Page 71 of May 11

CORA THREW THE DISHCLOTH into the soapy water in the backroom of Whale's Tail. Suds flew up in the air, and yet her burst of anger only made her more irritated.

She swiped the stray bubble off her cheek.

Dania put her hand on Cora's forearm. "Okay, spill. What's going on?"

Tension gripped Cora's jaw. The pounding headache she'd woken up with wouldn't leave despite taking two Tylenol a couple of hours ago.

She wanted to apologize for her shitty mood. Her attitude today was rude despite putting a smile on for the customers. She hated how she felt.

All she wanted to do was return to Wire's house and crawl into bed, forgetting the outside world.

A world filled with pain and disappointments.

"You can talk to me," whispered Dania.

She faced her friend and boss. There were only two more weeks of the summer season. She never meant to end it on a sour note.

"Last year, I set out to find my missing brother and ended up in Seaglass Cove for the summer." She pursed her lips. "I should be happy because I found him."

"What?" Dania grabbed Cora's hands. "You did? Here?"

"Not exactly." She sniffed. "He's a Havlin Motorcycle Club member in a different charter."

"Wow." Dania stepped back. "What are the odds, huh?"

"Right?" She gritted her teeth.

Dania frowned. "But you're not happy."

"I'm happy." She balled her hands into fists. "No, I'm mad."

"Why?"

"Wire...Jagger set up a meeting for me with my brother. Jeff was supposed to come here a week ago but never showed up." Her insides shook. "Wire won't contact him for me. He won't give me a phone number to call. I'm just supposed to accept that my brother doesn't want to make contact with me."

"Oh, no." Dania's gaze softened.

"I'm so angry." She groaned. "Jeff doesn't know his sister asked to see him. He thinks he's coming to talk to Wire's girlfriend."

"Oh." Dania grimaced. "Nobody will tell him that you're his sister?"

She shook her head. "He wouldn't believe them anyway. He doesn't know about me."

While she understood why they kept her a secret, it still hurt.

"The more I think about him, the angrier I get." She pursed her lips and inhaled swiftly, unable to keep quiet. "I don't understand how he could turn his back on our parents. Now, we lost our parents, and Jeff doesn't even know. He wasn't there for them. He wasn't there for me."

Dania grabbed her in a tight hug. "You poor thing."

"Don't feel sorry for me."

"Okay." Dania pulled back and held Cora's shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "But you're grieving. This last year has been hell for you, and you haven't had time to let your grief out. You're angry, and you have every right to be mad. You lost your parents, and that wasn't fair. It hurts, and you need to be angry to heal. It's unfair that you had to experience that kind of loss. Especially at your age and by yourself without anyone's support."

As Dania spoke, tears rolled down Cora's face. Nobody had ever told her it was okay to be angry. It was okay to hurt. It was normal to feel all these emotions at the same time. Half the time, when she wasn't immersed in Wire's attention, she felt like she was going crazy.

Wire had distracted her. He'd brought smiles, laughter, happiness, and excitement. He soothed her with affection and sex. He gave her what she needed to feel wanted and loved. But she couldn't deny that she still had a lot of healing to do.

A shudder rolled through her.

---