My stomach flipped, and my heart felt cracked open in my chest. “What?” I sputtered.
“Absolutely. I know this.” Lincoln nodded definitively.
“You can’t be serious.”
Lincoln tipped his head to the side. “I know my brother. He’s in love with you.”
“Oh, yeah, he is,” Haven said, hearing that part of the conversation. “He’s the joker in the family. Manages to play it cool most of the time. He can’t do that with you. Go easy on him.”
When I walked over to look for Cole by the planes, I only hoped he would understand.
“Cole?” I called.
As I approached, I noticed his boots on the far side of one of the planes.
“Yeah?” His tone was careful.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
ADELE
Kicks and confessions
I rounded the plane to find Cole busy stuffing gear into the storage compartment underneath, otherwise known as the belly of these small planes. “Hey. Are you okay?”
He straightened, turning to face me, and I didn’t see anger in his gaze at all. Just, well, concern. Or that’s what I thought. My heart literally ached.
I rushed ahead. “I know I should have told you the whole story. I just didn’t want to get into it at the beginning of our trip, and I didn’t think we’d see him again. I was going to tell you when we got back to Heartfire Falls.”
Cole shook his head as I stopped in front of him, twisting my hands nervously. Anxiety churned uncomfortably in my chest.
“Adele, I was worried it was your heart when I first ran over there.”
“Ohhhh,” I said slowly. “I’m fine.”
He gave his head a sharp shake. “I know.” The sound of his swallow was audible. “Anyway, you don’t owe me every detail.” He paused, his shoulders rising with a deep breath. “I guess I’m a little hurt and worried.”
“I’m fine.” I gestured up and down my body. “He didn’t do anything to me. He didn’t do anything before. He tried, but I kicked him in the balls.”
Cole let out a snort. “And again today.”
My lips twitched and I shrugged. “I mean, he deserved it.”
“Oh, he deserved a lot more than that.” His voice was taut, anger flickering in his eyes.
“I’m fine, Cole,” I repeated.
He reached for one of my hands, pulling me close. “I know you didn’t owe me the story, but I hoped you’d trust me enough to tell me.”
“I did. I do! I just didn’t want to ruin the trip.”
“Yeah? If you had told me when you first saw him, I probably would have tried to kick his ass before we left,” he pointed out.
My heart was pounding unsteadily in my chest. “You probably would have.”
He nodded, but said nothing else yet.
I took a quick breath. “And now I feel bad, though, because he tried to hurt Ashley.”
