“I know, babe,” I assured him. “IsHenry coming back into town? I should cook him up some of my ribs. Benny, too.”I said, in need of a subject change. Now that the relationship had improvedbetween the clubs, I was anxious to do my part to encourage that however Icould.
Cole’s eyebrows rose and I wasgratified to see his mood lighten. “You beenholdin’out on me?”
I blushed slightly. “Notintentionally. I don’t make them often. But Henry loves them,” I said.
“Pop’s been talking about having abarbeque for both clubs. I’ll ask him about it,” he told me as he rose from hisseat to put his plate in the dishwasher. He came to stand behind me, put hisarms around my belly and kissed my neck. “He also mentioned that he still hasthe photos of your dad to show you.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” I murmured.With all the craziness of the last few weeks I hadn’t had the chance to sitdown with Cal for a trip down memory lane. Part of me was probably avoiding itto some extent. There was only so much emotional baggage I could strap on atone time.
“Glad you’removin’in, babe,” he murmured in my ear, creating tingles down my spine.
“Yeah, me too.” I molded my body tohis. “I need to tell Kat. I feel a little guilty, I don’t want to leave her inthe lurch,” I muttered.
“She’s never there anyway, is she?Every time I go to Sal’s place she’s there,” Cole replied.
He was right about that. Kat spent themajority of her nights at Sal’s place, but she’d still need half of the rentpaid. I shared this with Cole.
He shrugged. “If she’s never therethan it shouldn’t matter much who it is.”
“Yeah, but she’s not entirely sure howsolid things are with Sal,” I informed him before I could stop myself.
“What? Why not?” he asked, surprised.
I shrugged. “He’s just not thataffectionate or vocal about his feelings toward her,” I shared.
“That’s just Sal,” Cole waved his handdismissively. “Trust me. He’s a goner.”
“I’m glad to hear it, but he couldprobably work on making that more clear to Kat,” I said. “He could learn a fewtricks from you,” I said and smiled suggestively.
Cole chuckled. “Sorry, babe. I’m nothaving a talk with Sal about his love life. Notgonnahappen.”
“Dammit,” I muttered, knowing he’d sayas much.
“Igottahead to the club, check in with Pop. What’s your schedule?” he asked. Irealized this was something he’d always want to know regardless of my safety.It was just how he operated.
“Unpacking, gym, hospital, and work,”I answered simply.
“Hospital?” he asked with a creasedbrow.
“Yeah,gottasee Mack,” I answered with a shrug.
I saw Cole’s eyes warm until they wereliquid. “I didn’t tell you how well you handled yourself last night. I wasproud,” he said seriously.
I shrugged again feigning indifference,though his words thrilled me. “No use falling apart over things you can’tcontrol. I learned that a long time ago.”
“Now’s not the time to discuss it, butif I did decide to fill my father’s shoes it’s nice to know my woman can handlethe job that comes with that,” he told me, his eyes full of pride and love.
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him,watching as he gathered his things to head out for the day. I had never thoughtI’d want to be back in the life, but with a man like Cole I’d want to do justabout anything.
“And babe, shit obviously got steppedup last night. I don’t want to argue, but we need to have a serious talk aboutyour work schedule until this shit blows over. Working the late shift puts youand my guys on the line,” he said firmly.
“I’ll talk to Pete today,” I promisedwithout delay.
My instant compliance clearlysurprised him and his eyebrows rose. I rolled my eyes. “Of course I don’t wantto put anyone in danger, Cole. I’ll just work the day shift for now.”
He kissed my forehead tenderly.“Thanks, babe.”
I started unpacking my things as soonas Cole left. Despite my earlier reservations, now that I’d agreed I wasanxious to do so. I started in the kitchen, moved to the bedroom, and finishedin the bathroom. I was just thinking how quickly I’d completed the job when Iunearthed a box of tampons from one of the boxes. My heart immediately stoppedbeating and then started back up again, double time. How long had it been sinceI needed those? I knew the answer--too long. With everything that had beengoing on I hadn’t been keeping track. I didn’t even notice that I missed aperiod.
