There was a small couch and table with two chairs on one side and a double bed on the other side.
They stowed some of their stuff, and went back outside to walk around. The place was on a small river, and set among huge redwood trees.
“It’s beautiful here,” Angel marveled, looking up. The sunlight filtered through the huge, majestic trees.
“They make you feel small, don’t they?” Cole watched her; he’d give anything to bring a smile back to her face. But so far, she’d been quiet.
Angel nodded. “They must be so old.”
“Yeah, hundreds of years old.”
After they wandered around for a while, they headed out, and found a restaurant. They ate at a rowdy roadhouse grill. The place was packed, mostly with a young crowd. They ended up talking with a group at a table next to them, and had a great time. Angel finally snapped out of it, and began to smile and laugh again. After the meal, they all ended up in the bar, shooting darts, and drinking beer.
“Can I have some money for the jukebox?” Angel asked Cole when the music stopped.
He smiled down at her, and dug in his pocket, pulling a couple of bills out. “Anything for my baby.”
She smiled, reaching up to grab the bills out of his hand, and turned toward the jukebox.
He grabbed her hand, and pulled her back.
She fell against his chest, laughing.
He smiled down at her, and asked, “You gonna play me some blues, baby doll?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she replied, with a saucy smile, and walked over to the jukebox. She fed the bills into the slot, and browsed through the selections, punching in several choices. She turned, and grinned at Cole over her shoulder. “Stevie Ray Vaughan?”
He had his beer bottle tipped up for a drink. He swallowed, and grinned at her. “Stevie Ray? Absolutely, babe.”
She continued flipping through the selections, until she found another, and glanced back at him again. “Tab Benoit?”
“Oh, hell, yeah.”
She strolled back to him. “Did I make my man happy?”
He pulled her between his legs, wrapping his arms around her. “What do you think?”
She cocked her head to the side, pretending to consider. “Hmm. I think I’ve got your number.”
He grinned. “Yeah, baby doll. You absolutely have my number.”
An hour later, Cole sat on a bar stool, and watched Angel take her turn at the dartboard. She threw a bull’s eye, and one of the guys teased her that she was across the line. Another jumped in front of the board on her next shot, trying to throw her game off. She laughed, and pretended to throw a dart at his butt. They all laughed. Cole noticed she fit in with them, better than she probably did with him.
Angel walked back over to him, and picked her beer up off the bar. She took a drink, and set it back down. She looked at Cole, saw him studying her, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He smiled. “Nothing.” He pulled Angel to him until she stood between his legs. “You havin’ a good time?”
“I’m having a great time.” She smiled up at him.
“Good.” He bent his head to claim her mouth in a kiss.
One of the guys was at the jukebox. He turned, and yelled back to one of the girls in their group, “I played your song, Melissa!”
“Tommy, you didn’t! Why do you guys always have to embarrass me everywhere we go!” she laughed.
Angel turned in Cole’s arms, and leaned back against him, watching the fun. Cole’s arms closed around her.
The song started, and they heard The Allman Brothers come on, and Gregg was singing ‘Melissa’. When he got to the chorus, all the guys in their group sang along, serenading the girl. Soon the whole bar was singing along at the top of their lungs.
Cole and Angel swayed to the music. When the song was over he turned her around, and kissed her again. It was a long, slow kiss.
One of the group yelled, “Hey, you two, get a room!”
“We already have one,” Cole replied, grinning down at Angel.
She raised her eyebrows. “Maybe we should go use it.”
Cole smile got bigger. He stood up, and threw some money down on the bar. “Yes, ma’am.”
They walked out, got on the bike, and headed back. They drove down a winding road, and when they came out of the tree line, Angel could see the ocean below. The moonlight was shining