Do you take this rebel - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,43
had done for Edna Collins in recent days. “My mother wrote that note,” she said flatly, praying that it wouldn’t change his commitment to helping with her medical expenses.
Shock washed over his face. “How do you know that?” he demanded.
“Your father told me. He admitted that they conspired to keep us apart.”
Cole stood and began to pace. Suddenly he stopped and slammed his fist against a post. “Dammit! I should have guessed.”
“How could you have guessed? I certainly never imagined it.”
“I saw them with their heads together back then,” he explained. “But your mom and I had always gotten along so well, I couldn’t believe that she would be involved in splitting us up. I only saw my father’s less-than-subtle touch all over it.”
“Well, unless your father lied, which I seriously doubt, she was involved,” Cassie said flatly. “I haven’t spoken to her about it, but I will, once things settle down and she has her health back.”
Her voice caught at the end, and she put her hands over her face as the tears, never far from the surface, flowed again. Cole sat back down and reached for her.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Don’t cry. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know, but…” She looked at him, feeling an over-whelming sense of sorrow. “But Caleb won’t be. Karen’s lost him forever. How can I be so glad about my mother, when my best friend’s husband is dead?”
“One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Karen understands that. She’s as happy as you are that your mother’s prognosis is good. She would never begrudge you that. And she knows that you care about her and her loss. She’s going to need all of you more than ever. It’s good that you’ve come home. Even better that you and Lauren, at least, intend to stick around.”
She dared to meet his gaze then and saw something else in his eyes, something she hadn’t dared to hope for in years and years. There was tenderness and longing and hope.
“I’m glad you’re back to stay,” he said softly.
They were words she had longed to hear. His eyes promised things that she had yearned for. And yet she couldn’t allow herself to be swept off her feet, caught up in a dream of what might be, now that she was back in Winding River. Not with Jake and the secret of his paternity standing between them.
Because if Cole knew the truth, that she had kept his son from him all these years, whatever fantasy he was spinning about their future would crash and burn under the weight of his justifiable fury. He might eventually forgive his father’s actions, but he would never forgive her for keeping such a secret. Never. And if he was inclined to, Frank Davis would have quite a lot to say about having the Davis heir kept from them.
“I have to go in,” she said, pulling away, putting a safe distance between them.
“Why? It’s not that late.”
“But I have to be at Stella’s for the morning shift tomorrow,” she said.
“Come on,” he chided. “Surely you don’t need that much beauty sleep.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Then have dinner with me tomorrow night, you and Jake.”
“No,” she said, more harshly than she should have.
He regarded her quizzically. “Why not?”
“Because I need to go to the ranch to see Karen,” she said at once, praying that he would accept the excuse.
“Then I’ll drive you.”
If she refused him, he would want to know why, and she didn’t have a single answer that he would accept without dissecting it.
“Fine,” she said with undisguised reluctance.
“Thank you, Cole,” he mocked.
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I do appreciate it, really I do. You’ve been a rock through all of this. I know Karen is grateful, too.”
He regarded her doubtfully, but let it go. “Then I’ll see you about three. Does that give you enough time after your shift ends?”
“Three will be fine.”
“Maybe I’ll stop by earlier and spend some time with Jake.”
Cassie’s heart skidded to a stop. “I…I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, scrambling to come up with a reason he would buy. None came to mind.
Cole studied her quietly for what seemed to be an eternity, then asked, “Is there a reason you don’t want me around Jake? This isn’t the first time I’ve sensed that you’d just as soon I steer clear of him.”
“I just don’t want him to start to count on you. It’s hard on a boy if men come and go in his life.”
His gaze narrowed.