Page 67 of Rush

That’s when she got up, took a shower, and packed her bags.

She found Linc and Sophie sprawled on the living room couch, dead to the world, with the TV still on. She closed her eyes, imprinting the image in her mind. Goodbyes were always hard, but this one was exceptionally painful. As she’d sat alone in that chair for hours on end yesterday, she hadn’t tried to tell herself it wouldn’t be. She knew the devastation her decision would have on her heart.

Looking at Linc now, she still thought it was the right one.

She allowed a single tear to fall before swiping it away. She’d done her crying last night and this morning in the shower. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry again until she was alone. Because if she started crying again, she wasn’t sure she’d ever stop.

A soft little voice called her name as she made her way to the front door. Setting her bags down, she knelt in front of Sophie. “It’s early. What are you doing up?”

She rubbed an eye with a tiny fist. “Noises woke me.”

“The bad people are in jail. You have nothing to be scared of,” Nora reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you leaving?”

Nora’s heart twisted and she choked back a sob, trying to keep her voice as even as possible when she explained, “I’m going to visit my brother for a while. But I’m just a phone call away if you need me, okay?”

“When’ll you come back?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll miss you while I’m gone. Now give me a hug then get back on the couch and go back to sleep.”

“’kay.”

Nora closed her eyes and breathed in Sophie’s baby-powder scent while savoring the feel of her child-size arms encircling her neck. Then she watched Sophie climb back on the couch and waited until she became absorbed in a cartoon before silently letting herself out of the house.

Even with early morning commuter traffic, Nora was knocking on Oz’s front door in under ten minutes.

Awake and dressed in workout clothes, as she knew he would be now that training camp had started, Oz opened the door, surprise filling his expression when he saw her. “Hey, half-pint. What are you doing here so early? With the night you guys had, I figured you’d all be sleeping in.” His gaze shot over her shoulder to peer toward the driveway where her car was parked then zeroed in on the redness and swelling decorating the side of her face. “Did you come here alone? Should you even be driving right now?”

Absorbing the warmth and concern she heard in his tone, she threw herself at Oz and he engulfed her in his embrace. The tears started to flow as she buried her face in his chest.

“Okay, now you’re scaring me. You gotta tell me what’s wrong or I can’t help fix it.”

“I’m okay,” she mumbled against the soft cotton of his t-shirt before stepping out of his hold and wiping at her face, taking a second to get herself under control. “I wasn’t sure where else to go. I’m sorry for coming so early but—”

“Hey, now, you’re my sister. I’m here for youwheneveryou need me. Come on, let’s get you inside.”

He ushered her in and shut the door, waving her into the kitchen.

Oz nodded in the general direction of the coffee maker while pulling out his phone. “I just made a fresh pot. Help yourself to a cup while I call Coach and let him know I’ll be a little late.”

The aroma of coffee reminded her of just how little sleep she was working on. “Yeah, that might be a good idea.” She made herself a cup then pulled herself up onto a barstool at the kitchen island while Oz finished up his phone call.

Shoving his phone back into the pocket of his shorts, Oz picked up his own mug, taking a sip. “All right, now spill. And don’t try to feed me anyI’m finebullshit because we both know you’re clearly not.”

She stared down into her coffee, her hands cradling the heavy-weight ceramic for warmth. “It’s, um, over between Linc and me.”

“What the fuck did he do?”

Shocked by the steel in his tone, her head whipped up. “Nothing,” she quickly reassured. “But he blames me for what happened to Sophie and knowing that I couldn’t stay.”

Oz’s tense muscles didn’t relax. “You could’ve been killed by that asshole, he better not fucking blame you.”

“He made it pretty damn clear on the phone and doubled down when he could barely even look at me the whole night.” She took a ragged breath. “I really thought we were building something, Linc, Sophie, and I. If felt like we were becoming a family, but we failed at the first test. How could I have gotten it all so wrong? Maybe I got caught up in the fantasy, thinking his feelings for me were more significant than they were.”

She felt Oz’s hand land on her shoulder and looked up. “You didn’t get it wrong. I’ve never seen Linc happier than when he was with you.”

She sighed. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Whatever feelings he may have had are gone now. He lost faith in me, and a relationship can’t work without trust.”

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