Tomorrow's Promise (The Hawks Mountain Series) (14 page)

She knelt beside him. Helplessness overcame her. She could not lose this man. He’d become too much a part of her life. Frantic with fear, she brushed the sweat from his forehead. She knew she should be doing something, but had no idea what. “What can I do?”

“Take . . . me . . . Doc Amos,” he whispered between clenched teeth.

Chapter 14

FAITH STOPPED PACING the waiting room of Doc Amos’s office and glanced at Lizzie sleeping peacefully on the leather couch. Satisfied that her daughter was okay, she resumed pacing. Lizzie
was
okay, and it was entirely due to Cole. Without hesitation, he’d put himself between her baby and the snake, probably saving Lizzie’s life. Now, he was inside Doc’s office fighting for his. The icy fear that had filled her entire being since she’d helped Cole into the car at Honeymoon Falls intensified. What would she do without him? Before she could answer that, a gentle voice cut into her thoughts.

“Honey, you’re gonna wear a hole in that floor.” Harriet Joseph’s tone was soft and sympathetic, but effectively brought Faith’s patrolling of the office door to a halt.

Faith moved to Doc’s wife’s desk, her hands clutched tightly together in front of her. She gnawed nervously on her bottom lip. “What’s taking so long?”

Laying aside her pen, Harriet rose and circled the desk. She threw an arm around Faith’s shoulders and hugged her. “He’ll be fine. Cole’s a strong man.”

“But they’ve been in there for so long.” Faith threw a worried frown at the closed inner office door, then looked back at Doc’s wife.

Harriet checked the clock on the wall above her desk. “Actually, they’ve only been in there for forty-five minutes. Amos is not one to hurry things when it comes to his doctoring. Now you sit down here by your little one, and I’ll get you a cup of tea. I always found that a cup of tea is just the thing when I’m on edge.”

Faith allowed Harriet to guide her to the end of the couch where Lizzie slept, unaware that her beloved Cole was in any danger. Once satisfied that Faith was comfortable, Harriet hurried off to get the promised cup of tea.

Hands still clutched in her lap, Faith stared at the closed door. Cole had to be okay. What would she do if anything happened to him?

You’ll go on, just like you did after Sloan was killed.

But this wasn’t the same. She hadn’t loved Sloan, at least not like she—
No!
She couldn’t, wouldn’t, go there.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, holding the untouched cup of tea in her cold hands, Faith was still staring at the closed door when it suddenly opened. Cole hobbled through it, supported by a pair of crutches. He looked as if he was suffering from no more than a sprained ankle. Much of the fear that had held her in its icy grasp evaporated.

“You’re okay,” she whispered, her intense relief evident in her voice.

“Good as new,” Cole replied. Then he looked down at the missing lower part of his jeans leg. “Well, at least
I’m
good as new. I can’t say as much for my pants.”

Fear for Cole’s well-being still uppermost in her mind, Faith ignored Cole’s attempt at a joke and looked to Doc Amos. “Is he? Good as new I mean?”

Doc Amos guided Cole to a chair and assisted him into it. “He’s gonna be fine, Faith. He’s just lucky he tangled with a copperhead and not one of our nasty timber rattlesnakes. Unlike rattlers, copperheads are stingy critters. They don’t waste their venom on humans. They save it for their edible prey, like mice and small rodents. Added to that was the fact that the bite was more of a glancing blow than a head-on bite.” He put a hand on Faith’s shoulder. “He may not have even gotten any venom in the wound, but to be safe, I cleaned it out good with a strong antiseptic, gave him a shot of antibiotics, and wrote a prescription for more. He’ll have to stay off it for a day or so. And I do mean
off it
.” He stared hard at Cole. “However, knowing our illustrious sheriff, I’m going to recommend he get a keeper to glue his rump in a chair and insist he stay there.”

Relief flooded through Faith. Cole would be okay. “I’ll stay with him,” Faith said without thinking.

“No—” Cole’s protest was cut short before he could get it all out.

“This is not up for discussion, Sheriff,” Faith declared. “It’s a weekend, and I don’t have to work. I’ll stop by my house and pick up everything Lizzie and I will need for a day or two, then we’ll get you home and into that chair.”

She waited for the man who had suddenly become so important to her to object, but wisely, Cole didn’t fight her. He just grinned and murmured, “Yes, ma’am.”

Faith told herself she needed to do this because Cole had saved Lizzie’s life, and she owed him, big time. But deep inside she knew there was much more to it.

