“But I could never move back here,” she said. After a pause and looking down at the table, she added, “Would you consider moving to Denver?”
He gave her his kneejerk reaction. “I don’t think so. This is my home, and it’s where I built my practice.”
She looked away. “If you loved me, those things wouldn’t matter.”
He thought for a long moment, giving careful consideration to his words. “I believe you when you say you still love me, because I feel the same way. A part of me will always love you, Olivia. But loving me wasn’t enough to make you happy here in Timber Creek. I would hate living in Denver, and I know I wouldn’t last very long there. Can you see it’s the same thing?”
“Maybe we could try living somewhere else. Someplace that would give us both what we want.”
Again, he weighed her words. He sifted through the changes he’d made since she left, small things she wouldn’t approve of like dogs in the house, the girls working at the clinic, giving the kids more freedom and responsibility. Mattie came to mind along with feelings he didn’t have time to sort, so he set them aside to save for a time when he did.
“It’s something we both should consider,” he said. “But right now, we’re tired and probably more than a little euphoric from getting Sophie back. Not to mention the cake.” It did his heart good to make her smile. “I think we should relax and get a good night’s sleep. I can sack out on the couch if you want to sleep in my room.”
“Sophie wants me to sleep with her.”
“I’ll go up and say good-night to the girls, and then I need to go to bed.” He squeezed her hand as he arose from the table to carry his dishes to the sink. She remained sitting, possibly disappointed in him, but now was not the time for making decisions about renewing commitments.
Cole couldn’t sleep, so he lay on top of the covers, his room lit by the silent television, which he continuously surfed using the remote, keeping the sound off so he could listen to the sounds of the house.
His child’s kidnapper was still out there. For whatever reason, this monster wanted Sophie badly enough to steal her. Was he out there watching their house, waiting to break in after they’d all gone to bed? He’d left the downstairs lights on with Bruno on guard. That should deter an intruder. But still, Cole felt he couldn’t relax until the man was behind bars.
He didn’t want to revisit his conversation with Liv, but of course, he couldn’t help but go back over it. After mulling it over, he continuously arrived at the same conclusion: he liked the life he and the kids were piecing together, and he was ready to move on. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d have to find a gentle way to tell Olivia, and he still planned to help her find a way to establish a new relationship with the girls.
And as for Mattie? He’d never met a woman he admired more. Not only had she saved his life, but she’d saved his daughter too. And, well, he needed to make sure his feelings for her weren’t hero worship, because he thought he was falling in love.
A quiet tap sent his attention to his partially closed door, where Sophie peeked in. “Are you watching TV?”
“Kind of. Do you want to join me?”
“Yeah.” She went to the other side of the bed and climbed on, still clutching that dratted toy dog. Belle and Bruno followed her into the room, gazing longingly at the bed. “Can these guys come, too? Belle’s sad that she has to sleep downstairs.”
He pulled the covers back on her side and then tucked her in. Unable to resist Bruno’s begging eyes, he decided to give him a chance to be with Sophie before taking him back downstairs to his guard post.
Patting the blanket, he invited both dogs onto the foot of the king-size bed, where they plopped down near Sophie. “I guess it won’t hurt to let them up here with you. How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Okay I guess.” She sniffed. “But my nose is stuffy and I can’t sleep. Mommy took a sleeping pill, and she’s snoring.”
“She’s really tired. None of us slept last night.”
“Uh-huh,” she said as if she already knew. She tried to suck her thumb, but her nose was too stuffy, so she pulled it out of her mouth. Cole decided that maybe that was a good thing.
“I keep thinking about that place,” she said.
Cole rolled to face her, putting his hand on her small shoulder. She stared at the ceiling, clutching the toy dog. Would she be traumatized for life?
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head in a small back and forth movement. “Mattie cried when she found me. I cried too.”
“You were both relieved.” Cole fought back his own tears. Relief probably didn’t even come close to describing how overcome they’d been. And Mattie . . . she wasn’t one to cry. His chest swelled as he thought of how much this woman seemed to love his kids. It touched him.
Another tap at the door made them both look, and the dogs raised their heads.
“Angie,” Sophie said, the word laden with pleasure. She scooted over to the middle, closer to Cole. “Come get in bed with us.” And then she pushed Belle. “Move over, Belle. Let Angie in.”
“Join us, Angel,” he said. “Can’t sleep?”
Angela climbed into bed on the other side of Sophie, and the two snuggled against each other. “No. I must’ve slept too much today.”
“Me too,” Sophie said. “Can we watch a movie, Dad?”
“Let’s see what we can find,” he said, deep contentment filling him as he flipped through the channels. They finally agreed on Sleepless in Seattle, and Cole turned the volume on low so they wouldn’t disturb the rest of the household. Yawning, he settled back on his pillow with his shoulder bumping against Sophie’s.
He would savor this moment, but once the girls fell asleep, he and Bruno would go back on guard duty.
Chapter 28
Saturday
Mattie covered her wet hair with a towel, giving her scalp a brisk massage to try to wake up. She took a moment to examine the ashen circles under her eyes before squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush.
No way around it. I look like shit this morning.
The search for evidence at the root cellar had turned up nothing, the Waverly interrogation hadn’t ended with satisfactory results, and Burt Banks was still missing when the sheriff had called it a day last night and told them all to go home and get some sleep. Instead of going home, Mattie had driven to Cole’s place to stand guard for a while outside his house, just in case the killer came back for Sophie. She might as well die if she let anything else happen to that dear girl.
After getting dressed, she went to the kitchen in search of something to eat when her cell phone rang.
Cole.
She connected the call. “How is Sophie this morning?”
“Much better. We’re at the clinic feeding her chicks, and she wanted to call to tell you good morning. Do you have time to talk to her?”
His words warmed her heart. “Sure. Put her on.”
There was a pause and a clatter as Cole shifted the phone to Sophie. “Good morning, Mattie. What are you doing today?”
Mattie closed her eyes as she savored hearing the child’s voice. “Good morning to you too, Sophie. I’m getting ready to go to work.”
“But it’s Saturday!”
Mattie smiled. “Police officers have to be on duty over the weekend too.”
“Can you come by today and see my baby chicks?”
“I’ll call later and see if we can work something out, okay?”