Cora (Love in the Apocalypse #2)

22. Trent

Chapter twenty-two

Trent

“ W e don’t have time for breaks, Trent,” Isaac growled as he stomped past me. I sighed as I watched my brother go. Isaac had been on edge since he and Cora went hunting and spotted Queen and her crew in the woods. That was weeks ago. He was obsessed with fortifying the house and making sure we were well protected in case they found us. I was all for safety, but we could prepare for only so many things. My brother was determined to prepare for every possible scenario.

We already had new shutters on the windows that, with the pull of a rope, would all fall closed, leaving only a small part open at the bottom so that we could open the window and fire through it if needed. We finished that project before the first little cold snap happened. The cooler weather frustrated Isaac to no end because it meant he couldn’t force us to go outside and work. So, instead, he spent the time we were huddled up, going over different scenarios and how we could prevent them.

My eyes fell on Remi across the yard. That man has been confusing the fuck out of me recently. I loved him, but one moment, it felt like he was pulling away from me, and the next, he was aggressively affectionate and on board with Cora. Remi still hadn’t spent any one-on-one time with Cora, and neither she nor I wanted to push Remi to do so until he was ready. If he ever was. Cora had joined us plenty of times, but I was always a buffer between them. I wasn’t complaining, but it still was cause for concern. I didn’t want to ruin what I had with Remi by being with Cora, but I also didn’t know how I could walk away from Cora. Even more confusing was that I knew Remi was as attracted to her as the rest of us.

I tried to talk to him about it, but every time I bring it up, he tells me that it’s his issue and he’s battling his demons and not to worry about it. How could I not worry about it when I felt like he had one foot out the door? As if he could sense my thoughts, Remi met my eyes. It felt like we were in the middle of some sort of standoff as we stared at each other for several seconds. Isaac interrupted before we could voluntarily break eye contact and then questioned what that meant.

“I need to go check the traps, and I think it’s important we continue to use the buddy system, so who wants to come with me?” Isaac asked. Cora immediately raised her hand, but Isaac was already shaking his head before hers was fully extended. “It’s too dangerous for you out there,” he told her. “It’s best if you stay home. Who else wants to go?”

Cora looked pissed, but my brother either didn’t notice or ignored her. Cora was more than capable of taking care of herself, and treating her like she wasn’t as capable as the rest of us wasn’t smart.

“I’ll go,” Remi said.

“Maybe Derrick could go, and we could spend some time together and talk?” I suggested.

“Talk on your own time,” Isaac barked. “Whoever stays behind with Cora is supposed to be watching over her, not dealing with whatever issues you’re having. Remi, let’s go.”

Remi shrugged apologetically at me, but I got the sense that he wasn’t all that disappointed in his orders.

As soon as they disappeared, Derrick looked at me, who probably looked like someone had kicked my puppy, and then at Cora, who was still glaring at where Isaac had gone. “What do you guys say we head back inside and teach Cora to play some Texas Hold’em?”

Cora’s eyes slid to him, and I saw the corner of her lips twitch before she nodded.

“Fine with me,” I sighed.

I trudged inside, grabbed the playing cards, and tossed them on the kitchen table. I ran downstairs for a bag of dried beans and returned to the kitchen. “I figured we could use beans instead of chips,” I said when I got upstairs.

“Sounds good to me,” Derrick replied.

We sat down, and Derrick quickly explained the game’s rules to Cora while I split the beans between us. We played a few rounds before Derrick spoke about something other than the card game.

“So Remi’s been acting stranger than usual, hasn’t he?”

I scoffed. “That’s an understatement. Honestly, I don’t know what to do about it. Whenever I try to talk to him, he brushes me off and tells me not to worry. I’m worried,” I admitted. Cora reached across the table to squeeze my arm. I patted her hand in return. I appreciated her support; I just wished it wasn’t necessary.

“The bet is to you, Cora,” Derrick told her.

She studied her cards and then tossed three beans into the pot. I looked at my cards and then the flop. I had two pairs, Jacks High. I matched her bet, which she continued to raise with the river and turn cards. Once it was time to show our hands, I swept the pot because My two pairs beat her almost flush.

“Never chase the flush, Cora,” Derrick said. “The chances of being the only one to have it are slim.”

Cora nodded as I shuffled and dealt the next round.

“Well, I think that you and Cora need to knock his ass out, tie him to the bed, and have your way with him. It’s not like he doesn’t want it. He’s just being stubborn,” Derrick said. “I’ll check.”

Cora shook her head, tapping out a quick message on her iPad. “That’s not a good idea. It’s best to let him work this out himself, not force him to do something he may not want.” I nodded in agreement as she pushed ten beans into the pot. I looked at the two spades in the flop and shook my head. The girl was chasing the damn flush again. There was only one way to help her learn this lesson, and that was to help her lose her beans. I had pocket eights, which was better than a failed flush every day of the week.

“Call,” I said, tossing my ten beans into the pot.

Derrick smirked at me. “What the hell, I’ll call too.”

I flipped the following card: King of Diamonds.

“Check,” Derrick said.

Cora counted out ten more beans and pushed them into the pot. She was sticking to this flush.

We called her bet, and I flipped the next card: Eight of Hearts. I hid my smirk as I waited for my turn. I had three of a kind now. Derrick checked again. When it was her turn, Cora started counting her beans. This time, she threw fifteen into the pot.

“Are you sure about that, Ghost Girl?” Derrick asked.

Cora nodded.

“Ok, then,” Derrick replied. He nodded at me to go.

“Call and raise ten,” I said, tossing more beans onto the pile.

Derrick looked at me, his hand, and then at the cards on the table. “Aw, what the fuck,” he sighed. “Gotta pay to play, right?”

“That’s right,” I replied. “And that will be ten to you, Cora.”

Cora tossed ten beans in and then added ten more. I raised my eyebrows this time at her bold move, but I still called it. I’d come this far; I may as well see it through. Derrick called as well, and we turned our cards over. Derrick had three tens.

“Damn you,” I chuckled.

“Thanks for playing,” he laughed, reaching to collect his beans.

Cora whacked him on the hand to get him to stop. She pointed at her cards.

“You didn’t get the flush, Cora,” I explained.

She rolled her eyes and then pointed to her hand again.

“Holy shit!” Derrick exclaimed. “She has a fucking straight. She’s had it since the fucking flop!”

I stared at her hand in disbelief. How had we missed that? I side-eyed her. “You hustled us.”

Cora laughed and grabbed her iPad. “Maybe. Daddy taught me to play when I was thirteen.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Derrick asked.

She shrugged. “You didn’t ask. You assumed I didn’t know how to, so I let you continue to think that.”

“Ok, give me those cards,” Derrick said. “Now that we know you can play, I’m not going easy on you.”

We played a few more rounds, enjoying our afternoon. We laughed and teased each other when thunder sounded outside, instantly killing the mood as my blood ran cold. Fuck, a storm was all I needed right now.