Page 183 of Five Mountain Daddies

Just like her mother, Cora needs time. I won’t push. She’ll come to me for help if she needsit.

I glance back to my computer and notice that I have a new friend request. Curious, I click it, and the face of a guy I remember from school looks back atme.

I grin a little bit. Reggie was a friend back in the day, although we lost touch when I went to school. He was a dorky guy, hung around Mitch a lot too back then. I have no clue what happened to him, so I accept hisrequest.

Just a few minutes later, a message from him pops up. “Hey,man!”

“Hey, Reggie,” I type back. “What’s up? Long time nosee.”

“You got that right. I heard you were back in town,man.”

“Yeah, sure am.” I sip my coffee, assuming that Mitch told him. “How are things withyou?”

“Things are good. Why don’t we hang out and catchup?”

I hesitate. I’ve been avoiding meetings like this. Not that I have anything against my old friends, it’s just that I haven’t wanted to get too tangled up in the damn local politics. Still, I’m here for at least another week, so I might as well give it atry.

And I liked Reggie. He was quiet, a little pudgy, wore glasses. The kind of kid that people would have picked on, but fortunately he was also really kind and pretty funny, so most people liked him. Part of me is a little surprised that he’s still living in Mason. He’s one of the guys I would have guessed got out, but apparentlynot.

“Yeah, okay,” I type back to him. “Where and when? I’m not in town for toolong.”

“How about today then? I got nothing goingon.”

I glance up at Cora. She’s busy staring off into space, idly eating herbreakfast.

“Okay, I can do that,” I type back. “Meet me at the Great American forlunch?”

“That’d be great, except I don’t have a ride out there. I know it’s a little weird but would you mind picking meup?”

I hesitate a second. “From where?” I askhim.

“My place,” he says. “I’m in a dumpy little trailer out by the309.”

“Sure,” I say, not happy about this, but whatever. “I’ll get you around one.” I send him my number and tell him to text me the address. My phone buzzes a minutelater.

“What’s that?” Cora asksme.

“Remember ReggieWheeler?”

“Sure,” she says. “My brother said he was a big dork, but he always seemed nice tome.”

I laugh a little. “Yeah, Atticus didn’t get along with him backthen.”

“You hanging out withhim?”

I nod. “Yeah, just for a bit this afternoon. Want tocome?”

She shakes her head. “No, that’sokay.”

“You sure? We’re just having lunch righthere.”

“I’m sure. I’ll see how my mom’sdoing.”

“That works for me,” I say, and we change the subject, talking about logistical stuff. Now that I’m staying in Mason longer, I need to buy more clothes, more toiletries, those sort of things. We make plans to go to Wal-Mart after I drop Reggie back off at his place afterlunch.

We head back to the motel after that. I drop off my computer and kill a little time taking a quick shower. I keep imagining what Cora’s doing over in her room, but I have to keep pushing those thoughts away. Having her so close complicates things a lot, although her mom kind of tempers allthat.

I want to go next door and taste Cora, the way I’ve been craving her ever since she moved into this motel with her mom, but I know I shouldn’t. I have to head out and pick up Reggie, and plus, her mom is only a couple doors down. She’s not right next door, thankfully, but still. I don’t want to push something on Cora that she might not be comfortablewith.

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