Previously...

Tina checked her watch. "I should get back. Are you staying or coming?"

"I’m coming", Richard said, standing up quickly. So quickly that he startled the cyclist riding past their bench and inadvertently knocked her off her bike. "Oh shit", he said. She fell off the eighteen inch ledge that separated the path from the beach. Luckily it was a sandy landing and no major damage was done to either her or the bike but she was still upset, and able to verbalize. "Jesus Christ Man!! Walk much??"

The young cyclist gathered her bike and stood up looking at Richard and Tina. Richard and Tina stood, dumbstruck. "Cat got your tongue?", the young woman asked. If she’d had a shotgun she would have reminded Richard of the very first time he’d met this young woman’s mother. This young woman. Cora Buckley.

Chapter 34.

Cora began to grow uneasy. These strangers were looking at her as if they recognized her and she could only imagine from where. Perverts, she thought. Jesus. I can never get away from it. Looking at Richard and Tina she could easily accept that the man knew her work. But the woman? That one kind of surprised her. She didn’t look the type. She moved from uneasy to bold with the quickness of a cat. "Hey lady. Wanna tell your boyfriend to quit staring at me?", she scowled. Richard, hearing that he was about to blow it, quickly put his arm around Tina’s waist. Feeling him touch her, Tina was startled but tried to play along. "Sweetie", Tina said to Richard. "Stop staring at the young lady. It’s not polite." She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. Richard winced but kept a smile. For show. Then to Cora Tina said, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Cora brushed the sand from her knees to reveal tiny abrasions that had occurred as she and the bike toppled to the sand below. It stung a bit, but she was not about to admit it. "I’m fine. It’s nothing."