Hearts Under Construction (9 page)

The next morning, Cole came charging into the office like a bull moose at a Victorian tea. “We’re going to have to keep a tighter rein on these subcontractors, Ellie. They’re getting lax at putting away supplies. Things are getting stolen. We’ve got to let them know we mean business.”

“Good morning to you, too, Cole,” Ellie said, trying desperately to stay calm. “I see you’ve had your coffee already,” she said dryly, clicking on her computer and forcing herself to present a calm demeanor. Maybe it would help him.

It didn’t.

“Good morning. And yes, I’ve had my coffee. Did you hear what I said? We need to crack down on those guys.”

“I heard.” She grabbed her coffee cup. “May I?”

He frowned. “Yes.” He followed her to the coffeepot. “I mean it, Ellie. We can’t afford the time these setbacks cost us.”

He didn’t have to tell her that. She was upset about it, too, but it wouldn’t help matters if they were both stressed about it.

She nodded and poured her coffee. Pulling some hot chocolate from the cupboard, she added a spoonful of chocolate to her coffee and stirred. She turned to him. “I understand.”

Cole gaped at her. “That is just gross,” he said, looking at the chocolate globs in her cup.

She stirred them away. “It’s chocolate and coffee. You ever heard of mochas?”

He clamped his mouth and glared at her. “You do understand then?” he asked, returning to the matter at hand.

She took a sip. “Yes, Cole. I’ll look into it. What else do you want me to say?”

“Well, it would be nice if you took something seriously for once,” he snapped.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cole. If you think I’m not doing my job, tell me. Don’t beat around the bush.”

“I just wish you’d show a little concern when I stress the importance of things. I might as well be telling you about the weather.”

Her temper pushed all thoughts of calm aside and shot to the forefront. “I’m not like you, Cole,” she hissed. “I,” she said with emphasis, “handle things differently.” Her chin lifted with an air of piety.

“That would explain some things.”

She stiffened. “What is that supposed to mean?” Her face felt hot, burnt-toast hot.

Morgan and Chad walked within earshot. Cole closed his mouth and pushed out a heavy sigh. She half expected to see smoke come from his nostrils. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He turned and walked away.

“J
ax, I can’t do this,” Ellie said, struggling to stay seated across from him.

“What’s the problem, Ellie?”

“Cole Preston, that’s the problem. He is impossible. I can’t work with him.” Her words were punctuated with anger, and she didn’t care. She’d had enough.

“I know he comes across a little bossy—”

“A little? He acts as though he’s the only one who knows anything around here. I didn’t exactly start this job yesterday, you know.” She stood and walked over to the window.

“Listen, Ellie, you need to calm down.”

She spun around to look at him, wanting to deck him for keeping his nose in a book. “You don’t know how it is around here, Jax. You’ve been busy.” She measured her words evenly.

“Busy, yes. Blind, no. Now, sit down.”

His voice took on an authoritative tone, grating on her raw nerves. She took a deep breath to calm down. “Can’t you get rid of him?” Guilt called to her, but anger chased it away.

“No, Ellie. I need him. I need you both.”

Her lips pressed together, and she lifted her chin. “I have to go. I have an appointment.” She stomped toward the door.

“Ellie?”

She turned around.

“I’ll pray about it. You do the same, okay?”

She turned and yanked the door open. Her thoughts whirled with her emotions. I don’t want to pray about Cole. I don’t want to pray about my attitude. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to—pray.

Practically on the heels of Ellie’s departure, Cole stomped into Jax’s office. “Can we talk?”

Jax closed his textbook with a sigh. “Come in, Cole.”

“I can’t work with that woman,” he said just as the door closed.

Jax held up his hand. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. Ellie, right?”

“The woman is unteachable. She’s resented me from day one.” He thumped toward the window. For a moment, he stared out the window then whipped around to face Jax. “You have to get rid of her. I can’t work with her.”

“Now, hold on, Cole. I need her. I need you both.”

Cole grunted. “I’m going to lunch early,” he announced, not caring what Jax had to say….

Cole visited job sites all afternoon, and that allowed Ellie the time she needed to cool down. By the time she arrived home, she was ready for a walk. Donning her sweats and reliable gym shoes, she headed toward the river walk. Only two streets over, the path for walkers was a convenient way for Ellie to exercise. The walk always cleared her mind and helped her relax.

She felt herself calm the moment she started the trail. What had gotten into her today? Cole had gotten her back up instantly, as he had since day one, and she couldn’t imagine how her insecurities had brought her this far. After all, she resented him for getting the partnership. She held on to that resentment like a pit bull with a chunk of beef. Why?

Lord, what is wrong with me? Cole is a nice man. Why do I struggle with his authority? I resent his position. I’m jealous, inflexible, and basically a jerk apart from You.

