Page 56 of No Ordinary Hate

“Not a child. He’s aman,” I tell her, putting extra emphasis on the word man. “A manly man.”

Moira screws up her face and says, “Eww!” Then her eyes grow wide, and she gasps. “You like him!”

“Do not!”

“Do too. Youlike him, like him,” she says, leaning toward me.

Dropping my shoulders, I ask, “Is it my fault he’s crazy hot and I haven’t gotten any in almost five years?”

Moira bursts out laughing, stomping her feet on the porch while sitting in her chair. “Yuck, yuck, yuck! He’s my brother.” When she stops, she grins at me. “But I can see how other women would like him. He’s one of the good ones.”

“He sure is,” I answer with a wistful sigh. “A guy like that could almost make a girl forget she’s sworn off men forever …”

Moira narrows her eyes playfully. “What happened up at the cabin?”

My cheeks heat up. “Nothing. Well, just one very light kiss, but it was …” I trail off, then stop when I see her wincing. “Should we change the subject?”

“Let’s,” Moira answers, then yawns

I suddenly realize it’s at least the third time she’s done that in the last few minutes. “I’ve kept you up way past your bedtime, haven’t I?”

“I’ve kept me up past my bedtime. I’ve just been having so much fun, I didn’t want it to stop, but I’d better hit the hay. I have to be up at five a.m.”

I jump to my feet to say my goodbyes but then I stumble and sit back down. “I don’t think I should drive right now.”

“Probably not,” she says. “Don’t worry, I’ll call you a cab.”

“Perfect.”

She goes in the house to place the call while I sit, listening to the sound of the crickets. Smiling to myself, I realize how very nice it feels to be me at this moment. All the pain of my impending divorce is lost in a boozy blur. And while I don’t know how my life is going to turn out, I do know one thing: if I can traverse the waters of change with half of the grace that Moira has, I’ll be just fine.

Chapter26

Digger

I’m just getting out of the shower when my cell phone rings. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I check the screen and see my sister’s name. My heart rate starts to beat in double time. She never calls this late unless something is wrong.

“Hey, Moira, what’s up?”

“We’re drunk,” she says, slurring a little.

“Who’s drunk?” I ask.

“Harper and me.”

“Where are you?”

“My place, you big dope. I can’t leave my kiddos alone.”

“Right.” The news that my sister is tipsy supersedes any knowledge of how responsible she always is. She’s had to be. Which is why she’s not known to get drunk.

“Harper needs a ride back to the lodge,” she says. “I’ll drive the truck to the diner in the morning and you can pick it up there.”

“Is that right?” The thought of seeing Harper again makes me feel like a little kid. Unreasonably excited.

* * *

Ten minutes later, I pull up at my sister’s, only to find Moira and Harper lying on the front lawn next to each other, laughing like a pair of hyenas. I get out of the truck and slam the door, but they don’t so much as turn in my direction. They finally put two and two together when I’m standing directly over them.