Cole (Voodoo Guardians #41)

CHAPTER ONE

“Cole, what happened?” asked his father.

Ham McDonald wasn’t just an average man. He was a former SEAL and part of one of the most prestigious security companies in the world. To top it off, his grandfather was a SEAL, and so were all of his uncles.

If that weren’t bad enough, Cole’s mother was a fierce woman who made her presence and opinions known. Secretly, she was the one he worried about disappointing.

“I don’t know,” muttered Cole, staring at his shoes.

“Son, you know what happened. You were there. I’m not angry, Cole. I just want to know why you broke that kids nose.”

“You promise you’re not mad?” he asked wiping his tears.

“I’m not mad.” Ham was trying to remember all the reasons he wouldn’t be mad at his son for breaking another boy’s nose. But his philosophy about hitting other kids was that it was never okay.

“He said something nasty about Ambry and Bailey,” said Cole with a shy blush.

“Something nasty?” repeated his father. “Is this boy in your class?”

“No. He’s not even at our school. He’s in eighth grade.” Ham stared at his son, then looked back at the other men who had come with him to sort things out.

They’d received a call that Cole was being questioned by local authorities because a boy claimed he’d broken his nose. They were in front of the General Store where the incident had occurred. Ham looked up at the sheriff who cursed under his breath.

“How old is your boy, Ham?” asked the man.

“He’s only ten,” said Ham. “If this boy is in eighth grade, he has to be thirteen at least. What did he say about your sisters, Cole?”

“I can’t use those words,” he sniffed. Angel was staring down at his great-grandson, noticing that his right hand was tucked between his knees.

“Cole? Is your hand hurt?” he asked kneeling beside him.

“Yes, sir. I didn’t tuck my hand right and I think I broke my fingers. Mom’s gonna be so mad at me.” The men could only smirk in his direction, realizing he was probably right. Sadie would lecture him later on how to prepare for a fist fight.

“Let me see,” smiled Angel. He looked up at Doc and the two of them frowned seeing the swollen, broken fingers.

“Cole, in order for the sheriff to address this appropriately, we have to know what he said about your sisters. You won’t get in trouble for it, we promise. Who was this boy?”

“Arnie Moore. He’s always bothering Ambry and Bailey and usually when I show up he leaves but he didn’t this time. He said…” Cole stared at all the men around him, the anticipation on their faces evident. “He said ‘I bet your sisters pussy smells like dead fish.’ So I punched him in the nose.”

“Well, that’s a statement worthy of punching someone,” said Ham frowning at the sheriff.

“You’re not mad?” asked Cole.

“No, Cole. I’m not mad. If he’s bothered the girls before and you warned him-“

“I did Dad, I swear. I warned him every time.”

“Okay. If you warned him, then I’d say this was a fair fight, especially considering that you’re at least three years younger than he is. It was inappropriate of him to say something like that.”

“I’ll handle this with the Moore family, Ham,” said the sheriff. “That boy has been in trouble before, usually picking fights with younger kids that are afraid of him. He obviously didn’t realize that y’all raise your children differently.”

“Cole said he doesn’t even attend our schools,” said Doc.

“Nope. He attends the public school down the road but he takes a bus right out on River Road. Usually the kids stay in their groups but he’s just a troublemaker.”

“Are his folks a problem?” asked Ham.

“Oddly enough, no. His father works long hours on the rigs, his mother works at a little dress shop. Nice folks with two other kids that are terrific. I think this is just the one that got away.”

“Thanks for your help,” said Ham. The sheriff nodded, walking away from them. “How’s the hand?”

“It’s definitely broken, Ham. We need to get x-rays and we’ll cast it for him,” said Doc. The Couvillion brothers stepped out of the General Store, looking at Cole. Both were in their late teens, distant cousins of the Robicheauxs.

“He okay?” he asked.

“He is, thank you for calling us.”

“Of course. I hated to see the poor guy hurtin’ so bad. Nice swing by the way,” he said winking at Cole. Cole smirked at him, then looked humbly at his father.

“Sorry, Dad.”

“Don’t be. You protected your sisters and that’s what we always ask you to do. What that boy said was vile and no gentlemen should ever use those words with a lady, and especially with a little girl.”

“I don’t know why he pushed me like he did,” said Cole. “He’s older but I’m much bigger than he is.”

“You’re bigger than an eighth grader?” asked Doc.

“Yes, sir. I think something is wrong with him. He’s awful small,” said Cole. A few moments later the sheriff walked over with the boy and his parents who’d been sitting in their truck.

“My son has something to say,” said Mr. Moore.

“Sorry I said that,” he said looking down. Mr. Moore lifted his son’s chin and stared at him.

“That’s not how we apologize. Look at Cole and apologize for what you said about his sisters.”

“I’m sorry Cole. I didn’t mean it.” Cole just nodded but the boy’s parents were distressed.

“We didn’t raise him like this. He’s been rebellious lately and we’re not sure why.”

