Anything but Love (15 page)

CHAPTER 17

Taylor watched his father as he carried Kendall across the courtyard in his arms. Was he nuts? Why was he carrying her when she could walk? He hurried downstairs to open the front door and give that woman a piece of his mind. His father might not be thinking clearly, but he sure was.

Taylor snatched the door open just as his father rang the doorbell. “Dad, have you lost it? You could hurt your back.”

Cole looked at his son sideways as he stepped inside the house. Kendall had a sick look on her face. “No, son. Kendall had an accident.” He sat her on the couch so that she was sitting on one end and her legs were stretched out.

Taylor noticed her wincing in pain and finally looked at her legs. One of her legs was bleeding. “Wow, you took a nasty fall.”

Kendall looked up at him and said sarcastically, “Yeah, I had a little help.”

Taylor wondered if his father had actually gone nuts and beaten that guy to a bloody pulp, getting Kendall caught in the middle. “Dad?”

Cole looked at his son. “No, I didn’t. It was someone else. I just came up after the fact.”

Taylor sighed. “Sorry, Dad.”

His father tended to Kendall’s leg. “You have nothing to apologize for. We haven’t been around each other for over four years, and you don’t know me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Run upstairs and get the first aid kit I showed you this morning.”

Needing some space and grateful to his father for suggesting it, Taylor ran upstairs.

* * *

“Cole, maybe you should call Max. You might need some assistance. My knee is pretty banged up.”

He shook his head and raised her injured knee. “Nonsense, it’s not swelling. It just looks a lot worse than it actually is.” He tried to make light of the situation. Her knee was scraped pretty bad, and her leg was bruised up.

“Well, it sure does hurt,” Kendall said. “I could really use some aspirin.”

Taylor made his entrance into the room carrying a red box the size of a small tool kit.

“What should I do?” his son asked, eager to help.

That made Cole smile. That had to mean something. “How about getting Kendall some water and aspirin?” He watched his son and Jordan run into the kitchen, then turned his attention to his patient. “I seem to remember a few months ago when this situation was reversed.” He reached inside the kit for the antiseptic and a cloth. After he dampened the cloth with antiseptic, he cleared his throat. If he were a spiteful man this would be fun, but he cared for this woman and the last thing he wanted to do was to cause her pain. He cleared his throat. “This is going to bite, babe.”

“I know,” she whispered. “But you’ve got to clean out the wound.”

Cole inhaled and applied the damp cloth to the wound and, as gently as he could, he cleansed it. Kendall didn’t yell out in pain, which is what he probably would have done. She simply flinched. “You know, it’s okay to admit you’re in pain. I promise not to tell anyone if you shed a few tears.”

“I’m perfectly capable of handling a little pain,” she said calmly. “Just hurry up.”

“My, we get an attitude when the bandage is on the other leg, huh?”

“I do not get an attitude, Coltrane Xavier Highpoint.”

No one dared use his middle name. Only his mother used it when she was upset with him or he’d done something stupid. He didn’t think anyone knew it. “How long have you known my middle name?”

“Since I was sixteen. Your mother told me.”

At least she was honest. “Figures. Mom can’t hold water. I guess you know about the golf course today?”

She bowed her head in embarrassment and nodded. “Yes. I also know they were planning our wedding, thanks to big-mouth Charlie.”

He finished cleaning the wound and inspected his handiwork. It still looked pretty bad, but she didn’t need stitches. Maybe a day or so off her pretty feet, he thought. That was probably as likely as him getting lucky any time soon.

“Cole, did you hear what I said?” Kendall groaned as she attempted to move her injured leg. “Damn, I can’t believe it hurts so bad.”

“It’s supposed to hurt. That was more than a scrape. It’s like a cement burn, only about ten times worse. And yes, I heard every word you said. I find if I don’t fight my mother on some things she gets bored and moves on to something else.”

“Apparently you don’t know my mother,” Kendall said. “Ignoring the problem just adds more fuel to the fire.”

Cole nodded. “So where do you want to go on the honeymoon?”

“Cole, this isn’t funny.”

“Yes, it is. Our mothers almost come to blows on the golf course over us dating. I think it’s hilarious.”

Taylor entered the room carrying a tray with a glass of water, a glass of fruit juice, and small bottles of aspirin and ibuprofen. Cole thought it showed ingenuity on Taylor’s part to cover all the bases. He placed the tray on the table in front of Kendall and looked nervously at his father. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Yes, son. Now that I’ve cleaned the wound, we just have to bandage her knee and see if she can stand on it.”

