Page 15

The message was a nice change of pace from Perry’s aggression. Cole had even apologized for what happened the night before. That was nice, especially since the awkwardness had mostly been my fault. I still wasn’t sure why one old phrase had made me so uncomfortable and sad.

Before I answered, I needed to check with the third part of this strange family triangle. Leaving my computer, I headed down the hall and found Ashton on the couch, reading a graphic novel, a bowl of chips and salsa on the coffee table before him.

“Hey,” I said.

He glanced up from his book. “Hey. What’s up? I thought you were working.”

“I got a message from your… uh, I mean, I got a text from Cole. He wants to know if you might want to hang out today?”

Ashton’s brow furrowed, and he ran his tongue along his lower lip. After a few seconds of thought, his lips twitched at the corner.

“Okay. Yeah. That would be cool. If it’s fine with you.”

“This isn’t about me,” I said, the words sticky and thick like they didn’t want to come out. Fourteen years of me watching over him and making my son’s business mine. Now? He’d have to make his own decisions, and unless I wanted to be the bad guy, I’d need to let him.

His smile grew wider. “All right. I’ll do it. When does he want to pick me up?”

I held up my phone. “I’ll text him, and we’ll figure out a time. He said this afternoon, so probably an hour or so.”

“Sweet,” he said, tossing his book down. “I’ll get changed.”

Avery: Ashton says he’d like that. Want to pick him up in an hour?

Cole: Great! I’m picking up something, and then I’ll head that way. See you guys in an hour.

With that done, all thoughts of work fled. There would be no concentrating on deadlines, edits, or sentence structure. All I would be able to think about was Cole coming over. Seeing him again. Fifteen years without him, and now I’d be seeing him for the third time in as many days. So strange.

To kill time, I tried to do a few chores around the house to make it a bit more habitable.

Dusting, vacuuming, and mopping. The company I’d used had done a good job keeping the palace from falling into disrepair, but a once-a-month maintenance check, plus dusting and mowing the yard every other week, really wasn’t enough to make it a home.

When the doorbell rang an hour later, I’d just put the mop and bucket away in the garage, and a slight sheen of sweat coated my forehead from all the work.

Standing in front of the door, I took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

Clenching the doorknob in my sweaty palm, I turned it, then swung the door open.

Cole, dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and a fitted button-up shirt, stood on the porch, a bouquet of white lilies in his hand. My favorite flower of all time. Had he really remembered that after all these years?

“Afternoon, Avery,” he said, holding the flowers out to me. “I saw these and had to get them for you. Your favorite, right?”

I gaped at Cole as I took the bouquet from him. “You still remember this?”

Cole’s smile was… how to describe it? Not cocky or knowing. More like some combination of shy and hopeful.

“I remember everything about you, Avery. All of it.”

Unbidden, a storm of butterflies fluttered through my stomach. Trying my best to ignore that, and the thoughts and memories that tried to surface, I turned and called for Ashton.

“Ash? Cole’s here,” I called out, cupping my hand around my mouth to be heard down the hall.

“Coming!” he yelled back.

“Is he excited?” Cole asked, staying on the porch rather than coming in uninvited.

“I think so,” I said, keeping my voice low. “He’s a bit nervous, though, so be ready for that.”

“Got it. I understand,” Cole said with a quick nod. “Can I talk to you about something when we get back?”

“Okay, sure. We can talk,” I said just as Ashton joined us.

“Hey, Cole,” Ashton said.

The smile never faded from Cole’s face, but I knew him well, and even after all the years, I could read his face like a book. His eyes crinkled at the edges, and he dipped his head a bit. It was a look of disappointment.

It only took a half second for me to understand why. Ashton had called him “Cole” instead of “Dad.” Cole might be hoping for that, but it was still way too early for Ash to call him that. Cole would soon learn how hard-headed our son was. Then he’d understand that Ash needed time.

“Hey, buddy,” Cole said. “Are you ready to hang out with me?”

Ashton stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and nodded. “Sure. What are we gonna do?”

“I thought I might give you a tour of Harbor Mills. I figured you guys have probably been too busy for your mom to show you around. Might even drive by the high school, show you where your mom and I first started dating. After that, we can sort of wing it. Is that good with you, Avery?”

“Sounds cool,” Ashton said.

“That sounds like a wonderful afternoon,” I said. “Text when you’re on the way back. I might head to the store while you’re gone. Maybe I’ll see you two while you’re out and about.”

“Okay, then let’s get going,” Cole said, waving for Ashton to join him.

My son bounded down the front step after Cole.

As they walked away from me, side by side, I almost slid to the floor at the sight of them together.

They were so similar. The afternoon light outlined them—they had the same broad shoulders, the same cocky swagger, and the same dark hair.

