Chapter Seven
Warm breath puffed against Trent’s cheek as soft fingers scratched the whiskers at his jaw. He swatted the tiny fingers away and a giggle tinkled through the quiet room.
Something tickled his nose and his lips twitched as nervous laughter wheezed playfully. A silky strand of hair tickled his nose again, this time triggering the irritating prelude of a sneeze.
More giggles.
“Brielle, get away from your uncle and let him sleep,” Phoenix’s voice hissed from the other room.
His niece giggled.
Trent kept his eyes closed and fought a smile. The nose-tickling continued, accompanied by tiny fingers thrumming over his socked feet. That would be his nephew, Austin. Cabinets opened and closed over the gurgle of coffee percolating. A pan clattered lightly and then came the snapping sizzle of bacon frying.
“Brie, put this tiara on him,” Austin whispered.
The tickling stopped and the weight of a toy crown pressed into Trent’s head. Snickers escalated to smothered hilarity. “He sure is a hairy queen,” his niece lisped.
“Where’re your play earrings?” Austin whispered.
More youthful laughter chirped from Brie as the soft patter of her socked feet scampered across the room.
“Get the big ones with the purple diamonds.”
Trent could tell Brielle found the earrings by the way her stifled laughter punched out in little breaths. Figuring he should probably save his manhood while there was still time, he waited for her to creep closer and pounced. “Gotchya!”
She shrieked out a burst of laughter. Grabbing her by her tiny rib cage, he tickled. Peals of hilarity screeched across the room as Austin tackled him, looping his arms around his shoulders, a brave squire prepared to slay the giant who held his sister captive.
“Who dares wake the sleeping giant?” Trent bellowed and pinned Brielle on the couch, capturing her squirming feet.
“Austin, help! The ugly queen’s got me!”
Trent roared, flipping the boy off his shoulders. They wrestled and played until they were wheezing to catch their breath. Only when Phoenix announced breakfast was ready did they scamper out of the room.
Entering the kitchen, his sister handed him a mug of coffee. “You got in late last night.”
He swallowed a gulp, hoping it would settle his headache. He was too old to start his day with rubies and wrestling. “Did I wake you?”
“I heard you locking your gun in the safe.”
Taking a seat next to Brielle, he pushed her glass of milk away from the edge of the table. “Sorry. I should be back at my place tonight.”
Phoenix adjusted her robe and carried a plate of pancakes to the center of the table. “How’d you make out?”
“Found the girl. She was shacked up with her boyfriend as expected.”
“I bet her parents were relieved.”
“You could say that, but the twenty-year-old guy harboring a minor wasn’t too happy.” He spread a smear of butter over his cakes with the back of his fork.
“How old was the girl?”
“She’ll be eighteen in a month. I’m not sure her parents can press charges.”
Phoenix sat down with her coffee. His sister was one of his best friends. She was a realist, but a pleasant one. She knew how to roll with the punches and there wasn’t much that could fluster her.
“Pete says you got a good chunk of change from this job.”
“Could’a been his.” He’d offered the job to his brother-in-law.
She rolled her eyes. “You know I don’t want him in the field anymore. Now that I’m making more money, I’d rather he stick with the desk work.”
Like Trent, Pete was an excellent agent. He knew how to shadow someone for days without being detected. But over the years, since the kids were born, he tended to stick with the local end of things, turning down most of the private jobs.
Trent, on the other hand, had a hard time turning down private jobs, which paid a hell of a lot more than government sanctioned bids. Jobs like the one he just finished paid enough for him to take it easy for a while.
Of course, that sort of work also put his day-to-day life on hiatus, requiring him to travel and stay the course until the job was done and his mark was secure. He’d been on the road for the past month.
Over the years they combined their various skillsets and formed a tight little business that kept them all afloat, him, Pete, and Jeremy. Jeremy could break and rewrite codes faster than most people could put together a toddler’s jigsaw puzzle, so he handled computer security. Pete handled the monetary side of things, negotiating each contract to make sure they were paid accordingly for each job. And Trent did most of the legwork.
Pete stepped into the kitchen, kissed his wife, and filled a mug. “I got a message on my phone this morning. The money’s been wired to your account.” He settled into a chair with the morning paper.
“Good. Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“Uncle Trent, are you gonna sleep over again tonight?”
He looked at his niece, her red curls tousled from sleep and her little Hello Kitty pajama shirt sprinkled with dribbles of syrup. She was getting so big. Had it really been almost five years since she was born?
