Shelter

by Stephanie Fournet

  “Maybe I can’t change overnight, but today’s a new day. Saturday, in fact,” I teased. “And I’m ready for some bacon and eggs.”

  Her mouth quirked in a smile. I wanted to see it reach her eyes, but she looked down at our hands instead.

  “Don’t forget biscuits and coffee.”

  “Who could forget biscuits and coffee?”

  Chapter 29

  ELISE

  “I think we should take separate cars to Mama’s.”

  Spending the weekend with Cole was like holding giant sparklers in each hand. Giddy. Dazzling. Searing hot at the core. And over much too quickly.

  In my apartment, Cole had unapologetically snooped — so typical of the boy I remembered that I could only laugh as he flipped through my sketchpads and opened my dresser drawers while I had packed.

  Over a lazy breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and coffee at Rusted Rooster, we had talked about everything from our favorite beach activities (Cole: jet ski. Me: paddleboard) to what kind of dog we’d like to own and what we would name it if we ever got one (Cole: a rescued greyhound named Nikola. Me: a King Charles spaniel named Ruby.)

  The bikini I’d managed to pack was put to good use Saturday afternoon while Cole swam laps and I sketched by the pool. It even made it all the way inside after Cole had left the water, brushed the towel over his glistening body in a few rough strokes, and then pretty much pounced on me.

  Ava had come and gone again. She had sat on one of the kitchen stools and watched us while we made salad and garlic bread to go with the leftover spaghetti, but when Cole had tried to serve her a plate, she’d declined, saying she wanted to take a book and hang out at Reve’s Coffee Roasters downtown.

  I’d watched a flicker of concern pass over Cole’s face at this announcement, but then he visibly swallowed and mastered his expression.

  After dinner, we’d curled up on the couch and watched two and a half episodes of Drunk History. Cole had been lying with his head in my lap while I’d scratched and tickled his back. At some point during that third episode, he rolled over and started kissing my knees. And then my thighs.

  And then the inseam of my shorts.

  He’d carried me to his bedroom for the second night in a row.

  And with that memory clear in my mind, I was about to face Flora. I’d called Mama to tell her that since Alberta had gone camping with Ross, we should go ahead and invite the Whitehursts after all. She’d been over the moon about the prospect. So much so, she’d called Cole the instant she hung up with me. He’d had a hell of a time staying composed long enough to accept her invitation.

  But if we showed up together in one car, Mama would notice.

  “Why?” Cole asked, buttoning up another dress shirt, this one a lovely robin’s egg blue that set off his eyes. “She’ll know what’s up soon enough.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “She doesn’t need to know I spent the weekend here.”

  Cole tilted his head back and laughed at the ceiling. “You mean I shouldn’t tell her I’ve been lusting after you since that day I read Jane Eyre to you while you sat across from me in that orange bikini?”

  I blinked. “Y-you remember the orange bikini?”

  A wicked chuckle escaped him as he crossed the room to me. “Vividly,” he purred. “It tortured me. It invaded my dreams for years. And now you’ve gone and added a little black one with teal stripes.”

  I stared at him for a minute. “Yeah, you probably shouldn’t tell Flora that.”

  Cole laughed again, but he settled his hands at my hips and tugged me closer to him. “Why are you so nervous? You said yourself that Flora would be thrilled.”

  “Oh, she’ll be thrilled,” I stressed, wagging my eyebrows. “This’ll be like winning the lottery.”

  This time Cole blew out an amused breath and shook his head. “Be serious.”

  “I am! She thinks the world of you, Cole.” I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. She’d watched him grow up, putting his mother and sister ahead of himself, stepping in front of his father’s fists, taking Ava with him wherever he went so she’d be safe. He was a hero to Mama. “And if this doesn’t work out, it won’t be you she blames.” I said it half-joking.

  Sort of.

  Cole dropped his head until his gaze was level with mine. “I have two things to say about that. One: This is going to work out. You’re stuck with me. I’m sorry, but you have no choice.” His teasing words made me smile in spite of myself. “And two: Flora thinks the world of you, too. I know she’s tough on you. She always has been, but you should hear the way she talks about you. You’d blush like a rose.”

