Chapter 10
Three weeks later, Cole looked at himself in the mirror after his nightly shower, and talked to himself.
“You can do this,” he repeated several times as he looked at his shirt and jeans.
“I can do this,” he said with finality, and turned to walk out of his room.
Down stairs, he ignored the looks from Clem and Ducky as he grabbed his good cowboy hat and headed out the back door.
Thirty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway that led to Lois’ trailer and after shutting his truck off, he sat there for several minutes getting his nerves under control before he got out.
He winced when he realized he’d slammed his fist against her door instead of knocking like a normal human being. He turned to look out and braced himself to be yelled at when the door was opened.
“Cole? Is everything okay?” Lois asked in concern as she spotted him on her doorstep.
“Yes, sorry for slamming my fist on your door. My nerves got the better of me.”
“Come in, and tell me why you’re nervous to be around me.”
They went inside and before she could reach the kitchen, she turned to him with a worried expression. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Not right now,” Cole said, and she saw that when he removed his hat, his hand was shaking.
Instead of going into the kitchen, she led him into the living room and pointed to one of the chairs there.
“Sit,” she said in a tone that brooked no arguments.
She didn’t take her own seat, or talk until he had settled in.
Only then did she sit on the edge of the couch closest to him.
“Now, please tell me why you are so nervous.”
Cole studied the hat in his hand for several long moments before he looked up and Lois sucked in her breath at the anguish she saw there. “What is it?”
“Nothing bad, at least I don’t think it is. It’s just the nature of what I want to talk to you about that is getting me all twisted inside.”
Lois reached out and laid her hand gently on his and smiled when he gripped it like it was a life line. “Talk to me.”
Cole drew in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and held the breath for the beat of fifteen, she counted. Then he let it out in a whoosh, opened his eyes, and talked. “Remember when I told you I was in that foster home and they made me stay home and take care of their grandfather?”
“Yes, he’s the one that homeschooled you. He told you about the rodeo, and I’m assuming his life. While the family galivanted around and spent his money, they neglected you and forced you to take care of him.”
“Correct. Well, this might sound crazy, but my last birthday I ever celebrated with anyone, or even acknowledged that it was my birthday, was my sixteenth that I celebrated with Thomas. It was shortly before his dementia worsened.” He paused, drew in another deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly.
He looked her directly in the eyes as he spoke.
“Next Saturday is my birthday. I will be sixty-nine. It would give me great joy if you would agree to be my date. I would like to go into Colorado Springs to a steakhouse restaurant they have there.” He stopped suddenly and looked at her with wide eyes.
Lois loved his expression, and as much as she wanted to tease him, she saw how much this meant to him, so she didn’t beat around the bush.
“It would be my pleasure to go to dinner with you.” She smiled when he let out a whoosh of breath and his entire body relaxed. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how tense he had been while he waited for her answer.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, what time did you want to go?”
“Since it’s an hour-long drive, I thought I’d pick you up around six, and we can be there between seven and seven-thirty. I already called and they said we wouldn’t need a reservation.”
“Really? I would think that a steakhouse on a Saturday night might be busy.”
“I said the same thing, and I was told that with this time of year, ranchers are more prone to stay home after working on the range all day, putting up hay, and harvesting their crops. They told me if it had been further in the fall or winter, then I would need a reservation.”
“Ah, that would mean the ranchers were done with the outside work for the year, and would go out like regular people would.”
“Correct, I know that’s true in my own life. I don’t work the fields, but I manage the horses and what’s going on with them.” He smiled for the first time since he arrived and set his hat on the table beside him. “I hate to ask, but do you have any water?”
“Sure, would you like that, or I have iced tea or lemonade.”
“I’ll take the iced tea if you don’t mind.” He started to stand, but she told him to settle back in the seat. When she brought them both a class of the cold liquid, he pointed to the TV. “I’ll drink this and get out of your hair.”
“You don’t have to,” Lois said as she settled onto the couch. “I was just watching a movie, you’re more than welcome to join me.”
Cole said he’d like that, and she handed him the remote and told him she’d be right back, but told him to rewind the show.
