*Cole

She can barely speak. I see the longing shining in her eyes. I tip my forehead to touch hers. "I will be there with you. All the way."

"Yes," she whispers. "Yes, I'll go with you."

My heart lights with the warmth of the sun itself.

Later, we are upstairs in her bed, hands and legs tangled up and sheets in a wild mess. She strokes my arm, laughing when the goose-pimples stand up in response. So I'm ticklish? She's much more ticklish than I am, and I prove it to her.

"Stop!" she cries. "I surrender. You win. You win."

I shift to my side and prop up my head with a hand to study her. She's beautiful, especially when she's naked and in bed with me, no doubt.

"How soon do you think you can get out of here?" I ask. "I know you have a lot on your plate with the house and work. I need to get back to my shop, and personally, I think the sooner we leave the better. For both our sakes."

She frowns and glances at the windows on the other side of the room. I hate to push her to leave fast, but I believe it's for the best. This place is toxic. Still, if I push her too hard, I'm afraid I could lose her. Too much pressure and she might change her mind to stay with the familiar devil of this town. That isn't a viable option. "You need time to think. It's all right. Think about it. I'll wait."

"It's a lot to process."

"You want me to get to work on the car? Give you some space while you think about everything you need to take care of?"

"That would be good. I have some things I should take care of today and then I could start making lists."

"Listen. Go do your things. I'm going to pop the hood on your poor, dead car and fiddle around a bit, then I need to meet up with Javier and check his dad's car for him. That's my day taken care of."

"As long as you've got your cars, you're good, is that right?"

I grin. Guilty as charged. She's still half turned from me, eyes locked in the distance. Too defensive. I want her closer, and more comfortable around me. I run my fingers down her side and pull her hips to mine and nuzzle her hair. "There is one thing I need in addition to my old, broken cars." I nibble her ear just in case she isn't sure who I'm talking about and she puts her hands on my chest.

"Point taken. Hey, are you going to want some lunch before going to Javier's?"

"Mmm. Lunch." I growl, ideas pouring through my brain.

She snorts. "As in meat with a side of meat, a bread roll and a sprig of broccoli for decoration? Sound good?"

"How do you know me so well already?"

"I actually watched you a lot," she says, lifting her eyebrows at me. "And I mean a lot, when we were young."

I hold her hand as long as I can as she rolls off the bed to standing. My heart swells to a painful ache in my chest, watching her as she snaps on her bra and buttons her shirt. Her curves fill blue jeans and a pale pink top and her dark hair frames her face. There's a shadow that's gone from her eyes, and a playful, carefree lightness to her frame. She blows me a kiss over her shoulder. Her ass is round and perfect. My cock twitches, coming back to life again as I remember pinning her down in the bed and listening to her cry out my name.

She's coming with me. She's coming with me.

***

She's quiet during lunch, unless I tease her. I don't dare bring up leaving town and she doesn't mention it. We eat on a picnic table on her wide porch and my heart breaks at the sight of her—flushed cheeks, tumbling waves of hair, a bright smile that lights up my whole world. It's hard to say goodbye and go to Javier's. I'm much too tempted to drag her into my arms, strip her naked, and show her how I feel. Several times.

But I go. Because when I leave for good, I know she'll be by my side.

I pull into Javier's driveway and whistle low. The man has done well for himself. Or married a smart, rich woman. One of the two. He was always such a slacker in school. If there was a class to skip, he'd skip it. If there was a prank to pull or a stupid joke to tell, you could count on him to do it. The two-story house looks relatively new and is in a nice neighborhood that didn't exist the last time I was in town. There's a basketball hoop next to the three-door garage and the lawn is impeccable. It could be in a magazine—not that I'm much of an expert on lawns.

Before I get out of the car, one of the doors rises, exposing the classic Corvette parked in the cool interior and Javier comes out, grinning like a fool and holding two sweating beers.

"My man!" he says, handing me one. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise!" I take the beer and tip it in cheers. "Although, without the beer or the car, there's not much reason to come over here..."

"Asshole." He laughs. "Come here and give me some real love." He hugs me briefly one-armed and leads me to the Corvette. I see two little faces peering at us from the doorway to the house. I wave and the kids giggle and run off.

"The twins, or Wild Thing One and Wild Thing Other One, as my wife calls them. Grandpa is here showing them how to build a model train, but I think it's because he wants to build one."

"And where is the lovely missus?" I ask. I stroke the length of the Corvette, already a little bit in love with it. I can't help it. I love the cars I fix up.

"Work. She's an obstetrician and was called to the hospital for a birth. You are looking at one proud, stay-at-home dad."

