“Carrie…”
Reaching the door, she turned back for a moment before she said, “Don’t, Cole. I don’t need your rejection. I’ve had enough of it to last me a lifetime.”
Then she was gone.
* * * *
“You, Cole Wilder, are an ass!” Abby stomped into his room, rage written across her pretty features.
“Thanks, Abby. I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Let her walk away?”
“She’s gone?”
“Yes. I took her to the airport myself. I did everything I could to get her to stay.”
He wouldn’t look her in the face anymore as he turned to peer out the window at the softly falling snow. “I don’t want her here, Abby. I don’t need her here.” His hands were balled into fists, lying next to his hips on the bed.
“And you are one of the biggest liars I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Somehow you convinced her you don’t love her, but I know that’s not true.”
“I don’t.”
“You can try to lie to yourself, Cole, but I’ve seen the way you look at her. I hope you are happy living the rest of your life alone when you could have been with the one woman who turns your life upside down and inside out.”
That’s one way to put it—upside down and inside out.
“She loves you, too, stubborn jackass!”
“No, she doesn’t. She just thinks she does.”
“How can you lie there and know what’s in her heart? If she said she loved you, then she does. Why won’t you believe her?”
“Because I don’t want to tie her to a man that may never walk again, may never be able to make love to her again. She’s better off finding someone who can be everything for her and not be another burden in her life. She doesn’t need that. She needs a man who can love her like I can’t, like Justin.”
“Justin. You’re kidding right?”
“No.”
“She’s not even attracted to Justin, she loves you.” Abby’s voice got soft when she pulled up the chair next to him and took his hand in hers. “You think you would be a burden?”
He couldn’t look at her as the tears threatened to choke him. “Yeah. She already has to raise her nephew because of Jessica’s death, plus take care of the store and keep up the property. She doesn’t need me to complicate things for her.”
“Cole, don’t you understand. She would rather have you with her, no matter what capacity it is. She loves you. She doesn’t want to be alone.”
“She wouldn’t be alone for long, Abby, and you know that. Hell, there were several guys in Silver Ridge who were chasing her even when I was there, and I’m sure most of them would give their left nut to be with her.”
“But you aren’t one of them.”
He finally turned back and chuckled dryly. “I would give up both.”
“So you think by letting her find someone else you are doing what’s best for her. Is that right?”
“Yes,” he whispered, his gaze returning to the window.
“Well, for what it’s worth, you are making the biggest mistake of your life, and I hope you realize that some day.”
Abby stood and walked out the door without another word.
“You have no idea, Abby—you have no idea,” he whispered to the empty room as a small tear slid down his cheek.
* * * *
“Hey, babe.”
Carrie rolled her eyes when she heard the familiar drawl behind her.
He never gives up, does he?
“What can I get for you, Ken?”
“I think we’ve had this conversation before, several times in fact.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we have, and the answer is still the same. I’m not interested.”
She looked around the store while the sunshine filtered through the blinds. Summer had arrived and so had the customers along with the rodeo.
I can’t believe it’s been an entire year since I first met Cole.
She shook her head. No use dwelling on what can’t be. It had been six long months since she walked out of his life and he let her.
She’d hired more help so she could spend her days taking care of Robert since Jimmy did nothing for his son, but she still had to do the books. Today, one of her workers called in sick, so she brought the baby with her and stood manning the counter. She smiled when she looked at the little boy in the playpen who just learned to roll over.
“So what ever happened to your boyfriend? You know the one who was hanging around for a while?”
She frowned. Cole often found his way into her thoughts, but she pushed him aside. He had made his choice, and she had made hers. Her life was in Silver Ridge, taking care of Robert and running the store. Maybe someday she would find someone to love like she loved him, but she doubted it. Her heart continued to be wrapped around his little finger, just like it had been from the moment he flashed those delicious dimples in her direction. The fact that she hadn’t seen him or talked to him in a very long time didn’t matter. He would forever be in her heart.
A frustrated sigh slipped from between her lips. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah. I’m curious if I have competition or not.”
She chuckled and picked up the baby. “You don’t have competition, Ken. You don’t have anything other than wishful thinking. I’m not interested. I don’t want to be with you, and I don’t know how to make it any clearer.”
“How about if you tell him you’re in love with someone else?”
She gasped and spun around. Standing slightly behind Ken was the one man she thought she’d never seen again. “Cole…”
Chapter Seventeen
She took a step in his direction but stopped. “What are you doing here?”
“Why else would I be here? I came to see you.”
Carrie took in everything about him. His hair was slightly longer but the same dark blond, and his eyes were the same bright blue. “Wait! You can walk?”
A dry chuckle left his mouth. “Yeah. It seems there wasn’t permanent damage after all.”
Her heart thumped loudly, slamming against her ribs while she stared.
God, he looks good, too good.
Tearing her gaze from his, she turned around and put the baby back in his playpen. She took her time, trying to calm her racing heart, until he moved closer and stood next to her.
“Carrie?”
Squeezing her eyes closed when a large lump formed in her throat and tears burned the back of her eyelids, she fought the urge to throw herself into his arms and beg him not to leave. “What do you want, Cole?”
“You.”
“What if I said that’s not going to happen?”
