Cole stood in the dining area studying the framed photos on the wall. He must have heard me approach as he turned. “When was this taken?” He pointed to a photo of me and Fern standing on her front porch. Fern wore one of her flamboyant outfits and I had on a slinky black floor-length gown.
I cringed. “That would be before senior prom.” I risked a glance at Cole, and saw he was smiling at me.
“You look very pretty.” He leaned toward me.
“Thanks,” I muttered, backing up. His behavior was abnormal, at least compared to most of our previous interactions, and I had no idea what to make of it. “Oh, I forgot about your coffee,” I scurried over to grab a mug and filled it up. “Do you take cream or sugar?”
“No, just black.” He’d followed me back into the kitchen.
Figures, he probably didn’t eat sugar. Or drink it. What a sad way to live.
I handed him the cup, and our fingers brushed as he took it, sending a spark up my arm. What was going on here? First Kenny, now Cole. Something must be wrong with me.
He took a sip, eyeing me intently. It made me nervous. Well, more nervous than I already was. I moved to the fridge, needing something to occupy me.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, scouring the shelves. My stomach danced with butterflies. I closed the door, realizing there was no way I could eat right now.
“I’m okay, thanks.”
I couldn’t take whatever this was anymore. “Cole, is there a reason you stopped by?” I said it as politely as I could, but he was the one who said he wanted to talk, and now he just kept staring at me.
“Yes.” He set his mug down on the granite island. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Did everyone think I was that fragile? I eyed him skeptically. “I’m good.”
“Okay, fine. I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to do something stupid,” he sighed.
Finally, this version of Cole I could deal with.
“Like what?” I asked innocently.
“You know. Like hunt down another suspect.” He gave me a pointed look. “Charlee, I know you’re thinking that it’s just Rockfish Bay.” He made quotations with his fingers. “But there are some dangerous people here.”
“Got it,” I agreed quickly. Apparently, too quickly for him to buy it.
His eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t think you do. If anything were to happen to you, your dad would kill me.”
That got my attention. “Cole, I’m not your responsibility. I’m an adult and have been on my own for ten years now, and I don’t appreciate you or anyone else telling me what to do,” I snapped.
“Is that when you left here?”
With that question, I feared our conversation was headed a completely different direction. One I wasn’t sure I was ready to go down.
“Yeah,” I said, the anger fleeing my tone.
“Was it because of him?” he asked hesitantly, his gaze veering to the flowers on the counter. The him in question didn’t need a name. I knew exactly who he was referring to.
“Yes,” I said on a rush. “But I’m sure you’ve already heard all about it. This town is a cesspool of gossip.”
“I don’t put much stock into what I hear. That’s why I asked you.” His eyes connected with mine. He wanted to know about my past, and I had no clue what to make of that. “He’s why you haven’t come back.”
That was a statement, not a question. But how would he know that?
“Okay, that I heard from gossip,” he admitted guiltily.
“It’s the truth,” I divulged, and surprisingly it felt good to say it, so I continued. “Probably most of what you heard is true, unfortunately. Kenny and I grew up together; our families were friends, so we hung out. I had a crush on him when I was twelve and he was fourteen.
“Then three years later he noticed me, and that was it. I had my whole life mapped out. After high school I planned to go to college and culinary school so I could come back here, where Kenny and I were going to start our restaurant. Kenny never wanted to go to school, and was working to save money so we could have our dream. I was such a fool.”
“You were young,” Cole said gently. “There’s nothing wrong with having dreams.”
I met his gaze again. “No, I suppose there’s not. Except it really sucks when they fall apart.” Something in his eyes said he understood, that he’d experienced that kind of pain, too.
“When I came home for spring break my freshman year, Kenny proposed. He wanted me to quit school and get married that summer. He said he didn’t want to wait to begin our lives together. That getting an education was a waste of my time and money.”
Cole raised his eyebrows, clearly disagreeing with that.
“I know, it made me mad, too. But I loved him. I told him I needed to think about it, and that I wanted to finish up the year. When I came home for the summer six weeks later, I’d decided that I was going to marry him.
“That I would give up on part of my dream because ultimately, it was Kenny that I wanted. I stopped at the grocery store on the way to my parents, and the checker told me she was sorry about me and Kenny.
“Of course, I had no idea what she was talking about, and I must have mumbled something like, thanks, because she said ‘I always thought you two were so great together. I never would have pictured him with the Wells girl.’” I stopped, reliving that memory in my mind, something that I feared I would never forget, for in that moment I thought my life was over, and even now it was painful to think
