Chapter 7
Lauren
“Y ou obviously survived your two days with Cole,” Reese Remington teased as we visited at my house the next afternoon. “How was he doing when you left yesterday?”
Reese had worked in her Crystal Fork clinic today. Her main office was in Billings, but she spent at least one day a month here taking care of the townspeople.
Reese had come by my place the moment she closed her clinic today.
I’d poured both of us a glass of wine, and we were currently relaxing in my living room. I’d claimed the recliner, and Reese had made herself comfortable on my couch.
I was close to all of the Remington women, but Reese and I had formed a really tight bond. We hadn’t really known each other that long, but it felt like we’d been friends forever.
She’d been through a lot in the last few years, and it made my heart happy to see how joyful and relaxed she was now that she was married to Devon Remington.
Anna and Hannah had helped me feel better about my physical appearance since I’d returned to Crystal Fork.
Hannah was a stylist who had made my crazy hair behave as well as possible, and she’d taught me how to make the most of my good features with the help of some good makeup.
Anna was a pop star who had helped me find my personal style in clothing.
Reese had made it her mission to work on my confidence and self-acceptance.
I’d always been critical of my physical appearance, and I was a work in progress now.
“He was better but still pretty wiped out,” I shared with her. “He texted me today and said he was getting his energy back.”
Her eyes widened as she swallowed a sip of her wine. “You’re actually texting each other now?”
I nodded. “We traded numbers. He wants me to do some reports for him on some of his prospective investments. I like him, Reese. I’d like to be his friend.”
I didn’t mention that he was going to let me use his gym. Reese would tell me that I was always welcome to come to her house to use Devon’s gym, but she and Devon were still newlyweds. I just wasn’t comfortable dropping over to their house to use Devon’s gym anymore.
The two lovebirds needed their privacy right now so they could adjust to being a married couple.
She chuckled. “There aren’t many people who would say that. He’s not exactly friend material. I’ll be his friend forever because he saved my life, but I think most people are afraid of him.”
I shook my head. “He’s not that scary,” I told her. “Maybe I feel the same way you do. He actually saved me once, too.”
I’d never spoken to anyone except my brother and the police about what had happened that day on Cole’s property.
It was a bad memory that I’d never felt the need to talk about.
It had happened a long time ago.
For some reason, I wanted to share the experience with Reese now so she could understand why I wanted to be Cole’s friend.
“Explain,” Reese insisted as she sent me a questioning gaze.
I told my friend everything about what had happened that day all those years ago.
“Oh, dear God,” Reese said in a horrified voice after I’d finished. “What a dirtbag. I’m glad he didn’t have the chance to molest you, but you must have been so scared.”
I nodded. “I was terrified.”
“Please tell me the asshole went to jail for what he tried to do to you,” Reese said in a pleading voice.
I shook my head. “We filed a police report that evening, but there was never time for an investigation. I’m not sure there was much they could have done anyway.
Nobody saw him coax me into that barn, and he didn’t have a chance to molest me.
Cole’s father was murdered a few days later, and the incident was forgotten.
Cole was my hero that day, Reese. He saved me from experiencing something even worse.
I hate the way that so many people in Crystal Fork treat Cole and Asher like murderers.
I think Cole can use all the friends he can get right now. ”
“Agreed,” Reese said. “But he’s not exactly easy to befriend.
I know he has a good heart underneath all of his bullshit, but he’s not an easy man to know.
Granted, he’s friendlier than Asher, but that’s not saying much.
He’s slowly warming up to his cousins, but I don’t think Cole is really close to anyone except his brother. ”
“I can’t say I blame him for that,” I said thoughtfully. “His childhood was pure hell. He learned not to trust anyone except Asher.”
Reese held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong.
I know why Cole is so wary, and I think he deserves so much more.
The whole family knows that his father was abusive, even though Cole and Asher claimed otherwise when they were children.
I get frustrated because I can’t really get that close to him.
Nobody can. I’m your biggest supporter if you think you can get him to trust you and open up to you. ”
My mind went back to the day before.
Cole had been surprised when I’d hugged him, but he hadn’t pushed me away.
He’d actually hugged me back eventually.
I saw that as a good sign.
I couldn’t say that he’d dropped all of his defenses, but we’d had…something.
A moment of…affinity?
Okay, maybe that word was a little too hopeful, but for just a few moments, we’d connected.
He had opened up to me.
A little.
And I didn’t think that happened very often for a guy like him.
“I think Cole needs someone who trusts him before he’ll let his guard down,” I mused. “I thought he was a jerk, but I didn’t realize that his abrasive personality is actually a defense mechanism. I don’t think he means to be rude. He just wants people to leave him alone.”
“Exactly,” Reese agreed. “But there’s something about Cole that makes you uncomfortable. I noticed that at my wedding.”
I smiled at her. “That was before I realized that he isn’t really a jerk.”
“It’s not that,” Reese said as she slowly shook her head. “I could sense your uneasiness at the wedding. I think I recognized it because I felt that way with Devon at first. I think you’re actually attracted to Cole.”
I snorted. “What woman wouldn’t be attracted to Cole Remington?
” I asked drily. “The man is sex on a stick. I think it’s a natural reaction with a guy as hot as Cole.
I’ll get over it after I’ve been around him for a while.
A man like Cole would never be attracted to someone like me. My goal is to be his friend.”
“Stop that,” Reese scolded. “He very well could be attracted to you. You’re smart, successful, and gorgeous. We’ve had this conversation a million times before. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, Lauren.”
“Maybe I haven’t completely internalized that yet,” I said ruefully.
