Chapter 2
Lauren
“O h, wow!” I said aloud as I finished my journey down Cole’s very long driveway and parked my small SUV in front of his home.
The house wasn’t visible from the road, and I’d only seen the progress on the new build a few times from Millie’s property line.
I’d never actually seen the finished product.
At one time, Millie’s property had been combined with the properties that now belonged to Cole and Asher.
When Cole’s grandfather had died, the property had been split between Millie’s husband and his brother.
Yes, Cole and Asher had divided their father’s property again, but they both still had a massive amount of prime ranch land.
Everything was new here now.
The home that Cole had grown up in had been demolished and taken away.
In its place was a spectacular mansion and a sprawling barn with horse facilities.
Millie’s three billionaire sons Kaleb, Tanner, and Devon had incredible homes, and Cole’s was just as impressive.
He’d used warm earth tones on the structure, which made it seem more homey than ostentatious, even though the place was massive.
“It’s really…beautiful,” I mumbled softly as I turned off my vehicle and reached for the tote bag I was tasked with delivering.
I wasn’t quite sure what I’d been expecting.
Maybe because Cole was so obnoxious, I’d expected a house that reflected his personality.
This one…didn’t.
It was incredibly warm and inviting despite its massive size.
Okay, maybe saying Cole was obnoxious was too strong of a word.
To be honest, Cole and I had met exactly once when I was a kid, and we’d only seen each other a few times since he’d moved back to Crystal Fork.
I didn’t really know him.
Our recent meetings had been at events that Millie had invited her nephews to attend.
Cole and Asher were always invited to family gatherings and events.
Asher never showed.
Cole made an appearance occasionally, probably only when he thought it would be incredibly rude to Millie not to show up.
So yeah, I probably didn’t know Cole well enough to judge him.
But our few meetings had just been so…awkward.
Truthfully, I wasn’t entirely certain that the edginess I felt around Cole was completely due to his abrasive personality.
I had a PhD in economics, and I was a market analyst. I’d dealt with plenty of rude, rich men in my career. I didn’t cringe or flinch away from abrupt or cutting comments. I let them roll off my back because I was in the business world.
Although I hated to admit it, my uneasiness around Cole was probably more about my physical reaction to him than his personality.
Cole was ridiculously attractive.
Yeah, he bore a resemblance to his gorgeous cousins with his dark-brown hair, chiseled jawline, and impressive build. But there was something about Cole that made me react far more differently to him than I did to his cousins.
I wasn’t the kind of woman who adored every guy who radiated bad boy vibes, but there was something mysterious about Cole that made my female hormones stand up and pay attention.
His hazel eyes always looked at me like he could read me with a glance, and that was pretty damn uncomfortable for me.
Yet it also intrigued me.
It made me want to know the man underneath Cole’s seemingly ambivalent and distant guise.
No! No! No! Not happening!
I’d had this argument with myself before, and my common sense always won out.
Maybe there was part of me that found Cole Remington beguiling and fascinating, but the man had trouble written all over him.
He was abrupt and rude.
There was probably absolutely nothing beneath his surly facade.
Cole might be a little over six feet of hard muscle and hotness, but he’d acted like a jerk the few times we’d met.
The best way to handle a guy like Cole was to steer clear of him.
If a guy acted like a jerk, he was a jerk.
Period!
End of story!
Exclamation point!
I took a deep breath and finally opened my car door.
I was here simply to do Millie a favor.
I’d just drop off the bag and get the hell out of here.
I had laundry to do at home and my favorite true crime show to watch later.
I left my gloves and my hat in my vehicle since I was only going to dash to Cole’s door.
It was starting to snow, so I moved swiftly up the steps of his front porch.
I rang the doorbell and waited.
And waited…
And waited…
I rang the bell one more time and debated whether or not I should just leave the bag in front of his door.
I really didn’t want to do that.
Millie had sent everything Cole could possibly need if he was really ill.
