AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He sighed, but neither Prescott nor I said anything, giving him time to continue at his own pace. Cole looked back and forth between us for a moment, maybehopingwe’d interrupt, but finally gave a wry sort of smile and kept going.
“So anyway,” Cole continued. “It’s a long story, but my family has been in law enforcement around here since Bliss was settled. My grandfather was the sheriff here. My dad was a deputy. I sort of think they were all trying to make up for my Uncle Merle. Or maybe Merle was always trying to rebel against them—who really knows, right?”
Another pause. Another furtive glance in Prescott’s direction.
“You don’t have to pay for the shitty things your uncle did, Cole,” Prescott said, finally. “You know that. Ihopeyou know that, anyway.”
“I do know.” Cole nodded. “But there are still people around town who give me the side-eye because of him. Because of some old scandal or whatever. Or the drug overdose that killed him, maybe.” He shrugged. “I don’t even know. The few times I’ve had the guts to ask, nobody will say. So yeah, even though it isn’t my job to restore the family’s name or some bullshit like that… it kind ofis, you know?”
“You’re doing a good job of it,” I cut in, putting my arms around him and hugging him tightly. I couldn’t hold back any longer. Not while I could see that he was hurting. “I don’t know what happened a million years ago, and I don’t care. You’re a good man, and if anyone can’t see that, well—”
“Then fuck ‘em,” Prescott finished. “She’s one hundred percent right, Cole. You’re a damn good man. If your family’s name needed redeeming—and I don’t think it did, personally—then you’re the best man I can think of to do it. Regardless of any of that, you are setting a good example for people all over town, andthat’swhat people will remember when they think of Cole Wright.”
Cole hugged me back for several long seconds, then opened his arms wider and motioned toward Prescott. “You’d better get in on this, too. I’m gonna remind you of all those nice things you just said the next time you’re acting like an asshole.”
Prescott laughed, then joined our little group hug. “You’d just better be glad we’re friends… asshole.”
We all laughed at that. “I love being here with you guys,” I said. “I don’t even want to think about going home yet.”
“Then don’t think about it,” Cole said.
“That’s right. Not tonight, anyway,” Prescott added. “Think of something else. Like going home with me.”
He kissed me on the forehead, and then I took a step back so I could look both of them in the eye. “I’d like that. Except I want it to be all three of us. Just to spend the night. We don’t even have to… I mean… I just want to benearboth of you tonight.”
“Then that’s what you’ll have,” Cole said.
“Whatever you want, babe.” Prescott nodded.
I smiled. How could I not? My two guys—myperfectguys—were here with me.
Thatwas what I wanted. That was all I needed.
Chapter 15
Daisy Lynn
Ihad been sorely tempted to beg for another couple of hours with my guys when Janessa and Becca came to pick me up at Prescott’s house the morning after our impromptu sleepover.
It had been so nice just to lie there with them, kissing and cuddling and sleeping in each other’s arms. The day had just started and I was already missing it—and hoping we’d get a chance to do it all over again really soon.
“So?” Janessa asked, looking at me in the back seat through the rear-view mirror. “How was it? You haven’t said a word since you got in the car.”
“It must have been good,” Becca said, smirking. “She hasn’t stopped smiling since she got in the car, either.”
Both were true. And I kept on smiling as I nodded my head. “It was really nice. Just… comfortable. But there really isn’t much to tell. We just stayed in and slept. We were all pretty much in a carb coma after that amazing dinner.”
“That cobbler did turn out pretty well, I have to admit.” Now Janessa was smiling. “Granny’s would have been better, but I think she’d still be satisfied with mine.”
I opened my mouth to say something else, then shut it again as my smile faded. I wasn’t the best with directions, but it was pretty easy to get around in a town as small as Bliss. And I’d made the trip from Janessa’s ranch to Prescott’s house enough times to know we were driving in the wrong direction.
“Where are we going?” I asked. “This isn’t the way back to your house.”
“I wondered how long it would take you to notice,” Janessa chortled. “I can’t blame you, though. I know what it’s like to be thinking about someone—or maybetwosomebodies—so much that you don’t even notice anything else.”
I felt my face flush a little. She had hit the nail on the head with that one. There really hadn’t been room in my thoughts for anyone or anything else since the moment I’d met my guys.
And honestly? I was mostly okay with that. This was fun and new and exciting. And even though I hadn’t done the greatest job of balancing my time between my guys and my friends, I was trying to be more mindful of that.
