by Cindy Kirk
“I’ll have you know, Charlie and I were in the middle of a very scintillating conversation on the merits of chewing two pieces of gum over just one.” Cole crossed the room and grabbed a couple of black olives from the relish tray in front of her. Before he’d finished chewing those, he reached for another.
“Stop that.” She slapped his hand. “These are for tomorrow.”
While she watched, Cole had the audacity to snag another olive.
“I thought Lexi had the food covered?”
“She does, but I hate the thought of going to a holiday dinner empty-handed. My mother always said—” Meg heaved an exasperated breath when Cole filched a piece of stuffed celery from the tray.
She opened her mouth to give him the dressing-down he deserved, when a look of pure delight blanketed his face.
“Wow, this is good.” He chewed thoughtfully for another second then lifted a brow. “Do I taste crab in this?”
Meg nodded. “Along with chive cream cheese, onion salt and a few other ingredients.”
“My mom used that store-bought pimento stuffing which I liked. But this—” he lifted up the last bite of celery “—this is an epicurean delight.”
“I’m glad you like it.” A wave of pleasure washed over Meg. “Travis told me Lexi is into gourmet cooking, so I wanted to bring something extra special.”
Cole grabbed another celery stalk, resisting her attempt to snatch it from his hand.
“Sure you don’t want to leave the tray here for the three of us to enjoy?” he asked.
The three of us.
The phrase had such a nice ring. Of course, nice ring or not, the current arrangement was just temporary. Before long, Cole would be able to care for Charlie on his own. There would be no more nights of board games and popcorn. It would be just Cole and Charlie. Or her and Charlie. Not the three of them.
Though Meg tried to tell herself that getting her own place would be a good thing, at the moment she had no burning desire to leave.
“I recognize that smile,” Cole said. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Dear God, she hoped not.
“Tell me, oh, wise one,” Meg managed to shoot back.
He lifted a radish she’d carved into a rose and bit off a petal. “You’re thinking we could keep the tray and bring a bottle of wine instead.”
“You know me too well.” She breathed a sigh of relief, popped the lid on the tray, then slid it into the refrigerator.
“That I do.”
The slightly mocking edge to his voice was back. Was sarcasm Cole’s way of keeping women at arm’s length?
Had someone hurt him the way he’d once hurt her? Was that the reason for the “I don’t trust you” vibe she’d been getting from him since that first meeting in Ryan’s office?
Although they now lived under the same roof, Meg realized she had very little knowledge of Cole’s personal life since he’d left Jackson Hole. In fact, for all she knew, he could have someone special waiting for him back in Texas.
Meg slammed the refrigerator door shut with extra force and whirled. Telling herself to play it cool, she sauntered across the kitchen and stopped in front of him. She lifted her chin. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Way to play it cool, Meg.
His lips twitched. Apparently he found her blunt question amusing. “Does this curiosity have anything to do with your thwarted attempt to seduce me?”
“What?” Meg took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “For the record, you were doing the seducing, mister. And you still haven’t answered my question.”
“I’m not involved with anyone,” he said in an annoyed tone. “If I was, I wouldn’t have touched you.”
Relief rushed through Meg.
He narrowed his gaze. “What about you? Do you have some doctor or lawyer waiting for you back in Omaha?”
“My last relationship ended over a year ago.” Meg lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “We were engaged but I broke it off when I realized I didn’t love him. Not enough.”
“Joy mentioned a couple of months ago that you’d never married,” he said, as if talking about her marital status with her best friend wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. “Coming from that big family, I thought you’d have settled down and had a half-dozen kids by now.”
“That was the dream,” she said with a wistful sigh. “But I learned long ago that life doesn’t always turn out like we plan. That’s why being able to be a mother to Charlie is such a blessing. He’ll probably end up being my only child.”
Cole shifted from one foot to the other and grimaced. From the pained look that crossed his face, she guessed his knee was giving him trouble.
“You say you’re not involved with anyone at the moment.” Meg had her answer, so there was no need to go further. Except now he was back in her life and she was curious what he’d been up to all these years. Though Joy had obviously kept Cole up-to-date on his former classmates—including her—she hadn’t mentioned anything about him to Meg. She couldn’t imagine that Cole had made it to thirty-two without making a trip down the aisle. “Were you ever married?”
He shook his head.
“Ever come close?”
“Not really.” He shrugged. “Relationships take time. Since I got out of college, building up my business has been my priority.”
“That’s too bad,” she murmured, thinking it wasn’t bad at all. Just the thought of Cole with another woman made her stomach hurt. “Having a purpose and working hard is good. But there’s more to life.”
Uncorking the bottle of wine sitting on the counter, she poured them each a splash. When Cole lifted the glass, she clinked hers against his. “To a balanced life.”
“Cheers.” Cole’s lips curved upward. He leaned close just as she began to speak.
“You know what they say…” Meg stopped when the intoxicating scent of his cologne hit her nostrils. She inhaled deeply.
Cole placed his glass on the granite countertop and stared, an odd look in his eyes. “Tell me,” he said, his finger tracing the rim of his glass, though his gaze remained focused on her. “What do they say?”
