Promises to Keep (9 page)

If he was honest he’d admit that seeing her had
stirred something in his groin. Not just in that general area, but in his cock.
Not that he’d been erection free since his wife’s passing, but tonight it was
different. Tonight he’d known the reason for its twitching. He’d ogled Hayley
and his body had acknowledged that he found her very attractive. That, and
after all this time, he might be ready to have sex again.

Sex.

It had been so long since he’d made love. He hoped
it was like riding a bike.

Why was he thinking about this? The odds of him and
Hayley making love were about as good as his chances of winning tonight’s
lottery.

Shit, he wanted to have sex. Not just sex in general,
but sex with Hayley. He hadn’t even had the courage to ask her out, but he was
thinking about getting her into bed.

Guess women were right; men only had one thing on
their minds.

Chapter
Ten

He’d been right. He hadn’t been able to sleep for a
long time. Thoughts of just about everything had swirled around in his mind.
Amanda, the accident, their children, his life, and yes, Hayley too.
Cole hadn’t known her long, but he couldn’t seem to shake her out of his head.

Putting his nose in the air, he detected the smell
of something delicious making its way into the room. He opened his eyes to see
that he was alone. He blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes and
looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was eight-thirty already. If he
knew the kids as well as he thought, they were probably downstairs eating
breakfast without him. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The
smell of what he assumed were sausages got more tempting by the minute. He’d
eat first, shower and shave after. Quickly pulling on his jeans and sweater, he
grabbed the key for the door and headed out into the hallway and then down the
stairs. With each step he took, the smell got stronger and his stomach rumbled.

Hearing voices to the left of the staircase, he
turned into a room, almost running straight into a couple who were just
leaving.

“Good morning,” they said.

“Morning.
Looks like it’s going to be a nice one.”

He saw Nina and Jon sitting eating pancakes and
sausages and Hayley sitting on the other side of the table cradling a mug of
coffee. She was make-up free, her hair a little wild, but a stunning sight to
see this early on a Sunday morning.

She looked up at him, a smile immediately appearing
on her face. She had beautiful lips that in all honesty he’d love to kiss and
taste.

“Glad you decided to join us. Sit down and I’ll get
you some breakfast,” she said.

She stood and walked out through some double swinging
doors. He walked over to the table and pulled up a chair opposite his kids.

“Dad, you have to try these sausages, they’re the
best,” said Nina. “Hayley’s going to give us some to take home. I said you can
cook them. Oh, and can I have my nails painted like Hayley’s please?”

Hayley picked that moment to bring him a plate with
a stack of three pancakes and four sausage links. She then brought over the
coffee pot, turned the mug up the right way, and filled it.

This all looked so good. Hayley slid into the chair
next to him, their arms and legs bumping as she did so. He closed his eyes
momentarily. It felt so good to have even that sort of contact with a woman
again. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed it before a second ago.

“Can I?” asked Nina.

“What, honey?” he asked, reaching for the maple
syrup.

“Can I have my nails painted the same color as
Hayley’s?”

He glanced at Hayley’s pink nails. They were
beautiful too.

“You have school tomorrow but maybe over the
holidays okay.”

“How about I give you the bottle of polish to take
home?” asked Hayley.

“I’d love it, thank you.”

Cole took a bite of the pancakes. The combination of
them and the syrup melted on his tongue.
His little girl
wanting to wear nail polish.
Her noticing the color on
Hayley’s.
She was growing up and she’d need a woman around soon. He
hadn’t thought of that. Jon had him, but Nina didn’t have a mother. Sure she
had her grandmothers and aunts, but having a mother was what all girls needed
when they went from being a little girl to a woman.

He swallowed, almost panicking thinking that maybe
he’d need to talk to her soon about how her body would be changing and what to
expect when she got her first period. Shit, he knew he’d blush, stutter even.
Maybe he’d get one of his sisters to do it.

“So when did you two sneak down here to eat?” he
asked them.

“As soon as we smelled food cooking,” said Jon. “And
you were snoring so loud, we needed some peace and quiet.”

Cole knew he was blushing. He wished his son hadn’t
said that in front of Hayley. The reason why he was worried about the comment
surprised him the most. Not that he was concerned that she’d learned he snored,
but that it might put her off…

Sleeping
with me.

He quickly downed the coffee, almost choking because
he’d swallowed so fast.

“I guess I should phone and see how the technician’s
doing with the repair on the furnace and water heater. The food was wonderful,”
he said, standing.

He quickly exited the dining room and dug into his
pocket for his cell phone. Walking outside, knowing the air would be cold and
cool his red cheeks, he dialed the number.

****

Hayley slyly watched out of the window as Cole
walked by, steam caused by the cold air billowing from his mouth as he spoke
into the cell phone.

He’d looked one hundred percent delicious when she’d
first noticed him standing in the doorway of the dining room. He had that just
rolled out of bed look that she found so appealing.
The
slightly tousled hair and the shadow of stubble where he hadn’t shaved.

Mmm.

How she wished she’d been in the bed he’d exited.
Spending the night making love, cuddling. Yes, she was sure he was the sort of
guy who wouldn’t deny a woman a little post coital
snuggle
.

