Tomorrow's Promise (The Hawks Mountain Series) (8 page)

No used newspapers lay scattered around the homey room. No empty glasses, old beer cans, or dirty plates cluttered the coffee table. The furniture was free of dust. The pine floors glowed with the recent washing and meticulous application of paste wax.

If Faith walked into this room, she would know that he’d created the housekeeping job just for her. Yes, he’d finally admitted to himself that the job was a desperate attempt to gainfully employ Faith. But she wasn’t stupid, and now that he’d taken stock of his immaculate dwelling, his ruse might just as well be written in neon across the front of the house.

He stood and scanned the room one more time, then sighed. This had to be one of the craziest things he’d ever done, but . . .

“In for a penny, in for a—whatever that saying is.”

Cole picked up the newspaper he’d been reading and systematically scattered the pages over the sofa and floor. After turning his beer can on its side, he grimaced as the remaining contents ran over the coffee table top. He went into the kitchen and removed the dirty supper plates and silverware that he’d carefully placed in the dishwasher. Then he carried them back to the living room and added them to the small beer puddle.

For the next hour, he went through his house leaving a trail of debris behind him. When he’d finished, he looked around and flinched at the mess he’d made. If his mother were here, she’d have a coronary. But if it covered his attempt at fooling Faith, he could live with the mess for one night.

“This better work.”

He moved the sports page aside and settled back on the sofa. Suddenly, the pure idiocy of what he’d just done hit him. He began to laugh. The sound echoed through the house. Then a question came to mind, halting the laughter.

Why was he so determined to help this woman that he’d wreck his house? He didn’t have to think long about the answer. He’d wanted to help her before, but mainly because of Lizzie. Now, after hearing her story, he was more determined than ever to help Faith, even if she didn’t want it. She deserved better. Somehow, he had to prove to her that all men weren’t creeps. Some men made promises and kept them. Some men actually protected women and children.

And he knew exactly what he had to do first to help protect Faith and Lizzie.

FAITH RAN OUT of the house and climbed into Cole’s car the next morning. Her sneakers were untied, and she nearly fell over the flapping laces. Once in the car and panting, she leaned back, swept her hair from her eyes, and took a breath. As she tied her sneakers, she smiled up at Cole.

“Overslept,” was her one word explanation for her breathlessness.

“Where’s Lizzie?”

She completed the last bow then sat up. “Granny Jo picked her up about ten minutes ago. When she found out I was going to be cleaning for you today, she knew it would be easier without a two-year-old underfoot, so she volunteered to babysit.” She grinned. “I had to agree and gratefully turned Lizzie over to her.”

“I thought she didn’t have a car seat for Lizzie.”

“Evidently Becky had two, so Granny borrowed one. She said she’d bring Lizzie home later. I have to call her from your house before we leave. That is, if you don’t mind me using your phone.”

Cole started the car, but didn’t put it in gear. Instead, he slipped his hand into his pocket and extracted a cell phone. He handed it to Faith. “I want you to have this.”

She stared down at it in confusion, and then looked at him. “What—”

“It’s a cell phone.” He grinned.

She sucked in a breath to quell the instant reaction of her heartbeat to his smile. She turned the phone over in her hand while she got control of her traitorous emotions. When her heart resumed its normal beat and the breathlessness was under control, she turned to him. “I know that. Why are you giving it to me?”

Cole swung around on the seat to face her. He draped an arm casually over the seat. His hand came to rest on her shoulder. She wanted to pull away, but found the touch oddly comforting.

“Because you live out here in the boonies without even a vehicle, and you have a small child. What would you do if Lizzie gets hurt or sick and you need help?” Faith nodded in understanding, a bit ashamed that she hadn’t thought of this before. “Your number is taped to the back on a piece of paper. The number below it is my cell. Call me, if you need me.” He paused and his expression became serious. “Anytime.”

“Okay.” She really couldn’t afford the luxury of a cell phone, but he was right. On the other hand, she couldn’t let him pay for it either. “You can deduct whatever it costs from my pay.”

He shook his head. “No need. I have a family plan which allows me to have several phones besides mine on it. My sister’s on it, too, and now you. I pay the bill, and it’s the same with or without extra phones.” He put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway onto the paved road.

“Cole?”

“Yes.” He answered without taking his attention off the road.

“Thanks.”

Again, without taking his gaze off the road, he gave a succinct nod.

