Chapter Thirteen
“This is ridiculous,” Sienna said. “The worst idea ever.” She reached for the zipper on the back of the dress Paige had convinced her to wear to dinner with Cole.
“Don’t you dare,” Paige said, grabbing her arms and turning her until she faced the mirror. “That dress is amazing on you. Cole is going to lose his mind.”
“That’s not a good thing,” Sienna said with a huff.
“It’s great,” Paige countered.
“How can I go out on a date with my father in the hospital? People will think I’m living up to my mom’s awful reputation and only caring about myself.”
“You have to eat dinner.” Paige grabbed a bottle of perfume from the dresser in her room and spritzed Sienna. “You’ve talked to Jase twice since you got back here. He’ll call you if anything changes with Declan’s condition.”
A loud hammering sounded from outside the bedroom window, and Paige made a face. “I hate construction,” she said.
“How’s it coming?”
“The contractor thinks he’s got things under control, and I definitely appreciate that he’s got the guys working late most nights to get the job done more quickly. But the water damage caused several floor joists to rot. Since the joists apparently hold up the actual floor, it’s not good.”
“Sounds expensive.”
“Exactly,” Paige agreed, then sighed. “And it’s money I don’t have. I’m going to have to call my mom and ask for a loan or tell her I’ll be late on the mortgage payment for another month. I can’t open for business without a floor and there’s no money coming in without paying guests.”
“I thought you were only going to share good news with your mom so she won’t worry about you.”
“That was the plan, but plans change. I’m not giving up on The Bumblebee. I just need to convince Mom not to give up on me.”
“I hope she agrees.”
“Yeah.” Paige closed her eyes for a moment, then gave her head a little shake and opened them again. “But tonight is about you and our sexy sheriff. Do you think he carries handcuffs?”
“Only when I’m on duty.”
Both women whirled around to find Cole standing at the bedroom door.
“I knocked,” he said, holding up his hands, palms out, “but no one heard me over the hammering.”
“You look quite handsome, Sheriff Bennett,” Paige said with a wink. “Although the lack of handcuffs is a bit of a disappointment.”
“We’ll make do,” Cole told her in his deep, rumbling voice.
Sienna was pretty sure she let out a whimper because Paige and Cole both turned to stare at her.
“It was my stomach growling,” she lied, pressing a hand to her belly. “I’m hungry.”
Paige grinned as she pushed Sienna toward Cole. “I just bet you are. Have a good night, you two. Be safe. Do lots of things I won’t have a chance to.”
“Thanks for letting me borrow the dress,” Sienna said over her shoulder.
“Thank you very much,” Cole echoed.
His whiskey-colored gaze burned into hers as he took her hand and lifted it, turning it over and placing a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered and her knees felt like they were made of jelly.
“You, too,” she blurted, then flashed a smile. “I mean, you look handsome tonight. Every night really. And during the day. But tonight especially, I guess.”
“Maybe stop talking now,” Paige called from behind her. Cole laughed and Sienna felt her cheeks go hot. What was it about this man that turned her into a babbling schoolgirl with her first crush?
He wore a pair of dark jeans and a crisp white button-down that made his tanned skin look even more golden. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and the hair that peppered his forearms was somehow the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
“I’m pathetic,” she muttered, and Cole grabbed her hand and squeezed.
He waved to one of the workers, then led her out of the house. As soon as the front door had closed behind them, he turned and claimed her mouth, the kiss gentle and intense at the same time.
Her eyes drifted shut as she lost herself in the feel of him. This was what she wanted, to forget everything in her life except the way Cole’s touch made her body come to life.
All too soon, he pulled away. “Thank you,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers.
“For kissing you?”
“For agreeing to go out with me.”
She should tell him it didn’t mean anything. She needed to eat and wanted a distraction while she waited for news on her dad. But she couldn’t make her mouth form the words, because it did mean something to her.
Yes, Cole was handsome as sin, but her connection to him was way more than a physical attraction. She loved his honesty and integrity, the way he tried to take care of her even when she didn’t need him to. She liked the person she was when they were together. He made her feel more confident because he expected more from her than anyone ever had.
