the desperate plea in her voice. He took a step back, and turned away, shaking his head. He ran a hand through his hair, and took a deep breath.
Shit.
He couldn’t stand to see her like this, torn to pieces. She’d actually said she’d get down on her knees, by God. His Angel. She shouldn’t be down on her knees to anyone, least of all him. But, she needed him. Their daughter needed him. It had been a long time since anyone had needed him. No matter how much he needed, for his own protection, to push her away, he couldn’t turn her down. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. “What do I have to do?”
Angel closed her eyes, and thanked God. She took a deep breath. “It’s a simple test. They swab your cheek, and draw some blood. Test it to see if you’re a match. You can do it here, locally. You don’t have to come to Phoenix.”
“That’s where you’re living? Phoenix?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Your Dad still a cop?” he asked, looking off in the distance.
“Would that matter?” she countered.
He shook his head. “No.”
“My father died about a year ago. Shot to death during a traffic stop.”
He looked over at her. “Sorry.”
She nodded. “At least, he got to know his grandchildren before he died.”
At her words, Cole glanced back at the SUV. The topic he’d pushed aside. He was a father? He took a deep breath, and walked around it to the side that held the car seat, and opened the door. He leaned in, and looked at the boy, who stared back at him with wide eyes and started to cry.
His son.
My God.
He felt like the wind had just been knocked out of him. Like the fates had just given him a sign, a reason, an explanation. ‘Here it is, boy. The reason you’re here on this earth. What it’s all been about. That missing puzzle piece.’
It was staring back at him with wide blue eyes.
Angel pushed Cole aside, and reached to unbuckle the car seat straps. She pulled TJ out, and held him. He was clutching a small teddy bear. He put his head on his mother’s shoulder, and stared at Cole.
Cole stared back at him, dumbfounded for a moment, and then he sucked in a deep breath, regaining his equilibrium. Shaking his head, he looked over at Angel. “I can’t get over it. You’re a mom.”
Angel smiled.
Cole reached up, and patted TJ’s back. “Hey, little guy. It’s okay.”
Angel knelt down, and set TJ on his feet. He had on tiny red high-tops and denim overalls.
Cole squatted down in front of him, studying him. The boy looked exactly like the pictures he’d seen of himself as a child.
TJ turned, and buried his face in his mom’s shoulder.
“I guess he’s a little shy,” she explained. “And tired. We’ve been traveling most of the day.”
“Yeah,” Cole agreed. “I guess he’s beat.”
“I need to get him back to the motel.”
Cole nodded. “Sure. I need to get back, too.”
Angel put TJ back in the car seat.
Cole drove them back to the clubhouse. He pulled into the lot, and parked, leaving the SUV running. He glanced back at TJ for a moment, and then he opened his door, and climbed out, leaving the door open.
Angel got out, and came around to the driver’s side.
“You got a number I can reach you at?” Cole asked.
“Yes. Of course.” She turned, and reached into the vehicle for her purse.
Cole couldn’t help but run his eyes over her as she bent over. He felt the hot thread of desire shoot through him.
She turned with her purse in her hand. Pulling out a business card, she handed it to him. “My cell number is on the back.”
He looked at the card, and back at her. “Sales Rep, huh? Royal Imports, what’s that?”
“Jaguar, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo…” She shrugged.
Cole whistled, and raised his eyebrows. “Expensive shit. Guess a man and his money soon part when the sales rep’s got legs like yours, huh?”
She smiled. “Something like that.”
“Right.” His eyes slid over her expensive clothes. “You must sell a bunch of these.”
“I do alright.”
He nodded, looking off in the distance. “I can see that. Looks like you’ve done real well for yourself.” His eyes came back to her. “I think I liked it better when you needed me.”
She looked him in the eyes, and whispered, “I do need you.”
At her soft spoken words, another shot of desire tore through him. He looked away. “How long