While she stretched her legs under the warm, fluffy comforter, she noticed movement at the doorway. Cole peeked around the jam, raising his hand in greeting when she looked at him.
He carried a tumbler of blueberry vitamin water and set it on the bedside table. “Do you feel any better?”
“I’ll feel better tomorrow after I work some of the soreness out.” She sat up, and Cole handed her the glass. The first few swallows hurt her throat but then felt soothing as she leaned against the headboard and sipped a bit more.
Cole sat on the edge of the bed, and Robo moved to position himself between them. Cole’s dark eyes twinkled. “This dog gets the best of me every time.”
“Will the kids be home soon?”
“In about fifteen minutes.”
“I need to go. I can’t let them see me looking like this—Frankenstein’s bride.”
He smiled. “They can and they will. It’s not the first time they’ve seen a few cuts and bruises, although the redness in your eyes will create lots of questions from Sophie. Let’s just tell her it was from being so close to the fire.”
“I can go home now.”
“Stella called. Your home isn’t ready for you to go in there yet.”
“What’s taking so long?”
He made a vague gesture with his hand. “Not sure. She’ll get to it when she can. I told her you were staying here for the night.” He continued on with a rush, as if to stave off argument. “She also said to tell you that John Cobb shut down and asked for an attorney. Interrogation over.”
“I doubt he’ll provide us with anything more.” Pain radiated from Mattie’s chest as a coughing spasm gripped her.
Cole leaned forward to pat her on the back. “Remember Dr. McGinnis said to go ahead and cough. Your lungs weren’t functioning at full capacity there for awhile and you might need to decongest.”
When the spasm ended, she wiped moisture from her eyes, caused not only by coughing. Sometimes this man seemed too good, and she didn’t want to sully his world with her dirty baggage. She pushed the comforter back so she could get up. “Cole, listen. It’s really good of you to offer a place for me to stay, but it’s not necessary.”
“Wait,” he said, taking her hand.
Robo stuck his nose between them, nuzzling her palm. He drew away to sneeze and then pushed his wet nose back between their hands, doing his best to separate them.
“Geez, Robo. Ick.” Cole pulled a tissue from the box on the bedside table and wiped her palm, which she allowed, even though she didn’t really care. “I don’t want you to leave now, Mattie. We’ll all rest better tonight if you stay here. Please do Mrs. Gibbs, the kids, and me this one favor and let us pamper you. At least for today.”
She blinked the wetness from her eyes and turned away. “I’m not used to it.”
“I know. You’re always the strong one.”
“I mean, I’m still trying to wrap my head around things. Everything I thought I knew about myself has been tossed into the air. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. I don’t want to bring that into your home. I need time to sort things out.”
“No, you don’t. It’s all in the past, Mattie. It doesn’t matter in the present. There’s nothing you can learn about yourself that would change the way I feel about you. Not a thing. I love you the way you are. I love the person you are. There’s nothing out there that could change that for me.”
Tears streamed, wetting her cheeks, and a sob racked her chest as Cole leaned forward to take her in his arms. Robo squirmed his way between them, and Cole embraced them both, her dog sandwiched in the middle. She gave up on trying to maintain control and sobbed unhindered until Robo’s persistent nose nudged her arm and made her laugh while she cried.
“Robo. Move over, buddy. Give a guy a break.” Cole tore more tissues from the box with one hand while he continued to hold her with the other, giving her several before he wiped his eyes and nose with another. “Okay. I know that finding out about yourself and your family is important to you, so here’s what I think we should do. We’ll send your DNA to an ancestry database to see if we can find your mother. Maybe she’s trying to find you. Or maybe we can find other members of your family. No telling who’s out there looking for you.”
Her throat swelled, and she buried her face in a tissue. “Maybe no one.”
“But maybe someone.” He pulled her toward him, and Robo held the line resolutely, wedged between them. “The important thing for you to remember, Mattie, is that we’re in this together. No matter what you discover, I’m with you.”
It was a lot to take in, a lot to think about. The noisy bustle of the kids coming home from school drifted up the stairway, and Cole looked toward the open door. He leaned back slightly and looked into her face.
Unable to meet his eyes, she gazed down at Robo. It was too much emotional turmoil—love, sorrow, the joy of being alive and being with him. She might start crying again.
“I need to go downstairs and talk to the kids. A lot has happened since they left for school this morning. Are you okay on your own for a few minutes?”
She’d been on her own most of her life. “Sure.”
“Will you feel like visiting with the kids later?”
All of sudden, everything came clear. Being with Sophie and Angela would be like medicine to her soul. There was nothing she would like better. “I’ll splash some water on my face and get ready. Could you ask Mrs. Gibbs if she can loan me a scarf to put around my neck? The kids don’t need to see this mark.”
“Okay, but Stella wanted you to give her a call.” He handed her his cell phone as he leaned forward and kissed her.
The kiss felt warm and gentle on her lips, loving but not demanding, normal and like it should be.
Cole straightened. “I’ll get you a scarf and you can come down whenever you’re ready.”
She dialed Stella after he left. Her cell phone had never been found; it was probably smashed somewhere along the side of the road.
Stella answered. “What’s up, Cole?”
“It’s Mattie.”
“Ah, glad to know you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be all right. Do we have any more information?”
“We sent John Cobb’s rifle and ammo to the lab. We’re certain he shot the ram, but we’ll let ballistics prove it for us.” Stella paused for a moment. “I tried to get a possible lead for Ramona out of Violet, but I don’t think she knows anything about your mother. The good news is that after she talked to her attorney, it looks like she’s decided to testify against John Cobb for William’s death.”
“That is good news.” Mattie remembered her certainty that John Cobb had been on the ridge the night their three John Does had been killed. “Stella, do you think we can charge him for the deaths of our other three victims?”
“I think it’s entirely possible. We can tie the murder weapon to Harold Cobb, and despite his denial, our taped interview gave us enough to place John Cobb at the crime scene that night. He knew too much. And the fact that he used the same MO and place to bury William is also damning. That has to be more than pure coincidence.”
A thought crystalized in Mattie’s mind, making her realize how happy she should be. “The discovery that I’m not related by blood to the Cobb brothers is a huge bonus.”
“I hoped you would come to see it that way.”
Cole returned with a green silk scarf in hand, which he waved at her before placing it beside her on the bed. “Join us when you’re ready,” he whispered as he left the room.
“Lab results were negative for recreational drugs in William’s samples.” Stella paused, and Mattie knew the other shoe was about to drop. “But they were positive for thiafentanil oxalate.”