2. Cole

2

COLE

T he woman in front of me skips from foot to foot like a nervous hen. Her dark brown hair has fallen out of whatever messy bun she had it in and the mountain breeze picks up the loose strands, making them dance around her oval-shaped face. One of them catches on her lip, and my gaze is drawn to it.

Her lips are full and pink, and there’s a sheen to them like they’re coated in gloss or some other girly shit, and I bet it’s got a flavor. I wonder if she’d taste like strawberries if I kissed her. Which is ridiculous. I haven’t kissed a woman since God knows when, which may be the reason I’m fantasizing about kissing this one.

Her hand brushes the strand of hair away and it falls to her neck, trailing over her clavicle.

She’s smiling at me like we’re best friends, and I search my brain for the memory of her. Did we go to high school together? Is she a distant relative or an old friend of Mel’s ?

But I’d remember a face like hers. And I’d certainly remember her figure. She’s got curves just the way I like them. Full breasts and hips and a softness around her belly. She’s wearing solid walking boots with scuff marks and a hint of dried mud.

The boots and the back of the Jeep Cherokee that pokes out from around the side of the Sunrise Cabin makes me think she’s a mountain girl. But it’s a rental, so she’s not from around here.

Maybe she’s a distant relative here to visit Gran. That must be it. Gran’s probably sent her pictures of the girls with me in them, which is why she’s looking at me like she knows me.

“Do I know you?”

Her smile falters, and the brightness goes out of her eyes. It’s like the sun going out, and I wonder what I’ve said to change her happy mood.

“Um, are you Cole?” She bites on her lower lip.

“Yeah. Who are you?”

It comes out gruffer than I intended and the woman folds her arms over her body, folding into herself. “I’m Carrie.”

I search the name in my memory, but I don’t know any Carries. Her eyes narrow and uncertainty crosses her features. She shakes her head slightly and backs away a step.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

“Nope.” Her hand covers her mouth, and her eyes widen in horror. I hate that I’m causing her to feel that way, but I have no idea why. “Should I? ”

She backs away, her hand clasping her phone. “No. I… um. I’ve made a mistake…”

“You-hoo!” Gran’s voice rings out clear and cheerful as she saunters around from the side of the Jeep. She’s puffing from exertion, and she must have come up the back way from her cabin. “Carrie, right?” She extends a hand to Carrie. “Joyce.”

Carrie looks confused, but her manners must win out because she takes Gran’s hand and shakes it. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here to meet you; I wasn’t expecting you for another hour.”

Carrie’s mouth drops open in confusion, and she looks between us.

“I think there’s been a mistake…”

Whatever she’s trying to figure out gets lost in Gran’s cheerfulness. “No. No mistake. You’re Carrie, twenty-four years old, a nurse from North Carolina who likes hiking, baking, and hopes to have her own family one day.”

Carrie’s jaw juts forward and her eyebrows draw together, the confused look never leaving her face. But as Gran talks it dawns on me what’s going on here.

Gran’s at it again. Meddling in my life and parading yet another eligible woman in front of me. I’ve had the entire single female population between the ages of 18-55 presented to me in one way or another over the past year, ever since Gran decided it was time for me to move on and find my girls a mother.

“And this is Cole.” Gran gestures to me like a waiter presenting what’s on the menu. “Thirty-four years old, ex-military man turned helicopter pilot, a widower with two daughters who are in desperate need of a mother.”

There is nothing subtle in Gran’s tactics. Last summer she organized a singles party at her house and tricked me into coming by saying it was the birthday party for the girls’ piano teacher, who was there alongside every other single woman in town.

When I say it was a singles party, I mean I was the only single man around at least thirty single women. Gran escorted me through the party, her surprisingly strong fingers gripping my arm and pulling me from one woman to the next as she whispered their credentials into my ear. “Kirsty, twenty-eight, single mom to a five year old. Fertile. ” She nudged me and her right eye spasmed in what for one horrible moment I thought was Gran having a stroke until l realized she was trying to wink.

That was a nudge too far. I ordered everyone out and swore I’d take the girls further into the mountains if she ever tried something like that again.

But here we are. She’s managed to convince some poor sap to come to Montana all the way from North Carolina to try out for the part of mother of my children. As if me and the girls aren’t doing just fine on our own. I don’t know what scheme the two of them have cooked up, but I want no part of it.

“Gran.” At my gruff tone she puts a hand on my shoulder, knowing what must be coming.

“Now, Cole, I’ve been corresponding with Carrie for the last three months… ”

Carrie gasps. “That was you?”

The look of horror lets me know she wasn’t privy to Gran’s schemes, which makes me feel sorry for her. But also, who comes all this way to meet someone they met online?

“…and according to the dating app, she is a perfect match for you. Same interests, you both work in the service of others, and you’ve both experienced a loss.”

Anger flares inside me. Gran’s been telling a complete stranger about my personal life. This is too much.

“Now Cole…” Gran begins, but I cut her off before this can go any further.

I turn to Carrie and she’s looking as horrified as I am, which means her perfect mouth is popped open and her cheeks have a flush to them that gives them a youthful glow. That stray hair is caught on her lip again, and I almost reach over and pull it away before stopping myself.

“I’m sorry you wasted your time coming all this way. But there’s nothing for you here.”

Carrie’s eyes harden, and that moment is probably when she starts to hate me. Great, make me the bad guy here when it’s Gran’s meddling that got her into this mess. I feel sorry for the woman, but it’s not my fault Gran is determined to set me up with someone.

Carrie grabs her keys from her pocket and grasps them in her hand. “Don’t worry, Cole. I’m not going to stick around where I’m not wanted.”

She spins around and Gran puts her hands up, trying to placate us both. “Let’s not be hasty… ”

Carrie’s already storming off to her rental. “It was a mean trick,” she says to Gran as she stomps past. “Pretending to be someone you’re not.”

Gran watches her with her arms folded. It’s not often someone sasses Gran. Most of Sweetheart Falls is scared of her. But this time she deserves it.

“You should know better at your age than to mess with people’s hearts.” Carrie stalks around the side of the cabin, and a moment later a car door slams.

The rental’s down by the side of the small cabin that we use as a spare when relatives come to stay. I can’t see her but I imagine her yanking her seatbelt on and shoving the key in the ignition. The engine splutters, but it doesn’t turn over.

I look over to Gran, and she’s staring intently at the back of the Jeep. The engine splutters again and again and again but doesn’t start.

From inside the Jeep comes a string of angry curse words and the thumping of a fist against the steering wheel.

Gran’s expression is unreadable, but I bet she’s loving this new turn of events. It looks like Carrie is sticking around whether I like it or not.