Still the One

by Susan May Warren

  “Hey, Megan—before you go, I need to talk to you.” Ingrid Christiansen broke away from a conversation with Pastor Dan and tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. She reached out and placed a hand on Megan’s arm. “How are you all doing this morning?”

  “Much better, thank you.”

  “I can’t tell you how many times the boys gave me heart palpitations in their youth.” She gave a wry smile. “And some of them even in adulthood.” She winked.

  “Yeah, it’s hard not to want to put him under lock and key. Not let him leave the apartment.”

  “Speaking of the apartment, Ivy mentioned you’re looking for a place.”

  Megan let out a long breath and wrung her hands together. “Yeah, we are. Cole needs to sell his grandfather’s place.”

  “Noelle and Eli Hueston are out of town for a few months while they travel. I’ve been dropping in since their original house sitter ended up having to head to Kansas due to a family emergency, but they really prefer someone on-site.”

  “So they need someone to live there?”

  “Exactly. Someone to shovel the snow, keep the pipes from freezing, water the plants, just keep an eye on things.”

  “That sounds perfect—as long as they’d allow us to bring our cat.”

  Ivy joined the conversation with Joy.

  “Yes, I made sure of that when Ivy mentioned you as a possibility.”

  “Then, I’m in.” A home. For free, even. Maybe God did still see her.

  “You’re going to do it?” Ivy asked.

  “Absolutely—why wouldn’t I?”

  Ingrid nodded. “I’ll get the key to you later this week and then we can do a walk-through. I’ll show you where everything is.”

  “Thank you for thinking of us.” She had somewhere to go. The resolution to her problem should feel good. Instead, it left her with an ache in her chest.

  Ivy pinched her lips together. “Are you sure you want to do that? You really want to move out?”

  “I have to. He’s selling the house.” Megan shoved her hands into her coat pockets.

  “You could stay there. See what happens. He doesn’t actually have a buyer yet.” Ivy quirked a brow at her.

  Stay? So that she could keep bringing him brownies, or worse, so he could come over and spend time with Josh? Maybe snuggle on the sofa with her?

  And, more.

  Yeah, no. “I can’t stay. He’s leaving and the sooner I accept that, the better.”

  Her gaze rested on Josh who was standing with Darek, Tiger, and Cole, laughing. Like father and son.

  Her heart thudded hard. “Better for all of us.”

  Chapter 10

  Megan didn’t strike Cole as the kind of girl to play hard to get. And yet, that’s exactly the vibe he’d gotten from her the entire church service. He hadn’t missed the way she ducked behind Ivy. Nor the way she jetted straight out the side door as soon as the service ended, hobbling as fast as her wrapped ankle allowed.

  If it hadn’t been for the robust lady who’d cornered her in the hallway, all evidence pointed to her intentions for a prompt departure, aka, getaway.

  As if his head wasn’t already spinning from Dan’s sermon—a sermon that somehow felt like it was written on the fly, just for him.

  The words were still burning two hours later while he waited for Megan to stop by. God does not waste our suffering.

  He stared at the church bulletin he’d set on the kitchen counter. Psalm 80. Come and save us… Restore us.

  Cole wasn’t sure which part of the sermon had rubbed him the most. Maybe it was the acknowledgment that sometimes people didn’t know a specific reason for suffering. They were simply supposed to trust that God is good and allowed suffering for His purpose.

  Why? Why was that the answer? How was it that God’s people still held confidence in their future deliverance?

  Before he could dissect it, Megan knocked at the door.

  “Hi,” he said as he held the door open.

  “Hi. Sorry I’m late. I had to drop Josh off at a friend’s house.” She didn’t look at him, walked past him and carefully selected the chair across the room instead of joining him on the couch.

  Huh.

  Not thirteen hours earlier, she’d held on to him. Let him be part of her world.

  She wore jeans and a striped, green T-shirt that did crazy things to her eyes and made the soft pink of her lips nearly irresistible. He remembered exactly how she’d tasted when he kissed her. And the curve of her body when she’d finally relaxed against him.