It was almost like watching Cole, the old and the young, striding out of my dreams.

Then, they got into the truck and drove off, both of them waving to me through the windshield.

Knowing that a piece of my heart was driving away with the man who’d stolen that very same heart almost two decades ago was almost too much to bear.

Before I could dissolve into tears, I grabbed my things and headed for the garage.

Errands would help keep my mind off it all. Or so I hoped.

My first stop was the hardware store. The house was in desperate need of some upgrades. I’d already started a list that included new towel and toilet paper holders, a faucet to replace the thing that was right out of the ’70s, and a few boxes of light bulbs.

The Harbor Mills General Store was more of a hardware and feed store than a true general store, and it had managed to survive the arrival of bigger brand-name stores nearby.

I could have gone to one of those, but it didn’t appeal to me.

Something about Harbor Mills made it feel like you had to shop at the old places.

Maybe it was nostalgia, but either way, I pulled into the parking lot and headed inside, ready to spend money in what was, in my mind, a local landmark.

The selection wasn’t as good as larger hardware stores, but I found everything I needed. My cart held the fixtures that I thought would look good in the house, and I was trying to decide which of the four faucets on display was the one I wanted, when a voice spoke up behind me.

“Hey there. You’re the new lady in town?”

By the grace of God, I managed not to flinch or scream in fright.

The guy was only a few inches from my ear.

Spinning, I took an instinctive step back.

The guy was a shifter—that much was obvious from the aura he gave off—but unlike most, he was not an attractive person.

A balding man in his early to mid-forties stared back at me with rheumy blue eyes.

I had to force myself not to take a second step backward or to shudder.

The man was ugly beyond belief—there was no kinder way to say it.

His nose was squashed and crooked as though it had been broken multiple times.

He wasn’t fat so much as bulky in a strange way, muscular but lumpy and oddly shaped.

The thick ears and droopy earlobes didn’t take my attention away from the crooked, yellowing teeth grinning back at me.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

“Name’s Kyle Alexander. Didn’t mean to startle a pretty little thing like you. My apologies,” he said, putting a thick-fingered hand to his chest, then ran his other hand through the few sprigs of pale red hair that remained on his nearly bald head.

“Okay,” I said, frowning deeply at him and moving another half-step back. “I don’t think we know each other.”

He chuckled, but the sound reminded me more of heels dragging through gravel than of laughter.

“That’s true. Smart one, you are,” he said, pointing at me.

“It’s sort of my job to know things, you see.

I’m actually a friend of Mr. Garrett. I’d heard an old friend of his might be back in town and thought I’d say hello. ”

This man had the charm of a rattlesnake, and something about him made my skin crawl. This was a friend of Cole’s? What kind of people had he been hanging out with for the last fifteen years?

“You know Cole?” I asked in disbelief.

He nodded, straightening his dress shirt. “I do. We’re more business partners than anything else. Me and his family go way back.”

“I see.” I did not see. At all. My family also went way back in Harbor Mills, and I would have remembered this slimeball, even if only to be sure to avoid him.

“I see, too,” Kyle said. He didn’t even try to hide the leer as he swept his eyes up my body. “I see why Cole’s been sniffing around. Mighty nice prize you are.”

“I’m not a prize, buddy,” I snapped. “Maybe keep your eyes to yourself unless you want to lose one.”

“I like that,” Kyle said, nodding and rubbing a hand across his paunchy belly. “Shows fire and passion.” He leaned forward, and I caught the sharp scent of whisky on his breath. “Wonder where else you might show fire and passion. Bedroom? Maybe the shower or bathtub?”

“Goodbye,” I hissed, and pushed my cart past him. I was not going to stand there and listen to this pervert any longer.

“Bye-bye,” he called as I hurried to the register. “Tell Cole I said hi, and let him know I’ll be coming for what’s mine soon.”

“Tell him yourself!” I shouted over my shoulder.

I still needed lightbulbs and a faucet, but I had no desire to stay in the store any longer than necessary.

My skin wanted to crawl off my body as I recalled how the creep’s eyes had slid across me and his suggestion that I would be passionate in the bedroom.

I could practically see all the things he was imagining doing to me, and I shuddered at the mere thought of it.

Out in the parking lot, I glanced around, ensuring the man wasn’t around before heading to my car and unloading.

The thought of that man and Cole having drinks over some business contract made me sick.

No matter what the guy said, I didn’t think he was friends with Cole.

Regardless of how much had changed over the years, people tended not to change enough to rub elbows with someone like that.

I’d bring it up with Cole when I saw him later. A nagging voice at the back of my mind told me he’d want to know about some creeper walking around town, saying they were buds. I had no clue who this Kyle guy was, but everything about him screamed bad news.