“I’m glad you asked,” she told him, then fused her mouth to his. By the time she pulled back, they were both breathing heavily and Sienna felt like her whole body was on fire.
“But we should get dinner,” she added, not trusting herself to share her bone-deep yearning to be close to him. Sienna had always stayed emotionally distant from the people around her. It was a defense mechanism, something to ensure she wouldn’t be hurt.
Cole made her want to throw caution and all her self-preservation instincts to the wind and open herself up completely. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, like climbing the first hill on a roller coaster when the car was cresting the top and about to careen down the other side.
“You’re too practical for your own good,” he said with a low chuckle. “But let me ply you with food and spirits and then we’ll see where this takes us.”
“Romantic,” she said, elbowing him as they walked to his truck.
“I have my moments,” he told her with a wink.
“I just bet you do.”
She climbed into the truck and fastened her seat belt, her insides still tingling from his kiss.
He pulled away from the curb, surprising her when he turned away from town.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I hope this isn’t some covert plan to dump me over the county line because I’m too much trouble.”
He kept his eyes on the road in front of them. “Apparently I like trouble.”
She tried—and failed—to hide her smile at his words.
A few minutes later, the truck’s front dipped as he maneuvered onto a dirt road and drove over a deep rut. Sienna’s stomach lurched in response.
She wasn’t sure what to expect from this night. Her past dating experience had always been completely traditional and boring.
Dinner at a trendy restaurant, sometimes dancing at a nightclub or a round of tennis at the country club. After a few weeks, there would be the obligatory family get-together—usually Sunday brunch or happy hour with business colleagues. All of it on an appropriate timeline that showed interest—but not too much—and a sense of decorum that Sienna now recognized had been one of the things that had made her feel stifled and sick to death of her own life.
Everything with Cole felt new and exciting, and the unknown of it thrilled her.
“We’re here,” he said, pulling onto the narrow shoulder.
“Where’s here?”
“Dinner,” he answered. “Although with the way you look tonight, I’m second-guessing my plan.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“You trust me, right?”
“Well, I trust that you’re not a secret sheriff serial killer.”
“Good to know,” he said with a grin.
He got out of the truck and moved around to her side, opening the door for her. “We don’t have to go far.”
She nodded and stepped out, figuring she might as well be game for whatever adventure he had planned. At least it was taking her mind off her father and his condition.
She silently congratulated herself for choosing a pair of comfortable wedge heels from Paige’s closet so she wasn’t worried about breaking an ankle on the trail.
Cole took a cooler out of the truck’s cargo bed and started up the path peeking out from the heavily wooded area.
They’d only walked about twenty-five feet when the forest opened into a picturesque meadow, complete with a view of the mountains and a rustic picnic table set up in the middle of the field.
She stepped into the clearing, then spun around in a slow circle, marveling at the quiet beauty around them. “Is there some manual they gave you when you moved here about hidden vistas in Crimson?”
He flashed a wide smile. “I talk to a lot of people in my line of work. I ask questions. Privacy is important to me, but I don’t want to miss out on how great this area is because of it. I’ll take the road or the picnic area less traveled when I can.”
“I’m overdressed.”
“You look perfect.”
“It looks like the picnic table is already set.”
He nodded, looking almost sheepish. “I came out earlier and got things ready.”
She followed him to the center of the meadow. A linen covered the picnic table, which was set for two. “I hope you’re not disappointed that we’re not at a restaurant in town. It seemed like you might get a bunch of questions about your dad. I thought you could use a break, and we’re closer to the hospital here than if we’d gone downtown.”
“So you cooked?”
He placed the cooler on one of the long benches. “Not exactly,” he told her, opening the lid. “But I’m great at ordering carryout.” He took out several cardboard food containers. “There’s a new Italian place on the way to Aspen. Best manicotti ever.”
He placed the boxes on the table, then pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“You went to so much trouble,” she murmured.
“We can hit the town next time if you want,” he told her with a boyish smile that melted her heart.
“This is perfect.” She leaned in to brush a kiss across his jaw. What she wanted to say was that Cole was perfect. Perfect for her. But she was afraid to reveal too much, terrified at how serious her feelings for him had become in such a short time.
