Chapter 3
THREE
Blair
“Want to grab some dinner?” Larsen asks as we close up at the bank, counting our register drawers and making sure everything is locked up tight.
“I can’t. I have plans.”
“Plans?” she asks in surprise.
My cheeks heat. “I’m handling the bank’s booth for the Winter Festival, so I’m working on that tonight.”
“Want some help?”
“I already have some. Cole is helping me.”
“Cole?” she exclaims.
We both wince, looking around to see if anyone else in the bank heard her. They’re all in the back, so we’re safe.
“Cole?” she repeats in a whisper-hiss. “The sexy farmer?”
“I don’t think he’s a farmer. He owns a ranch,” I clarify.
Larsen waves me off. “Tomatoes, tomahtoes.” She sidles closer. “When did that happen?”
“Last night. Roger called me about taking over the booth.”
“No, silly! I mean you and Cole.”
“Oh, last night too.”
“How? I want details!”
“We were eating at the diner.”
“Together?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he ask you out?”
“No, it was busy, and so he asked to sit with me.”
“Then what happened?”
“Roger called, I told Cole about the booth, and he offered to help.”
“You’re so good at telling stories. I feel like I was really there, ya know?” she teases.
I laugh. “It wasn’t that exciting. He’ll help me with the booth today, and that will be it.”
“I doubt that,” she mumbles.
I frown. “What does that mean?”
“Cole likes you. Like likes you.”
“I just had a flashback from middle school.”
She snorts. “He wants you. Is that better?”
“Sure, but it’s not true.”
“It is. Trust me. I’ve seen the two of you together. You walk into a room, and he perks right up. It’s like you’re his sun. You brighten him, draw all of his attention.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is! Other girls have hit on him, and he ignores them. You, though? He’s chasing after you. He’ll stretch this project out so he can spend time with you. Mark my words.”
“You’re crazy,” I say as I close up my station and grab my things.
“Mark my words!” she calls as I wave as I head for the door.
“See you tomorrow!”
I step outside, and my eyes find Cole instantly. I wonder if maybe he’s my sun, too.
He smiles, pushing off his truck and heading my way. “Ready to go?” he asks as he opens the passenger door for me.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
He starts up the truck and pulls out of the parking lot. “How was work?”
“Good. Busy. How about you?”
“Good. Busy.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
Cole smiles, shaking his head. “Never.” He glances at me as we turn onto the street. “Where are we going first?”
“The hardware store. We need to grab a few things.”
He turns toward the hardware store. “Do you know what you want to do for the booth yet?”
“Yeah, I came up with a few ideas last night.”
“Care to share?”
“I thought we could make an igloo for the kids to play in. For our booth, I want to string some lights and make it look cozy. We can also hang garlands and ornaments. We can use a folding table for the main part, so we’ll need something to hang it off.”
“Okay, I can make that.”
“I was thinking cornhole for our game? That seems like the easiest option. Oh, and I watched some holiday games online and found a few that would be easy to set up. I’d need another table for that.”
“Okay, so some wood, paint, two tables, and decorations.”
“Is that too much?”
Cole shakes his head. “Sounds great and very doable.”
We pull into the hardware store's parking lot and hop out.
“Careful on the ice,” Cole says, reaching out to take my hand as I wobble.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime. Did the bank give you a budget?” he asks as we head inside.
“Keep it under five hundred. The plan is to build it this year, and my boss said he’ll store it at his place for next year’s Winter Festival.”
Cole nods and grabs a cart, leading me down the aisles to the paint. “Do we have a color in mind?”
“Well, white and black for the igloo. For the tables, I’m thinking black, red, and green?”
“The darker colors will look better with the lights. Make them stand out more,” he agrees.
I smile. “Right, good point.”
I peruse the paint samples for a minute, and Cole stands patiently, watching me.
“Which one?” I ask, holding up samples of various shades of green.
“I like that one.” He points to my favorite.
“Okay, I think we’ll get these five.”
He takes the samples from me. I let him handle ordering the paint while I grab paintbrushes, a drop cloth, and a few other supplies.
I keep peeking glances at Cole as he talks to the guy mixing our paint. I remember Larsen’s words and wonder if she could be right. Does Cole like me? Does he… want me?
“Ready for the wood?”
I startle from my thoughts, and my mouth drops open when I register his question. “What?” I squeak.
Cole frowns.
I clear my throat.
“The wood section. Are we heading there, or did you need more supplies?” he clarifies.
“Oh. Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”
We head to the plywood aisle and grab a few pieces. By now, the cart is pretty full, so Cole gets another cart for two folding tables and a few more pieces of wood.