The man never ceased to amaze her. Other than thanking him whenever he did anything for her, Faith hadn’t encouraged him in any way to look after her and Lizzie. Despite that, he continued to do so. In the short time she’d known Cole, he’d done a lot more for her and Lizzie than Sloan had in all the time she’d known him.

She puzzled over this until they reached Cole’s house. When he pulled into the driveway, she stared up at the two-story dwelling. If the builder had been in her dreams, he couldn’t have come closer to the house she’d always wanted to settle into with her little family.

The morning sun bathed the white paint in brilliance that made it look like a bride on her wedding day. From the twin dormers gracing the roof to the wide porch that wrapped the structure like loving arms, it was absolutely perfect. The only thing missing were two rockers on the front porch.

“It’s beautiful, but the front porch needs rocking chairs.”

Cole chuckled. “My mother designed it, and my father built it. Neither of them had a clue about designing a house, but they knew what they wanted.”

He got out of the car and waited while she got out and rounded the front bumper before leading her up the petunia- lined path and the front stairs, and then opened the door for her.

Faith stepped through the door and into the living room and stopped, her mouth agape. “Oh, my goodness!”

Chapter 8

COLE CLOSED HIS front door behind Faith and looked a bit abashed. “Now you know why I was so desperate to get a housekeeper.”

“Uh, yes, I can see that.” With her eyes widened in disbelief, Faith continued to survey the totally trashed room. Having lived with Sloan, she knew men weren’t always the neatest creatures. Even her father’s office had been strewn with books and papers. But this was beyond anything she’d ever witnessed before. “Well, I’d better get started.”

Cole left for work shortly after he’d shown her where the cleaning supplies, the vacuum, and the mop and broom were stored. Faith looked around her, wondering where to begin, and settled on starting in the kitchen.

Several exhausting hours later, she flopped down on the sofa to take a break. She sipped at the bottle of icy water she’d retrieved from the fridge. Suddenly, something strange caught her eye. She stood and went to the end table beside the big recliner. Carefully, she ran her fingertips over the wood, and then looked at them. No dust.

How odd that the furniture should be dust free when the rest of the house was a disaster. It didn’t make sense that he’d have dusted the furniture and left the rest of the house in such disarray. She went to the window and checked the slats in the blinds. Again, dust free. Then she scanned the brilliantly shining wood floor. This just didn’t make sense.

Why would Cole keep everything else immaculate, but clutter the house with discarded clothes, newspapers, and dirty dishes? A sudden suspicion drove her upstairs to his bedroom. Feeling a bit like she was invading his privacy, she swung open the closet doors. Inside, his clothes hung in neat rows. On the floor, his shoes were neatly lined up in pairs.

She moved to his dresser and opened a drawer. Inside, his shirts and sweaters were folded as if he’d just brought them from a store. She opened another drawer. His underwear was rolled and laid out in careful rows, T-shirts folded as skillfully as his sweaters, and his socks joined in matching pairs.

Anger was beginning to build in Faith. She wasn’t a pathetic charity case. How dare he treat her like one. Did he think she wouldn’t find out that he’d set up the mess she’d spent hours cleaning up? An unexpected pain shot through her heart. She slammed the drawer closed and stomped off to the living room where she’d left the cell phone he’d given her.

She dialed the number on the back and waited. The phone connected after one ring.

“Ainsley.”

“Come get me . . . now,” she barked into it, then cut off the connection before he could say anything. Then she called Granny Jo and asked her to bring Lizzie home.

COLE RACED TOWARD his house. He had no clue what was going on, but Faith sounded very angry. As he drove, a troubling thought took shape in his mind. Maybe it was his own guilty conscience eating at him, but the reason for Faith’s anger was slowly taking shape. She’d figured out what he’d done.

Overhead, dark clouds blocked out the sun and thunder rumbled in the distance. They were in for a summer storm, and from the look of the sky, it was going to be a good one. Something told him that the storm awaiting him would be just as bad.

As he pulled into his driveway, rain began to pelt the windshield of the patrol car. He got out and raced to where Faith waited for him on the porch. As he ran, the rain hit his face, stinging his skin, but he barely felt it. His entire concentration was on the woman on the porch glaring at him with an expression that rivaled the furious sky. The sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach grew as he drew closer to her. He was sure now that she’d figured out his deception.

“Faith, I—”

She threw up her hand in front of him. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. Just take me home.” She whipped around him and stepped down off the porch and then strode to the car as though unmindful of the pouring rain.

