Page 46

AVERY

C ole’s demeanor changed a bit after I called him out for it. I understood that he was under enormous stress, but I hoped it wouldn’t put a damper on the rest of our time away together. I wanted to have a good time, and the only way that could happen was if he was in a good mood, too.

After ordering room service for an early lunch, I brought up the idea of shopping.

“I’d like to get Ashton a few more things. The kid is rough on clothes, and what we got the other day won’t last.”

“Sure,” Cole said. “We could head back to the mall.”

“Great, let’s do it,” I said, and hopped up.

“Hey?”

“Yeah?” I turned to Cole.

“You know you can get yourself something, too, right? I know you love Ashton, but it’s okay to treat yourself every now and then.”

I smiled. “You know what? You’re right. If I see something I have to have, I’ll get it.”

The mall wasn’t very busy because it was still fairly early in the day, which made it easier to browse the shops.

Cole spent most of the time strolling the concourses while I bounced around to different stores.

I didn’t think it was intentional, but every time I came out of a store with a new bag, he got a weird, apprehensive look on his face.

It took me a while before I figured it out. He was worried about money.

He was rapidly depleting the money he’d spent years working for, the nest egg that would have kept him comfortably for the rest of his life.

Now, due to his responsibilities, that was vanishing, with no real guarantee that he could get it back.

Even after all these years, I knew Cole always wanted to provide.

He was doing that for the pack, sure, but with Ashton and me back in the picture, he had more people to provide for.

I didn’t need it—I’d gone most of my life without it—but saying that would only kick Cole while he was down.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

Cole, who’d been checking out a display of jeans, gave me a questioning glance. “Really? You’re done?”

“Yeah. This is plenty. Let’s go.”

With a nod and a very vague look of relief, Cole agreed.

We stowed the shopping bags in the backseat of the truck and spent the next couple hours strolling through one of the public parks near downtown.

It was a gorgeous day, and this seemed a much better use of our time rather than going to see a movie or something else where we’d be cooped up inside.

As we walked along a stream, I asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Cole said, tossing a rock into the stream.

From his tone, I could tell he was anything but fine, but I left it alone.

Being with someone who was struggling was a little stressful.

I didn’t know how to bring him out of his funk, and that was disappointing, especially with how great the day before had been.

It was like withdrawing that money had flipped a switch in him.

Knowing he’d have to turn over that hard-earned money to Kyle had devastated him in some way.

How the hell was I going to snap him out of it?

By the time we were done at the park, the sun was dipping toward the horizon.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, and some of that old smile returned. “Starving, actually. Where do you want to eat?”

“Let’s just drive around and see what looks good.”

“A free spirit? I like it.”

Cole pulled the truck out and drove toward downtown. “What about that? Steak sounds good,” he said as he pulled into a steakhouse parking lot.

I looked through the windshield, and even from the outside, I could tell it was a pretty nice place. Even nicer than the restaurant from the night before. If I had to guess, he’d probably want to pay for dinner again tonight.

“We can try somewhere else. Looks a little pricey to me.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I kicked myself. Way to be subtle, Avery.

“What does that mean?” Cole asked. A dark thundercloud formed behind his eyes.

“I didn’t mean anything by it. But it might be nice to go somewhere a bit more relaxed.”

“Do you think I don’t want to pay for dinner? I can pay it fine, Avery.”

I sighed heavily and shook my head. “Can you please stop snapping at me? I’m only trying to be considerate. Since you came back from the bank, you’ve had an attitude about money. I didn’t want to make you worry about it tonight.”

“I get it,” Cole said, barely keeping his voice controlled. “But it’s fine. Let’s go eat, okay?”

He got out of the truck and came around my side to open my door.

The dinner that followed was delicious, but I couldn’t enjoy it.

The relaxed, flirtatious banter we’d had the night before was gone.

Now, it was all sullen silences and strained conversation.

We didn’t even bother with dessert and headed straight back to the hotel.

The tension was too much. What had started out as a fun getaway had turned into more of a chore.

“Do you want to do anything tomorrow morning? Or in the afternoon after we check out?” Cole offered as we were getting ready for bed.

“I’d really rather just go home as soon as we get up,” I said, my voice clipped and short.

Cole flinched as if I’d slapped him, then lowered his head and nodded to himself.

He was probably berating himself for the way he’d acted all day, but I was too exhausted from dealing with him to care.

Even if I wanted to talk about it, he was too sensitive to really allow the discussion.

If I even mentioned anything, he snapped.

As much as Perry had been lacking in our relationship, he was really good at splitting the finances.

I’d bought the house, and he’d bought the cars.

I’d paid the electric and gas bills, he’d paid for the water and internet.

We’d alternated on groceries. The system had worked for us.

Sure, it would have been smarter for me to have bought my own car, but whatever.

Cole had more traditional views on providing, and that was fine, but I didn’t need that.

I wished he could realize that and not stress so much about it.

Because the stress was making him act like an asshole.

“Yeah,” he finally said. “Probably smart to get back. Makes sense.”

We went to bed with very little more conversation, and I fell into a listless sleep that was shattered when Cole’s phone rang.

At first, I thought it was only part of a dream, but when it rang again, we stirred.

The alarm clock beside the bed said it was almost three in the morning.

Fear roiled in my gut as Cole scrambled for his phone to answer it.

“What’s wrong?” Cole grunted sleepily.

Whatever vestiges of sleep vanished as he sat straight up in bed. “What? Right now?” His chest heaved, and even in the faint light of the moon streaming in through the window, I could see the anxiety on his face.

“Christ. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

He jumped out of bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, tossing the covers off me.

“It’s Ashton.”

“What about Ashton?”

My fear escalated, shooting into full-blown panic as a nervous sweat sprang out all across my body.

“That was Trent. He said Ash woke up crying and yelling. He’s not doing well. He thinks the shift is coming. Tonight.” Cole looked at me, heartrending misery written on his face. Another milestone he was in danger of missing.

“Let’s go,” I said, scrambling to get dressed. “We’ll make it if we hurry.”

We tossed our stuff back into our luggage and sprinted out the door.

The elevator seemed to be going in slow motion, and I shifted my weight from foot to foot in anticipation.

I thought Cole was going to deck one of the valets when they took more than five minutes to bring our truck up.

The tires squealed as we pulled away and shot toward the highway.

Cole’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, his eyes glued to the road. The look on his face wasn’t anger or rage. It was sadness and desperation.

“I thought it wouldn’t happen until the full moon,” he muttered at one point. “I really thought that’s when it would happen. Not tonight. I never would have left if that was the case.” He glanced at me. “I promised I’d be there for it. To help him through.”

“I’m sure it’s okay. You’re there in spirit,” I said lamely.

“And you’ll be there after to help him. That’s if it does happen tonight.

Remember yours? It took almost a full day for you to finally shift.

Maybe that’s how it’ll be with Ashton. We may have until lunchtime before he goes through with it. ”

“Every shifter is different, Avery,” he said, voice growing tighter. “Some take hours or days, and others can go through the process in a few minutes or an hour. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. Not genetics or anything. It’s all random. He could already have shifted for all I know.”

“And if he did, it’ll be fine. You need to calm down, Cole.”

“This is important , Avery. Really important,” he said, and I could hear the imploring tone in his voice.

“I know, but if we miss it, it’ll be fine. I promise. Ashton won’t hold it against you.”

Cole scoffed. “Even as big of a piece of shit as he was, my father was there for my first shift. The guy didn’t give a fuck about anyone but himself, but he managed to be there for me. I have to be there for Ashton. I have to.” He punctuated the last word by banging his palm on the steering wheel.