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“Not. Your. Problem.”
“I know that.” The words beg to be shouted at him, but I keep my voice composed. This is my agitated patron voice. With this voice, I’ve calmed many people who intimidated me more than Cole. It is a rare person who can remain stubborn in the face of my serene librarian persona. “But I also know how to help. And not in a vague, I’ll do some research into the matter and get back to you way.”
We’ve hit a stoplight, but Cole won’t look at me. His knuckles are a vivid white as he fists the steering wheel at ten and two. I can imagine the second we arrive he’ll try to grab my bag from me, taking my only claim to this issue.
“Directions.”
“Pull in there.” I point to the strip mall parking lot, and Cole throws me a confused glance. “I refuse to tell you any more directions until you listen to me.”
He mutters a few curses but pulls off the road and parks. Just as I thought, he reaches for my bag, but I’ve already shoved it behind my back.
“Give them to me.”
“No. I’m the one who stole them. And now I’m going to help.”
“The only way to help is to pay the bills. Which I’m going to do.”
“Okay. Fine. You’re going to pay them. But there are different ways to approach debt.”
“Summer.” Cole has unclipped his seatbelt, and he tries to climb to my side of the car, long arms circling behind my back.
“I was almost homeless!” I shout, my librarian voice nowhere to be found as I’m desperate for him to understand.
Cole freezes, staring down at me as he looms. “What?”
Seeing I have his attention, I moderate my volume. “When I was a teenager. After my dad died. My mom and I ran into some hard times financially. We struggled, but we figured it out.” That time of my life was a stressful mess of constant moving to smaller and smaller apartments, and ignoring the phone when it rang because of the creditors on the other end of the line. “She doesn’t owe anything anymore, and I’m only dealing with my student loans. I have a clear financial plan with scheduled payments, and I know exactly when I’ll be debt-free.” So what if it’s a decade from now? I still have an end date.
Reaching up a hand, I cup his jaw. His lids close briefly as if he’s in pain, but I get the sense he wants my touch. That he needs someone to reassure him the papers in my bag aren’t going to implode his life.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with this.” His whisper is rough. Still, his words give me hope.
“I want to. Please, Cole. I promise I can make this easier for you. I’m not asking to pay the bills. Just help organize it all. Let me help.”
A moment passes, then another. Finally, a soul-weary sigh steels the tension from his body, and his forehead comes to rest on mine.
“Is this a yes?” Damn my mouth. I shouldn’t push my luck.
But Cole nods, and my joy fills the truck cab. My fingers tangle in his hair, pulling his mouth toward mine. He lets me kiss him for only a second, then moves away and returns to his side of the cab.
He’s not happy. Yet. But I’ll show him.
Chapter Thirty-One
SUMMER
“This seems a shady kind of business.”
“Well, you know librarians. We work in the shadows. We’re the underbelly of society. Sunlight burns my skin.”
“Dear, be serious.”
I sigh, letting my teasing tone drift away as I settle into a seat beside my mother. She has Mr. Allemand’s bills spread out over her gorgeous mahogany dining room table and is in the process of moving them into different piles.
What do the piles mean? I have no clue.
Because I may have told Cole a little white lie.
Money is not my strong suit.
