Free Happy New Life by Tonya Kappes Page A

her
quilt. He ripped it off and held it in one hand.
    “This was what I want.” He jabbed his finger toward her. “And I can’t
have it. You are a distraction to me.”
    The quilt fell from his hands and to the ground. He hurried away.
    Liz closed her eyes tightly, whishing he’d come back. But when she
heard his truck door slam, her eyes filled with tears.
    The engine didn’t start. She walked through the gate. Cole was slumped
over his steering wheel.
    Without thinking, Liz jumped in the passenger side.
    “You can’t leave like this. It’s too late. Hayes is involved.”
Secretly, Liz felt ashamed using Hayes to keep Cole here. Just like those men
who use their dogs to attract girls.
    Cole looked into the night. His jaw clinched. If he only knew how fascinating
she found him.
    “I love the way you interact with people, the way you are with your
son, your dog.” Cole gripped the steering wheel.
    The passion in his eyes scared her. The tension in his jaw released.
He  pushed the hair away from her face.
    She drank in the comfort of his nearness.
    “God, you’re beautiful. You are dangerous, Liz.” He cupped her face
with his strong hands and tilted his lips perfectly over hers.
    Just one kiss, one kiss was all she wanted. Just tasting him once was
better than never tasting him.
    It was nothing like she expected. Soft and sweet.
    Not hungry.
    Not wanting.
    Beautiful, just as she imagined in her dreams the past few nights.
    Gathering her into his arms, he held her snuggly. She liked his strong
arms around her. The way he stroked and smelled her hair, she could feel their
hearts talking to one another.
    “Like I said, Jenna is a problem.” His embrace went limp.
    She couldn’t move. He reached over her and opened the door from the
inside.
    There was nothing left to say tonight. It was getting late and her mind
was cloudier than before. With respect for herself, she quietly got out of
truck.
    He pulled out of the driveway, leaving her standing alone in the cold
dark night.

 
     
    EIGHT
     
    “Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk
behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
    ~Albert Camus
     
    It was a long night and was going to be a longer day. With the lack of
sleep, Liz was already feeling exhausted. Getting Hayes to school was the easy
part of the morning, but meeting Jenna for coffee was going to be much harder.
    She was used to girlfriends she could gush to about her personal life,
but she couldn’t be so open with Jenna about Cole.
    Jenna’s car was parked in her usual spot in front of The Trembling cup.
The mixed aroma of coffee and baked goods loomed outside the building and
wafted around the cars. Liz could see Jenna in the corner table they always sat
in. Everyone in town knew it was their spot.
    “Wow, you look like hell.” Jenna gave Liz the once over when she got to
the table.
    Granted, she was up all night, but she had tried to pull herself
together this morning. But… that kiss .
    The kiss played over and over in her head. Many times she had jumped
out of bed to see if a passing car was Cole coming back.
    “Hello?” Jenna’s hand passed in front of Liz’s eyes.
    Liz had to get it together before Jenna started asking questions.
    “I’m tired. Good tired.” She assured Jenna.
    The kiss was well worth the bags under her eyes.
    “I tried the old model trick of rubbing Preparation H under my eyes,
but it’s obviously an old wives tale.” She patted the pads of her fingers on
her cheek bones.
    Jenna cackled, breaking any tension between them.
    “Plus I haven’t had my coffee this morning.” Liz glanced over the
benefit folders laid all over the table. She picked up a big binder. “What’s
this?”
    “We have a ton of great sponsors for the benefit. I organized them all
in that.” Jenna pointed to the overstuffed binder. “Where have you been all
week?”
    “It’s been a crazy week.” There was no way in hell she was going to
tell