Cole followed, but before he could get to the car, she’d opened the door and gotten inside, slamming it in his face. For a moment, he stared at her averted face through the rain-speckled glass. He’d expected her to be upset if she figured it out, but not this angry. Rousing himself, he hurried around and got into the driver’s seat.

He glanced at her, but she had turned away from him, her posture as stiff as a newly-starched shirt. Rather than try again to explain, he brushed the water from his face and started the car. Obviously, she was in no mood to listen to anything he had to say.

Cole cursed his stupidity all the way to Faith’s house. He knew she’d endured lies from Sloan, and yet Cole had tried to deceive her. She must hate him. And with good reason. What he did was thoughtless, dishonest, and self-serving, and he wouldn’t blame her if she never trusted a thing he said or did again.

THE SQUAD CAR pulled up outside Faith’s house. Eager to be away from Cole, she grabbed the door handle, but his hand on her arm stopped her. “Let me explain.”

Visions of Sloan asserting his power over her flashed through her mind. She glared down at Cole’s hand, then up at his face. “Let me go.”

He released her instantly. She slipped from the car and slammed the door with a lot more force than was needed. Before she walked through the rain to the house, she turned back to the car. “By the way, I quit.” Then she hurried away. Behind her, she heard Cole back out of the driveway and go down the road toward town.

Not until she got on the porch did she realize the door was ajar.
Darn!
She must have been in such a hurry this morning that she never pulled it all the way closed. But what if someone was in there? She reached for her cell phone to call Cole, and then stopped. If the house was empty and she was just being paranoid, she’d look like a fool in front of him, and she’d already done that once today.

Nevertheless, just to be on the safe side, she pushed it open and peered in before she went inside. Her heart beat so loud in her ears she was sure if anyone lay in wait they’d hear it. Beads of sweat joined the raindrops running down her forehead. She clutched her purse by the handles as if it were a club. It wouldn’t do much damage, but it might give her time to get away from any would-be assailant.

As she scanned the living room, she listened for the sound of an intruder. When she heard nothing, she slipped quietly inside, making certain to leave the front door wide open, just in case. Her back stiff, her senses on high alert, she carefully checked each room one by one. As room after room turned up empty and undisturbed, her heartbeat slowly resumed its normal rate. When the last one also proved to be without an unwanted occupant, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Her whole body and her death grip on her purse handles relaxed.

As she made her way back through the living room and closed the front door, she felt a bit foolish. Who would want to break into her house? There certainly wasn’t anything here of value, and any burglar would leave sorely disappointed.

She’d obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion and the door had been ajar simply because she hadn’t pulled it close when she’d left. Nothing more.

Because of her apprehension about the open door, her anger at Cole had cooled and now lay in a big ball of disillusionment in her stomach. She’d thought him beyond lies and deceit, but once more her judgment of men proved to be less than accurate. When would she learn?

She’d trusted Cole. Hadn’t she? No. She hadn’t. Not really. Despite everything he’d done for her and Lizzie, one indisputable truth remained. Cole Ainsley was a man. And her track record in that department left little room for trust in him, or any man.

FAITH HAD JUST put a pot of water on to boil in preparation for making Lizzie’s favorite, mac and cheese, when a knock sounded on the door. She turned down the flame under the pot, wiped her hands on a paper towel, and then went to the door. Holding her breath and praying it wasn’t Cole, she swung the door open.

“Momma!” Lizzie launched herself from Granny Jo’s arms into Faith’s.

Faith kissed Lizzie’s sweet cheek. “Hello, my sweet baby girl. Did you have a good time with Granny?”

“Oh, yes.” Granny stepped inside as Faith held the door wider for her. “We had a very good time. Didn’t we, Lizzie?” She chucked the child under the chin. Lizzie clutched her teddy bear closer, curled her chin into her neck, and giggled. “Lizzie and my old hound, Jake, became fast friends. He never left her side. You might think about getting her a dog. She sure loves them. Make a good playmate for her.”

“I’ll think about it. We’ll be having supper soon.” Faith motioned for Granny to take a seat on the sofa. She sat next her with Lizzie on her lap. “I’d be pleased if you’d join us. Nothing fancy, just Lizzie’s favorite mac and cheese.”

“Thank you for the invite, but Becky has asked me to come for supper. But I’ll take a rain check.”