OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE

by Lindsey Brookes

She nodded again. “Yes.”

  “Then things will work out. You’ll see.”

  “I really hope so, Mom.”

  Her mother gave her a reassuring smile. “Cole’s been trying to reach you for days. I think he was more out of his mind with worry than I was over you. And I’ll tell you right now I was at my wit’s end. That tells me he still cares a lot about you. Have you called to let him know you’re back?”

  “No. I’d rather talk to him in person when I explain why I did what I did.”

  “Then go talk to him.”

  “He’s on duty today. I’d rather wait until tomorrow when he’s off to talk things over.”

  “I suppose one more day won’t make that much of a difference.” Her mother smiled. “I’m so happy for you, honey. To be honest, I was afraid you’d never let a man into your heart again after what happened between you and Kyle.”

  “I never thought I would either.”

  Her mother clapped her hands together. “Ooh! This means I’ll finally get a couple of─”

  “Grandchildren,” Kelsie finished for her with a smile.

  “Yes,” her mother said. “Lots and lots of them.”

  Now she was a breeding machine? “If,” she told her mother, “and that’s a big ‘if’, I can get Cole to forgive me for running out on him, we’ll go from there. One step at a time.”

  Her mother sighed. “I suppose there’s nothing I can do to help out. You know, to sort of move things along a little faster.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’d rather handle this on my own.”

  “Fine, but don’t take too long. Your mother here isn’t getting any younger. I’d like some grandchildren before I’m too old to enjoy them.”

  “Point taken.” She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of having a baby with Cole someday. One with his dark hair and dark eyes. And please oh please his dimple.

  “I really am happy for you,” her mother said in all sincerity.

  “I suppose you’ll be even happier when I tell you my other good news.”

  Her mother’s face lit up. “You’re already pregnant!”

  “Mom!”

  Her mother held up her hands. “Sorry. But you can’t blame a mother for trying. So what’s your other good news?”

  “I’ve written a book.”

  “What kind of book?”

  She hesitated, debating the best way to tell her mother what she’d been doing. Would she be upset that Kelsie hadn’t taken her blind dates more seriously? Not that there had been much possibility of that happening, considering the men she’d been set up with.

  “It’s called OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE. I came up with the idea when you started setting me up on all those blind dates.” She went on to explain to her mother what the book was about and that she’d come home to find she had an offer on it.

  “My daughter’s going to be famous! Wait until all of my friends at work hear about this.”

  “Mom, I don’t think selling one little how-to book is going to put me in the famous author category. But thanks for being happy for me.”

  She glanced at her watch. “I’d better get going. I’ve got another showing in Dublin in an hour. Then I have a few things I need to see to afterwards.”

  “Just as long as those things don’t include any wedding planning,” Kelsie warned, remembering what Cole had told her about the wedding cake tasting.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” her mother replied with a grin as she headed for the door. “At least not yet. Be sure to call me as soon as you’ve straightened things out with my son-in-law to be.”

  “Mom…”

  “Gotta run,” she called back with an over-the-shoulder wave as she closed the door behind her.

  Kelsie shook her head, smiling. Today she would celebrate her good news. After all, Operation: Date Escape had played a big part in bringing her and Cole together. Then tomorrow she would go after her man.

  *

  Cole held out the TV remote, flipping through channels on the big screen, not that he really cared what was on. All he could think about was Kelsie. Where was she? Was she okay?

  “Any word from Kelsie yet?” Joe asked as he settled into the empty chair next to his.

  “No,” Cole muttered. “Not that it should come as any big surprise.”

  “I just thought… Well, Nanci was acting a little strange on the phone last night.”

  “Strange how?”

  “Like she was keeping something from me that she really wanted to tell me. Saying things like tell Cole the sun will come out tomorrow and that patience is a virtue. I’m not sure what the hell all of that meant, but I think you need to give Kelsie a call again.”

  “As if she’d answer.”

  “When’s the last time you tried to reach her?”

  He turned to his friend. “When she first took off. I left several messages for her on her cell phone and on her answering machine at home. I think her not responding to any of them pretty much says it all.”

  “It doesn’t make sense. Maybe she never got the messages. Nanci said─”

  “Nanci’s wrong,” Cole growled. Fool he was, he’d fallen hard for Kelsie.

  Joe frowned. “Look, Cole-”

  “Breakfast is ready,” Stubby hollered to the crew as he stepped from the kitchen carrying a platter filled with several stacks of pancakes.

  “Time to eat,” Cole said, pushing out of the recliner, thankful for Stubby’s timing.

  “We’ll finish this conversation later,” Joe warned as he stood up from his Lazy-Boy.

  “Give it up, Joe. I don’t want to talk about Kelsie.” He tossed his friend the television remote and then crossed the room to the oversized table where the rest of his crew had already gathered for that morning’s breakfast.

  He’d done enough thinking about Kelsie the past few days to last a lifetime. And none of it had succeeded in really answering why she’d taken off the way she had. They were good together. The chemistry was incredible. And he’d done his damnedest to prove to her he was nothing like her ex, for all the good it had done him.

