Do you take this rebel - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,44
“Have a lot of men come and gone in Jake’s life?”
“No, because I have been very careful not to let that happen.”
“I won’t let him down,” Cole said.
“You say that, but you can’t guarantee it.”
“Any more than you can,” he replied. “We’re all human. We all disappoint the people we care about from time to time, even with the best intentions. But I swear to you, Cassie, I would never knowingly hurt him.”
“You wouldn’t mean to,” she agreed. “But it’s inevitable.”
“You would rather deprive him of my company than risk having me hurt him?”
“Yes,” she said flatly. “That’s how it has to be.”
“For a woman who once thrived on risks, you’ve grown up to be a cautious woman.”
“I was burned,” she said simply. “I learned my lesson.”
He studied her with a disconcerting intensity, then asked, “Who did that to you, Cassie?”
She regarded him incredulously. “You have to ask?”
“It wasn’t just me. It couldn’t have been. Was it Jake’s father? Did he disappoint you badly, too?”
“Yes,” she said, seizing the explanation. He had no idea how true it was. “Jake’s father made it impossible for me ever to trust another man.”
Cole leveled a look into her eyes that burned right through to her soul. “I’m going to change that,” he vowed. “Just wait and see.”
But he couldn’t, she thought as he dropped a tender kiss on her forehead and walked away. Of all the men in the world, Cole Davis was the one least likely to be able to change the way she felt about trust.
And if he knew the truth about Jake, he’d feel the exact same way about her.
Chapter Ten
Cole took Cassie’s reluctance to let him get too involved in her son’s life as a challenge. Not only did he intend to convince her she was wrong about that, he intended to win her heart again.
Of course, trying to court a woman whose mother was ill and whose best friend was in mourning required a bit of inventiveness. Overt attempts to sweep her off her feet would, no doubt, be met with dismay. That left subtlety, something the Davis men were not known for. He’d inherited his father’s inclination to go after what he wanted, no holds barred. Restraining that impulse was going to be tricky, but he could do it. He had to. The stakes were too high to risk losing.
As promised, he arrived at Cassie’s promptly at three to drive her to Karen’s. He came with a new computer game for Jake, flowers for Mrs. Collins and nothing at all for Cassie. A faint flicker of disappointment in her eyes was his reward. Next time he knew she wouldn’t be so quick to turn down whatever token offering he brought for her.
Meantime, Jake was staring at the computer game with a mix of excitement and unmistakable frustration that Cole couldn’t quite interpret.
“Anything wrong, pal? I thought you’d like that game. It’s just hit the market. You don’t have it, do you?”
Jake shook his head. “It’s great, but…” He shot a condemning look at his mother, then muttered, “I don’t have a computer. Mom won’t get me one, especially after what happened where we used to live.”
“Jake Collins, don’t you dare imply that I refused to buy you a computer out of spite or something,” Cassie said. “You know perfectly well it’s not some sort of punishment. We simply can’t afford one, though I have to admit you didn’t display any evidence that you can use one responsibly.”
Cole was about to speak, but one look at her face kept him silent. If he made an offer to buy the computer, it was evident she wouldn’t appreciate it. Besides, he understood why she might be reluctant for the boy to have a computer after the trouble he’d gotten into on the Internet.
“Maybe we can think about getting a computer for Christmas,” Mrs. Collins said.
“But that’s months and months away,” Jake protested. “This game is so cool. I want to play it now.”
Cole locked gazes with Cassie. “How about if I loan you an old computer I have at the house for now? We can leave off the modem so there will be no Internet hookup.”
“I don’t know,” she said, clearly hesitant.
“Mom, please,” Jake pleaded.
“It’s just a loan,” Cole insisted. “And it’s just gathering dust out at the ranch.”
She sighed. “Okay, if you’re sure you have it to spare. And definitely no modem.”
Little did she know that he had half a dozen tucked away, thanks to the rapidly changing technology