“I gotta get back home, sweetheart.”
She pouted and poked at her saturated pancakes with her fork. Her food looked more like round sponges than pancakes. That pout could seal the sale of a human soul.
He kissed her pudgy cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you Saturday for the St. Paddy’s Day Parade.”
“You will?”
“You bet.”
Mollified, she smiled and continued to eat her sponge cakes.
“Is Aunt Bristol gonna be there?” Austin asked.
Phoenix stood to refill her coffee. “Yes, but it isn’t her weekend with Dallas. He’s gonna be with his dad.”
Austin looked disappointed. Trent could relate. Growing up with four sisters didn’t leave many options for activities boys favored. Suffice it to say, this morning wasn’t his first royal makeover.
He thought about Chloe’s sons. The shy one, Mattie, was younger, but Dayton seemed about Austin’s age. Recalling the incident at Ty’s house a couple weeks ago, he debated if the kid would be a good influence or not.
Or maybe that was just an off day. Maybe there was more to the story and Robert had antagonized the kid. Maybe the kid needed a friend. The question was could he convince Chloe to join them after the way they’d left things?
A shiver of excitement trailed down his spine at the fantasy of her smiling over a mug of green beer, wearing those ridiculous shamrock headband antlers women usually wore to the parade. He bet she looked pretty in green.
It had been nearly a month since he’d last seen her and not a day went by that she didn’t cross his mind. For all he knew, she never thought of him, but if that was the case he wanted to change her thinking. He wanted to be on her mind as much as she was on his.
“I have a friend who has sons close to your age, Austin. I’ll ask her if she wants to come with us.”
His sister paused from taking a sip of her coffee and lifted an eyebrow at him. “Her?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, her. She lives over in New Castle. I can swing by her place this week and see if she’s free.”
Phoenix gave Pete a knowing look. “He’ll swing by her place…”
Trent rolled his eyes. “Settle yourself. I have to get her to agree to go before anything’s certain.”
Phoenix smirked into her mug. “Pete’s told me about your effect on women. She’ll be there.”
Later that day Trent coasted through the streets of New Castle. It took him a while, but eventually, he spotted a house that resembled the one from six years ago. He knew he reached the right place when he saw her little yellow Chevy parked in the drive. Although it was March, this far up north there were still drifts of slushy snow along the curbs.
Parking his truck, he climbed out and stepped over a pile of green army action figures staged for battle along the shoveled walk. Voices and laughter echoed from inside the house. Hoping she didn’t mind him stopping by unannounced, he pressed the bell and waited.
The voices quieted and a few moments later a man opened the door. Okay, not what he was expecting.
“Can I help you?” the man asked, holding the door so Trent couldn’t see inside.
Was this the wrong house? “I’m looking for Chloe Wolfe.”
The man made a face that didn’t tell Trent if the name was familiar to him or not. “No one by that name lives here.”
He frowned. “Uh, there’s no Chloe Wolfe here?” Should he use her other name?
“Are you selling something?”
He glanced at the driveway, smelling bullshit. That was her car. He recognized the license plate. “No. I’m a friend of Chloe’s and that’s her car.”
“A friend? And your name is…”
“Trenton Cole. Look, is she here or not?”
The man raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with his tone. He probably figured a friend would know if he was at the right house.
Not used to justifying his choices, he explained vaguely, “I didn’t have her number and I haven’t been here in years. I might be at the wrong house.”
“Years?” Unabashedly appraising his attire, the man asked, “And what did you say your name was?”
“Trent. Trenton Cole.” He shifted his feet. “Look, it’s cold. I don’t mean to be rude, but if she’s in there, can you tell her I’m here?”
The man mouth curved like he just discovered a secret. “You must be Jeremy and Jade’s friend.”
Finally. “That’s right.”
Without taking his eyes off Trent, he called behind him, “Hey Chloe, you have a visitor.” His amused expression grew more defined as the door opened wide.
Trent’s breath sucked deep into his lungs as her startled gaze tangled with his. She glanced down at herself then back at him. In a crew neck sweatshirt, cuffed gray sweats that only reached her calves, and little white ankle socks she looked good enough to eat.
“What are you doing here, Trenton?” Her expression turned troubled—not at all welcoming. “Is everything okay? Did something happen with Jade?”
“Everything’s fine. I, uh, stopped by to ask you something.” The nerves trampling his gut were unexpected.
