With Every Breath (28 page)

He couldn’t imagine what it was like; reuniting with someone who’d inflicted so much pain for so many years couldn’t be easy. When Jaden returned to River Bend after her last film shoot, she went to see her mom. The visit was short, and afterward she sat with a pensive, faraway look in her eyes on the drive back to Cole’s. He hadn’t let her go alone—there was no way in hell he’d let her go through something like that alone. This was the third visit. She’d been in there longer than the usual thirty minutes—a good thing, he hoped. Jaden was great at putting on a tough façade when it came to Ellie, but it didn’t mean there weren’t strained emotions tearing her apart inside.

He was happy he could be here when she needed him—happy she’d given them a chance.

Their lives had fallen into a comfortable rhythm now that she was finished with filming her television show. She’d been back for two weeks, and had stayed with him every night. Things were falling into place, finally. They were great together—he knew they would be.

Turning up the radio, Cole smiled. She was great with Micky, too. There were times Cole wasn’t even allowed to play with them; Micky wanted her all to himself.

His life was so different than it had been a year ago. He never would have imagined being this happy. A love like his parents was something he’d always hoped for, and now that he finally had it, it was hard for him to slow down and take things day by day, one step at a time. If he had his way, there’d be a ring on Jaden’s finger, and they’d be saying their vows. He chuckled—today, even, if she could find the perfect dress.

Mia told him these things couldn’t be rushed. Okay, so her exact words had been, “There’s no way in hell you’re marrying my best friend without a properly planned wedding!” His little sister wasn’t an event planner to be messed with. He’d take things slow, even if it drove him crazy. He supposed he had forever to work with, and that should be comfort enough.

The front door of the trailer banged open and Cole straightened in his seat. Jaden stepped out. The smile on her face relaxed him. She turned and hugged her mom, who handed her a covered pie plate before she shut the door. He shoved the driver’s door open and a blast of cold air rushed him.

“Hey, let me get the door for you.” He shut the door and hurried around the front of the pickup.

“Thanks.” She held up the plate. “Mom made us a pie for dinner tonight.”

“Is that good?” In all of their conversations, she hadn’t mentioned if Ellie could cook. He opened the passenger’s door and took the pie from her so she could climb inside.

Jaden’s soft laugh was lost in the howl of the wind. “Yes, that’s good. She didn’t ever cook much when I was growing up; she mostly burned macaroni and cheese, but she can cook an apple pie. All from scratch. It’s fantastic.”

“That’s a relief.” He shut the door and jogged back around the pickup. His cheeks were stiff from the freezing wind by the time he sat behind the wheel. Rubbing his hands together, he glanced over at Jaden putting on her seatbelt. “Everything okay?”

She nodded and turned the knob on the heat setting to high. “We talked about my grandparents. She’s never said much about them.”

Cole kept his eyes on the rearview mirror as he reversed out of Ellie’s driveway. “That’s great, right?” He didn’t want to make this new development into a big deal, because he couldn’t tell how she felt about it.

She shrugged and glanced out the passenger window. “I think so. I know there’s a lot more she hadn’t told me, but we’ll get there.”

He shifted the pickup into drive, then reached over and took her hand. His arm rested on the console between them. “She seems to be a lot better.”

Jaden’s smile was contemplative, but hopeful. “Yeah, she is. I agreed to go with her to family counseling. Her psychiatrist thinks it’s a good idea.”

“Is that what you want?” He braced himself in case he offended her. “I know you want to help her, but don’t let her needs overshadow yours, Jaden.” What he left unsaid was that she’d already done so for too many years with Ellie.

“Yes, it is what I want.” She squeezed his hand. “I think it will be good for both of us. There’s so much lost time, you know?” Jaden cocked her head in a pensive tilt. “We have a long way to go, but I don’t think either of us knows how to move forward, really. Having someone with experience to guide us will be a good thing.”

Cole brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her soft skin. “She’s lucky to have you.”

