Keeping Cole's Promise. Cheryl Harper

       CHAPTER FIVE

      “NOT A SINGLE WORD?” Sarah shook her head. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

      Rebecca blew out a frustrated breath. “Just... You won’t understand this, but some people, normal people, can be intimidated by making conversation with others they don’t know. We don’t have anything in common. Besides, he was here for less than ten minutes.”

      And she’d been watching him for about five minutes longer than that, but nobody needed to know that part. When her students Alyssa and Madison had joined her at the window to see what she was staring at, she’d nearly died of embarrassment.

      Then he’d caught them watching.

      Rebecca was pretty sure she was actually a ghost at this point. No one could survive the flaming heat of embarrassment that had swept over her and live to tell the tale.

      Up close, his power was scary. She’d been amazed at how easily he’d finished the cleanup of the yard that would have taken her a solid month to slog through. He’d mowed and trimmed the huge expanse. The trash that had accumulated there when it was not being used had all been removed. And he’d done it in heat that made stepping outside a test of endurance.

      Rebecca would never have imagined the man who’d barged in that first day could be so gentle with the animals.

      Cole had doubled the shelter’s capacity with his strength and focus and hard work. In one week, he’d made a change that was going to impact the shelter for years to come. Not just the shelter, either. Holly Heights would be better off, too.

      She’d almost chased him away. Why? Irrational fear. How humbling that was to consider.

      “What? Did I miss something?” Rebecca ran a hand through her curls self-consciously when she realized Sarah and Shelly were watching. She hadn’t said any of that out loud, had she?

      “We’re waiting on you to finish the conversation in your head,” Sarah said with a smirk. “What I said was that you have never once in the years I’ve known you had trouble making conversation with strangers. And we know Cole. So give me another excuse, but this time put it in the form of a question. Just for fun.” Sarah started humming the Jeopardy theme.

      Shelly was coldly patient. For the first time since Rebecca had met the older woman who’d kept the shelter afloat until Sarah stepped up, Shelly’s mouth was pursed with displeasure. “That boy is doing the work of two men for this place, I’ll have you know.”

      Hearing sweet Shelly, the grandmotherly type who enjoyed the cat room above all else, voice Rebecca’s own thoughts made it hard to stand still. Rebecca wanted to duck behind Sarah or at least hold up both hands as a shield. Then Shelly glanced at Sarah. “I’ll go let the first group of dogs out.”

      She narrowed her eyes at Rebecca and marched down the hallway.

      “Oops. I should have waited until his biggest fan had left the room.” Sarah shrugged. “We’re one week in. Les and Shelly both believe Cole is better than Christmas, payday and a Cowboys win all combined.”

      Rebecca nodded. “Great. I’m glad. And I don’t dislike him.”

      “No, you vibrate with nerves whenever he’s around.” Sarah braced both arms on the counter. “What’s the deal?”

      Telling Sarah about her disastrous attempt at breaking up a fight wouldn’t explain all the reservations she had about Cole, but it might be enough to buy her some understanding.

      “At school, I did a stupid thing. I tried to stop a fight between two boys.” Rebecca squeezed the counter tightly. “Together those boys might make one of Cole Ferguson, but that didn’t stop Eric from pinning me against the lockers, his hand wrapped around my throat. If he hadn’t come to his senses, he could have hurt me. And...I don’t know. That first day, when Cole walked in, he surprised me, rattled me.”

      Sarah reached over to squeeze Rebecca’s hand. “That’s scary, Rebecca. I had no idea, but Cole’s just...a guy, no more dangerous than the veterinarians we work with or Will.”

      Except none of those guys had spent time in prison. Rebecca wanted to argue, but she’d already disappointed her friends enough.

      “Listen, maybe it’s a matter of time,” Sarah said. “I’ve worked with him for a week and haven’t seen one bit of anything other than a man determined to work himself into...something. Exhaustion, maybe. I don’t know.” She sighed. “It sort of reminds me of how I worked here in the early days. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but I knew that it could save me.” Sarah blinked rapidly. “It did. You did, with your money and support for this place. And together we can do the same for him. So...try, okay?”

      Sarah Hillman, formerly the queen of Holly Heights High School who had terrorized anyone unfortunate enough to cross her, was asking Rebecca to be nice.

      The change in circumstances was dizzying. Rebecca had started her first charity in elementary school. Her mother had volunteered them to supply a school in Africa with shoe boxes filled with toys and basic toiletries, so Sarah had convinced her fifth grade class to perform chores in exchange for donations. She’d exceeded the goal by 50 percent. Austin’s homeless, wounded veterans, Romanian orphans—Rebecca had raised funds for them all.

      All that work was part of being a Lincoln. They did the right thing. Helping others was all in a day’s work.

      Cole Ferguson needed some of that charity.

      “I will. I will try.” If she didn’t, she’d be the worst sort of hypocrite.

      “Okay, let’s go see what Freddie has destroyed.” Sarah rushed around the counter and wrapped her arms around Rebecca’s neck. “You, you’re awesome. You know that, right? No one cares as much as you do.” Sarah squeezed her arm.

      Rebecca nodded to satisfy Sarah. Then Sarah towed her down the hall by one arm and they were caught in a low-level circus in the shelter’s play yard. Happy dogs were barking at something outside the fence, two Lab mixes were zooming in a breakneck game of chase, and it was almost impossible to walk, thanks to a begging hound anxious for a treat or a scratch, or any drop of attention.

      As she and Shelly worked with the girls whose volunteer hours at the shelter would enhance their college applications to Baylor and SMU, Rebecca did her best to ignore the small voice whispering in her mind that she should be doing more.

      This was important, but it was so comfortable. Writing checks was easy.

      Improving Holly Heights was nothing like serving as a doctor in Peru the way her older brother, Daniel, was doing. Stephanie was going to leave home to set up a network to help him. Even Sarah was out of her comfort zone with this shelter, although every day the leadership settled on her shoulders better.

      If she was doing everything she could, Rebecca thought, she would feel better. Wouldn’t she?

      Talk about First World problems. The lottery winner is morose.

      As they worked, Rebecca knew Sarah had one eye on her at all times. Pretending to be her normal self wasn’t working. Even after the shelter closed and she did her very best not to study the entrance to the trailer park she passed on her way home, Rebecca couldn’t get Sarah’s words out of her head. Just try. Not even her nightly twirl and lovefest with her new kitchen could silence them.

      The quartz countertops sparkled. The stainless steel commercial-sized refrigerator was quietly awesome. The double ovens were charming as she preheated them to prepare some of her famous cookies.

      But all she could hear was Sarah’s words. Just try. The memory of Cole’s face as he said goodbye to Freddie that afternoon distracted her, and before she knew it, three dozen cookies were cooling on racks. Her top-of-the-line dishwasher was quietly cleaning her prep bowls while she rested against