Page 10 of Rush

“Did she try to coax you into taking her swimming? I think I forgot to mention it’s one of her favorite things.”

“She did. She dragged me to the fence three times. I explained I didn’t have a bathing suit with me and promised I’d bring one tomorrow. That got me a side-eye, which was adorable, but a trip to the lake worked in distracting her. Though I have no doubt I’d better show up tomorrow with a bikini and towel in hand or there’ll be hell to pay.”

Linc made a choked sound then took a quick drink of his soda.

Nora frowned. “Are you okay?”

He cleared his throat, eyes averted. “Yeah, just swallowed wrong.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Sophie’s a good swimmer,” he said, getting back to the pool discussion. “Nat had a huge fear of drowning thanks to an accident when she was little. It was nothing too serious, but it left a lasting impression. She enrolled Sophie in swimming lessons, starting with the baby and me classes before she could walk.”

Linc’s soft smile fell as shadows filled his eyes, and Nora knew firsthand what that look meant. When she’d lost her dad, she’d been numb until the funeral, and then the grief had hit her like a tsunami—wave after wave had washed over her until she’d thought she’d drown from the pain of it. Then she’d found those papers and anger joined her grief, followed by feelings of guilt for being angry. Now, most days, she could think about her dad without feeling suffocated in her own emotions. But other times, a song would rotate on her playlist that would remind her of driving in the car, windows rolled down and him belting out the lyrics not caring about the stares he got from fellow drivers, and it was like hearing the news all over again. People always parroted the old saying, “Time heals all wounds,” but that was alie. You never get over losing someone—time helps give you the distance needed to live your life, but love doesn’t die just because that person is no longer here.

Something must’ve shown in her expression because Linc placed his hand over hers in the barest of touches while they both took a moment to get their respective emotions under control. After a moment, Nora eased her hand from under his light hold and squeezed his fingers before letting him go. He’d shared a bit of himself, and Nora felt it was her turn to do the same.

Swallowing, she started hesitantly. “I don’t know how much Oz has shared with you about our father and what happened between our parents.”

“Oz hasn’t spoken about it much at all. He’s always talking about his mom but rarely his dad or why he wasn’t around.” Nora couldn’t hide a wince, and she knew Linc caught it when he quickly assured her, “I think you've been around Oz enough to know that he’s not exactly a big talker, but since he’d connected with you, I’ve heard about his little sister.”

She picked at a piece of pepperoni, peeling it back from the cheese. Her heart eased knowing that. “Oz and I have a mutual agreement not to bring our parent’s drama into our relationship. It's especially important for me because I’d never want to hurt Oz in any way. The indifferent man who walked away from his son is not the loving father I knew.” Nora looked up and met Linc’s eyes. “We weren’t the perfect sitcom family, but he didn't desert us. I didn’t even know about Oz until after he died. I'm quite certain that both of my parents would’ve continued lying to me for the rest of their lives if I hadn’t found that paperwork. It’s hard to accept that the man I knew could abandon his child and continue his life as though it never happened. Realizing one’s parents are human and makemistakes is hard enough, but to be hit with a surprise brother he’d cheated me out of knowing? That’ll take a long time to get over, if I ever do.”

She glanced away, dropping the last bit of the pepperoni she’d been shredding, and wiped the grease from her fingers. “I want answers. I want to know why he did it and what he was thinking, but now I’ll never get them. My mother isn’t going to open up, and even if she did…” She shrugged. “Everyone’s story is different, and Dad isn’t here to give his side of it, not anymore. If I only knew why, maybe it would be easier to forgive him.”

Linc pushed his empty plate away. “It’s never easy losing a parent. I know that from experience. Nat and I lost our parents a few years back. It was rough, but I can’t imagine finding out one of them had a whole other life, let alone hidden a sibling from us.”

Nora was about to reply when she heard shuffling feet, and a still sleepy looking Sophie appeared from around the corner. She climbed into Linc’s lap and curled around him as he murmured to her, “Hey, Peanut, have a good nap?”

Picking up her plate and Linc’s while he was preoccupied, Nora quietly cleaned up around them. When she'd been at Oz's house, Sophie had fallen asleep for a while, so Nora knew firsthand she woke up vulnerable and needed a little snuggle time.

After rinsing their plates and throwing away their trash, Nora slipped into the other room to gather her things. Keys in hand, she poked her head back into the kitchen to say goodbye.

“I’m going to head on out now,” she said softly, getting Sophie’s eyes at her comment. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun with your Uncle Linc this afternoon.”

The little girl narrowed her eyes, looking a hell of a lot like her uncle in that moment and pointed in the direction of the pool.

Her determination made Nora chuckle. “I haven’t forgotten, pool day is officially on the agenda for tomorrow.”

Linc looked at her, a line forming between his brows. “You can stay, you know. There’s no need to rush off. The three of us can hang out.”

There would be nohanging out. The last thing Nora needed was to get more attached to these two than she already was. Hating to do it, but knowing she had to protect her heart, she lied. “Oz should be home soon, and Emerson is off tonight, so I think he has something planned for us.”

Linc looked at her like she was a puzzle that needed solving, but thankfully didn’t argue further. Instead, he went to shift Sophie off his lap. “Let me see you out.”

She quickly waved a hand. “It’s okay, I can see myself out. Stay with Sophie.”

He plopped back into his seat with a short nod.

“See you tomorrow, munchkin.”

Sophie smiled a cute little girl grin, and Nora headed for the door.

She’d made her escape, but now she had to come up with something to do with her brother and his wife, so her lie became truth.

***

“Are you having a good time? You’re not overstaying your welcome, are you?”

“No, Mom. Oz and Emerson are great.” She rolled her eyes, worried her mom would hear the sarcasm in her tone but things like that usually flew over her head, only ever hearing what she wanted to hear.

“I, um, got a job.”

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