Surrender My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens): Cole Braden

by Melissa Foster

  Erin hung up the phone and said, “Dar said to go on back.” She stood and hugged Leesa again and said quietly, “It’s so good to see you again, and I’m happy that all that stuff didn’t take a toll on you permanently. You look amazing!”

  As Leesa walked down the hall, closing in on Darlene’s office, she wondered how she was pulling off amazing when she felt like a nest of bees was swarming in her stomach.

  Chris stepped out of the lounge, nearly barreling into her. “Annalise. You’re back in town?”

  She was surprised at the bile rising in her throat for the man she once believed would always be there for her. Well, she was no longer the naive woman she’d once been. Holy shit. I’m not Annalise anymore.

  She realized she had become someone else entirely. A woman who was pulling her shoulders back, lifting her chin up high. A woman who hadn’t fallen to ground zero after the accusations but had been strong enough to run—and sure, that might have been a weak move, but it was also a show of strength. An act of courage, just as Cole had said.

  She looked Chris in his beautiful eyes, remembering how they had once affected her, seemed honest and caring. But then he’d shown his true colors, and he’d been weak. She gave a curt nod. “Chris.”

  “How are you?” He raked his eyes down her body, and then his gaze darted down the hall, as if he wanted to make sure no one saw them talking. He lowered his voice and said, “We should get together and talk. Want to come over for a drink?” He stepped in closer and placed his hand on her forearm. His touch felt wrong.

  She shifted out of his reach. “I really don’t have time—” That wasn’t true. She had all the time in the world. She was here to clear her name, reclaim herself, not to hide behind a thinly veiled excuse. She held her chin up high again and said, “You made your choice about me weeks ago, Chris. I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

  She turned on her heel, her chest filling with pride and a smile forming across her face as she made a beeline for Darlene’s office.

  Chapter Twenty

  DARLENE’S OFFICE FELT smaller than Leesa had remembered, but that might have been the suffocating feeling of being back where her nightmare began. Darlene’s lips curved in a welcoming smile, and her dark eyes warmed as she came around the desk and opened her arms to Leesa.

  “Annalise, it’s so nice to see you. I was surprised to get your call. I thought you wanted to take the next few weeks to make your decision.”

  “Thanks for making time for me, Dar.”

  “Of course. Always.” Darlene waved to the couch beside the door. “Let’s sit.”

  She had always taken her meetings with Leesa on the couch rather than sitting behind the desk, and it usually put Leesa at ease. Today it felt strange, like Darlene was trying too hard. Or, Leesa realized, like she no longer fit into the environment, despite the momentary bout of courage she’d found when she’d walked away from Chris.

  “Tell me how you are. What have you been doing these last few weeks? Relaxing, I hope.” She angled her body toward Leesa, her arm outstretched along the back of the couch, the epitome of an old friend sincerely interested in hearing about Leesa’s life.

  Why, then, did Leesa feel like the room held no oxygen and the walls were closing in around her? Was she just used to the openness of her job at Mr. B’s, or was this something more? Her inability to break free from her stifling past?

  She couldn’t weed through her thoughts quickly enough to make heads or tails of them. Forcing her voice from her lungs, she said, “I’m still trying to decide what I want to do.”

  Darlene placed her hand on Leesa’s and her gaze softened. “There’s no rush. The job in Baltimore is waiting for you. They have coverage for now. And, Annalise? Make no mistake, they want you to take it.”

  Her throat felt like it was closing up.

  “You were one of the best teachers we had, and all that stuff that happened is water under the bridge. No one thinks any differently about you.”

  The truth spilled from her lips, unbidden. “I do.”

  Darlene tilted her head in question.

  “Oh, Dar. I don’t know who I am anymore, or where I belong. What happened to me did change me, whether you can see it or not. I can feel it in here.” She pressed her hand over her heart.

  “I’m sure it did in some ways, but, Annalise, that was a scorned kid rebelling. You could have been anyone. You just happened to be the teacher in his line of fire. A crush gone wrong. You can’t let that take you away from everything you worked so hard to achieve.”

