“I hope it is. For starters, it’s a safe haven for these kids. I wouldn’t contribute a dime if it wasn’t. Ms. Nash and her team are great dealing with them too. We also make sure they have the best medical and mental health care. But, most importantly, there are plenty of things for them to do and lots of fresh air so that their circumstances won’t choke them.”
“Pretty amazing.”
Her compliment was like a drug. It made his chest swell. “Did you notice, the little girl that came up to me? She reminds me so much of you. The hair, eyes—even her smile are so similar to yours. She’s a sweetheart.”
“She seems to worship you.” Jade thought just like I did when I was a young girl. Why her mind kept going back there was frustrating. That was the past. She needed to focus on the future. It didn’t include any hero-worship. Best thing to do was change the subject. “What do you do here?”
“I tutor some of the kids in math and whatever odd thing Ms. Nash asks of me.”
Contemplative, Jade placed her hands on her hips as she looked around. “Well, I was always terrible at math so what else can I do while I’m here?”
He shrugged. “You want to help? I thought you might want to just hang out.”
“Oh-no. I’ve never been that kind of girl. I want to make myself useful. So, what do you think I can do?”
It made Cole feel good to know that even though Jade was feeling low, she still wanted to help these kids. “Whatever you want. I brought you here because I wanted to show you where I come when I’m feeling a little down. It’s a great outlet for me to release some negative energy. Some of these kids had it really bad before being placed here. I know you understand that more than most. Plus, I love seeing them open up and become a part of the Serenity House family.”
Jade was more than impressed. Her heart was genuinely touched. “Maybe I can help Ms. Nash in the kitchen.”
“I’m sure she would love that. They also need help in the reading room. It’s just reading stories to the younger kids. But whatever you do I’m sure will be fine with Ms. Nash. The kitchen is down that hall and to your right. Alright…I’m out. See ya in a couple of hours.”
Jade watched Cole leave then turned to go find Ms. Nash.
Chapter 17
An hour later, Jade was having the best time she’d had in years with Ms. Nash, Millie, and Lisa baking cookies. She had laughed so hard her cheeks ached.
Lisa and Millie were somewhere around the ages of fifteen or sixteen. Lisa nudged Millie. “Ask her.”
Millie nudged her back. “No, you ask her.” They laughed.
Jade used the back of her flour-covered hand to wipe away an itch she had on her cheek leaving behind a large smudge of flour. “What are you two giggling about? Ask me what?”
Millie tilted her head to the side. “Are you Mr. Thornton’s girlfriend?”
Jade cracked a smile. It was obvious both girls had a serious crush on Cole. “You’ll be happy to know that we are not dating. But…” she said with a mischievous smile, “he does have a girlfriend.” Broad smiles and giggles were immediately replaced with disappointment when Jade delivered the bad news.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “We should have known. He’s so hot!”
Jade laughed because she’d always thought he was pretty hot too. Rarely did she talk about her past but felt safe to do so here. “He and I actually grew up together in a home similar to this one. Well, not exactly similar. The energy is much more positive here.”
The room went quiet. Millie was stunned. “Really? We knew about Mr. Thornton, but you grew up in a group home too?”
Jade nodded. “Yes, I did. Why is that so surprising?”
Lisa shrugged. “I don’t know. You seem so together.”
Jade pressed her lips together. “Boy, I’m so far from being together, but I’m working on it.”
Millie put a pan of cookies in the oven as she agreed with Lisa. “Most people have no idea what it’s like to live our lives. I guess that’s why I like Mr. Thornton so much. He gets it. He really does and doesn’t make us feel less than…you know?”
Ms. Nash hadn’t said much but watched Jade’s every move. After a moment, she spoke. “I’ve been told this place is good for healing.”
Jade responded with a warm smile. “It seems like it.”
“It definitely had a healing effect on me. I’m blessed to have so many children to look after and love, but if I could have birthed my own, I only hope that they would have been as thoughtful and generous as Cole. He is one of those people who feels as if he has a responsibility to take care of those that are important to him.”
Jade thought back to her eighteenth birthday when he didn’t show up as promised. The more she thought about who he was then and the man he seemed to be now—something just didn’t add up. Maybe, just maybe, there was more going on and in her anger and frustration, she’d missed it.
After they had finished baking the cookies and cleaning up the kitchen, Lisa and Millie went outside to hang with some of the other teens.
Ms. Nash decided to dig a little bit. “So, you and Cole grew up together in a group home too.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ve known Cole for a few years now, but I have to be honest, I’ve never seen him like this.”
Jade was curious. “Like what?”
Ms. Nash thought about it for a second. “He has this faraway look in his eyes that even when he’s here, he’s not all the way here. Today, he seems fully present. I’m wondering if you have anything to do with that.”
“Oh. I can’t imagine I would.”
“Hmm…I don’t know. The way you look at each other and the energy you both are giving off…are you sure there’s nothing but friendship between you?”
Nervously, Jade laughed it off. “I promise there is nothing between us. As a matter of fact, we’re trying to rebuild an adult friendship. I haven’t seen Cole in years.”
