to show up somewhere she was definitely not welcome.”
“Josie.” My eyes go wide as old habits of defending our mother die hard. “It was Grandma Rose’s funeral. Pretty sure that wasn’t the time or place to go off on our mother.”