Misadventures with a Country Boy

by Elizabeth Hayley

  Cole turned so he was facing her completely. “We’re not getting manicures or somethin’ while we’re here, are we? The fact that the word ‘spa’ is in the name scares me a little.”

  Brooke stared ahead at the couple in front of them who were checking in. “I haven’t booked our spa appointments yet, so anything’s possible.”

  Before Cole had a chance to respond, the couple moved to the side with their bags, which were much larger and clearly nicer than what Brooke and Cole had brought inside.

  “Good afternoon,” the woman said with a welcoming smile. “How can I help you today?”

  “We’d like to check in,” Brooke told her.

  “Certainly. Can I have the last name on the reservation, please?”

  “We don’t actually have one,” Brooke replied. “But I called last night, and the person I spoke to said there were rooms available for tonight and tomorrow.”

  The woman tapped her fingers against the computer keys rapidly before looking back up at Brooke. “We do. So you’re planning a two-night stay, you said?”

  Brooke nodded.

  “Perfect. We can certainly help you. I’ll just need a credit card and ID, and I’ll be happy to take care of you.”

  Brooke hesitated, her eyes darting to Cole, who was a few feet away looking at a brochure he’d grabbed from a nearby rack. She thought about asking for his credit card and telling him she’d give him the money if it came to that.

  “I was planning to pay in cash,” Brooke said.

  “That’s perfectly fine. We won’t put the room on your card. It’s just to hold it. You can pay your bill in cash when you check out.”

  “Can I just pay for it in advance?” Brooke knew this was a stretch, and she probably should have anticipated they’d ask for a credit card, but she’d lucked out so far and had hoped that luck would hold out.

  The woman’s shake of her head made it clear her lucky streak was over. “I’m sorry. That’s against policy.”

  Stalling for a second, Brooke quickly mulled over her options. She had kept one card on her in case of emergencies. This didn’t qualify as an emergency, but she also didn’t want to needlessly cause an issue.

  “Nothing will be charged to it, right?” Brooke asked.

  “No ma’am. The card is simply a precaution in the event that there is significant damage to the room or if you don’t pay at checkout.”

  Brooke couldn’t help feeling anxious, but she knew it was standard procedure, so she handed the woman a card. A few minutes later, they were in their room, a small rustic space made mostly of wood—from the walls to the bed frame.

  Cole ran his hand over the bed post, which looked like a thin log. Then he knocked twice on it. “This place is actually pretty nice,” he said. He tossed his bag on the bed and sat beside it, bouncing up and down slightly. “Bed seems solid.” He raised an eyebrow at her before reaching out to pull her toward him.

  “What do you have planned for the weekend, Princess? This place has a ton of stuff to do. We can rent ATVs or fish.”

  He sounded so hopeful, she already felt bad. But there was no way she was doing either one of those things. “Both of those sound too dangerous.”

  Cole’s eyes narrowed. “How is fishing dangerous?”

  “It’s boring as hell, and I’m worried I might try to off myself with a rusty hook.”

  Cole’s expression softened, and there was a sadness to it that made her wonder if she’d insulted his pastime even more than she’d meant to. “I’m kidding. I’m sure fishing’s fun. For some people,” she added. “I’ve just never been into that type of thing. I was thinking since we did some hiking and other outdoorsy type things on our trip so far, I could switch it up a bit…show you some things I like. Like sunrise yoga…or a couple’s massage.”

  She expected Cole to protest immediately, but he didn’t seem to be listening. His eyes seemed to be looking past her at something that wasn’t even there. He was probably more tired than she’d even realized.

  “Did you hear me?” She squatted down so she was at eye level with him. “I said we can paint each other’s nails and then hit up some designer outlets.”

  He seemed to come back to himself with a start. “Sorry,” he said with a quick shake of his head. “Yeah, I heard you. No way I’m painting my nails. Or lettin’ you paint ’em either. I gotta draw the line somewhere.”

  He gave her a smile that reassured her more than she realized she needed. “So that’s a yes to the massage, yoga, and shopping, then?”

  Cole smacked her ass with a sharp sting. “Don’t push your luck, Princess. I still have a reputation I gotta uphold.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think anyone will mistake you for anything other than a shaggy-haired, rugged Southern charmer who’s only at a place like this because his girl dragged him here.”

  “Good,” Cole said more seriously than the moment called for. Then he tickled her hips and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before saying, “Let’s go find this spa you keep talking about.”

  The last thing Cole Timmons ever thought he’d be doing was lying outside on a massage table next to a beautiful singer while some man with muscles bigger than Cole’s dug his hands into Cole’s back. But that was exactly what he found himself doing, and he didn’t regret anything about it.

  Well, maybe one thing. Since he didn’t like the idea of Thor’s younger brother putting his hands all over Brooke, Cole had requested the male massage therapist. When Brooke had looked at him strangely, he’d given some explanation about how his back and shoulders were killing him from the long drive, and a guy would probably be rougher and harder than a woman would. As soon as he’d said the words, he’d realized his mistake. Brooke had looked at him for a moment as she held in the laughter he knew would burst out of her at any moment. And soon enough, they were both in a fit of hysterics in the spa lobby.