  She fired off a barrage of questions about the work he’d already done for the Crawford wedding until she’d satisfied herself that he was, in fact, very good at putting together complicated plans. He’d even pulled out the work he’d done for the Swanson-Klein wedding.

  Then she got up to leave, as if the briefing was over.

  Uh-uh. No way. He blocked her exit. “Are we going to talk about why you’re avoiding me?”

  Again, she wouldn’t look at him. “I’m not avoiding you.”

  “Oh, please. You won’t even look at me.”

  “I’m not… I’m—” She lifted her gaze, something sparking in it. “Fine. Okay. I think we need to step back.” She swallowed. “I think we’ve gotten a little carried away, and it needs to stop.”

  Oh.

  “Cole.” Her voice softened and she sighed. “Let’s not kid ourselves that you’re sticking around. You made that clear. You’re leaving, I’m staying. Just like always.”

  Her soft tones had the power to dig into his soul, leave him aching. Because, for the first time, he wanted to believe he could belong here. Stay. As if life could bring him full circle.

  Wanted to believe that Pastor Dan was somehow right—that the wounds of his life could lead to deliverance.

  But before he could get any of that out—and not sure he should—Cole’s phone vibrated on the table. Nathan’s name flashed in the caller ID.

  “You’d better answer that,” Megan said, and started to push past him out the door. He got desperate and put up his arm to block her.

  “Really?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “Just wait!” He picked the phone up, pressed the button. “Hello?” He didn’t actually mean to snarl.

  Nathan didn’t seem to notice. “I’m on my way with a buyer.”

  Megan was staring at him, annoyance in those pretty eyes.

  “Now’s not a good time.”

  She looked up at him, her eyebrows drawn together in question.

  “Well, it has to be because they fly out of Duluth later tonight and they’re extremely interested and we’re right around the corner.” Nathan paused. “Cole. They have cash.”

  It still felt like a punch, deep inside.

  So much for his wounds leading him to deliverance. See, he’d been lying to himself again. Cole let out a long breath. “Fine. See you soon.” He hung up, looked at Megan. “I’m sorry, Nathan’s coming by with a buyer.”

  She nodded, smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “That’s…great. Really great. See? Can I go now?”

  And if he wasn’t mistaken, those were tears in her eyes.

  He didn’t know how he’d turned into a jerk, but he shook his head. “Not like this. Megan. It’s just a showing.” He caught her hand and squeezed.

  “I get it. I know you need to sell this place.” She forced a smile. “I’m happy for you. Really.”

  He swallowed. Nodded. She was right, wasn’t she? He needed to sell the place. It’s what he’d said all along. He had plans, a future outside of Deep Haven. Away from the past. A future with a purpose, which didn’t seem very important at the moment.

  Restore us.

  So why was he having such a hard time letting her walk out the door?

  Maybe because…he could do it, couldn’t he? He could actually walk away from the house and drive right out of town. And that truth suddenly set his gut to roiling.

  Before he could measure th
e words to say, the doorbell rang.

  “I should leave,” Megan said, letting go of his hand.

  “No, stay. In fact, I can help give the tour. You—you don’t move.”

  She quirked a brow at him and he opened the door.

  “Welcome.” He held out his arm toward the living room. “Come on in. I thought it’d be good if I helped Nathan show you around.”

  Cole saw the question in Nathan’s eyes, but he ignored it. Because no, Cole didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

  The couple, in their mid-fifties he guessed, looked like they were right at home in the wintry north woods. The woman was dressed like she’d come in from cross-country skiing and her husband from chopping wood. She wore pale pink snow pants, and when she shrugged out of her matching jacket, a high-collar white performance shirt was underneath. Her husband stood beside her in his red-and-black flannel, his dark wash jeans stacked on his hiking boots.

  “Thank you for showing the house on such short notice,” she said. “It looked perfect when Nathan sent us the preview listing. I’m Karen Ashforth and this is my husband, Ray.”