  Leesa wanted to believe her, but her heart was racing just being back in these offices. Would it be this way in any school? Would she ever have the confidence to tutor again one-on-one, or would she always feel the need to have a witness to her actions?

  The questions came in rapid-fire. Questions she hadn’t given enough weight to before this moment. She was so wrapped up in what other people thought of her that she hadn’t slowed down enough to think about what she thought of herself.

  She dropped her eyes to try to gather her thoughts.

  “Annalise, talk to me. Please. I know what you went through was terrible. The whole investigation, the questions...” She paused, then added in a softer tone, “Chris.”

  Leesa rolled her eyes and sighed. “He’s not even a consideration. He probably did me a favor.”

  “You say that now, but we all know it hurt when he broke things off. No one here was happy with him for how he handled things.” Darlene’s lips curved up in a smile. “Just think, if you take the job in Baltimore, it opens up a whole new pool of single men, too.”

  She didn’t need a pool of single men. She had Cole. What she needed was a clear head, and she had absolutely no idea how to get it.

  “I need a little more time to make that decision, but there was something else I wanted to talk to you about. Andy.”

  “Annalise.” Darlene’s tone turned serious. “Lena told me about her concerns. We’ve discussed it.”

  “Then you can understand why I want to talk to him.” She folded her hands in her lap to keep them from trembling.

  Darlene’s eyes widened. “You want to…? Annalise, what are you thinking? Not only would his father not allow that, but why open that can of worms again?”

  “Don’t you think that if I’m this torn up, then the kid who lied is even more so? How can he possibly move past that?”

  “He can go to therapy like everyone else. He stole your life, Annalise.”

  “He’s a kid. He had no idea of the ramifications making those accusations would carry. I’m sure of it.” She had to be. Otherwise, what did that say about her ability to read people, to differentiate between a malicious person and someone who’d simply made a bad decision? She’d seen malicious. Kenna kissing Cole was a malicious act to try to hurt her and win him back.

  That thought made her gut ache. What would Kenna do when she found out Leesa was gone? Probably pull out all the stops to win Cole back.

  She swallowed against the thought. She trusted Cole, but the thought of Kenna anywhere near him made her feel sick to her stomach.

  She was getting sidetracked, and she couldn’t afford to be sidetracked. She had to take care of herself before she could offer Cole any more of herself than she already had. She had to be healed, whole, confident. She didn’t want to be a noose around his neck, a tether to a troubled past he didn’t deserve to have to deal with. She listened to Darlene tell her again that she absolutely should not go speak with Andy, and right then and there she knew she wasn’t going to heed her warning.

  She needed to clear her name and find herself again more than she needed anything else.

  Including Cole.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “HEY, MAN, CONGRATULATIONS.” Cole pressed the cell phone to his ear as he stepped from the car in front of Tap It. He’d called Rush to thank him for referring Elsie Hood.

  “Are you kidding?” Rush said. “I only refer to the best.”r />
  “We’ll have to plan a get together soon.” Cole leaned against his car, thinking about Leesa. Rush and his siblings had all gotten engaged or married in the past few years, just as Cole’s cousins in Colorado had. Nate and Jewel were on their way to a happy future, and Cole, the one who had always been more of a one-woman man than any of them, felt like he was on the cusp of losing the only woman he wanted a future with.

  “Great. I can’t wait to see you again, man,” Rush said. “It’s been too long.”

  He hadn’t seen Rush since his wedding a few months ago, and he looked forward to seeing his old friend again. They shot the shit for a few more minutes, catching up on family members. After ending the call, Cole called Leesa. When it went to voicemail, he hoped she was out with her friends, having a good time, and left a message.

  “Hey, angel. I, uh…” He laughed softly, realizing he didn’t have a purpose for his call. “I miss you and just wanted to hear your voice. I’m meeting my brothers for a drink. Call me later, or text me? Hope things are going okay.”

