Song of the Meadowlark (Intertwined Book 1) (20 page)

Cora awoke with the cows outside mooing and the horses whinnying. Her open bedroom window let in the scent of the fall air and the rustling of leaves on the patio by the pool. She turned over in her bed and found Susie sleeping soundly next to her. She smiled at the tradition that had started. The tiny child’s fourth birthday was in a few more weeks, but she was still such a baby. She didn’t seem big enough to send to preschool when school started. Her cheeks were soft like a Georgia peach and her hair felt silky to the touch, even with the mats from the night of sleep.

Susie stretched, slowly opened her eyes, and smiled. “Hey.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” Cora brushed the hair out of Susie’s face.

“Yes.” She snuggled under Cora’s blanket, rubbing her feet together then she stretched again.

“When did you come in here?” Cora checked her nightgown to make sure her straps had not slipped off her shoulders, revealing her chest.

“When I was sleeping.”

“When you were sleeping? Do you mean in the middle of the night while it was still dark outside?” Cora probed.

“Yes.”

“Oh, I see. Why?”

“I missed you.” Susie sat up in the bed and hugged Cora. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, darling.” Cora’s eyes filled with tears of joy.

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too. Let me get dressed, and we’ll go downstairs to see if breakfast is ready. You go to your room, and I’ll come help you get ready.”

“Okay. Bye.” Susie climbed down out of Cora’s bed and left the room.

“Nothing changes around here.”

Cora emerged from her room dressed and ready for the day in her jeans and new sweater and went down the hall to Susie’s room to help her get dressed. When she opened Susie’s door, there was Rex helping Susie instead. She smiled and waved. “I’ll see you two at breakfast.”

“Jimmy, you outdid yourself again as always. I didn’t think it could get any better than it was last night.” Cora wiped her mouth with her linen napkin.

“I’ll second that.” Rex patted his belly.

“And I’ll third. Thank you,” R.L. said.

Jimmy’s smile had changed and so had the O’Reillys’ treatment of him. So some things did change around there. Maybe Cora had made a difference already.

After breakfast, she went to the pool house to clean and took Susie with her. When she pushed open the door with her elbow, carrying her suitcase in her hand, she gasped at the beauty of the place.

The cozy cottage boasted a white-wicker décor with stripes and miniature checks everywhere in shades of sage and daffodil yellow. Shelving units on the far wall boasted various ranch knickknacks and wicker baskets with enough books to keep Cora’s eyes busy all winter. In the corner of the living area sat a flat screen television. To Cora’s left, was a bedroom with a fluffy bed and a round wicker chair in the corner.

The white kitchen to her right possessed wrought-iron racks on the walls with stainless steel pots and pans hanging from them. The pea-green vintage refrigerator and oven added just the right touch. Through an open doorway on the far side of the kitchen a full-size laundry area waited for her.

While Cora dusted the furniture and cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, she and Susie sang and chatted. Then they put their jackets on and headed back to the house to get her other suitcases and boxes. There they found Rex taking a break, and he offered to help her with her things.

Inside the pool house, Rex looked around and inhaled deeply. “Wow, Cora, the place looks and smells so clean. It smells like spring in here, and you’re the sunshine.”

Cora pinched his cheek. “Thank you for the compliment, Mr. O’Reilly.”

“My daddy’s not Mr. O’Reilly, silly. That’s my grandpa.” Susie giggled.

“You’re right.” Cora goosed Susie.

Rex reached down and scooped Susie into his arms, causing her to giggle even more, and all three headed back to the main house for lunch.

Cora spent most of the day with Susie reading books and putting puzzles together. She picked up where she’d left off teaching her numbers and letters. Her favorite part of the day was when Rex called to ask if she and Susie wanted to go with him across the way to Farmer Smith’s farm. He picked them up in the giant, green John Deere tractor. She couldn’t tell who squealed the most, herself or Susie, as they bounced and lurched all the way down the unpaved drive, across the highway, and onto Farmer Smith’s dirt drive. She coughed and sneezed at the kicked-up dust and hay. This beat city life any day.

