Cole's Christmas Wish (8 page)

“That’s a good one,” Rachel admitted. And it was. She liked to
think of herself as compassionate, but look at how she’d behaved with her mother
earlier that day? So, whether she liked it or not, Mary beat her out in this
regard. Ugh. “Compassion is important.”

“Yup.” Closing his eyes, Cole released a breath. “Let’s see,
what else?” His eyes popped open. “I’m assuming you’re not interested in the
physical traits that...I...er, appreciate?”

“I’ve already assumed she’s attractive, so no. Not interested.”
Lie. Big fat lie, at that. Rachel would give half—no
all
—of the money in her bank account to know exactly
how
attractive Mary was. But to admit that...uh-uh.
Besides which, she’d meet the woman someday and would be able to see for
herself.

“Well, she’s more than attractive, Rach. She’s...drop-dead
gorgeous. And that’s a fact.”

“Of course she is,” Rachel all but purred. “I can’t imagine you
falling for a less-than-gorgeous woman. You’ve always been a little too hung-up
on looks.”

He squinted his eyes. “Not true.”

“True.” Rachel waved her fork in the air. “Every girlfriend
you’ve ever had could’ve been a centerfold model. Heck, a few of them were,
weren’t they?”

“Yup, but a few of your past men were...runway models? Is that
the term?”

“But they had more than one thought in their heads. Can’t say
the same for...what was her name? Bootsie? Bitsie? Barbie?”

“Brinley. Her name was Brinley, and I think you’re being
unfair. She had, oh—” Cole stopped for a second, grinned “—two thoughts, at
least. On some days, she’d even make it to three. But I’m willing to agree that
I appreciate a beautiful woman. How’s that?”

“Appreciate? Why—” Rachel snapped her jaw shut. This wasn’t
getting her anywhere. “Good enough. Trait two, please?”

“Right. Back to business. She makes me laugh. Whenever we’re
together, no matter what we’re doing, laughing is almost always involved. I like
that in anyone, but especially in a woman I’m considering spending the rest of
my life with.”

“She’s funny? That ranks in your top three important
traits?”

“Naturally. Would you want to spend your life with someone who
was boring?”

“Well...no. But I’m not sure I’d rank it in my top three.”
Honesty. Integrity. Trust. Those were her top three. Wanting children would come
next, then...okay, then yeah, someone who could make her laugh. Someone who
could see the light in the darkness and help lead her there, when she needed it.
“Top five, though.”

“See? We’re not so different.” An inquisitive gleam entered his
eyes. She was sure he was going to ask about her top three, but he didn’t.
Instead, he said, “And behind curtain number three—Mary makes me want to be a
better man. In every way possible.”

“Why? What is it about her that does that to you?” This was
crucial. This, Rachel knew, was the real, true reason Cole was in love with this
woman. And God help her, but she needed to understand. Not only because of her
conflicted emotions toward him, about
them,
but
because maybe, just maybe, she’d finally be able to grasp what wasn’t right in
her relationship with Andrew. Or, for that matter, her parents’ relationship.
Because they certainly didn’t seem to bring out the best in each other. “Because
yes, that’s...well, it’s essential, isn’t it? But why?”

The question seemed to perplex him, as evidenced by his knotted
brow and quick intake of breath. “Now that, Rach, is a damn good question. I’m
not sure if I can answer it, though. It’s intrinsic. Knowing her, being close to
her, brings out my better self. I don’t know why.” He flattened his hands
against the table, on either side of his plate. “It just
is
.”

She nodded, as if she understood, when in truth, she felt more
confused than ever. Andrew was a terrific man in many, many ways. He cared about
her, she knew. But did she make him feel the way Cole felt about Mary? Did
Rachel bring out the best in Andrew?

Of course, the more compelling question—the one Rachel really
needed to answer—was did Andrew bring out the best in her? Did he make
her
want to be a better person?

In some ways, sure. Mostly, though...mostly, it was Cole who
did that to her. And no, like him, she couldn’t say
why
. Like him, it was just that way—had
always
been that way.

“Does Andrew do for you what Mary does for me?” Cole asked, as
if reading her thoughts. He’d always been irritating that way.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Of course he does.” Then, because she
couldn’t bear any further discussion on Mary or Cole’s feeling for her at the
moment, she glanced at her watch. “Ooh, look at the time! We’ll have to put off
the rest of this conversation for later. If we want to hit up any additional
stores tonight, we better get moving.”

“Sounds good,” Cole said easily enough, pulling himself to his
feet. “But I do have a few concerns about Mary I want to talk over with you.
Serious
concerns. Just to get your take, you
understand. In case I’m not seeing things in the right light. Women confuse the
hell out of me.”

