Page 46 of Meet Me in the Valley (Oakwood Valley #2)

Chapter Thirty

TIA

“Nora, open the door!”

My fist raps hard against the splintered wood of my sister’s front door, echoing loud in my ears. There’s no use fighting back the tears that have been falling from my eyes since I left Logan alone in our hotel room.

The driver who brought me to Nora’s doorstep must have thought I was having a mental breakdown, judging by his constant glances back at me through the rearview mirror—probably to check I wasn’t having a brain aneurysm.

Suitcase in hand, I bang on Nora’s door three more times before it opens in a sudden whoosh, the force of my knocking nearly propelling me forward.

“Tia?” Nora looks like a deer caught in headlights. She sees my suitcase, then notices the red rims around my eyes, swollen with a well of emotions that have been storming through me since Logan’s painful confession.

“I slept with Krista.”

Logan’s admission triggered something ugly inside of me. Taking what he did at face value, my reaction to it all felt hypocritical. He insists it’s not my fault—that what he did with Krista was a way to punish himself for feeling something deep for me.

“You told me you felt nothing for me. I asked you, remember? At the airport. You denied me, and I fucking spiraled. I’m not using that as an excuse for my actions, but it fucked me up more than I expected. I didn’t realize then that I had already fallen for you.”

He’d already fallen for me.

And I’m the one who planted that seed of doubt. I’m the one who shoved him away with a lie that cost us both more than we knew. I may as well have handed him Krista on a silver platter.

What did I expect? That one emotionally charged weekend would suddenly rewrite his patterns? That he’d stop sleeping around for someone who couldn’t even admit she wanted him?

Mixing our friendship with sex—erotically raw, all-consuming, earth-shattering sex—was always a gamble. A beautiful, reckless risk that was never meant to last. We flew too close to the sun. And now we’re paying for it by burning at the stake.

But I can’t unpack all of that now. Not here. Not when everything between us is already unraveling. Not when I’m a battered mess at my sister’s doorstep.

“What happened? You’re shaking. Get in here,” Nora coos softly, like if she were to speak any louder, I’d break.

I say nothing as I walk through her door with my suitcase trailing behind. Automatically looking for Cali, I don’t see her as I make my way through Nora’s house. It’s quiet, save for the soft bubble of boiling water on the stove.

Nora sneaks behind me, turning the gas off. I’m not really sure where to go. Do I sit at the kitchen table? The living room loveseat? Get fresh air on the patio? It’s as if I’m in a comatose state.

Nora’s big sister sense kicks in, answering my rambling thoughts for me. “Come sit with me,” she gestures to the living room. “Tell me what’s going on.”

She takes my suitcase for me, rolling it into an open space near the hall. I don’t make a move until her hand gently nudges the small of my back, guiding me to the loveseat.

Nora heads into the kitchen, situating some tea with the water she was boiling from earlier.

Almost like she knew I’d be coming. I know it’s not true, though.

I requested a ride share with Nora’s address as my destination, fueled with determination to complete the mission I came here for and make something good of this trip.

I gave her no warning I’d be coming. No text, no call. Just a whim and a prayer she’d answer the door.

Fragrant jasmine wafts through the air as Nora settles two cups of tea in front of us. The scent should bring me some sort of comfort, but it only puts me on edge. Maybe Nora did this on purpose—jasmine tea is Mom’s favorite. But it almost feels like an insult.

Funny how this exact scenario played out just yesterday, sitting here in this chair across from someone I’m still seeking answers from.

It’s like I’ve lived a thousand lives in twenty-four hours.

Like I’ve aged ten years too, with the relentless assault of emotions I’ve experienced within those twenty-four hours.

“Where’s Logan?”

“Where’s Cali?” I divert, not wanting to talk about Logan right now. I bring the tea to my lips, but as soon as the taste hits my tongue, I’m instantly hit with nausea. I attempt to hide my grimace, but Nora catches me.

“Does it not taste good?”

“It’s fine. Just not in the mood for tea. Where’s Cali?” I ask again.

Now that I’m back here in Nora’s house, the reality of our situation swells like an incoming wave. It’s growing with intensity, and if I don’t navigate this correctly, it will end up drowning me.

Cali—my niece. The niece she hid from me for twelve years.

