by Hunt, Diann
Staring after him, she couldn’t decide whether she liked him or not. Her mother’s words from long ago came back to her. “Eat your oatmeal, Ellie. You will find life is not always the way we want it, but some things you just have to endure.”
She smiled to herself. That pretty much summed up her relationship with Cole Preston.
He was like oatmeal.
And her family knew that oatmeal was one thing Ellie Williams could live without.
Cole’s legs felt like dead weight as he walked out to his car. It seemed everyone wanted to buy a home and have it built before the cold weather set in. Once inside his car, he glanced at the time. Caed should be getting to his house any minute, if he wasn’t already waiting. Cole backed out of his parking spot and glanced over to see Ellie walking out the door. He waved at her.
Pulling into traffic, he thought about her a moment. He had to admit their working relationship was improving, though at a snail’s pace. Despite the changes he implemented, Ellie didn’t seem to buck him as much as before. No doubt about it, she was changing. He could only pray things continued to run smoothly.
Pray. Now that’s something in which he had little experience. Still, he had to admit he was learning from his study of John. Jax met him on Thursday nights to talk over any questions or comments. Though Cole continued to have lots of questions, he couldn’t deny his longing to know more about the God whom Jax and Ellie served.
Rounding the corner toward his house, Cole saw a car in his driveway. He smiled. Once he pulled into the garage, he got out and walked toward the other car. A man stepped out.
“Hey, big brother,” said Caed, pulling Cole into a bear hug.
After the hug, Cole studied him. “You know, it’s kind of scary how much we’re even aging alike. Same dark eyes, our hair’s still the same color, height, weight—it’s still like looking in the mirror.”
Caed shrugged. “Oh, come on, admit it, I have better hair.” He ran his palms along the sides of his hair for emphasis, then laughed and swung at Cole playfully.
“It’s a matter of opinion,” Cole said with a laugh, dodging Caed’s punch. “So, you need help with your luggage?”
“Sure.” Caed opened the trunk of his SUV and pulled out a small suitcase and garment bag. Cole crooked the garment-bag hanger on his fingers and whisked it over his shoulder.
“Did you have a nice trip?” Cole asked as they stepped through the garage into the back of the house.
“Yeah, it was okay.” They walked through the kitchen and into the living room. “Not bad,” Caed offered, looking around.
“Thanks. Your room is back here.” Cole led his brother down the hall and opened the door to a bedroom. Once Cole had shown Caed around, they sat at the kitchen table and ate ham sandwiches and chips. They talked about their lives over the past few months, catching each other up to the present.
“So, do you have feelings for her?” Caed asked, after Cole discussed his job and coworkers.
“No, she’s Jax’s woman.”
“I wasn’t talking about her. I was talking about the other one.”
“Oh, you mean Ellie?”
Caed nodded and grinned.
Cole held his hand up as if to stop his brother’s thoughts. “No possible way. She’s a nice woman and all, but she’s definitely not my type.”
Caed’s eyebrow spiked. “Really?”
“Really,” Cole said with a little impatience. “That woman rattles my nerves.” He shook his head. “We do what we have to for survival, but that’s about it. Why do you ask?”
Caed shrugged. “You just mentioned her a lot.”
“That’s because we work closely together.”
Caed studied him.
“What?”
“Um, I don’t know. There’s just something in your voice.”
“Look, little brother, Ellie Williams is nice. But she’s not at all my type.”
Caed whistled. “How so?”
“I like adventure. She likes—well, I don’t know, she’s boring.”
“That bad?”
Cole nodded.
“So, are you going to tell me?” Caed pressed.
“Tell you what?”
“What she looks like?”
“Hey, why are we discussing Ellie? I work with her. We do what it takes to get the job done, end of discussion. Now, tell me more about you.” Cole wanted to make it perfectly clear that he didn’t want to discuss Ellie Williams. His brother seemed to pick up Cole’s irritation and changed the subject.
