“Cole.” Henry wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Since when do you knock around here? Come on in, sit and have something to eat. Tess rustled up a mess of food.”
“Morning, Henry,” Cole said. “I didn’t want to barge in not knowing where things stood with us, especially since my brother has you fighting his battles against me.”
“Nonsense, business is business and this is breakfast. No shoptalk here.”
“You heard my dad,” Tess said. “Sit.”
Tess laid an extra place setting before him and filled a mug with fresh coffee. Her hair was slightly shorter and more tamed than it was yesterday. The length suited her, even though he was used to the long waves she’d had since grade school. The auburn locks graced the nape of her neck, leaving the delicate skin exposed above the edge of her heather-gray sweater.
Shift focus, Cole. She’s the enemy. The enemy in matters of the heart, that is. Even though he hated the thought of his mother hiring Tess, she might prove to be one of his strongest allies. She was a webmistress genius and a master at convincing people to see things her way through her designs. He needed her on his side, no matter how much of his own peace of mind he had to sacrifice.
“Thank you.” Cole helped himself to a spoonful of scrambled eggs, pancakes and some odd-looking baconlike strips. “Everything looks great.”
“It’s low-sodium turkey bacon.” Henry leaned over and whispered to Cole, “Maggie has me on a restricted diet since—well, since the summer.”
“It’s all right, Henry.” Cole understood his meaning. “Since my father died my mom blames herself every day, wondering if her cooking contributed to his heart attack.”
Tess stood beside the table, listening intently while Ricky walked between her ankles in a figure-eight pattern. “I’m sorry, Cole.”
“Stop apologizing.” Cole placed his hand over hers, immediately wishing he hadn’t when he felt the silkiness of her skin. “We’ve asked ourselves the same question. Jesse blames himself for the stress he caused Dad over the years. I wonder if I’d been around more, maybe he would’ve had less of a workload. Then I tell myself Dad had enough money to hire more help if things became too much for him to handle. It’s speculation and we’ll never know. We just have to move on from it.”
Guilt was a hard pill to swallow. Cole talked until he was blue in the face, trying to reassure everyone in his family that his father’s death wasn’t their fault. He wasn’t so sure he believed it himself. Many things should have been handled differently, but regardless of how he felt, he was damn certain he’d finish what his father started. He owed the man that much.
“What brings you by?” Henry asked, breaking the heavy silence.
“I’m afraid you’ll consider it shoptalk.” Cole nervously laughed and leaned down to rub Ricky between the ears.
“Ah.” Henry rose from the table. “In that case, I will leave you two alone. I’ll be late to the office if I don’t get a move on. Thank you for a wonderful breakfast, sweetheart. It’s good to have you home.”
Henry kissed his daughter on the cheek and shook Cole’s hand before he left.
“Refill?” Tess asked, the coffeepot hovering above his mug.
“Yes, please.”
“What did you want to talk to me about, or shouldn’t I ask?”
Cole sensed Tess’s trepidation. They needed to settle what happened in Las Vegas, but she clearly wasn’t ready to get into it yet. Not wanting to drive her away when he desperately needed her help, Cole pushed the subject to the backburner.
“There’s someplace I’d like to show you.” Cole rested his fork on the edge of the plate. “And someone I’d like you to meet.”
“This isn’t a trap or anything, is it?”
“What?” Cole feigned offense. “I wouldn’t think of leading you astray.”
“Hmm,” Tess said. Ricky jumped into her lap, giving him a questioning look himself. “And the croissant incident was one hundred percent innocent, I presume.”
“I plead the Fifth.” Cole munched on another piece of turkey bacon. “This stuff isn’t half-bad. I could get used to it.”
“Oh, you must really want something from me if you’re complimenting fake bacon.” Tess shook her head. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace you won’t soon forget.”
* * *
THE DRIVE WAS pleasant enough and Tess was thankful she’d brought along her camera. Between the radio and the autumn landscape, she managed to sing, talk and photograph her way around the topic she knew Cole wanted to discuss. She figured he wanted to show her the hippotherapy facility Joe had patterned his plans after. And on the way there, in a vehicle moving at seventy miles an hour, she could no longer avoid the issue looming over them.
She would have succeeded in doing just that if the DJ hadn’t started blathering on about the local rodeo champions heading to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas next month. Instantly transported to the scene of the crime, Cole gave her no alternative.
“I never meant to hurt you,” Cole said. “But I swear to you, I didn’t cheat on you.”
“It’s in the past.” Tess clenched her teeth. “Please leave it there.”
“I didn’t have the chance to say my piece then and I think you owe me at least that much.” Cole continued without waiting for her response. “I walked out of that arena with you on my arm. It was plain as day for everyone to see I was with you. I know it looked bad when those women showed up, and yes, I had been with them in the past, but I thought you knew me better than that. I may be many things, but a cheater isn’t one of them. Our relationship was turning serious and I think you were looking for a way out. When one appeared, you ran with it.”
Tess bit back the words she almost uttered. What he said was half-true. She knew the kind of man she thought Cole was. It was the stupid grin on his face that night that told her this type of thing had happened before, and he’d enjoyed it when it did. She heard the rodeo cowboy stories and knew a man could only take so much teasing before he gave in to temptation. The absurdity of the situation was that she’d immediately started dating Tim and he wound up cheating the exact way she figured Cole had. Another lesson learned. Don’t date men you meet in an airport bar.
But looking for a way out? No, she wouldn’t admit to that—at least not completely. Tess thought she’d wanted more from Cole, but once she saw the buckle bunnies, she knew it was a mistake. Long-distance relationships didn’t last and Cole’s first love was working on his family’s ranch, not living in New York City and sitting in a stuffy office building all day long. And she wouldn’t think of asking him to change.
In the same regard, Tess loved her independence. She traveled around the country on business, came and went when she wanted and didn’t concern herself with pleasing anyone except her cat. She had no intention of moving back to Texas. It wouldn’t have worked and she was justified in leaving.
As an acquisitions analyst, Tim traveled extensively throughout the world. He’d accepted her business trips and she’d accepted his. Personal vacations were another story altogether, resulting in them never going anywhere. When Tess suggested flying home to see her family, he shot down the idea. She would have enjoyed rubbing her fiancé in Cole’s face, at least once.
“If