“All set?” he asks.
“I think so. I’ll grab the decorations later.”
I pay at the checkout, and Cole insists on loading the truck while I sit inside with the heat on.
“Your place or mine?” he asks as he gets into the truck.
“Mine is closer.”
Once we get the supplies upstairs to my apartment, I unlock the door. It takes us all of two seconds to realize that my place is way too small to carry out the work.
“Um…” I look around, trying to come up with a solution.
“My place?” Cole asks.
I nod sheepishly. “Yeah. Sorry.”
“It’s not a problem.”
We carry everything back out to his truck, and I try to hide my curiosity as we pull up to his place.
The ranch seems to stretch on for miles. The fields are covered in snow, and with the red barn, this place looks like an idyllic Christmas card.
“I’ll have to cut the wood outside, but we can work in the garage or inside.”
“Wherever you think is best,” I say, admiring the scenery as I climb out.
Cole smiles. “Want the tour?”
“I—oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“Come on.”
He takes my hand, and we walk down the road to the barn.
“All the horses are in the back field right now,” he says, leading me inside and pointing toward a fenced-off field with a few horses milling about.
“Is that all you have here?”
He shakes his head. “I also have chickens. They’re over that way.” He points to another fenced-off area with a chicken coop. “They’re inside. Too cold for them today.”
He tugs on my hand, leading me further into the barn. “Do you ride?”
“Horses?”
He chuckles. “Yeah.”
“No, never.”
“Do you like horses? Or animals?”
“Sure. I just… don’t have any experience with them.”
“We’ll have to change that.”
He shows me around the barn, and we walk back to the truck to get to work.
“Come on, we’ll set up in the kitchen.”
I follow Cole into the house, trying not to be obvious about my interest as I look around. His place screams bachelor pad. It’s practically empty, with a giant flat-screen TV and a leather couch.
“Where’s all your stuff?” I ask.
He frowns. “What stuff?”
“Like… stuff. Rugs, pillows, end tables, pictures. That kind of stuff.”
“I don’t have any of that.”
“Oh.”
He sets the wood down on the kitchen table. “Is that a problem?”
“No.”
“Blair?”
I shrug. “It’s your house.”
“But?”
“It’s strange for such a picture-perfect place to be empty. You don’t even have a Christmas tree! Or any decorations!”
“You feel strongly about this, I see.”
“It’s a crime,” I grumble.
Cole laughs. “I’ll fix it right away. We can look for decorations when we get the stuff for the booth.”
I set the paint on the counter and spread out the drop cloth while Cole goes to get his tools from his truck.
“What are we starting with?” he asks once we’re all set up.
“I think the igloo? That or the table stuff. I’ll be able to decorate that by myself.”
“Sure. I’ll do the table thing for the lights now. That way, you can get started with painting.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We work in silence. Cole goes out to the back porch where his saw is set up to cut the wood, and I may or may not use that time to snoop around his place a bit.
I check the first floor of the house, poking my head into an office, bathroom, and hall closet. Everything is clean and organized. It’s also kind of sterile.
In his office, I pause to study the pictures. There’s a photo of Cole with some other boys. He looks to be about fifteen. I smile at how happy he looks with his arms slung around the other boys’ shoulders.
The next photo is of Cole with an older couple. His grandparents, maybe? He’s smiling fondly at them as they beam into the camera. They look like they’re on a ranch. Is that where he grew up?
The last photo is of Cole and some other guys. They’re all in their military uniforms and lounging around. They look like they're in the desert somewhere. Was this taken during one of their deployments, or was he stationed there?
“Caught you.”
I gasp, spinning around to face Cole. My face flames. “Sorry.”
“I don’t mind,” he says with an easy smile. He moves to stand next to me and points at the picture. “That was on my last deployment. I was with my unit overseas.”
“Army?”
He nods. “Green Berets.”
“Impressive.”
He snorts and points to the next photo. “That’s me with Mary and Christopher.”
“Your grandparents?”
“No, foster parents.”
“Oh.”
He points to the last photo and smiles. “That’s my foster brothers and me. We were on the ranch back in Montana.”
“That’s where you grew up?”
“Yeah. I left when I was eighteen and bounced around from base to base.”
“Why didn’t you move back when you got out of the Army?”
“I just… wanted something new.”
I nod, understanding that feeling. “Why’d you get out of the Army?”
“I got shot.”
“What? Oh, my god! Should you be carrying that heavy stuff?”
“I’m fine, Blair,” he says, laughing off my worry.
“Shot where?”
