by Zoe York
Scarlett wasn’t going to answer that.
Garth was right about one thing, ever since Cole had arrived she’d been there for him. She’d driven him around, helped connect him to people.
The front door opened and Benji sat down next to her. Ingrid and Kasima sat on steps below her and turned to look up. Scarlett was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her. If Cole didn’t want to be part of it that was his choice.
“I don’t want to cry over this.” She drew in a shaky breath. She’d cry eventually, but right now she wanted to be mad. “I want to do something.”
“We could go shopping,” Ingrid suggested.
“A movie day?” Kasima put her hand on Scarlett’s knee.
“I think you should go to Colorado,” Garth said.
Scarlett whipped her head around. Who was this man?
“I think you should do something for yourself. I’m sorry I talked you out of it. I’ve had a lot to think about lately.”
“The conference starts today.” Scarlett would have liked to go, but she’d never seen it as a real opportunity.
“It lasts through Friday. You could catch the evening activities then the next four days,” Benji said chiming in.
“But—that’s crazy.” Scarlett shook her head.
“It would take your mind off all this. Hell, it’ll all probably blow over while you’re gone and when you get back Cole will be groveling in forgiveness,” Benji said.
It would give her something to throw herself into. Being around so many professionals in their industry would also force her to put on a brave face, move on and focus. Being apart might even be good for them. She loved Cole, but he wasn’t in the same place as her. She couldn’t forget her own hopes and dreams in the face of falling for a man that wasn’t fighting for her.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Yeah, I guess I need to pack?”
Chapter 15
Cole hadn’t slept well. At all really.
It started with discovering his sheets in the dryer and realizing that Scarlett had washed not only her things, but his as well. By that point it was close to midnight and though she was a night owl, he didn’t want to risk waking her up. Besides, he didn’t know what to say to her.
He’d flown off the handle and snapped at her earlier. He’d said things he couldn’t take back, that he wished he hadn’t said.
The only thing Scarlett had ever done was be kind to him, and this was how he repaid her. By being a dick. Deep down he knew he was angry and that his issues with Allie would always overshadow what he had with Scarlett. Which meant he couldn’t fix his relationship with Scarlett until things with Allie were finally resolved.
Pip took off out of the kitchen yapping away.
A shadow moved past the windows.
It was time.
He didn’t know what to think about this or how to react. If he’d been in love with Allie, truly in love with her, this conversation would go differently. He didn’t want anything from her except his keys and her name off the lease. They were over. He might thank her for that.
The soft knock was what routed him from the spot in front of the coffee machine.
Cole crossed to the kitchen, scooped Pip up so he didn’t dart outside then opened the door.
Allie-Kate stood on the welcome mat along with Caesar.
“Hey, buddy.” Cole couldn’t help but feel some fondness for the dog with his three legs and squinty eye. He’d been one of those animals who came into the clinic and somehow survived, only for his owner to abandon him at a shelter a few weeks later.
“Glad to see you, too,” Allie said. She’d put effort into her appearance today with her hair straightened, make-up on and a flowy dress. Her left hand fluttered around her face, showing off the heirloom engagement ring she’d used to pull him into this arrangement.
“Come in?” He took a step back and gestured for her to come inside. He wasn’t happy to see her and he wasn’t going to pretend he was. “Want a coffee? Water?”
“No, I guess not.” She sighed and glanced around.
“Sit?”
“I’d have laid this out differently,” she said.
“Well, you weren’t here to get a vote, so I did the best I could.” Cole set Pip down.
“Ouch.” Allie turned her big, blue eyes on him and blinked.
That wasn’t going to work on him anymore.
Pip made straight for Caesar, who skittered sideways. Undeterred, Pip followed. Neither barked, but it was clear who the top dog in this dynamic was going to be.
He grabbed his coffee then crossed to the sectional.
“I only have two hours for this, so if you don’t mind?” Cole was ready to end this chapter. He didn’t know what came next, a lot of that depended on Scarlett, but he knew he didn’t want to be with Allie. These few weeks with Scarlett showed him that even if he hadn’t been ready for it all.
“This. You make it sound like an appointment.” Allie sank onto the chaise part of the sectional, hands on her knees.
Cole didn’t know how to respond to that statement so he sipped his coffee and sat a little ways from her, out of touching distance but not completely at the other end of the sofa. He wanted this to be clear, they were broken up and there was no salvaging the relationship. At this point it was a matter of separating their assets and coming to an agreement.
“Where did we go wrong?” Allie asked.
“In the beginning,” he replied.
“You think the whole thing was a mistake?” She stared at the floor.
“I think we were always wrong for each other, but neither of us wanted to be alone. We just didn’t want to be with each other enough, either.”
Allie drew in a shaky breath, still staring at the floor, and nodded.
Cole knew now that they’d never been truly honest with each other. She didn’t know the real him and he was only acquainted with part of her. They’d been living a comfortable lie.
