Keeping Cole's Promise

Cole watched the white tip of his tail disappear through the door before he turned to go.

“I’ve got your check ready,” Sarah said. She darted around them into the lobby and trotted in and out of her office. “Thanks so much for everything you’ve done this week.”

Cole folded and refolded the check while he studied it. “Might be able to get to the flower beds next week.” He forced himself to look up. “If you want. Gonna take some time to clear the old stuff out.”

Rebecca was standing on the other side of the counter, right behind Sarah. She didn’t look up from the papers she had in her hand. Too afraid he’d frown at her or something.

“Maybe. Let’s talk on Monday.” Sarah tipped her head forward. “You know you don’t have to do everything this month, right?” She smiled. “You’ve been such a huge help around here. Next week, let’s talk about a training program. We’re having a big adoption drive in Holly Heights and it would be awesome to have some well-mannered candidates.”

“Sure. I could draw up a schedule to work with more dogs than Freddie.” He’d enjoy that. The new dog, a German shepherd mix, might have the smarts to become a service dog. Right now the animal was unpredictable, lurked in the corner of his kennel with watchful eyes. That made him dangerous. Some basic training would be needed before he could be evaluated, but Cole would like to give it a shot.

Sarah nodded. “Good, but I meant training me and Shelly. The volunteers.” She glanced at Rebecca and cleared her throat. “So on the days you’re not here, we can keep the process going.”

Work with the giggling girls? The dread that swamped him was immediate. He’d never trained people to do anything except leave him alone. His hesitation must have been apparent.

“Please?” Sarah folded her hands together.

A Hillman begging him for help. Add that to the fact that she’d thanked him for doing his job and he’d be willing to try anything she asked. Cole nodded and shoved open the door.

“Hey, have a good weekend,” Shelly called.

Cole waved his hand as he slid inside EW’s truck.

EW raised two fingers and then backed out of the spot. “Running like the bogeyman after you, young fella. Everything okay?”

“Too much...niceness for one day.” Cole hung one hand out the door and closed his eyes as the hot breeze dried his skin.

The prospect of staring at the walls of the trailer while the heat beat down on the roof didn’t thrill him. Besides, he didn’t need a lot of time to worry about what the next week might hold. He’d either pass or fail. Worrying wouldn’t change a thing.

“Got any jobs you need help with?” he asked as he slouched against the seat.

“Yep.” EW drove right past the entrance to the trailer park. When he didn’t slow down at the closest gas station, Cole relaxed a bit. It didn’t matter where they were headed. Anywhere with company was going to be better than time alone.

EW pulled into Junior’s Bait and Tackle where a neon sign shouted We Cash Checks.

“Beer?” Cole asked as he opened the door.

EW pursed his lips. “Well, that’s not a terrible idea, but get the bait first. Some Cokes. We’re goin’ fishin’. Found a nice shady spot yesterday that’s bound to work.”

Cool water. Shade. Silence. EW was a genius.

The uncontrollable smile that curled Cole’s lips felt good. He’d worked hard for his first week out in the open. With EW’s help, he might enjoy a weekend.

CHAPTER FIVE (#uebdc953b-c3a0-596b-8bfa-2a541e5b86da)

“NOT A SINGLE WORD?” Sarah shook her head. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

Rebecca blew out a frustrated breath. “Just... You won’t understand this, but some people, normal people, can be intimidated by making conversation with others they don’t know. We don’t have anything in common. Besides, he was here for less than ten minutes.”

And she’d been watching him for about five minutes longer than that, but nobody needed to know that part. When her students Alyssa and Madison had joined her at the window to see what she was staring at, she’d nearly died of embarrassment.

Then he’d caught them watching.

Rebecca was pretty sure she was actually a ghost at this point. No one could survive the flaming heat of embarrassment that had swept over her and live to tell the tale.

