For His Brother's Wife

The sudden sound of thunder rumbling overhead provided a clue as to why he was returning to the house so soon. “It sounds like the rain is coming early today,” she commented.

Cole nodded. “I figured as slow as I am on these damned crutches I’d better get inside before the downpour started.” After he thanked his worker for carrying the chairs to the porch and opening the door for him, Cole grinned. “I didn’t want to run the risk of getting another lecture.”

Before the man helping Cole went back outside, Paige stopped him. “I already have sandwiches made. Why don’t you take them with you for the crew’s lunch.” She quickly wrapped the sandwiches, put them into a bag and handed it to him. “I hope you like ham and cheese.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the man said politely. He grinned. “We’ll eat just about anything but egg salad out of a vending machine.”

“Very wise choice,” she said, grinning back at the man.

After the worker left the house, she caught Cole staring at her. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, confused.

He shook his head. “You like taking care of people, don’t you?”

“Everyone needs to feel a sense of purpose,” she said, smiling. “Mine is caring for those around me. Besides, I like doing it.”

“You mean you like ‘fussing’ over them,” he corrected, grinning.

“Whatever.” She stopped laughing when she noticed him wincing. “Are you sure your knee is all right?”

“It’s sore, but it’s a lot better than it was yesterday,” he said, slowly lowering himself to one of the chairs at the table.

She moved another chair in front of him, placed the pillow just so and pointed to his leg. “Elevate.”

“Now you’re being bossy,” he said, laughing.

“No, that was me being assertive.” She grinned. “There’s a difference.”

“What do you have planned for this afternoon?” he asked, lifting his leg onto the pillow as she’d instructed.

“I have to work on this month’s program for one of my charity meetings.” She smiled as she went to the cabinet for plates to set the table. “I’ll bet you’re going to take a nap.”

When he shook his head, his warm smile made her feel as if he’d caressed her. “I might do that a little later, but I thought I’d start going through some of those boxes we took out of the closet in your studio.”

“It’s not a studio yet,” she said, laughing.

“It will be as soon as we can get into Royal to pick out new floor tile, paint for the walls and cabinets for storage.” He looked thoughtful. “If we can get that done one day next week, then the guys can work outside when it isn’t raining and inside when it is.”

“How does next Thursday afternoon sound?” she asked, setting the table for lunch. “We can go to the lumberyard after your doctor’s appointment.”

“That will work.” He picked up the glass of iced tea she set in front of him. “When is your next meeting at the TCC clubhouse?”

Paige paused for a moment. “Week after next. That’s where the meeting of the Family Crisis Center volunteers is always held. Why?”

“I thought I’d set up a meeting with Aaron to discuss some plans we’re considering for R&N Builders.” Cole smiled. “We’ve been talking about opening a branch office here in Royal.”

“That would be great.” Grinning, Paige carried a platter of sandwiches to the table and sat down. “Now that Aaron is married to the mayor and they’re expecting a baby, it would probably be a good idea for them to live in the same town.”

Cole laughed. “Yeah, he mentioned that when he took me to the hospital the other day.”

As they ate, it suddenly occurred to Paige that she still had no idea why Cole had been out riding the day of the accident. “Cole, you never did tell me why you took one of the horses out for a ride the day you got hurt.”

“When I was a kid, I used to go riding whenever I needed to think things through,” he answered as he covered her hand with his where it rested on top of the table. “I was trying to decide what I needed to do to make things right between us after making love to you.”

She glanced at his knee. “Well, it probably wasn’t exactly the way you thought it would work out, but the horse did play a role in our dealing with what happened.”