Second Chance Family - Cindy Kirk Page 0,57

her.” Ryan dropped the envelope into his briefcase, snapped it shut and stood.

“It’s not as simple as you’re making it sound.” Cole jumped to his feet and began to pace. “No matter what explanation I give, Meg will see the fact that Janae slept with me as a betrayal. I don’t want her feelings for the woman she considered to be her best friend tarnished unnecessarily. Especially since I may not be Charlie’s father. Janae told me herself that Ty was his dad.”

“But you could have been,” Ryan guessed.

Cole nodded. “The dates match.”

“You do have yourself a mess.” Ryan clapped Cole on his back and turned toward the door. “Tell Margaret and Charlie I said hello.”

“Don’t you want to stay? Talk about you and Kate? I assume that’s why you dropped by.”

Ryan surprised Cole by placing a hand on his shoulder. “I have to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Cole cocked his head. “For what?”

Ryan grinned. “Your issues make mine look insignificant.”

Ryan had barely walked out the front door when Meg waltzed down the stairs, dressed in jeans and a navy-and-white ski sweater.

“Was I right? Did he come to talk about Kate?” Meg asked.

Cole blinked. “What?”

“Ryan. Was his visit about Kate?” Her hazel eyes appeared green in the light. “Or something else? He looked pretty serious when he left.”

“You were right. He came to talk about Kate.”

“I hope you gave him some good advice,” Meg said, her expression earnest. “After all, that’s what friends are for.”

She really was a good gal, Cole thought. So caring. So compassionate. The more he got to know this grown-up Meg, the harder it was to reconcile her with the girl who’d betrayed his confidence back in high school. “Ryan assured me he felt better about the situation by the time he left.”

“I knew you’d come through for him.” A warmth ran through Meg’s veins. She was beginning to realize Cole was a guy you could count on. “I only hope things go as well with Ed.”

“Ed?” Cole looked up.

“Ed Rice,” Meg explained. “From high school. Tall. Thin. Prominent Adam’s apple. Some of the mean kids called him ‘beanpole.’”

The muscle in Cole’s jaw jumped. “I remember him.”

“Well, apparently Ed is now the reading specialist for the Teton County Schools.” Meg ignored Cole’s less-than-enthusiastic reaction. “He asked if he could stop over and talk to us about Charlie.”

“I didn’t know you were still in contact with him.”

There was an odd look in Cole’s eyes. If Meg didn’t know better she’d think he was jealous.

“Until today, I hadn’t seen or spoken with him in years.” Meg kept her tone matter-of-fact. “After our phone conversation, I’m now fully up-to-date. He married Brenda Carl. She was in the class behind us. They have two little girls and are expecting a baby boy in March.”

“Good for him,” Cole muttered. “Tell me again why he’s coming over?”

Clearly something was bothering Cole. Tension was rolling off him in waves.

“So what do you think?” Meg kept her tone deliberately light. “Lunch before or after Ed?”

“I’m not hungry—”

“Lunch afterward, it is.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Cole said, trying but not quite pulling off a smile. “Why is he coming over?”

“I’m not sure.” Unease settled across Meg’s shoulders as she reviewed the conversation in her mind. “Come into the kitchen with me. I’ll make hot tea and tell you all about the conversation. It was very strange.”

Cole followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. “Strange how?”

Meg put the teakettle on the stove before sitting down opposite him. “I called Charlie’s school this morning to let them know he was sick and ask if there was any homework I needed to pick up.”

“Homework? He’s only in first grade.”

“Things have changed a lot since we were that age.” Meg smiled. Back when she was Charlie’s age they were just beginning to read. “Anyway, they put me on hold for the longest time, then Ed suddenly came on the line. For some reason the office staff at Charlie’s school had patched me through to the district office.”

“And?”

“Well, when I discovered it was Ed, I wasn’t sure what to think.”

“I remember you two being close friends.”

Meg felt her cheeks warm. “Ed had a crush on me back in high school. I didn’t return his feelings. It was…awkward.”

Cole didn’t look like he believed her but he didn’t comment.

“What do you think he wants?” he asked instead.

“All he’d say is that he needed to talk to you and me about Charlie.”

“He mentioned me?”

“He did.” Meg didn’t understand Cole’s