Tomorrow's Promise (The Hawks Mountain Series) (10 page)

When the coffee was done, she poured two cups and placed them on the table. And she was as much of a coffee addict as he was. Big plus. But if he had any hope of their friendship blossoming into anything more, he had some explaining to do. He waited while she added milk and sugar to her coffee.

He folded his hands around the hot cup, taking a strange comfort in the heat that permeated his palms.

“You were going to explain.” She raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it.”

Chapter 10

COLE LOOKED ACROSS Faith’s kitchen table and searched for the words to explain to her why a supposedly mature man would trash his own house, and then hire her to clean it up. In retrospect, it had to have been the craziest thing he’d ever done, and anything he offered as a reason at this point would only confirm that. But he had to try.

“First of all,” he finally said and looked her directly in the eyes, “I’m so sorry about that whole thing at my house. I never meant to hurt you or upset you.”

“Then why? Why did you do it?”

He looked down into the dark liquid in his cup and ran a fingertip around the rim. “Honestly, I worried about you and Lizzie not having any means of support.” Then, recalling that he’d always spotted a liar in an interview when they wouldn’t make eye contact, he raised his gaze to meet hers. “I figured out from your reaction to our grocery shopping trip that you aren’t really keen on taking help from others. So I thought that by giving you a job I could help, and you wouldn’t feel like it was charity. But when I looked around my house, I realized that it was too clean. So I messed it up.” He’d been right. It did sound crazy.

Faith’s eyes filled with tears. One ran down her cheek.
Good going, Ainsley. Now you’ve made her cry
. “Oh, darn it! Faith, I—”

She raised a hand and stopped him. “Wait. Let me talk now.”

For a moment, emotion overwhelmed Faith and stole her voice. His explanation had been so simple, yet so sincere. Any remaining remnants of the anger she’d felt for Cole’s deception vanished. Faith gulped down the emotions clogging her throat.

“In all the time I knew Sloan, I could never imagine him doing anything like this for me. Half the time, he didn’t remember to give me money to shop for food.” She swallowed back more tears. “You were right about my feelings toward taking charity. When I came back to Carson, I swore that I would not rely on anyone ever again. I didn’t want their offerings of pity. I was determined to take care of us without anyone’s help. But just as I did when I went to Atlanta, I came home without any plan.” She smiled weakly. “That seems to be my MO.”

Cole grabbed both her hands in his. The strength of his grip and the warmth on his skin on hers, stirred feelings in Faith that she’d thought died long ago. “Sweetheart, there’s no shame in taking help when it’s offered, especially when you have a little one to consider. People aren’t doing it out of pity. They’re doing it out of love.”

Sweetheart? Love? What was he trying to say?

Just as quickly, she chastised herself for attempting to read more into his words than were really there.
Don’t start building tomorrows that will never come,
she told herself.

“In my heart, I know that. I guess that’s the only reason I’ve accepted what I have so far. But when I realized what you’d done, that you’d lied to me, I just got so . . . so . . .”

“I know, and I am as sorry as I can be that I made you feel that way. It was not intentional. If I’d thought it through more, I would have seen that.” He tucked his finger under her chin, tipped it up so she had to look at him, and smiled. “Forgiven?”

She nodded. “Forgiven. But promise me that you won’t lie to me again.”

“Promise.”

Not until that moment did Faith realized Cole still had a grip on her hands. She eased them from his grasp, rose and retrieved the coffee pot, and busied herself with refreshing their coffee, coffee that neither of them had touched.

“Explaining my stupidity wasn’t the only reason I came here.” Cole leaned back in his chair. “I have some good news for you.” He sipped his coffee.

A quick flash of her confrontation with her mother passed through her mind. “I could use some good news.” She sighed. “After you dropped me off, I found my front door open. Then my mother—”

Cole straightened and leaned toward her. “Wait! Your front door was open?” Concern filled his expression. Faith could almost see his law enforcement training materialize.

“It was nothing. I checked the house, and there wasn’t anyone here.”

Cole frowned and leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “Please tell me you didn’t do that.”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment at having to admit her foolhardiness. “Yeah, I did. But as I said, no one was here. Nothing was disturbed.” She shrugged. “I must have been in such a hurry when you picked me up that I didn’t latch it all the way.” That she’d been so careless in so many ways made her feel foolish all over again.

Cole didn’t seem satisfied with her explanation. “You have to be more careful. Promise you won’t do that again. Call me first.”

“I promise.” Eager to shift the conversation away from this subject, she asked, “So, what’s the good news you have for me?’

“Hunter Mackenzie, the local vet, needs a receptionist.”

Was this another of his invented jobs?

He must have read the skepticism in her expression. “Before you jump to any conclusions, I didn’t make this one up or harass Hunter into hiring you. Doc Amos called me today. It seems Hunter’s wife, Rose, is having some problems with her pregnancy, and Doc wants her to keep off her feet and cut down on any stress for the remaining few months. The job’s not permanent, but at least it’ll give you an income for a few months while you look for something else. It’s yours if you want it.”

Finally! A job!

She and Lizzie would make it. Nerves that had been stretched to the breaking point relaxed. The constant fear she’d carried with her since coming back to Carson was replaced by a growing excitement. Suddenly, the elation ebbed just as fast as it had materialized. “But I don’t know anything about being a receptionist.”

Cole laughed. The sound washed over Faith like a warm summer breeze. “You can answer a phone, right?” Faith nodded. “You can make appointments, right?” Again, she nodded. “Well, that’s all you need to know. Hunter has a nurse to help in the clinic, so you just need to man the phone and write in his appointment book.” He finished his coffee and stood. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and take you out there.”

“Wait.” Something that could blow this opportunity came to Faith. “You can take me tomorrow, but what about after that? How am I going to get to work every day?”