“Mmmhmmm. I know that look on your face. I’ve worn it. Well, if you two want to pretend there is not this sizzling energy, then I’ll follow your lead.”
Jade touched her face. “What look?”
“The one you’re desperately trying to hide, and the one he doesn’t know he’s even wearing. These old eyes don’t miss much.”
“Oh, Ms. Nash. I’m sure that’s not true. He has a girlfriend so even if what you said was true, which it’s not, that’s that.” Ms. Nash’s words gave Jade an anxious energy. She thought maybe she should read some to the younger kids to calm herself. “Cole mentioned that you might need a volunteer or two for story time. I’d love to read to the children.”
“Are you sure Millie and Lisa didn’t wear you out?”
“Positive. To be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself this much.”
“Great! I’ll never turn down any help. Typically, some of the older kids would read to the younger ones but if you want to let’s do it.” Ms. Nash took Jade’s arm and linked it through hers. “I’ll walk you down to our reading room.”
*****
Cole was finishing up his Algebra tutoring session with a couple of the guys. “Okay, we’re about done going over this material.” He pointed to Jay then Michael. “Do either of you have any questions?”
Jay responded first. “Yeah, I have one. Who was the hottie you came here with?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
“Who? Jade?”
“Is that her name? Man, she’s gorgeous.”
He laughed. “Dude watch it. She’s family.”
“I thought you didn’t have any family?”
“Well, it’s a long story, but we’re like family.”
Michael and Jay looked at one another then Michael responded. “Like family and family are two different things.” They nodded in agreement and fist bumped.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Whatever. Don’t be ogling her.”
“Uh-oh. What’s up with that? Did you see that Michael?”
“Yep. I saw it, J
ay.”
Cole looked confused. “Saw what?”
Jay flexed his non-existent muscles. “Was that a spark of jealousy on your face because you know that if she were to take one look at all of this, she would kick you to the curb?”
It took everything for Cole not to laugh out loud. “Um…that’s it exactly.”
Michael slapped Cole on the back. “Well because you’re our boy, we won’t make a move on your girl.”
Holding in his laughter, Jay nodded then turned to Michael. “We should try to get a game of basketball in before Ms. Nash shuts us down for the afternoon. We’ve got laundry duty.”
Cole turned serious. “Hey, wait a minute. Before you two head out of here, I want to make sure that both of you will review what we covered today before you take the test on Tuesday.”
In unison, they responded. “We will. Thanks, Mr. Thornton.” They each bumped fists with Cole before leaving the study room.
Cole started packing up his things as he thought about what Michael and Jay had said about Jade. They called her a hottie. He supposed he could understand why. The transformation from a girl to a woman was pretty impressive. It would be difficult for anyone to ignore Jade’s hourglass figure. When he held her in his arms, even he couldn’t help but notice that she was firm and soft in all the right places. The curvature of her slim waist, toned stomach, and rounded bottom couldn’t be hidden underneath her work uniform. Wait? What the hell? Why was he thinking about Jade like that? He wasn’t some kind of perv! Cole shook off those thoughts. Crazy.
One of the reasons he’d brought Jade along today was because she had been on edge since the moment she’d come back into his life. It had made re-connecting difficult. He’d been feeling a little blue earlier in the week because of it too. Serenity House always made him feel better. He hoped it had the same effect on her as it did for him.
*****
When Cole entered the reading room, Jade had several children sitting around her feet completely engrossed in whatever story she was reading. He leaned his shoulder up against the door to watch. Her face was completely animated as she read out loud. Her arms were going in all different directions in an attempt to add more drama to the story. For the first time, she looked like she was actually enjoying herself.
As Jade was finishing up the book, she gazed up to catch Cole watching her. Suddenly, it was just a little harder to breathe, but somehow she managed.
It took some time to extricate herself from the little ones when the book was finished. They all wanted just one more story. She was only able to get away by promising to come back.
As Jade walked to the back of the room, Cole looked pleased. “It seems like you might have won them over.”
Jade couldn’t hide the joy from her face. “I hope so. It was fun. They are a great group of kids.”
“So, you’d be willing to come back?”
“For sure. I think I probably had a better time than they did.”
“I certainly know that feeling.” Cole didn’t know why but he was feeling a little nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was wondering, did anybody get a chance to show you around?”
“No, not really. I spent some time in the kitchen baking cookies and then I came here.”
Cole couldn’t put his finger on it, but something else was different too. The tension that usually stood between them like a brick wall didn’t seem to be present. Usually, Jade was always looking for the nearest exit when he was around. He figured he’d press his luck since she was in such a good mood. “Are you up for taking a walk around the grounds?”
She scrunched up her face. “Um…like outside with all the animals?”
“What scared?”
She raised her chin and looked him directly in the eyes. “You think that still works?”
“Yep.”
Jade shook her head. “You can take the boy out of the group home, but you can’t take the group home out of the boy. Let’s go.”
*****
Cole and Jade had visited practically every place on the estate. Their final stop on the way back to the house were the horse’s stables. After watching the horses intently for a while, Jade was finally convinced by Cole to not only touch one, but to run her hands down Jasper’s head and mane. He was a beautiful black and white saddle horse. He loved the attention, and it only took a moment for Jade to fall in love.