Kendall looked at Cole with murder in her brown eyes. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Cole took out the large bandage he had in the first aid kit and taped it over the wound. “Well, Doctor, if you can’t apply any weight to your leg, that means I’m going to have to carry you home or you’re staying here.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” She glanced at Taylor, trying to reassure the teenager. “It’s probably just a little stiff. Your father over-exaggerates.” She attempted to stand. Cole tried to help her, but she brushed his hands away. “I can do this by myself.”

Cole realized she was going to have to fall to understand she was actually injured. And that was exactly what she did. Flat on her face. She screamed bloody murder.

“You bastard! I can’t believe you let me fall like that!”

Cole laughed as he helped her up. “Now will you listen to reason? You need to be still, so you’re staying here.” He handed her a tissue to wipe her tears. “Is that okay with you, Taylor?”

“Sure, Dad. You’ll probably want to watch her to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid like try to walk home.”

Cole smiled at his son. “You’re right, Taylor.”

“Can I say something?” Kendall crossed her arms across her chest. “You two talk like I’m not even here. What about Jordan?”

“He can stay, too,” Taylor said. “I think we have some food he could eat.”

Kendall closed her eyes and leaned back on the couch. “Fine. Could you call Jami and let her know I won’t be home?”

Being victorious with Kendall was always an exhilarating feeling for Cole, but not while she was like this. The painkillers must have kicked in, because now she was snoring lightly.

After Cole made the necessary phone call and Taylor went to bed, he settled in the loveseat across from Kendall and watched her sleep. An hour later, they both seemed uncomfortable. Cole thought about his actions and decided Kendall would just have to be mad in the morning, but for tonight they were going to sleep in his bed.

CHAPTER 18

Cole woke up first the next morning. Kendall was lying on her side and snoring happily. He imagined her leg would give her a lot of pain today, but that was where he came in. He’d make sure she stayed off her feet and, hopefully, in his bed.

He slipped out of bed and headed for the shower. The hot water cascading down his body fully woke him, and Taylor came to mind. What was he going to do about his son?

Cole slipped on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt as quietly as he could. He didn’t want to wake Kendall. She needed all the rest she could get. He left the room smiling at her soft snores.

Smells of breakfast wafted up the stairs. He immediately knew where his son was. Taylor was making breakfast. He hurried downstairs and into the kitchen, then stopped dead in his tracks. Taylor wasn’t cooking. He was in the kitchen sitting at the table with Jordan at his feet. Cole couldn’t form the obvious question that stuck in his throat.

“You can’t say good morning to your mother?” she asked, scrambling eggs in a skillet. “Is Kendall coming down? Taylor said she hurt her leg.”

Cole walked to the coffee pot. He needed to be alert dealing with his mother, especially since Taylor had already ratted him out. He poured a mug of coffee and gulped a few swallows. “Good morning, Mom. When did you get here?” He walked to his mother and kissed her on her cheek.

“I got here about an hour ago. I wanted to see my grandson, and I couldn’t wait for you to decide when the time was right.” She emptied the fluffy eggs only she could make onto a plate.

“Mom, it’s not that. It’s just I wanted everything to be perfect. And how did you get in, anyway?”

“I do have a key to your house. Taylor did look at me strangely when he and Jordan came into the kitchen. That wouldn’t have happened had he known what his paternal grandmother looked like.”

Cole knew he’d gone about it all wrong, and now his mother was reading him the riot act. “Okay, Mom, it was my bad. Sorry. I was just doing what I thought was right at the time.” He took a seat at the table across from his son. “So, Taylor, what do you think of your grandmother? Are you going to call her Grandma?”

Before Taylor could speak, Cole’s mother did.

“He wouldn’t dare. Grandma sounds like I should be sitting in a rocker and knitting. Since he’s my only grandson, I think he should call me Gigi.”

Cole shook his head. “That sounds like a topless dancer. How about Grandmother? That sounds very cosmopolitan.”

“No,” she said as she brought breakfast to the table. “I’ll let him pick out a suitable name.” She looked at Taylor as she placed a plate loaded with eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns in front of him.

Cole laughed. “Uh-oh, you’re in trouble now,” he teased his son as his mother placed a plate in front of him.

Taylor smiled and started eating his breakfast. “How about Gram?” He shoveled the food in his mouth as if it were his last meal.

She sat down at the table with the men and nodded. “I like that. What do you call your other grandmother?”

Taylor looked up from his half-eaten breakfast and said, “Grandmother.”

* * *

An hour later Cole took a tray up to Kendall. His mother had drilled him like an interrogation specialist about Kendall’s injury. It took all his persuasive skills for her to go home without inspecting Kendall personally.

He couldn’t explain Kendall’s food preference to his mother, so he fixed a plate for Kendall and bade his mother good-bye. She took Taylor with her, claiming they needed some grandmother-grandson bonding time.

