by Hope, Amity
Cole stopped at the bottom of the short, cement steps.
“Where are the rest of your clothes?” he demanded as he released his hold on her.
“This is all I wore,” she indignantly replied. “It’s the same thing all of the other girls are wearing. In fact, it’s more than some of them are wearing.”
“Yeah? Well, you’re not those other girls,” he grumped. “If I had a jacket with me, I’d be covering you up with it.”
“Cole?”
“What?” he snapped.
“Are you mad at me?”
“Yes,” he said as he took off again. She took off after him.
“I mean, no,” he said. “I’m just…” He stopped abruptly and she bumped into him. Without looking at her, he scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m confused,” he mumbled as he threw his head back.
“Because…?”
“Because,” he pointed a finger at her and his tone was harsh, “you’re not supposed to be here. You’re not supposed to look like that. Ever.”
What was that supposed to mean? “Why not?”
“People are looking at you! Guys like Toby are looking at you.” He tossed his hands up in the air. “My brother was pawing at you! You,” he said in a voice thick with accusation, “are not supposed to be all sexed up like this! You are supposed to be Sarah. Just sweet, innocent Sarah.”
She frowned because the way he’d said ‘sexed up’ didn’t make it sound like he thought that was a good thing.
He shook his head, looking perplexed. “You shouldn’t be here by yourself. Hell, you really shouldn’t be here at all.”
“I came here with Lacie.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you sure about that? She’s not doing a very good job of keeping an eye on you.”
“I don’t need her to keep an eye on me,” Sarah said defiantly.
“Really? So you didn’t need me to rescue you from Darren?”
She snapped her mouth shut because there was no good answer to that question.
“Have you had anything to drink?”
She shook her head.
“Good,” he said as he grabbed her by the hand. He took off again, this time rounding the back of the house, pulling her to the front.
“Why?”
“Because, I have,” he said in a voice full of annoyance. “You’re going to need to drive yourself home. Right now.”
She dug in her heels, pulling them to a stop. “I don’t want to go home.”
“Fine,” Cole said harshly. “But you’re not staying here.”
Sarah glanced around and realized a few people had stopped talking to look at them. She realized Cole’s volume might’ve been turned up a little too loud.
Lacie stepped out of the circle of people she’d been talking to. She pointedly looked at Cole and Sarah’s joined hands. Sarah’s heart lurched as Lacie sauntered forward.
“Nice work!” Lacie cooed as she came up to Sarah’s side. “You were able to find him. Good luck holding onto him.” She winked at Sarah as she continued to sashay past.
Cole stared at her for a moment, his face a question mark. “What was that about?”
She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but her voice sounded squeaky and pathetic in her ears. “I don’t know.”
He took off again, towing her along. When they spilled out onto the gravel road, away from the house and away from the majority of the people, he kept walking until they reached her car. When he finally turned to face her, she could barely make out his features in the light beaming down from the moon.
He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you come here looking for me?”
Her cheeks were on fire again. Her whole body was heated with embarrassment. She found herself wishing she would just spontaneously combust. She simply wanted to vanish, anything to get her out of this humiliating moment.
As fast as his anger had appeared earlier, it dissipated.
His tone was light and had a teasing edge to it as he leaned into her. “Sarah.”
She could smell alcohol on his breath but she had no idea what kind it was. It wasn’t sour and stale like the stench emanating from Darren. She thought he looked sober enough. But what the hell did she know? He was right. She really didn’t belong here.
Or maybe she did because suddenly his hands were on her hips. He was firmly holding her in place. As if afraid she would bolt. His cheek rubbed against hers and his li [rs nt>ps brushed against her ear. “I asked you a question. Did you come here looking for me?”
He pulled away again but only so he could look her in the eye. She swallowed and all she could do was nod. In the moonlight, she saw a smile slowly spread across his face. The ground began to tilt beneath her feet. The whole world had begun to spin out of control on its axis because she knew right then, everything was about to change.
“Why were you looking for me?”
“I don’t know,” she said, struggling to form the words.
“That’s not an answer. Tell me why.”
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why?”
She shook her head. She couldn’t say it.
“Why?” His fingers dug into her hips. Not painfully but possessively.
She shivered in the darkness. She wasn’t sure if it was because the night had taken on a damp chill, or if it was because Cole was only inches away from her.
“Tell. Me. Why.”
She placed her hand on his chest. When he didn’t protest she slid it up further, until it was at the base of his neck. It could’ve been her imagination but she was sure his breathing suddenly quickened. With more daring than she ever dreamt she possessed, she titled his head toward hers.
When he finally gave in and kissed her, she kissed him back tentatively. Not like she didn’t know what she was doing but more like she hadn’t had a whole lot of practice doing it. He let out a groan as he stumbled backward, landing against the side of her car. His hands slid around her thighs and cupped them from behind. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted up and swung her around, placing her on the hood.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in closer. His hands slid up to her sides, settling on the smooth skin that was exposed now that her shirt was hitched upward. As his tongue explored her mouth, his fingers explored the exposed skin at her waistline.
