Page 16 of Hard Focus
Finally, Taylor’s lips curved in a grin, the mischievous glint she knew so well showing in his eyes. “I can do that.”
Relieved he’d given up on the topic, Connie let herself be pulled along as Taylor directed the evening. Once Alden showed, they did more sitting and talking than dancing, but the conversation was easy, free of any tough topics. Connie knew Taylor must have warned his partner to leave the subject of the sudden ex-boyfriend alone for the night.
She really didn’t want Taylor to call her parents. Not just because she was a grown adult living on her own, but because she hadn’t told her parents about dating anyone evensemiseriously, and Connie knew her father especially would be hurt to only find out after whatever it had been was in wreckage on the rocks. If she’d talked to her parents about her beau, her father would have been running a background check on him before she’d even hung up from the call, and if Jonas had learned about it, she would have been mortified. Connie hoped she was a good enough judge of character on her own.
They escorted her all the way to the door of her apartment later that evening, without a word being spoken between them about the differencefromnormal patterns. Turning in the doorway, the empty apartment at her back, she stretched up on her toes to press a kiss against first Taylor’s cheek, then Alden’s. “Thank you.”
Taylor leaned against Alden, who told her gruffly, “Lock the door, Connie. We’re just a phone call or text away.”
Shut inside the silent rooms, she looked around. The only picture of her with Jonas had already gone in a drawer, but there was a wicker basket of toys tucked underneath one end table. Surprised, she realized that would be the only downside to breaking up with Jonas.
I’ll miss little Addy.
***
Cole
He sat straight up in bed, staring into the darkness surrounding him and listened closely. A moment later he heard Addy cry onetear-filledword: “Mommy.”
With a sigh, he climbed out of bed and padded up the hallway to the little room where Addy slept. As he rounded the doorframe, he called out to her, “Hey, honey, it’s okay.”
The nightmares came and went for her, and he knew from Thompson’s many complaints about sleepless nights, that Addy’s dreams didn’t just disturb her mother. Fortunately, the nightmares were coming less and less frequently, and Audrey had voiced hopes Addy’d outgrow them one day.
Cole had otherideasbecause he suspected the nightmares were born out of the stress that surrounded the little girl every other weekend.Take care of asshole, I’d take care of my Addy. He shook his head at the thought.Not my way.
“Uncle Cole.” She scrambled away and moved up the mattress. Addy stilled there, huddled close to the headboard, holding tightly. Voice quivering, she told him, “I’mascared.”
Cole eased onto the small bed next to her, methodically peeling her fingers from the wooden spindles and replacing them with his hands. He pulled her into his lap and wrapped her tightly, wincing at the sweat-chill of her soaked-through pajamas. “I’m here, honey. I got you.”
“I had a bad dream.” His heart broke when she pulled in a deep breath that hitched in a half dozen places, her tiny frame lurching with each. “I want Mommy.”
“Mommy’s not here, honey. It’s just you and me. But, I got you. I promise.” He rested his chin gently on top of her head. “I got you.”
“I want Miss Connie.” She yawned and pulled in a smaller breath, turning her cheek to his chest and burrowing close.
Oh, I wish. Recallingagain those momentswhen she’d handed Thompson back as much attitude as he was giving her, Cole gave himself a minute to imagine the feisty woman here now, then shoved those thoughts aside. “I can’t give you Miss Connie, either. You’re stuck with me, Addy.”
“Stuck like glue.” She yawned again.
“Yeah, honey. Stuck like glue.”
Addy dozed in his lap, waking only enough to murmur unintelligible complaints when he laid her back on the sheets, drawing the covers up to tuck in close around her.
Cole made his way back to his own bed and stared down at the broad mattress, with covers only half disturbed, one pillowcase smooth and undented. It had been a long time since he liked a woman enough to bring her back to his place. Mostly it was a quick couple of hours stopover at their place, or an evening spent in a room at the local hotel. Fun and games, but nothing serious. In hismind,he drew an image of Connie Rowe waiting for him, spread out against his sheets. Cole groaned. “Great,” he muttered as he crawled back into his cold bed, punching his pillow flat. “Now I got that in my head, too.”
