Cole lay in bed repeating the afternoon over and over in his head. Amelia was hilarious and was clearly hearing wedding bells for her daughter. Jacob was adorable and full of more energy than Cole could ever remember having. And Noelle was beautiful, glowing, and even more magnetic the longer he spent time near her. The smile never left his face all evening. His sister called him a creep and pressed her palm to his head to make sure he wasn't ill. Although he didn't want to share his afternoon with anyone quite yet, he knew he'd eventually confess to Ashley first.

Ashley had always been Cole's confidant. His brother was only for causing mischief, but their sister always had a lot of wisdom and intuition to help him with things. He also knew she'd be ecstatic for him and eager to have another female around. He knew it wasn't always easy growing up in a farm and surrounded by mostly men. Ashley had to grow up tough to deal with all of the boys. She still managed to keep a soft and gentle part of herself just for family.

Cole went back to the ice cream parlor from the evening and thought about Jacob and his catastrophic mess and how his mom didn't scold him too harshly, but still made sure he knew he had to clean up after himself. He admired that in her. He also admired her graceful eating of pralines and cream ice cream. He'd joked with her at first about how that was 'an old person' choice, but when he'd finished his cookies and cream sundae faster than anyone else, he was grateful when she slid her bowl at him to help finish hers.

The four of them sitting at a booth enjoying their dessert felt domestic and like a dream Cole never thought of having before. Now it was the only thing on his mind. Maybe it was the retirement from the sport that took up the majority of his life that left everything else on the back burner. All those things now on the front. A family of his own. A love of his own. He could have done it while playing football, but he wouldn't have been able to give both the time and attention they deserved. Now that football was out of the way, he only had the one thing on his mind.

His mind went back to the afternoon. It highlighted Noelle. She was beautiful in every light. She was funny and took her mother's joking in stride. He wanted to learn everything he could about her and fast. He didn't know why he felt the rush to do that, but it was there. If he could see her more he could definitely get all the information he wanted he was sure, but he didn't know how else to get one on one time with her.

A moment after, the idea came to him. After using his brothers dating app to find out more information on her, he left it at that. Feeling guilty and worried he was being a creep he gave his brother his phone back and decided to try things the old fashioned way. The only problem was how slow that way was. He was a man who finally knew what he wanted, and he wanted it now. He pulled out his phone and messaged his brother.

Hey, are you awake? -Cole

It's just after 10, of course I'm awake old man. -Zach

Whatever. I need your help. Do you still have that dating app on your phone? I need to you find that girl Noelle again. You're going to ask her on a date and then no-show so I can be there as a knight in shining armor. Plus I can end up as the date. -Cole

... -Zach

What? -Cole

Are you okay? That's a bit much even for me. -Zach

Look...I don't know what else to do right now. I just know that she's something special. I feel it. I know you don't know what feelings are, but if you did then you'd think this was a genius idea. I'm not there to harm her in any way. I just really want to spend some time with her and have no valid reason right now for that. -Cole

Alright sheesh. I'll put my reputation on the line for you, I guess. What are you going to do when she finds out what you planned? -Zach

I'll tell her afterwards. If she lets me stick around I wouldn't want that hidden. It's romantic. -Cole

You disgust me. I'll talk to her and see if she's even willing to meet up for coffee or something first. Then I'll let you know. Now leave me alone, the bar is full of gorgeous tourists tonight and I can't be wasting anymore energy on you. -Zach

Cole felt lifted. Like he was full of hope. He saw the way her eyes dilated when they made contact with his. It was an expression they both shared. She had to feel something for him. That or he was very poor at reading people. He hoped his brother could make something happen. If not, he'd have to find another way to meet up with her again. He lay there for the next few minutes, thinking nonstop of the beautiful woman and her precious son. When he thought of them, it felt like...home. It should have scared him, but it just made him anticipate seeing her again. After tossing and turning a bit longer and trying to stop his mind from going too far, he finally fell asleep.

——

The day went by fast, thanks to busy work keeping Cole occupied. He made sure he stayed too busy to think about Noelle and to look at his phone. He hadn't seen his brother around the farm today, but he could have decided to do maintenance work around the grounds to avoid people. It was really difficult to keep up with his brother and all he could hope for was that Zach reached out to Noelle.

When dinnertime rolled around Cole made it to the kitchen to find his brother and sister already plating up while their parents discussed the upcoming weekend near the stove. His siblings looked to be in a serious discussion which confused Cole as Zach was never one to be serious and Ashley was constantly pulling their chains or bossing them around.

Before Cole could even sit down, Zach looked at him with a smug look on his face. "Hey bro. I was just talking to Ash here about my upcoming date with a beautiful woman. She seems sweet...maybe it could become something serious."

Cole knew then he was going to have to murder his brother.