Break In Two (20 page)

That evening, as Cole kept the campfire going, Mary came and sat beside him on a sideways log. She put an arm around him and sighed, "Oh, my sweet boy. You and Ben are the only things that make me not want to travel. I miss you both so much when we're away."

"You too, Mom. But I'm happy for you and Dad to get this time to travel together. It's so nice for you."

They sat for a moment staring at the fire.

"So Cole, I imagine you think I was pretty unfair to Claire last night," she said.

"Yeah I do. I was really disappointed that you decided to go after her like that, especially in front of everyone. That was uncalled for. If you have concerns about choices I'm making, I'd much prefer you to talk to me privately," Cole responded.

"You're right. I am sorry about how I handled things."

"You need to make that apology to Claire, Mom. Not me."

"Okay, I can do that for you. But I'm worried, Cole. She's got you so you aren't even thinking straight. Carrying on in the parking lot in broad daylight with the chef, of all people! And no panties? Come on, Cole! You're supposed to be smarter than that."

"Alright, calm down. I know that wasn't the best choice but it's not exactly a habit of ours. And anyway, it wasn't her fault that she wasn't wearing any underwear. I accidentally ripped them."

"Good Christ, Cole. What kind of man did I raise? Fooling around with an employee. And what do you really even know about her?"

"I know a lot actually. I know she is kind-hearted and honest and smart as hell. She has a great sense of humour and always tries to see the positive side of things. She's not afraid of hard work either, which I know you respect. You know, in her interview, she didn't even hesitate when I told her the job included cleaning up, even bathrooms. She just said she was happy to be a part of building something from the ground up, even if it meant scrubbing toilets. She's a
chef
and yet she goes in everyday and cleans without complaining. She's excited about the possibilities that the ranch has, she wants to be a part of it and I want to share it with her."

Mary watched him talk, "You just haven't known her long enough to know what she's really all about. That takes a lot of time. You talk about her being the chef as if it's okay for you to be involved with someone who works here, but it's not! I'm just shocked that you would jump into bed with her as soon as she came along. If you two have a falling out, it's not just you that will get hurt. The ranch will suffer along with you."

"Don't you think I've thought of that? Of course I have. If things go bad, we'll find another chef. It won't bankrupt anybody so just relax about it. I've made good choices as far as the ranch is concerned. Nobody is more committed to it than I am, so you'll just have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

"I do, Cole. Just promise me you'll slow down a bit with Claire. Take the time to really get to know her, and not just how she is in bed. There's more to life than that."

"I
have
gotten to know her, Mom, and honestly, I can tell you I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"I seem to remember you saying you had never felt that way until Gabriela came along too. You didn't really know her either before she suddenly moved in with you. I didn't say anything that time, even though we could all see what she was about. A year later, she broke your heart. I'm not going to stay silent this time and watch you get hurt again."

Cole sighed heavily, "Claire is nothing like Gabriela. They couldn't be more different actually. Claire and I have so much in common - she loves riding, and being out in nature, and she has this sweet way of talking to Nellie and to Otis. Otis just follows her everywhere, he might as well be her dog. Gabriela never even looked at him. She's so...I don't know...real, and the way I feel about her and about myself when I'm with her is completely different. She loves me for who I am, Mom. She doesn't want me to be anyone else but myself. I'm enough for her and so is the ranch life. I'm at my best when she's around which is not at all what it was like with Gabriela."

"How can you possibly know if the ranch life will be enough for her after only two months? It might seem pretty good to her right now when you two are hot and heavy, but a few years from now, if the economy takes another turn and things get tough, will she really be here?

Cole sighed in defeat, "You done?"

"No actually. I have one other thing to say and I know you won't want to hear it. But you need to consider the possibility that she might be after your money. She might be one of those women who try to attach herself to a man hoping for a big windfall."

Cole busted out in a sarcastic laugh at hearing this, "You just couldn't be more wrong. She has her own money. Her parents died and left her some big inheritance. Enough that her ex showed up with an engagement ring trying to get her back so he could start his own business."

Cole reached down to pick up a log and toss it on the fire, "Stop jumping to conclusions, alright? Gabriela was a
huge
mistake. I know that better than anyone, so you can quit throwing it back in my face. It doesn't mean I'm incapable of making good choices for the rest of my life. You need to start trusting me."

Cole stood up, "I'm going to bed. I'm worn out."

*              *              *

The next day Mary and Jake said good-bye to the group after breakfast. As they were about to depart, Cole walked over to his mom. He was still angry about their conversation the night before.

"Mom, I need to know that you're going to give Claire a chance. I want you to be kind to her, especially while I'm gone, and try to get to know her. If you mess this up for me, it will be hard for me to get over."

Mary looked up at her son and sighed, "I promise Cole. I'll put my best foot forward. I would never stand in the way of your happiness. I just want the best for you and that includes the best wife."

"I know, Mom."

Mary got on her horse and looked down at him, "Cole, I've thought a lot about what you said last night and you're right. I need to trust you more. And if Claire really the kind of woman you say she is, I'm going to
want
you to marry her. Just give it some time."