If I didn’t give the bag to him personally, he might never know that I’d dropped it off.
I have to figure out a way to make sure he gets this stuff that Millie sent.
The daylight was starting to fade, and there was absolutely no light coming from inside the house.
Certainly he hadn’t left the house if he was sick, right?
My concern growing, I tried the door handle.
My heart stuttered when the heavy door gave way to the pressure of my hand and swung open.
A lot of people in Crystal Fork left their doors unlocked, but it surprised me that a man as guarded as Cole had left himself vulnerable in any way.
I took a small step inside.
Now what?
I couldn’t just barge into his house uninvited.
“Cole?” I called out in the totally silent, dark house.
I heard absolutely nothing for several seconds until…
Is that a cough?
I put the bag on the floor and closed the door as the raw, masculine cough sounded again.
Any hesitance I’d had about entering his home had faded away.
His cough sounded horrible, and I couldn’t possibly leave until I knew that he was okay.
I flipped on some lights so I could see where I was going.
“Cole?” I called out again as I simply followed the sound of his hacking cough.
I passed what looked like a home office and went into a gigantic kitchen.
I went by several more rooms before I entered a hallway where the sound of that painful coughing got even louder.
Okay, he doesn’t sound good at all, and why is he not answering me?
I kept calling his name until I got to the entrance of the master bedroom. He still hadn’t uttered a single word to let me know that he heard me.
There was a muted light on in the master bathroom, and I could see Cole sprawled across the king-sized bed.
His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be asleep.
Worried, I clicked on a small lamp next to the bed.
I knew I shouldn’t be here invading his privacy, but I could hardly just leave if he was really sick.
One look at Cole’s face in a brighter light told me that he was indeed sick, and that he looked absolutely terrible.
Empathy immediately overrode a sense of guilt that I had about being in his house without him knowing.
He was pale.
He had dark circles under his eyes.
And he was shivering underneath the heavy comforter.
My heart clenched as I put my palm on his face.
“He’s burning up,” I said aloud, my concern ramping up even higher.
Had he taken anything for his fever before he’d fallen asleep?
He probably hadn’t because it felt like his fever was sky-high, and his entire body was shaking.
I suddenly squeaked as a strong hand wrapped around my wrist so fast, I hadn’t even seen it coming.
Cole’s eyes flew open, and he rasped, “What in the fuck are you doing here?”
His hazel eyes were wild, and I instantly realized that he wasn’t completely aware of what was happening.
“Millie sent me with a care package. She was worried,” I said softly. “Let me go. You need something for your fever.”
“Leave,” he snarled.
I might have been a little intimidated if he hadn’t suddenly broken into a coughing fit that made him release my wrist.
The man was as weak as a kitten at the moment.
There was absolutely nothing he could do to me.
I shook my head. “Not happening, big guy. I’m not leaving until your fever is down. You look and sound terrible. I’ll be right back.”
I hurried into the kitchen after I’d collected Millie’s bag.
At the moment, Cole was in desperate need of the cough syrup, the fever reducer, and some hydration.
Time would take care of the rest.
The first few days of the flu could be brutal.
He needed consistent hydration and the medicines as often as he could take them.
He was a thirty-nine-year-old healthy guy.
Judging by his muscular physique, the man was extremely fit.
He’d kick this nasty flu pretty easily, but he’d have a rough few days while he did it.
I gathered up the things I needed and went back to the master bedroom.
I’d already discarded my jacket and my boots, knowing I was going to be staying for a while.
Jerk or not, I couldn’t just leave someone who was sick and vulnerable.
Cole could use my help for a while, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“Cole?” I called softly as I sat on the side of the bed. “Wake up for just a minute so you can take some medication.”
His eyes opened, and he glared at me in silence.
Okay, that look was a little intimidating, but I ignored it because I knew that he needed my help right now.
He told me to leave three times.
I told him I wasn’t going every single time he uttered that demand.
