“Back when you were shot? I confronted him at the hospital. I said a few things and he took them to mean I thought he wasn’t good enough for you.”
“And you didn’t correct him?” Erin asked, her voice rising.
Mike shook his head. “I agreed with him”—he held up his hands—“but you have to understand I’d just found out you were pregnant. And you’d just been shot.” To his credit, her brother appeared embarrassed, but he sure hadn’t bothered to fix things either.
“It’s not like you’ve done anything to make him feel better about things since, so cut it with the puppy dog eyes. I’m not buying the whole contrite act.”
“Erin, Michael, stop. What’s done is done. But Michael, you of all people know what it’s like to doubt yourself. What were you thinking, talking to Cole that way?” Ella asked, sounding disappointed in her son.
“I’ve been worrying about Erin.”
Erin rose to her feet. “Well, if you care that much, you should have been listening to me the last few weeks when I asked you to ease up on Cole. This is my life, and whatever happens, it’s up to me.”
He exhaled hard. “I know. Cara said the same thing on the way over here.”
Erin knew how fragile Cole’s psyche was in general, thanks to Jed. Undercover work suited him, yes, but it also let him avoid reality and people who could love and care about him.
Erin had decided to make her move with Cole tonight, back home. After hearing what Mike had done, she decided any move she made had to be now.
And it had to be public. “Take me to Joe’s,” she said to Mike.
He raised an eyebrow. “We all just got here.”
Erin glanced at her mother, who waved her away with a smile on her face. “Go do what you have to do. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Don’t you want to talk to Dad before you go?” Mike asked Erin. “He’s barely got the gist of what’s going on with you.”
“I’ll handle Simon,” Ella said. “Michael, take your sister and stay out of the way,” she said in the authoritative voice she’d used on them as children.
Despite how upset she was, Erin couldn’t help but laugh.
“And keep my baby safe,” Ella said sternly.
“Yes, Mom.” Mike kissed Ella’s cheek.
Of course, it took longer than Erin would have liked to get out of her parents’ house. Simon insisted on talking to her about stalker safety and assuring her he would be there for her and the baby, no judgment. The same way he’d been there for Ella when she’d been pregnant so many years ago. Simon was a good and decent man, and Erin was lucky to have him as her father. She just wished Cole had been as fortunate.
Finally, Sam stayed behind with their parents, while Mike, Cara, and Erin headed for Mike’s truck for the short ride to town. As they pulled up to Joe’s, Mike turned to Erin in the backseat.
“You do realize Cole’s got more issues than just the things I said to him, right?” he asked.
“Erin’s a grown woman,” Cara reminded Mike. “Give her the time and space to handle things without always having to stick your nose into her life.”
Erin bit the inside of her cheek. She loved how Cara took her husband in hand.
“Thank you,” she said to her sister-in-law. “Mike, yes, I know. And I believe I can handle everything about Cole.” She just needed to make sure he wanted to be handled.
Because if she went all out only to discover Cole really didn’t desire anything to do with settling in Serendipity, with her—in whatever capacity they worked out between them—Erin couldn’t change his mind.
Still, she wouldn’t know unless she tried. Tonight, she decided, it was time to do just that.
Ten
Cole had forgotten Wednesday night was Ladies’ Night, which meant it wasn’t a quiet evening at Joe’s. Instead, Cole took in the various groups of people, some of whom he remembered well, some he merely recognized, and others too young for him to know at all.
He spent some time shooting the shit with Joe. The other man’s wife, Annie, friendly since Cole had moved in, tried chatting, and though Cole gave it his best shot, he wasn’t in the mood for small talk that inevitably led to the subject of Erin’s shooting and Cole playing bodyguard. Annie seemed perceptive and backed off, which left Cole as he usually was. Alone.
He nursed a beer for most of the night, trying unsuccessfully not to brood over things he couldn’t change. He didn’t blame Erin for not wanting him with her when she told her parents—and did he really want to put himself through that kind of torture? Still, sooner or later he’d have to face Simon, a man Cole had always respected, who’d now look at him with disgust and disappointment. He was used to it from his own father and from ignorant people who didn’t know him at all, but it would bother Cole coming from Erin’s father.