was about to speak. Then he exhaled and shook his head. “No, thanks. I don’t want to bother you.”
At his clear reluctance to come inside, a sharp pain pierced her heart and she winced. What had happened to them? They’d been best friends since childhood, and now they were barely able to tolerate being in the same vicinity. Things might have ended badly for them in the romance department, but it was time they salvaged their friendship.
“It’s no trouble, Cole,” she said. “We ought to be able to share a cup of coffee for old times’ sake.”
An undecided look flashed in his eyes, and she was sure he was going to tell her no. Instead, he nodded. “You’re right. I’d love a cup of coffee.”
She grinned and stepped back for him to enter the house. “Good. Come on back to the kitchen.”
He followed her through the house without speaking and stopped just inside the kitchen door. She motioned for him to have a seat at the table. She refilled her cup and poured one for him before she turned back and set them on the table.
“Black. No sugar or cream,” she said with a smile.
He picked up the spoon she’d placed on the saucer and began to stir the hot coffee. He smiled as he glanced up at her. “You remembered how I take my coffee.”
“And why wouldn’t I?” she said with a laugh. “We’ve probably consumed gallons of coffee together through the years.”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. I guess we have.” They sat in silence for a few minutes as they sipped from their cups. Then he set his mug down and lifted his head to stare at her. “How have you been, Holly? Other than losing your sister and Michael, I mean.”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. I miss Ruth. No matter where I was or what I was doing, we talked every day on the phone. Sometimes, I pick up my cell phone to call her before I remember that she isn’t going to answer.”
“I know how you feel.” His gaze drifted around the kitchen. “I really miss coming here. I would stop by on my way to work several times a week, and Michael and I would have a cup of coffee together. Ruth used to join us, but after they adopted the twins she was busy all the time.”
Holly smiled at the memory of how excited Ruth had been the day she called to tell her that the adoption had finally gone through and they were picking up Emma and Ethan that afternoon. “She went through so much with all the in vitro treatments she had, trying to get pregnant. But she said all her disappointments disappeared the first time she saw the twins.”
Cole picked up his cup and stared at her over the top. “And now you have them. How have you been dealing with it?”
Holly shrugged. “Okay, I guess, but I have a lot of help. At first, I thought I couldn’t do it. My lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to raising children. I thought about terminating my rights and letting someone else adopt them, but then I knew I couldn’t. They are Ruth’s children, and they’re all the family I have left. And after what happened last night... It makes me wonder why on earth I thought I could come here alone and take care of them.”
Cole set his coffee back down. “You did a great job protecting them last night. But it would probably help if you had someone here with you.”
She nodded. “That’s why I called my assistant to cut her stay at her parents’ home short and come help me. I hated to do that, but I’ll make it up to her.”
“What about security? I know you have a team. I think they should be here, too.”
“They will be soon.”
Cole took one last drink from his cup, set it down and pushed to his feet. “Good. I’m glad you’re going to be protected. I’ll have the officers continue to patrol by here, and if you’ll give me your cell phone number, I’ll have my partner get in touch with you if we turn up anything about your intruder.”
Holly realized he had just let her know he wouldn’t be getting in touch himself or seeing her again before she left. Trying to keep her voice steady, she recited her number and watched as he programmed it into his phone. Then, without speaking again, he rose to leave.
Unable to let him leave like that, she followed him to the front door. Just as he reached for the doorknob, she called out to him. “Cole, wait.”
He stopped and faced her. “What is it?”
She licked her lips and clasped her hands in front of her. “Ever since you arrived last night, you’ve acted like I’m just another victim of a crime you’re investigating. Cole, we’ve known each other since we were children, and for years I was closer to you than I was to anybody else. I don’t want us to be reserved with each other. I would like for us to be friends again.”
He stared at her with a skeptical look on his face. “Friends? How can we do that? You broke my heart, Holly. I don’t have any desire to be friends with you again.”
She blinked back tears. “I know I did, but that was ten years ago. Surely you’ve moved on by now. Ruth told me once that you were serious about a woman from Gatlinburg.”
He shook his head. “It didn’t work out. There’s nobody in my life right now. You, on the other hand, are featured on magazine covers all the time on the arm of a handsome singer or movie star at red-carpet events.”
“That’s all arranged by my publicity team,” she responded. “Most of the men I go out with are less interested in getting to know me and more concerned that I’m going to get more attention from the paparazzi than they are.”
Although she’d hoped to lighten the atmosphere with that final comment, he didn’t smile. “Sounds like you have a really tough life. But it’s just what you always wanted. You left Jackson Springs to find it, and now you’ve come back to rid yourself of the last hold that this place has on you. I hope you’re able to find a buyer right away.”
The flat tone of his voice stung her. “The Realtor doesn’t think she’ll have trouble selling the ranch. Its location is a real asset. It’s in a valley surrounded by the Smokies, which makes it a prime example of a vacation home. So once I get everything cleaned out, the twins and I will be on our way back to Nashville.”
He nodded. “Have a safe trip.”
With that, he turned and strode toward the front door. When she heard it close, a sad feeling engulfed her. She hadn’t expected seeing Cole again would be so hard. She was being truthful when she’d said he was the best friend she’d ever had, and lately she’d come to miss that.
With a sigh, she picked up the coffee cups and carried them to the sink. Cole had no interest in being her friend, and she would just have to accept that. After all, she had no one to blame but herself.
At least she knew he would do his best to keep her and the babies safe—for the twins’ sake and in honor of Ruth and Michael’s memory, if nothing else. That was what mattered the most. Cole might not trust her anymore, but the twins were counting on her, dependent on her in every way.
She wouldn’t—couldn’t—let them down.
* * *
Cole didn’t look back as he drove away from Tumbling Creek Ranch. Once, it had been a second home to him, but now
