Page 18 of Cole's Joy
“Please.”
Then he gave her another quick kiss and turned away with a grin, and some pep in his step. He reached his truck andtipped his hat to her before he climbed in, then quickly left to go back to his home. On the way, he thought of ways to ask her out officially. He couldn’t wait to explore that kiss some more. However, he wasn’t one to rush, so he would take his time, and let what they had together build along the way.
“Nana, that was hot,”Lorissa said with a laugh as she watched her grandmother watch Cole as he left the area. “Are the two of you dating?”
“Would that bother you?”
“Absolutely not, just because you’re a widow, that doesn’t mean your life is over. I don’t know your exact age, but in my eyes, you still have a lot of good years to live. If Cole Mercury makes you swoon, then go for it.”
“Swoon?” Lois laughed as they made sure everything was picked up, and no junk left lying around.
Lorissa laughed. “I couldn’t come up with a better word. Seriously, though, if he makes you happy, then go for it. I have no problem with it, I’m sure Mom won’t either, and besides it’s your life, we don’t have a right to tell you if you can and can’t date. In my humble opinion. If you like the guy, go for it.” She giggled, then gave her a cheeky smile. “Besides, you’re not getting any younger.”
“Did I ever tell you that you were a brat?”
“All the time when I was younger.” They were both laughing as they went to their own homes. That night, for the first time in years, Lois got out a piece of paper to write the pros and cons of dating Cole. By the time she finished, she saw the pros column had five times more items than the cons. She made a vow thatshe would go out with him if he asked. Now he just had to ask. She fell asleep that night with a happy smile on her face.
CHAPTER 8
Roughly a month later,Cole jerked awake at the ringing of his phone and he scowled at the time. Getting a phone call at four in the morning was never a good time. He answered it as he sat up.
“Mercury.”
“Cole?”
“Yes, who’s this?” The person on the other end of the line sounded frantic.
“It’s Lois. We just got a call that Lorissa was in an accident, Duane, Laurie, and I are heading to the hospital. That’s all we know. I don’t know when we’ll be back, how bad she is, or if she’s even alive. We were told they were taking her to Colorado Springs. Duane’s driving us. I called to let you know I’m going to have to cancel our get together tonight.”
“Don’t worry about it. I just need you to do a couple of things for me.”
“What’s that?”
“First, breathe. Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. That’s it. Now, when you hear anything you let me know. I can pass the information onto the others. Maybe we can get some meals made up for you guys.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m volunteering. If I don’t hear from you by noon, I’m coming to look for you, woman, is that understood?”
“Yes.”
“Good, now go. Is it just the three of you going?”
“No, Tom Stolls was waiting for her at her house. She had a late-night call to a ranch. He fell asleep on her couch. Don’t quote me, but I think they’re dating.”
“Wow, what a difference a month makes.”
“Yeah, anyway, it will be the four of us.”
“Okay, I won’t say anything until we hear back from you.”
“Thanks, Cole, and I’m sorry about tonight.”
“Don’t be. We have plenty of time to make up for it.” They rang off and because his alarm was set to go off in thirty minutes, he decided to get up, shower, and make it down to the kitchen before anyone else arose. He was on his second cup of coffee when Ducky shuffled in from his downstairs bedroom.
“You’re up early.”
“Yeah, when Clem comes down, I’ll tell you why.” He jumped to his feet to get Ducky’s coffee and as he did, he heard Clem on the stairs and poured one for him. He started another pot, then settled at the table.