When she returned, she held a bowl of popcorn, and before she could settle into her spot, Cole hopped over there and settled in, then had her snuggle up to him so they could both reach the popcorn.
Hours later, she walked him to the back door, and sighed when he bent down and gave her a kiss on the side of the mouth.
Lois turned her head at the last minute, and their lips met.
Minutes later, he lifted his head, smiled down at her, and told her he would see her on Saturday.
She stood in the doorway and watched until his truck left her driveway.
When she went to bed that night, she had a smile on her face.
The next day, instead of calling, Lois decided to drive over to The Broken Wheel to see Naomi in person. She hadn’t been there enough to know where she was going, and was grateful when she spotted her granddaughter.
“Nana, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Lorissa asked in concern.
“Everything’s fine, Lor. I’m just here to talk with Naomi.” She saw the other woman’s expression and shook her head. “Later.”
“Okay,” Lorissa laughed and walked her down a hallway. She knocked on the doorjamb and spoke, “Naomi, my grandmother is here and would like a word with you.”
“Send her in,” Naomi looked up from her paperwork and studied the two women. When Lois entered, Lorissa walked away. “You look like you have something to say. You can close the door if you wish.”
Lois closed the door, and took the seat offered. “I’m going to get right to the point.”
“Okay.”
“Did you know that Cole Mercury’s birthday is this Saturday and he’s going to be sixty-nine.”
Naomi stared at the older woman in shock, and did some quick mental calculations and frowned. “Holy crap, I’ve known Cole my entire life and for the life of me I can’t ever remember celebrating his birthday.”
“He said the last birthday he celebrated with anyone was when he turned sixteen.”
“Holy crap. Wait, how do you know his birthday is coming up?”
“Because he asked me to go out to dinner with him to celebrate. We’re going into Colorado Springs for dinner. I’m here to get your opinion on a thought I had.”
“What’s that?”
“How do you feel Cole would react if we had a get together on Sunday afternoon to celebrate his birthday. All of us. I’m not asking people to give him gifts, he seems like the type of person that wouldn’t want that.
But I thought maybe a family BBQ, you know, like you all did when Lor and I visited, and when I had everyone over when she had troubles with Tom.
I don’t know about everybody else, but I like those BBQs.
It feels like having a family reunion and we can catch up with what’s going on in each other’s lives. ”
“Yeah, I agree. I work with most of the men and women every day, but we don’t talk about our lives outside of the horses, and the clients we’re working on now.
Nothing personal at work, but the BBQs are different.
” She smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, I like the idea of having the get together. Where do you want to do it?”
“That’s why I’m here. First, to see if you thought it would be a good idea, and two, where. We could have it over at the big cabins, or over at my place, or at Ducky’s, since that’s where Cole lives. Oh, and do you know what type of cake Cole likes? I can get a cake big enough for everyone.”
“No cake,” Naomi held her hands out, like she was warding her off.
“I do remember that one day, I think it was my seventh or eighth birthday, everyone was eating cake except for Cole. When I asked him why, he said he didn’t like cake, he didn’t eat a lot of sweets, but when he did, his favorite was apple pie.
” She cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes.
“Yes, I’ve only ever seen him eat apple pie. ”
“That’s good to know.” Lois nodded and began wondering if she had any apples at home. She knew a trip to town was in her future. “So, I can make him a pie, but in order for everyone to have a slice, I would have to make at least five or six of them.”
“I can help with that,” Naomi volunteered. “Clark asked me just this morning if we could make a cherry pie soon. I told him I had to go grocery shopping for the cherries first.” She laughed with Lois.
“I have an idea,” Lois said excitedly. “I have to go to town to get apples, why don’t I pick up what you need.”
“That would be wonderful, but I overheard several others say this morning that they needed to find the time to get to the store. I love the idea of the community pantry, but it’s going to be at least a year before it’s up and running and someone will still have to get groceries.
Not only for everyday living, but also to stock up.
” She sighed heavily, and Lois made a quick decision as she looked at her watch, noting that it wasn’t even eight o’clock in the morning.