Jackson Hole Valentine

by Cindy Kirk

  The slippery path to the brightly lit store entrance was an accident waiting to happen. One fall would undo all the work the surgeon had done to reconstruct Cole’s ACL.

  Meg hurried around the front of the truck and took his arm just as he shut his door.

  He glanced down at the arm which now held him tight then lifted his gaze back to her face, a smirk on his lips. “Why, Meg, darlin’, I didn’t know you cared.”

  “I don’t, Cole, sweetheart,” she said in the same phony Southern drawl. “But if you fall on your as—ah, backside, it will impact not only Charlie’s quality of life, but mine, as well. I’m simply making sure that doesn’t happen.”

  She swore he chuckled. All she cared was that he didn’t protest as they made their way across the lot. Strangely, while holding on to the arm of a man she didn’t care about—at all—she felt like part of a couple. Which was crazy for so many reasons, but most of all she couldn’t recall ever feeling this close to him, not even when they’d been seeing each other.

  “Do you realize,” she said when the treacherous trek ended and the automatic doors slid open in welcome, “that even when we were dating, I never held your hand or took your arm?”

  “That’s because,” he said, “you wouldn’t allow it. You didn’t want anyone to know you were dating me. Especially not any of your Honor Society pals.”

  For a second Meg was struck dumb by the hint of bitterness underscoring his words. “That’s not how it was at all,” she protested when she finally found her voice. “You—”

  “Meg. Cole. What a nice surprise.”

  Meg whirled.

  Lexi Delacourt, social worker extraordinaire, looking absolutely lovely in navy leggings and a bulky navy-and-white cable-knit sweater, stood next to a cart filled with sacks of groceries, her husband, Nick, at her side. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  The curious look in both their eyes told Meg it wasn’t seeing her that was such a surprise, but seeing her holding on to Cole.

  “There was no food in the house.” Meg released her grip on his arm as if it were a hot potato.

  “It was either brave the grocery store aisles or starve.” Cole’s curious gaze settled on Nick.

  “Where are my manners?” Lexi said with a little laugh. “Meg has met my husband, but you haven’t.”

  The pretty social worker made quick work of the introductions.

  “A family-law attorney,” Cole said after he and Nick had shaken hands. He cast a quick glance at Meg before returning his attention to Nick. “I bet you found the provisions of Joy and Ty’s will very interesting.”

  Meg’s heart sank to the tips of her boots. He knew. Somehow without her saying a word, Cole knew Nick was the attorney she’d consulted about the will.

  “My wife doesn’t discuss her cases with me,” Nick said, an easy smile on his lips.

  “Lexi may not, but I did.” Meg lifted her chin. She had nothing to hide. “Nick verified the provisions were completely enforceable.”

  Instead of offering up his normal remark to the tune of “we’ll see about that,” Cole simply smiled.

  “Mary Karen tells me the two of you are living together.” Lexi’s eyes were bright with interest.

  “Living in the same house,” Cole clarified.

  “Not together, together.” Meg’s cheeks burned as Cole’s lips twitched.

  “What Meg is trying to say is—” he paused to place a hand on her shoulder “—we’re not sleeping together.”

  “Not yet anyway,” Lexi said with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

  Nick chuckled. “You’ll have to excuse my wife. She has the soul of a matchmaker.”

  For a second Meg was tempted to make it clear that Cole Lassiter would be the last man on earth she’d ever sleep with, or—she shuddered—to marry, but she stopped the words before they made it past her lips.

  How many times had she told her younger siblings that there was no excuse for mean-spiritedness? Besides, she’d learned long ago there was danger in protesting too much.

  Meg gestured to Lexi’s shopping cart. “Looks like you’re getting ready to do it up big for Christmas.”

  “We’re not always in Jackson Hole for the holidays, so we’re going all out and having everyone over next Saturday night,” Nick said.

  “Nick and Lexi live part of the year in Dallas,” Meg explained to Cole.

  “Although I grew up here, I’ve spent the past fourteen years in Texas,” Cole said to Nick. “My business holdings are based out of Austin.”

