Promises to Keep (18 page)

“Yes.”

“It’s Eileen.”

“Oh, hi.”

“Is Cole with you?”

“No, in fact, he should have been here thirty
minutes ago. Is everything okay?”

“That’s what we’re worried about. I brought the kids
home and we found the ladder up to the attic with the door still open and Cole
missing.”

“I’ll be right there.”

She had a feeling something wasn’t right.

She pulled on her coat, put her feet in her boots,
and headed out to her car. The snow was deep and it was still falling.
Hopefully there was a simple explanation for all this, but that chill she felt
told her something was very wrong.

She headed out of the driveway, her back tires
spinning. If only she’d get the hang of driving in this white stuff.

****

Cole knew it was a stupid thing to do. Drive fast
when it was snowing so hard. He was a Wyoming boy, born and bred, and he should
have known better. He couldn’t feel his leg and didn’t know if it was due to
the cold or if it was broken and he was losing circulation in it.
 
He tried to move it so he could free it from
underneath the dashboard.

“Fuck,” he said, glad kids weren’t around to hear
him say a word he’d forbid to ever pass their lips until they were old enough
to vote.

But his knee hurt like hell. He glanced in the
rearview mirror, seeing blood slide down his face from the cut in his scalp. He
leaned back, sensing that no one would see him down here in the ravine, in the
snow and worse still, in the dark.

He was going to die here. He banged the passenger
seat with a fist. What would the kids do without him?

Shit,
shit, shit.

Was this how Amanda had felt that night? Thinking
about him, the kids, and the baby inside her?

He burst into tears, wondering if it had been a boy
or a girl.

He’d gotten into the truck to escape the pain and
now he was in a worst dilemma. He thought of Nina and Jon, and also of Hayley.
He’d never see the three of them again. He closed his eyes and began to shiver.

Something made him open them again.
A light in front of him.
Someone walking
toward him.
A woman.

“Hey, help!” He shouted through the cracked
windshield.

Good, she was getting closer.

He recognized her. It was Sadie Sutton.

What would be the chances of her finding him? It was
a miracle.

“Hang on, Cole. Hang on,” she shouted.

“I will. You have a cell phone?”

“Someone’s on their way to help you. When they do,
remember that Hayley is your future. Don’t look back.”

He felt himself getting sleepy and didn’t recall
anything else.

****

Hayley paced up and down. She’d offered to go out to
look for Cole, but his brother-in-laws had insisted they do it. By the time
she’d gotten to his place, Eileen had found the wrapping paper and the
pregnancy test kit that was intended to be Cole’s gift from his wife the year
she’d died.

Poor Cole.

No wonder he’d just taken off. She was the one that
had nudged him into clearing out the stuff in his attic. If she hadn’t, he
wouldn’t have stumbled upon it.

“They’ve found him,” shouted Sarah.

Hayley jumped up and ran to the kitchen where
everyone had gathered. “His truck went off the road, but they’ve taken him to
the hospital.”

Hayley sighed with relief. In the pit of her stomach
she’d thought that maybe he’d done something stupid.

“He’s in surgery right now.”

She slumped down on the stool feeling sick to her
stomach.

“Come on, Hayley, he’s going to need us,” said
Eileen, getting hold of her hand.

****

Cole opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was,
what day it was, and why his mouth felt like cardboard. He swallowed but didn’t
have enough salvia for it to be pain free.

He turned his head to try and focus but felt dizzy.
Just where the hell was he?

“You’re awake.”

It was a female’s voice but not one he recognized.

He focused some more and saw the outline of a woman.
She wore a nurse’s outfit and was fiddling with what looked an IV.

“Am I in the hospital?”

“Yes, you came out of surgery about four hours ago.”

“Surgery.”
He
tried to sit up, but holy shit his leg hurt like hell.

“Cole, just rest and stay where you are. You broke
your leg in three places. You had surgery and some pins put in there.”

He flopped back on the pillow. It meant he’d be out
of work for a while and shit, what a mess.

“Your kids and sisters are here, and your
significant other. That’s what she said to tell you.”

Despite the situation he was in, he laughed but
quickly held his chest which also ached. Hayley knew how to make him smile and
laugh.

“Can they come in and visit?”

“Sure, but not for too long.”

She left and Cole hoped he didn’t look as awful as
he felt. He ran his tongue over his teeth just as the kids ran into the room
and over to the bed. They leaned over and caught his leg and he stopped himself
just before he said the f word in front of them.

They kissed him and he put his arms around them.

“We were worried about you,” said Jon.

