Page 20

HEATHER

T he best thing Cole could probably ever say about himself was that he was good in a crisis.

All his trivial thoughts about other things were quickly shuffled to a back burner, and he had the single-minded drive to keep Heather safe.

There was no way any kind of kidnapping gang or organized criminals or whatever they were would be able to track Cole and Heather while Cole was managing their movements.

The first thing they did after checking out of the motel was to switch cars again.

Cole explained that they would be doing this regularly to make them harder to track.

Then they went to the bank and took out several weeks’ worth of cash, however much they would need to survive day to day, so they wouldn’t have to use their bank cards.

Lastly, he took both of them to a friend, who he knew was capable of making extremely convincing fake identifications for both of them.

His friend had served with Cole in the military, which was why Cole trusted him enough to put their safety in his hands.

“Kevin!” he said when his friend opened the door and immediately gave him half an embrace. “It’s good to see you, man.”

“What are you doing out this way?” Kevin asked.

Cole’s friend Kevin was a big guy. Much of his muscle had softened after years out of the military, but he was no less strong for it.

The man was a tank. No one would dare try to bring him down.

Despite all that, he’d devoted himself to learning the art of violence-free, petty crime.

He did a bit of hacking here and there, but he specialized in making fake driver’s licenses, usually for older teens who wanted to get into bars with their college friends.

His work was top notch, though, and right now, Cole was grateful to have him for a friend.

“We need your help,” Cole said.

“We?”

Cole stepped aside to reveal Heather, who was still standing behind him. “Through no fault of her own, my girl here has gotten herself into some trouble. This is Heather. Heather, this is my old friend Kevin.”

Heather reached out to shake Kevin’s hand, but he pulled her in for a quick hug. “Cole’s friends are my friends,” he said.

“Thank you so much.” Heather shook his hand and smiled at him as Kevin invited both of them into his home.

“So what do the two of you need from me?” he asked.

“Just a couple of driver’s licenses,” Cole answered. “Good enough to get us a rental and a room. We’re not going abroad or anything.”

“Understood.” Kevin nodded. “Timeline?”

“The sooner the better.”

“Got it. And is this a need-to-know story?”

“For now,” Cole said. “It’s nothing nefarious. We’re just hiding from some people who want to hurt us until the authorities can sort them out.”

Kevin didn’t ask any more questions, and Cole was grateful. There was no question in his mind that his old friend would be willing to help him. Of course, Cole meant to pay, but if he really needed it, he knew Kevin would help him free of charge. That was just the way the guy was.

He worked fast, and Cole was so pleased with the way his friend treated Heather.

He had a great sense of humor and joked around with her while he had her pose for her picture.

The sound of her laughing was music to Cole’s ears.

The last couple days had been a whirlwind of fear and confusion, and Heather’s laugh left him with some hope that she might actually be able to recover from this.

They ate a quick lunch while Kevin processed their driver’s licenses.

He had expedited the process as best he could so they could be on their way.

It would take hours, but Kevin made them perfectly comfortable in his loft apartment.

While he waited, Cole researched new hotels and called around from Kevin’s cellphone.

It was good to have friends in times like this.

That was one thing his time in the military had given him that Cole hadn’t anticipated — strong, lasting connections with those who served alongside him.

The last thing Cole did before they left was to order a pizza from a place close to where they would be staying. Stupidly, he had forgotten that he had only cash, and the pizza place wanted payment in advance.

“It’s on me, buddy,” Kevin said, overhearing the conversation.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t—” Cole began, but Kevin interrupted him.

“I insist. Pay me back later. I know you’d do the same for me.”

Saying goodbye to his old friend wasn’t easy, but Cole knew they had to keep on the move.

They picked up their pizza on the way to the hotel, and it smelled amazing while they drove.

It was almost impossible to resist opening the box and eating a slice right there on the road.

When they got to the hotel, Cole was anxious to get into their room.

“There’s been a bit of a mix-up in booking,” the woman behind the counter said when they entered the lobby.

Cole resisted cursing in frustration. “What’s the mix-up?” he asked.

“You booked a double queen. Unfortunately, we don’t actually have one of those available. We can offer a single king if that’s acceptable.”

The woman behind the counter looked so worried that Cole couldn’t help laughing. This seemed to be a recurring theme, as if the universe itself were conspiring to get them together. Well, as far as he was concerned, the universe was playing for his team.

He turned to Heather and said, “What do you think about a single king, babe? Is that going to be a problem for you?”

She grinned back at him. “Long live the king.”

Cole burst out laughing and turned back to the woman behind the counter. “No worries at all, ma’am. We’ve dealt with this many times before now. It’s becoming quite the tradition for us, isn’t it?”

Heather nodded next to him. “All I care about is getting in a room so we can stuff our faces with pizza. I’m so hungry.”

The woman behind the counter looked beyond relieved.

Cole wondered whether she’d had a less-than-ideal day, too, although there was no chance her day was as exciting as theirs had been.

He got a key from the woman, and locked arms with Heather to get her up to their room.

He didn’t want to let her out of his sight for a second.

In the room, he set the pizza on the only table and let Heather have at it. “Are we going to finish this whole pie?” he asked. “Because I think we are.”

“Definitely.” Heather nodded, her mouth already stuffed with pizza.

Cole ripped the box in half and used the lid as a plate for himself.

Then he sat across from her and enjoyed a slice.

Before long, the burner phone he had bought for communication with the police rang.

“Oh, this might be our ticket back home,” he said, smiling.

To his surprise, Heather looked almost disappointed, and he had to wonder why.

