Chapter Six #2
“Yes,” she moaned softly. “Do we have to talk? Can’t you just let your fingers work their magic?”
His soft chuckle caused her eyes to flutter open. “Did I just say something I shouldn’t have again?”
“Again?” he prompted.
“I do that, you know.”
His hands kneaded her shoulders, his thumbs finding the spot between her shoulder blades. “Yes, that’s one thing I’ve noticed
these last weeks.”
It seemed important that she gather her resolve. Slowly she straightened, yearning for his touch, yet actively breaking contact.
“I . . . It feels fine now. Thanks.”
Cole moved around the chair and sat on the edge of the living room sofa. “You’d better explain what you know.”
Lesley folded her hands together in her lap, as if laced fingers would lend her the strength to speak freely. “I found your name at the library today.” He shrugged as if her knowing that didn’t trouble him. “You’re an important man, Cole Engstrom.”
“But stupid.” His eyes hardened and he seemed to look straight through her.
“Stupid?” she repeated.
Cole leaned forward and joined his hands. “Incredibly so.”
“Is that why you’re hiding?” Why couldn’t he just come right out and explain? Was she going to have to pry every bit of information
out of him?
That hard, chiseled look came over his face again, and he stared at her stonily.
“Cole?” she prompted.
Lightly he shook himself. “It’s not what you think.”
“There is no recall?”
A poor replica of a smile briefly touched his troubled features. “Honey, if you had any idea how carefully each car, each
model, is investigated before ever hitting a showroom floor you wouldn’t even suggest it. D.E. is proud of its record, and
with good reason.”
“But . . .”
“Lesley.” He said her name in a sober breath. “Will you go out to dinner with me tonight?”
Lesley opened and closed her mouth, then nodded eagerly. “Is it safe for you to be seen?”
That intense look came over him. “Safe enough, but if I stay in that apartment another minute I’ll go mad.” He smiled then,
one of those rare, earth-shattering, wonderful smiles that would disarm even the most hardhearted. “But then, the reason for
my insanity could be attributed to my lovely neighbor.”
“That’s unfair, I’ve been more than—” Lesley stopped. How easily she fell prey to this man’s games!
His eyes glinted with mischief as Lesley gave him a bemused smile.
“You like doing that, don’t you?” she accused, feigning anger.
“It’s easy to get a reaction out of you.”
The words had a strange effect on her. Her reaction, as he called it, had a lot to do with her feelings for him.
“You ready?” Cole stood and extended a hand to her.
Lesley glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s barely three.”
“I know. I wanted to avoid the dinner crowd.”
“You’ll give me some answers?”
Cole met her narrowed gaze and nodded thoughtfully. “If you insist.”
“I do,” she said more forcefully than she meant to. Why did it seem that after every meeting she was left with more questions
than when she started? But not this time, she vowed.
They drove to Post Falls, a small community to the west of Coeur d’Alene, and ate at a restaurant that overlooked the Spokane
River.
“Tell me about Coeur d’Alene?” Cole asked after the waitress had taken their order. Apparently Cole was hungry, since he asked
for the largest steak in the house. Lesley’s own appetite was more modest, and she ordered salmon.
“Well,” she said with a smile, “it’s the largest city in the northern panhandle of Idaho and the county seat of Kootenai County.”
“Kootenai County?”
“Yes. Try saying that three times without a breath.” Her hand slipped around the chilled water glass. Lesley loved Idaho.
She felt as if she’d been born and raised in some of the most beautiful country on God’s earth.
“I love the lake,” she continued softly.
“It’s been said that Coeur d’Alene Lake is one of the ten most beautiful lakes in the world.
It has a hundred miles of forested shoreline with nature trails and scenic walks.
This is God’s country, Cole Daniels.” She stopped, her eyes narrowing with frustration, when she realized what she’d said.
“Engstrom,” Cole corrected.
“Yes,” she mumbled and lowered her eyes to the white tablecloth. “I keep forgetting.” He’d done it again. She had come expecting
him to explain some of the things that had been happening, and he had quickly manipulated her into doing all the talking.
Cole chuckled, apparently noticing that she was on to his game. “I wish you could see your eyes. I can’t recall seeing anything
more expressive.”
“Oh no you don’t.”
“Don’t?”
“Change the subject again.” Cole was clever. She’d say that for him. “Cole, don’t do this to me, please.” The last words were
issued in a soft pleading tone that spoke of weeks of uncertainty.
“Can you trust me just a little while longer? Within the week everything will be out in the open,” Cole said tightly.
