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The entire way ho turned out Bridget…she was great Smart, beautiful, older--he liked that A year and threewith a woirls his age--their drunk texting, their obnoxious Facebooking, their Ugg boots and their wide-eyed flirting Nora didn’t wear Ugg boots Or play on Facebook Or drunk text She wore black leather boots with straps and zippers She swore like a sailor, drank like a fish, fought like a man--literally He’d watched her box once and she KO’d her sparring partner--a retired featherweight boxer named Bruce--in three rounds

And Nora didn’t flirt with anybody "Flirting’s for people who don’t mean it, Wes," Nora had once said "I seduce"

Da of Nora Again As always As he had every single day sinceback to Kentucky He’d never told his parents about Nora--just said he’d decided he ht it His dad had beenof a zombie those horrible weeks after Nora kicked him out of their house He’d finished out the se on his friend Josh’s couch and staring at his cell phone waiting for Nora to call and say she’d ain

But the phone never rang And even when he called her, she never answered And now thirteen months later, he still hadn’t heard a word froht now? Was that bastard hurting her? Wesley’s heart clenched at the very thought of theether Only his hatred of Søren burned hotter and stronger than his lingering love for Nora

But just barely

Wesley turned into the drive and paused to punch in the security code The iron gates yawned open and he drove through He checked the time--11:53 pm Mom and Dad had been in bed for hours, thank God No one would bother him with questions if he ran into the hts as he pulled into the circular drive Ever since couesthouse way out back But all the reat pre-ram--but wasn’t quite sure he could handle NOLA weather Kentucky suh

Wesley stood in the foyer and flipped on the la at hinize the person reflected back For months he’d put off a much-needed haircut When he lived with Nora she would pounce on hi, so when he felt a weight on his chest His book went flying and he found Nora straddling his hips with her knees; she had both hands on his chest and a pair of scissors clenched between her teeth like so?" Wesley had deht hand wielded the scissors

"Cutting your hair You have the uy on earth and you let your damn hair hide them Now don’t move unless you want me to blind you"

The scissors inched closer and he’d tunneled his head into the couch cushions as far as he could Nora only backed off when he swore on the grave of Ana&iuet his hair professionally cut that week Now his hair alave hi didn’t make him nearly as happy as Nora’s haircut a hair as a source of strength, like Samson He hadn’t cut it just to spite Nora She couldn’t see it, couldn’t care less But he knew if she saw hiave him a little dark measure of satisfaction Stupid really She didn’t care about him, didn’t love hih thefrom Tulane yet Still too soon probably Only sent his stuff in teeks ago He dropped the e padded envelope addressed to him

He read the return address and saw it came from somewhere in New York Had one of his old Yorke friends sent hi? Wesley tore the envelope open

For at least a full minute Wesley stared at the cover of the hardbound book

The Consolation Prize by Nora Sutherlin

With shaking fingers Wesley slowly opened the cover He turned one blank page…then another On the title page he found a note in fae, Wes

Wesley took a shallow breath His heart raced wildly in his chest Thirteenbut the silent treate he found the dedication

Wesley leaned his weight against the front door He needed so The door didn’t work, and he slid to the floor He remembered…Nora in her bed, her hair still wet, her face devoid of any makeup And she’d never looked so beautiful The next day was her anniversary with Søren and as usual she intended to go see him Finally Wesley had realized the simply horrible fact of the matter

"You still love hih her wet hair and let the water droplets fall to the floor

"Many waters," she’d said

Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it Song of Solomon 8:7