ON THE WAY home, Cole cast side glances at Faith. He hated that she was so worried about him, but contrarily, it also sent warm emotions through him. Would she care this much if her feelings didn’t go deeper than friendship? Dared he go there?

Because of his law enforcement training, he’d learned to read people pretty accurately, but Faith baffled him in some ways. She’d returned to Carson determined to establish a life for herself and her daughter, and she’d done a heck of a job at it. In a few short weeks, she’d found a home, a job, and learned to drive. But as strong as she appeared on the outside, Cole worried about how much of that strength was just a wall she’d erected between herself and the world, and, if that wall crumbled, how easily she could be hurt.

Certain that her old emotional wounds had not yet healed over, he’d tread carefully. He’d kept his plan to move to Atlanta from her. Deep inside, he wasn’t sure anymore if he wanted to leave Carson. Until he made up his mind, involving Faith in a relationship that might or might not go anywhere was not fair. But every time he saw her, it was getting harder and harder to keep a tight rein on his emotions.

When they arrived at his house, Faith consigned Cole to the couch with strict orders to “Stay put.”

Once she got him settled, she called her friend Becky’s husband to go to the falls and retrieve their belongings that had gotten left behind in the rush to get Cole to Dr. Amos. She hung up the phone and turned to him. “I’m assuming you have a spare room.”

“It’s upstairs on the left.” He pointed toward the staircase. “But there’s no need for you to stay overnight. I can manage.”

Faith flashed him her I’m-not-negotiating-this expression, the same one she’d used on him in Keeler’s Market the first day he’d taken her grocery shopping and, most recently, in Doc’s office. “Doc said for you to keep off that leg for a day or two, and that’s what I plan on seeing that you do.” He started to protest again, but she sat on the edge of the couch and placed a finger over his lips. “You saved my daughter’s life. Let me do this for you.”

His body relaxed. “Okay. There’s a sofa down here in the den, I’ll sleep there so I don’t have to climb the stairs. You can take my room if you want and put Lizzie in the spare room.”

Faith froze.
His room
? Sleep in
his
bed? Just the thought brought memories of their night of lovemaking slamming into her like an out-of-control semi.

She grabbed at the first excuse that popped into her head. “I’ll sleep in the spare room with Lizzie. She might get upset if she wakes up in a strange room.”

“Chicken?” Cole flashed a knowing smile at her.

Her heart lurched. Yes. Chicken was exactly the right word for what she was.

TO FAITH’S RELIEF, the rest of the evening and all day Sunday went without any more innuendos from Cole. By Monday morning, they’d settled into a pleasant routine. Faith made the meals and served Cole in the living room so he didn’t have to get up on his leg. She and Lizzie ate with him off TV tables his mother had stashed in the hall closet. Faith had changed his bandage and swabbed the wound with the antibiotic solution Doc had provided, and it was looking good. She watched the clock with an eagle eye to make sure he took his meds on time.

Monday morning, she called Hunter, filled him in on what had happened, and told him she wouldn’t be in to work until Wednesday. After a Monday afternoon trip to Doc’s office, and with his approval, Cole was cleared to go back to work the next day. That evening, Faith fixed spaghetti and meatballs for supper. When she put Lizzie in the highchair Cole kept for his nephew, she took her seat at the table across from Cole. At that moment, how much they looked like any little family sharing an evening meal struck her. But they weren’t. And she had to stop dreaming such things. When they’d finished supper, she’d clean up. They’d go to bed, and tomorrow, she’d be back in her little cottage with just Lizzie.

“This is nice,” Cole said as if reading her thoughts. “It gets lonely eating alone all the time. It’s nice having company.”

Afraid to meet his eyes, she looked at her plate and mumbled, “Yes, it is.”

“I hate that you’ll be going home tomorrow.”

She wanted to say she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to say how much she’d loved being with him in the last few days, taking care of him. But she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and continued to shove food into her dry mouth. She chewed then swallowed. “Will you be okay?”

“Sure. I’ll be fine. I’ve been in worse shape.” He reached for a slice of garlic bread, ripped off a small chunk and gave it to Lizzie. “This is delicious. How’d you learn to cook like this?”

She shrugged. “Necessity.”

Small talk. What were they not saying? She knew what she was holding back, but what about Cole? What wasn’t he saying? And did she really want to know?

WEDNESDAY MORNING came all too soon for Faith. After Cole’s last early morning checkup at Doc’s, they dropped Lizzie off at Granny Jo’s house. Then she and Cole drove by his place so he could pick up his patrol car. He insisted on following her to her home so he could check out her house. When Faith protested, he pointed out that the house had stood empty for three days, so Faith agreed.