“Here and here.” He pulls up his shirt to show me a scar high on his chest and another lower on his hip.
“Oh, my god,” I whisper, reaching out to run my finger over the marks.
Cole tenses.
“Shit,” I hiss, jerking my hand away. “Sorry.”
He doesn’t say anything; he just grabs my hand and places it back on his skin.
“Does it hurt?” I whisper.
“No, not anymore. It happened almost a year ago. I’m all healed now.”
“Oh. You tensed,” I say, watching as I stroke my hand over his chest.
“You touched me.”
“I shouldn’t have?”
“No. You should. I love it.”
I swallow, refusing to look up, afraid of the emotion that I might see on his face right now.
My fingers brush over the other bullet wound at his hip before I slowly pull my hand away. I clear my throat and step back.
“I’ve got the pieces cut.”
I nod, shaking off my dirty thoughts and forcing myself to focus as we return to the kitchen and get to work.
“Are you hungry?” Cole asks as he nails the cut boards together.
“You don’t have to feed me. I’ll grab something when I go home.”
“I’m hungry. What do you want?”
“What do you have?”
He nods to the fridge, telling me to look at myself.
“Pizza?” I ask, pulling the box from the freezer.
“Sure.”
I flip the box over and read the instructions. Well, not read. I look for the two numbers so I know what temperature to turn the oven to and how long to cook it.
Cole finishes building the little arbor as I preheat the oven and slide the pizza onto the top rack.
“What’s your favorite food?” he asks as he stands back to survey his work.
“I like pizza. French fries, burgers, tacos. Basically, anything unhealthy,” I joke.
“Same.”
We share a smile.
I force my eyes away from him to the arbor. “That looks great. You’re good with your hands.”
I realize too late how dirty my words sound and glance at Cole. His eyes heat, and I swallow hard. My breath stutters past my lips as we stare at each other.
“I should probably get started on painting it,” I choke out.
Cole nods but doesn’t look away from me. “Let’s eat first.”
I lick my dry lips as I clear the table so we can sit and eat.
Cole pulls the pizza out of the oven. “What brought you to Wolf Valley?”
“The bank job.”
“Where are you from originally?”
“Los Angeles.”
He whistles, raising his eyebrows. “Big change.”
“Exactly.”
“You didn’t like Los Angeles?”
“I hated it.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t fit in there. I didn’t belong. I hated the traffic, the crowds, the energy.”
“So you wanted a change,” he states.
I nod. “I needed it.”
He passes me my half of the pizza. “And is Wolf Valley home?”
“I think so. I like it here. The community is so friendly. I like the town, and I love my job. I have friends here. Well, one friend.”
I bite into my pizza. “What about you?”
“I’m the same. I love the area. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. It feels like home here.”
“Is it just you here? No one else helps you run this place?”
“No, not yet. I’m still small. Once I get the tours up and running in the spring, I’ll hire a few more people.”
“Tours?”
“Yeah. I’ll be running horseback tours from the ranch so locals and tourists can explore the mountains and forest, ride down to the lake and back.”
“That’s so cool.”
“You can be my first client. Free of charge, of course.” He winks.
“You’ll go out of business quickly if that’s your business model,” I tease.
Cole chuckles. “It’s not. I’ll charge everyone else. Everyone but you.”
My cheeks heat. “Well, now I feel so special.”
His gaze captures mine. “You are.”
I don’t know what to reply to that, so I take another bite of pizza. We eat in silence for a bit before cleaning up and getting back to work.
Cole helps me lift the arbor onto the drop cloth, and we start painting, opening the back door to vent the paint fumes. He starts a fire in the living room so we don’t get cold. I smile, relaxing as I spend time with him.
“Ready to call it a night?” Cole asks once we’re done painting.
“Yeah, I’m getting tired. I need to be up early tomorrow for work.”
We clean up, and I follow him out to his truck.
“I think we’re more than even now,” I say as he drives me home.
Cole frowns. “Even?”
“With the favors. I think I’ll be the one who owes you after we’re done.”
He smirks. “You can take me out to dinner.”
“Pizza?” I ask, ignoring the skip of my heart.
“Whatever you want.”
I gather my things as he pulls up in front of my apartment. “I can drive out to your place tomorrow after work.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll come get you.”
“I don’t want to bother you,” I protest.
“You could never be a bother, Blair. Never.”
“Okay,” I whisper. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Cole climbs out of the truck to open my door for me. I smile up at him and wave goodbye as I head up the stairs to my apartment.
As I lock the door behind me, I wonder if it’s wise to trust him or if I’m making a big mistake.