*              *              *

Back at the ranch, Claire had nervous knots in her stomach about Mary's return. She didn't want to face her without Cole, but she knew she couldn't exactly avoid her for the next couple of days either. Claire did the only thing she could in the situation - she cooked. She spent the afternoon making turkey chilli, salad and homemade buns for supper. For dessert, she made strawberry shortcake.

In the late afternoon, she was walking to her cabin when she saw Mary and Jake riding back. Her stomach dropped at the sight of them arriving. She went inside and plopped herself down on the couch, grabbing her cell phone to check for messages.

There was a text from Cole, "
Hey Gorgeous! I hope you're having a great day. I had a big talk with my mom last night about us. I think she gets it now. How are you?"

She texted back, "
Pretty nervous about spending time with your parents but otherwise okay. Thanks for talking to your mom. You're the best
."

She decided to go for a swim before supper, to calm her nerves. She put on a modest tankini in a deep purple, a casual wrap-around black cotton dress over it and slipped on a pair of flip-flops.

When she got to the pool, she sank into the hot tub. It was a warm day and the late afternoon sun gave the world that slow, relaxed feel that reminded her of lazy summer days when she was a girl. Her mind wandered to the first time she was in this hot tub, it was the first time she had seen Cole undressed. Her pulse quickened at the thought of him showering off in front of her.

Her thoughts drifted to Cole's parents and then her own. She would have loved for them to have known Cole. It seemed strange and sad to her that they never got to meet the man that she wanted to spend her life with or see the place she wanted to spend it. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mary approaching the hot tub in a black one piece swimsuit. Mary looked great for her age and had obviously kept herself in good shape.

"Mind if I join you, Claire?" she asked in a soft tone.

"Of course not," Claire gave her a tight smile, "It's your hot tub."

Mary took a moment to get settled in across from Claire, "Aaah, that feels good. My bones don't take to riding for two days like they used to. Getting old is not all it’s cracked up to be."

"Although two days on a horse would be a lot for most people, I imagine."

They sat in silence for a long moment. Claire started thinking maybe she should go when Mary looked over at her, "You know Claire, being a mom is a tough thing. You want the best for your kids and no matter how old they get, you want to protect them from any hurts. But the other night, I was out of line with what I said to you and I'm sorry," she said with a grim expression.

"That's okay. I know I made a horrible impression on you to start with. I was absolutely mortified. I also realize how completely unprofessional it is for me to get involved with my boss at all, especially so quickly. It's risky too - if it doesn't work out, I lose my job
and
my home. Cole and I both realized that right away and we tried to stay away from each other. We just couldn't," she paused for a moment, sighing and looking out at the mountain.

She turned back to Mary, "For what it's worth, I've never had a relationship with someone I worked with before."

Mary looked over at her, "I'm glad that you share my concerns actually and I really am sorry I attacked you like that in front of the family. I expect that I embarrassed you and hurt your feelings. I'm the one who made a bad first impression. You mean a lot to Cole and if I stood in the way of that relationship, I'm not sure he would ever forgive me."

"He means the world to me too," Claire said, her eyes glistening with tears, both from Mary's apology and from hearing again how Cole felt about her.

"I've never met anyone like him. He's so honest and caring. He's just so good to me. If you could have seen how he took care of me when I was in the accident or even just how he was so concerned about making sure I felt welcome when I got here. I haven't felt so loved or protected since my parents were alive. I would do anything to make him happy and I would never hurt him."

"That warms my heart to hear, Claire. I just want you to be cautious. I love my son with all my heart but Cole has a habit of falling fast and hard without really considering compatibility. I know it's not the most romantic quality in a relationship, but it's certainly one of the most important. His relationship with Gabriela was a disaster in the making. She was all wrong for him but he just dove right in without seeing the signs."

Claire stared out at the lake not wanting to meet Mary's eyes. It would be too embarrassing to admit that she had never heard of Gabriela. "Well, I really think that Cole and I are compatible in all the most important ways," she said, returning her gaze to Mary. "We are both really passionate about our work and I love his vision for what this ranch could be. I want to be a part of it. We work really well together and we have a lot of respect for each other. So I think we'll be just fine. Every relationship is a risk, but with Cole, it's a risk worth taking."

Mary smiled at Claire, "I sure hope so, Claire. Maybe just take your time. There's no real rush, is there?"

"That's probably good advice," Claire said, nodding and smiling back. "Now, I better go get changed. Supper is already prepared, but I need to get it served pretty soon."

Claire got up and wrapped the towel around herself, slid into her flip-flops and started to walk away. She turned back to Mary after a minute, "Mary, thank you for this chat. I feel so much better. I've been really worried about how we got off on the wrong foot. See you at supper?"

Mary smiled, "You bet."

As she soaked in the hot tub, Mary thought about their conversation. Claire certainly was smart about how she was handling things as far as she was concerned, and she also seemed very genuine in her regard for Cole. Maybe she had been wrong about her after all.