Page 6 of Chasin' Cole

With that, I dig my bare heels into Sundance's belly, realizin' I left my cowboy boots in the scorching dirt.

Oh well. I'll come back later to retrieve them. I need to get away from Cole. I'm too hurt, too embarrassed to stay here any longer.

I take off down the dirt path, leaving Cole and his rejection far behind.

Stupid. I'm so, so stupid.

—

"Rose!" I hear Mama call from the front door. "Someone's here to see you!"

I roll off my bed before running a hand through the long, blond hair that's still wild and wavy from my afternoon dip in the creek withHe Who Nearly Shattered My Heart.

My feet pad down the carpeted hallway towards the open front door. Getting a visitor this late isn't uncommon. People stop by to check on the horses I board for them at all hours.

But when I seehimstandin' there, my boots in his hand, my heartthumpsagainst my ribcage.

He Who Nearly Shattered My Heart.

"Can wepleasetalk?" he begs.

I step outside, the wooden planks creakin' beneath my toes, and shut the door quietly behind me. Cole sets my boots down on the front porch then shoves his hands into his pockets.

A melody of crickets chirp in the background as the sticky air makes it hard to breathe.

Or maybe it's Cole.

Maybe he makes it hard to breathe.

"I never should have gotten in that water with you," he says. "I'm so sorry Rose. I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression."

Wrong impression? He could say that again.

Wekissed. I may have started it, buthekissed me back. And he liked it. I know he did. There were sparks and flashes and fireworks between us as he clung to my body. He was the one who pulled me closer. Not the other way 'round.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted," he continues. "I never wanted to hurt you. My friendship with Brock is important to me. I know he'd never accept this. You have to know that."

"You like me, Cole," I give him a forced smile. He liked kissin' me. He hasn't said once that he didn't. "You liked what we did in the creek." It's written all over his face as he stares at me with a pained expression.

He wantsme.

He wantsthis.

But he doesn't want to ruin his friendship with Brock.

That's when it hits me.

How much I like him.

The moment his lips touched mine, I threw off the sunglasses I'd been wearing my whole life. The ones that kept me from seein' the sun clearly. Seein'himclearly.

I never let myself go there before. I never let myself think about Cole as anythin' other than my older brother's best friend. But now? Now, he's all I can think about.

"I do like you, Rose," Cole exhales heavily, "but I've worked really hard to repair my relationship with Brock after the Kenzie misunderstanding. I can't betray his trust now."

"Brock would want you to be happy," I say softly. "If you let me, I think I could make you happy."

I would give it my all. I may not be as worldly as the women he normally keeps company with, but I'd I think I could do it. I could make the restless Cole Strickland happy. If he'd let me.

---