Hailey's Game

by Hailey's Game (lit)

  Kyle envied Cole’s ability to actually pull off looking insulted. “Mad at me? What did I do?”

  Hailey went still. The kind of still that warned a violent eruption was coming. “Why don’t we start with where you were last night?”

  “Worried?” Cole grinned down at her, and Kyle wondered if he really did want to lose a nipple.

  Hailey showed restraint, though just barely. Eyes narrowed, tone tight, arms battened down over her chest, she looked like a grenade missing its pin. “Given our deal, I do have a vested interest in knowing just what you were up to last night.”

  Cole took that just as seriously as he had her question. He snorted out a dismissal. “You need not worry, little princess, I was just working on a car deal last night.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Yeah, right,” Cole mimicked back with a smirk. “You just keep on being a smart ass, Hailey, and your tab will get longer and longer.”

  “I don’t know what the hell that means,” Hailey snapped, finally breaking into motion. Instead of going for Cole, she went for the refrigerator. “But you ain’t welcome to any of my sandwiches today.”

  Kyle didn’t know if Hailey understood the hidden challenge within her bold one, but Cole did. Their gazes met, and he could see the laughter Cole struggled to hold back. The bastard was having himself a grand time.

  “I wouldn’t even think of it, princess.”

  A grand time. Kyle shook his head as Cole stepped up behind Hailey. Before she could even straighten up, he had an arm hooked around her stomach, and just like that, he hefted her off her feet. All shrill squeaks and squeals, Hailey fought him as Cole worked to get her over his shoulder.

  Stronger, bigger, even perhaps a little more determined, Cole won the spontaneous battle. Dumping Hailey over his shoulder, he ignored her cusses and threats to throw a quick smile at Kyle.

  “I’ll catch up with you later, man.”

  Chapter 35

  “Ow!” Cole grunted.

  Hailey took great delight in that howl of pain, even if it didn’t liberate her from her humiliating position. There were times when Cole’s superior strength was sexy and exciting. Then there were times when she wished she could do the Incredible Hulk morph and beat his sorry ass into the pavement. Right now all she had were the fingers to pinch his ass as hard as she could.

  “OW!” That one bought her some freedom, about as much room as the truck cab Cole stuffed her into with an insulted grunt. “You got some crab in your blood, woman?”

  Hailey ignored that to try and kick him backward out of the door so she could escape. “Screw off, Cole, and let me go.”

  “Ah, come on, princess.” Cole pressed in between her flailing legs to rest his chest on the edge of the seat and trap her. He had a knack for pinning her into tight corners. Like right now. She didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

  Actually, that wasn’t true. She wanted to rip him from stem to stern, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know what she knew, and she wouldn’t be allowed to know it until tomorrow. That just added to her frustration and fueled her anger as she tried to shove him backward.

  “Back off, Cole.”

  “But I got a special lunch planned for you, princess.”

  Flowers for the wife after he finished porking his mistress, Hailey knew his story. Not that she’d ever been a wife or a mistress, but men learned this game well before matrimony. They perfected it on girlfriends.

  Of course, none of those times ever hurt like this. “I don’t want to eat your stupid lunch. I got work to do.”

  “You wasted all morning in the sheets with Kyle, and now you won’t waste an hour to eat with me? That hardly seems fair.” He actually managed to sound not only insulted but hurt. As if he had any right to either of those emotions.

  “Get out of my way, Cole.”

  Giving over his puppy dog look, he straightened up to give her a much more considering one. Hailey didn’t like it. She stiffened beneath his look, holding herself still and straight as he measured her.

  “You know, you seem really pissed at me today.” Cole finally found a serious tone.

  The scowl she wore to mask her pain didn’t crack at the tiny taunt. Instead, she held firm, not allowing any of the emotions boiling beneath the surface to peek through as she growled back. “I am.”

  “Just because I missed last night?” Cole cocked a brow at that. “I’m sorry, Hailey, but it was business, and I honestly didn’t take you for a clinger.”