He hoped she knew he wasn’t going to be a stranger in her life by any stretch.

His conversation with the police did not go as expected. When he finally hung up his phone, he frowned across the table at Heather. “They say it could be a few more days, at least.”

“What? Why?”

“They say they’re pressing some members they already have in custody, but no one’s broken so far.

It’s going to take some time, which is bad news for us.

” He leaned across the table to ensure she knew he was sincere when he explained.

“Bad news because we’re going to be short on cash, not because we get to spend more time together.

The one good thing that’s come out of this disaster is that our first date has been extended to a multi-day affair. ”

In a moment so spontaneous, even Cole was taken aback, Heather leaned across the table and kissed him.

The kiss was agonizing, mainly because of the table that still sat between them.

Cole wanted nothing more than to throw it aside and take her into his arms. After pulling back again, she said, “I can’t say I haven’t enjoyed your company, but I’m also not looking forward to spending a third day in the same clothes.

The shower’s only going to get me so far before I start to smell way less appealing.

Then you’ll really regret sharing a bed with me. ” She laughed.

“We’ll stop to buy some clothes tomorrow. But this is probably going to be the nicest hotel we stay in for the rest of the trip.”

“Bummer,” was all she said. She was deep in thought while they polished off their pizza.

That night, they were both exhausted and Heather fell asleep in Cole’s arms. There was something comforting about being lost together, despite the horrible situation that had gotten them into this kind of trouble.

Something about being away from everyone they knew, every complication, from their jobs to their friends to their family, was a simple kind of perfection.

To Cole, it seemed the purest way to begin a relationship.

And that thought led him to his next, which was a surprise to him, to say the least. He was, right now, beginning a new relationship with Heather.

Cole spent the first ten minutes of the next morning watching Heather sleep.

It was paradise, just seeing her there beside him, her face half buried in her pillow, her blue-and-green hair spread out like a nautical floral arrangement around her head.

She was beautiful, and that thought clouded his mind in the best possible way.

He never wanted to think or look at anything else.

He was falling for her, and though some resistant part of his brain fought him on that, he knew it was true.

He had always struggled to be vulnerable to anyone.

His ability to trust had been damaged long ago.

But if anyone was going to bring it back, he thought it would probably be the girl sleeping next to him.

He woke her gently, and she sighed and stretched in the morning light. “Good morning,” she said. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Like the dead,” he answered. “I’m taking you shopping today.”

“Ooh, do I get a whole new wardrobe?”

“Two changes of clothes.” He gave her a meaningful look. “So we can wash some if we need to. But no more than that. We have to watch our wallet.” He smiled broadly at her. “Because apparently this date is going to last for days yet.”

By the look in her eyes, he had said exactly what she wanted to hear.

Cole took Heather to the nearest clothing outlet and let her pick a couple changes of clothes, which he offered to buy for her. “Oh, no, you don’t need to,” she said.

“I want to,” he replied. “This is a date, remember? And I told you that I’m old-fashioned. We’re not using your money until we run out of mine.”

She actually blushed at that, and he loved the way she looked when her cheeks turned red, especially when they turned red because of something he had done. He led her into a high-end department store because he wanted to see her blush some more.

“Why are we here?” Until now, they had only visited thrift stores.

“Because I want to get you something nice and take you out to dinner again.”

“Cole, no,” she said, a small smile hiding behind her stern look.

He turned her toward him and explained. “Look. This situation is terrifying. It’s awful, but we’re in it together.

You and me. As worried as I am, I need a purpose to get myself through it.

That’s how I deal with stress — I work. Right now, my job is making you happy.

My purpose is turning this situation around so that when you look back on it, you remember a fantastic date that went on for days, even though it maybe had a nasty little kidnapping partway through it. I mean no date is perfect, right?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Okay. If this really is something you need to do, who am I to stop you?”

“Exactly,” he said. “So pick your favorite dress because I’m taking you out tonight.”

Heather tried on several tasteful outfits and finally settled on a yellow sundress that perfectly complemented the blues in her hair. She looked so gorgeous in it, he thought. “I’m going to have the prettiest date in the restaurant,” he said.

She told the clerk she wanted to wear the dress out, and the woman helped her remove the tags so she could.

Cole paid for the dress and the shoes she got to match it with a huge smile on his face.

They spent the next couple hours going between a laundromat and a car rental place to wash their clothes and swap their car out for another truck this time.

While they were waiting for their clothes to dry, Heather slipped an arm around Cole’s waist and leaned her head against him.

Even in that environment — with the harsh lighting, the noise of the machines, the slight stickiness of the floors, and the smell of various detergents lingering in the air — Cole felt like he’d finally come home.

Just having her arm around him was enough to solidify the idea that he wanted, more than anything, to keep her.

If anyone had asked him a week ago whether he would soon meet a woman he truly wanted to commit to, he would have laughed in their faces.

But this was different. Heather was different.

“So,” she said, nuzzling into him a little more, “where are we going to dinner?”

He thought about it while the dryer continued its hypnotizing cycle.

He hadn’t really planned this at all. It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea, a little improvisation to make her smile.

But now he was going to have to improvise even further.

He didn’t know the area at all, but he was still determined to make something out of this.

“Well, I figure we’ll just drive around until we find a fancy enough Italian-looking place. Do you like Italian?”

“I like all kinds of food,” she answered. “I’m not that picky.”

“Okay. We’ll just drive around until we find someplace suitably fancy.” He nudged her and smiled down at her. “This is going to be fun.”