I pause, considering it. “To be honest, Jim, I don’t really know how to answer that. I’d like to call Cora a friend, but I don’t even think she likes me much.”
Jim throws his head back and laughs. “You wouldn’t be the first man to wonder about that, I’m afraid. It does make me curious, though, why you came out in full force to help her if you don’t even know if she’s your friend?”
I have to give him credit. The man is not afraid of confrontation.
“When she called me, scared out of her fucking mind, what she is to me didn’t matter. She needed help.” The way her voice had lost all sense of her confidence will haunt me the rest of my life. “Seeing her that scared, scared me. I didn’t think she was afraid of anything.”
Jim nods knowingly. “Cora’s a special kind of woman.”
I nod in agreement. “I watched her manhandle a grown ass man out of her bar, as if he were no bigger than a toddler. Just carried on her conversation as she tossed his ass out the door.”
Jim peers over at his daughter. “She gets it from her mother,” he smirks. “Lynne was just like her in high school. Half the football team steered clear of her after she kicked the ass of one of them who had spread a rumor about her. He lives a few blocks down the road, and I swear he still gives her a wide berth all these years later.”
I raise my brow. “That five foot nothing woman did that?”
He smiles wide. “And then some.”
How had this man survived in a household with two badass women under the same roof all these years? My respect for him grows by the second.
Suddenly, the air changes around us, a heaviness encompassing us both.
Jim leans in, his voice almost a whisper when he says, “Cora’s got a history. It’s not my story to tell, and I don’t even know you, but I will say this—she’s strong. An immovable force once she sets her mind to something, but she’s far from invincible.”
Fuck. She told him about what I said at the concert.No wonder if I’m getting a new boyfriend once-over from her dad? “Jim, I don’t know what she told you—” I start to say before Judge joins us.
“You don’t have to worry about that, Jim. From what I’ve seen of your daughter over the last few days, we should be warning her not to hurt him. She could wipe the floor with this guy.” He jerks his head toward me and grins. “In fact, I’d pay good money to see that.”
Jim chuckles. “Me too.”
“It’s too bad we’re pulling out tomorrow,” Judge continues. “I enjoy seeing this asshole get his balls handed to him day in and day out.”
Raising his brow, Jim looks at me with something close to disapproval. “Heading out, you say?”
“Wait, what?” Cora walks over to the three of us, her face unreadable, but I could’ve sworn I’d just seen a flash of sadness before she reached us. “You’re leaving? All of you?”
Judge nods. “The rally has a few more days left, but our kids are back in Texas. It’s been a nice trip, but it’s time we head back home.”
“Texas? That’s a bit of a ways from here,” Jim notes, his gaze focused on his daughter.
“Tell me about it. Nineteen hours on a Harley at my age?” Judge guffaws, rubbing the back of his neck. “I feel it the next day, and the day after that.”
“I feel it every morning when I get out of bed,” Jim counters.
Judge and Jim fall deeper into conversation about whatever it is old men talk about, excluding Cora and I. I peer over at her and tip my head to the side, inviting her to talk somewhere else. Smiling, she leads me to a bench at the far side of the yard, giving us some privacy.
Settling in next to each other, she tilts her head toward me and asks, “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving tomorrow?”
“They’releaving.”
That has her perking up. “You’re not going with them?”
“Not sure yet.” Rubbing my hands together, I inquire, “We’re all going to grab breakfast in the morning before they leave. Would you like to come?”
Her smile grows wide. “It’s a date.”
CORA
Steppinginto Greta’s Breakfast Bar and Mexican Cantina, I scan over the tables, looking for the group. I haven’t been here in years, but I’m not surprised to see that nothing has changed.