Cole grinned. “Got that covered, too. For the time being, I’ll take you. In the meantime, young lady, I’m going to teach you to drive so you can get your license and use my car.”

Learning wasn’t a problem. She’d taken a full year of Drivers’ Ed in high school, passed it with flying colors, and still recalled most of what she’d learned. However, using his car? “But—”

He laid a finger over her lips. “No
buts
about it.” When she continued to try to protest, he continued. “Please let me do this to make up for the housekeeper thing. It’s no problem. I don’t need my other car. If I do need transportation, I have the squad car at my disposal all the time, and it will help you achieve that independence you want so badly.” He started toward the door with Faith following close behind.

“Cole?” He stopped and turned back to her. She hoisted herself on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered against his skin. And she meant it. He’d done more for her in the short time she’d known him than Sloan had done in the entire time they’d been together.

He turned his head just a fraction and looked down at her. Faith’s breath caught. His whiskey eyes captured hers. Mesmerized by the desire burning in their depths, she was unable to move, unable to turn away from the inevitable, unable to stop what her head told her was not a good idea, but her heart brushed aside.

Very slowly, as if giving her time to refuse, he lowered his head. Refusal never entered Faith’s mind. Need overrode her good sense. Instead of stopping Cole, she found herself leaning against his muscular body and sliding her hands up his broad chest. Shamelessly, she tipped her head back and offered him her lips. When his mouth settled gently over hers, her knees turned to rubber, and had it not been for his arms encircling her waist, she would have sunk to the floor in a boneless heap.

The kiss that started out sweet, soft, and gentle, quickly turned hungry and passionate. Faith clung to him, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Desire eroded her willpower like ocean waves eating away at a sandy beach. He lifted his head, breathed her name, and then captured her mouth again. This time, she felt as if he was branding her forever with his kiss.

“Momma!”

Lizzie’s strident cry pulled them apart as if they’d been drenched in icy water. She stared up at him, at a loss for words. He touched her face reverently. “I’d best go before we do something we’ll both be sorry for tomorrow.” He ran his fingertips over her cheek as if memorizing the shape and texture, then released her, and opened the door. “I’ll be by around eight for you.”

Faith didn’t trust her voice. She nodded and after the door closed behind him, she sagged against it and stood there for a moment, unable to get her feet to move.

“Momma!”

Shaking herself out of the sensual stupor she’d been trapped in, Faith hurried off toward Lizzie’s room. “Momma’s coming, baby.”

COLE POURED HIS morning coffee and carried it to the front porch. He flopped down in one of the rockers he’d bought yesterday,
because Faith had been right about the rockers. He took a sip of the coffee and waited for the jolt of caffeine to hit his system and bring his sleep-deprived body to life.

It wasn’t often that he got up early enough to enjoy the dawn, but last night and into this morning, sleep had stubbornly eluded him. The idea of sitting out here and watching the sun rise above Hawks Mountain appealed to his need for serenity. Intentionally, he cleared his mind and concentrated on the changing hues of orange, purple, and pink as the sun gradually peeked over the mountain. Except for the few white puffs hanging over the peeks of Hawks Mountain, the sky was clear. It was going to be a beautiful day. Heaving a deep sigh of contentment, he started the rocking chair moving in a gentle back and forth motion.

Just beyond the porch, a squirrel scampered over the sun-dappled grass. A soft
whit-chew whit-chew
drew his gaze to the birdfeeder hanging from a huge oak tree just beyond the porch railing. A female cardinal scooped up the sunflower seeds, her drab, brown body almost obscured by the backdrop of the tree’s bark. In the maple tree on the other side of the lawn, a flash of brilliant red told Cole that her male counterpart was standing guard over his mate. When the squirrel headed toward the feeder, the male swooped down, putting himself between the squirrel and the female cardinal. Alerted to the intrusion by the raucous cry of the male, the female flew off, followed almost immediately by the male.

The whole scenario served to bring his thoughts back to Faith. If only she’d accept his help and protection as readily as the female cardinal accepted her mate’s. But Faith was fiercely independent—a trait he admired, even if it did frustrate him. In a way, it was good that she didn’t want to rely on him. What would happen to her when he left for Atlanta and his new job? He didn’t want to be the cause of her feeling as helpless as she had when she’d arrived back in Carson.

So what brilliant move had he made last night? He’d kissed her. And not just a friendly peck on the lips. He’d kissed her as if his very life depended on feeling her lips beneath his, and, at that moment, it had. Under different circumstances, her response would have filled him with joy, and it had . . . last night.

But now that he’d had time to reflect on it, he realized it had been a huge mistake. It would have been different if he planned on putting down roots in Carson and settling in to raise a family here. But he wasn’t, and if he continued encouraging Faith to believe otherwise, it could bring both of them nothing but heartache when he left town. That could not happen.

Having made up his mind to call a halt to any further intimacy with Faith, he felt a bit better. He leaned back in the rocker and set it into motion again. Faith would love the rockers and so would Lizzie. And that thought resurrected the memory of Lizzie’s strident cry for her mother which brought with it the memory of the kiss.

Try as he might, and no matter how many times he resolved not to think about her, she kept invading his thoughts. The feel of her lips beneath his, the way she’d clung to him, the contours of her body fitting so perfectly with his. All of it persistently played through his mind like a favorite movie stuck in rerun mode.

Heaving a deep sigh, he stopped the rocker’s motion and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and gazed down into his cooling coffee.
The heart has a mind of its own.
His mother’s words to him after the breakup with Diane played through his head. At the time, he’d shrugged them off, but now he hoped her well-worn quote was wrong. If it wasn’t, he was going to end up hurting the person he wanted to protect, the one person who didn’t deserve any more hurt in her life.