Molly set the plate of breakfast burritos in the middle of the table. Neither Cord nor Iris made a move toward the chairs.
"You're welcome for this morning," Iris said.
Cord ran one hand through his hair.
Molly just stared.
He laughed, and it sounded both sheepish and a little desperate. "Iris. It's been a long time."
But Cord's tone clearly saidit hasn't been long enough.
"About ten years." Iris wasn't frowning, not exactly, but some fine tension had entered her expression. Disappointment?
Molly poured the coffee into three mugs. She handed one to Cord and gave another to Iris before returning to the counter to pick up her own.
Iris sipped. "This is good. Cinnamon?"
Molly nodded. "Cord's not a fan."
"I'm not surprised," Iris murmured into her mug.
Molly shot him a look, but his brows were drawn, expression fierce as he stared into his mug. Not the time for teasing. Got it.
"How's your sister?" he asked.
Iris’s entire expression went blank, as if she'd flipped a switch. Her mug hit the table with a clunk. "She's fine." But there was an undercurrent to the words. "How's your brother?"
Cord gave her the same shuttered expression. "West is fine, too. He's stationed overseas."
Iris and Cord stared at each other for another silent minute, saying too much without saying anything at all.
Cord's eyes were shadowed as he watched Iris stand and take her coat from the back of the chair. "I've got to get home. Plenty to do, and the storm isn't going to clear up. At least that's what they're saying."
She donned her coat and picked up the hat she'd put on the chair next to her. "Molly. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the coffee." She waved her hat in Cord's direction.
"Wait," he said when she was about to step over the dog and go out the back door.
The little hairs at the back of Molly's neck went on alert at the rough tone of his voice.
"How is he?"
Iris looked back over her shoulder. "About how you'd expect."
She left. After a few moments, Molly heard the rumble of her truck starting and then heading slowly up the drive.
The breakfast burritos had gone cold again.
And Molly had lost her appetite.
She started cleaning.
Cord seemed frozen, staring into the space where Iris had disappeared.
"Who were you talking about?" she asked as she turned the tap water on hot to fill the sink again. "A friend?"
"Not anymore." Cord left his half-full coffee mug on the counter and disappeared into the living room. "Ten minutes and we're heading to town."
