It was like a scene from a movie. The phantom roses discarded, rejected, just like the man she’d pushed away. Saylor felt like screaming. She clenched her teeth while the defeat sank its teeth in. She wanted to kick the roses from the step.
She’d done it. She’d become that mom. That person. The person she’d come here to hide from. Her mom was begging her to forgive her brother. The truth was, so was her heart.
Cole had come to apologize, to make things up with her. And what did she do? She blew him off completely, neglected his beautiful flowers, which were now discarded, just like any hope she’d had in a relationship with him.
“Mommy,” Parker said, patting her on the back. “Mommy, I’m cold.”
She hugged him close. “I know, bud. Sorry, I know.”
Too late, she took in the empty driveway and the lack of a vehicle sitting there. She cringed. Her car. It was still stuck in the Canyon Ridge Crest parking lot.
“Can nothing go right?” she grumbled, lowering Parker to the step so he could stand while she helped him into his coat. Against her will, tears began to fall. She found Parker staring at her with sad eyes as she did up his zipper.
He reached up a small hand and wiped her cheek. “What’s wrong with Uncle Greg, Mommy?”
She pursed her trembling lips. “I can’t talk about it right now, sweetie.”
“Are you okay? Why are you sad?”
She forced a smile. “Sometimes even moms get sad. I’ll be okay.”
Saylor was tempted to shuffle through the snow, to tromp straight through the pristine clumps of the white stuff filling her parents’ yard and all the way across town if she had to. It was a long way to go, though. She clenched her jaw. There was nothing for it. She’d have to ask to borrow her mom’s car.
She did her best to ignore Greg as she traipsed back inside with Parker in tow and asked for her mom’s keys. Wordlessly, her mom dug through her purse and placed them in Saylor’s hand, but she didn’t have to speak for Saylor to know how disappointed she was. Her expressive gaze said enough.
“Bye, Gramma,” Parker said, doing his best to look back and wave while Saylor tugged him toward the garage.
“Why are we taking Gramma’s car?” he asked once the noise of the garage door opening quieted. The washed out morning seemed so white compared to the blues and grays of the garage.
“Never mind that, bud. Let’s get you buckled.”
Parker kicked his small legs as she helped him find the seat belt. She rumpled his hair and kissed his forehead. “What do you say we go have some hot cocoa?”
He didn’t answer with his usual enthusiasm. Saylor closed the door and paused at the garage’s gaping mouth. Hands in her pockets, she let the cold streak in her nostrils and clear her head. She couldn’t forgive Greg. Not right now.
Maybe Cole would want nothing to do with her after this, either, though the least she could do was talk to him. Let him know the reason for her rudeness. She had to explain things. To let him know the truth, as hard as that would be.
In a snap, she hurried into her mom’s car.
“Parks,” she said, peeking at him through the rear view mirror. “I changed my mind. I have somewhere else I’d like to go.”
Chapter Nineteen
Cole closed the door behind him and made for his pickup without a second thought.
Jack and Norah were right as usual. Communication was always best, especially before things unraveled any worse than they already had.
His options were laid before him. He could head back over to Saylor’s parents’. If she wasn’t there, then her house. He could tell her exactly how he was feeling and ask her to do the same. Or he could take the obvious hint she’d given and keep his distance.
That might be the better option, he told himself. It might be better to avoid more drama before he fell for her any deeper than he already had.
That was just it, though. Could he leave things with her be? Walk away?
A thin layer of snow had collected on the windshield, hood, and roof of his pickup in the brief time he’d been in the Prescott’s. Conflict loaded on him in a similar manner as he ignited the remote start, which would kick the heater into gear before he got in. The sleek gray pickup chugged to life.
Cole delved into the driver’s door and reached for his scraper when a bright blue Honda pulled into the lot directly behind him, blocking his path. He didn’t recognize the make of the vehicle, but the sight of its driver ignited his pulse like a flare.
Saylor sat behind the wheel. She gave him a tiny wave as she slowed to a stop. Cole wondered if it was her mom or dad’s car, since hers was currently stranded in a parking lot.
Her car idled, emitting exhaust behind it like smoke from a chimney, and she popped out of the door. The strangest expression was on her face. It was regret and sorrow mixed with hope, and the sight of it clenched a fist behind his sternum.
Cole lowered the scraper, deciding to let her speak first.
“Hi,” she said, chewing her lip.
“Hi.”
She peered into her back window, making Cole aware of the tiny face watching them from within. Giving her son a small wave, she trotted closer. Only a few steps.
“I came because I owe you an apology. The flowers were lovely. I just—I had a freak out moment when my brother came down the stairs.”
It’d been her brother. Why should that make her freak out?
Cole crossed the remaining steps to meet her. Closer up, he caught sight of