  As he walked into the bar, he fought the urge to climb into his car and drive to Towson. He’d promised to give her the space she needed to deal with this on her own—or at least he’d promised to try. Although he knew himself, and he had no intention of waiting a week, a month, or a year. Yes, he’d wait that long for her if that’s what it took for her to come back, but he wasn’t about to wait that long to see her again. He’d already looked up her Towson address. He’d give her twenty-four hours to deal with this on her terms. If he could last that long.

  “Finally.” Sam greeted him loudly from a table near the back of the bar, where he was sitting with Nate, Jewel, Tempe, and Shannon.

  Cole placed a hand on each of his sisters’ shoulders. “I didn’t know you two and Jewel were going to be here.”

  “You think we’d leave you guys to have all the fun without us?” Shannon said with a bright smile. “Tempe tried to beg off, but Jewel and I dragged her butt out anyway.”

  “Hey, how are you doing?” Tempe asked as he took the seat beside Sam.

  “Fine. Sorry I’m late. Schedule ran late, and I called Rush from the parking lot.”

  “His wedding was so fun,” Shannon said as Nate flagged down their waiter and ordered a pitcher of beer. “You’re next, Nate.”

  Nate grinned and reached for Jewel’s hand. “I’m ready, but my girlfriend isn’t. She’s the one you need to work on.”

  Jewel rolled her eyes. “Seriously, you guys? Let us be in this amazing stage of bliss for a while. After marriage comes babies and real life. You have to remember, I practically raised my little brother and sisters. I want to enjoy Nate for a while.” She gazed into Nate’s eyes with so much love that it practically reached out and embraced him. “I can still hardly believe we’re a couple.”

  “Oh, we’re a couple, all right,” Nate said with a smirk. “Any other guy even tries to come between us and I’ll—”

  She silenced him with a kiss. “Not a chance. I’m yours, married or not.”

  Cole sipped his beer, trying to ignore the way watching Nate and Jewel made him miss Leesa even more.

  “So, Cole, I was thinking,” Sam said. “If Leesa isn’t back this weekend, maybe you and I can take a rafting trip Saturday night? Come back Sunday?”

  “I don’t want to think about her not coming back for a night, much less through the weekend,” Cole admitted.

  Shannon patted his back. “You fell hard and fast, didn’t you?”

  Cole smiled but didn’t answer. Yes, he’d fallen hard and fast, but he wasn’t sure how much that mattered if Leesa decided to stay in Towson. He had a practice here that he had worked hard to build. His life was here. His family.

  “Sometimes things just take a while to work themselves out,” Jewel said. “Look at me and Nate. Years passed between—” She winced. “Oh, gosh, it won’t be years for you guys. I just meant…”

  “Don’t sweat it, Jewel.”

  Sam narrowed his eyes at Cole. “It’s not like you to sit back and let things happen to you, Cole. What gives?”

  “I’m trying to give her the space to do what she needs to do. I’ve waited a long time to find someone I care about. I’m not about to suffocate her and push her away.” His blood simmered at his inability to take control of the situation, and his frustration came out in a harsh tone. “Don’t you think I tried to go with her? I tried like hell, but she’s determined to do this on her own, and I get that. I do, but damn…” He shifted his eyes away from his siblings. “Can we not talk about this, please? I thought y’all were going to take my mind off this shit, not pound it into me.”

  “Yes, of course,” Tempe said, glaring at Sam.

  “Sorry, Cole. We didn’t mean to pressure you,” Shannon added.

  “I did.” Sam’s voice was dead calm. “Just like you’d pressure me if the tables were turned.”

  “What?” Cole snapped. “You’ve never cared this deeply about a woman in your life.”

  “Neither have you,” Sam challenged. “Until now.”

  Cole rose to his feet. He wasn’t about to sit here and be pushed by his brother when he already felt locked in a corner. “In case you haven’t noticed, Sam, I can deal with my own shit. I’ve got work to do. I’ll catch up with you guys another time.”

  “That’s it, Cole,” Sam said, rising to his feet. “Bury your feelings in the lives of your patients, because that’s worked out well for you so far.”

  Cole closed the distance between them, and Nate rose to his feet, his eyes darting between the two men. “You have a hair up your ass, Sammy? Because I’m not sure why you’re pushing all my buttons in the middle of Nate’s restaurant.”

