Cole came to a halt, his eyes big on her. “How do you feel about him?”
Alix was quiet. “I love him,” she said softly. “Just like you, I love him. I want to make him happy and, if you’ll let me, I want to make you happy, too.”
“I don’t need a mother,” Cole exploded. “I already got one but she’s never around, so I don’t need you taking my dad away, too, okay? He’s all we have left and he already has a family. He doesn’t need yours on top of that!”
So the reason was out in the open. Alix felt as bad as she possibly could but before she could reply, the front door opened and Sean emerged. His fair face was red with anger.
“Don’t you ever talk to my mom that way,” he snarled at Cole. “You can’t come over here and tell her what to do.”
Alix was up, putting herself between Sean and Cole. “Sean, baby, it’s okay,” she said gently, trying to turn him around for the house. “Cole’s not telling me what to do. Please go inside and watch Rosie. I’ll come inside in a minute.”
Sean wouldn’t be pushed around by his mother. He was furious and focused on Cole. “Do you hear me?” He jabbed a finger at the kid even as Alix tried to manhandle him back into the house. “Don’t you ever come over here again and talk to my mom like that, because I swear to God, I’ll kick you in the face. Your dad is the one who came on to her, so if you want to blame someone, blame your dad. He’s been all over her and I haven’t said anything about it, so you can blame him.”
Alix was having a tough time getting Sean inside and she realized she needed to give her son all of her attention at the moment. Apparently, he had some issues, too, so she shoved him inside and forced a smile at Cole.
“I’m sorry, Cole,” she said. “Please let me think about what you said and we’ll talk another time, I promise. Thank you for taking the time to come over and talk to me.”
She closed the door in the young man’s face, focused on calming Sean down. But Sean didn’t want to calm down and over the next hour and a half, Alix had to listen to Sean and his real feelings on the matter of her and Cord.
They weren’t very good.
CHAPTER NINE
“We’ve got a problem.”
Those were Alix’s words. Cord and Alix sat next to each other in the booth of a quiet little Italian restaurant over near the hospital. They were sitting as close as they possibly could without Alix sitting on his lap. He had his arm around her shoulders and was holding one of her hands.
They had talked four times on the phone since Cole’s visit to Alix the previous evening and had decided it would be best to meet someplace where the kids wouldn’t see them. Alix had been so glad to see him when he showed up at the restaurant that she had bolted out of her car and jumped on him, arms and legs all wrapped up around him. He held her tightly, kissing her within an inch of her life.
“I feel like we’re sneaking around behind my parents’ back,” she giggled as they sat the table, her head on his shoulder. “I feel so clandestine.”
He snickered. “Me, too,” he admitted. “But considering what you told me about Cole and Sean, I think this is for the best right now until we can figure this all out.”
She sighed as the waitress brought her a glass of red wine and him a tall beer. “I agree,” she said, taking her wine. “So what in the hell do we do about this? I don’t even know where to start.”
Cord collected his beer and, clinking it against her glass, took a long drink. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “So Cole really said that he was afraid you’d take me away from him?”
Alix nodded, sipping her wine. “It was so sad,” she murmured. “He’s so scared of losing you, Cord. He said you were the only parent he had left.”
Cord sighed heavily. “Wow,” he breathed. “I never knew he would even think something like that. It’s not like I run off with women on a weekly basis or anything. The boys have always had me to themselves, since Cole was a baby. I have to say that I’m a little hurt that Cole wouldn’t want me to be happy, though.”
“I don’t think it’s that more than he’s just afraid you’ll do what his mother did,” Alix said. “Did you say that you think she forgets she had kids from her first marriage?”
Cord nodded pensively. “She does. She hardly ever sees them.”
“Cole is just feeling insecure. He’s possessive of you and that’s natural.”
“What about Sean? How does he feel?”