“She’s with Hanny,” Nora whispers. Guilt marks her face, avoiding eye contact while fidgeting with the handle of her mug.

Hannah. Hanny. The woman my sister looks up to the most. It stings like unspoken betrayal. But I want to understand, even if it hurts.

“So you really had no idea she was Logan’s mom? This entire time you’ve let her into your life—your child’s life—you never knew?”

“No,” shaking her head, “I didn’t. She told me she had a son, but I didn’t even know she was married to Chief Harper. She told me she was leaving her husband and had a plan to go to Vegas.”

I scoff. “That was really stupid of you, Nora. I always knew you to be street smart. She could’ve been a child trafficker, or a goddamn serial killer.

And you were pregnant. She could’ve stolen your baby like those crazy ladies who stalk pregnant women,” I say in disbelief. “I just don’t understand.”

Nora rolls her eyes, taking a sip of her tea before pinning me with a hard stare. “I don’t need you to understand. It wasn’t like I left with her that day. You don’t know the half of it?—”

“And whose fault is that? You made damn sure I didn’t know anything about you or your life.

That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? You send me a half-assed postcard with no return address, telling me to come find you.

And now that I have, you want me to have empathy for you?

To feel sorry for you? You hid your child from us and let a stranger take care of you instead of us. Your family!”

“Tia, I don’t need you to berate me for my choices. Calm the fuck down. We’ve already talked about this. You want the truth? Hannah saved me. I was at the clinic b-because I was c- considering—” Nora stutters, overcome with emotion as a rush of tears leave her.

“Hannah became my friend. She could relate to what I was going through—feeling scared and sick of Oakwood Valley. I wanted out, and the more I got to know her, the more I trusted her. She was a safe person for me, and Cali adores her. I’m not going to feel bad for doing what I needed to do at the time to survive,” Nora breathes, furiously wiping the onslaught of tears running down her face.

“I’m sorry it hurt Logan. I hate that he resents me, but I seriously didn’t know, Tia. Hannah’s been a mess since the whole thing went down. Honestly, so have I. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

The four-way standoff on Nora’s patio yesterday sent Logan and me spiraling into a whirlpool of avoidance and denial. All we had to do was look at each other, say “Fuck the rest,” and disappear into each other. Neither of us had the strength to walk away from the inevitable.

And now, looking at my sister, I see the defeat written all over her face. After how we left things yesterday, it’s no wonder she didn’t think I’d come back. Years of hurt and unanswered questions. A cruel twist of fate that Logan and I never saw coming in a million years.

Everything that’s happened between then and now was blissful noise. A distraction from the reality I’ve been trying not to face because I had Logan there to shield me from the fallout.

It’s not just the guilt—though that sits heavy on my chest, a weight I can’t shake from not being honest with Logan from the start.

It’s the sharp, breath-stealing realization that I let my want for him—my need for him—completely distract me from the real reason I’m here.

And learning the truth about Hannah’s role in Nora’s life doesn’t change the fact that she has a son who loves and misses her.

“Well, I came back because it didn’t feel like we were done talking. You need to come back with me, Nora. I’m not leaving here until you do.”

Nora sighs, putting her mug down on the table, then threads her fingers through her long onyx hair.

If anything, we look more alike the older we’ve gotten.

The resemblance even has me doing a double-take for a split second.

But the stark difference between us is I have empathy for my mother and, apparently, Nora doesn’t.

“Going back to California isn’t that simple, Tia.

I dance at the hotel five days a week, two times a night, and I have a twelve-year-old going on twenty-two that I need to keep alive.

Plus, the endless amount of bills, a mortgage, and my very lame, non-existent-social life.

I can’t just up and leave my life here.”

“Huh, you had no issues up and leaving us when you wanted. It was you who always told me if I wanted something in life, to go after it and never take no for an answer. So, I’m telling you to come home to see mom. You owe me that much.”

Nora’s mouth quirks up, the faintest trace of a smirk tugging at the corner. “Ah. So the student becomes the master. I’ve taught you well, young grasshopper,” she teases.

And just like that, for a moment, the years between us fall away.

Sitting across from me isn’t the stranger I’ve learned to guard myself against—it’s my sister . My big sister.

The one I once worshipped so blindly I would’ve followed her anywhere. For a flicker of time, we slip back into who we used to be before everything got so complicated. Before the silence. Before she left.