  Cole pulled out his chair and sat down. Then he reached for the coffee, in desperate need of some caffeine. His sleepless nights were beginning to catch up with him and that wasn’t a good thing.

  Joe settled into his chair across the table from Cole. Grabbing for his fork, he stabbed at the stack of pancakes in front of him and dropped three onto his plate. “Hey, Stubby, pass the syrup this way when you’re done.”

  “Will do.”

  The rec room door opened and Nate strolled in carrying the morning paper. He made his way toward the breakfast table, a smile on his face. “Hey, Maxwell, why didn’t you tell us that hot little tamale you’re dating is a writer?”

  A writer? What was he talking about?

  He looked up at Nate in confusion. “She’s not. Kelsie’s a dental hygienist.” And they weren’t dating. How could they be when she was nowhere to be found?

  Nate held out the folded newspaper. “According to this article, she’s also a soon-to-be famous author. At least, now I know how she ended up in that tree behind the strip club.” He chuckled. “Too funny.”

  Cole took the paper and scanned down the page. Sure enough, halfway down was a brief write-up about Worthington’s newest celebrity.

  ‘Local resident, Kelsie Collins, hits the mark with her bad date survival book – OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE. According to our source, OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE is being picked up for publication. Miss Collins…’

  He read on and the more he read the more his gut twisted. Kelsie had never mentioned anything about being a writer. And she sure as hell never mentioned dating men to help her find ways to skip out on them in the name of research.

  Cole muttered a curse as understanding dawned on him. He was one of those men. To think he’d been fool enough to believe there had been something real between them. That Kelsie felt the same way he did and had only run out on him for fear of getting hu
rt again.

  His hardened gaze settled on the paper he clutched in his hands. It appeared he couldn’t have been more wrong about her. About them. No wonder his profession had never been a problem for her like it had been with the other women he’d dated. She’d had no intention of sticking around long enough for it to become a problem.

  Teeth clenched, Cole fought to control the emotions warring away inside of him. Anger. Hurt. Confusion. He tossed the paper onto the oversized table and looked up to find everyone else at the table smiling.

  Smiling?

  Relief surged through him. They’d set him up. This was another one of their playful firehouse gags. “Real funny, guys. I’ll admit you had me going there for a moment.”

  This time they were the ones looking confused.

  “What are you talking about?” Joe asked and reached for the paper. After a quick once-over he looked up, meeting Cole’s gaze from across the table. “We didn’t do this.”

  The lieutenant snatched the paper away from Joe and read it. Soon the paper had made its way all the way around the breakfast table and questions were being fired at Cole. Questions he had no answers to.

  “What all’s in the book?” Stubby asked as he grabbed for the paper. “Are we in it?”

  Unable to take any more, Cole pushed away from the table and stood. “I have no idea. I guess you’ll all just have to read the book to find out.” That said he turned and walked out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Kelsie hung up with a frustrated sigh. She’d been trying to reach Cole at home all morning with no success. Maybe he was avoiding her calls. It wouldn’t surprise her. Her mother would probably say it served her right, running out on a good man the way she had and not returning his calls.

  Now that she was finally ready to talk, ready to tell Cole how she really felt about him, she couldn’t reach him. She’d gotten his answering machine both on his cell phone and at home, but she didn’t want to leave a message. What she had to say to him was too important to be done over the phone.

  Seeing as how he was avoiding her calls, and probably deservedly so, she decided to drive to his house and force him to hear her out. To apologize. To explain. To tell him that she had fallen in love with him, too.

  For as close as Cole lived to her place, it felt like the longest drive she’d ever had to make. Her stomach was all aflutter and her heart was pounding in anticipation.

  She tried calling his house once more with no luck. Now she knew how Cole and her mother and Nanci felt when she’d done the same thing to them. Shoving her phone back into her purse, she made the turn down Cole’s street.

  The window curtains were all drawn and there was no truck in the driveway when she arrived. She prayed his truck was in the garage and that he was home and just hadn’t taken the time to open the curtains. He had to be there.

  Her cell phone ringer went off, making her heart lurch. She grabbed for it, bringing it to her ear. “Cole, I’m so glad─”

  “It’s not Cole,” Nanci interjected.

  “Oh.” She should have checked the caller I.D. first.

  Nanci laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “What’s up?” Kelsie asked as she sat staring out the window at Cole’s front door.

  “I just crawled out of bed and tried to call you. Where are you at so early in—” her friend’s words grew garbled and then the call disconnected.

  She waited a minute or two for Nanci to call her back, but she never did. Shoving her phone back into her purse, she got out of her car and walked up to the front door, knocking twice.

  No answer.

  She knocked again, this time a little louder. “Come on, Cole, please answer.”

  Her cell rang again. She hurried to check it. Nanci was finally calling her back.

  “Hello?”

  “Me again, and my battery is almost dead, so I can’t talk long.”

  “Where’s your car charger?”

  “I forgot it in Joe’s truck the other day when we took a drive up to Alum Creek State Park. You and Cole are going to have to go with us there sometime soon.”

  She loved Nanci dearly, but she didn’t have time for girl chatter. “Can I call you later? I’m at Cole’s house right now.”

