I took a deep breath and finally opened my car door.
I was here simply to do Millie a favor.
I’d just drop off the bag and get the hell out of here.
I had laundry to do at home and my favorite true crime show to watch later.
I left my gloves and my hat in my vehicle since I was only going to dash to Cole’s door.
It was starting to snow, so I moved swiftly up the steps of his front porch.
I rang the doorbell and waited.
And waited…
And waited…
I rang the bell one more time and debated whether or not I should just leave the bag in front of his door.
I really didn’t want to do that.
Millie had sent everything Cole could possibly need if he was really ill.
If I didn’t give the bag to him personally, he might never know that I’d dropped it off.
I have to figure out a way to make sure he gets this stuff that Millie sent.
The daylight was starting to fade, and there was absolutely no light coming from inside the house.
Certainly he hadn’t left the house if he was sick, right?
My concern growing, I tried the door handle.
My heart stuttered when the heavy door gave way to the pressure of my hand and swung open.
A lot of people in Crystal Fork left their doors unlocked, but it surprised me that a man as guarded as Cole had left himself vulnerable in any way.
I took a small step inside.
Now what?
I couldn’t just barge into his house uninvited.
“Cole?” I called out in the totally silent, dark house.
I heard absolutely nothing for several seconds until…
Is that a cough?
I put the bag on the floor and closed the door as the raw, masculine cough sounded again.
Any hesitance I’d had about entering his home had faded away.
His cough sounded horrible, and I couldn’t possibly leave until I knew that he was okay.
I flipped on some lights so I could see where I was going.
“Cole?” I called out again as I simply followed the sound of his hacking cough.
