“Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving.I’ll be here early.”
“Okay.”His look was as absent as his word.
Lesley didn’t sleep, knowing Cole probably couldn’t either.Now she regretted having stayed the night with Terry.Cole might need her.But he hadn’t encouraged her to stay; he wanted privacy until he had worked things out in his own mind.It was well after two o’clock when Lesley fell into a deep slumber, her mind filled with troubled prayers for Cole.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” Terry greeted cheerfully as Lesley stumbled into the kitchen, arms stretched high above her head as she yawned.
“My goodness, what time is it?”
“After nine.”
Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Lesley walked across thesmall room and poured herself a cup of coffee.“I don’t suppose that was Cole on the phone?”The ring had wakened her.
“No, one of Robert’s cousins.They’re coming for dinner.”
“I hope you won’t be offended if I spend the day with Cole.”Lesley had been too exhausted and mentally drained to tell her sister Lansky’s news when she returned the night before.
“Why not bring him along?There’s always room for one more.”
“I...I don’t think so.Not this time.Cole got word yesterday that he lost the patent, so he’s not in any mood to socialize.”
“Oh, Lesley,” Terry groaned.“How awful for him.”
“He’s not taking it well.”
“Who can blame him?He’s being cheated out of years of work.Isn’t there anything anyone can do?”
“Apparently not, but I don’t think that’s going to stop Cole from trying.”Lesley pulled out the kitchen chair and sat, her hands supporting her head.Already a faint throbbing ache had begun.“It sounds crazy, but you know what Bible story kept running through my mind last night?”
Terry looked up expectantly.“No?”
“About Joseph.Remember how his brothers sold him into slavery and then he became Potiphar’s trusted servant in Egypt.”
“Until Potiphar’s wife wanted to seduce him.”
“But when Joseph refused, Potiphar’s wife went running to her husband with terrible lies about Joseph, and Joseph was sent to prison.”
“Unjustly,” Terry added with a curt nod.
“Yes, but even in those horrible conditions Joseph cared about others; his spirit was never broken.”
Terry pulled up a chair and sat across from Lesley.“What are you saying?”
Lesley wasn’t sure herself, or even why the story had stuckso prominently in her mind.She saw Cole at a crossroads of his life.This whole thing with Jennings would make him either bitter or better, make or break him.But unlike Joseph, Cole didn’t have a strong faith.Lesley’s greatest fear was that Cole’s spirit would be broken.“I love Cole.”Her smile was wan as she lowered her gaze to the steaming coffee.
“I guessed as much.Is the feeling mutual?”
Lesley’s hand tightened around the mug handle.“Cole asked me to marry him yesterday, and I agreed.”
“That’s wonderful news.”Terry’s voice seemed to contain the same reservations Lesley was feeling.
“It should be, but Cole asked me before he received word from his attorney.He was so different afterward.I don’t know how he feels now, and I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“If he honestly loves you, then it won’t make any difference.Give him time,” Terry advised.“He’s only just heard the news.And give yourself time.Marriage is a serious commitment.”
“I realize that,” Lesley admitted, biting into the corner of her bottom lip.“I’m not so concerned for myself as for Cole.I’m afraid he’s going to do something stupid.”
“You’re not going to feel right until you see and talk to him.So get dressed and get moving.And for goodness’ sake, don’t tell him the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.He won’t be in any mood to hear it.”
