After settling Ollie back at the house, Cole drove them to the Hartland dealership, all fluttering pennants and balloon bouquets in the cool air of the September afternoon. Cole took his place against the truck while Aftyn worked her way through the rows, the sun still carrying more heat than it had any right to this late in the year.
She stopped at a midnight-black Buick Enclave. Walked a slow circle around it, taking in the aggressive stance, the tinted windows, the way the dark paint looked almost liquid in the light. She pulled the door open and slid inside, and something about it just settled. The interior was cool and quiet, the leather buttery soft under her hands. She ran her palms over the dashboard, the brushed aluminum trim, checked the controls. Spacious. Solid. She nodded to herself. This one.
She climbed out, closed the door, and walked back across the lot to Cole, her boots crunching on the asphalt.
“Well?” He pulled off his sunglasses.
“I like the black one. Will you look at it for me?” She nodded toward the Enclave, its dark finish swallowing the sunlight.
“Sure.” He pushed off the truck and walked over, unhurried. He opened the door, gave the interior a look, then popped the hood and leaned in, eyes moving over the engine with quiet focus. “It looks clean. But I’d ask for a test drive and take it to Chuck before you commit. He’ll catch anything I miss.”
“Is that something I can actually do?”
“Absolutely. Any dealership worth dealing with won’t blink at it if the car’s sound.” He closed thehood with a careful push. “Tell them that’s the condition before you sign anything.”
“Okay.” She turned toward the showroom. “I’ll be right back.”
She came back through the glass doors a few minutes later, keys jingling, a smile she wasn’t trying very hard to contain.
“Ride with me?”
“Yeah, give me a second.” He clicked the fob on his truck, then fell into step beside her, his hand finding the small of her back.
Inside the Enclave, she adjusted the mirrors, moved the seat up, and turned the key. The engine came to life with a low, throaty rumble that she felt in her chest. She pulled out of the lot, tires humming smooth on the pavement, and headed toward Chuck’s garage to get the final word.
Chapter Eleven
Chuck inspected every inch of the Enclave with the kind of thoroughness that made her glad Cole had suggested it, and when he gave his nod she drove back to the dealership and sat under the fluorescent lights for a solid hour of paperwork while her aunt wired the money.
The drive home felt like a reward. The leather cradled her, the engine purred beneath her hands, and she couldn’t keep the grin off her face the whole way, following Cole’s pickup through familiar roads until they turned onto his gravel driveway. She watched his tall frame unfold from the truck cab, then reached into the back seat for her overnight bag and the dress in its paper covering, still swaying gently from the hook. She was glad she’d made the stop at Paige’s shop. The slinky black dress and the blue stilettos had felt like an indulgence at the time. Now they felt like a plan.
She stepped out onto the crunching gravel, ran her hand once across the smooth hood out of pure affection, then walked to Cole and took his hand. Inside, a burst of golden fur launched itself in her direction. Ollie circled her twice at full speed, ears flopping, tail a blur, then planted himself at her feet and looked up at her like she’d personally hung the moon.
“You’ve spoiled my dog,” Cole said, the corners of his eyes creasing.
“He deserves it.” She crouched and scratchedbehind his silky ears. “I love dogs.”
“Me too.”
“How did you come up with Ollie?”
Cole shrugged, his broad shoulders shifting beneath his worn flannel. “I didn’t. That was his name when I got him from the shelter. I had a Goldie for years before him. Had her since she was eight weeks old, just this little ball of fluff that fit in my palm.” He paused. “Had to put her down about four years ago. Cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Two years of coming home to an empty house and I figured it was time.”
“I’ve never had to do that myself, but my Aunt Ping has. Several times.”
“It’s never easy. The room always feels too bright. Too sterile.” His voice was quiet with the memory of it.
“Did you stay with her? Until the end?”
“Yes.” He was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t know if I could do it, watching her close her eyes for the last time. I told the vet tech I wasn’t sure I could stay, and she said they’d be with her if I couldn’t. That made my decision for me. My dog didn’t know those people. She knew my scent, my voice. She’d want familiar hands on her when she went.” He looked down at Ollie, who had settled across his boots. “I hated every second of it. But it was the right thing for her. She’d suffered enough.”
Aftyn didn’t say anything. There wasn’t much to say.
“This one,” Cole continued, the shadow lifting from his face, “stood in his pen and barked at me the entire visit. I knew before I left that lot he was coming homewith me. He was two then. He’s four now and hasn’t slowed down a day.”
