Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Nick barked out a laugh. “That’s got to refer to a woman, and since the whole town knows you’re watching out for Erin Marsden, I’m guessing she’s the one.”
Only the server’s return with their sodas prevented Cole from answering.
When she walked away, Cole tipped his head toward the women’s table. “Those two? I think they’re plotting something.”
Nick turned Erin and Macy’s way and burst out laughing. Again. “I can see why you’d think that, but seriously, what gives?”
Cole debated how much to tell Nick, then decided that since Erin had already confided in her best friend and her brothers wanted his head, Cole might as well have someone in his corner.
He leaned closer to his cousin. “Erin’s pregnant.”
Nick choked on his drink. “No way. This is Erin we’re talking about. The chief’s daughter. The same girl who never stepped out of the lines a day in her life.”
“Doesn’t make her a nun,” Cole said, sounding defensive even to his own ears.
“Point taken.” Nick paused, probably to digest the information. “Man, I don’t envy the father. Her brothers are going to string him up by the . . .”
“Balls,” Cole finished for him. “Yeah, they probably would if they didn’t need me to watch out for her twenty-four seven.”
Nick’s eyes opened wide. “Oh, shit,” he muttered, the revelation sinking in. “What are you going to do?”
“Support her and the baby. What else?” At least he had a healthy savings account, courtesy of living undercover and not spending what he earned.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Nick raised an eyebrow, looking at Cole like he was an utter moron. “You knocked up about the sweetest girl in town. Did you even consider mar—”
“Do not say that word.” Cole’s mouth grew dry at the mere thought of tying Erin to him in any legal way. She deserved so much better, so much more than he could ever hope to give her.
Nick scowled. “Come on, man. You need to at least consider it.”
Cole shook his head. “Think about what you just said. She’s sweet and good. Then you’ve got me. The bane of my father’s existence, coming out of a world that’s dark and ugly, with plans to head back under. What part of me and my life is good for her?” he asked, laying the truth out for his cousin and for himself.
Because sometimes Erin got to him so badly even he needed a reminder.
“Are you seriously going back under?” Nick asked. “I was hoping you’d give it up and try living a normal life.”
Cole let out a harsh laugh. “What the hell do I know about normal? Did my father come home to family dinners with my mom like June and Ward Cleaver? Or did he come in slamming doors, grumbling about her crappy cooking and whatever shit he could throw at me? I don’t have real friends other than you, because I’m not in one place, living my own life, long enough to make any. Is that the kind of life you think she wants?” he asked, his tone harsh but his voice low.
“I think that’s up to her to decide.”
Cole set his jaw. “She deserves better.”
“Sounds like bullshit excuses to me.”
“Shut up. I know what I’m talking about. Even her brothers agree.”
Nick assessed him with a knowing stare. “Again, it only matters what you want and what Erin agrees to accept for herself.”
Cole didn’t reply. Circular arguments weren’t his thing.
But Nick being Nick, he wouldn’t give up—which served him well, since that’s how he had finally convinced Kate he meant it when he said he wanted her. And only her. Cole still liked to give him shit about setting Kate up to spend time alone with him. He had to give his cousin credit for ingenuity.
“Unless it really is just sex for you, in which case, let her go. Give her up, see your kid on occasion, when Erin and whichever schmuck she marries give you time.”
Yeah, like Cole thought, Nick didn’t give up. “Leave it alone,” he told the other man.
Nick braced his arms on the table and leaned in close. “Somebody has to spell things out for you, because you’re too stubborn to see things clearly. In that way, sorry to tell you, you’re just like your old man.”
Cole’s hands clenched into fists.
“Chill out. Just giving you something to think about. So I suggest you take the next however many months until she’s due to sort through your issues. A kid’s not something to take lightly,” Nick said, as serious as Cole had ever seen him.
“I’m not taking anything about this lightly.”
Nick shook his head and let out a groan. “You’d better not be. Take it from someone who had to fight for the woman he wanted. It’s worth it. And so is she.” He tipped his head toward Erin.
She was worth it, Cole thought. And that was the exact reason he was sticking to his plan. But for now? While he was here, living in her house, protecting her, taking care of her?