5

Scarlett had considered not showing up for the annual mum making night at the antique store. No one had asked her and it wasn’t like she’d promised or signed up for it. But she’d helped out every year since the L.O.L.’s began their tradition.

But this time, Cole would be there.

Ingrid had told her as if that would encourage Scarlett to show up. Truth was, last night’s chat with Benji had helped focus Scarlett and bring her wayward imagination to heel.

Scarlett parked the Jeep and immediately her eyes landed on Cole’s bicycle.

She slid her fingers over the knuckles he’d kissed.

Yeah, so her imagination was fighting back, but what mattered was what she chose to do. She was in charge of her destiny. No one else.

She grabbed her purse then the box of cupcakes she’d picked up on her way into town. People had been forced to decide between pitching in on mum making or parade floats. Most people had opted for the floats, which was why she’d inevitably decided the mum team needed her.

The shop was quiet. She was willing to bet the owners had entrusted Bunny with the keys and gone home since it wasn’t normally open this late.

The smell of hot glue and burning plastic mixed with old varnish and book dust.

Soon the first cold front of fall would hit and everything would transform. Their seasons were rather bi-polar. They went straight from sunshine and heat to chilly and overcast.

She placed the cupcakes on a table full of snacks then glanced around. Most people had teamed up to work on orders together. For some of the arrangements it took four hands to keep everything in place and made the work quicker.

Cole sat in a corner, his back to everyone else, working alone.

“There you are.” Bunny placed her hand on Scarlett’s arm.

“Hello.” She bent and kissed the old woman’s cheek. “Is it true the fall festival was canceled?”

“I just heard.” Bunny scowled something fierce. “I mean to have word with the city council about that. They thought there was no need to double work since the Baptist church does the trunk or treat, but Pastor won’t be here. They made it clear in January that there would be no trunk or treat. Where are all the kids supposed to go?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I suspect they voted to put more funds into homecoming since it brings in more money, what with family coming home for the week.”

“That would make sense.”

“I plan on writing a letter and circulating a petition. Can I count on your support? The young voices matter.”

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

“Good. I think our boy is having problems.” Bunny nodded at Cole. “Think you could help him out?”

Scarlett stared down into Bunny’s glittering eyes.

This was planned.

She was too familiar with Bunny’s ways to think otherwise and she couldn’t say no.

This was Scarlett’s fault for being seen out and about with him twice now. She knew how people talked. She’d fended off a few questions already. But Cole was well on his way to being the darling newcomer. The L.O.L.s were sure to be on his side in every move they made.

“I’ll see what I can do.” She plucked two cupcakes out of the pastry box, pushed her shoulders back and braced herself for the male magnetism of Cole Odell.

They were going to have to set some boundaries soon.

She slid between the tables until she reached the station where Cole hadn’t made any progress that she could see. She set the cupcakes on the edge of the table while he continued to frown at a bit of ribbon bunting.

“Hey,” she said.

Cole tipped his chin up and stared at her, his brow furrowed, hair messy and a bit of glitter sticking to his cheek. And sure enough, warmth unfurled inside of her. Lust was a heady drug. She’d forgotten how it could twist her up.

“Hey.” He set the glue gun down, brows furrowed and a bandage around one finger.

“Bunny said you might need some help?” Scarlett’s lips quirked up.

“Yes. Please. I never knew I couldn’t use a hot glue gun until now.” He pushed his chair back and stood, invading her personal space.

She swallowed and kept her smile in place. He clasped her shoulders and butterflies buzzed in her stomach.

“You’re my angel,” he said. “Sit?”

“I brought cupcakes.” She gestured at the two chocolate treats.

“You’re my favorite person, you know?” He picked up one of the cupcakes.

She slid into the vacant seat and glanced at the order form.

“Can you explain this to me?” He pitched his voice low, for her ears alone. “It’s like...someone’s Pinterest vomited. Kids wear these?”

“Yes.” She chuckled and glanced at him. There was more glitter on his face than she’d first realized. “Some kids were spending three, four and five hundred dollars on mums.”

“Are you—what?” His eyes went wide, and he froze in the act of taking a bite of the cupcake.

“The school instituted a rule.” Scarlett nudged some things aside and arranged the ribbons. “The bed-and-breakfast kids can afford a lot more than the locals, so to keep things from being outrageous they have limits on how big the mums can be. Some of the L.O.L.s volunteer to vet mums during homecoming.”