  Nate put a hand on Cole’s shoulder, and Cole shrugged him off.

  “Hey, listen,” Nate said in a stern voice. “Whatever bullshit you two have going on, take it outside.”

  “Sorry. I’m outta here.” Cole stalked out the front door and right into Kenna. Fuck. Could this night get any worse?

  “Cole. I didn’t expect to see you here, but I’m glad I did.”

  She touched his arm, and he shrugged her off and headed down the stairs.

  “Cole!”

  He turned, trying to contain the anger clawing for release. “What do you want?”

  She came down the steps, and her tone softened. “You really love her, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Kenna. I really do, and I’m in no mood—”

  “Cole, it’s okay. I’m happy for you. You deserve to be happy. Tell your girlfriend I’m sorry I kissed you. That was low, and I’m trying to turn over a new leaf. I just temporarily forgot how.”

  He huffed out a relieved breath, feeling like he was caught in a spider’s web. He didn’t trust Kenna, and it must have been written in his expression, because a sheepish look came over her face.

  “I…” She looked away, and Cole swore her eyes were damp. “I know I’ve been a bitch. I never should have kissed you. Or bid on you. Or…”

  He didn’t have it in him to try to run through the things she shouldn’t have done. He flat-out didn’t care anymore. He had one focus, and that was Leesa.

  “Cole, I owe your girlfriend an apology, and—”

  “No. Don’t go anywhere near her.” He didn’t mean to snap, but he was a hairbreadth from losing it, despite the sorrowful look in her eyes. “Look, Kenna, thank you. If you mean those things, thank you. But please don’t say anything to Leesa. She doesn’t need to feel threatened, or…”

  He saw Sam come through the doors of the restaurant with Nate on his heels and turned toward his car.

  “Okay, okay. But I mean it. I am happy for you.” Kenna headed toward the restaurant.

  Cole fished for his keys, trying to ignore the murmurings between her and his brothers.

  “Hey, asshole.” Sam’s deep voice was as calm as a summer’s day.

  Cole turned a dark stare to Sam and saw Nate on his heels. Cole fisted his hands at his sides.
He’d never been a violent guy, but at just barely two years younger than him, Sam had always pushed Cole in ways none of his other siblings dared to.

  “Sammy, I’m really not in the mood for games.”

  Sam held his hands up in surrender. “Neither am I. Dude, she’s got you all tied up in knots. Don’t you remember seeing this”—he motioned to Cole’s fisted hands, the tightness in his jaw, and if he could, Cole knew he’d point out the burning in his gut, too—“in him?” Sam said, pointing to Nate, who stood with his legs planted hip distance apart, arms crossed, shoulder to shoulder between Cole and Sam, clearly ready to jump between them if need be.

  Nate’s eyes narrowed further at Sam.

  “Cole, think about it. Nate stepped up to the plate with Jewel, even with all the shit he had hanging over his head, and you’re going to bury yourself in medical cases?”

  “It’s different,” Cole insisted.

  “How so?” Sam crossed his arms and cocked a brow. “Enlighten me.”

  “She may not come back, Sam,” he seethed. “Jewel was here. Nate was here. They had history. Leesa and I have days. Her history is back in Towson.” And it fucking sucks.

  “So?” Sam shrugged.

  “So?” Cole shook his head. “Sam, she’s either going to come back or she’s not. If I go there and beg her to come back, she’ll feel pressured in ways she shouldn’t have to deal with while she’s got so much other shit going on in her life. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

  “You always do the right thing,” Sam said, stepping into Cole’s personal space. Nate’s thick arms unfolded and he stepped in just as close, breathing down his brothers’ backs.

  “You’re Cole Braden. The eldest. The guy who always does the right thing. The guy whose shadow we’ve all walked in.” Sam searched his eyes, and Cole was sure he saw fire in them. “Don’t you ever get sick of being that guy? Don’t you want to bust free? Say ‘fuck it all’ and do the thing that feels right instead of the thing that is right?”

  “Dude,” Nate said. “I hate to say it, but he’s got a point. You always do the right thing.”