“Yeah, I know. I should have left a note where I was
going.”

“So where were you going?” asked Nina.

“Honey, I’m not sure, but I’m glad Sadie found me.”

“It was a man who found you,” said Jon. “He saw the
back of the truck through the trees.”

So he must have been dreaming.

“The nurse said we can’t stay long and Hayley wants
to see you.”

He kissed them. “Are you staying at Eileen’s or
what?”

“Nope, Hayley said we can stay at the inn. Isn’t
that neat? I’m going to work at the reception desk,” said Nina.

He smiled. “That’s wonderful, honey, and I’ll be
home soon.”

“Get well, Dad,” she said, kissing her fingers and
then putting them on his nose.

She hadn’t done that since she was four, but he
liked it.

The kids left, and then Hayley walked in. She made
his heart beat faster the closer she got to the bed. He lifted up his hand and
she slipped hers inside.

“You doing okay?” she asked.

“I am now.”

“You had us all scared.”

“Sorry for just running out on everyone, and you and
our dinner. It was stupid.”

“We found what made you run.”

He took a deep breath and wished he hadn’t because
his leg brushed against whatever they’d put around it.

“I’m so sorry, Cole,” said Hayley.

He lifted her hand and squeezed it. “I was
heartbroken at first, but then when the truck went off the road and I laid
there with all that time to think, I realized we each have a past, present, and
a future. Amanda is my past. She’s that part of my life no one else can have.
Nina and Jon
are
my present. And, most importantly,
you’re my future.”

Chapter
Twenty-Two

“She’s going to love it,” said Nina.

Cole hobbled over on his crutches. He’d been off
work, money was tight, and he hadn’t been able to buy the engagement ring he’d
wanted for Hayley. Nina had encouraged him to go to the craft store in the mall
and make his own until he could afford a better one. At first he thought it
crazy but deep down he knew Hayley would love it.

“Let’s hope she says yes,” said Cole.

“Am I going to be a bridesmaid?”

“That’s up to the bride,” said Cole.

“Here
comes
Hayley now,”
shouted Jon, who’d kept watch at the window.

Nina smoothed his hair down and then they both ran
upstairs as Hayley rang the doorbell.

Cole made his way there and opened it.

“You said you needed a ride to the doctor’s office,”
said Hayley.

“Sure, I’m nearly ready, come inside.”

Hayley stepped into the house, and Cole’s stomach
did flips and turns as he led her into the kitchen.

“You want to try these chocolate chip cookies I
made?” he asked.

He handed one to her. The one with the ring he’d
placed upon it.

As best he could, he went down on his good knee.

“Hayley, will you be my wife, will you be my
future?”

She went on her knees too.

“This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen, and
yes, I want to be both.”

****

Sadie at least had one thing, no make
that
two things, to be happy about. One was the news that Cole
and Hayley were engaged and a spring wedding was planned. She’d buy another new
hat for it. And two, the Board wasn’t taking Perfect Pairing away from her.

She opened the door and stepped inside to see just
Reney sitting at the table. She looked up when Sadie coughed to let her know
she’d arrived to hear what her assignment would be.

“Good evening, Ms. Sutton.”

“Good evening,” said Sadie, sitting down.

“Let’s get straight down to business. I’m sure you
heard the news about Mavis White.”

She had. She’d been thrown out of the Realm for
practicing bad witchcraft. The sort that hurt mortals more than helped them.

“I have yes.”

“It’s seems that our banishment of her was not
enough to cure her of her bad behavior. She has done the unforgiveable.” Reney
paused for a minute before continuing. “News has come to us that she cast the
most evil of spells on a man and has turned him into a wolf shifter.”

“Oh dear,” said Sadie.

“This situation must be handled with the upmost of
secrecy and delicacy. We’re counting on you to assure the continued good name
of the witch and warlock community.”

“I understand, and yes, I’ll handle this in a way
that will make you proud.”

“I’m not sure if the curse can be reversed, but
you’ll see about that when you get there. And should we not be able to help
this poor soul,
then
I think it only fair that you
find him his true love so he can spend the rest of his days with a companion.
He’s already been seen wandering on the borders of Idaho and Montana, areas you
know well, so that should help.”

“You mean you need me to find him and then you want
me to find a match for a man who sometimes turns into a wolf?” asked Sadie.

“That’s exactly what we’re asking. I have every
confidence in your skills that this will be another Perfect Pairing in the
making.”

The
End

www.vanessadevereaux.com

Other Books by Vanessa Devereaux:

www.evernightpublishing.com/vanessa-devereaux

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