by Carol Rose
Thunk. It went wide. Very wide.
Elinor looked at Cole suspiciously while the crowd razzed him.
Again, he pulled back and let the ball fly. Thunk. The ball went wide again, but seemed an inch or two closer to the target.
Cole picked up a third ball. "I'm willing to make a deal with you, Ms. Prescott."
"Not a chance," she shot back, her anxiety lessening. Maybe there was one thing that Cole Whittier couldn't do. Just because a man looked like an athlete didn't mean he had the skills of one.
Thunk. The third ball missed by less distance.
"What's the matter, Mr. Whittier? Didn't you get to play in Little League?" Elinor fluffed out her short skirt.
"As a matter of fact, El, I did." The ball left his hand in a blur. Crack!
Elinor felt the small platform break away beneath her as she plunged into the lukewarm water. Gasping, she surfaced seconds later to hear the wild cheers from the crowd.
Once the platform clicked back into position, she carefully climbed back up. Her milkmaid dress felt heavy with water, the once-puffy skirt bunched around her thighs like a furled umbrella. Settling herself back on to her perch, she tugged at the bodice, pulled lower by the weight of the water.
She brushed back the strands of bedraggled hair that obscured her vision and forced herself to smile broadly at the crowd.
Cole stood waiting, his white shirt drying in the Louisiana sun. "Ready to talk business?"
Elinor's smile turned razor-sharp. "I only do business with people I can trust."
The buzz from the growing crowd rose with her comment as Cole shook his head. "You leave me no choice, El."
Again the ball left his hand. Crack. The crowd of townspeople disappeared from view as she plunged into the tank.
"Ready to talk turkey?" Cole called out to her as she climbed out and positioned herself again on the platform.
"No!" Elinor tugged valiantly at her shrinking bodice.
"Okay," he said sadly. "Here we go again."
This time she was fully prepared. Crack. She dropped into the water like a stone. Seconds later, she grabbed at the ladder with both hands and hauled herself out of the tank once more.
The crowd around Cole had taken on the air of a party, Elinor realized as she flipped her skirt aside and perched on the too-familiar platform. "Anybody got a snorkel handy?" she yelled as she wrung out her streaming hair. With the options of looking like a martyred fool or an intentional fool, she'd choose the latter.
Laughter echoed around the group.
"Ready to say 'uncle'?" Cole asked, the warmth in his eyes reaching out to her.
"Not on your life." She tugged at her once-perky sleeves.
Crack.
The next few minutes passed by in a blur. Elinor lost track of how many times Cole wound up and let fly, sending her into the tepid water over and over again. She could feel scales growing on her skin, possibly her body's attempt at modesty since the milkmaid's outfit grew smaller by the minute. Outside of her doctor and a few close friends, nobody had seen more of her skin than was on display at this moment.
Crack.
Water closed over her head before she had time to close her mouth. Elinor came up sputtering, vaguely aware of a ringing in her ears.
Once more she went through the routine, climbing onto the platform, fluffing her skirt, wringing her hair. The crowd seemed divided now, half of them cheering for Cole's unprecedented accuracy and half of them chanting, "Go, Elly! Go, Elly!"
Through water-logged eyes, she could make out a few faces, noting that the battle seeming divided by gender. Surprisingly, even Norell seemed to be cheering her on.
Crack.
This time water went up her nose and Elinor reared out of the tank, coughing. The crowd was one continuous roar in her ears as she strove for her breath.
Enough was enough. Proving a point wouldn't give her much satisfaction if she had to die for it.
"Uncle!" she cried out, throwing herself across the platform like a beached whale.
Applause rose from the crowd as people realized the spectacle was over. Clusters of citizens began drifting away.
Elinor climbed up the ladder, her limbs shaking. Throwing her leg over the side of the tank, she felt for the outside ladder.
"Here it is." A large, warm hand closed around her wet calf.
"I can manage fine by myself," she gasped out angrily just before missing her footing. She fell back a few inches, feeling Cole's solid arms close around her.
"Give yourself a minute to get your land legs." His amused voice was close to her ear.
"Let go of me!" Elinor jerked away.
"Hang on, El." He reached out to steady her, his hand catching on a sodden puffed sleeve. Rippppp.
Aghast, she looked down at her torn bodice. Rent from neck to waist, the water-logged material fell open to expose her bare breasts. Elinor shrieked, crossing her arms in front of her instinctively.
In a flash, Cole stepped in front of her, shielding her predicament from the few people who still lingered in front of the booth. "It's okay, El, no one saw." His voice was tight with restrained laughter.
