Cole nodded. “She’s right. Sit. I’ll go get you something for breakfast.”
Macy narrowed her gaze, obviously not sure what to make of him yet. “I’ve got loads of food for you in my car. My mom sent me over with enough meals for you to heat up for a good couple of days.”
Sonya Donovan, Macy’s mother, was a sweet woman who treated her children’s friends like they were her own. “Thank her for me.”
“I will.”
“Well, I’ve got eggs ready to cook, so you can eat those this morning,” Cole shifted his gaze to Macy. “Leave your car keys on the counter and I’ll unload for you when I’m through.” Without waiting for a reply, Cole turned and strode back into the kitchen.
“He always so chatty?” Macy asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her tone.
“That was actually Cole at his most charming.”
“So how’d it go when you told him?” Macy asked as she and Erin settled into club chairs in the den and Macy curled her legs beneath her and leaned forward in her seat.
Erin cringed at the memory. “He overheard the doctor say something about me being pregnant. He was shocked, obviously. But it’s all taken a backseat to the shooting. We haven’t really talked much about it yet.” Erin bit her lower lip.
“Well, he’s here and obviously taking care of you. So does that mean you two are . . . together?”
Erin shook her head. “Not even close. He’s my bodyguard. He and Mike almost had a brawl over who would take me home and where I would stay. When I insisted on coming back here, Mike relented and let Cole play watchdog.” And she hated being his responsibility just as much as she hated the idea that he was now saddled with her and a baby for the rest of his life.
When Erin envisioned her future, it was with a man she loved and who adored her in return. Maybe it was old-fashioned and silly, but she’d seen her parents together and watched her brother Mike fall hard for Cara, turning himself inside out to make her happy. She didn’t want to settle for anything less. Like being a man’s burden.
“What was that big sigh for?” Macy asked, too observant for Erin’s liking.
“Nothing. No sigh. It’s fine.”
Macy’s scowl let Erin know her friend didn’t buy the lie. “For a man who’s just your bodyguard, he’s pretty concerned about you.”
“Yeah, well, that’s just a sense of obligation.” She frowned. “As soon as I can get this sling off and move my arm a little, he won’t need to hover.”
“We’ll see. Meanwhile, any word on the shooter? Word around town is that it was a stupid kid who shouldn’t have been playing with guns.”
Erin cocked an eyebrow. “Really? As far as I know, they have no idea, so until the police find something, the overprotective men in my life are calling the shots.”
She laughed at her bad pun and Macy rolled her eyes. “He’s unbelievably sexy. You know that, right?” Macy said of Cole, lowering her voice as she spoke.
“And brooding, and moody . . .” And occasionally charming and caring, but she wasn’t giving Macy any ammunition. “And he’s also a complete enigma who doesn’t seem to want to let anybody in.”
“Well, you’re his baby mama. He’s living here. If anyone can get through that gruff exterior, I’m sure it’s my sweet, gentle, caring best friend.” Macy waggled her eyebrows.
“You aren’t warning me away?” Erin asked, surprised. She, too, kept her voice to a whisper. “Because my brothers are livid, my parents will freak, and nobody in town will socialize with him except his cousins.”
“And you,” Macy helpfully reminded her. “Besides, you weren’t focused on that when you slept with him,” she said with a grin. “I trust your judgment completely. I always have. So unless you’ve changed your mind about him—”
“No!” She wouldn’t share with Macy what she’d learned about his past, but her friend was right. Erin had good instincts. She’d always thought Cole was a decent guy, and what she’d learned about him yesterday and his actions toward her proved it—no matter what he’d seen or done.
She drummed her fingertips on the chair. “Look, I know he’ll be responsible for the baby, but I want more from life, from a relationship. You know that.”
Macy nodded, her expression sober, as she met Erin’s gaze. “Then I suggest you find a way to get it from the man who fathered your child.”
Erin opened her mouth to reply, but Cole’s voice calling from the kitchen stopped her. “Food’s ready.”
“He cooks,” Macy said with an already devoted sigh. “He might just be a keeper.”
Not wanting to argue with her friend, Erin pushed herself up from the chair with care. Cole Sanders wasn’t a keeper. He wanted nothing to do with hearth, home, family, and most of all, love.
Five