  “I’m not a clinger, you ass,” Hailey snapped, not at all liking that accusation. “And I’m not an idiot. There is only one business that keeps a man out of his house till past midnight.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes.”

  “So despite the fact that I’m telling you nothing happened last night but me working toward getting a car, you’re accusing me of cheating, right? That’s what you think happened, but you don’t have any proof beyond the whisperings of that suspicious little mind of yours. Right?”

  “I don’t need proof to know a dog when I meet one. I just need my eyes, Cole.”

  “I was working on a deal for a car, Hailey.”

  “Then where is the car, Cole?”

  “I’m getting it tomorrow morning.”

  She bet he was. Tomorrow morning, after he went to sleep with Kitty tonight. It didn’t matter anymore that Kitty wouldn’t actually touch Cole. The fact was Cole would be willing to sleep with another woman for a fricken car. That’s all she needed to know.

  But she wasn’t supposed to know any of it. Not yet.

  “So, who are you getting this car from?”

  That made the smug bastard smirk, and she knew why the second he answered. “A woman.”

  “So then you were with a woman last night.”

  “Well, I didn’t say I wasn’t.”

  That did it. If she had a gun, he’d have been dead. She’d have shot him right there in her driveway, and all she would have done is stepped over the body. “Get the hell out of my way, Cole.”

  “Now see, there you go with that dirty little mind of yours again.” Cole caught her legs in his hands as they kicked back out at him. It really annoyed her the way he could just force them into the truck, making her ass spin to face forward. “I get you have concerns, and there are things we need to talk about. That’s exactly what we’re going to do over lunch.”

  With that proclamation, he slammed the door on her. It would have served him right if she’d thrown it back open in his face, but Hailey didn’t because the bastard had it right. All she could have now are suspicions. Tomorrow, she could have her accusations.

  Until then, she had to play along at some level with Cole’s charade. Besides, a sick, demented part of her wanted to hear Cole’s lies. They would help harden her heart and remind her of who he really was so that in the nights to come she could remember. Hopefully, that would break her love for him and this pain she carried.

  “I hate you.” It popped out of her the second the driver door opened.

  Not bothering to look in his direction to see how he took the insult, she still sensed his pause before he slid up onto his seat. “That’s going on the tab.”

  “What the hell is this damn tab?” Hailey roared, finally provoked into turning on him.

  “You’ll find out.”

  “I swear to God, Cole—” Kyle knocking on her window cut her off and Hailey let the rest go, having giving him enough of a threat. Wrenching down the window handle, Hailey didn’t spare Kyle her bad mood. “What?”

  He dangled her keys in front of her nose. “I locked up your house.”

  Thrown off by the considerate gesture, Hailey managed a begrudging “Thanks” as she accepted the keys.

  “Yeah.” Kyle’s head dipped to the side as he cast his gaze over at his partner. “I’ll see you later?”

  “Yep. You coming with me tonight, right?”

  “What?” That had Hailey’s head snapping toward Cole to
wrench back on Kyle in absolute shock. “Where are you two going tonight?”

  “I’ll explain it over lunch.”

  Like Hailey trusted Cole, but she had trusted Kyle. Glancing at him, she sought some reassurance. “Kyle?”

  “Don’t look so worried, Hailey.” Kyle gave her a warm smile that until that moment had always made her melt. “It’s just one night, and Cole needs some help on this car deal.”

  Reaching in, he brushed a quick kiss across her numb lips. “See you later, princess.”

  * * * *

  In the face of the obvious gloom radiating from the other side of the bench seat, Cole clicked on the radio. Feeling more than good enough to sing along, he left Hailey to brood all on her own. For as much as she might think he should feel loaded down with guilt, Cole actually felt kind high on jubilation.

  Hailey’s dark mood itself fed Cole’s good cheer. His little princess was jealous, angry, and hurt—the holy trinity of a woman betrayed—but she couldn’t be that unless she cared. Cared about him, Cole Jackson.