When Susie lay down for her nap, Cora went to her new private haven for some time alone. She opened the container of hot cocoa she’d taken from the pantry in the main house, prepared a cup, and sat on the couch with a blanket and her book. The cocoa slid down her throat, warming her body to the core.

What would she do with her life here in Georgia? She couldn’t sit around and wait for Rex to finish his work each day so they could be together. Helping with the plans for the B&B sounded good, but she still had to find something more to do. It might sound selfish to others, but she couldn’t let Rex or anyone take advantage of her availability.

One thing she planned to do was get involved in church and meet people. Would Rex go with her? He’d changed so much in such a short time, and he was now being such a good father to Susie. Surely leading her spiritually was important to him. Hopefully, he’d take the initiative and go with them to church without her having to ask him to go. She sighed and yawned.

The next thing she did was wake up under the warm blanket, her mug still in her hand.

That evening, Rex and Cora rode into Lewistown for dinner at Ms. Lottie’s. Cora squeezed the tiny woman when they got there because she hadn’t had a chance to see her before she left for South Carolina and home.

“Ms. Lottie, it’s so good to see you. I was afraid I might not see you again.” She surveyed the familiar place—everything still the same. Same potpourri. Same good-smelling food.

“Hey, precious. I sure have missed your help around here.” Ms. Lottie hugged her tightly around the waist.

After dinner, Rex took Cora home. He walked her to the pool house door and shuffled his boots on the patio.

“Please come inside for a bit.”

“I’m not sure I should.” Rex shook his head.

“Why not?” Cora shivered.

“I probably should get back to the house so I can get Susie.” Rex shuffled his boots again.

Cora forced him to look at her. “You’re not taking Susie home tonight, are you? I’m sure your mother already has her in bed. Besides, it’s too cold to drag her out. Of course, she’s your daughter. I shouldn’t even offer my opinion.”

“I love to hear your opinions, Cora. I guess I should leave her there. I’m going to go home, though.” What a relief that Rex’s temper no longer flared by her suggestions.

“Please come in and have some coffee.” She fluttered her eyelashes playfully.

“Cora.” Rex widened his eyes and stared into hers.

“Why not?” She pulled on his arm, like a child.

“It’s too difficult for me to be alone with you.” He focused on his boots.

“We’ve been alone before.” She put her hands on her hips.

“I know, but that was before we actually admitted we had feelings for each other.” Rex looked up at her. His dark eyes melted like chocolate.

“You’re coming in. You can trust me. I promise.” Cora grabbed Rex by the coat sleeve and yanked him into the house.

“Okay, I’m puttin’ my trust in you. You better behave.”

In the kitchen, Cora poured them each a cup of coffee, returned to the living area, and sat next to Rex on the couch. She took her boots off and pulled her feet up onto the couch, tucking them under Rex’s leg.

“Your feet are cold.”

“I know, but they won’t be for long,” Cora grinned with mischief on her lips.

“You’re a troublemaker, you know that? You’re tryin’ to drive me crazy.” Rex tapped her on the nose with his forefinger.

Cora broke into a throaty laugh. “So, tell me about your plans to save the ranch. How can I help?”

They sipped their coffee and enjoyed their time together. Cora’s life at the ranch was going to be extraordinary. When Rex left Cora that evening, he kissed her tenderly then he walked back to the main house. She could definitely spend the rest of her life with him, no doubt.

After Cora climbed into bed, she remembered she’d forgotten to lock the door. She slung the covers back and hopped out of the bed. When she walked into the dark living room, fear shot through her legs. She reached for the light switch on the wall and quickly turned on the overhead light. This was the first night she’d been alone in a long time—maybe ever.

Cora ran across the room and locked the door. She switched on the porch light then scurried off to the kitchen to check the back door in the laundry room. Everything appeared to be secure. She ran back to the bedroom, turning the lamp on by the couch, before switching off the overhead light. She took one last look at the living room and then climbed back into bed. How ridiculous to think her attacker would come after her. It had to have been a random attack.