Another man appeared and the one who answered the door whispered something in his ear. The newcomer grinned broadly and looked back at Trent. “Chloe, darling, why don’t you invite your friend inside? It’s miserable out there.”
She shot the man a punishing look and blushed. “Would you like to come in?”
He stepped inside and stomped the snow off his boots.
Sweeping his gaze around the room he noted soft, blue walls, whitewashed wooden shutters, several patchwork quilts, and ornate picture frames on every surface. Her boys sat at the table, a Scrabble board spread across the center.
Mattie sat low in his chair, his eyes scrutinizing. Dayton studied him, too, but with a glint of challenge in his gaze. Trent turned and realized it wasn’t just the boys appraising him.
Chloe looked at the ground and fussed with her hair. The two men stood side-by-side beaming. Apparently, his presence pleased them.
He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
“Are we playing or what?” Dayton asked from the table.
“Um…” Chloe seemed totally out of her comfort zone. “Why don’t you guys take a little break?”
“Oh, man! It was my turn.” Dayton was clearly irritated by the interruption.
Trent was about to apologize for intruding, but the man who answered the door spoke first. “Hush up, whelp. We’ll give you and Mattie ten extra points and it’ll still be your turn when we continue. Now, go do as your mother asked so we adults can talk for a few minutes.”
The boy grumbled but did as he was told. Trent’s brows rose, impressed. Mattie took a little longer getting up from the table but soon followed his brother down the hall.
Once the kids were out of earshot, the man turned back to Trent and held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Tommy and this is Adam. We’re Chloe’s neighbors.”
He shook their hands and Tommy invited him to sit. Chloe went to the counter. “Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Cole?”
He gave her a look he hoped told her how he felt about being addressed as Mr. Cole. “No thanks, doll.”
Adam sipped from a glass of iced tea. “So what brings you by our neck of the woods, Trent?”
He again glanced at Chloe who continued to distract herself at the counter. “There’s a parade tomorrow by the university in Slippery Rock. I wanted to see if you and the boys would be interested in going with me.”
“I have work.”
Adam clucked his tongue. “You have one appointment and it’s at nine.” He turned to Trent. “What time’s the parade?”
“Noon. We usually get there and set up camp around eleven and after the parade, there’s a Celtic festival at the park. If the weather’s good we stick around for that.”
“Ooh, men in kilts… How fun!” Tommy nudged Chloe in the arm as she joined them at the table.
She obviously wasn’t sold yet, so Trent continued, “My sisters and their kids will be there. My nephew’s about Dayton’s age and I have three nieces a little younger than Mattie. I asked Jeremy if he and Jade were interested, but he said Jade’s still having morning sickness and isn’t quite up for large crowds. I could see if Ty and Kat want to bring Mia, though. You guys are welcome to come as well.”
“Sounds fun.” Tommy looked pointedly at Chloe. “I love a parade.”
“I suppose we could go. We’d have to meet you there though, because of work.”
“That’s fine. Why don’t I give you my number so we can touch base in the morning?”
“Yes, get Trent’s number, sweetie.” Adam tapped her phone.
Her fingers flipped a Scrabble chip. She’d changed her nail polish from red to a dark maroon since the last time he saw her. She wasn’t wearing any rings and he found a new freckle to admire on her knuckle.
“Okay.”
Mission accomplished.
* * * *
Chloe shut the door and leaned her weight against it. Never in a million years had she expected to see Trenton Cole in her home. She was shocked he remembered where it was.
Tommy sauntered into the living room, a wide grin on his face. “Well pat my Swayze! Girl, you got yourself a date with Paul Bunion!”
She placed her hand on her heart to settle her nerves. “I don’t think he’s interested in me like that.”
“Well, if you’re sending out no-fly zone signals… He’s probably trying to read you and move at your pace.”
She didn’t have a pace. She only had stop and go. She’d stopped dating the moment she left her husband and her heart let all beliefs about romance go. She had no clue how to date. If this even was a date. Was it? No, it was an outing.
“I’m not sure what this is. I mean, why would he come here?”
The guys laughed. “Because he likes you.”
She rolled her eyes. “What am I supposed to do with that?”
Tommy chuckled. “Honey, if you can’t think of what to do with a man like that then you need this date more than I thought.”
“It’s not a date. It’s a parade.”
“Date!” He corrected then looked at his partner. “Adam?”
“Date. He likes you, Chloe.”
Heat suffused her cheeks. “You guys are going. This is your doing and I’m not going alone.”
“Like you could stop us.”