“Yes, you’ve mentioned that.” She followed suit and stood, put
on her coat and retrieved her precious vase. Serious concerns? Why the hell was
he proposing if he had serious concerns? “Tomorrow, then. We’ll get into the
rest. I...I’m more than happy to help you see things in the right light. If I
can.”

Doubtful, but hey—that’s what friends were for, right?
Right.

“If you can’t, then no one can.” Cole wrapped his arm securely
around her waist. “You, Rachel Merriday,” he said with a kiss—a freaking
peck
—on the top of her head, “are a true gem. Andrew
is one helluva lucky guy. Why, if I didn’t have Mary, I’d be downright
jealous.”

She almost said that she had Andrew and she was still jealous,
just to see how he’d react. She didn’t, though. Couldn’t. Because what woman in
her right mind would set herself up for public humiliation and heartbreak? None
that she knew.

One thing was becoming clear. If she couldn’t get a handle on
her emotions, she’d have to get the hell out of Steamboat Springs as soon as
humanly possible. Otherwise, she might not be able to stop herself from falling
completely, irrevocably in love with the wrong man.

How ironic was it that she’d arrived in Steamboat Springs with
the goal of giving her heart to Andrew, only to discover that Cole still owned a
decent-sized chunk of it? It was incredibly unfair. Depressing. Pitiful. And,
Rachel thought, an absolutely no-win situation.

On all accounts.

Chapter Six

S
aturday dawned bright and sunny with nary
a snowflake in the sky. With Andrew’s work crisis momentarily solved and a
perfect day for skiing awaiting them, Rachel called Cole and canceled their
planned shopping trip. She didn’t lie, either. Told him that since she’d spent
all of yesterday with him, she owed Andrew some one-on-one time.

Surprisingly, he didn’t argue. Of course, that could be because
they’d actually made some headway last night in purchasing gifts for Mary. He’d
bought a photo album that he planned on filling with pictures—or as he had
called them, memories—of he and Mary, of their “journey so far,” along with a
camera to “capture more memories” with.

She couldn’t negate the romance quotient of either of those
choices, even if the whole idea caused her stomach to hurt.

Next, he’d chosen a bottle of
Rachel’s
favorite perfume, saying that he didn’t know offhand what
Mary’s scent was, and he liked Rachel’s, so why not? Sure. Why not? Soon,
Cupcake would be prancing around with the fragrance Rachel had worn for the past
five freaking years
squirted behind her ears.
Lovely. Just lovely.

She’d thrown her personal bottle away the second she’d arrived
home. Then, feeling guilty over being wasteful, she yanked it out of the trash.
She had no intention of wearing that particular fragrance ever again, but maybe
Haley would.

So, after the memory-making conversation and the perfume
debacle, Rachel hadn’t had the energy to object when Cole dragged her into the
hardware store for the final gift of the day. Well, okay. She was also quite
curious to see what type of hardware Cole would deem romantic. A flashlight,
apparently. A huge, heavy, spotlight of a flashlight. Why? She didn’t have a
clue and she didn’t bother asking. She’d learned her lesson on that one.

Today, though, she didn’t have to think about that. Tomorrow,
either. Her only plan for the entire weekend was to relax, enjoy herself and
bolster her connection with Andrew. Monday—when she and Cole had now decided to
finish their shopping extravaganza—would roll around soon enough. Hopefully, by
then, she’d have put every last issue into perspective.

And if she hadn’t? Well, she’d tell Andrew she’d changed her
mind and wanted to go to Hawaii. He’d be pleased, her promise to Cole would be
fulfilled and her parents could have an empty house to wage war in. Though she’d
wait until her father arrived. Despite Rachel’s unwillingness to become the
tennis ball again, she couldn’t leave her mother here alone.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. If she didn’t hurry,
Andrew would be on the phone with the office again—just checking to be sure
everything was still “good-to-go.” Rachel ran the brush through her hair,
applied a touch of makeup, gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror and
considered the job done.

They’d start with breakfast out, hit the slopes for a few
hours, grab a late lunch, and if Andrew’s schedule still remained free—which she
very much hoped would be the case—they’d finally see about getting a tree. All
in all, the day’s prospects looked bright.

“I’m ready,” she called out as she headed down the stairs. She
expected to find Andrew in the kitchen or maybe in the living room. He was in
neither. With a heavy sense of foreboding, she cracked open the office door.

Andrew sat behind her father’s desk with his phone pressed to
his ear, concentrating on whatever appeared on his laptop. He looked up, saw
Rachel and smiled. Holding up one finger, he whispered, “Sorry, darling. This
shouldn’t take long.”