Cora picked up her cell phone and dialed Rex’s number.

“Hello?” Rex cleared his throat.

“Rex?” Cora bit her bottom lip, feeling instantly like a little girl.

“Yeah? Is everything okay?”

“I’m scared.” She laughed nervously, scratching her head.

“You’re scared? Why?”

“I just am. I’m out here alone and realized the kidnapper is still out there somewhere. I’d forgotten to lock the door when you left, and I got creeped out.” She peered through the sheers at the dark.

“Do you want me to come back and get you?”

“No. I need to be able to stay here by myself. But I haven’t been by myself at night since Clark left me. I moved in with his parents right after he disappeared.”

“I’ll come over, check the perimeter, and let you know everything’s fine. Turn on the TV; watch something funny. It’ll be mornin’ before you know it.”

“Okay.” She let out a sigh of relief, the tension in her neck relaxing.

“And don’t worry about the kidnapper. It was a random attack. You’ll be fine.”

              “But what if it’s that guy from the gold shop? He’s really freaky. I’ve been afraid he was going to come after me.” She hopped tucked her knees up to her chest.

“What guy from what gold shop?”

“I didn’t tell you about him?” She rubbed her eyes. She was so sleepy but it looked like tonight wasn’t going to bring her the rest she needed.

He growled. “No. I’m heading over there now to check everything out, and you can tell me all about it then.”

“Thanks, Rex.”

Chapter 16

Cora unpacked some of the boxes that had been sitting in her car since her trip from South Carolina. Besides her clothes, a few trinkets, and her photo albums, she possessed very little. She unpacked the last of her clothes from her suitcase. In between two of her pairs of jeans, she found a scrapbook. She put her jeans on the bed and sat down with the scrapbook in her hand. Cora rubbed the gold-foiled embossed letters of the pink cover. “Precious Memories. What is this?”

Cora carefully opened the book and, on the first page, a picture of a baby cradled in the arms of a nurse stared back at her. Tears welled in her eyes at the sight of the familiar photo. She let out a tear-choked laugh. Glued on the page were a pink hair ribbon and the hospital bracelet that had been on her ankle. Written in calligraphy below the picture, it said, “Cora Amelia Sinclair. Six pounds, ten ounces. Twenty inches long. January 16, 1987.”

Cora flipped the page. She pushed her hair behind her ear and scooted back to rest on the pillow at the head of the bed. The next page had a clipping of hair tied in a white ribbon and a picture of her sitting on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror. “Baby’s first haircut. Aww.”

She turned the page again where more photographs of hers displayed themselves. Crawling. Walking. Playing dress-up. Dancing. Eighth-grade dance. Piano recital. Prom. “She did keep mementos of me. They might not have been on the wall in picture frames or marked on the door facing, but she kept memories of me just the same.”

After Cora flipped through the rest of the pages that ended right before her marriage to Clark, she noticed a 9x12 brown envelope taped to the inside back cover of the scrapbook. “What’s this?” She pulled it off, her heart pounding. When she opened the envelope and slid out the contents, her world as she knew it changed forever.

A photograph of a dark-haired pregnant woman found its way to her fingers first. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds in the afternoon sunlight of the beach. Her smile was so wide and welcoming, Cora couldn’t help but smile back at it. She shook her head in protest at the eighties’ clothes and permed hair, though. Flipping the photograph over, she read: Your mother, Amelia Marie Peoples.

Cora burst into tears. “This is my mother.” She flipped through the stack of pictures, one after the other of the same woman. A few of them had her dad in them—thinner and smiling. The papers included were her mother’s birth certificate and a family tree. “Everything I could want to know is here.” The included note from her dad explained what he knew about her birth mother. After she read the letter, she placed it and everything else back in the envelope. She wiped her nose with her hand. “Thank you, Dad.”