  He brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek, summoning a blush as if by magic.

  “Besides, if — in some impossible, alternate universe scenario — this didn’t work out, Ava would heap the blame entirely on me.” Cole shrugged. “She’d probably throw a dumpster and a Port-o-let on there as well.”

  I giggled, grateful for Ava’s allegiance. “Well, you should ride with her to Mama’s,” I said, stepping into my ballet flats. I still needed to do my makeup, and then I’d leave a few minutes ahead of them.

  But at my comment, a frown crossed Cole’s brow. “She left. She texted to say she was hitting a yoga class before lunch, and she’d meet us a Flora’s.” I watched his frown deepen. “Are there even yoga classes on Sunday morning?”

  I blinked. “Well… I’m sure there are. She wouldn’t say she was going if there weren’t.”

  He winced, looking guilty. “I’m doing it again.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, draping my arms around his neck. “Be patient. The longer she’s steady and sober, the easier this will get.”

  I hoped I was right. Cole had always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. He deserved to lay those burdens down. But as I tried to soothe him, stroking my hands up and down his back, I wondered if he ever would.

  But then he rested his forehead against mine with a moan. “I love when you do that,” he murmured.

  “What?”

  “Touch me.”

  I smiled, bringing my hands up to his shoulders and massaging them. “Here?”

  “Mmm… anywhere.”

  Giggling, I lifted up and pressed a kiss to his lowered cheek. “You’re easy to please.”

  Cole shook his head. “No, I’m not,” he argued gently. “I’m pretty demanding. It’s Sunday. The weekend’s almost over, and I’m already thinking of ways to get you to stay.”

  Right then, I wanted — again — to tell him that I loved him. But I’d never said those words to anyone. And my hunch was he hadn’t either. Even though I was sure about how I felt, it was too soon.

  “C’mon. Let’s go to Flora’s. She’ll have a fit if we’re late.”

  “Here, come stir the gravy so it doesn’t curdle,” Mama ordered as soon as I stepped through her front door.

  I dropped my purse and moved to the stove. She was bouncing around her small kitchen like a flea, lifting the lid off the ricecooker to check it, scooting around me to give the green beans and bacon a swish with her wooden spoon, and opening the oven to draw out a pan of rolls.

  “It smells good, Mama.” I wanted to put her at ease, but with the Whitehursts coming over, that was going to be a hard sell.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she fussed. “I hope the roast’s not tough.”

  I arched a brow at her. “You’ve never made a tough pork roast in your life.”

  Mama bit back a smile before peering over my shoulder. “Good… good… Now just put it on warm and pour the lemonade.” She made it two steps away from me before turning on her heel. “Do you think they’ll even want lemonade?”

  “Yes, Mama,” I said, smothering a laugh. “They love your lemonade.”

  Mama brought her hands to her hairline and nodded. “I know. I know. I’m being silly. But they’re my babies just as much as you are.”

  Then her eyes focused on me for the first time since I’
d walked in. “That’s a very becoming dress, Elise,” she said, sounding a little awed. It was a simple, knee-length sundress with a halter neckline and a belted waist, but I thought the magenta color suited me. It didn’t hurt that when I’d put it on at Cole’s, he’d accused me of trying to sabotage him in front of Mama.

  “How am I supposed to keep my hands off you?” he’d asked, gliding his fingers over my back while I’d stood in his bathroom fixing my hair.

  “Thank you,” I told Mama, turning toward the cabinet before she could see me color.

  “Cole’s not gonna know what to think, seeing as the last time he saw you, you were just a girl,” Mama said to my back.

  I swallowed “Actually—”

  But a knock at the door silenced me, and I gave a sigh of relief when Mama gasped.

  “That’ll be them!” With her bad feet, Mama almost never went anywhere in a hurry these days, but I swear, she sprinted to that front door.

  When she threw it open, there was Cole with his sexy-as-hell grin, clutching a bouquet of Gerbera daisies, three of which were the exact color of my dress.