  Not even the fact that it required such extreme measures to get such a small response from Hailey upset Cole. She’d set the ball into motion. He had a right to defend himself and see after his own interests. That’s just what Cole intended to do as he cut the truck off the main road and down a long, bumpy dirt track.

  It impressed him when she didn’t even voice a complaint but clung on to the door as they pounded through the deep ruts in the road. Around the first curve, it evened out and the tall walls of pine thinned into a vast rolling plain that rolled out from the large, stately porch of the Gravey house.

  Pulling to a stop beneath the branched canopy of an oak, Cole tossed Hailey a smile as he bounded out of the truck. Ten steps and he bounded up onto the porch to swing around and survey the quiet stillness of the countryside with a full grin.

  “What do you think, Hailey?”

  She met his happiness with a scowl, lumbering down from the truck with little enthusiasm. “What do I think about what?”

  “About this place,” Cole gestured to the house behind him, “isn’t this great? It’s—”

  “It’s the old Gravey place, I know.” Hailey came to a stop at the bottom of the steps to glare up at him. “I know everything about this house, Cole, including the fact that you’re tempting fate standing there ’cause you’re likely to fall through.”

  “Well, since you know so much about this place, how come you didn’t know we were going to buy it?” Cole paused at the bottom of the steps to finish off that question before pushing on past her. He made it to the bed of the truck before Hailey caved and came trailing up behind him.

  “You’re going to buy this place?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Cole lugged the cooler he brought to the edge of the bed and then over the gate. Piling the picnic basket on top, he pulled out the store bag he tucked the blanket into.

  “Why?”

  “Why what?” Cole retorted, going with confusion as a way to pull her deeper into the conversation. Pulling the cooler with the basket balanced on top of it into the bright sun, he again left her to follow.

  “Why would you buy this house, Cole? It’s a dump.”

  “It is not.” Dropping the cooler’s handle, he straightened up indignantly. “This is a great house.”

  “It’s plumbing dates from the early nineteen hundreds, and it isn’t even wired for electricity,” Hailey shot back. “Not to mention the condition—”

  “You haven’t got any imagination.” Cole shook his head. “This house is perfect. Look at this yard. You could have a shop, a pool, a barbeque and still have room for soccer games and throwing balls. And this house isn’t just old, it’s a piece of history. It’s got that charm, that grace, that—”

  “Mildew and rot.”

  “Fine.” Cole let it go. “I can see you need food first.”

  Turning back to spreading out the blanket, he ignored Hailey’s glower until she finally muttered something to herself. “At least it’s not pink.”

  “What’s not pink?” Cole paused over smoothing the final edge of the blanket out to cast her a confused look.

  “The blanket. Kyle runs around with a pink one.” Hailey’s nose wrinkled as she scanned over the comforter he spread out on the grass. “That just looks dirty and old.”

  Cole looked down at the blanket in his hands before patting the edge out perfectly. “It’s a quilt, and my grandmother made it like eighty years ago, so you’ll have to forgive the stains.”

  “Oh.” He could hear the pause in her voice and knew she hated him for that response. Now she felt guilty, and it showed in her snap. “Well, if it’s so precious why you going to eat on it?”

  “Because,” he toed his boots off before settling onto the blanket, “this is a special lunch.”

  Hailey eyed the way he gestured to join him. “I just came for the food.”

  “And I have a lot to offer.”

  That got her feet shifting as she nudged off her own shoes. Ignoring his hand, she settled down onto the far of edge of the blanket. “It better be good food.”

  “I have wine,” Cole popped the cooler to pull out the bottle, “chilled, and even glasses made out of real glass.”

  He clinked them together before offering her one. Hailey didn’t take it but glared back. “I don’t like wine.”