  Once he’d pulled it together enough to speak, he’d admitted the real reason for his request. And since Brooke didn’t exactly like the idea of a beautiful masseuse touching Cole either, she agreed to take the woman.

  “I could get used to this,” Cole said, his head rolling to the side so he could look at Brooke on the table next to him. The air was somehow refreshing despite the heat of the day, and Cole could see the sun about to set in the distance. Between that and Brooke’s partially undressed body beside him, it was, without a doubt, the most perfect sight Cole had ever laid eyes on.

  “Told you,” she said with a small smile. Her eyes were still closed as Cole watched her. It was the most relaxed either of them had been in a long time, and he didn’t want it to ever end. “Better than fishing, isn’t it?”

  The comment made Cole chuckle. “Maybe a little.”

  This time Brooke opened her eyes and let them settle on Cole. “I’m gonna miss this,” she said.

  Cole knew she was talking about having to give up life’s luxuries if she decided not to continue with her music. But he couldn’t help but let himself think it had a deeper meaning than that. “Me too,” he said quietly.

  After they finished their spa treatments, they took a shower, which somehow stayed relatively innocent save for running soap over each other’s skin. Then they ordered room service and spent the rest of the evening outside with only a bottle of wine and each other. When they finally crawled into bed, they were both too tired to do anything but sleep. But his exhaustion didn’t stop Cole from having the nightmare he’d thought he’d moved past.

  He hadn’t dreamed about that day in almost a year, and though he wanted to tell himself he didn’t know the reason for the dream, he knew that wasn’t true. He’d be in Oregon in only a few short days. Cole flipped over to look at the time on his phone. Not even five yet. He knew he should go back to sleep, but since he also knew he wouldn’t be able to, he decided he’d do the next best thing: watch the sun rise.

  He dressed quickly and left the hotel room as quietly as he could. Just because he was up didn’t
mean that Brooke needed to be. Especially since this was something he felt he should do alone. The last time he’d seen a sunrise had been overseas when he and a buddy or two were on watch. The sunrise meant cigarettes and celebration because they’d survived another night—lived to see another day. And that meant something.

  Before enlisting, he’d never been up early enough to watch the sun come up. And after his deployment, he hadn’t thought there was any reason to. Most days, especially when he’d first come home, he hadn’t wanted to get out of bed at all. He didn’t give a shit that it was a new day or a blank slate or any of the clichés people told themselves to give them a reason to keep going. Because when it came down to it, each day was like the last and none of them felt worth living. Especially when not everyone got the opportunity to live them at all.

  He’d lost more than friends over there. He’d lost his motivation and drive. He’d lost a part of himself he hadn’t even realized he had until he didn’t seem to have it anymore. Cole couldn’t remember a darker time in his life than the first few months after he’d come home. Few people had given a shit when he’d left, and even fewer cared when he’d come back. That was when he’d realized that the world kept turning, and other people’s lives had continued during his absence. It made him feel more disconnected from his life in Georgia than he had before he’d left.

  And it brought him into a hole so dark he wasn’t sure he could climb out of it. There was only one reason he hadn’t made the choice to end all of it. He had exactly that: a choice. It was something so many of his friends—his family—hadn’t been given. The decision had been made for them without their consent or the protest of their loved ones. None of them had gotten the opportunity to decide when and how their lives would end. And Cole sure as hell wasn’t special enough to get that privilege when so many better men hadn’t.

  Jimmy would have kicked his ass if Cole had given up. Which was why Cole was driving across the country to Oregon. He owed it to Jimmy to thank him in person.

  But now he realized Jimmy wasn’t the only thing that kept him moving forward anymore. And as Cole watched the first ray of light rise in the distance, he finally felt that there was an even stronger reason to keep going, a reason to actually give a shit about his future.

  And that reason was sound asleep inside his hotel room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Brooke was still asleep when Cole went back inside, but he was too awake to join her. Instead, he grabbed his phone and wallet from the table, slipped them quietly inside the pocket of his jeans, and headed back outside. There was a small café in the lobby, and Cole wanted to pick up some coffee and pastries.

  The resort was expansive, acres of greenery with stone paths connecting the strips of hotel rooms and villas, and he found himself walking more slowly than he intended to as he took in his surroundings. At the café, he ordered an assortment of danishes and donuts—which he was sure he’d eat most of—and some sort of apple cinnamon cake that he thought Brooke would like. He tossed some creamers and sugar packets into the carrier with the coffees and headed back outside.

  He wasn’t sure what Brooke had planned for the day, but whatever it was, he was sure he’d enjoy it. He understood now why so many people took weekend getaways to places like this if they could afford it. He’d only been here a day, and he already felt rejuvenated in a way he never thought possible.

  “Excuse me,” a voice called from a few feet away. Cole turned to see a middle-aged man leaning against a silver sedan. He held a map in his hand and went back to studying it after Cole turned toward him. “I’m trying to find the smaller hot spring pools. The large ones are closed for cleaning apparently.”

