Page 37 of Meet Me in the Valley (Oakwood Valley #2)

Her place is quaint, though. It’s not large, but the vaulted ceilings and a skylight above the living room give the illusion of a space bigger than it really is.

There’s a gas fireplace with an oak mantle adorned with pictures of Cali from infancy to now.

My heart hurts too much to look at them.

All the years I’ve missed. Not just with my sister, but with my niece.

I noticed a few photos of Nora and Cali in the hallway earlier, but I take my time now studying the ones on the mantle. Most are of the two of them, smiling at the camera or caught in little candid moments. A few are just Nora, looking happy and relaxed. Beautiful as always.

One photo catches my eye of Cali. She’s a little younger than she is now, sitting on the lap of a beautiful blonde woman. The woman looks older, with kind features and a pair of brown eyes that feel oddly familiar.

I lean forward slightly in my seat, narrowing my focus to catch the resemblance,

but the soft clink of Nora setting my tea down beside me pulls me gently back.

“Calista took those.” Nora says with pride, taking a seat on the couch across from me as we both stare at the pictures.

“Is she into photography?” I ask, trying my best to simmer down the resentment boiling deep in my belly. I remind myself this is my sister, not some random, evil person I’m sitting across from.

“Yeah. She’s a really creative kid. She begged me every Christmas since she was four for a nice DSLR camera.

” Nora chuckles, clearly amused by the notion of a little four-year-old Calista asking for a thousand dollar camera instead of a dollhouse or Playdough set.

My heart tugs and aches, wishing I knew that memory for myself.

I want to be the aunt who spoils her niece by buying her a thousand dollar camera just because she can.

But I’m not—and that wasn’t my choice. The resentment I’ve been trying to ward off rises too fast for me to stop. I don’t know if it’s easier to scream, cry, or walk out the door and stay angry, but the words tumble out of me with velocity.

“I’m so fucking angry with you, Nora. How could you do this to me? To us?” I’m rambling, throwing my hands in the air, fighting the urge to stand and get in her face. I understand there’s a child down the hall, but I can’t stop the anger lacing my voice as I lay a new one on Nora.

“You didn’t just leave, you know?”

“I know.”

“No. You don’t know. You left me to hold the pieces together.

You asked me to keep your whereabouts from Mom and Dad, and I listened to you because I loved you that much.

I didn’t agree with your choice to leave, but what the hell was I supposed to do?

You were eighteen and so sure you could cut us out.

” I take a deep breath, feeling the wetness on my cheeks as I let twelve years of a shit-storm out.

“This whole time, Nora. Jesus,” I cry. “This whole time you left because you were pregnant.” The tears are falling too quickly to wipe away.

I’m hiccuping, struggling to suck in breaths.

I fucking hate crying, but this is too much for me to handle.

Regret sinks in like a rusty anchor, and I’m the ocean floor.

“I told you last night that Mom is sick. I spared the details because I wasn’t expecting to see you then.

But now Cali is in the picture, Nora. You hid her this entire time, and Mom is dying!

Her brain is rotting. She’s forgetting us.

Do you know she calls me Nora? Do you know how much that fucking hurts? ”

The whole time I rant, Nora just stares with an emptiness in her gaze.

I watch her hands tremble as she tries to steady her steaming cup of tea.

This is so typical of her. She’s always been so stoic, so rigid, always striving for perfection.

The entire time I spew my anger, she just sits there frozen in place, apart from the tears dripping past her chin.

She doesn’t even bother to wipe them away.

“Damn it, say something!” I yell. She flinches at my tone, covering her face with her hands as if she’s trying to hide from me. No more hiding. I don’t care if her child can hear me. I deserve to hear why she chose to do this alone.

She finally uncovers her face, her hazel eyes boring into mine.

“I was scared, Tia. I was eighteen, pregnant, and terrified of the consequences. I’m sorry, okay?

I’m sorry I left the weight of my issues on your shoulders.

I’m sorry Mom is sick. I’m sorry she calls you Nora.

I’m sorry I never came back to you. I’m so fucking sorry for everything, Tia,” she sobs, and it breaks my heart all over again.

I imagine myself in her shoes, a child pregnant with a child and not a single clue about how to move forward with what’s right and wrong.

Taking a few deep breaths, I calm myself down before I rise from my seat.

I’m in front of her within two strides, sitting next to her with my hands tightly squeezing hers.

The love I have for Nora outweighs the resentment I feel for her.

I can choose to push my feelings aside to hear her out. For now, anyway.

“I’m sorry you felt you had to do this alone. I would’ve been there for you. I mean, Jesus. Twelve years?” I choke back a sob. We lean into each other, my head resting on her shoulder as we both silently cry for the lost time between us.

“Does Cali know who I am? When we showed up?” My eyes stay trained on the steam wafting from my tea, and I feel Nora nod her head against me.

“After I ran into you at the casino, I knew I had to tell her you were here, and that she’d be meeting you.”