She had only kissed one other boy before and it had felt nothing like this. That had been clumsy and awkward. With Cole, after only a moment she felt as though she were tumbling into an abyss of sensation. And she never wanted that fall to end.
Chapter Thirteen
Lacie had been wrong on her timeframe. For nearly eleven blissful months, Sarah had had Cole by her side. Too bad she’d been right about the rest of it. He had tossed her aside. And Sarah did regret the day she ever chased after him.
But Cole was right. Life is too short to live with regrets. She didn’t want to feel hurt and angry anymore.
The next morning, she blew out a sigh of relief when she heard his truck rumbling down the driveway. He’d finished the roof last week—with the help of one of Tom’s crew. Yesterday he’d started tearing off the siding. She knew he was going to be on his own again for a day or two, until Tom scrounged up a spare hand.
She didn’t know a thing about shingles but she’d had her dad come over to inspect the finished project. He’d been impressed. Sarah had been relieved. Cole had been meticulous in his work.
After yesterday, she had feared he wouldn’t come back.
After he had walked out the door she’d set to work painting the kitchen in an effort to stop thinking about him. An absolutely impossible task when he was just a wall away. Not long after that, she felt her anger begin to fade. She had finally, after all this time, gotten to have her say. She felt better for it. She realized she had cut him off before he really had a chance to explain himself completely.
He had given her just a tiny glimpse into his life. There was so much more
that she didn’t know. So many missing years. She wanted to hear about them.
But more than anything, she knew that life was too short. The photo on her dresser was a constant reminder of the limited amount of time one has. It shouldn’t be wasted. She’d spent eight years being mad at Cole. She didn’t want to be mad at him anymore. She didn’t know what it was that she did want. She just knew it wasn’t that.
By the time he’d left for the day, she’d been sorry to see him go. She had cleaned up her painting mess, debating the entire time whether or not she should go outside and talk to him. But she’d procrastinated too long and then he was gone. It was just as well. Though she’d calmed down substantially, her emotions were still running high. There was always the c c alo long andhance he’d say something to set her off. That was why she’d marched upstairs in the first place. She’d been afraid of saying something damaging that she wouldn’t be able to take back.
So that morning, when he showed up, she was relieved. She couldn’t work up the courage to tell him that right away, though. By the time the lunch hour rolled around, she knew she had better say something before she procrastinated another whole day away.
At promptly noon, she saw him come down from the scaffolding on the backside of the house. She traipsed out onto the porch. She lifted her hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun. Cole came around the side of the house. He was tugging off his work gloves when he spotted her. He slowed his pace, eyeing her warily.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“Would you like to come inside and have lunch with me?”
He looked at her for a few prolonged moments. Perhaps he thought she was teasing. Or that he had misunderstood. When she waited patiently he nodded.
“Yeah. If you’re sure,” he said as he headed her way.
“It’s nothing fancy. I just made calzones. I have a fruit salad and some iced-tea.”
He followed her inside. His eyes widened as he looked around. “Whoa.”
She grimaced. “I know. It’s called Sunshine Yellow.”
“You did this yesterday? It’s…it’s bright.”
“I let Gretchen pick it out.”
He nodded in understanding. Sarah glanced around the kitchen too. The cupboards were white. The yellow was a startling contrast. She was sure she’d get used to it eventually.
If not, she’d be going back to the hardware store for a calming blue.
“Do you mind if I wash up?”
“Go ahead. You remember the way?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
By the time he returned, Sarah had everything set out on the table. She sat down and he took the place she had set across the table from her own.
“They smell amazing,” he said as she slid a calzone onto his plate.
She smiled. “Good, because they’re deceptively easy to make.” She took one for herself.
And then an awkward silence captured the kitchen.
“Have you finished reading the employee handbook?” she asked.
“Uh…”
She laughed when he cringed. “I haven’t even started.”< cd.>
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“I figure I’ll read it right before school starts.”
“If you read it at all?”
“If I read it at all,” he agreed.
“So,” she said, “I want to know how it is that we’re going to be working together.” Even as she said the words, they were hard to wrap her head around. “I want to hear more about you.”
He finished chewing before he leaned back in his chair. He was clearly trying to gauge her mood.
“I don’t want to talk about us, where we left things. At least not right now. I just want to talk,” she said. The relief that flooded his face made her smile.
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me what I’ve missed,” she requested.
“That could take a while,” he said with a grin.
“Then you’d better get started.”
*****
By the time an hour passed, Cole had done a decent job of filling her in. He’d met with a recruiter at the end of his senior year. He met all the requirements and headed off to Texas for basic training shortly after graduation. During the time he was enlisted, he managed to take enough classes that he was able to cut a year off of college. He’d stayed in Alabama, where he’d been stationed, to work on his teaching degree.
