Page 48 of Forbidden Flame

He climbed in next to Izzy. “Looks like I’m going to have to get an extended cab like Sebastian and Knox.”

“Why would you need one?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

Cole backed out of the spot, his hand braced on the seat behind me. “I help with Addy and Ember, and today I have Izzy with me. It’s not uncommon to have kids around here, and I assume my cousins are just going to have more.”

That made me feel warm all over. Cole was a family man. He didn’t just want a stake in the business; he enjoyed being around his family. This was what he was missing at his home. He wanted to embrace it.

How had I not seen it before? It also meant that our family’s not approving of each other was a bigger deal than I initially thought.

In no time, Cole had parked in front of the cabin.

“You live here?” Izzy asked as I climbed out, and Cole lifted her and set her on the ground next to me. “This is my cousin Heath’s cabin.”

She jumped into his arms. “It’s so cool.”

There was something about seeing Izzy in a man’s arms who wasn’t family that had my heart clenching. I wasn’t going to survive this morning.

It was too bad he’d blown me off the last few weeks. If he’d been attentive, my heart would be further down a path neither of us could go on.

With a wink in Izzy’s direction, he said, “Let me see about your new bike.”

Izzy rubbed her hands together as he lifted it and set it on the ground. He opened the garage and rummaged around for a few minutes, coming back with tools in his hands.

He worked with his hands on the farm and in his contracting business, but there was something about seeing a man work with tools to fix a little girl’s bike that had me feeling lightheaded.

We watched as he adjusted the seat height, then asked her to get on to test it out. It took a few adjustments to get it just right.

“Are you ready to take it for a test drive?” Cole asked her from where he crouched on the ground next to the bike.

“Can we?” Izzy asked me.

“We have time,” I said even as my heart fluttered dangerously. I hadn’t expected Cole to want to take the time to teach her to ride her bike.

Cole held the bike steady as she got on. “We can try it on the sidewalk, but it won’t ride on the ground until the training wheels come off.”

“When can the training wheels come off?” Izzy asked.

“When you show us you can ride with the trainers.”

Izzy surprised me by nodding. She’d usually tried to sweet talk my brothers into doing what she wanted. They couldn’t resist her. It was nice that Izzy was listening to Cole and respecting what he’d said.

“You listen to Mr. Cole while he’s teaching you, okay? We don’t have a helmet for you here.”

“Do you have one at home?”

“We have riding helmets. That’ll do until I can get into town or order one online,” I said to him.

He nodded tightly, and then said to Izzy, “You just need to pump your legs on the pedals, and I’ll be here to guide you. Once you get the hang of this, we’ll practice your balance without the trainers.”

Izzy beamed. “I can’t believe I’m learning to ride a bike.”

I hadn’t seen her this excited since Teddy said she could learn to ride a horse. I loved that I could give her this. That Cole was willing to help us out.

Izzy slowly pushed the pedals, the handlebars moving wildly until Cole reminded her to hold them tight. Then he explained how to steer. His voice was low and measured, calm. He never lost his patience, and he was quick to give encouragement.

When she finally reached the end of the short sidewalk, he said, “You did it. I’m so proud of you.”

Izzy looked up at him with something akin to hero worship. When he helped her off the bike, he crouched beside her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. I forgot to warn him that she was a hugger.

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