“What did you think was going to happen today?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She leaned forward and planted her elbows on her knees. “Mom and Dad told me if I didn’t come home they were going to close my credit card.”
Ah, the financial pressure.
Allie always had a credit card her parents paid for. She depended on that to get by most of the time.
“What did they think was going to happen?” he asked.
“Mom wanted me to come back and fix things with you. She wanted all of this to go away and for people to stop talking about them.” She blew out a breath. “It’s always them and people talking and…”
“Yeah, your mom has some interesting priorities.” He sipped his coffee. “You weren’t going to come back. Ever.”
“I’m a shitty person, Cole. You deserve better.” Allie slumped on the sofa looking like a crushed flower. She was a beautiful woman, but she was lost and broken. He’d tried to fix her. Help her. But she needed something he couldn’t give her, and only now did he see that.
“You deserve better, too. I’m no one to judge about being shitty, though.” He dragged a hand across his jaw, his mind flying back to the sheets.
“We’re over, aren’t we?” Allie asked.
“You broke up with me. How would we not be over?”
“I don’t know. I just…I had to ask.”
“We’re over,” he said, so it was out there.
“Okay. That’s probably for the best.” Allie curled one leg under her. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not going to fix everything and you probably hate me, but I’m sorry.”
“I don’t hate you, but I don’t want to be with you, either.”
“You replaced me awful fast.” Allie glanced toward him, her lips quirking up.
“Why did you tell Scarlett we were still engaged?”
Allie’s face crumpled yet again. Her distress was clear from the lines to the wide eyes.
“I panicked. I do what I always do and just said something. I was going to slip over he
re when no one was around, grab my things and just leave. Get out of here. But then Scarlett wouldn’t let me in and we stood there. We went back and forth forever. Then Mom and Dad showed up. They figured out what I was going to do, and they showed up here.”
“And cleaned me out? They took shit that wasn’t ours.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it. Is Scarlett mad?”
Cole squeezed his eyes shut, her voice echoing in his mind.
She’d been uncertain, he’d heard the waver in her voice and known she was trying to not jump to conclusions. But the stress had gotten the best of him and he’d screwed it all up.
“I messed things up there. I didn’t choose my words well,” he said.
“Are you going to fix it?”
“I’m going to try to.”
“Everyone talks about you two, you know?”
Cole nodded. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with that fact, but it was the truth.
“Dad always says that the right person is worth fighting for. I thought that’s what I was doing with you. The problem was we were a square peg and a round hole. We fundamentally didn’t work, and that’s not your fault. It’s mine. I wanted so badly to change, to be the daughter my parents wanted me to be. And that meant coming home, getting married, settling down. When we met, I thought this is a guy worth doing that with. And you are, but I’m not. I’m not that girl and I don’t know if I ever will be. Maybe I’m broken?”
“You aren’t. You’re just a round hole trying to be square.”
Allie chuckled and smiled at him that radiant smile that lit up a room. She’d never made him ache with want like Scarlett had. Scarlett was the one who’d taken up residence in his head and heart, the one who made him want to be both himself and a better man.
“You think Scarlett’s your square hole?” Allie asked.
“This is starting to sound sexual and weird.”
“Well, I did find a pair of rather interesting panties when I was in the bathroom—”
“I don’t want to talk about sex with Scarlett with you.”
“Thank. Goodness. Because part of me is happy for you and part of me is really weirded out.” Allie tucked her other leg under her and propped her arm on the back of the sofa. “You’re a good guy, Cole Odell. I wish I could have been right for you, because I think there aren’t many men in the world like you, but…I think I’m happier you’ve found someone else.”
“I might have lost her.”
“It’s Scarlett Lively. I can let you in on a little secret.” Allie crooked her finger and leaned toward him. “I think she’ll take you back. She’s a huge hopeless romantic.”
But did he deserve that?
Scarlett had been there for him, she’d helped him, she’d loved him and when she probably wanted to jump to conclusions, she’d called him to talk it out. And what had he done? He’d pushed her out. He’d allowed himself to get scared and angry, then reacted. In doing so he’d hurt the sweetest person alive.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Well, I’ll think good thoughts for you two.”
Cole’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and frowned at the display.
Who was calling him from the clinic?
“One sec.” He held his hand up to Allie then answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Dr. Odell, thank God.” Luna’s voice was higher, strained. “Sissy’s pony spooked outside of the antique shop and Dr. Green’s in surgery right now.”
“I’m on my way.” Cole sprinted for the door. He didn’t have any kind of kit, but he had himself.
He ran the distance to the antique store. The scene on the street out front was alarming. The little pony lay tangled in its tack halfway under a truck while still attached to the buggy. Benji and Garth, of all people, had their hands full restraining the animal, but there was blood coating their jeans and pooling on the ground.
“Dr. Odell,” someone yelled.
“Move. Move. Move.” He slid through the people to kneel next to the animal.
“Easy. Easy, girl,” Benji cooed at the pony.
“I can’t reach the strap keeping her attached to the cart.” Garth grunted as the pint-sized animal thrashed.