“I thought about re-enlisting at first,” he told Sarah. “I was seriously considering it. But then Mom started having some serious health issues. I couldn’t make that kind of commitment. I used my GI Bill to help with the rest of my education. I also did some carpentry work on the side.”
Sarah sighed but she was smiling. “I’m still having a hard time believing you’re a teacher.”
He grinned at her. “Well, unlike you, this will be my first year. But yeah. I’ve always liked history.” She nodded. “So I thought that was the best way to put it to good use. Besides, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do more. I’ve just always known I didn’t want to end up like my dad or my brother. Hell, even my mom. I mean, I love her but her life went nowhere. I knew I wanted out, I just didn’t know how to get there. You made me think it could really happen. You and Mr. Davidson.
“I never told you that when I met with the guidance counselor about college, she mentioned the military. I took a pamphlet, even though I told myself it wasn’t really an option. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I went to Mr. Davidson because he was the only teacher I’d ever felt really cared about my grades. I asked what he thought of me joining the Air Force. I honest to God expected him to laugh at me. He didn’t. In fact, he encouraged me. He’s also the one that p che des. I asut the idea of teaching into my head. He said part of the reason was because he’d heard that I’d helped someone ace their final the year before. But he also thought I’d be good at relating with kids.” He shrugged. “I hope I will be. If nothing else, if I can steer just one kid in the right direction, like Mr. Davidson did for me, it’ll all be worth it.
“I moved here too late in the school year to get hired anywhere. So I’ve just been doing odd jobs. I guess that’s it. We’re caught up,” he said as he tapped his hand against the edge of the table.
There was silence for a moment as he finally came to the end of his explanation.
“And after all this time...” She hesitated, wondering how to word it. “You’re still unattached?”
He blew out a breath. “Yeah. Now I am. I was seeing someone pretty seriously for awhile. But then Mom got diagnosed. I knew I wanted to move back to Laurel when I was done with school. Mandy’s from Alabama and she knew she didn’t want to leave. So things kind of started falling apart. After that, I didn’t bother getting too serious with anyone else because I knew as soon as I got my degree, I’d be leaving. It was just dumb luck that they were hiring here in Laurel. When I first moved back here, I figured I’d be lucky if I got a job within a few hours of Mom.”
Mandy…Sarah’s mind tried to conjure up an image of Cole with another woman. Thankfully, it didn’t succeed. She forced her thoughts elsewhere.
“So you came back to keep an eye on Karen. How’s she doing?”
“Some days are better than others. She was still living in that piece of shit trailer when I came back. I got her into an apartment. It’s not paradise but it’s a hell of a lot better than where she was.”
“And Darren? What’s he up to these days?” she asked, showing polite interest.
“Darren? He’s in prison.”
Sarah cringed though she realized she wasn’t surprised. “For what?”
“It started with an arrest for grand theft auto. After some investigating they found out he was stripping cars down.” Cole scowled. “I’m sure he’s done worse things than that. That’s just what he got caught doing.”
Sarah took a sip of her drink. She had nothing positive to say about Cole’s bro
ther but she didn’t want to badmouth him either. Best to not say anything. But Cole was right. Darren had probably done a lot worse.
His friends, Mike and Steve, had gone to prison on a murder conviction. In light of that, grand theft auto didn’t seem quite so bad.
“And you?” Cole asked, pulling her from her musings. Then he frowned and cast a guilty glance her way. “Or was I not allowed to ask that yet?”
“No, it’s fine,” she decided, knowing she would limit w cwouhathat she told him. “Me? In a minute or less? I left here to go to school in Crawford. I got my degree there. I completely lucked out because the woman I did my student teaching under happened to be retiring. I got the position so I stayed. This will be my fourth year.”
He looked like he wanted to ask her more. She was glad he refrained. It was obvious that she’d left Aaron out of the explanation. She pushed away from the table. “I should really get this table cleared.”
Cole stood as well. “I’ll help.”
She was going to protest but then decided…why? So she let him help. As they worked at putting everything away, he made no secret of looking around.
“I know what you plan on doing to the outside. What are you doing in here?”
She rinsed off the last plate and then turned so she could lean against the counter. “I need to paint the living room and the downstairs bedroom. I’ve finished the upstairs. Then I might tackle the floors.”
His brow furrowed. “You have any experience with that?”
She shook her head.
He studied her for a minute. “That’s going to be a big job. Let me know if you want some help.”
“How big of a job?” she wanted to know.
“Do you care if I take a look around?”
She didn’t mind at all.
He only made it as far as the ground floor bedroom before he turned to her with a curious look on his face. “What’s going on in here?”
She peered around him at the mess. She had the mattress pulled off the bed and propped up against the wall. “I want to turn the upstairs bedroom, the one Grandma used as a sewing room, into a spare bedroom. I want to turn this room into an office. But I couldn’t get the mattress up the stairs by myself. Let alone the rest of the furniture.”