CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Dude, you’re never going to find anyone hunkier than that guy,” Tess said, popping the top of a beer and handing it to Holly.
Cole had stepped away to make some calls, giving Holly a brief window to talk to her friends without him glued to her side.
“Yeah. What’s it been like having him for a shadow?” Faith waggled her eyebrows.
“Pretty hilarious, actually,” Holly said. “Imagine plucking the biggest city slicker, born and raised in a concrete jungle, and dropping him into the woods. He doesn’t know the first thing about nature or wild animals—well, any animals really. You should have seen his face when I introduced him to Lucifer.”
“In Cole’s defense, Jen’s donkey is pretty scary,” Alex said.
“You should take him snipe hunting,” Faith said with a wicked grin. “But if you do, I want to be there.”
“We almost got him to leave the store and go to work with Holly in camo and a neon orange hunting vest.” Tess chuckled.
“Did he do it?” Juliet asked.
“No,” Tess said. “Another customer called us out, causing Cole to rip off his shirt. That view was a heart-stopper.”
“Yeah. That backfired on us pretty spectacularly,” Holly agreed.
“You should have a fling,” Faith said. “Your horoscope says you’ll get closer to someone you know today.”
“Why are you so hung up on this fling idea?” Holly asked. “I was engaged five minutes ago. The town would have a fit.”
“Who cares?” Alex said. “Tess is right. He’s hot.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “Hooking up with him is not on the table.”
“Speaking of your engagement,” Alex said, shifting gears. “We have to dissect what Rick said to you the other day.”
“Yeah,” Juliet said. “Too tall? What an idiot.”
“That’s not exactly how it went down,” Holly said, unsure why she was defending Rick. “Said he had feelings for someone else. I mean, thank goodness he didn’t just push through and marry me. Then where would I be?”
“True,” Tess said. “I didn’t say it before, but you can do better, Bennett.”
Holly shrugged. In the last few days, she’d given a lot of thought as to why she wasn’t more upset over Rick’s desertion. Why she felt more relief than devastation. “It’s possible I was more in love with the idea of being in love than I actually was in love,” she said.
From the way Alex nodded, Holly could tell she’d thought but never voiced the same thing. “Why didn’t you guys say anything?” Holly asked.
“You’d just gone through all the stuff with your dad,” Tess said. “And then your mom split. It was just never the right time.”
“And like we mentioned before,” Juliet added. “On paper, you should be perfect for each other.”
“But it comes down to that spark thing. Or lack of one,” Faith finished.
It was as if they’d rehearsed the whole spiel. Talked about it behind her back. Which she didn’t begrudge them. They were only looking out for her. She should have asked their opinion sooner and been more open to it. They could see stuff from the outside that her rose-colored glasses blinded her to.
“Yeah,” Holly said. “I guess you’re right. Maybe subconsciously I was trying to replace my parents with someone.”
“Well, forget Rick,” Faith said. “Let’s get back to Officer McHot Stuff.”
“He’s so big ,” Juliet said. Holly had to agree. Tall, broad, and menacing.
“Revisiting the fling thing,” Faith said. “They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”
“Faith!” Holly slapped at her arm. “I already said, that is not an option.”
“But if it were?” Tess pushed.
“Shut up,” Holly said. “Here he comes.”
“Hey,” Cole said, approaching the table. “I have some good news.”
“I thought he got away,” Holly said.
“He did. But Detective Flanigan just called. They found out he’s scheduled to be on a one o’clock flight out of Portsmouth. I think this morning was his last-ditch effort before he had to return to New York. That’s why he was so bold at the parade.”
“That’s great.” She pulled a beer out of the cooler and offered it to him.
“As soon as we verify he’s on that flight, we’ll arrange to have him arrested at the airport in New York.” He waved off the beer. “I’ll relax and have a drink when that happens. Until then, we still need to be careful.”
They had a picnic lunch, watched the pie and hot dog eating contests, then packed up and drove to the lake. They set up for a day in the sun, laying out blankets and hauling coolers down to the beach. Holly and Cole shared one blanket, her friends nearby on their own. Soon after they arrived, Cole’s phone rang.
“How could that happen?” he asked, frustration rolling off him. “Who dropped the frickin’ ball?” He paused. “Call me when he’s in custody.” He slammed down the phone.
“They didn’t get him?”
Cole shook his head. “No idea how he slipped past us. At least it’s confirmed he’s in New York.”
“When will you go home?” She kept her voice neutral, like she didn’t care at all when he left. Because she didn’t.
“Not until we have him,” he said. “They’ll get him eventually, but I’m staying until they do. I’ll take that beer now though.”
Holly dug into the cooler and produced a bottle of Yuengling. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know you hate babysitting me.”
“It’s not that. Cruz has been enjoying freedom for too long. I want justice for my partner and Adams, and I want it now.” He wiped sweat off his brow.