“I understood like half of what you just said.” Cole said between bites, blinking at her. “Bed and breakfast kids?”

“The kids whose parents want to live in the country and commute into the city for work.” She eyed the work he’d already done and tried to decide if she could salvage it or just start over.

“Oh. L.O.L.s?” He pulled out another seat and sat next to her.

“That’s what most of us call them.” She nodded at Bunny and a cluster of other grannies. “They’re the Little Old Lady Gang.”

“Okay. That makes sense. They are a power to be reckoned with. And homecoming is a big thing?”

“Super big. A lot of people plan trips to come back, see the parade, go to the football game. This year they’re doing a banquet on Saturday for the adults while the high school is having their dance.”

“Oh.” Cole leaned closer. She felt his foot brush her leg as he propped it on the rung, pushing in on that personal space again. “You like homecoming?”

“It’s a fun time. Like the holidays, but with a lot less pressure, you know?” She glanced at him and found he’d leaned closer. “People don’t expect presents or a big display. It’s about being together. Community.”

“I see.” He studied her for a moment and she fought the urge to squirm. “Did you used to wear these?”

“I did, but mine weren’t this fancy. Just something simple. Homemade.”

“I guess that’s not what kids go for. What are we doing next?” Cole nodded, and she glanced at the mum.

“I think...we’re starting over.”

“I messed up, didn’t I?”

“I can salvage the ribbons for a garter.”

“A garter?”

“It’s what the guys wear. Smaller. Goes around the arm.”

“I don’t know how Bunny thought I’d do this on my own,” he said.

Scarlett didn’t offer up her thoughts on that front. Putting her and Cole at the same table seemed intentional. Normally the L.O.L.s fought over cute, young men in their doting kind of way. Right now they appeared intent to put Scarlett and Cole together rather than take advantage of the new eye candy.

Even more of a reason to come to an understanding with him.

“What other traditions should I know about? Can I help?” he asked.

“If you can start putting glitter letters on these three white ribbons that would be excellent.” It would also keep him preoccupied and out of her personal space. “I need to weave the basket streamer then make the setting for the mum flower. You didn’t do any crazy stuff like this when you were in high school?”

“No. But, we never really lived in one place long enough to do stuff like this.”

“Move around a lot?” She glanced at him.

“You could say that.” He licked the frosting from his fingers. Her dreams were going to feature lips, she just knew it.

“What did your parents do that had you moving so much?” She leaned back in her chair, weaving the ribbons.

Cole sighed.

“You don’t—”

“My dad’s a felon.”

Scarlett blinked at Cole staring at the table.

“That must have been rough,” she said after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “The first time it was check fraud, before I was born. He was out long enough to knock my mom up. He went back in for grand larceny or something. That’s when things went bad. He’s in now for homicide.”

“Your poor mom,” she whispered. Scarlett didn’t know what to say to that. It was horrible to think of his family so broken by one person.

“I guess.”

Scarlett stopped weaving the ribbon.

She was missing something. A very big piece of this puzzle.

“Did you travel around based on where your dad was staying?” She wanted to know, but she was scared to ask.

“No, Mom moved us around depending on which felon she was married to.” Cole scrubbed a hand across his jaw and sorted through the glitter letters.

“What?”

“You know how some women like to date cops, or firemen or athletes? My mom was like that, but with felons. My dad wasn’t so bad in the beginning, but the kind of men she met and got involved with kept getting worse, and worse. That’s why we moved around a lot. Sometimes they were in prison and sometimes they weren’t.”

Scarlett dropped her hands into her lap.

“I haven’t seen my dad in...twenty years? I was ten or eleven last time I saw him. I can’t believe I’m telling you any of this.” He shook his head.

“You can tell me.” She reached over and took his hand, her heart in her throat.

“Thanks.”

“Where’s your mom now?”

“Who knows? I cut ties with her when I was twenty after CPS came and took her last three kids.”

Scarlett opened and closed her mouth

Last three kids?

He spoke as though there were more. Kids who would be his brothers and sisters.

“And we’re getting even less done than I was earlier. These just go on here right?” He gestured at the ribbon.

“Cole, that’s awful.” She blinked, tears prickling her eyes.

“It was.” He nodded and stuck an R on a ribbon.

“You really haven’t contacted her? Not even through Facebook or something?”

“No. I keep my settings locked down. I don’t go looking for her. I don’t honestly want anything to do with either of my parents.”

“Your brothers and sisters?”

