Chapter 9
Pen Pals
One Year Later
Cole lifted the weight from the floor and began another set of curls while Pit rambled on about his upcoming wedding.
Part of him was jealous that his best friend was officially settling down.
The other part couldn't have been happier for him.
It had been almost a year since the shooting, and Pit's road to recovery had been anything but easy. Months of physical therapy had followed until James "Pitbull" Ferguson was finally released from his doctor's care and encouraged to return to some sense of normalcy.
Pit hadn't gone through any of it alone.
His longtime girlfriend, Nicole, had stayed by his side throughout the ordeal, never missing a doctor's appointment or physical-therapy session. The day Pit was finally discharged from therapy, he'd taken her to their favorite restaurant in Manhattan.
He proposed that same night.
Now they were days away from getting married.
Cole finished his set and switched arms, repositioning himself on the gym bench.
Across from him, Pit was on a cardio machine, still talking about the island where he and Nicole planned to elope that weekend.
"We should arrive in the Maldives Thursday evening. Nic has a pretty tight itinerary for us, but I'm sure there'll be time to hit the waves."
Cole nodded and moved on to another exercise.
His back was drenched in sweat. He grabbed a nearby towel and wiped his face before reaching for his water bottle.
"We really appreciate you traveling with us," Pit said. "I'm glad you're here."
"I wouldn't miss it. You know that."
That much was true.
Cole had agreed to be Pit's best man without hesitation.
Actually leaving Montana had been the difficult part.
Over the past year, Cole had grown accustomed to the quiet life he'd built for himself in Great Falls. His small house near the lake had become his refuge. Most days, he could be found sitting alone on the dock overlooking the water, perfectly content with the silence.
He'd become good at being alone.
Maybe too good.
If Pit hadn't asked him to be his best man, Cole doubted he would've left Montana at all.
The two men fell silent and concentrated on their workouts.
Then Pit suddenly stopped.
Cole noticed immediately.
His friend stepped off the machine and walked toward him.
"I need to tell you something."
Cole continued adjusting the weights.
"Okay."
"The last thing I want is for you to feel blindsided."
That got his attention.
Cole looked up.
"Blindsided by what?"
Pit glanced toward the floor.
For a man who'd survived being shot and months of brutal rehabilitation, he suddenly looked remarkably nervous.
"I invited Sienna to the wedding."
Cole nearly dropped the weight.
For several seconds, he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.
"Sienna?"
Even saying her name hurt.
"Yeah."
Pit rubbed the back of his neck.
"We've kept in touch since..."
His voice trailed off.
Cole stared at him.
"What do you mean, you've kept in touch?"
"Exactly what I said."
"Since when?"
"Since Atlanta."
Cole slowly stood.
Pit continued before he could respond.
"Look, you know she more than compensated me after the shooting. Hell, I could probably never work another day in my life if I didn't want to."
"That's not what I asked."
"She checks on me."
Cole's jaw tightened.
"How often?"
"Pretty regularly."
"Calls?"
"Sometimes."
Pit hesitated.
"She writes too."
Cole stared at him.
"You and Sienna write to each other?"
"Occasionally."
Something cold settled over him.
"I didn't realize the two of you had become pen pals."
Pit sighed.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"That thing where you pretend you don't give a shit when it's obvious you do."
Cole grabbed his towel.
"I'm happy you two became friends."
"Bullshit."
Cole looked at him.
Pit didn't back down.
"She's a good person, Cole."
"I never said she wasn't."
"What happened wasn't her fault."
Cole's expression hardened.
"Don't."
"Deep down, you know it."
"Pit."
"She didn't shoot me. Keith did."
"I know who fucking shot you."
"Then stop acting like she pulled the trigger."
Cole turned away.
The mention of Sienna had already brought everything he'd spent the last year trying to bury rushing back.
Her laugh.
Her smile.
The way she'd slept against his chest.
The last night they'd spent together.
The phone call afterward.
Goodbye, Sienna.
He'd convinced himself leaving had been the right thing to do.
Most days, he almost believed it.
Cole climbed onto the treadmill.
Running had become one of the few things capable of clearing his head.
He pressed the speed button.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The belt moved faster beneath his feet.
Pit eventually climbed onto the treadmill beside him.
Neither spoke.
They ran side by side for nearly half an hour.
Finally, Pit slowed his machine.
Cole continued running.
Pit stepped off.
"Don't ruin this for me, Bennett."
Cole looked over.
"If you can't handle seeing her, don't come."
Pit grabbed his towel.
"This weekend is about me and Nic choosing happiness. I'm not spending my wedding worrying about whether you and Sienna can be in the same room together."
He walked out.
The door slammed behind him.
Cole kept running.
For another minute.
Then two.
Finally, he hit the stop button.
The treadmill slowed beneath him.
Pit was right.
This wasn't about Cole.
He'd spent almost a year making everything involving Sienna about his anger, his guilt, and his inability to accept what had happened.
