He saw the way she looked at him. It wasn’t the same way she had looked at him a minute ago.
“Angel? She doesn’t know?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t understand, then why—”
“It’s always been Angel. Since the moment I first laid eyes on her.” He paused, looking away. “I thought I’d lost her or I never would have married Mandy.”
“How long have you been married?”
“A little over a year.”
“You don’t wear a ring.”
“No. I don’t.”
Natalie looked back at the house. She couldn’t help thinking how devastated Angel was going to be when she found this out. And the kids? She guessed this meant he wouldn’t be a very strong presence in their lives.”
“Natalie, look at me. Please.”
She turned and looked back at him.
“I love Angel. I do. And I mean to end it with Mandy.”
Natalie shook her head. “Men say those kinds of things all the time. They rarely mean them.”
“I do. I saw an attorney before I left California. I already started the process. I knew the minute I saw Angel again I was done with Mandy.”
Natalie swallowed. “Well, you have to tell Angel.”
He nodded. “I know. Just, not yet.”
“It won’t get any easier. In fact, the longer you take to tell her, the harder it’s going to be on her when she finds out.”
“I know. I just…she’s got so much on her plate right now with Melissa. I thought I’d wait until Melissa was home or at least until she was feeling better.”
“The time is never going to be right. You just have to tell her.”
“I know I have to tell her. Just, let me do it in my own way. Give me some more time.”
She looked at him, wondering if she’d misjudged him completely. “Okay. I’ll stay out of it. But you have to tell her, soon. Or I will.” She got up and walked in the house, slamming the door.
Cole leaned down and put his head in his hands.
***
That night, Angel came home with some good news. Melissa had been feeling much better today and had even eaten enough that they didn’t think they would have to put her on a feeding tube.
Cole was glad to see Angel so happy. It had been a while. He didn’t want to ruin it by telling her tonight that he was married. He looked over at Natalie and found her watching him. He supposed he was grabbing at any excuse he could find to put off telling her.
The next day, he and Angel had promised TJ that they’d take him to the zoo. The boy, bless his heart, didn’t understand why his mom always had to be gone or why he couldn’t go see his sister. They’d made the promise one night to try to cheer him up.
They’d had such a wonderful day at the zoo. Of course, Cole saw it as another excuse why he couldn’t tell Angel that day, either.
One day turned into a week, and still he hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell her. In the meantime, Mandy’s calls were getting more frequent, and he found it harder and harder to take them without Angel becoming suspicious.
***
One morning the following week, Natalie was in the kitchen pouring her self a cup of coffee and watching TJ eat his cereal.
Angel and Cole walked in. They had planned to go see Melissa.
“Why don’t you two take a break from the hospital and go do something together? Natalie asked.
Angel looked at her. “You mean not go see Melissa?”
“My friend Bonnie is coming over in about an hour. She offered to go with me to the hospital and watch TJ while I visit with Melissa.”
“Oh, thanks, but—”
“You need a break, Angel,” Natalie interrupted.
Cole looked from Natalie to Angel, wondering who was going to win this one.
Natalie looked to Cole. “Why don’t you take her for a ride on that motorcycle of yours?” It was more of an order than a question.
“Sure. Love to,” Cole agreed, not about to argue.
“Take him up to that river you used to love so much as a kid,” Natalie suggested to Angel.
“I don’t know.”
“Angel, I’ll be with her. She’ll be fine.”
“Well, if you really think so.”
“I do.”
Before he knew it, Cole found himself riding up into the mountains with Angel. She gave him directions over his shoulder. It took them about forty-five minutes to get to the Salt River. They finally stopped the bike in a deserted area and got off.
Angel led him to the edge of a drop-off, and they looked down. The sparkling water of the river raced along.
Cole had to admit, it was something to see. “You tubed down this thing?” he asked, amazed.
She nodded. “The water’s still pretty high this time of year. It comes down from the mountain snowmelts. This is the run off. It’s not safe to tube down now, but in the summer it’s pretty calm waters.”
His gaze traveled over the landscape. There were high bluffs on the other side of the river. It looked like something out of a western. He half expected to see an Indian sitting on a horse high above them. He spotted a hawk soaring high over the river.
Angel walked over to a boulder and sat down.
Cole followed, sitting next to her.