“I would think you were lying,” he said as his fingers brushed against her arm and goose bumps flittered across her skin. “You can’t deny what’s between us any more than I can. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
“There’s nothing between us. You made that clear before.”
“Maybe I changed my mind.”
“Well, I haven’t. I’m not letting you break my heart again.” She walked away, headed for the door. It was time to close the store. When all the customers left, she locked it and turned the sign. She sighed heavily before she turned around and headed back toward him. A shiver rolled down her spine as her eyes took in the handsome man in front of her, leaning against the counter with his arms across his chest like he wasn’t going anywhere.
Shaking her head, she moved around to the register, grabbed the money, and slipped it into the bag before heading toward the office. After putting everything into the safe, she stood up and turned around only to find Cole right behind her.
Her eyes went wide when he slipped his hand into her hair, tugging softly until she tipped her head back and his mouth swooped down, taking hers in a heart-stopping kiss. Fitting his lips against hers, he traced the crease with his tongue until she groaned and opened for him. Clinging to his shoulders, she gave into the desire racing through her veins, desire that had been banked inside her, smoldering, until he set it ablaze with nothing more than a kiss. His lips moved from her mouth, across her cheek to nibble at her ear before his tongue slid down her neck.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he growled before he nipped at the soft skin, making her shiver. His fingers worked the small straps of her tank top from her shoulder, following one down her arm with his lips. His mouth closed over one nipple, and she gasped as need zipped through her body, settling between her legs in a heady pool. He wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her ass with both hands, lifting her up and settling her on the desk. “Let me love you, Carrie.”
She gasped when the words splashed over her like an ice cold shower.
Not “I love you.” It’s “Let me love you, Carrie.”
Just sex, that’s all it is to him.
She pushed against his chest until he let her go. “Get out your hands off me and get the hell out of my store,” she spat while rage zinged through her, replacing the desire there a few moments ago. She pulled the straps of her shirt back over her shoulders, trying desperately to calm her overheated body.
He stepped back like she had slapped him. “What did I say?”
“I’m not one of your weekend playthings, Cole. If I wanted nothing more than a temporary man, it sure in the hell wouldn’t be you.”
“Weekend plaything? What the hell are you talking about, woman?”
“If you think you can just walk back into my life whenever you feel like it, you are full of shit! Now get out! I need to lock up and get the baby home and fed. Goodbye.”
She turned her back on him, busying herself with something on the desk until she heard him stomp out of the office and the front door slam when he left.
Closing her eyes when pain tore through her chest, she gave in to the tears that burned behind her eyes with a tortured sob.
An hour later, she sat on the couch at the house feeding the baby his bottle when a knock sounded at the door. Mumbling under breath at the interruption, she struggled to stand up with the baby in her arms. Finally managing to get to her feet as the knock sounded again, she put the bottle on the table and lifted him to her shoulder. Patting his back, she headed for the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Cole.”
She tipped her head back and sighed.
Why in the hell can’t he just leave me alone?
“Go away, Cole. I don’t want to see you.”
“I’m not leaving until we talk, Carrie, so you might as well let me in.”
“Stubborn ass man,” she grumbled before she slid the lock on the door, allowing him to enter. Her heart almost stopped in her chest when he pushed open the door. She had almost forgotten how he looked in his Wranglers and form-fitting T-shirt that molded to his muscular pecs. Her hands itched to touch him and she murmured, “
Damn! Why does he have to be so gorgeous?"
His gaze swung to the baby in her arms. “Can I hold him? I haven’t seen him in so long.” She shrugged and handed him Robert, amazed at how gentle he was. “He’s gotten so big.”
She cocked an eyebrow in his direction before she headed back into the living room. “You haven’t seen him since he was a week old. I would think he’s huge compared to what he weighed back then.”
“I didn’t even get to see him when you were in Laramie.” He smiled at the little boy as Robert grabbed his T-shirt in his small fist. “He looks like Jess.”
“I know,” she whispered, pain evident in her voice.
“I’m sure you miss her.”
She frowned. “Of course I do—every day.” She walked back to his side, taking the baby from him. “I’ll be right back. It’s bed time for him.”
Taking her time getting Robert ready for bed, she almost hoped Cole would give up and leave before she came back downstairs. That wasn’t the case. Reaching the bottom stair, she took in the sight of the man standing in her living room before he realized she was there. He could still make her heart race with nothing more than a look or a smile. Having him near again was sending her body into shock with the need that raced along her nerves.
He turned when he heard her, his eyes raking her from head to toe as a slow smile swept across his mouth. She sucked in a ragged breath when the need to lick those tempting indentations rocked through her.
She cleared her throat and moved toward the couch, taking one end while he took the other. “So talk.”
“Damn, you’re stubborn.”
“If you thought you were just going to walk back into my life, forget it. I don’t have time for your games, Cole, whatever they may be.”
“I don’t play games, Carrie, not with you.”
She stood up and started to pace while rage ripped through her.
“That is such bull shit! I don’t believe you! First you say you love me, and then you push me away. In fact, you tried shoving me at your brother. All because in some warped sense of stubborn pride, you wanted to do what was best for me.
I
know what’s best for me, but you didn’t even give me a chance to tell you I wanted nothing more than to be with you.”
“I didn’t want you to be saddled with…”
Hands on her hips, she faced him and spat, “With what, Cole? A man who couldn’t walk?”