“I think it’s a matter of faith, all right, but of your trusting me.”
“I got into this mess because I depended on someone else.” The hard, masculine line of his mouth narrowed. “I won’t be taken
in so easily again.”
“I’m not trying to take you in.” Nervously her tongue moistened her lower lip. What kind of person did Cole think she was?
“Do you think I’ll run to the press? Is that it?”
“You could.” The cynicism, the bitterness from whatever was happening to him vibrated in his words.
Hurt rippled through her. The pain of its aftermath brought stinging tears to the back of her eyes.
With a determined effort, Lesley was able to forestall their flow.
“I don’t suppose you realize that the mining district just east of the city is still one of the largest lead-, zinc- and silver-producing areas in the world.
Also, the Powder House Museum that was part of the original Fort Sherman is located at North Idaho College.
” She continued to ramble until her voice cracked.
She inhaled a quivering breath and bowed her head.
“Lesley.” Her name came on a low, pleading breath.
“It’s all right,” she said shakily. “Really. I understand. If it’s trust you want, you’ve got mine. You may not have been
around long, but I know one thing—you’re not a criminal, Cole. I’ll wait because that’s what you want and seem to need from
me.”
A smile trembled from her lips when she raised her eyes to meet his. His gaze was glistening, his expression brooding and
thoughtful, but he said nothing and she didn’t either. Their meal arrived and they ate in silence.
Cole’s knife sliced across the rare T-bone steak. “Do you know much about airbags?”
The question came so casually that Lesley didn’t catch the importance.
“You mean the ones airlines hand out?”
“No,” Cole mocked her softly. “I mean the ones in cars. Those little toys I tinker around with.”
“Oh.” Lesley took a sip of her coffee. “No, I can’t say that I do.”
“It’s been estimated that air bags installed in automobiles could save up to two thousand lives every year.”
“Why don’t car makers install them, then?” Lesley hoped to appear as nonchalant as possible. She didn’t know what Cole was
telling her, but it obviously had great importance to him.
“Only Mercedes-Benz offers this safety measure as an option on their automobiles, but at the cost of eight hundred dollars,
it’s an expensive option.”
“Yes.” Lesley swallowed. “Yes, it is.”
“It would mean quite a bit to highway safety if these devices could be made and installed cheaply in American cars, wouldn’t it?”
“Two thousand lives.” She quoted his own figures back to him.
Cole laid his knife across the top of the plate and pushed his chair back. His hand rested across his stomach. “That was one
terrific steak.”
“Mine too,” Lesley echoed. Cole was kind enough not to comment that she had barely touched her meal.
He paid their tab and left a generous tip. His hand possessively cupped her elbow as he led the way out of the restaurant
and into his car. He held the car door open for her, and his eyes rested on the dashboard momentarily, then flickered to her
in an apologetic smile.
“I’ve only figured out the driver’s side.” He spoke absently. He closed her door and, puzzled, Lesley watched as he stared
into space for a moment. The skies were obliterated. There wasn’t a star in the heavens. Even the moon was invisible, tucked
behind a thick layer of clouds. Still, she glanced upward, wondering what Cole found so fascinating.
He climbed into his side of the car and started the engine. Placing his hand along the back of the seat, he looked behind
him, prepared to back out of the parking space. As he turned his head, their eyes met and held for a breathless second.
“You’re an incredibly beautiful woman, Lesley Brown.”
Lesley’s gaze darted downward. Was this one of his lines meant to disarm her? If so, he had succeeded beyond even her expectations.
“Thank you,” she mumbled.
A finger lightly traced her chin and, following the delicate line of her face, traveled over her ear and down the side of
her neck. The long, male finger entwined with the dark curls at the base of her neck. The gentle pressure brought her mouth
within inches of his.
He bent forward and brushed his lips against the sensitive skin at the hollow of her neck. Lesley turned her head, thrilling to the delicious shivers that skidded over her skin.
His warm breath fanned her face. “Just a little while longer, I promise, Lesley,” he murmured deeply. The searing kiss that
followed his words stole her breath away as it sealed his promise.
One band continued to keep her close to his side as he leisurely made the return trip to the duplex. Lesley directed him down
country roads and teasingly pointed out local landmarks.
When Cole pulled into the driveway, Lesley felt an eerie sensation run over her.
“Cole,” she said and was shocked at the sound of her own voice. It was weak and uneven, yet brittle. “Something’s wrong.”
He was instantly alert, his cat eyes taking in the area with one sweeping glare. “Someone’s broken into my apartment,” he
announced and pushed open his car door.