“Sorry for the delay,” he said. “The kids were on my phone talking to their mom, and I didn’t get your text until now.”
Hearing the news about the kids gave her heart a lift. “Oh, wow. How did that go?”
“It was touch-and-go with Angie, but in the end, I think it went fine. And Sophie is over the moon.”
It was amazing how much that little bit could help a child. “Is Angie going to be okay?”
“I think so. She seems to be inching in the right direction. I’ve got some work to do before we get together with their mom in two weeks, but I think we’ll all make it.”
“So you scheduled a visit.”
While Cole told her the plan, she developed a melancholy ache in her chest, and insecurity knocked at her door. Maybe he wants his family back together after all.
“That sounds good,” she murmured as she moved up in line so that she would be next at the checkout counter. “I’m about to check out at the store, Cole. Let me call you back.”
“Come over. I cooked a burger for you. And I need to see you tonight, Mattie. You can come here, or I’ll come to your house after Jessie gets home.”
The person in front of her finished his transaction. “I’ll call you.”
Mattie made her purchase and went out to her SUV, where Robo greeted her exuberantly. As always, his smiling face lifted her flagging spirits. She started to turn on the engine to head home but hesitated midreach. Instead she leaned forward to rest her forehead on the steering wheel. God, she was dead tired.
She sorted through her sluggish thoughts. Maybe this ache in her chest was caused by fatigue, but she suspected it was really lovesickness, which was utterly ridiculous. She was a grown woman, not a teenager. Cole had said he wanted to see her, and she wanted to see him, too. She had some responsibility here, and if she wanted this relationship, she needed to do something about it, not just scuttle about moping.
She texted Cole to tell him she was on her way.
After parking in front of the Walker home, Mattie let Robo out of his compartment, and he romped with Bruno, streaking in circles around the yard. Cole came to meet her, leaving the well-lit porch to hug her in the semidarkness at the end of the sidewalk. She tried to avoid displays of affection in front of the kids, and she glanced toward the house to make sure they hadn’t followed him outside.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, taking her arm to walk toward the porch with her. “I’ve got a plate for you, and after the kids get a chance to say hello, I’ll see if I can send them off to bed. Even Angie’s tired, and they have a big day with their grandparents planned for tomorrow.”
Mattie’s plate was waiting for her on the table where Sophie was seated, working on a drawing of a horse. Angela was loading dishes into the dishwasher, and Mattie asked if she needed some help.
“You sit and eat,” Cole said. “I’ll help Angie clean up.”
As Mattie sat down beside Sophie, the child gave her one of her sweet smiles that always melted her heart. “See my horse.”
“That’s a nice one,” Mattie said, settling into her chair, happy to be here with Cole’s kids.
Sophie flipped a page on her pad. “And here’s some flowers I’m gonna send to Mom. I talked to her on the phone tonight.”
Mattie took the drawing Sophie was pushing toward her and examined it closely, knowing that’s what the child wanted. “They’re gorgeous, Sophie. How was your talk with your mom?”
“Good.” Sophie grinned.
Mattie caressed a lock of Sophie’s curly, soft hair as she handed back the pad, then turned her attention to her food. It boosted her energy, and she realized she’d been running on empty, not having eaten since her sandwich at lunch.
“Sophie, you need to be wrapping up your artwork so you can go upstairs to take a bath,” Cole said, wiping his hands on a towel before hanging it up.
“Can Mattie read me a story?” Sophie asked.
Cole sighed. “No, Mattie and I need to talk about our plans for the morning. We’re all tired and we have a big day ahead of us, so we need to get to bed early. Angie, can you help your sister get ready for bed? And can you make it an early night, too?”
“Ooo-kay,” Angie said, glancing at Mattie before casting a sour look at her dad. “What are you doing in the morning?”
“I’m going up into the mountains on a job for the sheriff’s posse. I think I mentioned earlier that I’d be gone before you woke up.”
The frown on Angie’s face and the way she shifted her eyes from her dad back to Mattie made Mattie think, She knows. Or at least she suspects. And with the trials the girl had gone through with her mother just yesterday, now was not the time to press the fact that her dad might be beginning another relationship with someone else. Cole needed to take care of his daughters tonight, because they were still hurting.
Mattie pushed back her chair and carried her plate to the sink. “You know what, Cole, I’m beat. I really need to get home and go to bed myself. It won’t take but a few minutes for us to talk about what we need to, and then you can help Angie put Sophie to bed.”
Cole opened his mouth to protest, but Mattie sent him a look and hurried to say good-night to the girls. “We can talk while I load up Robo,” she said, before calling her dog to come and heading for the front door. As he followed, Cole told Sophie to go up and take her bath.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Mattie led the way down the porch steps, speaking softly. “Your kids need you tonight, Cole. They’ve been hurt, and I don’t want to complicate things for them.”
Cole placed his hand on the small of her back as they walked, and he bent his head toward her. “I just need to know if you’re okay.”
His touch felt reassuring. “I admit that it rattled me to learn that my past came up in a team meeting, but I can see how it happened.”
Cole made a sound of agreement. “Evidently my family were talking about me in my absence tonight, and it’s not fun. But you know what? Those people at the station are your family.”
“Huh.” Mattie huffed out a breath as she thought of Brody and how contentious their relationship had once been. Now he acted like a protective big brother. But the one thing that kept bothering her seemed to pop out of her mouth. “It’s tough to think that Sheriff McCoy knew, and he didn’t get me the help I needed as a child.”
“Timber Creek doesn’t have that kind of help for kids now, Mattie, much less twenty-five years ago.”
He was right. The sheriff had probably done all he could do under the circumstances. “Yeah. He did get me into Mama T’s foster home. I guess that helped more than anything.”
While she loaded Robo into his compartment, Cole came around to the back of her car, where the view was somewhat sheltered from the house. After she closed the hatch, he took her in his arms. “I guess I need to know if everything’s okay between us, even though it scares me that I might hear it’s not.”
The tension in her tired muscles melted as she leaned against him. “We’re okay, Cole. I think I would’ve handled it the same way you did.”
He released a sigh and held her in silence for a few moments. “I guess I’m going to have to tell the kids about us. Looks like Angie’s starting to catch on.”
She was glad he’d noticed, but telling them would make things official, and it felt like a big step. “Not tonight, Cole, unless she brings it up and you have to. You’re all too tired, and you need to sleep before we head out tomorrow.”
The sound of the front door opening, followed by Angie’s voice, made them step away from each other. “Dad,” Angie called. “Sophie wants you.”