And that, Rachel knew, could mean anything from five minutes to
two hours to all day. She nodded and pivoted on her heel. She’d make some
coffee, check her email to see if her mother had made flight arrangements yet
and...wait.

* * *

“You’re
letting
her spend
the day with that man?” Haley asked Cole with her hands planted on her narrow
hips. “Are you crazy? You might as well wrap her up in a bright red bow and gift
her to him. Geez, Cole. I thought you were in love with Rachel.”

“She has to be able to freely choose.” Cole turned and escaped
the confines of the small office at the back of the store. Seeing how his plans
with Rachel were canceled, he figured he’d give Haley the day off and work the
shift she’d already agreed to work for him. “Don’t you have friends to spend the
day with?” he said over his shoulder. “You’re free, kid. Shoo.”

His sister trailed after him. The store didn’t open for another
thirty minutes, which meant she would badger him until the second he unlocked
the door. He wasn’t exactly happy that Rachel had canceled, but what he’d said
to his sister was true. There were many, many actions he was more than willing
to take to achieve his goal, but he refused to do anything that could
potentially hinder Rachel’s ability to choose.

That was paramount. If he were fortunate enough to have this
whole mess work out well, then he needed to know she’d chosen him for the right
reasons. And yup, that meant stepping back and understanding that she currently
had a boyfriend she wanted to spend time with.

Even if the images of what they might be doing together just
about killed him.

“You’re pitifully lacking in the how-a-female-thinks
department, aren’t you?” Haley asked, skidding to a stop next to him. “If there
was a man that I ‘might’ have feelings for, and I canceled a date with him, and
he didn’t utter one word of complaint, I’d think he couldn’t care less. So, I’d
do everything I could to expunge my feelings for him.”

“Hmm,” Cole murmured in a non-committal way. Food for thought,
he supposed. But not enough to alter his decision. “It wasn’t a date.
Technically speaking.”

“
And
if I had canceled said date to
spend time with another man, that man would suddenly appear much more
interesting to me than he had before. Interesting enough that I might forget all
about man number one and focus all of my loving attention on man number
two.”

“Too much information.” Haley might be a full-grown adult, but
she was still his baby sister. He had no desire to hear about her bestowing her
loving attention on any man. No matter how generic the description might be.
“What would you have me do? Kidnap her?”

“Um, no. That would just tick her off.” She tapped her bottom
lip with one finger. “Unless...you know, if you did it right, a kidnapping
could
be romantic.”

“While I adore you and thank you kindly for your advice, I
believe I’ll avoid breaking the law,” Cole said with a laugh. “You really don’t
have anything better to do today? Because if not, I’m sure I can find other ways
to occupy myself. Or I can always call Mom. She mentioned last night that
several employees were out sick.”

Like all the Fosters, Haley helped where help was needed, but
her main role in the family businesses was more detail oriented. She took care
of the books, purchased supplies, updated the websites and kept everyone else
organized.

“Unfair.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was there all last weekend,
on top of a full week in the office. I know Reid is off somewhere saving the
day, but where’s Dylan?”

Cole chuckled again at the reference to their oldest brother.
Reid did his duty by the family, but his primary gig—especially during the
winter months—was as a member of the national ski patrol. So yep, Reid was very
likely saving the day somewhere.

“I don’t know where Dylan is. Shall I phone Mom and ask?”

“No, no,” Haley said quickly. “I have plenty to do, thank you
very much.”

He gestured toward the front door. “Then what are you still
doing here?”

“Leaving!” With a quick grin and a wave, she hot-footed it
across the store, only to stop three short steps from freedom. “Did Mom mention
how many employees are out sick?”

“Go. Have. Fun,” Cole ordered his sister. “If Mom really needs
you, she’ll let you know. You’ve put in more hours than anyone else the past two
weeks, and we all know it.”

Facing him, she shrugged. “My social life is fairly bleak at
the moment. Working is better than sitting at home being bored out of my skull.
And I like helping.”

“I know you do. So, how about a compromise? Do something fun
for a few hours and then check in with the folks?” He grinned, thinking of the
dinner-table conversation the other night. “Go lurk in the bookstore and see
what you can do about livening up your social life.”

“Ah...no.” A rash of red spread over Haley’s cheeks. He knew
his sister well enough to recognize the flush of anger, not embarrassment, when
he saw it. “That’s over.”

“That was quick. Didn’t you just go out last night?” he asked
in a genial tone. “Did something happen, or just a change of heart?”

“Something happened, but it isn’t important enough to
discuss.”