Pit had been the one who'd nearly died.
And somehow, Pit was the one who'd managed to forgive.
Cole grabbed his belongings from the locker room and headed toward the exit.
Before he reached it, the door opened.
Pit came back inside.
He brushed past Cole and headed toward the free weights.
Cole watched him retrieve the water bottle he'd forgotten.
"James."
Pit stopped.
Cole rarely called him by his real name.
"You're right."
Pit turned.
"This weekend is about you."
Cole held his gaze.
"And it'll stay that way."
Relief crossed Pit's face.
He nodded.
"Appreciate it, brother."
The two men walked outside together.
Pit headed toward his pickup while Cole stopped beside his rental car.
There was one question he couldn't leave unanswered.
"Does she know I'm coming?"
Pit looked back.
"Yeah."
Cole's stomach tightened.
Seeing Sienna again was going to be difficult enough.
Seeing her with another man might be impossible.
Pit apparently read the concern on his face.
"She wishes you well, Cole."
Cole said nothing.
"And before you ask—no, she's not bringing anyone."
"I wasn't going to ask."
Pit laughed.
"Sure."
Cole glared at him.
Pit leaned against his truck.
"You still love her, don't you?"
Normally, Cole would've told him to go to hell.
Today, he didn't have the energy to lie.
He looked away toward the parking lot.
For an entire year, he'd tried everything he could think of to forget Sienna Carlisle.
He'd moved home.
Stopped taking assignments.
Avoided entertainment news.
Stopped watching television altogether.
None of it had worked.
Cole finally looked back at his friend.
"The sun rises and sets with her."
Pit didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
* * *
Cole barely slept that night.
Every time he closed his eyes, Sienna appeared.
He couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Pit had been communicating with her for almost a year.
They'd spoken about him.
That much was obvious.
The idea irritated him more than it should have.
It almost felt like some violation of guy code.
Then Cole reminded himself that Pit had every right to speak to whomever he wanted.
Sienna did too.
Cole had been the one who walked away.
He'd made that choice.
He didn't get to dictate what happened afterward.
That didn't mean he had to like it.
* * *
The following morning, Cole skipped breakfast with the wedding party and told Nicole he'd meet everyone at the airport.
By the time he arrived, he'd already had several drinks.
Enough to take the edge off.
Not enough to make him forget why they were going to the Maldives.
Nicole had texted him repeatedly throughout the morning, reminding him of various best-man duties he'd apparently neglected.
Cole had known her for several years, though this was the first time they'd spent much time together.
She was younger than Pit, intelligent, ambitious, and had built a successful business investing in high-end spas along the West Coast.
Cole didn't know exactly how their relationship had started.
He knew how it had become permanent.
The shooting had changed all of them.
For Pit and Nicole, it had made them realize they didn't want to waste any more time.
Cole sat alone at the airport bar when another text appeared.
We're boarding. Where are you?
He finished his whiskey.
A second message followed.
BEST MAN. This means YOU.
Despite himself, Cole smiled.
He threw some cash on the bar and headed toward the gate.
By the time he arrived, he was the last person to board.
The luxury aircraft was spacious, with oversized seats and enough room for everyone to spread out comfortably.
Cole deliberately chose an empty seat near the front.
His phone buzzed again.
Nicole.
Good of you to join us.
Cole rolled his eyes.
He typed a quick apology before powering off his phone.
A flight attendant approached.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
Cole looked up.
She was tall, blonde, attractive.
"Whiskey."
"Of course."
She returned a few minutes later.
Then again when his glass was empty.
By the third drink, Cole realized she was flirting with him.
Under different circumstances, he might have welcomed it.
He even flirted back a little.
It felt almost normal.
A single man his age was supposed to notice an attractive woman.
He was supposed to want companionship.
Sex.
Something.
Anything that proved his entire emotional life hadn't become permanently attached to a woman he'd known for only a few weeks.
Halfway through the flight, Cole stood to use the lavatory.
As he passed, the flight attendant lightly touched his arm.
Their eyes met.
The invitation was obvious.
Cole continued walking.
Inside the lavatory, he stared at himself in the mirror.
What the hell was wrong with him?
He'd spent an entire year alone.
An attractive woman was practically handing him an opportunity to change that.
And all he could think about was Sienna.
Again.
Always Sienna.
When he returned to his seat, whatever interest he'd had in the flight attendant was gone.
He ordered another drink anyway.
Then another.
In less than twenty-four hours, he would see the woman he'd spent an entire year trying to forget.
Would she ignore him?
Did she hate him?
Had she changed?
Would seeing her bring everything back?
Cole leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes.
That last question was ridiculous.
Everything was already back.
Eventually, the alcohol and exhaustion won.
Cole drifted into a deep sleep as the plane carried him toward the Maldives.
Toward Pit's wedding.
Toward the one person he'd spent the last year running from.
His final thought before sleep claimed him was the same one that had followed him every day since Atlanta.
Sienna.