Meg licked her suddenly dry lips. Don’t do it, she told herself. Take a step back.
Instead, she leaned close and whispered in his ear, “All work and no play makes Cole a dull boy.”
Instead of playful, her voice came out husky and sexy, which wasn’t her intent. Not at all.
His eyes darkened. “Are you suggesting we have a fling?”
A fling? Meg resisted the urge to laugh hysterically, wondering if it had been her breast brushing against his arm or her sexy tone that had given him such a crazy idea. All she could say was the thought of sleeping with him was…intriguing.
Intriguing? No. Crazy was a much better word for what he proposed.
“Because if you are…” Cole trailed a finger up the side of her neck, his mouth so close she could feel his breath against her cheek. “I’d be interested.”
Her head jerked back. “You would?”
“You have to admit,” he said in a low seductive tone that both thrilled and scared her to death, “the spark is still there.”
The shivers coursing up and down her spine seemed to indicate that was a true statement.
“What about Charlie?” Meg asked, then cursed herself for acting as if she was considering his suggestion. Which she wasn’t. Not at all.
“We’d be discreet.” Cole brushed his lips against hers. “He wouldn’t suspect a thing.”
Meg focused on breathing in and out. Her whole body quivered. “What happens when I move to my own place?”
The words seemed to come from away, from someone else’s lips, certainly not from her own.
“We’d reevaluate,” he said. “For now, living together under the same roof makes it easy to…connect.”
“It’s a big decision…” Meg gave herself a mental shake. Just say no. She pulled her gaze from those brilliant blue eyes and decided forming a coheren
t thought might be easier if she put a little distance between them. She took a step back, stumbling over her feet.
Cole reached out a steadying hand, making no mention of her attempted hasty retreat. His lips lifted in an easy smile. “No rush. We don’t have to decide anything now.”
“Hey,” a small voice called from the other room. “Are we playing this game or not?”
Cole grabbed his wineglass and took a quick sip. “Duty calls.”
He made it all the way to the doorway before he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Right behind you.” Finally her voice came through for her. It held a cool confidence that made her want to cheer.
When he disappeared from sight, instead of rushing after him, Meg picked up her glass and stared down into the dark burgundy liquid, her mind buzzing with the possibilities. The words from a country song from several years ago played in her head, “I’m not talkin’ about forever. I’m just talkin’ about tonight.”
Could she do it? Could she enter into a purely sexual relationship with a man she’d once loved?
No, she told herself firmly, no, she couldn’t.
He’d broken her heart once. There was no way she was letting him get close enough to do it again.
Cole moved his playing piece forward and wondered how best to retract his offer.
He couldn’t believe he’d suggested to Meg that they sleep together....
Who was he kidding? He could easily believe it. The moment he’d lifted that soft mound of flesh in his hand and teased the nipple to a hard point, he’d imagined what it would be like to make love to her again. And again. And again.
Ever since that night, whenever he hopped into bed, he imagined her lying beside him, hair spread out on the pillow, the sweet scent of her perfume filling his nostrils. The softness of the sheets reminded him of the feel of her skin against his fingertips. He swore the taste of her mouth still lingered on his lips.
Even when he finally fell into an exhausted slumber, she permeated his dreams. On the surface, entering into a physical affair with her might appear to not make sense. Yet, perhaps such a relationship was a necessary evil.
Yes, that’s how he should think of it, as a necessary evil.
Not only was he finding it incredibly hard to be under the same roof with her and not touch, there was another reason a physical relationship with Meg should be given careful consideration.
This would be a way to get her out of his system once and for all. If he’d learned anything from his years of dating, it was that the hot-and-heavy phase never lasted.
With Meg, he’d broken it off before the sizzle had a chance to fizzle.
Necessary evil, he reminded himself.
Somehow the thought cheered him.
“Uncle Cole, you get to climb the ladder.” Charlie’s voice resonated with excitement.
Cole obligingly moved his piece to where his son indicated. He glanced up to find Meg staring and impulsively shot her a wink. “My reward for being a good boy.”
She seemed confused by the comment, so he pointed to the good-deed square he’d landed on that showed him “sweeping up a mess.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Your turn, Charlie.”
The child gave the arrow a spin.
“Uh-oh,” Meg said.
Charlie stared at the game board. His smile faded.
“Looks like you pulled a cat’s tail, my boy.” Though he wanted to smile, Cole kept his expression serious. “It’s down the chute for you.”
To his shock and dismay, tears filled the boy’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to be bad.”
Now Charlie’s tears fell in earnest.
Sitting on the floor in front of the fire, Cole exchanged a glance with Meg. He wasn’t sure what was going on. All he knew was it went beyond poor sportsmanship.
“Charlie.” Meg opened her arms to the boy, who sat cross-legged on the floor to her right. “Come over here and sit next to me.”
The child hesitated, wiping his cheeks with his sleeve before uncrossing his legs and scooting to her side.
Meg’s arms closed around him, holding him in a tight embrace. She tilted her head and rested her cheek on the top of his head. “Tell me what’s worrying you, sweetie.”