She watched him limp up to her front porch, unlock the door, and disappear inside. While she waited, she played the last few days through her mind. A smile curved her lips with the memories she’d stored away like a pirate burying his treasure: cooking for the three of them,
family
dinners, watching Cole play with Lizzie, good-natured arguments over what TV show they’d watch, long talks about things they liked and didn’t like. But never, in all that time, had they talked about how they really felt.

As she let the memories cascade through her mind like a slide show, she forgot about Cole checking the house until she heard him shout.

“Faith, you’d better come here.”

Disturbed by his alarming tone of voice, Faith scrambled quickly from the car and hurried toward the house. “What’s wrong?”

“You’d better see it for yourself.” He swung open the door.

Faith stepped inside and looked around. Absolute shock stole her voice.

Chapter 15

FAITH STARED IN frozen silence at her living room. It looked as if a tornado had passed through it. What she could see of her bedroom looked no better. Furniture was overturned. Papers and magazines were strewn about the floor. Drawers were open, their contents spilling out on the floor.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Who would do this?”

Cole guided her to the couch and seated her, then sat beside her. “Someone was looking for something. Any idea what it would be?”

Faith shook her head, still having trouble forming thoughts and putting them into words.

Looking for what? She certainly had nothing here of value. Still stunned, she stared at the mess all around her. In the far reaches of her mind, she could hear Cole talking.

“Yes, she’ll be there, but something’s come up, and she’s gonna be a bit late. Okay. Thanks, Hunter.” Cole put his cell phone away. “I called Hunter and told him you’ll be late.”

Faith nodded dumbly. “Thanks.”

He took her hand. “Faith, remember that white SUV we saw on the road?”

“Yes.” What does that have to do with this mess?

“I ran the plate, and it belongs to someone from Atlanta. At the time, I figured it was just some tourist who was having car problems.”

She frowned. “And now?”

“After this, I’m wondering if I was wrong. Is there anyone in Atlanta who would do this? Maybe someone connected with Sloan? You did say he was into drugs.”

The bottom went out of Faith’s stomach. Could it be one of Sloan’s drug pals who’d invaded her home? But why? “I don’t see why. I have nothing here that belongs to Sloan. When we left Atlanta, I only took what belonged to me and Lizzie. As far as I know, all of Sloan’s stuff is still in the apartment where I left it.”

“But they don’t know that.”

The thought of that trash breaking in here and contaminating her home pulled Faith from her state of confusion. The numbness that had invaded her senses slowly ebbed. In its place came anger and the sickening sensation of being violated. Even dead, Sloan had found a way to infect her life with fear. She vaulted to her feet and began pacing the room like a caged tiger.

“How dare they! How dare they invade my home and disrespect my privacy. What if Lizzie and I had been here?” Furious tears gathered in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with an impatient swipe of her hand. Faith had never known this kind of anger before. It built inside her like a raging fire and ate at her self-control. “My God, what if my baby had been here?”

Cole jumped up and came to her, enfolding her stiff body in his arms. “You weren’t here and neither was Lizzie. Don’t torture yourself with what ifs, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head and rocked her until the rage eating at her subsided, and she relaxed against him. “Come on. Let’s go in the kitchen, and I’ll make us some coffee.” With his arm around her and her body tucked close to his, he led her from the living room into the kitchen. “We’ll figure this out. I promise. I will never let anything happen to you or Lizzie.”

Cole’s words and the condition of the kitchen helped Faith calm down a bit. Evidently, whoever did this either hadn’t had the time to search the kitchen or had decided that whatever they were looking for wasn’t there. It was just as she’d left it the day she walked out to go with Cole on the picnic.

Faith dropped into a chair at the table and buried her face in her hands. She could hear Cole going through the process of making coffee, but her thoughts were ricocheting around in her head, trying to think who could have done this.

Something suddenly occurred to her. Celia. Maybe she was looking for the locket. Although Faith couldn’t imagine her mother going to these lengths, it was the only reasonable explanation. But her mother’s car wouldn’t have a Georgia license plate. Whoever the car belonged to had to be the answer to who had ransacked her home. “Cole, who was that SUV registered to?”

He finished pouring water in the coffeemaker, placed the carafe on the base, and then sat down across from her at the table. He pulled a small notepad from his uniform shirt pocket and flipped it open. “The name was Charles Harrison.”