  “I brought apple juice, too.” He waited patiently until she folded with ill grace and snatched the glass from his hand. “I got this cheese, port salute I think is what the lady said, but she said it was the best, and she even recommended these crackers, some kind of grain and then there’s—”

  “I like my cheese in individually wrapped slices.” The chunk of funny cheese that cost him over ten bucks got tossed back into his lap even as she turned her wrinkled nose in the direction of the crackers. “Low sodium. That means why bother.”

  “You are just bound and determined to be difficult about this, huh?”

  Hailey shrugged at that accusation as if she hadn't given him attitude for days. “It just seems to me you put a lot of effort into this.”

  “I did, and most women would be grateful.”

  “Gee and here I am a woman thinking you’re just acting awfully guilty.”

  Cole met her sneer with a direct look, about to put the screws on to his little princess. “I’m not guilty of nothing, Hailey, but loving you and trying to make this moment as—”

  “That’s a lie.” It came out a second late, but Cole could see the way she snapped from shocked to mad in the flash of red that stained her cheeks. “And I’m not going to be falling for any false declarations until you tell me where you were last night.”

  Hailey levered up onto her knees to threaten him with a finger in his face. “And you better tell me the truth because I’ll find out if you lied.”

  “Lying really isn’t my style, Hailey,” Cole retorted. “I’d have thought you’d figured that out by now. You want to know where I was last night, I was schmoozing a lady named Kitty Anne.”

  Just as he suspected, that answer had her stilling. Those pretty hazel eyes widened and full lips quivered, but his savage little princess didn’t make a sound. He finally, for once, rendered Hailey speechless. Cole knew when to take advantage of a miracle.

  “Now, if you don’t mind.” He folded her finger back into her fist, then used that to push her slowly back into a sit. “I’m going to explain everything, but would you do me the favor of maybe eating a little of this chicken I picked up from the Bread Box? I mean, you do like Heather’s fried chicken, right?”

  “What game are you playing, Cole?”

  “No, game. I’m going to tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I swear to God, Hailey. Now go on and have some chicken.”

  He placed the carry-out bucket down in between them and waited. Begrudgingly, she gave in. With a sigh, she held up her glass, and he accepted that she wouldn’t be asking him for anything. Silently filling it
up with juice, he gave her the time to consume at least a whole leg before he brazened into the conversation once again.

  “Okay.” Helping himself to some juice, he settled back against the cooler. “I get that you’re pissed and you probably actually have a right. I should have told you four weeks ago when Bavis brought his deal to me, but—”

  “Bavis.” She choked the name out over a piece of chicken before dissolving into a fit of coughing. Cole waited for her to get control of her breathing before responding.

  “Yeah, Bavis called about his Fastback.” Her eyes rounded into oval disks, and he could feel the tension shifting in her from anger to worry. He didn’t let her reaction change his plans but remained relaxed. “You might or might not know, but I’ve been hankering after his Fastback for a while.”

  “I know,” Hailey stated very softly, her gaze diverting from his to get lost in the blanket. “Everybody knows you want it, and he won’t sell it to you.”

  “That’s right.” Cole nodded. “Been three years I’ve been after that car, and he hadn’t budged until four weeks ago.”

  “Why?” Hailey cut in, confusing him for a moment.

  “Why what? Why wouldn’t he sell it to me, or why is he willing to now?”

  “No.” Lifting her eyes back to pin his with sultry swirl of molten chocolate, she showed him her pain. “Why do you care about that car so much?”

  “Ah.” Cole’s head dipped back as a realization hit.

  To this point he thought this was all about the other woman, but Hailey wasn’t jealous of Kitty Anne. Kitty Anne was her friend, and she had to know nothing had happened or would happen. It was about the car.

  “You ever been in love before, Hailey?” This time she broke, turning her attention to the chicken with a shrug. “Well, I was. Not with a woman, though.”

  “What? With a car?” For the first time that day she offered him a smile. Admittedly nothing more than a shadow of one, but Cole counted it just the same.

  “Actually, with a baby.”

  He left it there, and it wasn’t long before Hailey couldn’t resist. “Uh, Cole? You know how that sounds?”