Ellie kicked a scrap of bark from her path and wiped the tears that escaped down her cheeks.

Help me to see Cole as You see him, and help me to submit to his authority as my supervisor. Most of all, may he see less of me and more of You in me.

By the time Ellie had worked through her prayer and made her one-mile trek, her heart felt much lighter. Thoughts of the pastor’s message surfaced. One thing at a time, she told herself.

Once home, she took a shower, ate dinner and settled into a good mystery. The phone rang beside her, making her jump.

“Hello?”

“Ellie, this is Cole.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m glad you called.”

“You are?” The surprise in his voice made her smile.

“Yes, I am.”

“Why?”

“I want to apologize for my behavior. I can’t promise I won’t struggle with your authority from time to time, but I can promise that I’m working on it and, with the Lord’s help, I’ll do better in the future.”

Silence.

“Cole?”

“Yeah.”

She liked the sound of his voice, deep, masculine.

“Are you okay?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

She heard him sigh.

“Look, Ellie, I called to apologize to you. Seems we do this a lot.”

“I know,” she whispered into the phone.

“I wish we could just erase everything and start over. I have a feeling things could be very different between us.”

She didn’t even want to think about what that meant, and she tried to ignore the way his words soothed her ruffled nerves.

More silence.

“Well, uh, I just wanted to set the record straight.”

“Thanks, Cole.”

“Um, I don’t suppose you—?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, never mind. See you tomorrow, Ellie.”

“Okay.” Without thinking, she cradled the receiver in her hands for a full minute. She made an audible gulp. “What in the world has gotten into me,” she said to her living room. She got up from the recliner and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. Only then did she see her hand trembling.

Cole stared at the phone. A simple conversation, but somehow it left him shaken. The sound of her voice, sweet, vulnerable. Was that Ellie? Maybe he’d called the wrong number. She was clearly changing, despite her protests to the contrary.

What about you? The thought came to him out of nowhere. He pondered it a moment. He supposed he could stand to change some. Okay, maybe a lot. But that’s not something a person can do by himself.

He thought some more. Ellie had said, “With the Lord’s help.” Did she really believe God could change her like that? Isn’t God too busy running the world? He mulled the idea over in his mind. It just didn’t set well with him. His grandma had believed that—and she was a saint if there ever was one—but he couldn’t help but feel that a real man handled things himself. And that’s what he was, a real man.

Just like his dad.

He shook his head. He might as well face it. A real man would have left the bottle alone and helped his kids get through a tough world without a mom. It takes a real man to accept failure and grow from it. Everybody reaches for something to get them through the tough spots. His dad took to alcohol. Cole worked his frustrations out with new adventures like dirt bikes and parasailing, among other things. Ellie—he smiled—worked through her struggles with chocolate and/or diets. He shook his head. Seemed like an oxymoron to him, but then she could be that way sometimes.

Not that adventures and chocolate were bad. What mattered were the motives behind them. His motive for keeping every minute occupied with some new thrill, new challenge. Ellie’s motive behind the chocolate binges. He looked at the ceiling.
Are You trying to teach me something here?

It took a moment to digest everything. Maybe he needed to talk to Jax. It didn’t hurt to find out more. He smiled at the thought. He’d better break it to Jax gently. Once Jax heard Cole was interested in knowing more about God, the man would probably keel over. Hadn’t Jax been trying for years to talk to him about such things, but Cole had always shrugged it off? Not this time, though. He wanted to know.

The phone rang. Cole got up from his couch and walked over to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Cole.”

“Yes? Do I know you?” Cole teased, knowing full well it was his brother.

“Okay, so it’s been a while. I’ve been a little, well, busy.”

“With the women, no doubt.” Cole had missed their banter.

“Guilty as charged.”

Cole laughed. “So, how’s it going?” Cole asked, walking back to the couch and settling in for a good talk.

“Pretty good. I’ve been offered a job and I’ve accepted it. I’m going to finalize plans before moving.”

“Really? Tell me about it.”

“It’s a law firm in southern Indiana. Pretty reputable firm, looks like a good opportunity. I’ve quit my job here, and I’m taking a month off to relax.”

Cole nodded. He knew his brother had been in a tough job, working as a lawyer and a public defender in Chicago. He’d suffered burnout and needed some time to heal his tired body and mind.

“Sounds like a good plan, Caed.”

“My appointment is the end of August. I thought if you didn’t mind, I’d come and stay with you for a couple of weeks before it.”

“What? That would be great! Let’s plan on it.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. I miss you, little brother.”

Caedmon laughed. “You just can’t let go of the fact you’re a couple of minutes older than me, can you?”

“Nope.”

