Read Online Bedford Street Brigade 01 - Where the Lady Belongs by Laura Landon - Free Book Online Page B

Quinn’s voice stopped him.
    “Mack?”
    Mack turned, then walked toward Quinn. When Quinn entered Mack’s study, Mack followed him. His five friends were in the room. Cora was not.
    Jack sat in a chair at one side of the fireplace. Hugh sat in a chair on the opposite side. Roarke and Briggs sat on the sofa that formed another arc to the circle. Two empty chairs completed the circle.
    Quinn closed the door behind Mack, then walked to a sideboard and poured Mack a glass of whiskey. After he handed the glass to Mack, he sat in one of the two empty chairs.
    “This reminds me of a wake,” Mack said, taking a sip from his glass.
    “It was supposed to be a celebration,” Jack said. “But … ” His words died.
    “A celebration without Cora? That hardly seems polite considering the part she played in all this.”
    “Cora’s not here, Mack,” Quinn said. “She’s gone.”
    Mack couldn’t seem to move.
    “She left shortly after you did.”
    “I see,” Mack muttered.
    “She left you this.”
    Quinn handed Mack a letter. It was written in Cora’s neat hand. Mack walked to the window to read it. Somehow he knew he’d need privacy.
    He stood for several minutes without reacting, then slowly lifted Cora’s message and carefully read it again. When he finished, he turned to face his friends. “I have to go to her. I can’t let it end this way.”
    “No, Mack. Cora asked that we keep you here. She needs time. She’s frightened.”
    “What did she say?”
    Quinn looked at Jack, and Jack nodded. Quinn took a deep breath before he spoke. “She said that she loved you too much to wake up each morning knowing that when you left it might be the last time she saw you.”
    Mack anchored his hand against the wall to hold himself upright. When he regained his composure, he pushed himself away from the wall and walked to the chair. He was surrounded by his friends, and yet …
    He’d never felt so alone in his life.

    Cora put little Benjamin down for his nap, then sat in the shadows of the nursery to watch him sleep. It was quiet here. No one bothered her or watched her to see if she was better today than yesterday.
    It had been two weeks, and she was tired of putting on an act for everyone around her. She was tired of pretending she was happy when she was so miserable she thought she would die. She missed Mack so much that she didn’t think she could survive one more day without him.
    Cora closed her eyes and let the tears spill down her cheeks. She quickly swiped them away when the door opened and Bridgette entered the room.
    “I thought I’d find you here.”
    As if her sister knew Cora needed a few seconds to compose herself, Bridgette peeked at her tiny son sleeping peacefully in his crib. When she returned, she slid a chair closer to Cora and sat.
    “I had a visitor a few minutes ago,” Bridgette said.
    “Oh, anyone I know?”
    “Yes, he said he knew you.”
    Cora looked at her sister.
    “He introduced himself as a Mr. Quinn Walker. He was a tall man. Quite handsome in a rugged way. He said he was a mutual friend of yours and Mr. Wallace’s.”
    Cora’s heart pounded in her chest. She had to work harder to take in a breath. “Did he say why he called?”
    “He was concerned about you and asked how you were doing.”
    “What did you tell him?”
    “The truth, Cora. I told him you were unhappy and hadn’t been the same since you returned from Mr. Wallace’s.”
    “Bridgette, no.”
    “Yes, Cora. I told him I was terribly worried about you and didn’t know what to do to help you get better.”
    “Oh, Bridgette. I wish—”
    “Mr. Walker told me he was terribly worried about Mr. Wallace, too.”
    The knot in Cora’s chest grew heavier. “Is Mack ill?”
    “Not ill exactly. He’s suffering from the same malady as you are. He’s as miserable as you.
    Cora lowered her gaze to her hands resting in her lap. Her eyes burned with tears. “That can’t be helped, Bridgette. There’s nothing to do