Rage flowered in Elinor's head. "Cole Whittier, get away from me before I kill you," she ground out from between clenched teeth.
His shoulders shaking with mirth, he took a step closer. "I don't think you really mean that, honey. Not at this exact moment."
"My life was fine before you came here," she sputtered in a low, emotion-riddled voice. "You have done nothing but scheme against me—"
"El? Do you really want to have this conversation standing here holding your dress together?" Cole started shrugging out of his shirt.
Elinor clenched her tongue between her teeth. He had invaded her heart and her mind to such a degree that she felt barely aware of her actions. The man was making her crazy. "What are you doing?" she snapped as he pulled his arm free of his shirtsleeve. His tanned shoulders gleamed bronze in the afternoon light.
"I'm minimizing your exposure," Cole soothed as he dropped the shirt over her.
It was still warm from his body. The scent of his skin filled Elinor's nostrils, detonating memories more sweet and powerful than his most potent smile. Would she ever forget the special scent of him as he held her in his arms?
Cole tugged his shirt over her shoulders, his fingers gentle against her wet skin. "Here. Give me your hand right through here."
"I am fully capable of dressing myself," she told him icily, jerking back to thread her arms through the sleeves of his borrowed shirt.
"I used to think so before I saw you in that outfit," Cole commented, his voice dry. "Now I'm not so sure."
She drew in a deep angry breath as she pulled the too-big shirt down over her hips. "Now, will you go away and leave me alone?" Bending, she retrieved her purse from behind the dunking booth.
"No way, sweetheart. You promised you'd hear me out."
"Fine." She crossed her arms over her chest in anything but open body posture. "Let's just get it over with."
"Come on, I'll drive you home." He put an arm around her shoulders, guiding her gently toward the parking lot.
"But I came with Daisy—"
"I'm sure she'll figure out that you got home. She's probably heard about our dunking each other from ten or twelve people by now."
Cole's gleaming luxury sedan sat in the parking lot, wedged between an ancient pickup and an equally aged Cadillac. He unlocked her door.
She balked. "I can't get into that leather seat like this. I'm drenched."
"Screw the leather seats," Cole responded amiably.
Elinor shrugged and climbed in. She knew she should deplore his casual attitude about the luxury car, another sign of his moral decadence when it came to money. But she felt too full of sorrow and anger to add anything else to the tally against him.
In minutes, they were on the road, headed for her cottage, the silence between them thickening as her nerves stretched taut.
Wh
en he made no move to launch into an explanation, the angry words buzzing in Elinor's head spilled out. "I used to think you were slick, but it's clear now that you are the lowest form of life on two legs. You set me up from the beginning. You charmed me and chased me, knowing all the time it was just part of the plan to set yourself up as King of Bayville."
Cole's eyes remained on the road, his face impassive.
"Well," she goaded, "where's the explanation? Aren't you going to try and convince me there are extenuating circumstances?"
He swung his gaze to her face for a second. "Go on and spill the rest. Get it out of your system."
"Out of my system?" she nearly shrieked. "Do you think this is some minor problem? Like a virus I'll get over?"
"Probably not." He swung the car into the dirt road that led to her cottage.
"I trusted you and you used me and lied to me from the beginning. Anything to get what you wanted." Water squished beneath her as she leaned back in the leather seat in a huff. "I hope owning Oakleigh is worth it. You certainly hustled to get the whole ball of wax—factory, the house, and a roll in the hay." Her voice broke. "You must have had a hard time keeping a straight face when you told me that you don't need to go to bed with a woman to close a deal."
Cole stopped the car in front of her house. Elinor got out quickly. She'd given him a chance to defend himself and he hadn't even bothered.
Rounding the vehicle, she came to a stop when she found him out of the car, blocking her path.
"You're wrong about a lot of things, El—" He held up a hand to stop her interjection. "But you're right about a lot of things, too. I screwed this up big time."
Never had his blue eyes seemed more serious. "I didn't know you when I made the offer to buy Oakleigh. You never entered into it. But once I was here and we had met . . ." He shook his head. "I should have bailed out the minute I realized I was falling in love with you."
Elinor felt her heart clench in pain. Two days ago she'd been ready to commit her life to this man. Now she wavered between wanting to shoot him and wanting to throw herself into his arms.
"You have every right to be furious with me." Cole's hands gripped on the open door. "But I'm not like your father. The house, the money, they couldn't mean less to me without you. Nothing is more important than you. But I let my biggest fault mess me up. I gambled that I could get it all. Oakleigh and you."