“Water’s nice,” she said. “If you wanna cool off.” She feigned casualness and told herself seeing him shirtless again had nothing to do with her offer.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tess press her hands together as if praying and mouthing, “Yes!” The rest of them nodded in agreement.
“Does look inviting,” he said. “Wish I’d brought my own trunks. I might as well work on my tan though.” And with that, he stripped off his shirt, put on his sunglasses, and laid back on the blanket.
Holly made sure her mouth stayed shut this time, but her team was another story. Thinking they were out of his line of sight, they gave thumbs up, made kissy faces, and waggled their eyebrows until Cole cleared his throat. “You know I can see you, right?”
Holly’s face burned red as her friends burst into peals of laughter.
An hour later, it was hot enough that Cole decided to take a dip, ginormous swim trunks be damned. He’d gone to the truck to change and returned, holding the waist bunched up in a fist.
“Not one word,” he said, pulling the waistband strings tight and making a knot.
She made a motion of zipping her lips. He should look ridiculous, but dang if he didn’t make a silly swimsuit two sizes too big look fine .
“No,” Holly said. “You’re rockin’ it.” Lady barked once in agreement.
The six of them spent the sultry afternoon alternating between swimming to cool off and laying in the sun to warm back up. Holly thought she caught Cole staring at her a few times, but figured she must be mistaken.
Tired from the heat, she was on the cusp of dozing off when a scream roused her.
“My kids! My boys!” a woman on the shore yelled, pointing to the water. “They’re out too far.”
Holly jumped up and started running. She didn’t realize Cole was right beside her until they both crashed into the water at the same time, pushing off the bottom and heading out to the boys. She was an excellent swimmer, but Cole was stronger and beat her by a few strokes. He’d already grabbed one floundering boy. The other had gone under.
“Here,” Cole yelled. “Hold him.”
Holly took the boy and crossed an arm around his chest, treading water and searching frantically for any sign of his brother.
As soon as she secured the first kid, Cole went underwater. Holly’s heart hammered, and her arms felt shaky, but she held the child tight, adrenaline pushing her past normal limits. “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” she panted, struggling to catch her breath and keep them both afloat.
It had been too long. Where was Cole? He popped up only to grab a breath before diving back under. What seemed like forever later, he broke the surface again, gasping for air and holding the second boy.
Without words, they started towing the kids toward shore. A crowd had gathered, and a few waded out to help them with the last few yards. The boy Holly held cried out to his mother and ran into her arms. The boy in Cole’s arms was motionless.
He quickly laid him out, and Holly rushed over to help. Cole started compressions while Holly did mouth-to-mouth. After a tense couple of minutes, the boy coughed and threw up a handful of lake water. Cole rolled him to his side and, when he was ready, helped him sit up.
The mom—Mrs. Kleppin—was on her knees nearby, sobbing and hugging her son.
“EMTs are on their way,” Alex said. “Good job, you two.”
Everyone stood by until the paramedics arrived and took over. Cole and Holly accepted Mrs. Kleppin’s thanks and returned to their blanket, still hyped from the scare.
They sat side by side, letting their breathing return to normal. Lady approached and licked Holly’s cheek, making her giggle.
“I’m fine, girl,” Holly said. “’Cept I can’t lift my arms. Could someone put that beer to my lips?”
Cole laughed and shoulder-checked her. “Not bad, Bennett.”
“Where’d a city boy like you learn to swim like that?”
“Vacations to the Jersey Shore. You?”
“Swim team. I also lifeguarded during the summers of high school and college.”
The excitement died down, and they ate a late picnic dinner of fried chicken, coleslaw, and biscuits. At dusk, they returned to town.
Fat patio lights lit up the plaza, and a band played country music on the little wooden stage. People were dancing and drinking and laughing. Cole’s expression said he still hadn’t gotten used to this close-knit community vibe.
“Is this a hoedown?” he asked, genuinely curious.
Holly chuckled. “I mean, I suppose you could call it that. You don’t have dances in New York?” She pronounced “New York” with a thick East Coast city accent.
“Sure we do,” he said. “They’re just all up in the club.” He pumped his hands in the air, palms up.
“You don’t seem like the party scene type.” She narrowed her eyebrows in doubt.
“Eh. You’re right. I’m more of a work and sleep kind of guy.”
“Time to let your hair down. You wanna dance? The two-step is basically a waltz. Sophisticated man like you surely knows how to waltz.” She smiled.
“As a matter of fact, Smarty Pants, I do know how to waltz,” he said, standing and holding out a hand. “At least, I did when my mom taught me at ten.”
They weren’t the smoothest of dancers, but it sure felt good to be in his arms. He held her close, and she didn’t complain when he quit trying to keep up with the steps, pulled her in tight, and just swayed.
“It’s nice to dance with someone so tall,” he said.
