Outlaw (27 page)

Angel pulled back. “Yes. Of course.”

He walked over to the bed TJ was laying on, and
leaned over him, kissing him on the forehead, then he stood looking down at
him. “This test I need?”

“Yes?”

“Where do I go?” he asked, looking back at her.

She smiled, and turned to pull the paperwork out of
her bag. She handed it to him. “Just call that number, and tell them you want
to be tested for that case. All Melissa’s information is on it.”

Cole took it, and nodded. He stepped toward the
door, and opened it.

Angel followed him.

He paused in the doorway, and looked back at her.
Reaching up, he touched her cheek, and said, “That morning, when you woke up
alone…I should have never left your side.” Then he leaned down, and kissed her
softly.

When he lifted his head, Angel looked up into his
eyes a moment.

And then he turned, and left.

*****

Three days later, Angel was back at home, when she
got the call. She clutched the receiver to her ear as she heard the news. The
hospital in California had confirmed Cole was a match.

Angel put her hand to her mouth, sank to her knees,
and burst into tears.

TJ, who was playing on the floor with his cars, came
running over when he saw his momma crying. “Momma, what’s wrong? What’s wrong,
Momma?”

She couldn’t speak. She just shook her head, and
pulled him into her arms, and rocked him, crying.

Chapter Thirteen

Angel sat at the kitchen table with Natalie. She
checked the clock for the tenth time.

“Will you stop checking the time every minute. He’ll
be here soon,” Natalie said, sipping on her coffee.

“I know. I know.” Angel took a deep breath. It had
been almost two weeks since she’d last seen him.

“So, you never really told me much about what
happened when you went out there,” Natalie remarked.

Angle looked down at the kitchen table, and shrugged.
“I wasn’t there that long. I flew in, and flew out.”

“Angel.” Her aunt wasn’t buying it. “This is me
you’re talking to.”

“What are you asking?”

“Do you still have feelings for him?

Angel looked away. “I don’t know. The man I knew
three years ago…” She shook her head. “I’m not sure he’s that man now.”

Natalie nodded, trying to understand. “You know,
when you came back from California three years ago, and you moved in here with
me,, I never asked you, but I always wondered why you didn’t go home to your father.”

Angel shrugged. “Because of Kathy. I never liked
her, and she never liked me.”

“I never did understand why your father married her.
She was so different from my sister.”

“I know. She was a bitch, and treated him like crap,
right up until the day he died. And he leaves her everything.”

“Not everything. He left trust funds for your
children.”

“Yes. He did love them.”

“He loved you, too.”

Angel shook her head. “He never forgave me. I
disgraced him. Coming home pregnant. Refusing to tell him who the father was.
That drove him crazy.”

“What drove him crazy was that he couldn’t control
you.”

Angel nodded. “I suppose.” She took a sip of her
coffee. “Thank God I had you, Aunt Natalie.” She reached out, and covered her
hand.

“You remind me so much of your mother. You look so
much like her. I miss her so.” She looked down at their joined hands. “You and
those babies living here have been a blessing for me. Since your uncle died, I
was so alone. You’ve filled this house with love.”

Angel smiled, and looked up, blinking. “Don’t you
get me to crying.”

Just then they heard the roar of a bike.

Angel jumped up, and ran through the house. She
opened the front door, and ran out onto the walk. She could see his headlight
in the fading dusk, coming down the street.

Cole slowed down, and made the turn into the
driveway of the third house on the right. The only yellow house on the block,
she had told him.

Angel met him in the driveway.

He stopped, and cut the bike off. He sat on it, and
pulled his helmet and glasses off. “Goddamn, that’s a long trip.” He climbed
off the bike, and stretched.

Angel smiled. “Thank you for coming.”

He nodded, and looked past her to the woman walking
up to them.

Angel turned, and introduced them. “This is my aunt,
Natalie. Natalie, this is Cole.”

He held his hand out to her. “Pleased to meet you,
ma’am.” Cole looked her up and down. He guessed she was somewhere in her early
to mid-forties. Her figure was slim, and her red hair fell to just past her
shoulders. She was a knock out, but what Cole noticed most was that she had the
same eye color as Angel.

“We’re so glad to have you here. Angel, why don’t
you show him his room, and let him put his things away. You must be hungry. I
have food ready. Come on in.” She turned, and walked back in, leaving them
alone.

Angel smiled. “If you’re not hungry-”

“No, actually, I could eat something.”

“You’re not wearing your cut,” she noted, looking at
his long sleeve tee shirt.

“Arizona’s not our territory. Best not to provoke
another MC,” he explained.

“Oh.” She nodded. “Come on.”

He grabbed a pack from the back of his bike, and
followed her in. She led him through the living room, and down a hallway to the
guest bedroom.

“There’s a bath through there.” She indicated an
attached door. “Fresh towels on the rack.”

He laid his pack on the bed. “Okay.”

She nodded toward a tall dresser, on top of which
sat a compact stereo system. “I brought that in here for you. You do still
listen to music at night, right?”

He smiled. “You remembered.”

“I remember you liked to listen to some old blues
station.”

“Gotta have my blues.”

She turned to lead him to the kitchen. “Come on.”

He grabbed her by the hand, stopping her.

She turned back, questioningly.

“How ‘bout a proper hello?” He smiled as he pulled
her to him, and kissed her softly on the lips. He raised his head, and
murmured, “Kiss me back, Angel.”

