Chapter Eight #3
Cole took her by the hand and led her into the long hall before pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly.
Lesley looked up at him through thick lashes, her eyes warm with the effect of his touch. “Why are you kissing me here?” She
glanced behind him into the narrow hallway.
Cole held her roughly against him, his chin rubbing back and forth across the crown of her head. “No windows,” he muttered.
“Windows?” The word didn’t make sense until she realized that they would have made an easy target standing as they were. Closing her eyes, Lesley accepted the comfort and warmth of Cole’s enveloping embrace. “Have you missed me?”
“Like crazy,” he whispered thickly.
“Want me to sing a few bars for you?”
“Nope.” His breath felt warm against her ear as he took a small nibbling bite.
“The . . . The last time I was in your apartment you were saying something about not bothering to get new furniture because . . .
Because you’ll be leaving soon.”
“Is that what upset you?” He grew still, but his hold didn’t relax.
“Yes,” she admitted honestly. How could he say how desperately he missed her one minute and speak of leaving her the next?
“Would you feel any better if I explained that I have no intention of leaving Coeur d’Alene without you?”
Lesley felt as if her heart were about to explode. “You don’t?”
“I had no intention of falling in love when I moved here. Love was the last thing on my mind.”
“You love me, honestly love me?” Lesley cried, spreading eager kisses over his face and neck.
A hand at both sides of her face stopped her long enough for him to kiss her quiet.
“I kept telling myself it would never work, especially not now. Not at the most difficult time of my life. I couldn’t drag
you into this mess. But there you were dressed as a pillar of salt for a church social. I should have been laughing at you,
but I don’t know when I’ve seen anyone more desirable.”
“But you left me.”
“Honey, I really didn’t have much choice.”
“I know,” she murmured, teasing his lips with fleeting kisses. “I was pretty angry with you at the time.”
“Once this thing with Jennings is settled, we’ll leave Coeur d’Alene and be married.”
“Married?” Lesley gasped and tightened her hold on his waist. “Oh, Cole, I love you so much.”
“The hardest thing I’ve ever done is keep my hands off you. This is going to be a short engagement.”
“Very short,” she agreed.
“We’ll fly into Boston so you can meet my parents.”
“And then to Arizona so you can meet mine,” Lesley added.
“And be married as soon afterward as possible.”
“I’m not going to argue.”
“The money I earn from the air bag invention will be enough to set us up for a lifetime. But it might be a good idea to set
some of it aside in a trust fund for our children.”
“Children?” Lesley repeated. “You do move quickly, don’t you? I’m just getting used to the idea of being a wife and you’ve
already made me a mother.”
“We’ll build a magnificent house on a lake.”
Lesley laid her head against his chest, hardly able to take in everything he was saying. “This is getting better all the time.”
“With a soundproof room for you to sing in.”
Tipping her head back, Lesley laughed into eyes that were warm and shining with that special loving glow. For the first time
she was looking at Cole and seeing past the pain and bitterness that had haunted him all these weeks. “I should be angry at
that remark, but I’m too much in love to care.”
“I didn’t feel I had the right to ask you to share my life until I heard from Lansky, but I need you. My whole life can be
in turmoil, but as long as you’re by my side nothing else matters.”
“That’s the way I feel.”
“I love you, Lesley Brown.”
“And I love you, Daniel Cole Engstrom.”
He continued to hold her around the waist as if he couldn’t bear to release her. “Let’s sit down. There’s a lot we need to discuss.”
A small burst of happy laughter erupted from Lesley. “And I was so sure God had made a mistake when He moved you beside me.”
Cole looked down on her, his face frowning. “How’s that?”
“Terry and I’d prayed about who was going to move into the duplex. When it was you, I was sure God had made a terrible error.”
“After the first week, you’d nearly convinced me I had, too,” he joked.
“What made you choose this apartment?”
They sat together on the couch. Cole looped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her head to rest against his shoulder. “The
lake. I’d been driving for two days, not sure where I’d stop, having more or less decided to hole up in a small eastern Washington
community. But the beauty of the lake seemed to beckon me. I stopped in at a real estate office and rented the duplex sight
unseen.”
“But God sent you,” Lesley added confidently.
Cole didn’t respond for a long moment. “If you say so.”
Some of Lesley’s happiness was dampened by doubt at Cole’s tone. “You have a hard time believing as strongly as I do about
Christ, don’t you?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe. I guess I’m more agnostic than anything.”
“Do my strong feelings bother you?”
“No,” he responded in a straightforward tone. “Whatever you want is fine. The kids, too. If it’s important to you, I’ll go
to church and the whole bit, but only because I love you.”
Lesley vacillated. It was important to her—more than important: vital.
Her relationship with Jesus had priority over everything in her life, including Cole.
The thought flitted through her mind that if he agreed to come to church with her, she couldn’t really expect more.
Not for now anyway. That he was open-minded and willing was all she needed.
The phone rang, and Lesley could feel Cole tense at her side.
“It could be Terry,” Lesley murmured reassuringly.
“Or Lansky,” Cole added.
She watched his face as he picked up the receiver. “Yes.” The lone word sounded clipped and final.
A play of emotions showed in his face. He looked for a moment as if someone had kicked him in the stomach.
Automatically Lesley reached for his hand, squeezing it. She was shocked at how cold it was. She watched as Cole went completely
white, his face devoid of color as he laid down the phone.
“What is it?”
He looked at her, and she saw again the intensity with which he hated. “Lansky.” His words were barely audible. “I know why
Jennings didn’t kill me when he had the chance.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t need to. The patent had already been awarded.”
“Cole,” she pleaded, “you’re speaking in riddles. Tell me what happened.”
“Jennings was awarded the patent,” he said in a voice that was devoid of emotion. He sat and buried his face in his hands.