He gave her a closer look, didn’t like what he saw, and concern
rode in to replace his earlier amusement. “Haley?”

“Cole?” she fired back.

“You know I’ll get it out of you eventually, so you might as
well spill.” He waited, she didn’t speak, so he said, “You two did have a date
last night, correct?”

“Yes,” she said in a low, I-don’t-want-to-talk-about-this
voice.

“And?”

“I’m fine, Cole.” He didn’t speak, just worried. Watched her
wrap her hair around her finger. Ten seconds later, with a stubborn lift of her
chin, she said, “He was a little too touchy-feely for a first date and he didn’t
seem to comprehend the word ‘no,’ which ticked me off.”

It ticked Cole off, too. But unlike his two older brothers, he
had zero doubts that their sister could take care of herself. “I assume
you...taught him the meaning of the word ‘no’?”

“Oh, yes,” she said with a wide grin. “In no uncertain
terms.”

“Good.” He might have to pay a visit to the bookstore later.
Just to be sure. “Let me know if he requires another lesson.”

“Will.” She started to turn toward the door again, but stopped.
In a too-casual-to-be-casual way, she said, “This guy came by yesterday to see
you. He might try again today. He was curious if you were hiring any ski
instructors for the season. I told him I didn’t know what your plans were, but
that he should talk to you.”

“I think we’re all set this year, but if he stops in, I’ll get
his name for next.”

“His name is Gavin. Gavin Daugherty,” Haley filled in. “From
what he said, I believe he recently moved here. He...ah... Are you sure we
couldn’t use one more instructor?”

“I’m sure.”

“Really, really sure?”

Cole narrowed his eyes. “Yes, Haley. Why?”

“I don’t know. I... He’s new here.”

“You mentioned that.”

“So he probably needs a job, and...” She trailed off, darted
her gaze to the side of Cole’s. Her cheeks, which had resumed their normal
color, grew pink again. This time, though, her blush had zip to do with anger.
“You know what?” she said in a huff. “Forget I even mentioned it.”

“Gavin...Daugherty? That his name? I’ll be sure to tell him you
said hi. If he were to drop in today, that is.” Cole walked behind the sales
counter and grabbed a pad of paper, scrawled Mr. Daugherty’s name in oversize
letters. “There. Now I’ll be sure to remember.”

Certain things, like teasing your younger sister, never grew
old.

“You do that,” Haley said with a sweet-as-sugar smile. “Okay,
I’m off. I wonder if Rachel is around? Might just call her and see if today’s a
good day for that visit.”

“Go for it,” he said with an equally sweet smile. “She’ll
probably be happy to see you.”

“We might have a nice, long chat,” Haley said. “I’m sure the
topic of men will come up. It almost always does, you know. And relationships.
Us women
love
to talk about men...who they’re
dating, who they used to date, why are they dating that person, and so on.”

“Cool. Have fun,” Cole said without concern. Haley would never
rat him out.

She wrinkled her nose again. “You’re not worried in the
slightest, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Figures.” She paused, nervously ran her fingers through her
shoulder-length hair. Then, “You won’t mention me to Gavin either, right?”

“Nope,” Cole repeated. “But you knew that.”

“I did,” she affirmed, but he didn’t quite believe her. “Be
nice to him, okay, Cole? Let him down easy. He seemed...I don’t know, sort of
lost and...just promise you’ll be nice.”

Ah. Well, that explained it. Haley was a sucker for picking up
strays. That, believe it or not, caused Cole greater concern than what he’d
learned about her prior evening’s date. Between Reid, Dylan and Cole, Haley had
been taught how to take care of herself in sticky situations.

But none of them had yet to figure out how to protect her from
herself, from her soft heart or her frustrating penchant for diving in to
problems—i.e., involving herself with people she thought she could “save”—that
should be avoided.

Even so, he knew better than to say another word on the
topic.

“I’m not typically mean to anyone,” he pointed out, hoping that
would suffice. There was a world of difference between “mean” and “nice,” and
until he met this “lost” man who’d caught his sister’s eye, he would be very
careful with any promises regarding him.

She frowned. Stared at him for all of three seconds before
coming to a conclusion. Giving up the pretense of leaving, she stalked toward
the office. “Dang it all! I guess you’re stuck with me for a few hours.
I...ah...forgot to place those orders last week. Better do so now.”

“Slacking during our busy season, really?” he asked, playing
along with the appropriate amount of sarcasm. “Wow, sis. That doesn’t sound like
you. You’re normally so...efficient and organized. Something must have been on
your mind? Or...someone?”

“Bite me,” she growled seconds before disappearing into the
office.