“Cole, they saw me with you.”
“So?” I said without thinking. “Good, I’m like two of the one guy and four of the other. No wonder why they drove off so fast,” I said, annoyed now.
I wished that I had seen them. Damn it.
“No, Cole, you are not getting it. They probably know who you are. Everyone in this town knows the Hunter Brothers. I was with you. Now they know for sure where to find me. At the resort,” she said, slowly.
I looked over at her as it dawned on me what she was saying. For a moment, I felt intense anger rage through my body. Lindsay must have seen it in my eyes because she calmed down and reached over and put her hand on my arm.
“It’s going to be okay,” she told me.
I felt strongly protective of Lindsay, and of my family.
“If they come anywhere near you or any of my family,” I shook my head. “Let’s just say that they will get what they have coming to them.”
“Cole,” Lindsay said.
I didn’t look at her. I was deep in my own thoughts. I kept looking down every street as we drove down Main Street. Once we reached the end, I had to give up. They could be anywhere by now.
“So they live to see another day,” I said and turned up the mountain road to the resort.
“Cole,” Lindsay repeated. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized to her. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But I care for you, Lindsay. Those guys are a threat and I won’t have it.”
She smiled at me. I gave her my best smile in return though I was still seething inside.
17
Lindsay
All night I worried. I worried about those guys knowing where I lived. I worried about Cole killing one of them, or even worse, them doing something to Cole’s family.
All night, Cole wasn’t himself. I realized that I hadn't known Cole for too long, but I had never seen him this angry.
On one hand, I was pleased. It said a lot about Cole. I knew that he was a tough man. But this was a different kind of tough. A loyal, protective, loving tough. On the other hand, I was worried about him. He wasn’t his normal, stable self. He was angry, and the intensity of his anger scared me just a bit.
I had tried to tell him to leave me at a motel in town so that I wouldn’t be a threat to his family, but Cole would hear nothing of it. He insisted that not only did I stay at the resort, but that I stay with him personally until this whole thing was resolved. We’d called the sheriff on the way back up to his cabin and reported the vehicle and where we’d last seen the guys.
We went to bed early that night. After we got home, the festivity of the evening had been abandoned. Neither one of us could stop thinking of those two men.
I was relieved when Cole opened his eyes in the morning and smiled at me. He pulled me close to him and hugged me. I snuggled into him. My old Cole was back.
He nibbled on my ear and moved his hand over my body. I felt his cock get hard on my behind.
“Cole, we haveto get up. It’s Christmas morning,” I reminded him.
He completely ignored me and kissed my cheek, my lips. I felt my pussy get wet and my groin ached for his touch. I rolled onto my back and his hand moved down my shorts and into my panties to find my wet clit.
Cole wasted no time on pushing his fingers up into my pussy and circled my throbbing clit with his thumb. He kissed my lips passionately. I knew that there was no point in telling him to stop now.
He was breathing fast. He yanked down my shorts and panties with one quick motion and before I knew it, he had pulled down his shorts and rolled on top of me. I opened my legs to let his cock find my pussy.
He was was thick and hard and he plugged deep into my wet, warm channel. He groaned in my ear as he moved in and out of me. I wrapped my legs around Cole’s waist and urged him to fuck me faster. I moved my body with each thrust of his hard cock.
He moved his hand under my tank top and found my naked breast. He pushed up my shirt so that his mouth could take my nipple. He licked and suckled at my breast while his thrusts became more and more insistent.
A deep sensation urged through my groin and traveled up my abdomen. As he sucked on my breast, my body seized with orgasm. I pushed my hips up to meet Cole’s thrusts and my body trembled in response.
I moaned out in delight and arched my back up as I came hard on Cole’s cock. He let me finish coming before he got up on his hands and began to fuck me even faster until he was ready to explode.
Cole groaned and I felt his cock throb inside of my pussy. With one last thrust, he let go and lost himself in orgasm. He continued to thrust his cock into me as he came. His body convulsed over mine and then he went limp on top of me.
Cole gently laid on me as he recovered from his orgasm. He was breathing hard in my ear. I felt his heart beat quickly in his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He pulled out of me and moved to lay beside me. He pulled me to him and kissed me tenderly. We laid together in silence for a bit, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies.
“We have to get up,” I told him. “You have to take the rocking horse to your mom’s house,” I reminded him.
Another minute,” he said. “I just want to have you to myself for one more minute.”
I wasn't going to argue with him about that. I’d lay here in his bed with him, naked, all day long without a care in the world. But, we couldn’t do that today. It was Christmas.
“Merry Christmas,” I told him.
“Merry Christmas, Lindsay,” he replied, kissing me.
The minute went by too quickly. We were out of time.
“Shower with me,” he asked me.
“Cole, we have to go.”
“Just a shower. We’ll hurry. Promise,” he replied, chuckling. “I know we need to get going.”
“Okay, I agreed.
Cole got up and carried me to the bathroom off of the bedroom. He put me in the shower and turned on the hot water. We stood in the heat, letting the bathroom steam up. Cole lathered up the bar of soap and glided it over my naked skin.
