Page 199 of Five Mountain Daddies

After a little while, and halfway through my soda, Cora comes walking over. “I think she’s ready,” shesays.

“Good.” I smile at her. “You did a goodjob.”

“It wasn’t like the other times,” she says softly. “I think… I think she actually wants to get better. I mean, she has nothingleft.”

“We can help her.” I stand up. “Did you research anymeetings?”

She nods. “There’s onetonight.”

“Good. Let’s get her home, get her some sleep, and then make sure shegoes.”

Cora takes my hand and squeezes it. “You’re good to me, youknow?”

I shake my head. “Just doing what anyone woulddo.”

“No, really. I know you should have gone back home by now.” I go to say something, but she talks over me. “I know you’re leaving eventually. I’m just happy you’ve been here for as long as you have… for helping me the way youdid…”

I pull her close against me and kiss her softly. I don’t say anything, because there’s nothing to say. We both know I have to go, and that’s the worst thing about allthis.

I pay for Cora’s mom’s drinks, and the three of us leave. Cora sits in the back seat of the car with her mom, and the two of them talk softly while I drive back to her mom’s place. We’ll get her to sleep and hopefully get her to an AA meeting as soon aspossible.

After that, my mission here is over. I’ll have nothing holding me here, nothing that I’m trying to solve or fix. There will only be Cora, and I’m afraid of what that means. If I decide to stay, I’ll be admitting something to myself, something that I didn’t know I couldadmit.

I’ll be admitting that I’m not the Lovemaker anymore, that I’m not just out to fuck and have a good time. I’ll be admitting that I want something serious, something serious enough that I’d sacrifice forit.

That’s what scares me the most. If I want Cora enough to sacrifice, that means she’ll have the power to hurt me. I don’t know if this relationship is just a product of the stress of our situation, and if it’ll survive beyond this. But then again, I know her from way before any of this happened, back when we were kids. And even back then, I knew she was special. Atticus kept everyone away from his younger sister, but we all saw her. We all knewher.

I knew her best of all, and I wanted her most of all. I just don’t know if that’s going to be enough to get us past everything, or if we’re just doomed tofail.

26

Cora

For the first time in her life, my mother goes to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Wyatt and I drive her there and drop her off, making sure she goes inside. Wyatt parks the car in the far corner of the church’s lot, and soon we’re alone, lit only by the moon rising slowly in thesky.

“She’ll be okay,” Wyatt says tome.

“I know.” I take a breath and slowly let it out. The meeting is in the basement of a church we used to come to when I was younger. I doubt my mom’s been here in a long time, and I hope she’s doing okay inthere.

“Just admitting she has a problem is a great firststep.”

“I know.” I glance out the window and I don’t say anythingmore.

A few minutes pass in silence. I don’t know why I’m being so distant. Wyatt has done so much for me in such a short time, and our relationship has grown so quickly that it’s almost scary. If he were anyone else, I would assume that this thing we have between us is just so intense because of what was happening… but I don’t think that’sit.

There’s always been something between us, even back when we were younger, although I don’t think we understood it back then. He’s a few years older than I am, so that’s been keeping him away, but now we’re finallyequals.

I know he has to leave. I just hate myself for getting so attached to him. He never said he was staying, never once said he’d come live with me in Mason. I must have had this stupid delusion where I thought we could live happily ever after… but I know that’s alie.

“When are you leaving?” I ask him, breaking the silence. I look over toward him and he has this pained expression on hisface.

“I should be back at work by Tuesday,” he says. “So, Monday night at thelatest.”

I nod. That doesn’t give us much time. “You don’t have to stay that long,” I say to him, although I hate myself for it. “You can go whenever youwant.”

“I know that,” he says. He reaches toward me, but I flinchaway.

“Don’t,” Isay.

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