But in the meantime, he had Mattie all to himself while they drove back to Timber Creek. Though he was bone tired, handing her up into the passenger seat of his truck gave his outlook on life a fresh, new face-lift.
After settling into his seat, he turned to study her to see how she was holding up. Fatigue registered itself in the lines around her eyes along with a saddened expression. He reached for her, and she slipped her hand into his. When she turned to face him, he noticed her dark-brown eyes were liquid.
“How are you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s hard to see Garrett like that. Will he be able to see normally again?”
“The doctor thinks it’s possible. It’s early yet.”
“And poor Leslie, she loves him so much. Cole, it breaks my heart. They’ve been through more than anyone should this year, and to think he got hurt trying to save a neighbor. He’s such a good person.”
“The salt of the earth.” He squeezed her hand. “Knowing Garrett, he’d do it all over again if he had to.”
She was searching his face, and he knew she was trying to read him just as he’d done with her. “How are you doing? Did you get any sleep?”
“I dozed in the chair a little after the doctor told us the bleeding had stopped.”
“Do you want me to drive so that you can sleep?”
“Are you kidding? And miss out on getting to be with you? I don’t want to waste time sleeping.”
She shook her head at him, but the tiniest of smiles told him she was pleased. “Let me know if you change your mind. Talking to me might not be as awesome as you think.”
“Being with you always gives me a lift, Mattie.” Cole released her hand long enough to start the engine and back out of the parking space, but then he reached for it again. Hand-holding might be all they had time for today, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. “I take it you left Robo home.”
“Yeah. You can drop me off there.”
Cole glanced at her, wondering if he could possibly have more of her attention after they took care of their various responsibilities. “When do you plan to wrap things up tonight?”
“I’ve got to check in with Brody, and we still have a couple people we need to find and interview—some guys from out of town.”
He remembered their earlier conversation. “Why were you asking me about Nate and drugs?”
“Robo hit on the driver’s side door panel of Nate’s van. The lab found traces of cocaine there.”
“That’s a surprise. I wouldn’t have guessed that Nate had anything to do with the drug trade.”
“We’re still not sure of it ourselves. The van is fairly new to them, and we need to track down the previous owners. Brody’s working on that. Kasey swears that Nate wasn’t involved with drugs in any way, and Robo found nothing in their house.”
Cole was about to reply when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He grimaced as he released Mattie’s hand to fish it out to see who was calling. He didn’t have time today for a client emergency, and he hoped one wasn’t in the works. Caller ID told him that his oldest, Angela, was calling. “Mattie, this is Angie. I need to take this.”
“Of course.”
He connected the call with his hands-free system. “Hey, Angel. How are you doing today?”
“Oh Dad.” Her plaintive voice came through the truck speakers, loud and clear. “Thank goodness I reached you.”
Cole leaned forward in alarm. “What’s going on, sweetheart?”
“Mom’s flaking out on us, and Sophie’s so upset she’s crying. We need to come home, Dad.”
Olivia, his ex-wife, had been suffering with depression for over a year. In recent months she’d been feeling better, and she’d thought she was ready to reconnect with her daughters by having them stay with her, but this didn’t sound good. “What’s going on with your mom?”
“Hard to say, since she locks herself away in her room most of the day.” Angie sounded stressed. “I can’t handle this, Dad. I don’t know what to tell Sophie, and she’s getting so sad, and … and well, we need to come home.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mattie’s concern. She loved his kids, too. “Of course you can come home. We just need to figure out how to get you here. Are you safe there at your mom’s house for the time being?”
“Sure. We’re totally safe, Dad. It’s just … well, when Sophie started to cry, I got upset, too.”
“I’m glad you called.” He and the kids had been through some dangerous situations this past year, and how to stay safe was the issue they dwelled on almost daily. Olivia might neglect her kids, but he was relieved to know that at least she hadn’t compromised their safety. “I’ve got some things to take care of for the Hartmans, but then I’ll hit the road and come get you.”
Mattie was frowning now. “Can you drive to Denver tonight without sleep?” she murmured.
“Dad, I wonder about calling Aunt Jessie. We’re supposed to go stay with her later this week. Maybe she could come get us and let us spend the night with her. What do you think?”
His sister Jessie was an attorney who lived in Denver. At sixteen, his daughter was getting a level head on her shoulders, and at the moment she seemed better at problem solving than he. “That’s a great idea, Angel. But let me call her, okay? First let me talk to Sophie.”
“Here she is.”
A great deal of sniffling preceded Sophie’s small voice. “Dad?”
Cole’s heart ached for his nine-year-old. She, out of all of them, had the hardest time understanding her mother’s condition. “Hey, Sophie-bug. I hear that Mom might not be feeling well.”
Sophie’s breath hitched as she struggled to speak through her tears. “She doesn’t want us here, Dad.”
Movement from Mattie’s side of the truck caught his eye, and a quick glance told him she’d placed her hand on her heart. “Of course she wants you, Sophie. Trust me when I say that. But you know how she struggles with being sad, and something must have set that off. It has nothing to do with you.”
“But … but Dad … it does. She doesn’t love me anymore. She doesn’t want me here.”
Cole focused his tired mind on his daughter, reaching out to her over the miles. “Did she tell you that?”
“Well … no…”
“Sophie, don’t read more into this than what’s there. Your mom has an illness. She loves you and wanted you to come stay with her, but her illness is getting in the way of doing what she wants. Your mom loves you, Sophie. Don’t forget that.”
More sniffling before Sophie could manage a squeaky sound of agreement.
“I’m going to call Aunt Jessie to see if she can come get you, okay? Everything’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”
“But I don’t want to leave Mom.”
With a glance, Cole shared his frustration with Mattie, and she gave him a look of encouragement. “I understand that, Sophie. But if staying there makes you sad, I think you should come home, and we’ll work out another visit with your mom later in the summer. I’ll drive you up to Denver over the weekend and we’ll do some daytime visits. Something a little shorter than what we planned for this time. How does that sound?”
“Okay, I guess.”
Cole could tell Sophie was trying hard to get herself under control. He wasn’t above dangling a carrot that he thought she couldn’t resist. “Besides, Belle misses you. She’ll probably want to come along with me to Denver so she can ride home with you.”