Up close, his power was scary. She’d been amazed at how easily he’d finished the cleanup of the yard that would have taken her a solid month to slog through. He’d mowed and trimmed the huge expanse. The trash that had accumulated there when it was not being used had all been removed. And he’d done it in heat that made stepping outside a test of endurance.

Rebecca would never have imagined the man who’d barged in that first day could be so gentle with the animals.

Cole had doubled the shelter’s capacity with his strength and focus and hard work. In one week, he’d made a change that was going to impact the shelter for years to come. Not just the shelter, either. Holly Heights would be better off, too.

She’d almost chased him away. Why? Irrational fear. How humbling that was to consider.

“What? Did I miss something?” Rebecca ran a hand through her curls self-consciously when she realized Sarah and Shelly were watching. She hadn’t said any of that out loud, had she?

“We’re waiting on you to finish the conversation in your head,” Sarah said with a smirk. “What I said was that you have never once in the years I’ve known you had trouble making conversation with strangers. And we know Cole. So give me another excuse, but this time put it in the form of a question. Just for fun.” Sarah started humming the Jeopardy theme.

Shelly was coldly patient. For the first time since Rebecca had met the older woman who’d kept the shelter afloat until Sarah stepped up, Shelly’s mouth was pursed with displeasure. “That boy is doing the work of two men for this place, I’ll have you know.”

Hearing sweet Shelly, the grandmotherly type who enjoyed the cat room above all else, voice Rebecca’s own thoughts made it hard to stand still. Rebecca wanted to duck behind Sarah or at least hold up both hands as a shield. Then Shelly glanced at Sarah. “I’ll go let the first group of dogs out.”

She narrowed her eyes at Rebecca and marched down the hallway.

“Oops. I should have waited until his biggest fan had left the room.” Sarah shrugged. “We’re one week in. Les and Shelly both believe Cole is better than Christmas, payday and a Cowboys win all combined.”

Rebecca nodded. “Great. I’m glad. And I don’t dislike him.”

“No, you vibrate with nerves whenever he’s around.” Sarah braced both arms on the counter. “What’s the deal?”

Telling Sarah about her disastrous attempt at breaking up a fight wouldn’t explain all the reservations she had about Cole, but it might be enough to buy her some understanding.

“At school, I did a stupid thing. I tried to stop a fight between two boys.” Rebecca squeezed the counter tightly. “Together those boys might make one of Cole Ferguson, but that didn’t stop Eric from pinning me against the lockers, his hand wrapped around my throat. If he hadn’t come to his senses, he could have hurt me. And...I don’t know. That first day, when Cole walked in, he surprised me, rattled me.”

Sarah reached over to squeeze Rebecca’s hand. “That’s scary, Rebecca. I had no idea, but Cole’s just...a guy, no more dangerous than the veterinarians we work with or Will.”

Except none of those guys had spent time in prison. Rebecca wanted to argue, but she’d already disappointed her friends enough.

“Listen, maybe it’s a matter of time,” Sarah said. “I’ve worked with him for a week and haven’t seen one bit of anything other than a man determined to work himself into...something. Exhaustion, maybe. I don’t know.” She sighed. “It sort of reminds me of how I worked here in the early days. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I knew that it could save me.” Sarah blinked rapidly. “It did. You did, with your money and support for this place. And together we can do the same for him. So...try, okay?”

Sarah Hillman, formerly the queen of Holly Heights High School who had terrorized anyone unfortunate enough to cross her, was asking Rebecca to be nice.

The change in circumstances was dizzying. Rebecca had started her first charity in elementary school. Her mother had volunteered them to supply a school in Africa with shoe boxes filled with toys and basic toiletries, so Sarah had convinced her fifth grade class to perform chores in exchange for donations. She’d exceeded the goal by 50 percent. Austin’s homeless, wounded veterans, Romanian orphans—Rebecca had raised funds for them all.

All that work was part of being a Lincoln. They did the right thing. Helping others was all in a day’s work.

Cole Ferguson needed some of that charity.

“I will. I will try.” If she didn’t, she’d be the worst sort of hypocrite.