Jaden’s lips settled into a flirty smile. “And you’re lucky to have me, too.”

“Not as lucky as you are to have me.” He wiggled his brows at her, and she rolled her eyes with the throaty laugh that always hit him low in the belly and made him think of pillow talk.

“So what kind of chaos do you think we’ll be walking into when we get to your house?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s your fault if it’s bad.” He sent her a stern gaze, which she met with a nose crinkle. “You’re the one who agreed to this post-Turkey-Day-dinner. I was fine with letting that holiday go and moving on to Christmas.”

“You try telling Mia no when she’s already made plans. Event planner, hello.” Jaden flashed an optimistic grin. “Just think, we get to eat tonight without having to cook. That’s great, right?”

“Yes, but Mia said she’s cooking the potatoes. You know that mashed potatoes are my favorite part about any holiday.” He sounded pouty, and he was a little. What would he eat with Hillary’s gravy if Mia ruined the potatoes?

“She’s been practicing,” Jaden said, sounding defensive.

Cole chuckled. “Okay, I’ll give her potatoes a chance. But is there a backup?”

Jaden poked him in the side.

Laughing, he shrugged. “What? I’m serious.”

Jaden grinned. “Hillary was worried too, so she made an emergency batch of mashed potatoes last night. They’re out in the shop refrigerator. If Mia’s aren’t edible, we’ll swap them out somehow. You’ll be in charge of causing a scene so that can happen.”

“Sign me up. I’m all for saving the taters.” They turned onto his street and the house came into view. “I thought Mia was okay with missing Thanksgiving, but I guess she loves the holiday more than I thought.”

Jaden pointed at the house. “Why are the windows open?”

“And the front door.” Cole parked beside Mia’s car in the driveway instead of pulling down by the shop like he usually did. He threw the pickup into park. “I hope Mia didn’t start a kitchen fire.”

Because it was a very real possibility, Jaden jumped out of the pickup to hurry to the house after him. When they reached the porch, Micky bounded out of the house, his eyes lit up with excitement. “Daddy, the house is smoky!”

“Is there a fire truck headed this way?” Cole asked, thinking of all the things he didn’t want to have to replace because of smoke damage.

Micky covered his mouth and giggled. “No! Trey saved us! Aunt Mia says we could have all conked out.” He patted his head twice, his eyes widening. “From smoke.”

Cole exchanged an anxious gaze with Jaden over Micky’s head. She passed through the front door and he followed.

Hillary and Trey stood in front of the fireplace, the wood stacked inside smoking, but no fire. Her hands were propped on her hips, and even though she was at least a foot shorter than his six foot four frame, she stared him down.

“Hills, I don’t know why you try doing anything without me,” Trey said, a bewildered expression on his face. “I told you to wait.”

“I’ve managed just fine for twenty-seven years without needing you to tell me how to do things.” She snatched the lighter out of his hand. “I can light a damn fire.”

He pried the lighter from her fingers. “No, you can’t. Which is why we all almost died of smoke inhalation.”

“Or maybe I forgot to open the flue because you were nagging at me like an old lady,” she tossed back.

“I wasn’t nagging you. I was reminding you. It’s not my fault you never listen.” He reached for his beer and waved it in the air. “If you weren’t so busy ignoring me, you would have heard that part.”

Hillary glared up at him. “Yes, well, I was so tired of listening to you and your girlfriend fawning all over each other, that if I didn’t tune you out, I would have died.”

“Shelby’s not even here anymore, so I don’t know why it’s necessary for you to bring her up, period.” He took a swig of beer, and swallowed a large drink before he sent her an accusatory stare. “Thanks to you. You didn’t have to be such a bitch to her.”

Hillary gasped and swiped the lighter from him again. “I wasn’t a bitch. She said irregardless, and that’s not a word. I thought she’d want to know for future reference." She hooked a thumb toward her chest and said, “If it were me, I would want to know that I was saying a ridiculous, made up word.”

