Page 39 of Cole's Joy
“Ryan’s working on them now. Two bunkhouses have been built already, and he’s working on a couple of bunktels.” He reminded her what they were, and she nodded. They sat there for several minutes, and Cole stood, helped her to her feet, hugged her, then grinned when he took her seat and brought herto him so he could hug her. “Now, where were we with that thank you kiss?”
She giggled and sighed when he laid his lips on hers, and they spent the next couple of hours talking quietly and making out like teenagers. By the time he left for the night, they were both hot and bothered, but had agreed that they wanted to still get to know each other before they took what they had to the next level.
Cole waited to leave until Lois had taken Tim out for the night, and made sure she had locked the door after him before he headed to his truck. Before he started it, he grabbed the pen from his visor, and wrote a quick note on the envelope he had stuck in there. He noted that he’d look into installing a doggie door for Tim so he could go in and out to do his business when he needed to. They still had months to go until winter came, but it was always better to be prepared. He knew Tim wouldn’t grow much bigger, so he could install a small door that a human couldn’t get through. Not that he suspected Susan Mallory would come after Lois, but it wasn’t bad to be safe.
CHAPTER 15
“You ready?”Cole asked on Friday afternoon as he walked into Lois’s house after she opened the door for him. They didn’t get very far before she held out a hand to him. “What wrong?”
“Nothing, here’s a key to my house. You’ve been here every night since Monday, and I thought it would be more convenient for you to have your own key.”
“If you’re sure?”
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have given you one.” She shook her head with a laugh. “Outside my husband, you are the only man I’ve given free access to my home to.”
“Oh, and I think this is the first time a woman’s ever given me a key to her place.” He grinned and continued into the kitchen to see what was laid out on the table. “What’s all this?”
“I figure it’s going to be a mad house at the rodeo, and since it’s after lunch, and before dinner, I made up a few sandwiches we could eat along the way. It’s a two- to three-hour drive, and I don’t know whether I got the last hotel room, or if the desk clerk lied, but I thought we should get there around check-in time. If we eat as we drive, we can make good time.”
“Yeah, I like that idea. Is Tim coming with us?”
“He is, I got the confirmation from the desk clerk that I can bring him.” She turned and pointed to the side. “The black bag is mine, the red and black checkered is Tim’s.”
“Why does the dog have a bigger bag than you when he’s no bigger than my foot?” Cole asked with a laugh as he bent down and picked the dog up when he came running in his door that Cole had installed earlier in the week.
“Because I have his bowls, his food, I haven’t allowed him on my bed yet, so I have his bed, and there’s a bag I can sling over my shoulder where he can ride when we go to the rodeo.” She shook her head and held up her hand. “If he’s allowed. Since there are activities tonight, all day tomorrow, and all-day Sunday, I thought I’d leave him in the hotel room for tonight, to get the lay of the land for the rest of the weekend.”
“Got it, and for the few hours tonight, he should be okay.”
“He should, but I have training pads just in case. I don’t like to use them, and you installing the door has been great on his training. Instead of going to the door and whining and scratching, he goes out, does his business, plays, and comes back in.”
“I’m glad it helps.” He set the dog down, and as she packed up the food, he took the bags to his truck. They were heading just north of Denver for a rodeo for the weekend and Cole didn’t know if he would talk to anyone, but like Lois said, he wanted to get the lay of the land and see if he could talk to people about stock, boarding, or even hiring people. It had shocked him when he’d come over the day after their discussion to find that for the next few weeks there were rodeos within driving distance.
Cole had talked it over with Naomi, and with her approval of his plans, he had told Clem and Ducky what he would be doing over the coming weeks. They agreed with him and they said they’d put their heads together to come up with other ideas. They had both agreed that they needed more help. As it was,outside of Clem, Cole, and Ducky, the only permanent employee New Double had was Ann. Twenty-seven horses was a lot of work for the four of them. That left them each in charge of nearly eight horses apiece. Since Ducky couldn’t climb into the saddle, it increased their numbers.
He was going to this rodeo with an open mind and hopes he could take notes and overhear conversations. Not that he would be rude and openly listen, or butt into any conversations, but he would take Lois’s advice and keep his eyes, ears, and mind open to possibilities.
He laughed as he looked down when he felt something hit his shin, and saw Tim had head-butted him to get his attention. Since he’d checked out the rig Lois had in her SUV, when he’d gone to town to pick up the doggie door, he’d picked up this vehicle riding package also. He hadn’t told Lois yet, but he’d also picked up a dog bed, and some toys to keep at his house. He hoped that once they got rolling on his ideas and plans, Lois would spend more time over at his house, and he wanted Tim to be comfortable. He paused as he put Tim in his seat, and buckled him in, he had to remember that it was Ducky’s house and not his. With Tim strapped in, sitting proudly in the middle of the back seat so he could look out of the front window, Cole shut the door and took the basket from Lois. He helped her into her seat, and hurried around to the driver’s side. Within three minutes they were on their way. Because he still wasn’t familiar with the area, and this would be his first time driving into Denver, he programmed the address of the hotel on the GPS, turned down the volume, and put the truck in gear. Once they were out on the road, knowing they had a least an hour of straight driving, he reached over and held his hand out, and smiled when Lois laid hers in it. It was a comfortable silence as they drove.
“There,” Lois pointed to an empty parking spot, and Cole pulled his truck in and put it in park. He looked at her and shookher head. “Please, pardon my language, but that was fucking hell.”
“Yeah, who knew the rodeo would generate this much traffic.” She shook her head. They had arrived in the area of the rodeo over an hour ago, and it had taken them that long to reach the hotel. The streets seemed fuller than New York City on New Year’s Eve, making the traffic congested, then it was stop and go until they reached the hotel. When they’d reached the outskirts of town, Lois had pulled the shoulder bag from Tim’s bag and got it ready so that when they arrived, she would have Tim strapped to her, and Cole would deal with the luggage. Since it was only for two nights, there wasn’t much to carry, just a bag each, and he was able to strap Tim’s over his shoulder. They took Tim to the designated area, and waited for him to do his business, then cleaned up after him. They headed to the packed entrance and waited their turn to check-in.
“That was painless,” Lois said as they entered the elevator and Cole pressed the button for their floor. He waited until Lois unlocked their room on the fourteenth floor, and followed her in. The first thing she did was turn back to him and said, “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“It appears there’s only one bed.”
“I’m a big boy, I can keep my hands to myself.”
“Oh, darn,” she joked and laughed at his shocked expression. She set Tim on the edge of the bed and started taking things out of his bag when Cole set it down. After setting the dog up with his bed, food, water, and laying a couple of pads down, she turned to him. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just processing what you said.” He chuckled and then sighed. “Coffee?”
“Please.” She watched as he started making one cup, and when he turned to hand it to her before making the next one, he asked what was wrong.
“Would it be wrong of us if we do this again and happen to bring a larger pot?”