Alix shrugged and sipped her wine again. “Like he’s being encroached on. He’s been the man of the house for four years and now you come along. He likes you a lot, but he feels threatened, probably just like Cole. Like he’s going to lose a parent. But he’ll come to terms with it.”
Cord sighed heavily, toying with his beer. “I think,” he said, “that this is all my fault. I’m the one who came on so strongly to you. I didn’t give anyone time to adjust; I just bulldozed my way in because I was so attracted to you and so thrilled I’d found you that I didn’t want to miss anything. I was afraid you’d slip through my fingers if I waited.”
Alix put her hand on his chest, patting him soothingly. “It’s nobody’s fault,” she insisted. “We were afraid that everything was happening so fast but I think we were only thinking of ourselves. We weren’t really thinking about the kids, just assuming they’d go along with us.”
He nodded, kissing the top of her head. “Chris and Kyle have been supportive, at least,” he said. “Don’t tell him I told you, but Chris thinks you’re hot. He even fist-bumped me about it.”
Alix giggled. Then, she sobered. “So what do we do? Do we have to sneak around like this for the rest of our lives?”
“No,” Cord said flatly. “At some point, Cole is going to have to understand that I’m not leaving him and you’re not taking me away. I love my son deeply, but I can’t really let him control my life like this. I won’t be held an emotional prisoner by a fourteen-year-old.”
Alix shifted so she could look up at him. “But you can’t let him feel insecure, like he’s going to lose you.”
Cord took another drink of his beer. “I’ll talk to him about it. If I have to, I’ll take him to a therapist. I’ve finally found the woman of my dreams and I’m not going to let my son ruin it. I’m sorry if that sounds selfish, but I’m just not.”
Alix was subdued, thinking of Cole, of Sean, and feeling incredible sadness and disappointment. “Maybe you and I should talk to a child therapist and see how they would recommend we handle it.”
“Maybe.”
“I’ll see if there’s one at the hospital we can talk to.”
“Sure,” he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tightly into the curve of his torso. “Meanwhile, I guess you and I need to take it a little easy in front of the kids.”
She snuggled against him. “Agreed.”
“It’s really going to kill me to ease up with you.”
“Me, too.”
The waitress came and took their order. They ate their dinner over small talk and soft laughter as Cord told her some locker room stories of his days in the NFL. It was a Monday night and Cord had to work the next morning, but when the meal ended and they paid the check, he didn’t want to leave her.
He took her over to the Salem Waterfront Hotel and Marina, checked into a room, and they spent the next two hours between the sheets. They both realized that time alone would be very precious and hard to come by, so they intended to take advantage of it. Close to eleven at night, Cord’s cell phone went off at a most inopportune moment, so he let it ring until they were finished.
Exhausted, but in a good way, Cord lay on top of Alix for a several long and wonderful minutes before reluctantly rolling off of her and reaching for his phone on the nightstand.
Chris had left him a message. Two minutes after listening to it, they were both dressed and running out of the door.
* * *
“So, as you can see by the x-rays, he’s got a concussion and a fractured left forearm,” Alix w
as standing with Cord, Chris and Kyle in her office at the hospital and she delivered the news. “I want to keep him for twenty-four hours because of the concussion, but barring any complications, you should be able to take him home tomorrow.”
Cord was pale and drawn as he listened to Alix’s professional yet compassionate delivery of Cole’s injuries. Seated in one of her leather guest chairs, he sighed heavily and wiped a hand over his face.
“Thank God,” he breathed. “It could have been so much worse.”
Chris and Kyle, too, were pale and drawn. Having found their baby brother at the bottom of the stairs in a heap had scared the hell out of them. All Cole could tell them was that Aram got in the way when he had gone downstairs to get something to eat, that the dog had somehow tripped him. The kid had fallen all the way down the narrow back stairs in his house as his father had cavorted in a hotel somewhere. At least, that’s the thought that Cord couldn’t get out of his mind.