He could imagine his mother spoiling Taylor like crazy, which is what he planned to do with Kendall.

Cole entered his bedroom, surprised to see Kendall still asleep. It was after nine in the morning. He’d expected her to be up and ranting about being late for work. But she was buried underneath the bedclothes and snoring. He sat the tray on the bedside table and shook her awake.

“No, I don’t want to get up,” she murmured and turned over on her stomach.

He laughed and caressed her back gently. “Come on, I brought you breakfast. Plenty of eggs, toast, and hash browns.”

“Bacon.”

“What?”

“Bacon,” she said into the pillow. “I want some bacon with my eggs.”

“But you’re a veggie. You don’t eat meat,” Cole reminded his overnight guest.

“Bacon.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll be right back.” Cole went downstairs and got the forbidden meat. His mother had told him Kendall would probably want a little something extra with breakfast, and she’d been absolutely right. Must be a girly thing, he thought.

When he returned, Kendall was sitting up in bed. She looked like a vision nestled against the pillows. She smiled as he entered the room. “Well, it’s about time you got back.” She reached for the tray.

Cole placed the tray on her lap and sat on the bed. “Sorry, babe.” He took the lid off the plate and presented her with the breakfast. “You should eat. I called Max and told him you were injured last night.”

“You did what? It was just a scrape on my knee.”

He thought it was more than a scrape, but maybe he was overreacting. Apparently Kendall thought he had over-stepped his boundaries in calling Max. “Before you get all ‘how could you do that’ on me, I did it because I knew walking wouldn’t be easy for you. Max said he could push the appointments back until you became ambulatory.”

She sighed. “If I try to say that you’re trying to take over my life, I’m going to sound like one of those selfish independent women. So I would like to say thank you.”

Cole relaxed. “Wow. A female actually saying thank you and not reading me the riot act.”

Kendall laughed and began eating her breakfast. “I’m already eating your breakfast. Are you going to feed me some humble pie, too? You know I’m injured. You need to cut me some kind of slack.”

* * *

Martha watched as her grandson picked out a pair of tennis shoes at Parks Mall. They had originally gone to the mall to pick out Kendall a get-well gift, but somehow they’d ended up at the athletic store.

“Gram, are you sure?” He looked at her with hazel eyes just like his father’s.

She’d been waiting for this moment for sixteen years. She wanted to spoil him, but knew his mother had probably already done that. “Yes, baby, I’m quite sure.”

Taylor nodded. “I think Dad wants to beat that guy up.”

“What guy?”

“I was watching from my window. Some guy snuck up on Kendall and tried to grab her, but she skated away. Then he knocked her down and fell on top of her. Then Dad showed up and the guy left.”

Martha didn’t like the sound of that. Kendall’s mother had told her Kendall’s ex was back in town wanting to get back with her. “What did your father do?”

Taylor picked up another pair of sneakers and shrugged his slight shoulders. “Dad was taking care of Kendall. Probably if her leg hadn’t been bleeding so bad he would have kicked that guy’s butt.”

“Well, at least he took care of her.”

“Yeah, I was kind of scared last night. I thought we were going to have to take her to the hospital, but once Dad started cleaning it up and stuff, it didn’t look so bad. She just couldn’t walk on it.”

“Oh, my goodness.”

Taylor smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Gram.”

Martha returned her grandson’s smile. “I’m going to have a long talk with your father.”

He dropped the expensive tennis shoes and walked to her. “No, Gram, it’s okay now.”

“All right, I won’t say anything yet. I’m hoping they get together. So why don’t we work on getting them together?”

Taylor’s eyes gleamed with hope. “Yeah. After what Mom and Holly have done to him, I think he needs some happiness in his life.”

* * *

Jami stared at the clock on the wall. Kendall had called her an hour ago, telling her she was on her way to work and evading the issue of why she hadn’t come home last night. Had Jami and Dylan run Kendall from her home in just one night?

She glanced at the clock again. Where was she? Not that Jami believed that story Cole called with last night. No way would Kendall would have stayed with him while his son was in the house. No way in hell.

“Hello, Jami.”

When she heard the masculine voice, her internal alarm instantly buzzed. She greeted him because it was part of her job. Otherwise she’d tell him where to go. “Hello, James. Kendall isn’t here.” She turned her attention to the computer, dismissing him.

He leaned over the counter, invading her personal space. His cologne permeated her senses. James Matthews might be a jerk of the highest order for cheating on Kendall, but he always smelled great. That, coupled with charm and good looks, meant an unsuspecting woman didn’t have a chance.