Then, he took the shampoo and washed my hair and did the same with the conditioner. It was my turn and I quickly washed Cole’s naked, toned body. I could have stood in the shower all day with him, but we had to get out.
Cole dressed quickly and told me to meet him and Bella in the work shed when I was ready. He was going to try and wrap up the horse in some paper.
I put on one of my new dresses. A more casual dress than the green one but still very pretty. As I stoodlooking into the mirror, I thought of how lucky I was to have Cole.
***
I went to meet Cole and Bella in the work shed and Cole had, somehow, gotten red wrapping paper to cover the entire three-foot rocking horse.
“Great job, I told him, coming into the shed. “I can’t believe you got it all covered. I had my doubts,” I admitted.
Cole chuckled. “Me too,” he confessed. “Now, only to get it to my mom’s house without the paper falling off,” he said.
I helped Cole carry the rocking horse and place it in the back of his truck. He had put down a wooden board so that the bottom of the horse didn’t get dirty or wet. The three of us got into the truck and we slowly drove the two houses over to Mary Beth’s.
We parked along the front porch and I helped Cole carry the wooden rocking horse inside. We placed it beside the Christmas tree. I was in awe at all the other brightly wrapped packages that were placed under the tree, and suddenly felt awful that I had nothing to give these wonderful people who had taken me in and shown me such kindness. I would have to find a way to make it up to them.
“Whew, that was heavier than I thought it would be,” I told Cole.
He smiled at me. I giggled. I bet he could have carried it in all by himself if I wasn’t here.
We had gotten there just in time before everyone else had arrived. Cole
had also brought along a couple of gifts for his nephews. Reid got a new PC game and Bryce a PlayStation game.
Mary Beth called us in for coffee and we each took a turn grabbing a cup. Of course, the kids wanted to open their presents before we ate breakfast. The boys were both thrilled with the new games from Cole. They also got a variety of other items from their grandma and other two uncles. So did Abby. And, of course, Santa had already visited their house and they had unwrapped tons of presents according to them as they excitedly talked about all of their gifts.
The last gift by the tree was the rocking horse. It stood out like a sore thumb and everyone wanted to know what was under that red paper.
“Go ahead, Abby. You can open the big red gift,” Cole told her.
“For me?” she asked.
“Yes, Abby, it’s for you.”
“From Unca Cole and Bella?” she asked, grinning.
Bella heard her name and came over and gave Abby a big wet one. Abby giggled in delight.
“Abby, go and open your gift,” Brad urged his daughter. “Everyone is waiting.”
“Kay,” she replied and waddled over to it and began to rip off the red wrapping paper. “Wow,” she said, her bright blue eyes as large as saucers when she saw how big it was.
“It a horse?” she asked Cole. “For me?”
“Yes, it’s a horse that you ride and it rocks. It’s for you,” Cole told her, grinning.
Everyone chuckled at how cute she was. Angela helped her unwrap the rest of the paper from the horse and Abby was bouncing up and down with excitement.
“Tell Uncle Cole thank you, Abby. He made this for you,” Angela told her daughter.
“Thank, Unca Cole,” Abby said to him. “Thank, Bella,” she told Bella who wagged her tail at her.
“Hug?” Cole asked his niece. She went over to hug him briefly and then hugged Bella too.
“Me ride?” Abby asked Brad.
Brad picked her up and put her on the horse. Until she got a little bit bigger, someone would have to hold her while she rocked.
“Thanks, Cole,” Brad said. “It’s really nice. She’ll get tons of use out of this for years to come.”
“Yeah, Cole, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much,” replied Angela, taking a picture of Abby riding and giggling on the horse.
“Sure. Glad she likes it,” Cole replied.
Mary Beth told us that breakfast was ready. We all pulled up chairs around the dining room table and the kids sat in the living room. We helped ourselves to a huge platter of eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and toast. Mary Beth must have gotten up at four a.m. to make all of this food for a family of ten.
Well, a family of nine, but the Hunters really made me feel like I was a part of their family. And I appreciated them very much. I felt extremely lucky to be spending Christmas Day with these wonderful people. And with Cole, who I was falling for more so with each passing day.
After breakfast, I wanted to thank Mary Beth for having me over on Christmas Day and for breakfast. I went into the kitchen and found her washing the dishes.
“Let me help you,” I offered.
“You can dry if you like,” Mary Beth replied, smiling, handing me a dish towel.
As she washed the dishes, pots, and pans, I dried them.
“Thanks for having me over today. And for the meal. For everything really. I really appreciate your hospitality,” I told her.
“Of course, dear. You don’t have to thank me. Are you feeling better? You look a lot better,” Mary Beth added.
“Yes, my body is healed. I feel good besides for my memory,” I confessed. “I have Cole to thank for my recovery. He saved my life,” I told Mary Beth.
“I’m glad that he found you. For more reasons than one. I’ve noticed a big difference in Cole the last couple of weeks since he’s been spending time with you,” she told me.
“Why different?” I asked.
“He’s happier. I mean he never seemed unhappy to me. Content you might say. But now, I can see that he’s happy.”