“He’s young, healthy and resilient,” Alix tried to sound positive. She could only imagine the guilt and sadness the man was feeling. “He should be fine.”
It was almost dawn, the sun starting to peek between the blinds in Alix’s office. Cord just sat there, looking at her, wanting to say so much more than he had but refraining because of Chris and Kyle. Finally, he stood up, wearily.
“Well,” he said, wiping his hand over his stubbled face again. “I’ll go say goodbye to him and take Chris and Kyle home.”
Alix, who had been seated behind her desk showing the Trevor boys a collection of Cole’s x-rays, stood up as well.
“He’s asleep now,” she said as she herded them out of her office and into the corridor beyond. “He won’t even know you’re there. Go home, get some sleep, and I’ll stay with Cole. I’ll call you if anything comes up.”
Cord dug into his jean’s pocket and pulled out his car keys, tossing them to Chris. “Go wait out in the car for me,” he told them. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Chris and Kyle said goodbye to Alix, Chris even going so far as to hug her. She fought off a grin as they disappeared down the hallway, turning to Cord to see that he was watching her. She reached up and ran a soft hand across his cheek.
“He’s going to be fine,” she whispered. “Go home and get some sleep. I promise I won’t leave him.”
Cord stared at her a moment longer before exhaling sharply and drawing her into his enormous embrace. He just stood there and held her, tightly.
“God, I just feel sick about all of this,” he whispered. “He could have broken his neck.”
“But he didn’t,” she stressed, hugging him. “He didn’t break anything other than his forearm and that’s just a slight fracture. He’ll be out of the cast in a month. Don’t worry so much, okay? I promise I’ll take very good care of him.”
He kissed her cheek, her lips, before releasing her. “I know you will,” he murmured. “Thank you for what you’ve done for him already. You took charge when I was having a hard time doing it and you never left him, not even for a second. You made sure he was all right the entire time and even if I wasn’t madly in love with you already, that would have sealed the deal for me. I just can’t tell you what that all meant to me.”
He took her hand and kissed it sincerely. Alix smiled up at him. “You’re welcome,” she winked at him, glancing down the hall when a couple of nurses entered and started coming towards them. She let go of his hand. “For now, just go home. Call me when you wake up, okay?”
His blue eyes were soft on her. “You haven’t slept all night, either.”
“I’m fine. I’ll probably try to sleep this afternoon.”
“I wish it could be with me.”
He said it so sweetly, so softly. “Me, too,” she whispered. “But I will see you later for sure.”
“You better believe it,” he assured her, glancing at his watch. “Well, I guess I’d better get Chris and Kyle home. Do you want me to bring you some breakfast?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine, but thank you.”
Cord couldn’t help himself; he kissed her and hugged her tightly before releasing her. “I love you, honey. See you in a bit.”
Alix waved at him as he started to move away. “Love you, too.”
He winked at her and moved down the hallway, leaving Alix standing there, watching him, thinking he was just about the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
* * *
Cole slept well into the noon hour when the nurse woke him up to take his blood pressure and do a few other routine things. Alix had been down in the E.R. but the nurse had called her when he woke up. Alix finished up with the sutures she was placing in the shin of a man who hit himself with a garden hoe and headed up to Pediatrics.
As she approached the room, she could hear soft conversation inside. Entering the door, she saw a woman standing next to the bed, speaking with Cole. The woman was about Alix’s height, with long blond hair and expensive clothes. When she heard Alix enter and turned towards her, Alix could immediately see the resemblance between Cole and the woman. Alix smiled when their eyes met.
“Hi,” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Dr. Hendry.”
The woman smiled in return. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Dianne Norgren, Cole’s mother.”
Alix had suspected as much. She maintained her smile even though she was seriously looking the woman over, having heard so much about her. Mostly unflattering things, really, as far as the woman’s competency as a mother went. She had always wondered what kind of woman could have just picked up and left Cord and the boys. She was about to find out.
