Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
COLE
You seem distracted
A week later. Back in Heartfire Falls.
“Everything okay?” I asked, just as I reached for the doorknob in Adele’s apartment on my way out.
Adele glanced up from where she stood beside the kitchen counter. “Yeah. It’s fine,” she replied, her tone light, but threaded with something I couldn’t identify.
Ever since we’d returned from the trip to Katmai, I’d felt a subtle shift, as if there was something between us. Not something solid or sharp. More like a barely there smear on a window that blurred the view, but you couldn’t see the smear except from a precise angle.
I wanted to repeat my question. And yet, if I did, we’d be circling the topic, and I didn’t want to push her away by doing that. I’d already told her I was falling in love with her. No use beating that drum on repeat.
“I’ll see you tonight then,” I finally said.
Her brows lifted slightly. “Of course.”
On impulse, I released the doorknob and crossed the room to stop beside her. “One more kiss,” I whispered against her lips.
She smiled against my mouth, and I felt that smile like a balm on my heart. Our kiss was lingering, sensual, and felt hopeful, at least to me. But then, I was searching for hope. When I stepped back, I felt a little better.
Later that day, Lincoln glanced over from where he stood, eyeing the porch we were fixing on Jude and Kendall’s small home.
They were renovating an old cabin our grandparents had built decades ago.
Sturdy, but small, it had survived fire and storms and Alaska’s harsh weather, which was saying something.
“What gives?” Lincoln asked, dragging his sleeve across his forehead.
“What do you mean?” I asked, draining my water bottle and letting it dangle from my fingers.
“I don’t know. For lack of a better way to put it, you seem preoccupied, dwelling on something, and distracted.”
I let out a dry chuckle. I hesitated to clarify, but Lincoln and I were close.
I was close with all my brothers, but he’d always been the one I confided in the most. We were all so relieved he was back, even though no one dared to say that aloud.
He’d stayed away longer than the rest of us after the fire.
He was the one who’d carried Bree out. I knew he ached from it.
To this day, I wanted to remind him he was the reason we had Tommy.
Bree hadn’t made it, but Lincoln pulling her out kept her alive long enough for an emergency C-section to save Tommy’s life.
“I’m worried about Adele,” I said finally.
Lincoln tipped his head. “You two seem like you’re doing pretty good. I think?”
“I think we are. But ever since we got back from Katmai, she’s been, I don’t know, just a little off.”
“Okay, but that was kind of an event there at the end. Just give her some time.”
“I love her,” I said, dropping onto the log that Jude and Kendall used for chopping wood.
Lincoln’s brows lifted. “Yeah, we all knew that.” His tone was all easy-breezy and matter-of-fact.
Considering how I’d once never believed I’d fall in love, much less wanted to fall in love, it said something that I didn’t run for the hills at how obvious my feelings were to my brother. “But I don’t know if she feels the same way.”
“I can’t speak for Adele, obviously,” he said, his gaze sober and his dark brows furrowing slightly. “But I think she loves you.”
I took a quick breath, trying not to let anxiety start to spiral wild inside. “I think so too. She’s got, well, I guess some emotional baggage.”
“Dude, we all have baggage. Lots of it. That shit’s heavy sometimes.” His tone was dry, but his gaze was serious.
I let out a long sigh and rubbed a palm along my stubbled jawline. “I know.”
“You’ve got your own baggage,” he pointed out.
“I know I do.”
“Just talk to her.”
“Easier said than done,” I replied.
“Of course. Always. But there’s only one way through this.”
“I know.”
“Or, you could just leave it alone and give her time and stew in it and keep asking me—who doesn’t know and who’s never had a serious relationship—about it.”
My shoulders shook with laughter. After a beat, I leveled my gaze with his again. “Okay.”
“You could ask someone who actually has a clue—maybe Haven or Jude,” Lincoln said lightly.
“I know. They’re so damn happy though. I don’t want to be a downer.”
“Hey man, they are happy, but life also isn’t perfect. There is no perfect.”
“Come on. Give me a little glimmer of hope here.” I held my thumb and forefinger close together. “Maybe just that much?”
My brother’s smile was warm. His eyes, for a moment, looked older. Not in a tired way, just in a way that reminded me he had seen more than his share. We all had.
“Just give it some time,” he said. “Or try to talk to her. That’s all I’ve got for you.”