  “Great town.” Nick nodded approvingly. “The live music scene is awesome.”

  While the two men launched into a discussion of all things Texas, Lexi pulled Meg aside.

  “How’s it going? And be honest. I was stunned when I heard the news—”

  “It’s okay,” Meg said, realizing it was true. Yes, considering their past, being thrust into such close proximity was a bit awkward, but so far Cole had been a gentleman. He’d praised her cooking, had encouraged Charlie to help her carry bags inside and had even supported her “getting to know you” game last night. “We’re figuring it out.”

  “Lex, not to break this up, but we did tell Coraline we’d pick up the children—” Nick held up his smart phone so his wife could see the time “—in five minutes.”

  “Yikes, I didn’t realize it was this late.” The look Lexi shot Meg was filled with regret. “Coraline runs a B and B and does all the cooking, so she’ll need to get supper started. Addie, our oldest, is a good little helper, but Grace is a toddler and into everything.”

  “We need to rush, too,” Meg said. “Charlie is at a birthday party and we’ll have to pick him up before long.”

  “Do you have any plans for the holidays?” Lexi asked, her gaze widening to include Cole.

  “I haven’t even thought about it,” Cole said. “Right now I’ve been just taking it day by day.”

  “Well—” Lexi glanced at her husband, who gave her a barely perceptible nod “—we’d love it if you’d celebrate with us next Saturday. It’s always a good time when everyone gets together. Travis and Mary Karen will be there, and David and July. Derek and Rachel are in town, so they’ll come. As well as a few single friends. And all the children, of course. We’re planning on eating at six.”

  This must be the party Travis had mentioned. Of course, he’d offered to cancel, saying he’d love to spend more time with her.

  At the time, things had been in such an upheaval, making plans for the Saturday prior to Christmas had been the furthest thing from her mind. Unfortunately, now the holiday was less than a week away.

  “If you plan to settle in Jackson Hole, it would be a good way to get acquainted,” Nick said with a warm smile.

  Meg cast a sideways glance at Cole. He appeared receptive to the idea but this was something they should discuss privately.

  “Thank you so much for the generous offer,” Meg said. “Can we get back to you later today?”

  “No rush,” Lexi said. “Anytime this week is fine. And if you decide to come, don’t worry about bringing anything. We’ve got the food completely covered.”

  Once they were alone, Cole turned to her. “Why did you say we’d get back to them? Why didn’t you just accept?”

  “Because you and I needed to discuss the offer.” Meg carefully placed apples into a plastic bag then twist tied it shut and handed it to Cole to place in the cart.

  “I’d have gone along with whatever you decided.”

  “Thank you for that,” Meg said. “But I believe that parenting is a joint effort. When Travis and I were helping raise our siblings, we discovered early on the importance of not only being on the same page but of presenting a united front.”

  “My mom and dad didn’t operate that way.” He grabbed a head of lettuce and dunked it into the cart with a high lob. “And my stepdad and my mom were too busy bickering to think of anything else.”

  Meg hadn’t known much about Cole’s home life back in
their high school days. Oh, she’d heard the gossip. How his mom had remarried less than six weeks after his father had died. Then, less than a year later, how she’d taken off with a “boyfriend,” leaving Cole and his brother behind.

  Meg had seen Cole’s stepdad only once, coming out of a downtown bar at two in the afternoon, drunk.

  “Of course—” Meg chose her words carefully, wanting to be fair “—if you’d like us to consider other parenting styles, I’m certainly open to the possibility.”

  Cole waved a dismissive hand. “Making joint decisions and presenting a united front works for me.”

  “It’s all about communication.” She stressed the last word, remembering how he’d dropped her so abruptly and refused her calls.

  “So.” He picked up a shiny purple eggplant, stared at it for a moment with a puzzled look on his face before putting it down. “What do you want to do about the party?”