“I didn’t pull any cat’s tail.” The words burst from his lips and his whole body shuddered. “I’m not a bad boy.”
“It’s just a game—” Cole began, wanting to console the boy, but Meg shook her head, a warning in her eyes.
“I don’t want you and Uncle Cole to leave me.” Charlie sniffed.
“I’m not going to leave you,” Cole said, with a fierceness that took him by surprise. “Ever.”
Cole could almost feel Dr. Allman standing over him, shaking his head in disapproval. Okay, so maybe he could have used this as a teaching moment to explain the life cycle to the child, but right now, Cole sensed Charlie needed reassurance, not more rhetoric.
“I’m not leaving, either.” Meg met the boy’s gaze, her eyes golden in the lamplight. “But I’d like to know what you think can happen when a little boy or girl is naughty.”
Soft as silk, Meg’s tone invited confidence.
“Sometimes they have to clean up the mess,” Charlie whispered.
“That’s true.” Meg nodded. “What else?”
“They have to say they’re sorry.”
“Also true.” Meg gave the boy’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Cole resisted the urge to interrupt and tell Charlie that every adult knew that being naughty was simply part of being a child. Reiterate that this was only a game and sooner or later he and Meg would land on the same type of square. But he didn’t say a word. From the look on her face, it was obvious Meg had a plan.
Charlie stuck his thumb in his mouth and began to suck, his head now resting against Meg’s chest.
Cole’s heart clenched. Dr. Allman had spoken with him and Meg before Charlie’s session and told them that behavioral regression after a sudden loss was common. Apparently sucking his thumb was his son’s way of comforting himself.
Still, knowing Charlie was in such pain that he had to revert to such childish behavior to find comfort brought tears to Cole’s eyes. He hurriedly blinked them back, hoping no one had noticed.
Charlie was staring into space and Meg’s full attention appeared focused on the boy. She stroked his hair and murmured soothing sounds.
“What else, sweetie?” she asked, her voice low. “What else do you think happens when you do something bad?”
For a moment it appeared the child might not respond. Then he lifted his head and pulled the thumb from his mouth.
Cole smiled encouragingly, wanting the boy to know he had his support. But Charlie’s eyes remained downcast.
“They go away and never come back.”
Charlie mumbled the words, but they were still loud enough to hear.
“Who—?”
“Had you gotten into trouble the morning of the car accident?” Meg asked.
Cole now understood where she was headed and he didn’t like it one bit. The question made it sound as if she thought the child had some culpability.
“I left my toys out and Mommy tripped and fell.” Charlie’s chin trembled. “She cried. Daddy was mad at me.”
“What did he do?” Meg’s expression held no condemnation, only curiosity.
“He hugged Mommy until she stopped crying then told me I couldn’t play with my dinosaurs the rest of the week.” The boy chewed on his lower lip. “Daddy and I picked up the toys so no one else would get hurt. But they did. They both got hurt.”
“Your parents were killed in a car accident, son. It didn’t have anything to do with the toys on the floor. They didn’t want to leave you,” Cole said. “Your mommy and daddy loved you very much.”
Charlie glanced at Meg.
“Uncle Cole is right,” she said. “Do you remember what happened that day?”
The child slowly nodded. “
A big truck hit our car.”
“That’s right.” Meg gently pushed a stray strand of hair back from his face. “The driver of the truck had been drinking alcohol and he weaved into your daddy’s lane. There was no time for your car to get out of the way.”
“I want Mommy. I want Daddy.” Tears ran down Charlie’s cheeks and he popped the thumb back into his mouth.
“I know you do.” Meg’s eyes filled with tears and this time she let them fall. “You loved them and they loved you very, very much. Every time I came to visit, that’s what they both told me.”
“But Mommy fell down,” Charlie insisted. “She cried.”
“I bet when she got into the car she wasn’t crying,” Meg said, her lips curving up, a smile of remembrance in her eyes. “Your mommy loved car rides.”
“She was happy,” Charlie said. “We were singing when…”
His small voice trailed off.
Cole thought back to those days he and Joy had spent together in Austin. He’d almost forgotten how she liked to sing along with the radio while they were driving down the road. Tears stung the backs of his lids.
Joy would be so distressed that Charlie, her beloved son, carried around guilt over something that was outside of his control.
For the first time Cole understood how different it was to have a parent die suddenly. At least with his father’s death, they’d had time to prepare and no words had been left unsaid. “If your mom was sitting with us now, what do you think she’d say to you?”
Perhaps it wasn’t the right thing to ask, but he was flying blind here.
The boy thought for a moment then sat up straight.
“She’d say, ‘Charlie, why are you crying?’” His tone mimicked his mother’s perfectly. “And I’d say, ‘Because I miss you, Mommy.’”
Meg’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’d tell her,” Charlie continued, “that I want her and Daddy back here with me.”
“You know they’d be here if they could,” Cole said. “My dad didn’t want to die and leave my brother and me. Aunt Meg’s mom and dad died on that same road where your parents had their accident. They didn’t want to leave her, either.”
Charlie thought for a moment. “I bet they’re happy now.”