“That’s my one regret.” He nodded and glanced at her. “Why am I telling you any of this?”

“You needed to get it out.” She shrugged and picked up more ribbon to keep weaving. “Ever thought about looking for them? How many are there?”

“At least six. Probably more like seven or eight. She could have had at least two kids while I was in college and not told me about them.” He glanced at her. “I am trying to find them. At least, the three oldest. I was close to them before they were taken away.”

“How old would they be?”

“I’m thirty-two so Cal would be twenty-five or twenty-four. The girls would be...twenty-three and twenty-one. I was eight when Cal was born. Old enough to help out.”

“How are you two doing?” Bunny asked from right behind Scarlett.

“We’re strategizing.” Scarlett sat forward and pulled the bare mum toward her.

“Good. Good. Glad you could help out. We’re short staffed what with the float building going on and Sissy’s surprise.”

“Sissy’s surprise?” Scarlett glanced over her shoulder at Bunny who merely held a finger up to her lips.

The surprise wouldn’t be spoiled.

What was Sissy up to now?

A few of the L.O.L.s wandered over, commenting on Scarlett’s work or asking Cole questions. The steady stream of light chit chat helped keep them on track and she ploughed through two dozen orders once they hit their stride. Cole seemed uncomfortable about his confession and Scarlett didn’t know how to take it. By the time Bunny called an end to the session there were only a handful of orders left to fulfill. Scarlett’s back ached, her hands were numb, and she had glitter everywhere.

Cole shadowed her out of the shop, his dark mood clinging to her now, too.

The evening air had just a bit of bite to it so that it felt refreshing. They wouldn’t get their first freeze until November, but an occasional cold night was in their forecast.

“Hey?” She touched Cole’s arm as he turned toward his bike. She didn’t want to leave him like this and they really did need to talk. He’d escaped that past, but he’d gone back there because of her. “Walk with me a minute?”

He glanced at the bike then back to her before nodding.

She turned right, and he fell in step with her, walking the length of the antique store. Neither spoke. She didn’t necessarily feel as though she had to. Sometimes quiet was just as powerful as words.

“I was worried about moving here, what with my history,” he said after they’d walked the whole block.

“You can’t be responsible for your parent’s decisions. Some people might think otherwise, but they’re wrong.”

“Allie knew some of it, but...”

“AK’s a fragile person.”

“That’s a word for her.”

“How did you two meet?”

“At a bar.  She needed a ride home, then her roommate was kicking her out, and I felt bad for her. Woke up one day and we were dating, then she decided we were getting married. Here I am.”

“Wow. Real romantic.”

“That’s how it was with her. One thing led to the other.” Cole glanced down at her. “I should thank Allie for leaving me. I was too chicken shit to do it. Too scared I’d hurt her. I guess I am my mother’s child.”

“Maybe there is some of your mom in you, but you’re a good person.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop.

“How would you know that? You don’t even know me.” Cole turned to face her, his big hand folding around hers.

“You haven’t said one negative thing about AK. Not one. Any normal man in your shoes would be justified in calling her all kinds of names and being angry. You just want to move on and find your place.”

“It still doesn’t mean I’m a good person,” he said.

“Bad people don’t spend their evenings covered in glitter so some high school kid can be included. Bad people don’t make emergency vet visits when that’s something the practice has never done before.” The grapevine was nothing but glowing praise for him on all fronts.

His hold on her hand tightened, and he shifted closer still.

“Thanks, Scarlett,” he said.

“You’re hard on yourself. You carry the weight of your past, your mama’s, and all your siblings.”

He glanced away from her and damn it, her heart squeezed.

“I hope you find your brother and sisters. I hope you find all of them.”

“Me, too,” he said.

They stood there, looking at each other. The pull was still there. She could feel it even before she’d touched him.

“Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?” he asked.

“Nothing. That kind of past isn’t your fault. You might have lived through it, it shaped you, but it doesn’t define you. I won’t tell anyone about this.” Just like her mistakes didn’t dictate who she would be either.

“What defines you?”

“Me?” She rolled that question around. “I like to think what I do now speaks to who I have become more than the mistakes I made.”

“You make mistakes?” One side of his mouth quirked up, and she almost sighed.

“More than you know.”

“And here I thought you were perfect.”

“Hardly.” She let go of his hand, but he didn’t release her.

He stared into her eyes and she stared right back.

There it was again that pull. More than chemistry, it was a connection.

“Cole?”

