Page 17 of Mine For The Winter

“Yeah. North is my brother.”

Cole tipped his head to the side. “Isn’t Gabe his brother?”

For the first time Kris smiled. She hated how handsome this man was. “Yeah, Gabe’s my other brother. I’m Kris.” He held out his hand and Cole shook it, looking pleased as punch to be treated like an adult.

“You have two brothers? Cool.” Cole let go of his hand but was still looking at him hopefully. “Can you fix our car?”

Kris shrugged. “I can take a look.”

“It’s overheated,” Kelly told him. “It’s not going anywhere. The last time Charlie looked at it he told me it was on its last leg.”

The hope on Cole’s face faded.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “I’ll get another car.” Somehow. Damn, this really was the last thing she needed. Especially in front ofhim.

Kris looked at his watch. “What time’s your game start?”

“In half an hour,” Cole said. He was still staring at Kris like he was fascinated.

“Is it at the new rink?”

Kelly nodded.

Kris shot her the smallest of smiles then looked back at Cole. “I think if we leave now we can just about get you there on time.”

Cole’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning. “You can?”

“No,” Kelly said firmly, and they both turned to look at her.

“But Mom…” Cole whined.

“I have to wait with the car. And you’re not going to the rink with a stranger.” Her voice was firm.

“You can come with. I’ll leave you guys there and I’ll come back and take care of the car,” Kris said, and she wanted to scream. He wasn’t supposed to be nice. And Cole wasn’t supposed to be looking at him like he was Thor and Superman all tied up into one lovely package.

She was supposed to be able to sort out her problems on her own.

“I have to get to work after I drop Cole off,” she said.

Kris’ eyes caught hers. “Then we’ll drop him off and come back here, sort your car out, and you can work. Or I’ll drop you off at work then come back here.” He tipped his head to the side, still looking at her. “It’s easy if you want it to be.”

“Please, Mom.” Cole tugged her hand. “I want to play in the game.”

Her heart was racing. It was one thing to see Kris in the street, another thing to sit in his car.

And something even more terrifying to have him help her like they were friends. But Cole was still looking at her with those wide eyes and she knew she was going to have to ignore the stubbornness inside of her. For her son. For his game.

“Okay then,” she said, her voice tight. “A ride would be great. Thank you.”

“Yes.” Cole pumped his fist. “Let’s go.”

6

Kelly was sitting stiffly in the passenger seat, her lips closed as Kris followed the GPS in the direction of the new ice rink. He’d tried to make small talk for about half a second, but the expression on her face had silenced him.

Luckily Cole had kept up a steady stream of conversation, asking Kris about his hockey playing past, about how he knew his dad, whether he’d won any trophies and if he’d gone to the same school that Cole did.

Kris answered easily, keeping his foot on the gas to make sure they got to the rink on time. And when they arrived, Cole grabbed his bag and jumped out of the car. “I’m going straight to the locker room,” he said excitedly. “Thanks for the ride. You rock.”

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