  Meg added some bananas, oranges and a pineapple to the growing mound of food. “On one hand, I think it’d be fun for Charlie to play with my nephews. And we’d know some of the people there. The food is bound to be fabulous. Travis raves about Lexi’s cooking.”

  “On the other hand…” Cole prompted, adding a gallon of milk and a carton of orange juice to the basket.

  “Charlie just lost his parents. Is being tossed into such a busy environment really what he needs right now?” Meg sighed. She’d often thought the world would be a better place if children came with instruction booklets.

  “Well, he has some upcoming days off school. That will give him lots of one-on-one time with us.” Cole’s brows pulled together in thought. “Having children to play with might be a nice break for him.”

  Cole made a good point. Meg had never considered it from that perspective before. Now, she recalled how excited Charlie had been about attending this birthday party. Playing with kids his own age had been a big part of his life prior to his parents’ deaths. The boy probably did miss the interaction.

  “I could call Lexi when we get back to the house and tell her we accept their offer,” Meg said. “Or I suppose I can just wait and tell her at church tomorrow.”

  “Church?” Cole couldn’t have looked more shocked if she’d said they were going to an orgy. “I didn’t say anything about church.”

  “I don’t know about you, but church is a part of my life,” Meg said with a smile. “And I know Charlie is looking forward to going to Sunday school tomorrow. I thought we’d go to church, then while he’s at Sunday school have breakfast at The Coffee Pot. According to my brother, the café is still ‘the’ place to go on Sunday mornings.”

  Meg hadn’t been surprised to hear that the small café had retained its well-deserved reputation as having the best breakfast menu in Jackson.

  “I guess it’s better than sitting at home staring at four walls.” Cole maneuvered the cart down the canned vegetable aisle with surprising agility. “That’s when I start thinking about Ty and Joy and the unfairness of it all.”

  A lump formed in Meg’s throat. “Last night I dreamed I saw them in this supermarket. They were laughing and talking with each other when I saw them. I was so happy. But each time I tried to approach them, they kept disappearing down another aisle. For some reason they couldn’t hear me, not even when I called out to them. I woke up crying.”

  Tears welled in Meg’s eyes but she brushed them back and threw a couple cans into the cart.

  Before she could take off down the aisle, Cole reached over and briefly squeezed her hand. “I’m going to make an executive decision.”

  Meg blinked. “I don’t understand.”

  He confiscated two cans of spinach from the cart and placed them back on the shelf. “We don’t need these.”

  Meg could feel the heat flooding her cheeks. “I can’t believe I did that.”

  “Grief makes us do all sorts of crazy things.” Cole shot her an understanding smile.

  “I miss her, them, so much,” Meg said with a sigh. “But I’m still thankful.”

  Cole maneuvered the cart to the side to let an attractive brunette go past. He didn’t appear to notice the woman’s appraising look and the increased sway of her hips as she sauntered past him. “Thankful for what?”

  Her heart cried at the trace of bitterness in his tone.

  “Thankful that Joy and Ty were responsible parents who took time to update their will and name us as guardians for their son.” Meg lifted a can of peas from the shelf. When Cole nodded, she dropped the can into the cart. “If they hadn’t, Charlie would have been thrust into the foster care system until the courts had time to decide where he should be placed.”

  A shocked look blanketed Cole’s face. “Seriously?”

  Meg nodded. “And I’m thankful that Charlie walked away from the crash without a scratch. I saw pictures of the car.” She shuddered. “It’s a miracle anyone made it out of the vehicle alive.”

  Cole looked at Meg as if seeing her for the first time.

  “Not to mention the improbability of you and I making living together under the same roof work…yet we’re doing it.” She tossed another couple cans into the cart. As far as she was concerned, having them peacefully—at least so far—coexist under the same roof was a miracle.

  “You’ve convinced me.” He released his hold on the cart and lifted both hands in a gesture of surrender. “We do have a lot to be thankful for.”

  He reached into the cart and pulled out a can. “But seriously, creamed corn?”

  Meg confiscated the can from his hand and put it back in the cart. “I happen to love the stuff. If you and Charlie don’t, so sad for you. It’ll just mean more for me.”

