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West seemed to be making more plans with Momma for her rehab.
Cole nodded. At least Eva was a fighter. She might win a few moments with his brother.
“Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice, huh?” Eva’s eyes were round with intrigue. “Are you going to bring a date to that little pumpkin festival? I still want to meet this girl of yours.”
Ugh. She wasn’t dropping him finding his “Other Half” yet. The girl was obsessed with romance. “We… uh… didn’t work out.”
“What?” She slapped the counter, looking truly heartbroken about his nonexistent breakup. “If I’d have known that, I would’ve brought a friend.”
Strangely, that might’ve been a good idea—not for Cole, but for herself. Glancing over at West, Cole could see that the man intended to completely ignore his gorgeous fiancée. Their father had come down the stairs to join them. Jase settled near Momma’s side on the sofa, hovering protectively over her like a hawk watching the nest.
“How about we enjoy a holiday for once… without making it about your momma being sick,” their old man said.
West straightened with indignation. “I’m not going to ignore what’s staring us in the face. It’s been another three months and nothing. This is getting dangerous now. I just talked to a friend who says that he has another lead we can follow up on.”
“Honey, how about we follow up on thisafterthe holidays,” Momma said.
“We wait”—West scooted closer to her—“and we might not be able to celebrate another one with you.”
“Back off!”
Eva jumped at their father’s rough command. Obviously, she wasn’t used to witnessing a full-scale argument in the Slade household. Things got heated, especially when it had to do with Momma’s illness. Cole recognized his father’s desperate look. Their old man was on edge.
Cole understood. He’d been worried about this surgery from the beginning. The doctors had always said that she’d never survive a heart transplant… until one day West pulled a few strings and the board decided that she could.
That wasn’t usually how these things were supposed to work.
“Just hear me out,” West said.
“I don’t want to hear another word,” their dad said.
“What are we going to do this Thanksgiving anyway?” West asked. “Lay around, watch TV, eat too much, drink too much…?”
“Cole!” Momma sang over to her youngest. She must’ve sensed the upcoming storm, and somehow her tone turned sweeter, gentler, as their dad’s turned angrier and blunter than a sledgehammer. “Why don’t you take Eva to the pumpkin patch, dear heart?”
“Now?” Cole flushed. There wasn’t much that he wouldn’t do coming from his momma, and yet… his eyes went to Eva’s sandals then traveled up those long legs to those ridiculous shorts. “I can’t…”
“You think I drink too much?” their pops roared at West.
The frayed tempers were enough to change Cole’s mind. He snatched Eva’s hand. “We can use Momma’s boots in the mud room.”
She quickly complied and shuffled on the boots through the argument. The mud boots reached her knees. Was everything too big on her? He glanced over at her as he got his own boots on, trying not to let out a grim laugh. This girl was going to be the end of him.
He ripped his keys to his truck off the key holder, praying for strength.
He’d take her away for an hour. He could fend off her matchmaking until then.
Chapter Nine
Rain splattered against the windshield as Cole drove Eva through the country roads leading to the pumpkin patch. The water, mud, and dust swirled over their pathway in a black mess that covered the truck in grime.
They’d escaped barely in time. Cole had tugged Eva out the door only moments before getting caught in the explosion that was West and his father. Those two were like a match to dynamite.
“Number one rule in our household,” Cole said. Swinging around, his rain coat crackled with his movements as he gave her a conspiratorial grin. “Never get in the way of a Slade when they’re fighting.”
“I’ll remember that.” She studied his face, noting the similarities between Cole and West. He’d carelessly stuck a stocking cap on under the rain, and it pushed all that hair off of his expressive forehead, so that she saw he had a widow’s peak.
Adorbs.