“Look Jami,” he said in that sexy voice, “you and I both know Kendall is always at work promptly at eight. So don’t tell me that she’s not here.”

“She’s not here.”

“Nice try,” James said. “I’m not leaving until I see her.”

Jami looked at him. “James, I told you she’s not here. She’s coming in later this afternoon. Something about falling last night.”

James frowned, marring that handsome face. He didn’t believe that any more than Jami had. “She wasn’t hurt that bad. It was an accident.”

“What?”

James sighed. “I wanted to talk to her, and I met her while she was skating. We had a little disagreement and we kind of fell over each other. She might have skinned her knee a little.”

Jami felt awful for doubting her boss. “You mean you didn’t stay to see if she was okay?”

“I would have, but some light-skinned brother appeared out of nowhere telling me to get lost. So I left before he called the cops.”

Typical James. It was always all about him. “Nice to know you haven’t changed. She’s still not here.”

“Well, I’ll just wait. If she shows up, tell her I’m in the lobby.” He walked down the hall to the main lobby.

Jami shook her head as he left. Kendall really had been hurt, and that jackass of an ex-husband hadn’t even stayed to see if she was all right. She didn’t know who she was more disappointed in, James for not helping Kendall, or herself for not believing her in the first place.

* * *

Kendall looked sideways at her driver. He was as stubborn as a mule and then some. “You know, Cole, I could have driven my own car. It’s my left leg that’s injured.”

“I’m well aware which leg is injured, Kendall. You still don’t need to be driving. You shouldn’t even be trying to go to work. You should be horizontal in my bed.” He turned toward her and winked mischievously.

She had no response, not that he was giving her room for any. “Cole, it’s not that bad. It’s a scraped knee. I’m a doctor, I know when it’s serious, and this isn’t. Besides, you should be getting acquainted with your son, not chauffeuring me around like I’m some invalid. I’m a grown woman with my own car, and I feel just fine.”

“Blah, blah, blah. You might as well save your breath for tonight, ’cause I’m not hearing it. I’m taking you to work and I’m picking you up tonight. And we’ll have dinner at my house.”

She didn’t take kindly to Cole thinking he was running her life when he clearly wasn’t. “I can ride home with Jami.”

He shook his head. “Jami drives a Beetle. I don’t think you’d be very comfortable. The Range Rover has plenty of room for you to stretch those long legs out.”

“But Cole,” she started. “I can manage.”

“You might as well save it for someone who’ll listen, because this discussion is so closed.”

Kendall thought it was sweet, but she could never let it show. So in the true spirit of independent women everywhere, she crossed her arms across her chest and huffed.

“You don’t know how that turns me on.”

“Sick.”

“Yeah, and you know you like it,” Cole said. “Hey, about a delicious hamburger before I drop you at the hospital?”

After such a huge breakfast, Kendall couldn’t eat another thing. “No, thank you. What did you mean about dinner tonight?”

“You promised yesterday you’d listen to Taylor and me and be an arbitrator. We both have issues with his mother. It seems she was trying to turn each of us against the other. She told Taylor I didn’t want to be part of his life, and she told me Taylor didn’t want to see me.”

Kendall was shocked that anyone could be that hateful toward another human being, especially hurting her own child in the process. “Cole, I’m sorry.” She reached across the console and rubbed his hand in comfort. “That’s awful.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, what can you do? We just have to go from here. We have to build our trust with each other. Right now he’s with my mother, so I can just imagine what she’s telling him about his mother.”

Kendall didn’t have any bright words of wisdom, having never been in the situation. The only thing she had that was remotely close was her womanizing ex. “It’s hard when someone lets you down. But Taylor is here with you now, so that has to mean something.”

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t look at it that way.” He leaned over the console and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, Doc.”

Kendall blushed. The temperature in the SUV had just increased about twenty degrees with Cole’s gesture. Was he trying to butter her up for something? “Okay, what gives?”

“Can’t I give you a compliment without you ripping it to shreds? I’m having problems relating to the son I haven’t seen in four years and you offered a few words of comfort. I was just saying thank you. But if it’s too much emotional attachment for you, I rescind the thank-you.”

“I’m sorry, Cole. You have to admit you usually have an ulterior motive for everything.”

He laughed. “Gotcha!”

Kendall gasped. “You bastard! How could you bait me like that?”

“You make it too easy.” He leaned over and kissed her again. “Now how about that hamburger?”

“How about a salad? I’m still paying for breakfast.”

“Okay, rabbit food for you, and a greasy burger for me.”

Kendall nodded, knowing that was about as good as she was going to get.

* * *

About two hours later, Kendall limped into the hospital with Cole on her heels. She’d thought he’d just drop her off and leave, but he had to escort her to her office.