  “You called him? How’d it go? Pretty good I guess if you’re at his house.”

  “Nanci…”

  “Oh, shit, I’m interrupting something, aren’t I?”

  “No,” she said impatiently. “Because I haven’t spoken to Cole yet.”

  “But you’re at his house.”

  “He wasn’t answering his phone, so I decided that he was avoiding me like I’d done to him. So I took a drive over here to apologize in person. Unfortunately, he doesn’t appear to be home.”

  “Joe’s on duty. You could call the station and ask him if he knows where Cole might be.”

  Kelsie groaned. “You mean Joe’s on shift?”

  “Yeah, he is. Why?” Nanci asked as the phone reception worsened.

  “Because he and Cole always work the same rotation.” The crews worked a twenty-four hour shift and then had the next forty-eight hours off. “How could you not know that?”

  “Joe and I don’t exactly spend a lot of time discussing his work shifts if you know what I mean.”

  No doubt too busy having uninhibited sex if she knew her best friend. Kelsie groaned. “Damn it. I really don’t want to wait any longer to talk to Cole. Not when I finally gotten the nerve up to do it.”

  “Then go to the station.”

  “I don’t know,” she said with a frown. “It’s not the most private of places to have the discussion Cole and I need to have.”

  “Okay,” Nanci replied. “Go ahead and wait until he’s off duty and give some other woman the chance to come into his life before then…”

  Nanci was right. She’d wasted enough precious time trying to get her head on straight. Cole was the kind of man a woman would snap up if given the chance, and she wasn’t prepared to take the risk. “I’m going.”

  “Good. Now about the write up…” Nanci said but once again the phone went dead.

  Write up? Kelsie shrugged and shoved her cell back into her purse as she walked back to her car. She was going to set things right with Cole, even if it meant doing so in a less than private setting like the station.

  *

  Kelsie parked in the back parking lot of the fire station and sat there for several minutes, gathering up her nerve. Then, heart pounding in anticipation of seeing Cole again, she got out, locking her purse in the car. Shoving her keys into the back pocket of her jeans, she headed for the entrance.

  Stubby greeted her when she stepped into the firehouse. “Can I help you?”

  It wasn’t anywhere close to the warm reception she had received at the firehouse picnic. They must have heard what she’d done to their friend.

  “Is Cole around?” she asked with a lot less confidence than she’d felt driving over there.

  He hesitated, glancing toward the stairs.

  “Please, Stubby,” she begged, something she was not beyond doing at that point. “It’s really important that I talk to him.”

  She was well aware that the crew was like a second family for these firefighters. In having hurt Cole, she had hurt a part of their family. She was the bad guy in their eyes, or in her case woman, and for good reason. But she hoped to fix that as soon as she worked things out with Cole.

  “Just don’t play anymore games with him,” he warned with a frown. “He’s been hurt enough as it is already.”

  Hearing that tore her apart. “I’m not here to hurt him. I promise.”

  “Fine. Wait here while I go page him.”

  “Thank you.” She motioned toward the door she’d just come through. “I’ll wait for him outside if that’s all right.”

  He nodded. “Sure. I’ll let Cole know where you’ll be.”

  She watched him walk away, disappearing into the office. Did they all hate her? Even wor
se, did Cole? Tears stung her eyes as she turned and headed back outside to wait. At least, out there they’d have a bit more privacy to discuss their relationship. One she hoped still existed, even if that hope only now seemed to be a tiny flicker.

  She waited for him, her palms growing damper with each passing minute. What if Cole didn’t come out? What if he sent someone else down in his place to send her away? If he refused to come out, she would go right back into the station and find him. She would make him understand that things had changed.

  But she didn’t have to go in after him. The firehouse door swung open and Cole stepped outside.

  The pounding in her heart intensified. She mouthed his name, but nothing came out as she stood staring at him.

  He moved toward her with a dark scowl, no warm smile to greet her this time. As much as it pained her to see him looking at her that way, she had every intention of erasing that frown with a heartfelt apology and her admission of love.

  “Hey,” she finally managed to say, her voice quivering.

  “What are you doing here?”

  And she thought Stubby’s welcome had been a cold one.

  She bit anxiously at her bottom lip. She’d never seen this side of Cole. Not that she hadn’t expected him to be upset with her for what she’d done, but this was beyond that.

  “I…” She sighed. “Can we talk?”

  “Why?”

  “I know you’re angry with me.”

  He chuckled. “Angry doesn’t even begin to cover the way I feel.”

  “Please, Cole, if you’ll just let me explain why─”

  “It’s too late,” he said, cutting her off.

  No! It couldn’t be too late.

  “Cole, I really am sorry.”

  His scowl deepened. “Yes, you are.”

  Her heart pinched painfully at those hurtful words. “Please try and understand that everything was happening so fast between us. I needed some time away to think.”

  “Think about what?” he asked mockingly. “Your next chapter?”

  She froze as his words struck her. “What?”

  “Isn’t that what you and I were all about, Kelsie? Another chapter for your damned book.”

  Her mouth fell open. How had he found out about her book?