Absentmindedly, Jade asked Cole something that had been on her mind. “Elise must really love this place.”
Cole grabbed a piece of hay from a bale behind him and started to chew on it. “Dunno. I’ve never brought her here.”
Jade managed to tear her eyes away from Jasper to stare at him. “What? Why?”
He shrugged. “This is a part of my life that I keep to myself. I haven’t shared this place or my childhood with her or any of my friends.”
“Cole, where we come from is nothing to be ashamed of. Look how far you’ve come since those days. It’s nothing short of amazing.”
“Another compliment from Ms. Jade Anderson. I’m not going to know what to do with myself if you keep this up. Anyway, I’m not ashamed. It’s just something I choose to keep for myself.”
If only she could be Jade Anderson for five minutes. That person was dead and gone. Although today was the closest she’d felt to her in years. Since the energy between them had been so good, and the day was going so well, she didn’t have the heart to tell him that. Instead, she smirked and re-focused her attention back to Jasper. “Don’t get used it.”
It was getting late in the afternoon, and the way the sun shined behind Jade’s head formed a perfect halo. He tampered down a strong temptation to touch the side of her cheek. What was wrong with him? This was Jade…Jade! Cole needed to get a grip. He cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt this love fest with Jasper, but you’re going to have to come back to visit him. We should probably get going. I’ve still got a few games of Halo to play.”
The way Jade was feeling, she could have hung out with him for hours and Jasper too. It was probably a good idea to get moving. “All right.” She sighed and pouted just a bit before speaking softly into Jasper’s ear. “I’ll be back to visit you very soon, okay?” He neighed as if he understood.
They walked side by side from the stables back to the main house. Thankfully, her hands were tucked inside the front of her hoodie pockets. They were a bit shaky. She wasn’t ready for Cole to know how much opening up to him again affected her. Jade managed to speak clearly without showing any of the nerves she’d been feeling. “Thank you.”
Perplexed he responded. “For what?”
“For bringing me here today, and giving me a bit of Serenity.”
“You’re more than welcome.” Over the years, Cole had made a lot of money, and had lots of material things, but nothing meant more to him than hearing those words from Jade.
Chapter 18
The drive back to Cole’s, after a full day at Serenity House followed by dinner at a fast food dive felt like it did when they were teenagers riding in the back of Rob’s car. They laughed and talked and laughed some more.
“You remember this?”
“What?”
Cole turned the radio up. “This song. I swear we played the hell out of this song.”
“Oh my god. I haven’t heard this in years! You were definitely going through a phase when this song was out.”
“Don’t pretend like it was just me. You were a rida, and I was a rolla.” The laughter just poured out from between them. Even more so when Cole started trying to rap along to the lyrics.
Jade was doubled over. They were having so much fun that when they pulled through his gates and pulled up in front of his house, they didn’t even notice Elise’s car.
She, however, saw them first and got out of her car almost stepping in front of his before it came to a complete stop.
All the fun and games ceased immediately. Jade looked at Cole. “She looks pissed.”
“Yeah, sh
e does.”
They couldn’t even get out of the car before Elise had something to say. “You two seemed to be having a great time. Why wasn’t I invited to the party?”
Cole walked over to Elise and tried to pull her towards him. She stepped away. “It was a spur of the moment thing, Babe.” He managed to kiss her on the lips as he walked toward his door. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
“It was a spur of the moment thing.” She threw his words back at him.
This was the part Jade hated. When they were younger, she managed to maintain a blank face when Cole would show affection towards his girlfriends. It surprised her how easily she was able to fall back into that unhealthy pattern.
His back was to them as he opened the door, so he didn’t see Elise as she cut her eyes at Jade. He only heard her speak. “Jade.”
Jade responded, doing her best to keep the dislike from her voice. “Elise.”
As they entered the house, Elise grabbed ahold of Cole’s hand. “I was hoping we could spend some time together, maybe even have dinner. You’ve been so busy with work and…” She looked over at Jade. “And, other things. I’m feeling a bit neglected.”
This was crazy. Elise was Cole’s girlfriend, and that was that. “I’m going to make myself scarce so you two can have some alone time. Thanks Cole for today.”
Cole looked over at Jade. He wasn’t ready for the night to end and hated to see her go. He didn’t realize it, but he’d watched until Jade was out of sight.
“Hello? Remember me?”
Cole turned back to Elise. “Of course I remember you. That’s a crazy thing to say?”
“Is it? I’ve just caught my boyfriend staring after another woman.”
“You're delusional.”
“Am I? You’ve also been spending quite a bit of time with Jade. I know you said that the two of you were like siblings, but I don’t get that feeling when she looks at you.”
“Jade doesn’t see me in that way.” There was a part of him that felt somewhat guilty. Not because of Elise’s assertion that Jade had romantic feelings for him, but because there was a part of him that was noticing her romantically. Cole exhaled. “Elise, I haven’t seen her in almost ten years. Of course we are going to spend some time reconnecting. Today was a really good day for us. All we did was hang out and have dinner.”
The Right Side of My Pillow Page 10