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am, sir.” Cole shook their hands. “Cole Barrett.”

  Ray turned and began perusing the room. “Is this the only common living space? Or is there a family room too?”

  “This room was originally the parlor,” Nathan said. “There is also a sitting room. I believe it is currently in use as an office.” He looked to Cole for confirmation.

  “Yes, sir. That’s correct.”

  “I see.” Karen looked around, her eyes bright with appreciation. “They don’t make houses like this anymore, do they? With these extra touches.” She ran her hand along the chair rail molding. “It has good bones.”

  Megan looked like she was trying to make herself as invisible as possible on the corner of the couch.

  Nathan moved forward into the room. “Cole’s done an excellent job bringing the house up-to-date. You can see in here where the light fixtures really create a modern Victorian style.” Nathan flipped the switch for the living room and dining room fixtures.

  The drum light over the dining room table had a dark pewter finish with an intricate cutout design and a crystal drop at the center. Fancy enough for the Victorian without being gaudy. Cole had been pretty pleased with the find.

  Ray pointed to the living room lights. Simple wall sconces that matched the pewter cutout of the drum fixture.

  “Wow. Those are lovely.” The woman looked at her husband, who nodded in agreement.

  “Yes. Those actually look a lot like the ones on your wish list.” The man squeezed his wife’s arm.

  “Yeah, it was my first time installing new fixtures, but I think I did okay. They seem to be working. Haven’t burned the house down yet.” Cole gave a laugh that came out weird and unfamiliar, and Megan frowned at him.

  He looked away from her.

  Karen’s brow creased. “Oh?”

  “That’s funny, Cole.” Nathan shot him a warning look.

  Nathan led the clients and Cole into the kitchen. “You have new stainless steel appliances—a stove and dishwasher.”

  “Had to do something after the plumbing burst,” Cole said.

  Nathan gave him another look, but Cole couldn’t seem to stop talking.

  “The trick here is the floor’s not level, so this pantry door doesn’t open during winter unless you shimmy it upward.” He showed them the trick for closing it.

  Nathan gave a hollow laugh. “Adds character, doesn’t it? And you can see the kitchen has well-appointed upgrades the chef of the house will appreciate.” Nathan opened the oven door. “If you haven’t cooked with a convection oven, you’ll love it.”

  As Karen looked inside, Nathan glanced at Cole and gestured with his head. Leave? Why? He was doing a great job.

  “Let’s move on to the bedrooms.” Nathan started up the stairs, then paused and turned back to Cole. “Maybe you should wait down here for us.”

  “No, I’m glad to help,” Cole said and followed the group upstairs. “Do you have a cat? The pest management company felt a cat might help keep the rodents away. I did thoroughly clean the mice droppings upstairs.”

  The woman drew in a breath, something of horror in her expression.

  “Is that a problem here?” Ray asked. “Do you have a lot of rodents?”

  Cole opened his mouth to tell them that, in truth, he had found only one—a large mouse, long dead—in the basement in one of Grandpa’s traps.

  But Nathan cut in. “You know, we all have to be proactive to prevent unwanted houseguests.” He ran his hand across his throat in the universal sign to stop, frantically shaking his head at Cole.

  What? Fine. Cole held his tongue as they ventured through the bedrooms. Karen looked in the corners, as if scrutinizing the carpet for any sign of rodent droppings. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t in the bedroom, but in the hallway, near the vent—

  “Let’s go back downstairs,” Nathan said.

  They followed him down to the first floor.

  “It’s got a lot of lovely potential,” Karen said, exchanging a look with her husband.

  “I know the windows are a little thin,” Cole said, “but if you put plastic over them in the winter, it holds the heat nicely. And the boiler only cut out once since I’ve been here, but it was a pretty big storm so—”

  Now Megan was looking at him again, her eyes wide. She gave a little shake of her head.

  He frowned.