He uncorked the wine and she held the glasses while he poured. They toasted to Declan’s health and new beginnings, then Cole opened the containers and served them both crisp green salad and a scrumptious-smelling portion of pasta.
“It’s amazing,” she said after taking a bite, the combination of tangy sauce and rich cheese making her want to moan with pleasure.
“What’s your favorite restaurant in Chicago?” he asked.
She smiled. “The shawarma food truck that parks around the corner from my condo. I’m not much of a cook either. I eat there at least twice a week.”
“Do you miss the city?”
She forked up another bite but paused before putting it in her mouth. “Not really, which is strange. Everything in my regular life was so structured. I thought that’s how I liked it, but now I see that it was also suffocating me.”
“Structure isn’t a bad thing,” he said, taking a sip of wine.
She smiled. “So says the lawman with the military background. I wish I’d questioned things more when I was growing up, and even as an adult. My mom made it clear that I should be grateful for the life we had, and I was. But I didn’t choose it. I never learned to figure out what I wanted. You’d think with the Crenshaw blood in me I would have rebelled or gone off the rails or something. Instead I was just a dutiful little sheep following the flock.”
She put down her fork and picked up the wineglass. “I’m mostly disappointed in myself at this point for letting other people decide how I should live my life.”
“You can always change that.”
“What about you?” she asked, twirling the stem of the wineglass between her fingers.
“What about me?”
“Is there something you’d change about your—?”
“Nope. My life is just fine.”
“What about your brother? Aren’t you curious about where he is now? He’s the only family you have, right?”
Cole’s jaw clenched, but he nodded.
“You could reach out to him. Try to mend the rift—”
“I told you I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”
“You’re twins,” she insisted. “I have to believe you’d know if something awful had happened.”
“Yeah,” he agreed reluctantly, running a hand over his jaw. “I’d know. But Shep made his choice after Dad died. The fact that he didn’t come back for Mom’s funeral... I can’t forgive that.”
“You could at least try to contact him.”
“I have no idea where he is at this point.”
“People have to work hard to hide in this day and age. One quick Google search and I bet—”
“I don’t need him,” Cole snapped. “I don’t need anyone. My life is fine the way it is.”
She forced herself to swallow the bite of pasta she’d just taken, even though it felt like it had turned to sawdust in her mouth. “Good to know.”
Cole blew out a breath. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“It’s fine,” she lied.
“Sienna, I’m—”
He broke off when both of their phones chirped wildly. Sienna grabbed hers from her purse as Cole pulled his from his back pocket.
“He’s awake,” she whispered, knowing that Cole would understand she was talking about her father. Jase had texted them both.
She let out a shuddery breath and pressed her fingers to her mouth when a sob threatened to emerge. Cole immediately stood and came around to her side of the table. He dropped down next to her and wrapped a hand around her shoulder.
She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the strong, safe scent of him. He rubbed his open palm in wide circles on her back, murmuring soothing words against her ear.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” he told her.
“We haven’t finished dinner,” she argued weakly. “Jase is there and—”
“It’s okay,” he promised. “We can take a rain check on dessert. You need to be with your family right now.”
Family. It was still difficult to believe that just by coming to Crimson and inserting herself in their lives that Declan and Jase were her family. Not after so many years of absence from her life.
But that’s how it felt. They were family. The bond between the three of them was fragile, but it tied them together nonetheless.
“Thank you for understanding,” she said as he gathered their plates and leftover food.
They made quick work of putting away the picnic, then returned down the trail to the truck. They were only ten minutes to the hospital, but the drive seemed interminable to Sienna. She vacillated between guilt that she hadn’t been there when Declan first woke to regret that she’d effectively ruined the perfect date Cole had planned. Once again, nothing she did was quite right.
“Do you want me to go in with you?” Cole asked, parking in front of the hospital’s entrance.
“I should go on my own,” she told him, then leaned across the console to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you again. Tonight was the best date I’ve ever had.”
He traced a finger along her jaw. “And the shortest, I’m guessing.”
“Rain check,” she promised, giving him one last kiss before hurrying into the hospital.