“Well,” she said as she crossed to the other side of the bed. “Has anyone talked to you about your son’s injuries?”
Dianne shook her head. “I got a call from his father earlier today telling me what had happened,” she said. “I came over as soon as I could. How is he?”
Alix smiled at Cole, who gazed back at her with a somewhat torn expression; he was still being very distant to her but there was something there that wanted to convey warmth. He was a very confused young man.
“He’s going to be fine,” Alix assured her. “The fracture is minimal and the concussion should go away in a day or so. I can show you the x-rays if you’d like….”
Dianne cut her off. “No need,” she said, her gaze returning to Cole. “If you say he’s going to be fine, that’s good enough for me. He really gave his father a scare.”
But he didn’t give you a scare? Alix thought. She glanced at the computer screen next to the bed, looking over his stats. “These things happen sometimes,” she said. “Dark stairs and dogs are a recipe for disaster.”
Dianne grinned, still looking at her son. When she ran a hand over his blond head, the boy seemed to recoil.
“I suppose,” she said. “It was stupid, really. Those dogs shouldn’t even be in the house.”
Cole tried to pull his head away from his mother. “I just didn’t see them,” he said, sounding angry. “I’m fine, Mom. You can go home now.”
Dianne’s grin faded as animosity from her son became evident. “I’ll leave soon enough,” she said, removing her hand. “I thought I’d bring your sisters over to visit.”
Cole shook his head, hard. “No,” he said flatly. “I don’t want to see them.”
Dianne eyed Alix, who pretended to busy herself with other things. “They miss you, Cole.”
Cole just shrugged and looked away. Dianne pressed forward. “Don’t you miss them?”
He just shook his head. He was obviously upset and Alix, coming to understand the relationship he had with his mother somewhat, was sympathetic.
“Cole should be getting lunch in a few minutes,” she said to Dianne. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”
Dianne shook her head and looked at her watch. “I wish I could, but I can’t,” she said. “I need to be back at the office in an hour. I just came to see how Cole was doing.”
“He’s doing fine,” Alix said.
“He should be able to go home in a couple of days.”
“Good,” Dianne was back to smiling at her son. “I’ll tell the family you’re doing fine. Maybe we can have you over for a visit when you’re out of the hospital.”
Cole didn’t even look at her; he just kept his head turned and his gaze averted. “Whatever Dad says.”
Dianne’s smile faded again. “It doesn’t matter what your dad says,” she said as she picked up her purse from the chair next to the bed. “It’s whatever you say and I say. If I want you to come for a visit, you will.”
Cole’s head snapped in her direction, the pale eyes blazing. “Look,” he said pointedly, “the last time I saw you was six months ago and if I hadn’t broken my arm, I still wouldn’t be seeing you, so don’t act like you care about me or like you have any say in my life, okay? And don’t go bossing me around.”
Alix watched Dianne very carefully for her reaction, which wasn’t long in coming. The woman’s smile faded entirely and her jaw began to tick.
“Cole,” she admonished sternly. “I’m sorry you’re upset and I’m sorry you’re hurt, but please don’t speak to me like that. Of course I care about you; I’m your mom. I love you.”
Cole turned away from her and closed his eyes tightly. “No, you don’t,” he hissed. “Just… go away, okay? I don’t want to see you anymore.”
Dianne started to say something but Alix intervened; she had to. Cole had himself all worked up and she couldn’t let it go on. She waved a hand at the woman.
“It’s okay,” she said, positioning herself over Cole protectively. “He’s just tired. I’ll take care of him.”
Dianne had her purse on her arm, standing by the door. She looked at Alix, and Cole, and then back again before turning and leaving without a word. When the door closed, Alix looked at Cole.
“She’s gone,” Alix said reassuringly. “Are you okay? Do you want me to call your dad?”
He opened his eyes and looked at her with about as much animosity as he had looked at his mother. “No,” he said. “I want you to go, too.”
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