Cole lowered his head again, and this time her mouth
opened, and he delved inside with his tongue. Her head fell back, and he pulled
her in his arms, pressing her body up against his. He walked her backwards
until he had her pressed up against the wall. His arms reached out blindly, and
felt for the door, and swung it shut. His hands threaded through her hair,
tilting her head back. He angled his mouth, and kissed her deeply, thoroughly, again
and again.

When he raised his head at last, he said, “I’ve
thought about that last kiss for the last couple of weeks. It’s all I’ve been
able to think about.”

“Me, too,” she confessed.

That brought a smile to his face.

She felt breathless, and disoriented, like there was
no one but the two of them in the entire world. She pushed back against him,
trying to regain her breath. Her fingers touched her lips.

He grinned. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Oh, yeah.” She turned toward the door.
“Come on.” She led him back down the hall, and through a dining room to the
kitchen.

Natalie was at the stove. She had just pulled a pan
out of the oven. She turned, pulling the oven mitts off her hands. “Cole, I bet
you could go for a beer. Am I right?”

He smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I’d love one.”

“Help yourself. They’re in the fridge. You just make
yourself at home while you’re here, okay?” she said over her shoulder as she
reached into the cabinet to get some plates down.

“I’ll get it,” Angel offered.

“I got it,” Cole insisted, smiling, and opening the
refrigerator door. He pulled out two bottles, and handed one to Angel. “You
gonna join us, Miss Natalie?”

She turned, and looked at him. “Well, sure. I’ll
have one.”

He smiled, and handed her the other one, and reached
in, and grabbed another for himself.

“Let’s sit down. Let the roast cool for a minute or
two while we drink these,” Natalie proposed. “I made pot roast. I hope you like
roast, Cole.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. “It smells great.”

“Let’s sit out on the patio. That way Cole can
smoke,” Angel suggested, and led the way out the French doors onto the back
patio. There was a glass table with an umbrella over it, and four chairs.

“Well, you had a long ride out here from California,
huh?” Natalie asked, taking a seat.

Cole sat between her and Angel. “Yeah. A little over
seven hundred miles. I broke it up, though. Rode half yesterday, and stopped
for the night. Today was mostly crossing the desert. I thought it would never
end. I kept thinking, if I break down out here, I’m a goner.”

“We laugh, but if you break down crossing the
desert, and you don’t have water with you, you’re in some serious trouble,”
Natalie informed him.

“I believe that,” Cole agreed, lighting a cigarette.
He turned to Angel. “You weren’t kidding about the beauty of the mountains
around here. I felt like I was in a John Wayne movie or something.”

Angel smiled. “At least it’s not too hot here, this
time of year.”

Cole took a hit off his beer. “Yeah. I hear it can
get pretty bad during the summer.”

“Last summer it stayed over a hundred and ten
degrees for a month straight,” Natalie said. “You didn’t want to leave the
house until the sun went down. It got so hot, that even the blacktop parking
lot at the Food City got soft. My high heel sunk in it, and I had to take my
foot out to pull my shoe loose. You should have seen me, hopping around on one
foot, trying not to touch the hot pavement.”

Cole laughed. “You should come to California. “We’ve
got the cool ocean breezes.”

“That does sound heavenly.” Natalie smiled.

“You’d love it. You should make the trip sometime.”
He smiled back.

“Maybe, I’ll do that.”

“Well, you’ve always got a place to stay, if you
come,” Cole offered.

Natalie laughed, taking a drink of her beer. “Don’t
be surprised if I take you up on that. I just may show up on your doorstep one
day.”

“Not a problem,” Cole assured her.

“Did you have any trouble on the drive out here?”
Angel asked.

Cole looked over at her. “Trouble?”

“You know, flat tire, break down, whatever.”

“No. No problems.”

Natalie got up. “You two sit, drink your beer. I’m
going to go in, and check on TJ, and set the table.”

“I can do that.” Angel started to get up.

“Nonsense. You have company.” She turned, and walked
inside.

Cole turned to Angel. “Your aunt seems like a real
sweetheart.”

Angel nodded. “Definitely. I don’t know what I’d do
without her.”

“So, you live with your aunt?” He nodded toward the
house.

“Yes. She took me in when I came back home.”

Cole took a drink of his beer, studying her. “You
didn’t go home to your Dad?” He frowned.

She shook her head, and sipped her beer. “His
unmarried, pregnant daughter embarrassed him.”

“Aw, man. I’m sorry,” Cole said, setting his beer
down. “I wish I’d known. Really.”

Angel nodded.

“Why didn’t you try to contact me? Let me know?” he
asked quietly.

She shrugged. “The way it ended. Or at least the way
I thought it ended, I didn’t figure you’d care.”

Cole looked away, and shook his head. He took a hit
off his cigarette.

“Do you want to go with me to the hospital tonight?
Meet your daughter? Visiting hours last another two hours. If we eat now, we’ll
have time.”

He looked back at her, and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Come on. Let’s go eat.”

They walked inside. Natalie had set the table, and
was transferring the roast and potatoes to a platter.

“I’m going to go wash up, if you don’t mind,” Cole
stated.

“Oh, of course. Go ahead,” Natalie replied.

When he came back, Angel noticed he had also put on
a fresh shirt. He took a seat, and asked, “Where’s TJ?”

“Oh, he ate earlier. He’s had a bit of a cold. I
gave his some cold medicine, and it knocked him right out. He’s been asleep
since right before you got here,” Angel explained, as she passed him the
platter.

He dished up a plate full, and passed it to Natalie.
Then he dug in.

Angel watched him eat.

“This is very good, ma’am,” he complimented Natalie.