“Not everyone is as smart as you, Hills.” Trey made the mistake of sounding flippant, and Hillary bristled.

“Whatever. Light the stupid fire already.” She shoved the lighter into his chest and stomped off toward the kitchen.

“Wait, where are you going?” Trey called after her.

“I’m going back to the kitchen to cook the food that you’re going to eat,” she said without a backward glance. “You’re welcome.”

Trey bent to the fireplace, muttering as he shoved scraps of newspaper in between the logs. He lit the paper and nudged at the logs with the poker.

“Everything okay?” Cole asked. He sent his friend a smirk. “Hills seems happy with you.”

Trey looked up and shook his head. “I don’t get that woman. She’s always pissed at me.”

Cole laughed. Trey was clueless, but Cole wasn’t about to enlighten him. The guy would figure it out someday, and if neither of them figured it out, at least they were entertaining to watch.

Jaden shivered beside him. “It’s not smoky anymore. We should close the windows.”

“Yeah, I’ll get on that. Watch the fire, would you?” Trey set the poker back in the rack and left the room. He steered clear of the kitchen and went to the dining room.

Jaden closed the front door, but left her coat on. “Well, that was fun.” She tweaked Micky’s nose. “And you helped save the day, too, I bet.”

He gave her a serious nod. “Yup. I told Trey the house was on fire.”

“Good for you,” Cole said. He sat on the couch with Micky in his lap. “Trey is a fireman and he knows what to do.”

“Volunteer,” Micky corrected him, and Jaden laughed. She sank into the couch beside them.

“So, how do you think things are going in there?” Jaden asked, pointing to the kitchen behind them without turning around. “Does it sound like they’re burning our food?”

Micky shrugged and wiggled out of his dad’s arms. “I dunno. I want to watch Ninja Turtles, Daddy. Okay?” He raced off toward the stairs before Cole could answer.

Jaden leaned into Cole’s side, and he stuck his arm under her knees to swing her legs over his lap. Snuggling her close under his arm, he leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. Her lips fell open and he slid his tongue inside to touch hers, and a lick of fire shot down to his loins. It was always this way with her.

“Maybe we should go out to the shop and make out in the Cutlass until dinner’s ready,” Jaden suggested, her words hot on his lips.

“All I heard was make out.” He nodded toward the door. “If I carry you through that door, we’ll be gone a while. There are a few positions we haven’t tried yet in the backseat.”

She laughed and the blue eyes he loved so much twinkled up at him. “Such a romantic.”

He winked down at her. “Only with you, Jelly Bean.”

She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks were flushed. She was happy, and that made him happy. There’d been a time he wondered if he’d ever find this kind of love, if he’d ever find her. Being with her was so unlike his relationship with Kensie—there was no underlying feeling of regret, no emanating resentment. When she smiled at him, her eyes lit up in a way that left no doubt she loved him, even in the moments she didn’t say it.

He dropped his forehead to hers. “God, you make me happy.”

“You make me happy, too.”

“Should I carry you out?” He let his gaze roam the face he’d never tire of looking at.

Her head tilted in amusement. “I have legs, you know.”

“One day, you’ll be too huge for me to carry you.” He laughed when she hit him in the chest. “Sorry, sorry. That came out wrong. I meant one day you’ll be huge with our baby and I won’t be able to carry you.”

Her brows arched. “That’s kind of presumptuous, don’t you think?”

He grinned down at her. “Yup. And I decided we’ll have at least six babies. You’ll be pregnant for the first twelve years of our marriage.”

Her eyes bulged. “And now we’re getting married and I’m having six kids?”

“I guess six is a little much.” He dropped a quick kiss to her lips. “We can talk about that later. I think for now we should just practice—a lot.”

She relaxed into his embrace. “Yeah, I’m good with practicing.” Then she brightened. “And if you kick everyone out after dinner, we can get started as soon as Micky goes to bed.”

“Deal,” he said, and then he kissed her until she was breathless.

THE END

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