I look toward the hallway by the front door, where Cali and Logan are hopefully getting along. Knowing Logan, he will probably end up being that girl’s best friend at the end of all this. Something about that makes my heart swell.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I deserved it,” she replies with a small smile, nudging my shoulder with hers.

I replay the night Nora left over and over like a broken record in my head.

“Can I ask where and why you’re going? And why were you trying to sneak away without saying bye to me? Was it something I did?”

“It has nothing to do with you. I just . . . I have to . . . I can’t stay here. This town. I need to get out.”

“But why? Nora, you’re shaking. Talk to me? Please talk to me!”

“Tia, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I just have to go.”

The pain I feel from that night is still evident. The sting hasn’t lessened all these years later. But one thing I know about Nora for sure is that when she sets her mind to something, it’s done.

When she set her eyes on the lead role in a ballet performance, she’d get it.

When she’d study on the weekends instead of hanging with her friends, it was because she was determined to maintain her spot on the honor roll.

It doesn’t surprise me that when she chose to leave Oakwood Valley to start a new life—even if that meant the life she knew would be gone—she made that decision with her full chest. No doubts.

Fear? Yes. Doubts? Not Nora. It’s something I’ve always admired about her.

The tenacity to be confident in your choices. To never take no for an answer.

But with those traits come shortcomings, and unfortunately, a lot of people were hurt by her choice.

“There’s so much I want to ask. I don’t know where to start,” I admit, finally taking a sip of the lemon ginger tea Nora brewed. The warm drink is comforting as it goes down my throat and settles into my stomach with a sense of calm.

“Let’s talk over your favorite sister meal. Well, I hope it’s still your favorite,” Nora says nervously.

An olive branch. I know one when I see one.

“If it’s what I think you’re making, then yes. Grilled six cheese sandwiches are still my favorite.”

“It’s Calista’s favorite, too.”

Of course it is.

A knock at the door startles me. Nora holds up a finger to me, telling me to wait. I go to stand, watching her hustle toward the knocking.

She didn’t say she was expecting company?

I hear a woman’s voice, cheery and bright.

Craning my neck down the hall, my eyes connect with the beautiful mystery woman from the picture on the wall in an embrace with Nora.

Deep, warm brown eyes twinkle at me, and I’m met with a beaming, gorgeous smile.

Nora takes a set of brown paper bags from her arms as they walk toward me.

I give her a genuine smile, hoping my eyes aren’t too puffy from all the crying. I wipe under my eyes in case my mascara smeared, offering my hand to hers.

“Hello. I’m Tia.”

Instead of taking my hand, she tugs me into a deep hug, and the smell of berries smacks me right in the face. Like artificial berries, ones from a cereal box. I grunt as she squeezes the daylights out of me.

“Oh, I’m a hugger. Hi, honey. I’m Hannah. But you can call me Hanny.”

She’s spirited, but undeniably beautiful. Her long, gold hair shimmers like glitter, sleek and smooth. Her skin is gold, too, like she spends many hours in the sun. I’ve only just met her, but judging by the impact she’s made on my sister and Cali, I’m guessing she’s got a heart of gold, too.

“Calista has been calling her Hanny since she was in diapers,” Nora adds with a grin, taking various groceries out of the bags and placing them on the kitchen island.

So Hannah has been in their life this entire time. I’m assuming as a nanny. Hanny, the nanny. Makes sense. Nora would’ve needed the help. But still, so many questions scramble around in my brain it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly I’d like clarity.

The thorn of envy pierces me in an unwelcome intrusion, side swiping me when I look at the smile on Nora’s face as she looks at Hannah like a savior. A friend.

“Yup. That’s me. I’ve always been Hanny. Now, where is my Cali cub?”

“Calista! Hanny is here!” Nora calls out.

Logan and Cali’s laughter flows down the hallway as the door to Cali’s room flies open.

My lips immediately tip into a smile. I knew they would hit it off.

It’s hard not to love the man. He’s the best. Even when he lets down half the women within the Austin city limits, not one soul can stay mad at Logan Harper. He’s too loveable, flaws and all.

“Hanny!” Cali screams, running to her like an old friend. The bond between them is evident in the way Cali clings to Hannah, wrapping their arms around each other tightly.

Logan cooly walks into the living room space, giving me a flirty wink. Instant butterflies flutter inside me with one simple gesture. My feet don’t stop until I’m within arm’s reach of him.

“Logan?” Hannah unwraps herself from Cali, her face suddenly white as a ghost. Logan turns toward her, stiffening immediately as soon as their eyes meet. The tension in the room becomes thick, like a dense fog. Nora and I find each other, confusion marking both of our faces.

“You two know each other?” Nora asks with trepidation. Cali’s eyes flicker between Logan and Hannah, then back to her mom for some sort of resolve.

Logan’s jaw ticks, his eyes mist, and his fists coil into tight balls. I can see his chest trembling, his breaths stuttering as he breathes through his nose.

“Nora, what the hell is my mother doing in your house?”