Page 12 of Chasin' Cole

"Brock," Mama chastises him, "I raised you better than this."

"It's my fault," Lacey holds up a hand. "That's what we called it growing up."

"You and Brock truly are from two different worlds," Mama teases them.

Even though the conversation is light, I can see the tension in Lacey's spine. The tension has lessened, but it's not gone completely.

The doorbell chimes. We all whip our heads in its direction.

"Mama," I shake my head. "You said family only."

"Am I late?" A familiar voice echoes through the house.

Cole.

"Yer right," Mama winks at me. "Cole is family."

Cole pats Brock's back before huggin' Lacey. When his dark eyes land on me, I'm not sure what do with myself.

In the past, Cole's always side-hugged me. It's not a full hug but more of an off-to-the-side embrace with limited contact. I expect the same kind of hug today, but when he opens his arms and wraps them around me, I almost faint in horror. What if someone notices we're not huggin' the way we normally do?

His overwhelming scent, musky, delicious and warm, causes all the thoughts in my head to dissipate. I inhale him, closin' my eyes as I lean into him.

The hug ends seconds later. When I open my eyes, Lacey's givin' me a strange look. I smooth my hair down before hurryin' over to the table and takin' a seat.

Lacey, Mama, Brock and Cole all carry the food to the table. Lacey takes a seat across from me and sets the basket of rolls between us. She eyes me curiously. I ignore her.

"Annabeth can sit here," Howard says as he places a folding chair between the two seats across from me.

My palms begin sweatin'. Mama and Howard always sit at the heads of the table. Brock's fingers wrap around the chair next to Annabeth. That means there's only one seat left. The one right next to me.

Cole plops down beside him, his knee knockin' into mine. I pretend his touch doesn't spark somethin' hot and electrifyin' beneath my skin as we all bow our heads to pray. Howard starts talkin', but I don't hear what he's sayin' because Cole's hand is inchin' toward mine under the table. His fingers lace with mine, his touch much more comfortin' than it should be.

"Bless this food, Father," Howard's voice blares in my head, "and may it warm our bellies and fill us."

There's a chorus of amens. My mouth is dry, so I use my free hand to reach for the water in front of me. I take a long, soberin' sip. Then, Howard tries to pass me the mashed potatoes. I try yankin' my hand out of Cole's, but he has a firm grip on it, and I begin to panic. In a hurry, I set my cup down, the water splashes out of the cup, soakin' Mama's white table cloth.

"What's goin' on, Rose?" Mama shoots me concerned look.

"Just..." I trail off as I grab the mashed potatoes in my free hand. "Tryin' not to have a meltdown."

Cole lets my hand go as I shove the mashed potatoes in his direction. The moment his hands grab the dish from me, I reach for the spoon and scoop a heaping of potatoes on my plate. He narrows his dark eyes at me.

"Thanks," I smirk as I toss the spoon back into the dish.

The conversation around the table is easy and light for once. Howard makes sure Mama doesn't say anythin' insultin' and I try my best not to glance in Cole's direction.

When dinner is done, Mama grabs a pie and a carton of vanilla ice cream.

"Rose?"

"Yes, Mama?" I answer.

"This carton is almost empty. Would you mind grabbin' more ice cream from the freezer in the garage?"

"Sure," I nod as I push my chair back and stand. "I'll be right back."

I hurry through the house, grateful for a few moments to myself. With Cole right next to me, it was hard to concentrate on anythin' other than his body next to mine.

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