  Chapter Seven

  When Cole’s dad had been alive, they’d attended Sunday services as a family every week. Once he died, everything changed.

  If Cole said he missed being at church, he’d be lying. He hadn’t had any use for the place since God had taken the only good thing in his life. His dad had understood Cole’s struggles in school, had supported his pursuit of excellence on the football field. Most of all, his father had loved him unconditionally.

  Cole’s mother had seemed more relieved than saddened by her husband’s death from cancer. She’d remarried before the man she’d vowed to love forever was even cold in the ground.

  “My mommy said when I make a mean face, it could freeze like that.”

  Cole pulled his thoughts back to the present and turned in his seat to face his son sitting in the back. “Was I scowling?”

  The child pulled his brows together, narrowed his eyes then pointed to his own face.

  “Wow,” Cole said. “If my face froze like that, I’d scare you and Aunt Meg.”

  Though her eyes remained focused on the road, Meg chuckled. “After that movie last night, I don’t think I can stand one more scary thing.”

  Cole and Charlie exchanged smiles. Meg had closed her eyes when the hunter came after Bambi’s mother. Though Cole would never admit it, he’d found himself hoping Bambi’s mother had gotten away.

  “I liked the movie,” Cole said. “Did you like it, Charlie?”

  The child had been mostly silent on the car ride into Jackson. “I liked it okay.”

  “Is something on your mind, honey?” Meg voiced the question Cole wasn’t sure he should ask.

  He knew the boy had been traumatized. While Cole wanted Charlie to know he cared, he didn’t want to force the child to talk about his feelings before he was ready.

  “I dunno.” Charlie kicked his foot against the back of the seat.

  Cole waited, a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue. Most of the articles he’d read on grief in kids said not to press, to be patient. The trouble was, he’d never been a particularly patient person.

  “What’s an orphan?” Charlie asked, just as Meg pulled into the church parking lot. “At the funeral Tommy Grosscup said I was an orphan, like that was something bad.”

  Cole’s heart sank. He glanced at Meg. While
he’d learned a great deal reading all those articles, she’d had real-life experience raising her siblings.

  “An orphan,” Meg said softly, “is someone who doesn’t have any parents. I’m an orphan because I lost both my mom and dad. Uncle Cole isn’t an orphan because his mother is still living.”

  “So I was an orphan,” Charlie said, “but I’m not anymore.”

  Once again, Cole forced his mouth to remain shut. Meg simply smiled, projecting an air of calm acceptance that Cole envied.

  “That’s right,” she said after a long moment. “You’re not an orphan because—”

  “I have you and Uncle Cole for my mommy and daddy,” Charlie said as if the answer was obvious.

  A tightness filled Cole’s chest and he saw Meg blink back tears.

  Ryan had been right. Charlie needed a father and a mother during this difficult time.

  Though Meg wouldn’t be around forever, for the first time Cole was grateful she was here now. And once she was gone Cole would start seriously looking for a woman who’d be a wife to him and a mother to his son.

  A friend. A lover. Most important, a woman he could trust.

  Meg slowed her steps as she and Cole approached the front door of The Coffee Pot. “Travis said they usually commandeer a big table at the back of the place.”

  Cole had run into Meg’s brother several times when he’d been in Jackson Hole visiting Joy and Ty. He knew Travis from high school football and they’d always gotten along. But in the ensuing years, whenever he’d spoken with the young doctor, there had been a decided coolness to their interaction.

  While Cole had never mentioned his relationship with Meg to any of the guys on the football team—and he’d kept their breakup to himself, as well—he had the feeling Meg had given her brother an earful. And a one-sided earful if Travis’s response was any indication.

  Suddenly, the thought of breakfast with her relatives and her friends held little appeal.

  “Why don’t you go in, spend time with your brother.” Cole glanced down the almost-deserted sidewalk. Because of the brisk north wind, once people got out of their vehicles, they didn’t loiter but headed straight inside. “I’m going to take a little walk.”