“A whole two weeks?”
“Probably a little more.”
Cole tamped down his annoyance at her business-like approach. They’d shared one kiss. Nothing had changed. There was still nothing more to their relationship than a commercial transaction.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He neutralized his expression.
“You sure?”
“What could be wrong?”
She nodded. “Okay. Where’s the Thunderbolt now?”
“In a lawyer’s safe in Wichita Falls.”
“Can we get it?”
“Not until after the wedding.”
Sydney nodded again. “I’m going to need to make a few calls.”
“Kyle has a land line at the house. So does Grandma.” You couldn’t pick up a cell signal in the Valley.
“You don’t have a phone?”
Cole shrugged. “I only moved in after Kyle and Katie got married. Haven’t updated much.”
“No problem.” Sydney flipped the page. “Okay. So what’s our next move with Katie?”
“You might not want to takes notes on that.”
“Why?”
He raised a brow.
“Oh. Right. We don’t want to leave an evidence trail.”
“Rain’s stopping,” Cole noted. “How about I drive you back to her place and you can wax poetic about me for a while?”
A slow smile grew on Sydney’s face and Cole relaxed for the first time since the kiss.
“Let me see…” She began counting off on her fingers. “You are a good-looking guy. Smart, funny and oh-” She snapped her fingers and laughed. “I can tell her you’re sexy.”
Cole wasn’t sure how to take that. Was Sydney saying she thought he was sexy, or that she was willing to lie about it? He couldn’t ask. It would sound stupid. And there was no logical reason for him to care.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if she meant it.
When Katie found out Sydney was still checked into the hotel in Wichita Falls, she offered to drive her in to pick up her suitcase. The rental car was down for the count, and it was looking as though they’d need a tow truck to retrieve it. Exorbitantly expensive, but the drive alone with Katie seemed like a perfect opportunity to go all moony-eyed over Cole.
Not that it was such a huge stretch. That man could kiss like there was no tomorrow. She still got a little flushed thinking about it. In fact, she was hoping for an excuse to do it again. Soon.
The next morning, Katie’s pickup truck bumped over the ruts of the ranch’s access road.
“That’s Grandma’s house at the top of the hill,” she said. “Kyle and Cole’s dad grew up there. Kyle and Cole, too, for a while. But after the boys were born, their dad built the house where we live now.”
“Cole mentioned his parents had died.”
Katie nodded, gearing down to negotiate a series of potholes. “Light plane crash.”
“Oh, no.” A pain flashed through Sydney’s chest, her mind going back to the horrible day when she’d learned her own parents had been killed in a house fire.
“Cole was in the plane,” Katie continued. “He was the only one who lived.”
“Was he all right?”
“Cuts, bruises, broken ribs. He was really lucky.”
“But he lost his parents.” And he had at least one scar to remind him. She was glad now she hadn’t asked him about it.
Katie nodded again, keeping her gaze fixed on the road. “He’s a good man, Sydney.”
“I know he is.”
“He’s been through a lot.”
“Yes, he has.” Sydney understood better than most the horrible pain of losing your parents.
Katie cleared her throat. “I can understand…”
Sydney turned to try to gauge the odd tone of Katie’s voice.
“I can understand that you might be tempted to, uh, romance the brooch from under-”
“Katie!”
“I’m not judging you. I have a sense of how important it is.”
“I would
“Like I said, I’m not judging. Women make choices all the time.” Katie glanced at Sydney, a mixture of pain and awkwardness in her eyes. “I just don’t want to see him hurt again.”
Sydney frantically shook her head. “I’ve been completely honest and up-front with Cole.”
“I saw how he looked at you.”
“And I like him, too, Katie.” Sydney’s stomach clenched with guilt.
“He’s falling for you.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Sydney had to remind herself that she was being honest with Cole. She wasn’t conning him, and she wouldn’t hurt him.
“I don’t know where this is going,” she told Katie honestly. “But I won’t lie to him about my feelings. I promise you.”
“He’s a good man,” Katie said in a quiet voice.
“He’s a very good man,” Sydney agreed. “And he’s lucky to have you.”
Katie cracked a small smile.
Sydney reached out and touched her shoulder. “I’m serious, Katie. You are a terrific sister-in-law. Cole knows full well that I want the Thunderbolt. If anything happens between us, we’ll both go into it with our eyes wide open.”
Katie wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, giving Sydney a watery smile. “So, you think there might be a chance for the two of you?”
Sydney took a deep breath, turning back to the wind-shield as she chose her words. “I think Cole and I are going to have a very interesting relationship.”
Sydney’s answers must have satisfied Katie, because at the end of the day, Katie suggested stopping at her grandmother’s for dinner. She said Saturday night was traditionally for family, and a perfect opportunity for Sydney to meet Grandma.
Cole had warned Sydney that his grandma was an incorrigible matchmaker, and that she’d go for broke the minute she laid eyes on Sydney. So Sydney was prepared for anything.
What she got was a sharp, funny, sweet-natured, little woman in a floppy hat and bright gardening gloves with a dream of a period house. Circa 1940, it had an octagonal entry hall, with an archway that led to a living room, while another doorway led to what looked like the master bedroom.
The wallpaper was yellowed and russet tiles were faded with age. But the wood trim shone with a dark patina and the leaded windows were definitely original.
“Your home is beautiful,” Sydney said to Grandma, peering into the living room. The couch and armchair were burgundy, looped brocade, dotted with doilies that Sydney would bet Cole’s grandmother had crocheted herself.
Grandma glanced around. “Never thought of it as beautiful before.”
“It’s
“Sydney’s here to visit for a few days,” said Katie. “She’s interested in the Thunderbolt of the North.”
Sydney stole a quick glance at Katie, trying to decide if she was giving Grandma a subtle warning about her possible motives.
“Have to marry Cole to get the Thunderbolt,” said Grandma as she led the way through the living room.
