Page 53 of Love Me Like You Do

“For fuck’s sake, Cole, you can’t be away that long. I understand about the kids. I get it. But you need to be here. You’re going to have to hire a nanny.”

“No,youdon’tget it. You haven’t looked into their eyes and seen how scared they are. They’ve lost their mom and dad, their home…everything they’ve ever known. Those girls have nothing. Except me, Coach. Do you understand that? If I walk away, they become wards of the state.”

“What about the co-guardian? Set her up with a nanny, and she’ll be fine.”

He blew out a breath, giving himself a moment to pull himself together. He did not want to go off on his coach. “I didn’t choose this. I don’t want it any more than you do. But here I am. And I’m not walking away. Not when I know I can get the right treatment here. The best use of my time is to stay here and get them situated in a home.”

“You don’t know how long that will take.”

“No, but I’ll have a much better handle on the situation in the next six weeks.”

“Four.” His coach spat the word out. “You’re back in four weeks.”

After he disconnected, Cole dropped the phone into the cupholder. “That went well.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you made the right decision,” Jaime said.

“Yeah. It wasn’t really a choice.” As they drove down 191, the bison preserve was a blur of white snow. “Maybe if I hadn’t spent time with the girls, but…”

“You did.”

“Yeah.”

“Are they messed up?” Jaime asked. “Crying all the time?”

“Not at all. The littlest one, Everly? They call her Evvie.” He grinned. “She’s just a ball of joy bouncing around the house. And, man, does she love her food.”

“And the older one?”

“Paisley’s…special. I can’t explain it. She’s got an old soul.” He chuckled. “She’s cool.”

“Sounds like you’re bonding with them.”

“I’m not staying.” He needed to be very clear. “I’m not adopting these kids.” He tipped his head back against the headrest. “It’s a tough situation. I want them to feel safe, but at the same time, I don’t think we should let them get too close to us.”

“How can you not? You can’t take care of them and deliberately keep them at arm’s length.”

“I just worry that if we let them attach, and then we leave, we’ll be fucking them up even more.”

“I’m no expert, but if you’re going to weigh the options, I’d think it’s better to be a good, healthy, positive transition for them than an indifferent one.”

He thought about the bad nanny and instantly knew his friend was right. “I’ve been wrestling with that one from the start, and you’ve just cleared it up.”

Declan had followed them home in Cole’s Land Cruiser, so as soon as they got home, his friend helped him out of the car and handed him his crutches. Once he had his balance, the three of them headed up the walkway.

Jaime gave a chin nod to the decorations. “That’s it? That’s the best you could do?”

“I figured you’d at least have live reindeer.” Declan pretended to be disappointed. “It’s so…basic.”

The idiots looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Do you guys remember when we were supposed to get fitted for our tuxes for prom?” Jaime asked. “We thought we were going into town to rent them, but then we get a text from this asshole”—he elbowed Cole—“telling us to come to his house. Who was that designer again?”

Declan chuckled. “Van Bryson.”

“First of all, the man was staying at my dad’s place.” Cole was feeling good. He could have the painkillers to thank for it, or it could have something to do with being back with his friends.Maybe a little of both. “Secondly, he’s the one who suggested it. It wasn’t my idea. He wanted to try his hand at a western-style tux.” It wound up being his signature look the following season. “And did we not look like badasses?” He dug into his pocket for the key and let them into the house.

All conversation ceased.