“Well, you’d better watch yourself. I’m as big as you, you know.”

Cole groaned. “Yeah, I know.”

“So, how do you like living in Farmsville?”

“Oh, that’s cute. Real cute. Actually, it’s not half bad. I mean, the people are friendly, the job is fine, my coworkers are, um, interesting.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let’s just say life is a little slower-paced here than in Chicago.”

“I’ll bet,” Caed said with a laugh. “I’m thinking that’s how it will be where I’m going. But to tell you the truth, I could stand a slower pace right now.”

“Yeah, I know it’s been a tough couple of years for you,” Cole agreed.

“I decided if I wanted to live to see my children grown, I’d better find another job.”

“Whoa! Children? Did you say children? I didn’t think we’d been apart that long.”

Caed laughed. “I mean future children. Nothing in the works.”

Cole let out an audible sigh. “You had me worried there for a minute.”

“How about you? Anyone special in your life right now?”

Cole paused, though he wasn’t sure why. “No. No one special.”

“Hmm, that didn’t sound very convincing. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Cole said quickly. The last thing he needed was for Caed to start in with his matchmaking schemes. Sometimes he wondered who parented whom between the two of them.

The two brothers talked awhile longer, each sharing a little of what had been going on in their lives since Cole had left Chicago.

“Well, I’ll plan on getting there next Thursday, if that works for you,” Caed said.

“What time? I need to make sure I’m off work and not on an appointment.”

“I’ll probably arrive around four or so. I know you’re not home by then, so I’ll just look around the area, maybe even stop in at your office.”

“Sounds good. I’ll plan to be home by five if I don’t see you before then.”

“Okay, big brother,” he said, emphasizing
big
.

They both laughed. “Can’t wait to see you, Caed.”

“You, too.”

Cole hung up the phone. It would be great to get together with Caed. They hadn’t really had much of a chance to talk. It would be good to catch up on things.

Cole held the phone a moment. Before he lost his nerve, he punched Jax’s number, then took a deep breath.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jax. Glad you’re home.”

“I’m not getting rid of Ellie,” Jax said in a definite I-don’t-want-to-talk-about-it-anymore tone.

Cole laughed. “Sorry, guess I made you a little edgy, huh? I’m not calling about that.”

Jax hesitated. “You’re not?” His voice perked up considerably. “What’s up?”

“Since you don’t have class tonight, I wondered if you had time to go for coffee?”

“Well, sure.” Jax sounded as though he could use a little company himself. “When and where?”

“Tasty Grounds, in a half hour?”

“Okay, I’ll see you there.”

That’s what Cole liked about being a guy. When guys decided to get together, they could do it on a whim. It seemed women had to plan things weeks in advance or it threw their whole world into chaos. He’d just never understood that.

Cole hung up the phone, his heart thumping. He wasn’t sure where this all would take him, but this time, he was willing to find out.

Not wanting to appear too anxious, he turned on the news for a minute to kill some time. An advertisement flipped on about an antique car show. Maybe he’d take Caed over there. His brother had always had a taste for old cars. He might enjoy it. Besides that, what else was there to do in Walker, Indiana? It certainly didn’t offer what Chicago did, but he had said he wanted a change of pace, and Cole figured Walker would offer that very thing.

Cole rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t imagine people actually settling in a town like this. He supposed it appeared desirable to Caed because of his burnout at work. Cole wasn’t sure he could settle anywhere, let alone a quiet little town far from the big-city lights to which he was accustomed.

He stretched and yawned. Not that it mattered. He didn’t have a reason to settle down anywhere. Jax had known the risks when he took Cole on at the office. It was a trial thing. Cole would stick it out for a while, but, well, he just couldn’t see himself staying around. Life had too many things to offer. People to meet, places to go, adventures to experience. He’d just help out his college buddy for a while, then be on his way.

With a glance at his watch, he decided it was time to go. He grabbed his keys and headed for the car.

Jax and Cole sat at the table with their coffees in hand, the no-frills, thick black stuff. Cole figured real men drank espresso—or practically as strong—the kind of brew that grew hair on your chest and made you want to yodel and swing from a tree. Jax was a little more tame, using a swig of cream, but he argued he could beat his chest with the best of them.

“So, you gonna tell me what this is all about?” Jax asked, taking a gulp of his drink.

“Can’t a guy ask his bud to coffee for no reason?”

Jax shook his head.

Cole shrugged. “Okay, you found me out. I have some questions, and I thought you’d be the best one to answer them.”

Jax raised his eyebrows. “Uh-oh, sounds serious. Work-related?”

“Nope.”

“Really?” With eyes narrowed, Jax stared at Cole. “Now I’m puzzled. I can’t imagine what I could give you advice on. You’re the expert.”