Lesley laughed lightly, but recognized the wisdom of her sister’s words.
Cole opened the front door and greeted her with a fierce hug.
“How’d you sleep?”she asked.The question was silly.He wore the same clothes as yesterday and looked as if he hadn’t gone to bed.Shadows darkened his cheeks, and the frown that drove deep grooves into his forehead appeared to be permanent.
“I didn’t.What about you?”
Lesley shook her head, silently confirming she had slept no better.
“I talked to Lansky again after you left.There’s a chance.”
“But you said...”
“I haven’t got time to explain.I’m catching the first plane out of Spokane.”
Lesley felt her heart drop to her knees.For the first time she noticed the packed suitcases standing in the living room.Had he even planned to tell her he was leaving?Her gaze narrowed on the bags, and she must have looked as shocked as she felt.
“Honey, I was sincere about everything I said yesterday.You and I were meant to be together.You’re the only good thing that’s ever happened to me.I’m going after Jennings for us.”
“But I don’t want our marriage to start like this.”
“Don’t you understand?”Cole returned, and rubbed a weary hand over his tired face.“I’m doing this for our future.”
“The only future I want is with you, but I don’t need the fancy house on the lake and the huge trust funds for our children.”
Cole knotted his hands at his side, his temper obviously on a short string.“ButIneed the house, the trust funds, the money.I earned them and I’m going to have them.”
Lesley couldn’t argue.He had done exactly as he said, and by all rights the money should be his.
“I’ll drive you to the airport,” she offered in a low, defeated voice.“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
Lovingly Cole gripped her shoulders and kissed her forehead.“I’ll be back as soon as possible.Believe me, I don’t want to stay away any longer than necessary.I want to see us married, settled and starting a family.”
His words of promise rang in her ears as she stood in the Spokane airport and waved to his departing plane, a smile frozen on her lips.Tears filled her eyes and flowed heedlessly down pale cheeks as his plane ascended into the clear November sky.
The sights and sounds of Christmas filled the air.Lesley and Terry had volunteered to be in charge of the church Christmas program and worked long hours on the planned pageant.Although Lesley found it difficult to maintain her usual Christmas spirit, working with the children helped fill her time and keep her from worrying about Cole.
Although he phoned daily, Lesley hadn’t seen him since Thanksgiving and her watery farewell in Spokane.
Following his attorney’s advice, Cole had appealed the patent decision and was struggling to come up with the necessary evidence to prove his case.The patent and the appeal filled his life.Some days Lesley wondered why he bothered to phone her.He seemed to be living in another world, one far removed from her life in Coeur d’Alene.
As Christmas approached, he repeatedly promised to come to Coeur d’Alene for a visit.Every night she prayed fervently that he would.She was hungry for the sight of him and almost desperate to know that the love between them was as real to Cole as it was to her.
The Christmas program was scheduled for the Sunday school hour the morning of the twentieth of December.Like typical stage mothers, Lesley and Terry made sure every detail was as perfect as possible.
Everything ran smoothly, and over dinner at Terry’s afterward they discussed the amusing antics of the cast.
“Did you see Jamie Lowell peek at the audience from inside the camel costume?”Terry asked, laughter dancing in her bright blue eyes.“I thought I’d scream.”
“You did,” Lesley reminded her.“That’s what made Julie Palmer spill the gold.”
“It was my opinion the three Wise Men weremen,” Robert interrupted, sitting beside his wife and looping an arm around her shoulder.
“We ran out of boys,” Terry informed him primly.
“But all in all, everything went very well.”
“Even if we do say so ourselves,” Lesley chimed in.The three had gathered together in the living room after a meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, or what Terry insisted was Yorkshire pudding.Lesley and Robert remained somewhat skeptical.