The two of us were at a stalemate, but I was healthy enough to stand my ground for as long as necessary.
Cole…wasn’t.
He finally took the medications and downed some of the water I’d brought for him.
“Happy?” he asked in an annoyed voice that was rough and raw from the virus.
I smiled at him. “Enormously. You don’t need to suffer through the flu. Better life with pharmaceuticals when you need them.”
“I feel like shit,” he grumbled. “I just wanted to sleep until the worst of this passed.”
“If you get dehydrated or your fever gets too high, it’s just going to prolong the misery,” I warned him.
“You’re probably right,” he admitted in a reluctant baritone. “Hell, I don’t know. I’m never sick. Leave the water and medicines and go home, Lauren.”
He closed his eyes, and I watched as his breath evened out a little.
I doubted that his sleep would be restful because his cough was bad, but I was hoping that his fever would come down soon.
I went to the kitchen and quickly texted Devon’s wife, Reese. She was a nurse practitioner, and I wanted to make sure there was nothing else I could do for Cole.
My friend quickly assured me that there was nothing else I could do but treat the symptoms and that the flu would run its course.
Reese: If you don’t want to stay, Lauren, I can come and stay with him to make sure he takes his meds and hydrates. I heard that Asher is out of the country, so he can’t be there for Cole right now.
Me: Not necessary. I’m already here, and Millie sent everything he could possibly want or need to get through the flu.
Reese: He’ll be absolutely impossible. He’s not going to want anyone there when he’s sick. He was a complete asshole after he got shot. Millie was the only one who could handle him. He tried to push everyone away.
Cole getting shot hadn’t been that long ago. He’d gotten injured saving Reese’s life from a homicidal madman. He’d risked his life for hers, and Reese was never going to forget that. If I wasn’t already here, she’d be over here in a heartbeat for Cole.
Me: I’ll be fine. He’s too weak to really protest much right now. I’ll get out of here as soon as he’s capable of being impossible.
Reese: Good idea. Call me if you need anything or if he needs anything more than a little TLC and OTC meds. I’ll stop by tomorrow to check him over. I’m sure it’s the flu. It’s been rampant in this area lately.
We said our goodnights, and I quickly texted Millie to let her know I was safe and that I was going to stay with Cole for a little while.
She fretted a little about Cole, but I made it clear that he was going to be fine once the worst of the symptoms had subsided.
“Why are you still here?” Cole grumbled sleepily as I walked back into his bedroom.
I handed him a bottle of water as I said, “The snowstorm is starting. You’re going to have a houseguest until I can get into town safely.”
I wasn’t lying.
The storm was starting. The snowfall was getting heavy, and the winds were steadily getting worse, but I could probably still get home safely as there wasn’t a ton of blowing snow yet.
I definitely wasn’t snowed in at this point.
Cole’s ranch wasn’t really that far outside of town, and I was used to driving in crappy winter weather. I’d lived in Boston for years.
Still, for some reason, I didn’t want to tell Cole that I was staying to take care of him. If I did, he’d just keep telling me to leave.
He slugged down some of the water and handed it back to me. “Fucking hell!” he cursed. “I suppose you’ll have to stay.”
With that, he fell back into a fitful sleep.
Okay, that little white lie had worked well.
Cole still didn’t have his head completely together. Actually, he was kind of adorable when he was grumpy, but not really cantankerous and condescending.
I put my palm on his face, wishing I had a thermometer, but that was one thing Millie hadn’t sent. I’d take a look around, but I was doubtful that Cole owned one himself because he’d already admitted that he was never sick.
He hadn’t exactly extended a gracious invitation, but I’d take his reluctant acceptance that I needed to stay. It was better than him grouching at me every five seconds to leave.
Relieved that his skin felt a little cooler, I went to the kitchen to try to find myself something to eat for dinner.
I was going to need some sustenance.
Something told me it was going to be a long night.