He pushed a hand through his damp hair. "I've gotten to where I am in life not by disregarding people but by finding ways around obstacles. I'm pretty good at discovering win-win options, El. I tried to do that in this situation with you. And now, I might lose it all."
Leaning into the car, he pulled a manila envelope from under the seat. "I understand your being angry. But I want you to know that I never lied to you, except by default when I didn't identify myself as the buyer of your house. Everything else that went on between us came from my heart."
Elinor searched his face. Could she trust him? Despite the evidence to the contrary? He hadn't been totally honest with her before. How could she know he was being truthful now?
"I made love to you because I love you," Cole said quietly, "and I asked you to marry me because I love you." He handed her the envelope. "Maybe nothing could convince you of that, but I have to give it a shot."
He turned back to the car then, and without another word got in and drove away.
Surprised by his sudden departure, Elinor stood staring down the drive, her fingers clutching the envelope.
Chilled in her damp clothes, she turned and went into the house. Her mind worried over his every word, every inflection of his voice. The look in his eyes had given her pause. If Cole was ever going to be serious, that would be the way he'd look, arrow-straight and sober.
Laying the envelope on her bed, Elinor stripped off Cole's shirt and the tattered remnants of her milkmaid dress. She stared at the envelope he'd given her as she shrugged into her robe.
The brown manila paper felt dry and stiff beneath her fingers. She pried open the clasp and drew out a slim sheaf of legal-looking papers.
The documents shook as she read them, her hands growing less steady as the words penetrated her brain. Elinor sank onto the bed, shock reverberating through her.
The papers in her hand gave her full ownership of Oakleigh and its environs, taxes paid in full.
Cole was giving her the house? After he'd planned and schemed for so long to get it? After he’d paid for it? She felt stunned.
At the most, she'd expected Cole would return the contract she'd signed. But this turn of events left the contract in force. He would pay her the originally-negotiated price for the house, and after the closing, Oakleigh reverted back to her.
Elinor's eyes squeezed shut and a ragged sigh broke loose and a tear ran down her cheek. When Cole gave up his dreams for a woman, he did it with a vengeance.
Smoothing down her skirt with nervous fingers, Elinor took a deep breath. It had been terribly discreet of Mrs. Bouvier, the proprietor of the Bayville Bed and Breakfast, to suggest that she go on up to Cole's room.
Particularly after the woman said, "I think he's just out of the shower. The poor man came in soaking wet a few minutes ago."
It was foolish to be nervous about seeing Cole, but she was. Raising her hand, Elinor knocked on his door.
"Just a minute, Mrs. B." His voice was muffled by the thick door.
Elinor heard the handle turn and her heart rate accelerated to an unsteady stumble as Cole appeared in the open door. A few stray drops of water from his shower still gleamed in the hair on his bare chest. He wore only a thick towel knotted at his waist.
"No wonder Mrs. Bouvier loves running this place," Elinor said shakily. "Does she get to interrupt your shower frequently?"
Heat flared in Cole's eyes, mingled with something close to relief. "Come in." He stepped back.
She crossed the threshold, still flushed with an uncertain edginess while her unruly heart tried to do a jitterbug in her chest.
Cole leaned against the closed door, his expression vivid with hope and anticipation.
"I—I don't believe I ever answered your proposal," she stammered.
"Not in so many words," he agreed, amusement curling his mouth as he pushed away from the door and started toward her.
"I'll marry you under one condition," she started as his arms closed around her.
"Anything." Cole buried his face in the curve of her neck, his indrawn breath unsteady.
"You keep Oakleigh in your name." She'd thought everything through with painful clarity. Cole had made his sacrifice for her, fully aware that he could end up empty-handed all the way around.
He straightened and looked at her, his blue eyes dark with emotion. "I gave the house to you because I don't want you to ever doubt that you're the most important thing in my life."
"I know." Tears of joy and wonder clogging her throat, Elinor swallowed hard. "But it's time I grew up and put my past behind me. I don't need to hang on to the house as insurance. I know you love me."
Cole closed his eyes as his arms tightened around her. When he opened them a second later, he cautioned, "I'm still worth a lot of money. You know that?"
"Yes." She stroked a trembling hand over his bare shoulder. "And I'm looking forward to helping you spend some of it on the house where our children will grow up."
With a groan, Cole lowered his mouth to hers and captured her in a kiss filled with promises. Never again would she allow her past to threaten her heart's treasure.
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