Cole knew that Emily’s son from her first marriage had Asperger’s syndrome, and helping him manage social situations and interactions with other people had been Emily’s priority for years.
“Work is crazy busy,” Jase went on. “Did you hear a private equity group out of California bought the old ski resort?”
“Seriously?”
Jase nodded. “Colorado has had some great ski seasons the past few years, but the popular places are getting too crowded. There aren’t too many independently owned mountains left, but if these people get the resort and the lifts operational again, it would be a game changer for the town.”
“That’s great, I guess,” Cole said, although he thought Crimson was just fine the way it was. “But none of what you’ve told me has anything to do with Sienna.”
“It’s not her exactly,” Jase said with a sigh. “It’s everything—the baby, working with the resort’s new owner, plus my dad. Mainly my dad. He’s been doing great since we moved him into his new house. But the last time he fell off the wagon, it was after he got the letter from Mom. Now Sienna shows up here and he’s worked up about it.” He rubbed a hand across his jaw. “I know his issues aren’t her fault, but the timing of her coming back into his life...”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“You know her.”
“She’s been in town less than a week.”
Jase lifted a brow. “Katie told Emily you bought her lunch the other day.”
“People around here talk to each other entirely too much.”
“True,” Jase agreed. “But maybe you can help with Sienna. I don’t want to set her off—”
“You’re not at all interested in having a relationship with her?”
“I’m not against it. But I’m not sure I trust her motivation. My mom reached out to me last year, and I saw her in Chicago. She was going through cancer treatments and her desire to reconnect with me seemed genuine. Then she let it slip that her husband was brokering some big merger at work and couldn’t have any whiff of scandal attached to his name.”
“How are you a scandal?”
“It was during the mayoral election, and the other company was headquartered in Denver. I’m not sure what was going into the deal or why her background mattered to anyone. But it was like she was trying to acknowledge she had a past in Colorado while still making sure it didn’t affect her current life.”
“That’s cold.”
“Don’t get me wrong, we had a fine visit. She genuinely feels guilty about ripping apart our family the way she did. I also think she’d do anything to protect the life she has now. Maybe it was more like she was putting her affairs in order, although now that she’s in remission I haven’t heard from her. Bottom line is it all felt too coincidental in timing, like there was an underlying agenda I wasn’t privy to.”
Jase shrugged. “I don’t know Sienna, but it makes sense that she’d be cut from the same cloth. Will you talk to her?”
Cole wanted to agree to help. He didn’t have family in his life, and his friends meant all the more to him because of it. But he couldn’t make his mouth form the words. Not after spending the wee hours last night with Sienna tucked against his body, even with the bedclothes separating them.
“I can’t get involved like that.”
Jase stared at him for a long moment, then closed his eyes and let out a soft laugh. “She’s more like my mother than I even realized.”
“What does that mean?”
“I heard a ton of stories growing up about my dad’s side of the family. The Crenshaws are infamous around Crimson as a bunch of hard-drinking, hard-living hooligans. It took a lot of work to make people in this town believe I wasn’t like that.”
“You do look remarkably like your great-great grandfather.”
Among a group of pictures that displayed life in the early days of Crimson was a sepia-colored photo in the county courthouse of a man sitting in the original town jail. A man who happened to be Jase’s forefather. Cole had been shocked when he’d first met Jase at his resemblance to “Black Jack” Crenshaw.
“Trust me, I know.” Jase blew out a breath. “But I also heard plenty of stories about my mother—how pretty she was, how she could have had any man in town when she arrived here with her family from Alabama. People couldn’t seem to stop speculating on why she’d chosen my father. Of course, no one was surprised when their marriage fell apart. But Sienna must take after her in some ways if she already has you wrapped around her finger.”
Cole bristled at the implied accusation. “I’m not wrapped around her finger,” he shot back, “but I get what it’s like to be alone.”
“She’s not alone,” Jase countered.
“She is,” Cole insisted. “And whatever her reasons are for coming here, she’s not looking to cause trouble for you.” It was funny he could assure Jase with no reservations, even though Sienna was the most troubling thing that had hit his life in years.
“I hope not.” Jase ran a hand through his hair and stood. “At least keep an eye on her. That shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Give her a chance, Jase.”
“Maybe I will,” his friend agreed as he backed toward the door. “I just hope you don’t give her too big of one.”
