Cody's Come Home. Mary Sullivan

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СКАЧАТЬ his childhood and motherly love.

      While she fostered independence in her children, his mother had always been there for them, waiting in the background in case they needed her.

      He’d outgrown his need, but not his yearning for her reassuring hugs.

      “Lightning must’ve knocked out the cell tower.” He patted her back, hoping to offer as much reassurance as she gave him. “I couldn’t call—”

      Stacey slipped her arm through Laura’s, essentially stopping their conversation. “Your mom and I had a nice talk. She agrees that marriages need to be worked on.”

      Cody’s mother glanced at Stacey sharply. Cody saw red. Stacey had the ability to see only her own point of view and to think everyone else agreed with her.

      He grasped Stacey’s elbow, physically removed her hand from his mother’s arm and all but dragged her away from onlookers to the other side of his SUV.

      “Don’t look to make allies here.” He leaned close, intent on laying down the law of this land. His land. “These are my people. You have no standing here. Our marriage is over. You know that.”

      She opened her mouth to argue, but he ran roughshod over her. He knew what she needed from him—forgiveness—but absolution was out of the question.

      “We can’t be friends, Stacey. We can’t have anything more to do with each other.”

      She stared at him with pleading eyes. “Can’t you try, for me? I need you, Cody.”

      He hung his head.

      “Know what, Stace? I’m too tired to do this right now. I need about twelve hours’ sleep.”

      How long did she plan to stay?

      “Did you book a room at the B and B?”

      “Of course not. I’m staying with you, at your parents’ house.”

      “No.” Out of the question.

      “Why not?”

      “I’m not trying to be heartless, but I can’t handle this right now. I left California to get away from everything. We’re divorced. It’s over.”

      She chewed on her lip. “But I—”

      “Stop!” A few people turned at his raised voice. He lowered it. “I’m sorry you came all this way, I truly am, but we aren’t together and never will be again.”

      He opened her door. “I’ll take you to the B and B. They’ll have room.”

      “But it will cost me.”

      “Yeah. I’m afraid so.”

      “I don’t want it to be over, Cody.”

      “I know, but we’ve gone around this a hundred times. Please, get in the car.”

      When he noticed how unhappy she looked, he softened his tone. He was taking his fatigue out on her. “Let’s get a good night’s sleep and talk in the morning. Okay?”

      She nodded and slipped into the car.

      He walked toward Aiyana to find out how she was doing, but drew up short. Salem and Emily hovered like mother hens, showering her with care and tenderness, exactly as she deserved. Exactly where she belonged. He was an interloper.

      They said when one door closed, another opened, but here Cody was, back in his hometown, and all of the doors were old and already known. There were no doors that hadn’t always been open to him. For a few precious moments in the wilderness with Aiyana, he’d wondered whether there might be a new door opening, but no. She had her life ahead of her. And he had a lot of repair work in front of him to make his life worth anything at all.

      As for his doors back in LA? They were closed for good. But his mind hadn’t yet left that world behind, and wouldn’t for a while. This feeling of straddling two worlds might be the death of him. He needed to sort out Stacey once and for all.

      He asked, “How did you get to the park?”

      “I rented a car at the airport and made my way to your parents’ house. Your uncle was there dropping off stuff in case the search went into a second day. He offered to drive me here.”

      Thanks, Noah, Cody thought with an uncharacteristic bitterness toward his uncle.

      He was being unfair. It wasn’t Noah’s fault; his uncle had merely exercised his basic decency.

      Cody drove her into town, stopping to retrieve her suitcases from her rental car on the way, and parked in front of the big old Victorian originally owned by the town’s founding father well over a hundred years ago.

      Physically taking her right into the B and B and making sure she rented a room was the only way to guarantee she wouldn’t end up back at his house.

      Cody carried her luggage in for her and waited while she registered. In her room, he set it all onto the floor and turned to her.

      “I’ll bring your rental car and see you off in the morning.”

      “Can’t we at least have dinner?”

      “Stacey, I need a clean break. I’m sorry.” He knew he sounded frustrated. To soften the blow of his honesty—they’d been around this too many times—he kissed her forehead. “I can’t do this anymore and you shouldn’t want to, either. It isn’t healthy.”

      He opened the door to leave.

      “We’ll talk tomorrow. I promise.”

      Back in his parents’ house, he showered, closed the blinds in the bedroom he’d grown up in and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over his head.

      With a little luck, when he woke up, the past dozen years would have all been a bad dream.

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