I’d spent way too many years being an invisible geek.
It was hard to change that mindset in a short period of time, even with my female friends trying to drill more complimentary thoughts into my head all the time.
“You just haven’t met the right guy yet,” Reese said firmly. “You need a guy who isn’t intimidated by your success and your intelligence. If they are, they don’t deserve you anyway.”
I sighed. “If I didn’t find that guy in Boston, I don’t think he’s going to show up in Crystal Fork.”
“I found Devon here,” she argued. “And I’m not some economics genius who gained a very huge reputation in the business world at a very young age.
Important people have been seeking you out for years, Lauren.
They respect your research and your analysis.
I think that’s always been the problem with your love life.
The men in your life were colleagues. They were so busy marveling at your talent that they never noticed that you’re also an attractive female. ”
I thought about her words for a moment.
Really considered them for the first time.
“I’m not sure I wanted to be noticed,” I admitted.
“Women are really underrepresented in the field of economics. It’s still heavily male-dominated.
I had to fight hard to be taken seriously, especially in the beginning.
I did everything I possibly could to fit in with the guys.
I dressed frumpy, wore my hair in a tight braid to contain it, and passed on makeup because I didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I was female.
I always kept my behavior highly professional, and I was probably seen as a little standoffish.
I guess I felt like that was what I needed to do in a field where most of my colleagues were male. ”
Reese studied me for a moment before she said, “And you told me you never really went out to clubs or places where you’d meet guys who weren’t in your line of work.”
I shrugged. “I worked or studied all the time. I wanted to get ahead, to be the best in my field. I wasn’t in a position where I had anything or anyone to fall back on if I failed.
After Keith died, I was alone in the world.
I needed to make something out of my scholarships and the money I had for school.
I spent my twenties trying to secure my future.
I’m not really a club or bar person, so I didn’t feel like I was missing much.
If I had free time, I preferred to stay home and read a good book. ”
“And now?” Reese asked softly.
“And now I wish that I’d tried a little harder to be social,” I confessed.
“Maybe I have blamed too much of my lack of male company on my physical appearance instead of my geekiness.” I held up a hand.
“And please don’t tell me that I’m not a geek.
Even in college, I wasn’t interested in the same things other women were at my age. ”
“Being unique doesn’t make you a geek,” Reese said.
“You like to do a lot of fun things. Now that you’re back in Crystal Fork and relatively settled into your life here, I’m sure you’ll be participating in a lot of the community events that you didn’t have in Boston.
You know the people here. I know the matchmaking dates were bad, but from what I understand, they rarely work for single people here anyway.
The matchmakers aren’t really that good at making matches.
You’ll meet the right guy, Lauren. Give it time.
I’m glad you’re coming to our little get-together at The Mug And Jug. ”
Unfortunately, I had spent most of my time since I’d moved to Crystal Fork settling into my new home and establishing my business.
I’d been pretty busy dealing with my new life in Montana.
I hadn’t really had much time for socializing until recently.
“I invited Cole,” I shared with Reese.
“He won’t come,” she said unhappily.
“He is coming,” I told her. “We’re going to grab some dinner at Charlie’s first and then meet everyone at The Mug And Jug.”
Reese swallowed a sip of her wine and gaped at me for a moment before she spoke. “No way! I just asked him to join us last week, and he flatly refused the invitation I tossed out for him and Asher. He was adamant. How in the world did you get him to agree? And to have dinner at Charlie’s, too?”
“He suggested Charlie’s,” I told her. “I think he wanted to do something nice for me because I took care of him when he was sick.”
Reese shook her head firmly. “Cole Remington wanted no such thing,” she informed me. “He doesn’t do anything unless he wants to do it. He definitely likes you, Lauren.”
“I hope that’s true,” I said. “I really do want to be his friend.”
“No,” Reese answered. “I think he really likes you. The only thing that would drag him out for possible public scrutiny is if he’s attracted to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “He thinks he owes me.”
“We’ll see,” she replied. “I’m just happy that he’s coming. I don’t suppose that he’ll convince Asher to come, too. That man is a phantom. Nobody sees him, and the only person he’s allowed on his land to talk to him is Ralph Norton.”
“The chief of police?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Reese confirmed. “I suppose that makes sense if one of Asher and Cole’s goals in moving back here is to find out who really murdered their father.”
Honestly, their father had been so evil that I wasn’t sure why they cared who killed him, but they probably wanted to clear their names once and for all.
“It’s been decades now,” I told Reese. “And there was never any significant evidence. No murder weapon. Nothing left behind. The man was shot outside his house with a shotgun. The only things the police ever discovered was the gauge of the shotgun and the approximate distance the shooter was from the victim. If they have any hope of solving that cold case, I hope Chief Norton has new information added to the case since the original investigation.”
“You know a lot more about the original case than I do,” Reese observed.
“You know I’m a true crime junkie,” I reminded her.
“I think forensics is fascinating, and I love the way more and more cold cases are being solved with genetic genealogy. Unfortunately, they don’t have any DNA evidence to solve the murder of Cole’s father.
Not unless something has popped up in the last twenty-one years. ”
“I’d really like to see Asher and Cole completely exonerated,” Reese said wistfully.
“I think it would go a long way in mending the divide in the Remington family. Maybe it would make Asher and Cole less defensive and antisocial. I think all of Millie’s immediate family would like to get to know their cousins better.
That was never really possible when they were younger. ”
I nodded, but I wasn’t completely convinced that their exoneration would help Asher and Cole lose their defensiveness and their inability to trust other people.
I didn’t think years of conditioning and abuse were going to be resolved quite that easily.