  “Hey, Flora,” he said, offering her the flowers. Mama shooed them out of the way.

  “Don’t hey me, darlin’. Hug me!” she said, opening her arms wide before pulling Cole to her. Our eyes met over her shoulder, and Cole gave me an amused wink.

  “Did you tell her?” He mouthed.

  I shook my head wildly, and he silently laughed.

  “Good to see you again, Flora.” He pulled back and kissed my mother on the cheek. “Ava’s coming on her own, but she should be here soon.”

  “Oh, I hope so,” Mama said, untangling herself. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

  She turned back toward the kitchen and found me standing at the entrance. Her frown was immediate. “Elise Nicole, get over here and give this boy a hug!” she scolded, beckoning me with her plump arm. “You haven’t seen him in almost ten years!”

  I took a step forward, then stopped, blushing full force now. Why hadn’t I just spit it out as soon as I’d walked in? This was going to be so awkward.

  “Well, Mama, about that—”

  “Get over here, girl! I swear, where are your manners?”

  What was it about Cole Whitehurst that made my mother intent on treating me like a seven-year-old?

  “Here,” Cole said, passing the daisies off to Mama. “I’ll go to her,” he said. And in three strides he had me in his arms, nearly taking me off my feet. In his tight, now-familiar embrace, I forgot all about Mama’s scolding.

  He put his lips to my ear. “You are everything I have ever wanted,” he whispered. “And don’t you forget it.”

  As soon as he released me, Mama was there, shaking the bouquet in my face. “Aren’t these gorgeous? Elise, be a dear and put these in some water.”

  But before I could take them from her, Cole grabbed them. “I’ll do it. Just tell me where I can find a vase.”

  “O-oh,” Mama stammered. “Under the sink. But she can do it, Cole—”

  He shook his head, moving past me toward the kitchen. “I’ve got it. Besides, I think Elise was trying to tell you something.”

  I shot him a panicked look, and he threw me a grin over his shoulder. He quirked his eyebrows and gave a little dip of his chin. “Go on,” he seemed to say.

  I looked back at Mama to find her studying me with a confused frown. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly full of sawdust.

  “Well… it’s kind of funny really,” I began, forcing a weak laugh. Through the rushing in my ears I heard the tap in the sink running. Cole was filling the vase, but I suddenly wished he was standing beside me. “Cole and I—”

  “Stop crumpling the front of your dress like that, Elise. You’ll wrinkle it.”

  I looked down to find myself gripping handfuls of the cotton skirt. Mama was right. I was wrinkling it. Probably because she was making this impossible.

  “Mama!” I snapped. She jerked her head up in surprise at my tone. “Lis-ten.”

  “Well, what, Elise?” she prompted, looking at me like I’d just spoken in tongues.

  Now that I had her attention, the words I needed fled. “So… um… see—”

  I turned at the sound of a thunk to find the flower vase on Mama’s small dining table and Cole standing beside me. He hooked his arm around my waist.

  Mama’s eyes zeroed in on it.

  “Last week, after Ava and I had breakfast with you,” Cole began, his voice level, calm. Confident. Unlike mine. “I called Elise and asked her out. It was something I’d wanted to do for a long time.”

  Mama sucked in her breath so quick she almost choked, and her eyes bugged. “Wh-what?” Her gaze bounced from me to Cole and back to me.

  Intrepid, Cole continued. “She did me the honor of accepting my invitation, and we’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.” I let my eyes drift to his profile as he spoke. He wore a smile for Mama, but it was tempered, relaxed. Everything he told her was true — technically — but it sounded so much better, so much saner than the way I would have explained it.

  “And I plan to keep it that way as long as she’ll put up with me,” he finished, pressing his fingers into the side of my hip in a touch only I would notice. This, he was saying, was true too.

  I looked back at Mama to find a smile suffusing her face. It started at her mouth and spread all the way to her eyes. She brought her hands to her heart.

  “Well, that’s— Good heavens, I— My word, I can’t even—” Her gaze shot to mine. “Elise Nicole, why didn’t you say anything?”