Cole turned her way as if he sensed she was
watching. Holy shit, if he only knew what she was thinking. She wondered how
he’d react. There was something between them, and she knew it wasn’t all in her
mind.

He was heading back inside. The bell over the door tinged
and soon he was standing by the table.

“You look like you’re freezing,” she said, taking
his hand before she realized what she’d done.

It was ice cold, but somehow the best thing she’d
held in a long time. He didn’t withdraw it and instead they looked at one
another with their eyes locked.

“They can’t get the parts for the furnace for a few days.
Can we stay longer?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” she said, not believing her luck about
having him under her roof even longer.

“Kids, I think it best you go and stay with Aunt
Eileen, because it’s nearer school.” He looked at Hayley again.

She had no other guests booked for tonight. His
children were being shipped off to their aunt, and she had him all to herself
under her roof.

Was this her lucky day or what?

Chapter
Eleven

Cole headed back to the Rustic Inn after dropping
the kids off at his sister’s and picking up some of his work clothes for the
morning. When he opened the door, Hayley was dusting the desk at reception.

“Is that all you do is work?” he asked.

“Just about.
When
you run a place like this by yourself, it’s you who does it or it doesn’t get
done.”

“So what do you do for fun?”

“Read or watch TV.”

“Have you ever thought of going skiing?”

“I’m not a skier. You saw me fall on my butt at the
tree lot.”

“You’re living in Wyoming. You have to at least give
it a try. You ever heard of Jackson Hole?”

“Oh yeah, even looked at an inn there, but it was
way out of our price range.”

He might regret this, but she’d been nice to his
kids, and okay, yes, this wouldn’t be an official date, but he was going to
take her out. Everyone knew about the saying, all work and no play. Hayley
deserved some R and R.

“You want to come with me to the slopes this afternoon?
I can give you a lesson.”

“I don’t have any skis.”

“No problem, you can rent some. We’ll start off on
the bunny slopes.”

“And what happens if I fall down?”

“Then I’ll just stand there and laugh.”

****

Was this a date or just two people with nothing else
better to do on a Sunday afternoon? Hayley wasn’t sure.

He held onto her hand and forearm so she didn’t fall
over when she put her foot into the ski boot.

“How does that feel?” he asked.

Really
good
.
She
was referring to the fact that he was continuing to hold her hand despite the fact
that the chance of her tipping over had passed.

“Pretty good,” she said.

“Not too tight in the toe here?” He pressed on the
front of the boot.

“No, just about right.”

“Okay, let’s get your snapped onto the skis.”

This was the bit she was dreading. He showed her how
to press down and for the first time in her life she was on skis.

“Okay, now just slowly push forward through the
snow.”

She hesitated and he must have seen the look of
panic on her face.

“
It’s
okay, Hayley, I’m
here with you. I taught both my kids and they’re better skiers than I am now.”

She pushed with her right foot and wobbled.

“Here, I’ll lead you.”

Cole got in front of here, grabbed both her hands,
and skied backwards, pulling her gently through the snow.

“There you see you’re skiing.”

“You’re just being nice, because it’s you doing all
the work.”

“You want me to let go to prove that it’s really
you?”

“No, no, I believe you. So how many lessons does it
take to learn to ski without any fear?”

“Nothing to be frightened about.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“I’m going to let go, so hold onto the poles and
give it a try.”

She panicked and knew she shouldn’t have. She went a
few feet and then down she went, snow covering her face and head, her hat now
lying by her side.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked, rushing to her aid.

She spat out a mouthful of ice.

“I’m fine, just a bruised ego.”

“Better than a bruised butt?”

They both laughed. He had such a nice laugh and it
caused dimples to appear in his cheeks.

She reached up and touched the left one, leaving a
wet mark. They looked at one another for a few seconds and then he leaned over
and kissed her.

She thought it was going to be a lingering one, but
it was a quick peck on the lips. Despite its brevity, she’d remember it
forever.

“So you feel like watching me do some skiing?” he
asked.

****

Cole let the wind and
spray
from the snow kiss his cheeks as he skied down the slope. He’d left Hayley at
the café at the bottom of the mountain. It had a large glass viewing panel so
she could see all the action.
 
She’d done
okay her first day out here. She hadn’t given up like a lot of people did when
they went face down.

He pushed closer to the base, thinking that his mind
would be a bit clearer when he got there. It wasn’t. In fact, he was more
confused.

He’d kissed her. It had come out of nowhere. He’d
pulled away like she had some tropical disease. He hadn’t apologized for the
kiss, or the sudden movement away from her.

Cole moved his skis to the left and came to a halt.
He leaned over to get his breath back. Amanda had loved to ski. Was that the
reason he’d encouraged Hayley to come out here to learn? In the back of his
mind was he thinking if he got involved with Hayley, she’d need to be a replica
of his late wife?

He took off his hat and coughed where the cold air
had traveled down into his lungs.

No, that wasn’t it. He just wanted to be with Hayley,
but he had those promises to keep. The one that said he’d never love another
woman like he’d loved her.