“Yeah?” He swayed toward her.

“We can’t do this.” She forced herself to pull her hand from his.

“We aren’t doing anything.”

“Come on, don’t put this on me. That’s not fair.” She glanced away even though she knew it wasn’t all in her head.

“Sorry. No, you’re right.” He turned toward the shop window. “I didn’t mean...”

“Over the last two years I’ve made every decision in my life based on the question, what’s best for myself? And then, what would make me a better partner and mother? You and I are in two different places. I think it's best if we took a step back from whatever this is.”

“What is this?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay.” He smiled and took a step back.

“Cole.”

“I think you should go home. We should both go home.”

Her gut said she should smooth things over, but her head was louder. She was saving them both from getting caught up in something neither of them wanted. She was finally learning her lesson. Attraction and chemistry didn’t rule her. It didn’t change the desire gnawing at her heart.

g

Cole pulled into the lot behind the vet clinic and shifted the old land whale of a car into park. Despite the vehicle’s age it hadn’t rolled over a hundred thousand miles in the decades Sissy had owned it. Or maybe it had and rolled all the way back around for all Cole knew. It ran, and he was appreciative to have something with four wheels for the time being.

He’d run late this morning after lying awake for too long last night, replaying that last conversation with Scarlett.

She was a woman who knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t him. That was honest, and it stung. He wasn’t in a place to offer her anything. Backing off was smart. It didn’t change the fact that he liked her.

He needed to remain focused on his life, his job and finding his siblings.

When he’d cut ties with his mother, he hadn’t considered the future, what it would be like without a family. He’d just seen a cycle of behavior that hadn’t changed in twenty years and couldn’t take it anymore. Not with her four months pregnant with yet another kid whose father was probably doing time again.

He gathered his things for the day, determined to put thoughts of Scarlett and his family out of his mind. It was going to be another full one. He’d had this crazy idea that since no one knew he was in town, it would make for a slow introduction to the clinic.

Boy had he been wrong.

He was booked solid with patients who’d opted to move up their appointments now that he was here. He had more work than he’d juggled while in St. Louis.

Cole pushed through the rear entrance. The smell of coffee and vet clinic mixed together in a comforting way.

Animals had always been his friend. They didn’t know he wasn’t loveable that they should keep their distance. Companion animals were the embodiment of good in the world.

Maybe it was time to get a new dog. Or a cat. Something to watch over the house when he wasn’t there and hang with him when he was. He missed Festus. That dog couldn’t be replaced. Cole just didn’t know if he had it in him to go looking for a new friend right now.

“Morning, Dr. Green.” Cole waved at the older man seated behind his desk. He’d head out soon, making house calls on their larger patients.

“Cole?”

“Sir?”

“I’d like a word.” Dr. Green waved him into the office.

Cole wiped his hands on his scrubs and perched on the guest chair.

“You have any questions for me? I’ve tossed you in the deep end and left you to it.” Dr. Green patted the pockets of his utility vest, with a dozen different medical tools and creams stashed in the pockets.

“No, so far so good. I think it’ll speed up the day to have both the techs in.”

“No doubt.” Dr. Green nodded and his eyes...twinkled? Was the man actually human? “You’ve made a good impression so far. Keep up the good work so I don’t have to fire you.”

“That’s the plan, sir.” Cole nodded.

“Okay, well then, I’m off. Won’t be back until tomorrow.” Dr. Green pushed to his feet and grabbed a kit off the floor.

Had his boss just smiled and complimented him?

“Dr. Odell?” Luna called out.

“He’s in here,” Dr. Green said.

“Patients here?” Cole glanced up at Luna.

“Yes.” She stared at Cole with questions in her eyes. He’d gotten that look from a few people and he was beginning to understand what it meant, why Scarlett needed them to take a step back.

Cole stood, and they both watched Dr. Green exit out the back door.

“How are...?”

Luna glanced at the door once more, ensuring the coast was clear before she answered. “Good. They’re eating regularly.”

“Where are they now?” He hadn’t thought to ask the other night, but kittens had to be fed round the clock.

“My mom has them. I think she wants to kill me for this.” Luna grinned.

“Kittens are hard work.” He shook his head.

“Hey, what’s this I hear about you and Scarlett Lively going out?”

“We are just friends.”

“Oh. Well, she’s good people. You know, in case you two become more than friends.” Luna backed away. “I’m going to get the patient in room one ready for you.”

Lord save him from meddling women.

•  •