Page 33 of Raise Up, Heart
Michael grins. “Yeah, so, I thought I’d come in here and work tonight. Try to keep my mind off what I’m missing.” He lets loose another sigh. “Emily’s amazing.”
“Hurt her and I’ll have your head chopped off.”
“Both of them,” Michael surmises, and Cole laughs.
“Yeah,” Cole says. “Both of them for sure.”
“I promise on my soul to do my best by her, and always send roses whenever I screw up.”
“Roses, huh?”
Cole feels himself relaxing again. This is easy, and he’s closer to Damon now, can almost feel him over the hills separating them.
“My mother always said that roses make up for most things, and what they don’t make up for shouldn’t be forgiven anyway.”
“That’s a wise woman,” Cole says.
“What about you? Why are you in so late? I’d think you’d be recouping from whatever happened last night to make you look so wild.”
Cole’s cheeks heat. And here he’d thought he was pulling this all off so well. “Um…”
“You like this guy or what?”
“Yeah. I think I really do.”
“Glad to hear it. If that’s the case, then why are you in the office instead of spending more time with him?”
Cole swallows. “Well, actually, there’s this thing I have to do. A phone call I have to make. And I should warn you, Michael, if things go the way I anticipate, it’s going to change your world, too.”
Michael looks wary. He leans back in his seat and frowns at Cole. “Oh?”
Cole nods. “Unfortunately, that’s all I can say right now.”
“So, this is just a heads up that I should worry starting…now?”
Cole says, “No, no. Nothing like that. It’s just…” A deep breath settles him. “I’m planning on leaving Maryville. I need to change my focus.”
Michael’s eyes narrow, and he puts his hands behind his head, rocking in his seat. “Hmmph,” he mutters.
“What?” Cole laughs under his breath.
“Just wondering if this has anything to do with the guy from last night and that massive hickey on your neck.”
Cole reaches up to touch. His collar’s come open, and he can still feel the swollen bite mark. He swallows hard. It’s really there. He can feel it, and Michael can see it. He didn’t even know he needed the confirmation, but it rushes through him so hard that his knees go weak.
“It might,” Cole confesses.
Michael studies him for a long time and says, “Okay, boss kid. Okay.”
Cole nods at him and turns toward his own office across the hall.
“Cole!” Michael calls out.
“Yeah?” Cole asks, turning back toward Michael’s doorway.
“I just wanted to tell you—anything I can do to help, you can trust me.”
Cole lets out a long breath. He believes he can. He rubs his eyes and runs his hand through his hair. “Thank you.”
