“You drove all this way in a fuckingblizzard? What is wrong with you?” I yell, my words holding more of a bite than I intended them to. He’s such a fucking prince, willing to die for me. It’s a shame it only makes me love him more, even if it terrifies me.
“You needed my help. What did you expect me to do?” Cole says calmly. “Now hurry up before the roads get worse. I’ve got clothes for you to borrow back home, so just grab the essentials and let’s go before you get us both killed.”
I grab his arm and pull him into the tiny hallway, our bodies nearly pressed together in the small space. He shakes like a dog to get the snow off him, rifling a hand through his hair for good measure. To my credit, I stare for only a moment before scurrying back up the stairs.
Grabbing a bag, I throw in some underthings along with a toothbrush and other essentials I might need before hurrying back down, nearly slipping on the ice that formed on the boards. Cole takes my bag before helping me into my coat and pulling a hat down my ears, his fingers lingering on my cheeks.
With my coat on, it becomes real. I sway on my feet, fighting my heart rate to come down. The air is sucked out of the hallway, though only I seem to notice. I’m about to go home with Cole, so he can take care of me. I’m no better than my mother. I’m just like her.
My thoughts must show on my face, as Cole swipes his thumb across my cheek, wiping a tear I didn’t know fell from my lid. “You’re not her, you know. Accepting help to survive is not the same as depending on someone to take care of you because you refuse to take care of yourself.”
“But what if it is?” I say.
Cole smiles softly. “If it is, then you’re still not your mother. Because there is more love between you and me in this moment than she’s ever known in her life. If I want to take care of you, I fucking will. That doesn’t mean you depend on me. It means I love you.”
I love you. I know he doesn’t mean it romantically, but my heart skips a beat just the same. It would be easy, so easy to kiss him right now. His lips all dark and pink from the cold, those blue eyes blazing with confidence. His eyes flit to my mouth, and for a moment I think he might lean in.
“We should go. Visibility is getting worse,” he says, dashing my hopes of a kiss, and drops his hands to take mine. “Don’t let go of my hand until you’re in the truck, got it?”
Like I’d ever let go of it in the first place. “Yes, sir.”
Cole shoots me a look, though he doesn’t say a word. He picks my bag up off the floor and slings it over his shoulder, interlocking our fingers in a tight grip that doesn’t loosen until my palm hits the side of his car.
It’s not until he closes the door behind me and gets into the driver’s seat that it dawns on me what we’re about to do. We can’t see more than a few inches ahead, yet are about to drive up into the mountains, with its winding roads and steep cliffs. There is no way this could end well, Cole must know that.
And still he came to get me, because he had to at least try.
I stare ahead, fighting the urge to grab his hand for comfort. “I can’t believe you risked your life to come get me.”
He meets my gaze, all softness and smiles, no hint of the tension I felt from him when I opened my front door.
“I’d go to the ends of the earth for you,” Cole says quietly. “I hoped you knew that by now.”
What the fuck does that mean?
I hold his gaze, his eyes saying something I can’t understand, a language I never learned to speak. But I don’t need to know what he’s saying to know that he’s right; Cole Martin has proved himself to me time and time again, and I don’t give him nearly enough credit for it.
Fuck it. We could be flat out dead thirty minutes from now—what’s the harm?
I lean over and press a kiss to his cheek, his skin warm despite the cold. “Thank you.”
Maybe…maybe depending on him in this moment wouldn’t be so bad. I didn’t ask him for anything, after all. It was his own stupid choice to come and get me. And it’s not like I’m at hisplace indefinitely. There’s a clear deadline for this arrangement to end, when the storm dies down. I guess, if I look at it like that, it’s not the same thing my mother does. Maybe I can even convince him to let me leave some money for food when I leave.
A surprised smile crosses Cole’s lips, and for a moment I think he might crack a joke. The ignition roars to life, the lights reaching barely a few feet ahead.
“Anything for you, Honey.”
Chapter four
Cole
Iamneverdoingthat again.
My heart is beating out of my ass and I feel like I’m going to be sick. Driving through what is easily one or even two feet of snow was a lot less terrifying in theory, though it was worth it now that I know Noelle is safe. Still, every second our wheels could slip, sending us down into the unknown, and I think I forgot to breathe until we reached my driveway and I deflated.
“How do you still have power?” Noelle asks as she stares up at the house, a sense of wonder coating her voice.
I smirk. “Money. I got myself some back-up generators.”