After they’d been talking a little while, someone rang the doorbell. Cole walked over and opened the door. “Hi, Jax, come on in.”
“I knew Caed was coming, and I thought I’d drop in and say hi.”
“Come into the living room. We’re just sitting around shootin’ the breeze.”
Caed glanced up, then stood, saying “Hey, Jax!” and the two hugged. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“Yeah, it has.”
The guys spent the next hour catching up on things, until finally Jax glanced at his watch. “I guess I’d better go. I’m supposed to meet Alex for coffee.”
“So how are things going with you two?” Cole asked.
Jax waited a minute and sighed. “Not good.”
“Really?”
“She’s getting too possessive, and I’m growing very tired of it. I mean, she is nice and all, but well, it’s just not there for us.”
“Uh-oh. Are you going to tell her?”
Jax frowned and nodded. “I’m afraid so. We’re going to dinner tomorrow night, I thought I would do it then. There’s not enough time to talk things through tonight.”
“Oh, wow. That’s tough,” Caed said.
“Does she have a clue?” Cole wanted to know.
Jax shook his head. “I didn’t decide it myself till recently. I sat down and really thought about it and realized this wasn’t the direction I wanted to go. I had to be honest with myself, and now I need to be honest with her.”
Jax stood to go. The other two followed him to the door. “Let me know how it goes, buddy,” Cole said.
“You interested in her?”
“No way. I don’t want to deal with that on top of everything else in the office,” Cole said.
“Everything else, as in Ellie Williams?”
Cole nodded.
Jax grinned. “I don’t know what to do with you two.”
Cole glanced at Caed whose expression said he had a secret. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Oh, nothing,” Caed said with a grin.
His brother had been home only a few hours and already Cole wanted to deck him. This reminded him of their younger days. The last thing Cole wanted was for Jax to get the wrong impression of his feelings for Ellie.
“Am I missing something?” Jax asked.
“Yeah, your coffee date if you don’t hurry,” Cole said, practically pushing him out the door. “What are you doing?” Cole asked Caed once he closed the door.
“Nothing.” Caed headed back to the living room.
“Look, Caed, I love you, man, but please don’t get into your matchmaking mode again, okay? If I meet someone I’m interested in, I’ll let you know. Until then, just enjoy your vacation, and let’s have a good time, all right?”
“Sure,” Caed said, but somehow Cole felt he was being patronized. “Want to have lunch tomorrow?”
Cole shook his head. “I can’t. I have to meet with some contractors at a job site. In fact, I’ve got several appointments tomorrow. Be out most of the day.”
“Maybe you can take me to the office on Saturday,” Caed mentioned.
“Sure, that would be great.” Cole looked at his brother’s expression a moment. He didn’t like what he saw there. Something about Caed’s expression spelled trouble. Cole inwardly groaned. They had been through this so many times before. To pay Cole back for his help in their younger days, Caed’s goal in life was to find Cole a good woman.
Not just any would do. She had to pass Caed’s approval. Cole glanced at his brother again. Uh-oh, Cole had seen that look before. Caed was on a mission, no doubt about it. Why didn’t Caed just push him over a cliff? It would be easier on everyone.
Caed tossed him a broad grin.
Yep, Cole thought, his brother was up to something. It was as sure as death and taxes.
Chapter Eleven
The next day at work, Ellie made her way to the refrigerator for her salad. Cole had told her an hour ago he was leaving for an appointment, yet when she walked by his office, he was still there. She backtracked.
“Hey, I thought you were leaving.”
He glanced up. “Ellie?” He said her name as if he had no clue who she was.
“Are you okay?”
He smiled so big, she could have stuffed a banana in his mouth sideways.
It irritated her a little. “Well, did you call the Kennedys? I mean, weren’t they expecting you?”
He seemed flustered. “Oh, that, uh, yeah, I talked to them. In fact, it was their idea to cancel. Yeah, that was it. They couldn’t make it.” He fidgeted with a folder on his desk.