“Ditto,” she said. It was oddly satisfying to have to look up to him. “Looks like you got a little too much sun.”
“It’ll turn into a tan by tomorrow.” He looked over her shoulder. “Uh-oh. Incoming.”
She turned around to see Rick storming up to her. She tried to pull away from Cole, but he held tight.
“I thought this guy was supposed to be protecting you?” Rick said, flicking a hand toward Cole.
“He is,” Holly said calmly.
“Why does it look like you’re on a date then?”
Holly stared blankly until she finally realized he was serious and wanted an answer.
“What do you care, Dick?” Cole butted in to ask.
“My name is Rick ,” Rick ground out. Cole shrugged. “And one week ago, we were engaged.”
“And?” Holly said. “You’re the one who upended that. Where’s Shelby?” She’d heard it through the grapevine that was who he’d dumped her for.
“Shelby and I didn’t work out,” Rick said.
“Too bad. She’s so short.” Still in Cole’s arms, she felt the rumble of his silent laughter against her chest.
“This doesn’t look good,” Rick whispered. He’d lowered his voice after people started to stare.
“Doesn’t look good for who?” Holly asked, irritation rising. He’d left her at the altar, and now he wanted to point fingers over who was making who look bad? The nerve.
“It’s not like he actually likes you,” Rick sneered. “He’s only doing his job.” It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than anyone, but he probably wasn’t wrong, and the dig stung.
“If that’s true, what’s it to ya?” Cole jumped in, narrowing his eyes at Rick with that “cop” stare thing he did.
“What do you mean, if that’s true?”
Cole shrugged again.
“Holly.” Rick was hissing more than talking. “This is totally inappropriate.”
“You’re killin’ the mood, Dick. Back off.” Cole turned Holly away and led them farther into the crowd, leaving Rick standing with his mouth open. “That guy didn’t deserve you.”
“Holy crap, Cole. He’s still my boss!”
“That doesn’t give him the right to be an asshole.”
Over Cole’s shoulder, she watched Rick take the hint and storm off. Only to give her the evil eye from a nearby picnic table. “I’ve never seen him act like that.”
“Is he gonna stare at us all night?” Cole asked.
“Hope not,” Holly said. “I think I was unprepared for how awkward this is going to be. Working together, living in this small town where no one has any secrets. I was almost relieved when he started dating Shelby. It gave folks something to gossip about other than me.”
“Let’s give him something to really get upset about.” The mischievous glint in his eye was her only clue he was about to kiss her. Right here. On the dance floor. In front of God and everyone!
Her mind was a step behind, but her body had already jumped on board. She tightened her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The kiss didn’t last long, but a few seconds was all it took to change her world. This is what had been missing with Rick—the internal fireworks that exploded when lips met.
Cole pulled away and smiled. “That’ll make him sorry.”
Her brain was still slightly muddled from the kiss, but reality seeped in. Of course. He’d only done it to make Rick jealous. It wasn’t that he had feelings for her. Or even a physical attraction. Disappointment ran through her, but she put it aside.
“You’re not the one who has to deal with him every day.”
“True. I’m sorry. I should have asked.”
“Eh,” she said, attempting to play it off like it was nothing. Like huge, hunky, handsome men kissed her all the time.
“It got rid of him,” Cole said, nodding to the empty seat where Rick had been sitting.
The song ended, and they walked back to the table. Her four friends sat wearing matching smiles. Smiles that said, “We saw that and want details as soon as possible.”
Holly sighed. That kiss would cost her.
Mrs. Kleppin approached with a plastic-covered tray. “I just wanted to thank you again for saving my boys,” she said, passing Holly the plate. “Obviously, cookies pale in comparison to what you did, but I know you like chocolate chip.”
“Yaaas!” Holly said. She tore off the Saran Wrap, grabbed a cookie, and took a bite. Soft and gooey, just the way she liked them. “Thank you, Mrs. Kleppin. The boys checked out okay?”
“Thanks to you two.” A tear slipped down her face. “Really, I can’t think about what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”
She threw her arms around Cole, and his wide-eyed look of surprise made Holly smile. He patted her back stiffly, clearly still not acclimated to strangers showing affection.
“No problem,” he said. “Glad we could help. And thanks for the cookies. Hopefully, Holly will save me one.”
Holly smirked. “Not if you get sassy on me.”
Cole smiled, and Holly thought it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. Her heart warmed, and she prayed it was the effect of too many beers. The alternative—that she was starting to like him—was unacceptable and, therefore, out of the question to even consider.
In just one day, he’d chased off a murderer, helped her save two drowning boys, and stood up for her on the dance floor. It was only natural she’d have some feelings of gratitude and camaraderie. But she needed to proceed with caution.
Rick had done some damage, but she had a feeling Cole had the capacity—if she let him get too close—to crush her completely. Time to build a wall around her bruised and fragile heart. And that started with a commitment—No more mind-melting kisses.