  I might have squeaked, thinking about the handful of times I’d talked to Mama the last few days. But Cole tugged me closer and ran his possessive hand up and down my arm.

  “Oh, she wanted to…” Cole fibbed, pulling out the charm he used to weave for Mama when we were kids. “…but I thought it would be more fun to surprise you together.”

  Mama’s eyes narrowed in a playful scowl, and she swatted the air in front of her. “Cole Whitehurst! How could you keep this from me even for a second? This is the best news I’ve heard in ages!”

  I rolled my eyes at her, recovering some of my nerve now that the news was out. “Mama, I’m twenty-four years old. I’m allowed a few secrets.”

  Ignoring my censure, Mama hugged herself and bounced up and down. “But it’s just so exciting! The two of you? Together? Who would have dreamed it?”

  Me. My whole life. God, please let this be real.

  As if Cole had read my mind, he looked down at me tucked against him, his gaze warm for me alone. “Actually, it’s been my favorite dream,” he murmured.

  Well, that shut Mama up. She stared at him with her mouth hanging open while all the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks and my heart did cartwheels in my chest. Without a word my mother rushed us, claiming us both in a hug. Nearly smothering in her soft embrace, I felt her lips press to my heated cheek.

  “Mmmm-whaa!” She kissed me noisily before turning to Cole. “Mmmm-whaa!”

  She pulled back from us and brushed the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Well…” She sniffled. “…that’s some surprise.” Then she fanned her face before shoeing us toward her sofa.

  “Y’all have a seat. I’ll pour us some lemonade while we wait for Ava.” The she gasped. “Does she know?”

  I bit my lip and glanced at Cole. He gave Mama a guilty smile. “She knows. She had dinner with us Friday night.”

  Again, Cole’s true but diplomatic response had me silently cheering.

  Mama tsked. “Lucky girl!” Then she shot me a teasing glare. “I guess you couldn’t invite your old mother.”

  I thought about the events of Friday night and nearly choked. “W-we’re here now, Mama,” I cajoled.

  Mama rolled her eyes and shook her head at the heavens. “Young people. I swear!” She set off for the kitchen, but not before barking one last order. “Sit!”

  Cole pulled me to the couch, his eyes still following Mama.
When she was out of sight, he faced me with an arched look. “You weren’t kidding,” he whispered.

  Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “But you handle her better than anyone. Still,” I said, ducking my chin, “you didn’t have to take the blame for me. But thank you.”

  Cole reached up and stroked his pinky down my cheek. A delicious shiver trickled along my spine. “I remember a few times when you took the blame for me.” His tone was soft, but his eyes blazed with memory. I remembered, too, and I reached for his hand, interlacing my fingers with his. “And even if you hadn’t, I’d do it anyway. I want to take care of you.”

  I squeezed his fingers, my brows drawing together. “I would think you’ve had more than your fair share of taking care of people.”

  The left corner of his mouth curled up. “With you, it’s different. It feels good. It feels…” He licked his lips, and his voice lowered. “…intimate.”

  The way he said that one word made my pulse pound in my throat and between my breasts. Cole leaned in so that his lips hovered over my neck. “Taking care of you is like foreplay.”

  A whimper escaped me before I could clamp it down. I released Cole’s hand with a pat before pushing myself away from him. “We’re in Flora’s living room, for heaven’s sake,” I hissed.

  In spite of myself, his wicked chuckle had me grinning. And that’s how Mama found us when she returned with lemonade.

  “Well,” she said smirking, “don’t y’all look cute together.”

  “Oh, God,” I groaned under my breath. I gladly took one of the glasses from her and hid my stinging blush with a sip of lemonade. I heard Cole’s phone chime as I did.

  “Thank you, Flora,” he said, taking a glass with one hand and reaching for his phone with the other. I watched him read the screen and then frown.

  Mama ducked back into the kitchen for the third glass.

  “Everything okay?” I whispered.

  “It’s Ava.” Cole’s thumbs flew over the screen. “She says she pulled a muscle in her back in yoga class, and she’s going home to soak in the tub. She says to eat without her, and she’ll come later if she’s up to it.”