“Your son is a bit smaller than most boys his age,” said Doc. “Maybe that’s bothering him.”

“See! He sees how little I am!” exclaimed the boy.

“We know he’s small,” said Mrs. Moore. “Our pediatrician said he just needs more protein. I don’t know how I can get him more protein when he hardly eats.”

“Good news for you,” said Doc looking at the boy, “we run a clinic up the road. Happy to do some tests and see what we can find.”

“I have insurance,” said Mr. Moore.

“We’ll file the insurance, no problem,” said Doc. “Sometimes there are strange things hiding that people miss. Are your other children of normal size?”

“Yes, sir. A boy who is seventeen, six-feet tall already. Our daughter is twenty and normal in every way.”

“Meet me at this address tomorrow,” said Doc handing them the address. “We’ll do some tests and see if we can’t help you out.”

When the Moore’s left, the team took Cole back to the clinic to x-ray and set his hand, then put a cast on him.

“It’s kinda cool,” he smirked. “Can you sign it, Doc?”

“Sure,” he laughed.

In fact, all the men signed it, and the girls thought it was cool too, signing their names. When his mother walked toward him, he figured he was going to be in for it. Instead, she knelt down and signed the cast.

“You know, Cole, my brothers protected me my whole life. They never let anyone touch me, sit by me, or say anything about me. It wasn’t until I met your dad that they finally backed off a bit.

I love, no that’s not right, I adore the fact that you protected your sisters.

I’m not in favor of breaking noses but sometimes you have to let a guy know your boundaries. ”

“You’re not mad at me?” he asked filled with hope.

“No, honey. I’m proud of you and so are your sisters. They told me the whole story and how Arnie says things like that a lot.”

“It was… weird,” said Cole. “What he said made me uncomfortable.”

“I’m proud of you for admitting that,” said Ham. “We’ll talk about what he said later, okay?”

“Okay.”

It was a few days later that Doc came to speak with Cole about Arnie and all the tests they’d run on him. With him, was Arnie and his parents.

“Hi,” said Cole holding his arm against his stomach.

“Cool cast,” said Arnie.

“You wanna sign it?” asked Cole. The boy nodded, signing his name and a big ‘I’m sorry’ next to it.

“Are you okay?” asked Cole.

“He will be,” smiled his mother. “All because he taunted a very brave, very smart boy.”

“I don’t get it,” said Cole looking up at Doc with a confused expression.

“Arnie has some very serious deficiencies involving his hormones and thyroid. It’s causing him to be small for his age. We’re going to get him on some medications that will help, and hopefully he’ll catch up with other boys.”

“Are you gonna come back and hit me in the nose?” asked Cole looking at him sideways. Arnie actually laughed, causing his parents to smile for the first time in a long while.

“No. I promise I won’t Cole. I came to say I was sorry, again. Are-are your sisters around? I need to apologize to them too.”

After apologizing to all the McDonald children, Arnie and his parents left. They moved away two years later but Arnie was already nearing the normal height and weight for a boy his age. Whenever he saw the McDonald sisters, he was sure to wave and tried to make them feel safe and watched over.

“Cole! Hey, Cole!” yelled Ambry. “I was wanting to tell you something. Do you remember Arnie Moore?”

“Definitely,” he grinned. “My hand still aches when it rains.”

“Sherri Forrest said that her older brother is friends with Arnie’s older brother. They went to college together and Arnie just got accepted to law school.”

“That’s pretty cool,” smirked Cole.

“What about you?” asked Bailey. “Are you going to college?”

“No. We’ve talked about this, Bailey. I’m meant to be a SEAL.”

“Just because dad, and grandpa, and great-grandpa and all our uncles were SEALs, doesn’t mean you have to be one,” she said staring at him.

He hugged his sister, tugging her ponytail. In spite of being seventeen, Cole was five inches taller than his triplet sisters. They were all tall, lean, blonde-hair and blue eyes. They were beautiful children.

“I love you, Bailey. I love you both but I have to do this.”

“I understand,” said Ambry. “I’m going to nursing school and then I’m going to consider medical school.” Ambry wasn’t going to tell them her entire plan, just the bare necessities.

“What about you, Bailey?” he asked his sister.

“I’m-I’m not sure yet. Please don’t do this, Cole. I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Bailey, you’ve had a bad feeling about everything since the day you were born,” laughed Cole. “I swear, you got both of our issues with indigestion, heartburn, worry, and bad feelings.”

“It’s not funny, Cole!” she said stomping her foot. Ambry looked at Cole who looked back at Bailey.

“I’m sorry,” he said calmly. “I didn’t mean to make fun of you. But you worry too much. I’ll be fine. I’ve been trained by the best.” He hugged both of his sisters and walked toward a few of his friends from Belle Fleur, anxious to start their careers together.

“He’ll be fine, Bailey,” said Ambry. She kissed her sister and walked into the cafeteria for dinner. But Bailey stood where she was, staring at her triplet, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.