Page 48 of Cop-Off

Two minutes later, she was ready.

At least she thought she was.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Cat wasn’t pushing him away. She wasn’t even putting up a struggle. It was like the life in her had drained away. It was breaking his heart.

Having her in his arms last night had been both heaven and hell. Heaven for obvious reasons but pure hell because she cried herself to sleep. And there was nothing he could do but hold her. Stroke her. Tell her he had her.

He was surprised that after everything that went down yesterday, they’d both slept so deep and for so long. Cody reckoned he had at least ten solid hours. The bags under his eyes were thanking him.

They’d been at her mother’s house for going on an hour now. He hadn’t known what to expect; they hadn’t exactly had time to say more than two words to each other yesterday. But to his surprise, she remembered his name and had even referred to him as Cat’s boyfriend when she was on the phone to Libby earlier. Libby who had just arrived.

He had to admit, it was good to see a friendly face. He’d been more than struggling with small talk since Cat disappeared into the kitchen to fix sandwiches. Thankfully, Libby was all over it and he could relax a little into the old green couch.

So far, he’d learned that Cat’s mom did not like to be called ma’am or Mrs Jones. He was instructed only to call her Carol. Carol had the same shocking blue eyes that Cat did, only slightly smaller. Her short black hair was greying at the roots but that was the only thing giving away her age. The tanned skin on her face was smooth with only a few wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.

Although she resembled her daughter in looks, their personalities couldn’t be more different. While Cat was strongand fierce, Carol was quiet and reserved. There was no way to tell if she’d always been that way or if he was seeing the aftereffects of the past few years. Either way, this was who she was now.

“Another biscuit, Cody?” Carol lifted the plate of cookies in his direction.

“No, thank you.” He’d stuffed five of those addictive chocolate circles into his mouth already. Six would be pushing it.

The plate was then offered to Libby, who also declined. He listened as the ladies talked, trying to think of some sort of game plan. His brain hadn’t gone any further than getting on the plane and making sure Cat was alright. Just being there for her might not win her back though, and he wouldn’t be able to leave without her. Or at the least a promise that she would come back to him. It would leave him a broken man.

As if his brain had summoned her, Cat was back in the room, finger sandwiches made and on a plate that she was placing in the center of the antique coffee table.

“Help yourself. I’ll refill everyone’s drinks.”

Before she could disappear again, Cody’s hand shot out and grabbed hers. “Let me do that, sweetheart. You sit down with your mom for a bit, yeah?”

He was out of his seat before she had time to think about it. And he was guiding her down onto the cushion he’d been sitting on a moment later.

“But you don’t know where anything is?” she weakly protested.

“I’ll work it out.” Instinctively he leaned over to press a kiss to her head before gathering mugs and orders.

Feeling much more at home in the quiet of the kitchen, he waited for the big kettle to boil, resisting the urge to put the mugs in the microwave. As he went to get the milk from the fridge he saw a “to do” list being held up by a magnet. His eyesscanned the list. There was no doubt in his mind that Cat would be the one who ended up doing all these things.

Not if I can help it.

Pocketing the note, he finished making the teas and coffees and brought them back into the living room. Sitting down next to Cat, he took hold of her hand again, sensing she needed the comfort. When she squeezed, he knew he’d done the right thing.

Over the next hour, he mostly listened, only talking when spoken to. He used that time to scan the photo frames dotted around the room. There were cute pictures of Cat in almost every one of them. If they ever had kids, he hoped they had a girl who looked just like her.

Shit. Where did that come from?

There was no time to dwell— he was being shuffled up and out of his chair. Apparently, it was time to leave.

He let Libby and Cat say their goodbyes first and hung back. When it was his turn, Carol pulled him aside.

“Don’t give up on her.” Carol’s tone was hushed. “I know she’s a stubborn little thing, but she loves you. Anyone with eyes can see that. You find a way to get her back on the plane with you, sweetie.” She was patting his arm now.

“Yes, ma’am.” His lips quirked up. “I mean, Carol.”

She nodded, a ghost of a smile breaking through as she gestured him out the door.

Looks like her mom was on board, now all he had to do was convince Cat.

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