Chapter Nine #3
Lesley swallowed at the building tightness in her throat. “How much longer?”
A look of pain flashed across his face. Now, after the first moments of shock at his arrival, Lesley could study him more
closely. He looked tired, but the weariness was more than physical. Losing the patent had taken its toll, had planted bitter
seeds in his heart and mind. He’d lost weight; his face was thin, almost gaunt. His cheekbones were pronounced, and tiny lines
fanned out from his eyes. His thick dark hair, needing to be trimmed, covered the back of his collar. His all-consuming drive
was leading to physical neglect.
“I don’t know how much longer.” He raked a hand along the side of his head.
“A month, maybe two?” Lesley quizzed, praying it wouldn’t be any more time than that. “A girl likes to know these things.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “By summer for sure.”
“Summer,” she gasped, doing her best to disguise her disappointment. “Cole,” she said softly, not looking at him as she spoke,
“would it be so unreasonable to leave the past buried and go on with our lives?”
“Yes,” he answered forcefully. “The hearing for the appeal is scheduled the second week in January. Let’s decide what to do
after that?”
“Okay,” she agreed. Maybe she was being selfish, but their future was together and she hated these separations. “Would you
like me to fix you something to eat?”
“I’m starved,” he answered. “I can’t remember the last time I ate.”
“Honestly, Cole, sometimes I think we’d better get married now just so I’ll be around to take care of you.”
“Now, that’s a thought.” But he was teasing, and they both knew it.
She rose from his lap and looked through the refrigerator for something to cook. “How does bacon and eggs sound?”
“Marvelous,” he answered on the tail of a yawn. “I’m going to lie down for a few minutes.”
Lesley watched as he stretched out on the sofa and closed his eyes. She recognized that he was almost instantly asleep and
wondered how long it’d been since he’d seen a bed. Gently she closed the refrigerator: there was no need to cook anything.
Fifteen minutes later she spread a thick blanket over him and lovingly brushed the hair from his forehead. He looked almost
childlike in slumber. Her lips lightly brushed over his as she turned out the lights and tiptoed into her own room.
“It’s beautiful,” Terry breathed in awe as she examined Lesley’s ring. “I bet you were surprised.”
Terry didn’t know the half of it. “I was.”
“It’s too bad Cole had to leave so soon.”
“So soon” was right. Lesley awoke Christmas morning to find a message on her kitchen table. He had to get back to Detroit,
and after checking with the airlines he’d found the only available space was on a flight that left at eight that morning.
He signed the note with his love and the promise that they would spend every Christmas the rest of their lives together.
The engagement ring felt awkward on her hand the first few days, but Lesley soon discovered that having it meant more to her
than any gift she’d ever had. At least she had some physical evidence of Cole’s love and commitment to her.
“Did he have any news about the patent decision?” Terry asked anxiously.
“We should know something the second week in January. Pray, Terry,” Lesley pleaded. “The sooner this thing is settled, the sooner Cole and I can get on with our lives.”
Never had the days of January dragged so laboriously. Lesley waited and waited. Then the decision came when she’d least expected
to hear.
On January 15, Lesley was at her desk at the bank when Charlotte Lewis told her there was a call for her on line two.
“Lesley Brown,” she answered in her efficient business tone.
“The appeal was denied.” Cole announced in a flat voice that didn’t disguise his frustration.
“No,” she whispered as the meaning of what he was saying hit. “Oh, Cole.” Lesley could feel the defeat and anger in his voice.
But it was over, at last, and they could accept that and go on from there. “I know it’s small compensation now, but at least
you have the satisfaction of knowing the air bag you invented will save thousands of lives.”
“Lesley, don’t feed me platitudes. Not now.”
She breathed in deeply. “What do you want me to say?”
There was a savage note to his voice. “I don’t know.”
“When will I see you again?”
He sucked in a ragged breath. “Let me sort things out here and I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay. I’m sorry things didn’t go well. I love you,” she whispered for his ears alone.
“Some days that’s the only thing that keeps me going.”
Lesley didn’t hear from Cole for another week, one of the longest weeks of her life. Unable to contact him by phone, she wrote
him long, chatty letters every night. She tried to offer assurances, but after the first few days she realized these would
do little to comfort him.
The January snows melted, and February quickly turned to March and the promise of spring.
Cole wired her a dozen long-stemmed red roses on Valentine’s Day with a message of his love.
Lesley didn’t doubt his love, but she recognized that his hate for Jennings was far stronger than any of his feelings for her.
With April came Easter and the return of her parents from Arizona. Cole had told her he’d fly in the weekend her parents returned,
so he could meet his future in-laws.
Lesley picked him up at the Spokane airport. When he stepped off the plane she was shocked at his appearance. His features
were strikingly gaunt, his dark eyes haunted. The smile on her lips wavered as he stepped into the terminal.
Tears blurred her vision as Cole approached. He set his briefcase on the ground and hugged her fiercely, burying his face
in her neck.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered brokenly.
“I know, love, I feel the same way.” His kiss was as urgent as his embrace. He smiled into her eyes and gently brushed a tear
aside. “I like your hair.”
Her hand reached automatically for the short curls. She’d had it cut last month.
“You look terrible,” she replied honestly and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his suit coat.
“But I’m making progress.” He placed his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side.
“Are you?” She didn’t mean to sound so unsure. Progress—but at what price?
“Only a little, I admit.”
“This battle can go on for years, can’t it?”
He tensed and his hand tightened around her. “I won’t let that happen.”
“It’s already happening,” she murmured. “Cole, you’re killing yourself over a stupid airbag. Is it worth it? Answer me, is
your life worth less than some invention?” She knew she sounded angry and unreasonable, but she couldn’t stand by and say
nothing. Not anymore.
Lesley could feel him withdraw. He stopped mid-stride, and although he continued to hold her, he might as well have been miles away.
“Yes,” he said finally, his dark eyes stony-hard.
“If I can’t have justice, then I’ll have my revenge, and that’s worth more than anything . . . even you, Lesley.”