“Twitch her nose.” Cole had seen Dr. Green do it twice with luck.
“What?” Garth grunted as the pony struck out with her front leg, catching him in the calf.
“Sorry, girl.” Cole reached over and grasped the pony’s fleshy upper lip and twisted.
The maneuver looked like it had to hurt, but Dr. Green had said otherwise.
The pony’s thrashing eased and her cries grew softer.
“There you go,” Cole whispered. “Okay, cut her out.”
“I can’t let go of this. If I do, the cart is going to pop up and hit one of us,” Garth said.
“If we don’t get her out of here soon she’s going to bleed out.” Cole still didn’t know where the blood was coming from. “Trade me places. Benji, get a hand on the cart, I’ve got her.”
“Are you sure?” Garth asked.
“Yes,” Cole snapped.
No, he wasn’t, but someone had to make a decision.
“Benji, you move first,” Garth said.
It looked as though the pony must have reared up, gone over the side of the arms extending from the cart and flipped over. She’d have taken the cart with her and somehow slid partially under a parked truck.
“Is Sissy okay?” Cole asked, eyeing the cracked and mangled cart.
“She’s fine,” Benji said. “Go, Garth.”
Cole and Garth slowly swapped places so Cole was the one half under the truck holding onto the pony. This was going in his book of freakish accidents he never wanted to relive ever again.
“Okay, cutting,” Garth said.
“I think the blood must be coming from her shoulder,” Cole said to no one.
He hoped Mrs. Billy or one of the girls was on their way with the truck. He could probably get the pony in the bed and work on her as they drove over. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but damn it, he had to do something.
“Shit!”
“Watch—”
White hot fire licked up Cole’s side. He went down on the ground, his hold on the pony’s nose slipping. She kicked out, grazing his leg with her sharp little hoof before he tightened his hold again.
“Get it back,” Garth yelled.
A siren blipped, and an engine rumbled close.
“Cole? Cole, are you okay?” Benji yelled.
“Get the cart out of the way,” he grit out.
“We’ve got it. We’re going to pull her out. Can you move?” Benji’s voice was tight, concerned.
“On three.” Shit, Cole’s side really hurt, and he felt nauseous. “One, two, three.”
Garth and Benji used the harness to ease the pony out from under the truck. Cole crawled with them, his vision blurring.
“Damn it,” a woman said nearby. “Put them both in the ambulance.”
“Let her up if she can stand.” Cole went to a knee.
The pony tossed her head, the whites of her big, brown eyes showing.
“Easy, girl. Easy,” he muttered.
“Dude, you’re bleeding more than the pony.” Benji stared at him with wide eyes.
Well, that would explain the white hot fire.
* * *
* * *
Cole would have never thought he’d ride in an ambulance with a pet patient. That was the kind of strange thing that just didn’t happen. The first responders had no such hesitation. Cole had managed to patch the pony up so she could await Dr. Green’s expert attention before the bossy paramedic woman who called herself Jenna bullied Cole back into the ambulance.
Two hours and a couple dozen stitches later he stood shambled out of the Emergency Department onto the curb outside still wearing clothes stiff with human and equine blood. According to Luna’s texts the pony was fine and her wounds superficial. It had been a close call for the both of them.
/> “You’re alive,” a familiar voice drawled.
Cole turned his head to face Benji Lively sitting on the tailgate of his truck. He was parked in one of the prime spots near the doors. Cole squinted at Benji, taking in the cool glare, which Cole figured he deserved.
The pain meds hadn’t worn off yet. He might as well get this beating over with so he could get on to figuring out how to apologize to Scarlett. She’d done exactly what he asked her to do and then he’d gone and stopped speaking to her for days.
He shambled slowly toward the truck.
A second figure standing on the other side came into view.
Garth.
The gang was almost all there.
Great.
“Come to kick my ass?” Cole leaned a hand on the tailgate.
“You look like shit,” Benji said.
“I feel like shit.” And not only because of Cole’s wounds. “How’s—”
“No.” Benji shook his head, cutting him off. “You don’t get to ask that question.”
“Come on. We’re dropping you off,” Garth said.
“You aren’t going to rip into me?” Cole squinted at Benji.
He slid off the tailgate and edged closer until they stood toe to toe. The jovial attitude was gone and a meaner man glared back at Cole.
“If you’re smart, you already know how much you fucked up,” Benji said with a grin. “If you don’t, well, that’s your loss, man.”
“I fucked up.” Cole’s shoulders slumped.
“I’m not beating the ass of a man who just saved a God damn pony.” Benji took a step back. “And you aren’t going to breathe a word in Scarlett’s direction, understand me? She’s in Colorado doing something for herself and you aren’t going to make this about you.”
“She went to the conference?” Cole perked up at that news. He wanted to see her, to set this straight, but he was glad she was taking this opportunity.
“She did,” Garth drawled.
“Is she…” Cole’s words died at Garth’s withering glare.
