Chapter Nineteen
Another week passed, bringing cooler weather and less sunshine.
They spent every night together in her cabin. And every night the bond between Cole and Emily grew steadily. They often discussed the future and their hopes.
Emily turned in the manuscript she had started when she first came to the ranch, and her publisher said she was pleased with the way it turned out.
She started another novel her agent was excited about. Cole told her often how incredibly proud he was of her.
He commented that her ability to work while on the ranch gave him hope that they could have a relationship.
If she could work here, she didn’t have to go anywhere else.
Cole wanted her in the house, in his bedroom, in his bed.
He wanted to plan a room in the house that Emily could use as her office.
A place where it was quiet, and she had the privacy she needed for writing, but would still be close enough that it would calm the animal instinct to possess every part of her.
Even knowing she was close, he didn’t feel whole until he could touch her.
He’d never felt this overwhelming need for a woman before or the immense possessive sensation that had him looking for her several times a day just to see her.
He was afraid the only thing that was going to calm him enough that he didn’t panic when he hadn’t seen her in hours was marriage.
But he didn’t think she would go for that this early in their relationship.
Cole sat in his office trying to get his work done as quickly as possible, so he could get to Emily. He was more desperate than usual to be with her. A feeling of misgiving tried to creep into his mind, and he didn’t like it. Was their relationship moving too fast?
He was second-guessing her feelings for him. The damage had definitely been done to Emily because of her first marriage, but he started to realize he’d also had some trust and insecurity issues because of his ex that needed to be dealt with.
Maybe it was because Emily had been acting off the last couple of days, and she never had an answer as to why. Sometimes memories of Lisa’s betrayal would sneak into his consciousness. He pushed them away every time, knowing Emily was so different from Lisa that he didn’t need to worry.
****
Daisy’s head lifted as she sat behind the front desk when the front bell rang.
She watched as a man in a suit walked in.
She frowned and looked down into the reservation book already knowing they didn’t have someone new checking in.
Every cabin was full. She didn’t understand how someone would want to be out in the stormy weather.
“Hello, welcome to Knight Ranch. How can I help you?”
The man drifted to the high desk, but his gaze continued to move around the room. A look of slight disdain on his face.
“Yes, sweetheart. Can you tell me which cabin my wife is in?”
Daisy frowned at the man’s arrogance.
“Certainly. Who is your wife?”
“Emily Holmes.”
Before the name registered, Daisy heard a sharp inhale from behind her and turned to see Cole. Daisy’s heart tore at the devastation on her uncle’s face. She blinked back the tears that burned her eyes before turning back to the man.
“You’re her husband?”
Winston frowned at the young woman. “Yes. Now can you please give me her cabin? She’s expecting me.” Daisy turned again toward Cole before facing the man yet again.
“Um, okay, she’s in cabin five. I can show y—”
“No, I’ll take him to the cabin, Daisy.”
“But Uncle Cole. I can do it.”
“No, I need to do it. I was going that way already.”
Daisy stuttered. “But...” She wanted to be the one to see Emily’s face when she saw this man. She just couldn’t believe Emily had been lying this whole time about being divorced.
“Listen, I don’t care who takes me. I just need to be with Emily. I know she has missed me. It’s been so long.” The man’s impatience interrupted them.
****
“Follow me, please.” A massive roll of emotions ran through Cole. The disbelief, the will to fight for her, the distrust, and the grief.
Winston followed Cole out of the house and down the front steps and into the rain that was steadily coming down.
“I don’t think I caught your name?”
“I’m Cole Knight,” he said gruffly without stopping.
“You’re the owner of this place?”
“Yes,” Cole bit out.
“It must bring in a lot of money?”
Cole’s hands balled until his knuckles turned white. “Her cabin is over here.”
Cole stood for a brief moment before knocking at Emily’s door, acutely aware her husband stood right behind him.
His heart flipped at the ecstatic look on her face when she caught sight of him.
“Hi, Cole. Why’d you knock?”
Cole couldn’t form any words through the tightness of his throat, so he moved to the side to show her the man behind him.
He watched as pure, unadulterated shock crossed her face.
“Winston. What are you doing here?” Her gaze flipped back and forth between the men.
Winston stepped past Cole and pulled Emily into his arms.
“Darling, I came to see you. I missed you.”
He couldn’t take another moment of seeing them together. He remembered the hurt and damage his ex caused, but it was nothing compared to the feelings rampaging him at that moment.