  Normally, Cole would have been happy to help, but something about this guy put Cole on guard. His face held the hard sternness of a person in law enforcement or military, and in khakis and a short-sleeve dress shirt, he didn’t look like he was dressed to go swimming. “I think they’re about fifty yards that way,” Cole said, pointing in the opposite direction of the man. “But I’ve only been here a day, so I haven’t been to them yet.”

  The man looked at the map and then back at the surrounding buildings. “Trying to get my bearings,” he said. “I’m horrible with directions. Do you even know where we are on this thing?”

  Cole moved toward the man and glanced at the map. “The blue building is the one behind us right here. I think the pools you’re asking about are past it.”

  “Thank you,” he said, folding the map carefully and setting it on the top of the trunk before sliding his hands into his pockets and looking at Cole appraisingly. “You enjoying your time with her, Mr. Timmons?”

  “Excuse me?” The man’s question had done more than surprise Cole. It made him stand up straighter.

  Cole was at least three inches taller than this guy and in better shape, but the way this man carried himself told Cole he would be close to an equal match if they were to fight. “I asked if you were enjoying your time with Brooke.”

  Cole’s jaw went rigid, but he loosened it enough to speak. “Who are you?” he asked before setting down the drinks and bag of pastries on the trunk of a car next to him.

  “No, Mr. Timmons, the question is who are you? Not that you need to answer that. I already know all I need to about you. And none of it’s impressive.”

  Cole stepped as close to the man as he could without touching him. “You should leave.”

  “Brooke’s got commitments. And none of them involve you.”

  Cole was starting to wonder if this motherfucker wanted to get hit. “What do you care what she does? You her father or somethin’?”

  “No,” the man answered, and his voice seemed to soften enough to make Cole wonder how he could be so casual about something so serious. He’d clearly come a long way to say all this. “But her dad sent me. Both her parents did, actually. They’re worried about her. And I am too. I’ve been her bodyguard since she was a teenager. I wouldn’t make a trip like this for just anybody.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have bothered. She’s fine. Brooke’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”

  “Can she?”

  Cole let the question hover between them before blowing out a puff of air through his nose in disgust. “She’s still alive, right?”

  The man nodded calmly. “She is. And she has you to thank for that.”

  “What the fuck, man? First you come here tellin’ me to leave the girl alone, and now you’re tellin’ me she should be thankin’ me? Which is it?” Cole allowed him a few seconds to answer, and when he didn’t, Cole brought a finger up to point in the man’s face. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t give a shit what you have to say anymore.”

  He turned to walk away but didn’t get far before the man spoke again. “You her boyfriend or her bodyguard? Because one she already has, and the other you don’t quite have the résumé for.”

  “Fuck you,” Cole called without turning around. “You got no idea what you’re talkin’ about.”

  “No? Because it seems to me the only thing you know how to do is run from your problems and create more.”

  Cole knew he shouldn’t give this guy the satisfaction of a response, but he couldn’t help it. He’d be damned if he was gonna let this…stranger act like he knew anything about him other than his name. “I don’t create more problems,” he said after turning back around to face him.

  “Maybe not for yourself. But Brooke’s got a slew of them right now—starting with the fact that she has a televised performance she needs to attend in a few days and a tour contract she needs to sign.”

  “She doesn’t wanna do either of those.”

  “You speak for her now too?” the man countered. “Because the last time I checked, you weren’t her agent. You’re just some backwoods boy with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove. You think you’re helping her by taking her farther away from home, from the life she and her family built? Just because your life’s worth leaving doesn’
t mean hers is too.”

  Cole told himself to calm down. He told himself to unclench his fists and walk away. Because staring at this dude any longer would only result in Cole hitting him. And that was exactly what the guy was trying to prove by telling Cole that he was some lowlife fucking redneck who was ruining Brooke’s life simply by being with her. The fact that there was an element of truth to it didn’t make it any easier to take. “Fuck you,” Cole spat before heading toward their room.

  “Tell her I’m waiting for her when she’s ready,” the man called after him.

  And though it was a small one, the fact that he hadn’t gone back to deck the guy somehow felt like a victory.

  At the sound of the door opening, Brooke looked up from the magazine she’d been reading. “Where’d you run off to this morning?” she asked. “I was lonely.”

  “I went to get coffee.”

  “Aww, and you didn’t even bring me any back?” She thought that was a little odd, especially since he didn’t have a coffee for himself either but reasoned he must have finished it before he returned.

  Cole shrugged and then put his keys on the round, wooden table near the door. Then he took a seat in the chair beside it. “Sorry. You didn’t say you wanted any.”

  “In my defense, I was asleep when you left. And just so you know, in the future it’s always safe to assume I want coffee.”

  Cole rubbed his hands together, keeping his eyes fixed on them rather than looking up. “’Kay.”

  “You all right? You don’t really seem yourself,” she said.

  Cole’s lips twisted for a moment before he opened them to speak. “Who am I?”

  “What?”

  “You said I don’t seem like myself, so I was just wondering who I am.”

  “Why are you acting like this?”

  Cole shook his head before pressing his palms to his thighs and standing. “I’m not acting like anything.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “If you say so.”