Ellie stared at Cole. He was acting very strangely. Her gaze ran over his shirt and tie and black pants with a sharp crease down the center of each leg. How odd. Cole never fussed with creased pants, and almost always wore jeans on days he visited job sites. Her eyes narrowed. Something seemed very odd about him today.
He glanced back up. “You need anything else?”
She snapped out of her mental wanderings. “Oh, no. Nothing.”
“Well, I guess I’d better get back to work,” he said.
Feeling a tad embarrassed by his dismissal, she mumbled, “Oh, sure.” She started to walk away when she heard him say her name.
“Ellie?”
She took two steps back and stopped in front of his door. “Yeah?”
“You look great today.”
She was stunned into silence. That didn’t happen often. Okay, try never. “Thanks,” she finally managed.
Another smile. She turned away and continued on toward the kitchen.
No question about it, she could not figure him out. One minute he upset her, and the next, he said something that took her breath away. Trying to understand Cole Preston was near to impossible.
Still, she couldn’t deny she rather liked it when he was this way. In fact, she could almost pretend it was worth wading through his not-so-pleasant ways. Namely, changes.
She reached into the refrigerator and got her salad, then went back to her desk. Pushing thoughts of Cole aside, she decided to check her e-mail while she enjoyed her lunch. Cole had sent a message. Uh-oh, probably another change.
Hope you didn’t mind my forwardness just now. But I couldn’t help but notice how your blue jacket made you look so vibrant. My tongue got away from me. Sorry. But what can I say, you sort of took my breath away.
Cole.
She stopped chewing her carrot in midbite and stared at the screen. A couple of more chomps, and she swallowed hard. Her eyes scanned the e-mail once more. Then again. One more time for good measure.
Waiting a minute, she looked away from the screen and rubbed her eyes. She glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching her. Morgan sat at her desk, staring into her own computer screen. Tim and Chad were out on calls. She peeked back at her computer screen, half expecting the message to be gone, a figment of her imagination.
There it was in all its glorious color. Well, okay, black print on a white background, but still. She checked the name of the sender. Cole. She re-checked who it was to. Ellie. She reread the last line, her eyes emphasizing the final phrase, …you sort of took my breath away.
Sort of, as in not really, but kind of did? Meaning, she didn’t really take it away, but then again, she sort of did.
Suddenly, she felt a little giddy, as if she’d downed a double shot of espresso. With trembling fingers, she reached into her bottom drawer to pull out her stash of chocolate and celebrate. The bag was gone! Had she eaten all of it? She didn’t remember. Thrashing through her drawer, she pulled out files, papers and debris, until finally, hidden carefully back in the corner away from the files, she glimpsed a wrapped piece of chocolate.
She gave an audible sigh. Carefully unwrapping the tasty morsel, she plopped the candy in her mouth and felt better instantly. Don’t try to analyze the compliment, she told herself. Enjoy it. He thinks you look nice. Period. She glanced at her clothes. Pastel blouse, light blue jacket, and matching skirt. She’d have to remember that. Not because of Cole, exactly, but a girl liked the idea of being noticed by members of the opposite sex. Even if they happened to have a toothless grin and only five long hairs stretched across their head.
But, of course, that hardly described Cole Preston.
Ellie glanced at her desk calendar and shook her head. Friday. Where had the week gone? It had seemed to fly by as she’d put together some house deals and worked like crazy to close on pending sales. She and Cole had run into one another on occasion, but he seemed swamped with his work, too.
What she couldn’t get over was the change in him. She felt as though she had stepped into a fairy tale where she was the princess. He opened doors for her, complimented her, went out of his way to do special favors, and even brought her chocolate from the Sweet Shop down the street.
Feeling sure he was preparing her for a huge change, she kept waiting for the news to hit. But it never did. The way Cole had changed toward her made her want to change all the more.