"Why am I not surprised. How did you land such a good woman? Get her drunk in Vegas and she woke up married to you?"

"Something like that. I think she had a psychotic episode and wasn't herself when she said yes. By the time she started to recover she was five months pregnant with twins and decided to make the best of the situation."

I laugh and take a long swig of my beer. "About this car...let's get started, what do you say?"

He popped the hood and for the second time that day, I was staring at the dark innards of a very old car that needed a lot of work. I would never be able to do it all, but I could at least evaluate and give some estimates. Get the work rolling.

My head is buried next to the engine, when Javier stiffens, standing straight up. He's staring at the driveway and he is not happy.

I lift my head to see.

Brandon shuts his car door, cigarette hanging from his mouth. I can actually feel my hackles rise at the sight of him.

Three people in this town might know where Trey and my daughter are.

And I'm staring at one of them. If I ask too many questions, it will spook him. Act too friendly and he'll be suspicious. Ignore him and I'll get nothing at all. Fuck.

Beat it out of him?

Not with the kids in the house on a nice street in the middle of the day. I return my attention to the car—that's why I came today. There's nothing I can do about Brandon, but possibly find him later on, in a secluded spot, either nice and isolated or sound-proof.

I force myself to focus. I don't see much rust or corrosion, the baby is in good shape. Javier's dad obviously protected her from the elements. But a lot of parts need to be replaced...

Javier and Brandon are talking, just low enough I can't make out the words, but loud enough to attract my attention. Damn it. Shoes scuffle the drive and the voices grow clearer.

"I don't think my dad wants to invest that kind of money in it. I'm just having Cole check it over to give me an idea of what needs to be done to get her rolling again," Javier says.

"And what the hell," Brandon says and sticks his head under the hood with me, "would Cole know about restoring classic cars? Hey, man. Didn't see you there."

"Hey." I can't be bothered to say anything else. I stand back and wipe my hands clean on a rag, while Brandon pretends to inspect the parts under the hood. He even fiddles with some wiring. I shake my head.

"So, Cole?" he asks me. "When did you become the car whisperer?"

"Picked it up here and there on my way to California. I've got my shop down there."

"That's right. You live in Cali now. You're going home in a day or two? Too bad, we've got a three-day weekend fishing trip planned, me and few buddies. Wanted to ask Javier if he was interested. How about it? Just the guys and a bunch of beer out on Lake Froeman?"

"Three days fishing?" Javier asks, choking. "My wife would throw my clothes on the front lawn and torch them if I took off that long."

"Oh, man, you are whipped," Brandon says.

I try not to roll my eyes. Brandon is like a teenager who can't imagine responsibility or caring for people who depend on you.

"That's right. I am so whipped." Javier crosses his arms. "I'll stay home."

Brandon doesn't take the hint that the conversation is over. "Too bad. It's going to be good. And when I say just guys, I'm not counting the girls we have booked to join us."

"Booked?" Javier's expression grows dark. "Not interested."

"What guys?" I ask.

Brandon swivels, an eyebrow arched. "Couple guys you might know from school. One or two who have moved here recently, too, though."

"So you keep in touch pretty good with your buddies from high school? Funny. I've lost track of everyone I used to know."

"If you weren't taking off so fast, you could go with us. Single guy like you would enjoy the company we have lined up, I imagine."

This is my chance. I can try to get him alone later. "Normally, I should be leaving soon, but I might need to hang out a little longer for legalities. Plus, I have a small job or two in town." I nod at the Corvette.

Javier is fuming. He wants this shit off his driveway, and I don't blame him. But not yet.

"Why don't I give you my cell, you can tell me later. There's a small fishing fee, just so you know."

"Sure. Whatever." I'm sure it's in my head, but there's a bad taste rising in my mouth. I take a drink of my beer to wash it away. It stays. "Or better yet. Let's grab a beer in town. Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." He backs away, out of the garage. "And let me know if you change your mind, Javier. The more the merrier."

Javier doesn't wave, but mutters several choice curse words under his breath at him. "What the hell, man? He's hiring hookers to meet in a slummy cabin the woods. Probably get fleas and ticks, not to mention STD's."

"Javier, you know me better than that. I'd rather chew off my hand than hang out with him for a weekend. I need to get him alone. I need to ask him something."

"What is your question? He spreads his business all over town. I've probably heard the answer, unfortunately."

I finish my beer before answering. "Can I trust you? Can I really trust you with someone else' story?"

*** Thank you for reading!!! Have a great day/evening/night!!! ***