Her statement about me making Cole happy took me off guard. I don’t know what I expected her to say. I guess not to open up as she did. But this is who this family was. I should have expected it. The entire family had accepted me and opened up to me. Even Cole’s mom.
And it was making me feel guilty.
“What’s wrong, dear?” Mary Beth asked me when I got quiet.
I hesitated. I didn’t know how to say what I was feeling to Cole’s mother.
“You can tell me. Don’t worry. I think that I already know,” she said.
“I feel guilty about being with Cole when I can’t remember my life. Please don’t get me wrong. I have very strong feelings for your son. I would never purposely hurt him,” I confessed.
“I know that. I think that Cole knows that too.”
“I think that he does too,” I agreed. “But that still doesn’t mean that he won’t get hurt because of me,” I told her. “And, I am really struggling with it. I feel awful.”
“How do you know that things won’t work out between you and Cole?” Mary Beth asked me.
“I don’t know. Not for sure. I hope more than anything that things work out between us. Something tells me that I’ve never felt this way about any man before,,” I told Mary Beth.
And I meant it. Every word. I couldn’t imagine having this deep of a connection with anybody else in my life. Love didn’t happen like this every day. You were lucky if you found one true love in a lifetime.
Love? Did I love him? I think that I did.
“I believe in love at first sight. I had one love in my life. I’ll never have another. The boys’ father, God bless his soul,” said Mary Beth, smiling.
I smiled too. She was such as lovely lady. Cole was lucky to have her for a mother.
“Hearing you say that gives me hope,” I said. “I just wish that I could remember so that I knew for sure. It’s too hard, not knowing,” I said, shaking my head.
“Everything will work out how it’s supposed to,” Mary Beth told me. “I really believe that.”
I smiled. I hoped that she was right. I wished that I could really believe as she did.
“There, we are all done. Time to head down to the resort. We usually spend time with the guests on Christmas Day. The ones who aren’t skiing or off doing their thing, that is. We get regulars over the holiday season who just enjoy spending time here,” she said.
“That’s really great,” I replied. “Like an extended family.”
“That’s exactly how it is,” Mary Beth agreed, smiling and taking off her apron.
Cole came into the kitchen and asked if I wanted to go down to the resort for the tree decorating. They set up craft tables in the common room, played Christmas music, and each of the guests made an ornament. Then everyone decorated the tree’s out in the front of the resort.
“We already got the lights on the pine trees. But we need to get the ladder from the maintenance garage to put the stars on the tops and to reach the higher up branches with the ornaments. Want to come with me to pick it up?” he asked me.
“Sure,” I told him.
I thanked Mary Beth for talking with me. I told her that she made me feel a lot better. She smiled and said that she’d see us down at the resort.
“What did Mom say to you to make you feel better?” Cole asked me. “Or is it none of my business?” he asked smiling.
I smiled at him. “She said that everything works out like it’s supposed to.”
“Hmm,” Cole replied. “I hope that she’s right.”
“Me too,” I agreed.
My memory loss and “other life” was always between Cole and I. And, until I got my memory back, it would be like a black rain cloud hanging over our happiness.
***
Cole and I retrieved the ladder from the maintenance garage and took it to the resort building. Cole left it on his truck until it
was needed so that nobody got hurt. We went inside to the sound of Christmas tunes playing and children running around the common room, excited about Christmas day.
Many of the children had small toys with them that Santa had delivered overnight. I was thrilled to watch them run around, playing with airplanes, cars, and trucks. The little girls had dolls. It reminded me of when I was a little girl at Christmas time.
Wait. Was that a real memory? I clearly could see myself as a little girl unwrapping a present from under the tree. It was a doll. The kind that you fed a bottle to and it wet its diaper. I smiled at the memory. Even though I couldn’t see my parents or anyone but a doll in my memory, I was happy to have one.
Cole saw me smiling to myself.
“What?” he asked. “Did you remember something?” He was extremely observant. “It must have been a good memory cause you’re wearing a huge grin,” she said, grinning too.
“Yes, it was a good memory. I can see myself as a little girl opening a doll for Christmas,” I told him. “I really liked that doll. Seeing these kids running around with their toys reminded me.”
“That’s good that you are starting to have small memories like that,” Cole said. “Hopefully more good memories are on the way.”
“Thanks, Cole. I hope so too.”
We joined in with the crafts and Cole and I each made an ornament to hang on the pine trees outside. When all the guests had finished creating their ornaments, we all went outside and took turns hanging our ornaments on the branches.
After that, the dining room opened for a dinner buffet. Guests could come in when they wanted to and eat from the buffet for free today. Cole and I joined in and had an early dinner. Then, we sat at the lounge for drinks with Brad and Angela.
It was a good day, overall. The time went by incredibly fast. As the night passed on, the guests trickled out. Some latecomers came in from the lodge when it closed for the evening and Harley and Dax showed up and we stayed to have a Christmas drink with them.
Brad and Angela said their goodbyes, along with Mary Beth. Soon, even Dax and Harley said that they were tired. That left Cole and me in the dining room alone. The night attendant, Clark, stopped in to wish us a Merry Christmas before taking his position behind the front desk.
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