  “Um, I think we need to discuss it before we’d consider making an offer,” Ray said.

  “I’m—I’m not sure this is the right place for us,” Karen responded.

  Nathan looked deflated. He turned to Cole on the way out. “Next time, maybe don’t be here.”

  What? But Nathan left before he could follow up. Whatever happened to full disclosure?

  Megan rose from the couch with her stack of notes in hand. “Is everything okay?”

  “I think that went well.”

  “Seriously? Cole. You sabotaged that entire showing!” She put a hand on her hip. “I could hear the whole thing—even when you were upstairs. Those poor people were horrified.”

  “I…no I didn’t. I was just being honest. They need to know what they’re getting into.”

  And then she smiled, something sweet, and now he was completely confused. “What?”

  “Nothing,” she said, but her eyes were shining.

  Huh. But she wasn’t leaving.

  And that gave him all the encouragement he needed. “I think we’re done planning the wedding for the day.” He pulled the notes from her hands and tossed them onto the chair.

  He stepped closer. Close enough to smell her sweet floral fragrance.

  “Um…Cole?” She stood there, looking up at him like maybe, just maybe, she didn’t really want to leave. The amber-gold of her eyes caught the glow of the afternoon sun.

  He captured a stray golden lock, let the silky length slide through his fingers.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Maybe something I should have done before.”

  Because everything in him wanted this moment to be his life. A home. A family.

  Megan. Josh.

  A life that he could sink roots into and never leave.

  “I should go.” Her protest was half-hearted.

  “I think you should stay.”

  “Why?”

  He leaned toward her, let his lips brush hers. Testing. And when she let out a soft sound, it lit the fire in his core. He wrapped her face in his hands, drew her closer.

  She pressed her hand against his chest, like she might push him away. Paused. Then curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt, gripped it, and molded her body against his.

  Oh, Mae.

  She drew back. “Cole, what are you doing?” Her words, husky, soft against his cheek, could unravel him entirely.

  “I’m deviating from the mission.” He leaned back, searched
her eyes for permission, caught his breath. Because in them he could see the same longing. Desire. Hope.

  He slid his arms around her and she returned his kiss with the same eager hunger, wrapping her arms around his neck. She tasted like chocolate, sweet and rich and tempting, and all he could do was surrender because nothing, not one thing, had ever felt so perfectly right in his entire life.

  She finally moved away and met his eyes, smiled. “One thing’s for sure. You should never become a real estate agent.”

  He wasn’t leaving.

  Megan wanted to believe it in her heart, even before Cole had kissed her three days ago.

  She inhaled the rich smells of Java Cup, sank her teeth into a fresh maple Long John, and stared at the game board, the red and black squares blurring out of focus.

  Those kisses hadn’t felt like goodbye. No, they felt like flying out over the water of Evergreen Lake on the rope swing. Like the Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Superior. Like white water rafting on the St. Louis. She’d been mesmerized by the strength and tenderness of his touch. Exhilarated.

  Nope—he wasn’t leaving. He just didn’t know it yet. So, how exactly was she going to make everything work out?

  “Are you waiting for spring showers?” Raina leaned forward, hands on her chin. “Or are you going to take your turn today?” She picked up her coffee cup and took a long sip.

  “Maybe.” Megan blinked. Focused on the game board. She’d almost told Cole about moving out—would have if she didn’t feel she needed to talk to Josh first.

  Except, if he wasn’t leaving, then she didn’t have to move to the Huestons’, right? But…she’d promised. They were counting on her. And how in the world would Cole stay?

  She moved her piece. He’d need a job to make that work.

  Raina promptly countered. “King me.” She gave Megan a smug smile of triumph.

  A few patrons gathered in the doorway, zipping their jackets and snugging on their gloves before pushing open the door, their heads tucked against the cold. The breeze that swirled through the closing door caused Megan to shiver.

  “Fine.” She picked up a black disk from the table and fit it onto the checker and then began fiddling with the two she had left, clacking them together.