Page 73 of Lethal Threat

Nolene’s eyes are soft when she reaches for his hand. “Of course, honey, I do. I’ll go get them now. You two enjoy your cider and cookies. I won’t be but a minute.”

He chuckles when she’s out of earshot. “Boy, did that make her happy.”

“You getting a tree?”

“Usgetting a tree.”

It’s my turn to blush. “She’s rooting for you to have a family, huh?”

His smile softens. “She’s just rooting, period. Mom and Dad have always been in our corner, no matter what my brothers and I want or do.”

I realize I’m pressing my hand over my heart.

Heavens.A warm throb pulses behind my palm and radiates all the way to my toes. “That’s beautiful. How nice to have family like that.”

He catches my other hand in his. “It is. I’ve been blessed.”

Out of nowhere, tears sting at my throat. Crap.

I may not be remembering, but I’m putting puzzle pieces together from the facts. “I don’t have parents, do I?No one mentioned them to me. And when I needed someone to pick me up from the hospital, no one said they had tried to contact a mother or father.”

His stillness is the only answer I need.

“No. Your parents are gone.”

The tightness in his voice reminds me he’s not going to fill in the details. “I knew. I wish it wasn’t the case. But I knew.”

His thumb rubs over my knuckles, slowly. His warm touch makes me feel cared for even if I don’t have family. But a lingering hunger fills my gut.

I want to know more.

He sighs. “I’ll tell you what I know about them when we leave.”

More moisture fills my eyes. “I know you don’t want to make things worse, but I feel like, since I already figured that out, it’s probably time to talk about it. Plus, it might help.”

A flurry of motion catches my eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Strong appear in the doorway, each with a big cardboard box.

“Cole! Good to see you today, Son.”

I blink away the tears. Cole rises and hugs his dad. After some back smacks and a couple muttered words, they let go.

“Dad, meet my friend, Sierra. She’s visiting for a bit.”

His father, still handsome and strong, extends a hand. “Welcome to Eden, Sierra.”

I can see why these two people made such a gorgeous son.

“Thank you. It’s a beautiful place.”

“So, Nolene here tells me you need some decorations.”

Cole sits back down and sweeps up another cookieoff the plate. “We do. Gonna have a nice big twelve-foot tree at the cabin.”

His dad’s smile is so damn much like Cole’s. I flip my eyes to my man’s own smile and it makes my heart skip. “I’ll get a tree stand from the barn. Be right back.” Seconds later, the back door is slamming closed.

I laugh. “The Strongs don’t waste any time.” Which I should have gathered from Cole. He’s efficient in everything he does.

Especially in quickies…