"I can't believe you made me do this," Zach hissed at Cole. "This message sounds nothing like me...she's not even going to read it and then you'll be back to square one, and I'll have lost some of my street creds." Cole ignored his brothers grating voice as he paced around the living room. Borrowing Zach's phone and messaging Noelle through a dating app was probably a bad idea. Okay, he knew it was a terrible idea, but it didn't sink in until after he hit the send button. He was overthinking and worried at the time and made a brash decision. Now he was living in a land of regret.

"What are you going to do if she falls in love with me instead, huh bro?" Zach's words caused Cole to stop his pacing immediately and shoot a scowl his way.

"She won't. Who chooses second best?" Cole quickly quipped to wipe the smug look on his brothers face.

"You should be nicer to me. I could easily message her again and tell her the truth. Then tell her all your most embarrassing stories. Remember Mr. Fruffles?" Cole quickly walked to his brother and punched him in the arm as Zach cackled at the reminder. Mr Fruffles was a teddy bear from Cole's childhood that his grandmother made out of his old baby clothes. Mr. Fruffles went on every adventure with Cole and was even snuck into his schoolbag occasionally. When Cole was in the fifth grade, Mr. Fruffles was lost at a field trip and Cole cried hysterically all the way home. His parents went back to the museum they visited and searched high and low with no luck. Cole's grandmother made him a new teddy bear to replace Mr. Fruffles, but it was never the Colee for him. Cole grieved for quite some time and Zach never let him forget it.

The bad thing was, there was plenty of embarrassing moments growing up, and Zach had been around for most. He had an arsenal of stories at his beck and call to use against his little brother. He never actually used them, but knowing he had them was just as worrisome. Sure Zach had a whole book of embarrassing moments himself, but he didn't have shame nor someone he wanted to impress for more than a couple nights. That took a lot of the fun out of ribbing him.

"Just...please let me know if she replies. I don't ask you for much and I just want this one thing okay?" Cole's face must have shown plenty of desperation because the light and playful look on Zach's face was replaced with worry. Cole was usually stoic, or tried hard to be, so Zach knew this had to be something big for him to show this much emotion.

"Fine," he relented quickly. "What are you gonna do if she ignores the message though?"

"Not sure...I have her brother's contact info. I could reach out to him, but that might come off way to strong and weird so let's hope we don't have to go that route."

Zach watched his brother pace around the room again. It was kind of endearing watching a big, strong man out of his element. "We'll find a way. Don't worry bro." As he got up to leave, he patted Cole on the way out and took a moment to evaluate himself internally. He hadn't felt lonely in a long time. He never allowed himself to, but something about the past couple of days and his brother coming to him for help on matters of the heart made him feel...empty. He quickly shook it off and stepped outside to take in a deep breath of the cold, wintery air. He needed to find a new short-term friend and since it was already the afternoon, a trip to the local bar might prove successful.

Cole was left in the living room of the main house to think. Than to overthink. He couldn't remember a time where he wasn't in control of his thoughts and letting them run wild. What had this woman done to him? He didn't even know her middle name. Not her birthday. Not even her favorite foods. Sure, those are things one can learn with time, but he needed answers now. Answers to why he couldn't get Noelle out of his thoughts. Even his dreams were being taken over by her and her adorable child. He'd had a dream just last night where they were together, acting like a family. It was so real and intense that he wanted to scream when he woke up and realized it wasn't real.

He had officially lost his mind.

Maybe he needed fresh air away from the farm. He decided that being at the farm was making him think of the memories of a little over a week ago and that, in turn, was what was making him insane. A change of scenery was absolutely the correct call.

He drove for only thirty minutes before he arrived a couple towns over. At first he thought maybe he'd head into the city, but the idea of traffic and too many people made him agitated so he decided the town closest to the city would be best. It was small and quaint and the main road was decorated for the holidays.

A few seconds of driving through and his stomach began to growl. It was almost fate that the only stoplight in the town had a festive looking cafe right on the corner. Not wanting the chance to get hangry, Cole pulled into the parking lot and let out a deep breath. He sat in his truck for a few seconds to gather himself. He didn't know why he felt so nervous suddenly until movement at the entrance of the cafe caught his attention.

Either he was the luckiest man in the world, or someone heard his prayers. Noelle and an older woman were entering the cafe, the very Colee cafe that called to him (technically his stomach) was the cafe that she was entering at the Colee time he did. It had to be a sign. Coincidences are not this well-timed. He chuckled to himself and wiped his now clammy hands on his pants and prepared for what might happen in there.