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Chapter Twenty
Cole walked into the house. It was mid-morning. The place was quiet. Mandy had cleared her stuff out the day she’d signed the papers, but Cole had stayed away, choosing instead to stay at the clubhouse.
He sat down at the dining room table, tossing the bank paperwork down on the table. They landed next to the divorce decree that he’d gotten from his attorney last week. He’d finally agreed to take the money Shannon had offered him. It took some doing, but she’d finally won out. She had met with him several times over the last week, arranging for him to meet with a financial advisor that she knew, to help him with the money. He’d been amazed at how easily he’d been transformed into a millionaire. Of course, Uncle Sam was going to take a big chunk, but he still had enough left to make a real change in his life.
He hadn’t told a soul about it yet. He had some decisions to make first. He knew he wanted Angel back—that was a given—but he didn’t want her to make that decision based on his net worth. He needed to know she loved him and was willing to accept him for who and what he was.
He had delayed his trip out there when all this stuff had happened. And he hadn’t called Angel again, either. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to convince her that he loved her, that he deserved her.
His cell phone rang.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he looked at the caller ID. Natalie. He frowned and took the call. “Hello.”
“Cole?”
“Yeah. Natalie?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
He could hear a lot of background noise and someone making an announcement on an intercom. He thought he heard Flight 420 now boarding at gate 15. “Natalie, where are you?”
“At the airport.”
“Airport? Where are you going? Is everything okay? Are the kids and Angel with you?” A million questions raced through his brain.
“I’m by myself. And I’m not going anywhere. I’ve already arrived.”
“Arrived where?”
“San Jose.”
“What?” Cole asked, stunned.
“I came to see you. Can you pick me up?”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re here?”
“Yes, Cole. I’m here.”
“What airline?” he asked. When she told him, he said he’d pick her up in front of arrivals in fifteen minutes. He disconnected and stared at the wall. Was this good or bad? Was she here to help him get Angel back? Or was she here to tell him to give up?
Grabbing the keys to his old pickup truck, he headed out the door to find out.
***
Fifteen minutes later, he was moving through the line of cars all waiting to meet someone in the arrivals area. He finally spotted Natalie standing near the curb with her suitcase and pulled his truck over. Jumping out, he came around the front of his truck. He stopped in front of her, wanting to give her a hug, but not sure how she felt about him.
Cole didn’t have to wonder for long.
Natalie grabbed him up in a tight hug.
They broke apart, and he picked up her suitcase, and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed inside, and he tossed her bag in the truck bed, walked around, and climbed in.
A cop was blowing his whistle at him, telling him to move along.
Cole put the truck in gear and pulled away from the curb. He looked over at Natalie. “You shocked the hell out of me.”
She grinned. “I’m sorry. I should have called, but it was a spur of the moment decision.”
“Everything okay? Does Angel know you’re here?”
Natalie shook her head. “She thinks I’m visiting a sick friend in Seattle.
Cole looked at her questioningly. “How long are you here for?”
“I told her I’d be back the day after tomorrow.”
“I’m glad to see you, but what’s this about?”
“You want her back, don’t you?” she asked bluntly.
He stared at her dumbfounded, trying to keep at least half his attention on the road. “Of course. You know I do.”
“Well, I’m here to see what kind of life you have to offer her. I need to make sure this is the right thing before I do what I’m thinking about doing.”
“And what are you thinking about doing?” Cole was almost afraid to ask.
“Selling the house out from under her. Force her to make a decision.”
“What are you saying? You mean throw her and the kids out on the street?” Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Natalie looked over at him. “You said so yourself, the neighborhood is no place to raise those kids. Maybe I just need to force the issue.”
Cole shook his head. “You think I want her that way? Coming to me only because she feels she has no other choice?”
Natalie shook her head. “No, Cole. She has choices. She knows I’d never abandon her. But something’s got to shake her up. Get her over this hurt. Make her start seeing things for what they are.”
“And what are they?”
She looked over at him. “That’s what I’m here to find out.”
“So this is what, some type of inspection? To see if I pass muster?” Cole was a little irritated by that. Even though a part of him understood her concern. Hell, he wouldn’t respect her if she weren’t concerned enough about Angel to check out the guy that wanted to make her a part of his life. Could he blame her? Wasn’t he the one always insisting he wasn’t good enough?
Natalie watched him. She saw the tightening of the muscles around his mouth, the way he gripped the steering wheel. She knew she’d upset him. Well, too bad. If he wanted Angel, he was going to have to prove himself, and that was all there was to it.
Cole looked over at her. “Okay. I’ll show you where I live. Let you look over my life and judge for yourself. Then you tell me if I need to give up on her. On us.”
They drove in silence for a while. Finally, Cole couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to ask. “How is she?”
Natalie looked over at him. “Heartsick. She tries not to let me see it, but I hear her crying in her room at night.”
Cole looked out the window, ashamed. “I never meant to hurt her.”
“I know.”
“I wish she’d talk to me. Let me explain.”
“She’s still hurting too much.”
“And how long will that last?”
“Like I said, something’s got to shake her out of it.”
