Page 95 of Defending Casey

“Nora,” he spoke softly, calm as he could be as he watched his nephew lose what was left of his mind, “Is that your full name?”

He could feel her shock through the physical touch of his hands on her shoulders. “Tell me, Nora. Please.”

He knew she was confused. He knew she was struggling to calm herself with her mother in danger, but he knew one thing about his granddaughter, she came from brave stock.

“Sonora.”

“Let me guess, it was your Grandpa Jones’ idea.”

She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

“Grampa likes folk heroes and famous Western caricatures.” Her forehead creased. “Carolers? Care- I can never remember that word.”

“Characters?” he suggested.

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s it! He likes Western characters. And he named me after Sonora Webster Carver.” It took her a moment to pronounce all three names as if she was reading it off a sign or a cue card. “Sonora was a horse diver.”

“What was that?” He leaned forward and dropped his voice to barely a whisper. “A driver?”

“DIVER, grampa. She and her horse dove off a diving board from like a hundred feet high.” Her voice had a soft and easy cadence. Good.

“You remember that, Nora. You remember how to dive.”

She didn’t say another word, she just nodded.

Something was about to happen.

Just like his old knees could tell him when a cold snap was about to hit, he could feel a kind of calm reassurance settling in his bones.

He just had to be ready.

He had to be fast.

And sure.

He owed that to his son.

He owed that to the family he’d denied for so long.

He wouldn’t fail them now.

#

Brian was focused on Casey.It felt like his eyes weren’t just looking at her, it felt like he was trying to bore into her brain and change her mind.

He said he loved her.

He said he understood her.

He didn’t understand her at all. It wasn’t about her mind when it came to Hale.

It was all about her heart.

And her heart would never have opened to Brian.

Not that way.

Not for him.

---