She smiled. God was working in her life and she was changing. Something that did bother her a little, though, was how Cole’s new behavior affected her. There was a stirring of something deep down inside her. Maybe it was just the extra pepperoni on last night’s pizza, but she didn’t think so. And at present, she didn’t want to know.
They weren’t fighting, and that was enough for now.
“Hey, Ellie, these came for you. I’m green with envy,” Alex said, placing a vase of colorful flowers on her desk.
“Wow. I can’t imagine. It’s not my birthday or anything.” Ellie picked at the card, feeling a little nervous that Alex was waiting for her to open it. Maybe her parents thought she needed a little encouragement. She’d been complaining a lot lately.
Her fingers trembled as she worked the flap of the tiny envelope. Finally, it flipped open and she pulled out the card.
“What does it say?” Alex said, clearly excited over the whole matter.
“It says—” Ellie stared a moment, then glanced back at Alex.
“Well?”
“It says, From Your Secret Admirer.”
“Well! It must be nice!” Alex said in a snooty voice before turning on her heels and heading back to her desk. Ellie wondered what that was all about and figured things must not be going well with Jax and Alex.
Ellie turned her attention back to the card. Secret Admirer. For a fleeting moment she wondered if Cole could have sent them. She shook her head. True, he was being nice lately, but she couldn’t imagine him going this far. Oh, well, it was kind of fun having a secret admirer. The very idea held a certain amount of charm.
“Hey, Ellie, just thought I’d let you know, I’m headed over to the Wilson job site. You want to come along?” Cole asked.
“No, I’ve got some paperwork I have to get through, if that’s okay.”
“Sure. It actually works out well. I have other appointments outside the office scheduled today. Since I don’t have to bring you back, I’ll probably be gone until about three o’clock or so. Just so you know.” He paused then glanced at the flowers. “Wow, where did you get those?”
He looked genuinely surprised. Her spirits plunged. Okay, so he hadn’t sent them. But who then?
“Well?”
“Um, a friend sent them.”
“Really?” His eyebrows raised. “Looks serious.”
She barely lifted the corners of her mouth in a smile.
; “You okay?”
“Sure, why?”
“Oh, I don’t know, you’re just acting funny. Does it have something to do with the flowers?”
“No.” Obviously a friend had sent them. An enemy wouldn’t have. It was none of his business anyway.
“Your left eye always twitches a little when you’re upset or trying to hide something, did you know that?” He pointed his finger within inches of her eye.
“Stop that,” she said, pushing his hand away. Cole’s laughter floated after her as she stomped to the bathroom. Oh, he made her so mad. If he were an egg, she would have beaten him.
She didn’t like teasing. Especially from him. What did he care who sent her flowers? It’s not as if she owed him an explanation anyway.
In the bathroom she took a moment to calm herself. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset. She reapplied her makeup and after she’d settled down, peeked through the door. No sign of Cole. She stepped through and tiptoed back to her desk.
By early afternoon, Ellie was so engrossed in her work, she had forgotten the entire incident.
“Hi, Ellie. Nice flowers. Who’s the secret admirer?”
Her head shot up. Cole had changed clothes. “You read the card that came with them?”
He held his palms up, facing her. “No, why?”
“Why did you say that?”
“Say what?”
“Oh, nothing. Forget the flowers. We’ve already had this discussion.”
“Sorry, just wanted to say they’re nice,” he said in a soft voice, making her feel guilty.
“Look, I’m just a little touchy after this morning.”
“What happened this morning?” he asked.
Boy, sometimes she just didn’t get him. The past week, he had been acting so weird. “Never mind.” She studied him a moment. “I thought you weren’t coming back until three o’clock?” Her eyes narrowed. “And why did you change clothes?”
He looked down. “I didn’t chan—” He stopped himself. “Oh, that.” He shrugged.
She eyed him with suspicion. “Well, people don’t usually go home and change clothes in the middle of the day,” she probed.
